Afghan violence worries US

THE heaviest outbreak of fighting in years this week underscored a violent shift in Afghanistan as NATO troops gird for an expanded mission there, analysts said overnight. More

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Taliban commander 'alive and well'

THE Taliban dismissed charges by Afghan President Hamid Karzai that their insurgency was rooted in Pakistan and described reports that a top commander was captured as "propaganda to hide defeat." More

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Turkish PM under pressure

TURKISH Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, under pressure over a deadly Islamist attack on senior judges, called Saturday for the strengthening of the nation's secular system as the police tracked down a man believed to be a key figure behind the shooting. More