The Associated Press: Asif Khan sits on a dirty, once-white blanket in an abandoned cinema and fights back tears of desperation. He can’t find a job for his eldest son, who “even knows computers,” without paying a bribe. He can't afford uniforms, books or pencils for his nine daughters to go to school. And so they all live with him in the old cinema, where mangled rebars dangle like tentacles from the ceiling and a cold wind whips through windows with no glass. Full story ...

Morning Star: Every day in Afghanistan there are 40 raids carried out by occupying troops on homes of people suspected of “terrorism” or “insurgency.” So every day 40 families suffer the indignity, humiliation and resentment that accompanies the targeting of those classed as terrorists. Afghanistan’s population is comparable to that of the US state of Texas. Full story ...

PAN: Warlords are trying to prepare owner documents of the land they have already grabbed in northern Baghlan province, the mayor said on Tuesday. Dozens of acres of land had been grabbed in Pul-i-Khumri by the strongmen, who were forcing municipal officials to give them ownership documents, Sahib Nazar Sangin told Pajhwok Afghan News. Full story ...

Time (Blog): On Nov. 30, 2009, in the shadow of mountains that crumple up 9,000-ft. ridges, an Afghan mercenary bankrolled by the U.S. military and hell-bent on the destruction of Taliban rebels allegedly stopped three men heading home to celebrate ’Id ul-Qurban with their families. According to an elder from Bermal, the Afghan district where the incident took place, Commander Azizullah and Full story ...

The Sydney Morning Herald: The standard of Afghanistan’s security forces is slowly improving but they still stand accused of human rights violations such as rape, murder and torture, according to a new study. The study, by Oxfam, found that although there had been slight improvements in training and education in the past few months, there are still serious doubts... Full story ...

RAWA.org: While Sharia law courts have created a lot of controversy in Britain, they would be even more controversial if people found out that Sharia has led to the legalisation of child marriage in 6 countries. As the vast majority of people seem to be unaware of Sharia’s child marriage dimension, this article only uses mainstream media articles, the UN, a major opinion poll company’s Sharia law polling data... Full story ...

World War 4 Report: It is nonetheless sickening for being de rigueur to hear Barack Obama mourning the death of the war criminal Burhanuddin Rabbani as a “tragic loss.” Rabbani had recently been appointed to lead a “High Peace Council” to start negotiations with the Taliban. He was killed at his home in Kabul by a visitor with explosives hidden in his turban. Full story ...

PAN: Afghan and foreign forces killed 19 civilians, including women and children, during an operation on Sept. 20 in eastern Nuristan province, a parliamentarian said on Wednesday. Militants had fled the Want Waigal district before the operation was launched, a Wolesi Jirga member from the province, Maulvi Ahadullah Mowahid, told a press conference in Kabul. Full story ...

The Guardian: Women’s rights have been central to the war in Afghanistan. Remember when Cherie Blair and Laura Bush joined forces to bolster the rationale for invasion back in 2001? Suddenly, the west developed a passionate concern for the position of women in the country; there were films, books and documentaries about the high rates of maternal mortality, girls being married off young and low levels of female literacy. Full story ...

IRIN: The current dry spell sweeping across Afghanistan’s northern, northeastern and western provinces could lead to a large-scale food crisis and the humanitarian community should act quickly to ensure this does not degenerate into a disaster, government and aid officials warn. "The issue is very serious. Every other year drought or other natural disaster puts millions of people into food Full story ...

RFE/RL: Human rights officials in Afghanistan have endorsed earlier findings suggesting that endemic violence is inflicting considerable psychological trauma and distress on children in that country, RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan reports.Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission in Kabul told RFE/RL that many Afghan children have witnessed acts of violence... Full story ...

Client News: Nabil Miskinyar is the founder and president of Zaland.net and Ariana Afghanistan Television, a leading source of news on Afghanistan. The following is his statement: On Sunday, September 11, 2011, I attended a dinner with Dr. Ramazan Bashardost - a former planning minister and current member of the National Assembly of Afghanistan – who requested I meet with representatives from Emrooz Television the next day to discuss a possible business partnership... Full story ...

PAN: The Khanashin carbonatites in southern Helmand Province have an estimated one million metric tonnes of rare earth material, according to a US Geological Survey (USGS) estimate. This estimate came on Wednesday from a 2009-2011 USGS study, funded by the Department of Defence Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO). Full story ...

The Guardian: As I finished a meal with Helmand’s wizened yet progressive chief justice, grandstanding chief prosecutor and rather disengaged justice department director in Lashkar Gah, the challenge of trying to provide non-Taliban justice in a country ravaged by 30 years of war, in one of its most hostile and drug-ridden provinces, began to sink in. Full story ...

IWPR: Inmates at a new model prison in Uruzgan province say conditions are poor, with inadequate nutrition and inhumane conditions. Local officials accept that there are problems but say they are trying to sort them out. Inmates were transferred into the purpose-built prison in the main provincial town, Tarin Kowt, two months ago, from the old, cramped facilities where they were held previously. There are currently 130, all male. Full story ...