Afghanistan’s Bamiyan province struggles to build tourism

Thursday is "Chinese night" at the Hotel Silk Road in Afghanistan’s Bamiyan province. (CNN) — Thursday is “Chinese night” at the Hotel Silk Road in Afghanistan’s Bamiyan province. Hungry guests sip cans of Coke and nonalcoholic beer and pick at a buffet that includes General Tsao’s chicken, egg drop soup and slices of sweet green melon grown in nearby fields.

Share

The Mysteries of Chappaquiddick

In his sorrow last summer, he seemed larger than anyone had remembered. Forgotten were the early misadventures of the youngest son of a rich and famous family. Like Shakespeare’s Prince Hal, he was not what he had seemed to be, and friends and critics alike saw not an immature Senator from Massachusetts but the legend’s last guardian

Share

Al Qaeda video calls for support of militants

Al Qaeda’s second-in-command called on Pakistanis to back Islamic militants in the country’s tribal areas against what he called an ongoing assault by American "crusaders" and the Pakistani army. Punishment from God was promised for Muslims who did not follow the words of Ayman al-Zawahiri in a video that appeared on radical Islamist Web sites Thursday

Share

UK: Troops did not die for just 150 Afghan votes

UK officials have sought to play down low voter turnout in Afghanistan’s elections amid reports just 150 people cast their ballots in an area where four British troops died securing it from the Taliban. British media claimed that early estimates of ballots in the former Taliban stronghold of Babaji in Helmand province indicated few exercised their voting rights, despite the efforts of Operation Panther’s Claw, a five-week offensive against militants in the region. The claims have fueled debate in Britain over the country’s continued military role in Afghanistan as the country’s death toll since operations began in 2001 pushes past the 200 mark.

Share

Disgruntled Japanese prepare to vote

The recession’s latest victim in Japan may not be corporate earnings but the political careers of the ruling party in the country’s parliament. This Sunday in Japan, voters go to the ballot box in what poll after poll shows will be a historic shift in political power, booting out the ruling party. The Liberal Democratic Party, or the LDP, has been in nearly continuous control of Japan’s parliament for more than five decades

Share

Taiwan death toll ‘higher than feared’

A typhoon that struck Taiwan and China earlier this month killed more people in Taiwan than previous estimates, the government announced. At least 376 people are now known to have died when Typhoon Morakot hit Taiwan, Taiwan’s Central Emergency Operation Center said Tuesday. At least 254 people are still missing, and at least 46 people were injured.

Share