17:58
PENTAGON'S BOSS DONALD RUMSFELD TO ARRIVE AT TASHKENT ON SATURDAY
On Saturday the chief of the Pentagon, Donald Rumsfeld, will arrive in Tashkent on a fleeting visit. As is known from knowledgeable diplomatic sources, the American defense secretary plans to meet with his Uzbek analogue Kadyr Gulyamov and President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov. More details...

17:42
DUMA-FOREIGN MINISTRY JOINT GROUP TO LOOK INTO EFFECTS OF AFGHANISTAN HOSTILITIES
Deputies of the State Duma (the lower chamber of Russian parliament) will make part of a working group, set up jointly with the Russian Foreign Ministry, for analysing effects of the hostilities waged by the United States and Great Britain in Afghanistan. Dmitri Rogozin, chairman of Duma's international committee, said this to journalists on Friday after its sitting was over. More details...

13:28
PAKISTANI MILITANTS TO HELP TALIBAN
Militants from Pakistani regions bordering on Afghanistan are arriving in the country to help the Taliban movement. The fighters come from the Pushtun-inhabited regions, in particular, from the Bajaur district where the positions of radical Muslim groups are quite strong. More details...

12:59
RUSSIAN TROOPS WILL BE EQUIPPED WITH INSTRUMENTS TO DETECT DANGEROUS CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL SUBSTANCES
The necessary measures are being taken in the radiation, chemical and biological protection troops of Russia to equip military formations with instruments to detect dangerous chemical and biological substances, said chief of the radiation, chemical and biological protection troops of the Russian defence ministry lieutenant-general Viktor Kholstov. More details...

10:34
RUSSIAN BORDER GUARDS REGISTERED 40 POWERFUL EXPLOSIONS IN AFGHANISTAN
Russian border units have registered approximately 40 powerful explosions in the immediate proximity to the Tajik-Afghan border. More details...

10:31
BOMBINGS OF AFGHANISTAN CAN LAST FOR SEVERAL MONTHS - THE WASHINGTON POST
Bomb strikes at Afghanistan can last for several months. Then with air support a 20,000-strong military contingent will be brought in the territory of this country. This was disclosed on Friday by the Washington Post with reference to the sources in the western diplomatic quarters. More details...

09:58
TALIBAN CAPTURED PROMINENT AFGHAN PASHTOON LEADER HAMID KARZAI
During fighting in the Uruzgan province the Taliban captured prominent Afghan Pashtoon leader Hamid Karzai, a supporter and adviser of the former king, the On-Line agency of Pakistan reported. A group of Karzai's supporters was encircled by the Taliban soldiers near Dekhrawad town. Four men from the detachment were killed and about ten were wounded. More details...

19:35
U.S. AVIATION DEALS 20 STRIKES ON TALIBAN POSITIONS IN NORTH-EASTERN AFGHANISTAN
On Thursday morning American aviation dealt 20 strikes on Taliban positions in the north-east of Afghanistan. The Qatar television company al-Jazeera reported that B-52 bombers made several raids on positions of the Kabul regime near the Tajik border. More details...

16:53
MOSCOW DOES NOT EXPECT MASSIVE INFLUX OF AFGHAN REFUGEES TOWARDS CIS BORDERS
Russian frontier guards who are serving on the Tajik border do not register "a landslide increase" of the number of refugees from inner regions of Afghanistan moving towards the northern borders of the country. This was disclosed on Thursday by one of the commanders of the Federal Frontier Service (FPS) of Russia Nikolai Reznichenko. More details...

16:17
AFGHANISTAN OPERATION MAY AFFECT TAJIK-AFGHAN, RUSSIAN-GEORGIAN BORDER SITUATION
The current military operation in Afghanistan may affect the situation on the Tajik-Afghan and Russian-Georgian border, a RIA Novosti correspondent quoted Colonel-General Nikolai Reznichenko as saying at a press conference in Moscow on Thursday. Reznichenko is the first deputy head of the main HQ of the Federal Frontier Service /the FPS/. More details...

16:13
MOSCOW HAS RELIABLE INFORMATION THAT CHECHENS FIGHT WITH THE TALIBAN
The command of the Russian Federal Frontier Service believes it quite possible that the Chechen militants who are fighting in Afghanistan in the ranks of the Taliban will make an attempt to break into Tajikistan. RIA Novosti was told about it by Chief of the Main Headquarters of the Russian Federal Frontier Service Nikolai Reznichenko. More details...

16:10
TALIBAN MAY CARRY OUT THEIR THREATS TO NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES THAT SUPPORT THE ANTI-TERRORIST OPERATION
There is indirect proof that the Taliban movement may carry out the threats it had earlier expressed with regard to the neighboring countries that support the anti-terrorist operation in Afghanistan, Nikolai Reznichenko, first deputy director of the Russian federal frontier service told a press- conference in Moscow. This refers first of all to Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan, he said. More details...

14:19
8,000 UZBEK GUNMEN FIGHT FOR THE TALIBAN
A high-ranking representative of the Islamic State of Afghanistan's defence ministry has announced that up to 8,000 Uzbeks are currently fighting for the Taliban in the northern provinces of Afghanistan. According to him, these gunmen are being led by the notorious warlord Juma Namanghani. More details...

13:54
MOSCOW CONSULTATIONS OF RUSSIAN FIRST DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER VYACHESLAV TRUBNIKOV AND US DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE RICHARD ARMITAGE ON AFGHANISTAN
The meeting of the Russian-American working group on combating threats from Afghanistan is being held in the Russian Foreign Ministry. First Deputy Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Trubnikov and US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage head the Russian and American delegations at the talks. A joint communique is to be signed following the meeting, diplomatic sources told RIA Novosti. More details...

13:50
TALIBAN 'BLACK LIST' OF AFGHANS TO BE EXECUTED
The Taliban spiritual leader, Mullah Omar, has approved a list of currently Pakistan-based Afghan warlords and political figures to be executed for supporting the ex-king Zahir Shah. More details...

18:51
RUSSIA, GREAT BRITAIN STAND TOGETHER ON FUTURE AFGHAN GOVERNMENT
Russia and Afghanistan stand together on the future government of Afghanistan, said British foreign minister Jack Straw after meeting his Russian counterpart Igor Ivanov. More details...