embassies in Africa in 1998 has been living in Afghanistan since 1996

embassies in Africa in 1998, has been living in Afghanistan since 1996.The Taliban’s refusal to hand him over provoked two rounds of U.N. sanctions that have cut off funds to its national airline and isolated its leaders.Pakistan is one of only three countries to recognize Taliban rule. Its close ties to the Taliban have earned Pakistan a measure of security on its western border, but have also strained relations with the United States, which had been a staunch ally of Pakistan’s during the Cold War.All foreign aid workers have left Afghanistan except for the eight who are jailed on charges of preaching Christianity.In Islamabad, John Mercer, whose 24–year–old daughter, Heather, is one of two Americans in the group, said he pleaded with Taliban officials at the Afghan Embassy on Monday to let him take her place in jail He said they did not respond to his request.. Tamil guerrillas attacked a ship carrying 1,200 Sri Lankan soldiers early yesterday, but soldiers repulsed the assault with the help of the air force and navy, a government spokesman said Ten rebels were killed and 47 soldiers wounded. Tamil guerrillas attacked a ship carrying 1,200 Sri Lankan soldiers early yesterday, but soldiers repulsed the assault with the help of the air force and navy, a government spokesman said. Ten rebels were killed and 47 soldiers wounded.
“It was a big attack, but our air force, navy and the soldiers on board managed to beat back the terrorists,” Brigadier San-ath Karunaratne said.About 20 explosive-laden boats with suicide squads on board attacked the Pride of South off the coast in Trincomalee, 155 miles north-east of Colombo. A sea battle lasting three and a half hours followed, Brig Karunaratne said.Soldiers on board fired at two of the boats, which exploded At least 10 rebels were killed.

Sri Lankan air force Kfir jets and helicopter gunships scrambled and forced the rebel boats to retreat One more rebel boat was hit, but it did not explode. Later the navy joined the operation.The soldiers were on their way from Trincomalee, a main port in the north-east, to the port of Point Pedro in the Jaffna Peninsula, where most of the 18-year Tamil separatist is being fought.The fighting came two days after rebels warned residents near army camps in eastern Sri Lanka to move away before an imminent rebel assault. Tamil-language leaflets were distributed in Batticaloa, 130 miles east of the capital, Colombo.Rebel attacks on military targets in the east have increased in recent weeks. Jaffna Peninsula is the traditional homeland of the Tamils.Also near Trincomalee, a navy attack craft was damaged on Saturday when sailors shot at a rebel craft, which exploded, wounding one sailor (AP).

If the United States follows through with the rhetoric and commits ground troops to Afghanistan, one day soon, American troops will come face to face with the Taliban ­ the monster they helped to create. This may, as we are told, be a war between civilisation and fanaticism. But in a quiet corner of the brains of those busy committing the United States to another world war, one hopes there will be a recognition of the fact that the Taliban is, in an important sense, the creation of America’s foreign policy. Without America’s hubristic determination to rule the world without having to pay the price that all prior empires paid in human life, this enemy would not have sprung up to challenge it now The story goes back 22 years, to 1979.