America’s war on drugs is failing in Afghanistan, with opium production at record levels, despite spending $7.5 billion to tackle the problem. Over 200 thousand hectares is used to grow opium, an increase of 36 percent, according to a US report. The report, which was commissioned by SIGAR, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction makes grim reading, with opium poppy cultivation... 

A US soldier has killed at least 17 civilians after opening fire on them near a US military base in Kandahar. There are nine children among the victims, Afghan authorities say. Afghan President Hamid Karzai qualified the incident as an “assassination” and demanded an explanation from Washington, reports the Associated Press. “This is an assassination, an intentional killing of innocent civilians... 

Four civilians were killed when US soldiers fired on a bus in Afghanistan on Monday, sparking furious protests and an expression of regret from the military alliance. About 200 men took to the streets of Kandahar to protest at the killings on a highway outside the southern Afghan city, burning tyres and shouting “Death to America, death to Karzai, death to this government”. Hours later,...