Afghan President Hamid Karzai told General David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, on Sunday his apology for a foreign air strike that killed nine children last week was “not enough.” Read the full story

Russia urged the United States on Friday not to establish “long-term” military bases in Afghanistan, suggesting even discussing such deployments could undermine peacemaking efforts and anger neighbors. Read the full story

France’s new defense minister is warning Afghanistan is “a trap” for allied troops. Alain Juppe told Europe-1 radio Wednesday France wants to begin pulling its forces out of Afghanistan and will discuss the possibility of a more expansive drawdown of western troops at an upcoming NATO summit. Read the full story

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is wanted in Sweden where he has been accused of rape, a prosecutor has said. Karin Rosander, director of communications at Sweden’s prosecutors’ office, said an arrest warrant for the 39-year-old Australian was issued late on Friday. Read the full story

The US must dissolve its private security firms in Afghanistan and end the war lobby which controls Washington, a former US Congresswoman says. Read the full story

Pakistan was actively collaborating with the Taliban in Afghanistan while accepting U.S. aid, new U.S. military reports showed, a disclosure likely to increase the pressure on Washington’s embattled ally. Read the full story

U.S. military officials and geologists have determined that the mineral deposits in Afghanistan are worth nearly $1 trillion, the Pentagon said Monday. Read the full story

The Taliban in Afghanistan have told the BBC that there is no question of their entering into any kind of negotiations with Nato forces. It comes after US commanders and the British army chief of staff, Gen David Richards, suggested that it might be useful to talk to the Taliban. Read the full story

Afghan president Hamid Karzai has reportedly met with the Taliban’s most senior commander Serja-eddin Haggani in Kabul as UK calls for peace with the militants. Read the full story

Celebrated American director Oliver Stone has blasted the US media for playing the “Bush game” and fueling US paranoia towards the Middle East. Read the full story

Afghan President Hamid Karzai hints that the US-led invasion has set the ground for surge in drug production and organized crimes in his war-ravaged country. Read the full story

Already battling a euro zone debt crisis, sinking poll ratings and policy scraps with an increasingly awkward coalition partner, Merkel must now quickly find a successful candidate for president, whose role is largely ceremonial. Read the full story

The US airbase at Bagram in Afghanistan contains a facility for detainees that is distinct from its main prison, the Red Cross has confirmed to the BBC. Read the full story

Nato has taken one of the biggest gambles of its mission in Afghanistan by reluctantly deciding to collaborate with Ahmad Wali Karzai, the notorious power-broker of Kandahar. Read the full story

Iran’s president has urged the UN to launch an investigation into the aims of Western military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq. The office of Secretary General Ban ki-Moon said that it was studying the letter from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad but had no comment. Read the full story

Kyrgyzstan’s self-proclaimed new leadership said on Thursday that Russia had helped to oust President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, and that they aimed to close a U.S. airbase that has irritated Moscow. Read the full story

President Hamid Karzai has threatened to step down and join the Taliban if outside pressure for reform continues, Afghan lawmakers say. Read the full story

US special forces soldiers dug bullets out of their victims’ bodies in the bloody aftermath of a botched night raid, then washed the wounds with alcohol before lying to their superiors about what happened, Afghan investigators have told The Times. Read the full story