Daily Mail: One U.S. veteran of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan attempts suicide every 80 minutes, according to new study. In a staggering indictment on the lack of mental health programmes in the U.S. military, the report reveals 1,868 veterans made suicide attempts in 2009 alone. Many veterans face dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, high employment and a loss of military camaraderie after returning from tours. Full story ...

Green Left Weekly: Prime Minister Julia Gillard has urged Australians not to be overly concerned about the incident that left three Australian soldiers dead and five wounded in Afghanistan on October 29. But dissident veterans and ex-service people say that Gillard is dangerously deluded if she thinks what has happened lacks significance. Full story ...

Al Jazeera: “After four decades of brutal dictatorship and eight months of deadly conflict, the Libyan people can now celebrate their freedom and the beginning of a new era of promise,” President Obama said last week. The capture and death of Muammar Gaddafi prompted him and other US officials to congratulate the Libyan people... Full story ...

The Independent: Chinese mandarins in the 19th century were faced with the delicate task of explaining to their emperor the repeated defeats of his armies. To avoid embarrassing questions, they adopted the simple device of describing them all as victories. The British Army has adopted a similar approach in explaining its failure in Iraq and Afghanistan. Full story ...

The Associated Press: Despite billions in international aid, Afghanistan remains one of the poorest nations in the world. Its high infant mortality rate is evidence that life remains hard for the Afghan people from the moment of birth. The infant mortality rate is considered an important indicator of a country’s level of health or development. Full story ...

Eurasianet.org: After a decade of involvement in Afghanistan, it appears the United States hasn't learned a critical lesson. Warlordism has been a key component in driving the country’s vicious cycle of violence. Yet as the drawdown of US and NATO troops proceeds, American policymakers find themselves reliant on warlord-led militias to fill security gaps. Full story ...

Reuters: Pakistan’s security service provides weapons and training to Taliban insurgents fighting U.S. and British troops in Afghanistan, despite official denials, Taliban commanders say, in allegations that could worsen tensions between Pakistan and the United States. Full story ...

The New York Times: A fuel tanker with a bomb hidden on board exploded Tuesday night on the road to Bagram Air Base, setting off an inferno that killed at least 10 people and left dozens more badly burned, many critically, local officials and witnesses said. The explosion happened in Parwan Province, about 35 miles north of the capital, Kabul, just one day before Afghan officials were to list the Full story ...

RFE/RL: Gray desert surrounds the camp, a forbidding compound of watchtowers, mud walls, and razor wire. Beyond the iron gates, dozens of makeshift tents dot the sands inside the compound, where hundreds of refugees -- men, women, and children -- lie in human excrement and other filth. Full story ...

Philly2Philly.com: Muammar Gaddafi was killed after being captured by the Libyan fighters he once scorned as “rats,” cornered and shot in the head after they overrun his last bastion of resistance in his hometown of Sirte. Three days later, the new leaders of Libya declared their country “liberated”, paving the way for an interim government. Full story ...

IWPR: Judges in Afghanistan’s southeast nangarhar province have started sentencing anyone caught drinking alcohol to 80 lashes. When the Taleban movement was in power in Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001, penalties derived from Islamic law were routinely imposed, such as stoning for adultery and amputation for theft. The post-2001 Afghan judiciary abandoned such methods. Full story ...

PAN: A young woman was allegedly hanged to death by her father-in-law in western Ghor province, officials said on Sunday. The 22-year-old was found dead on the outskirts of Chaghcharan late on Saturday, deputy police chief, Col. Abdul Rashid Bashir, told Pajhwok Afghan News. Full story ...

IWPR: Falling ill in Helmand province of southern Afghanistan is a risky business, as the cure can be worse than the ailment itself, Residents say unregulated sales of pharmaceuticals, often administered by poorly-trained medics, pose a serious threat to people’s lives. Medicines well past their sell-by date are smuggled in from Pakistan and sold on the open market in Helmand and other parts of Afghanistan. Full story ...

PAN: Dozens of residents staged a protest demonstration in the capital Kabul on Saturday against Iran’s refusal to hand over the bodies of Afghan prisoners executed in Iran. Calling for an end to the executions, the protesters, including relatives of 26 Afghans executed in the neighbouring country over the past two months, gathered before Parliament. Full story ...

PAN: The residents of Khanisheen district of southern Helmand province on Saturday accused private security guards of complicity in armed robberies. The guards of private security firms, deployed along highways, have hand in thefts, resident Balo Aka, told Pajhwok Afghan News. He alleged the guards brazenly searched passengers and extorted money from them. Full story ...

Reuters: A mass grave that might be decades old, containing dozens of skulls, was found in north Afghanistan on Thursday, Afghan officials said. Villagers discovered the grave in the Rustaq district in the province of Takhar, said Faiz Mohammad Tawhidi, a spokesman for the Takhar governor. Full story ...