Afghan officials say Pakistan's release of 33 Taliban prisoners from jail, a policy initially trumpeted by Kabul as an opportunity to ignite peace talks, has resulted in no concrete progress.
The Taliban's recent high-profile attacks are a sign of "weakness" that show US-led forces in Afghanistan have seized the initiative in the war, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Thursday.
Taliban loyalists are cheering the prospect of a deal with the US that after 18 years of gruelling conflict will see "defeated" American "invaders" finally go home.
A Taliban spokesman said Friday that China has promised to keep its embassy in Afghanistan open and to increase humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged country.
Bamiyan's cultural centre should have been completed last month, showcasing the remarkable heritage of a site that Afghanistan's Taliban desecrated two decades ago by dynamiting ancient statues of Buddha.
The shadowy leader of the Islamist Taliban movement issued a warning Saturday to Western troops in Afghanistan that their "unequivocal defeat" is imminent and they should learn the lessons of history.
The Afghan government will collapse and Taliban insurgents are likely to retake power after the US and NATO pull their troops out in 2014, a respected international scholar has predicted.
The Taliban are involved in a quarter of Afghan security personnel attacks on NATO colleagues, according to a military commander.
The Taliban were on Friday close to forming a government, with the hardliners under intense international scrutiny over their vow to rule Afghanistan with greater tolerance, especially on women's rights.
Pakistani Taliban militants said Tuesday they had kidnapped two Chinese telecoms engineers and their entourage and would soon issue a list of demands.
A Kenyan park ranger who said his closest friend was shot dead while protecting elephants urged Hong Kong not to compensate the city's ivory traders in an emotive speech to lawmakers on Wednesday.
Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants are using crowded Afghan prisons as a "sanctuary" to recruit and plot attacks, the top US military commander in Afghanistan warned in a report to President Barack Obama.
This past week the World Space Congress re-enacted that hoary old conference staple, the Moon/Mars debate.
It was the best of shows, it was the worst of shows: as 12,000 troops and hundreds of tanks and missiles rolled through Tiananmen Square in front of invited guests and foreign leaders, ordinary Beijing residents were barred from watching.
In a peaceful bay off Norway's Hitra island, massive nets teem with salmon destined for dinner tables worldwide -- an export boon for the Nordic nation that comes with a long list of environmental side-effects.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday pledged $2 billion for a new development fund for poor countries on a UN visit showcasing Beijing's growing global role.
