AFGHANISTAN

Chances of success for a NATO offensive in the last big Taliban bastion in Afghanistan's Helmand province may depend on ensuring the operation doesn't repeat the destruction of Fallujah in Iraq in 2004.

The British government failed on Wednesday in a legal challenge to keep secret U.S. intelligence material relating to allegations of cruel and inhuman treatment involving the CIA.

Pakistan said on Wednesday it had information suggesting Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud had died of wounds inflicted in a U.S. drone aircraft attack in January.

At least 28 people died and hundreds were trapped through the night in freezing cold and darkness after avalanches closed a mountain highway tunnel in Afghanistan.

Pakistan's commercial capital Karachi was tense on Saturday a day after two bombs killed 31 people, raising further questions about the effectiveness of security crackdowns on al Qaeda-linked militants.

NATO allies plan to reshuffle rather than expand existing troop commitments to Afghanistan, sending more military trainers in place of combat forces to ready the Afghan army and police to take control, senior U.S. and NATO officials said on Saturday.

A suspected suicide bomber on a motorcycle killed 12 Shi'ite Muslims in a crowded bus in Pakistan's commercial capital Friday, hospital and police officials said.

The Taliban have said they will not enter into any deal with the Afghan government or the West to bring peace to Afghanistan, and their fighters will continue to die to achieve a victory they say is around the corner.

The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan said on Thursday the security situation remained serious but was no longer deteriorating, offering a more upbeat assessment than other U.S. military and intelligence officials.

Pakistan's Taliban claimed responsibility for a bomb on Wednesday that killed three U.S. soldiers outside a girls school in the northwest of the country and threatened more attacks on Americans.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai will seek Saudi Arabia's spiritual influence and probably its financial clout to reconcile with the Taliban during talks with King Abdullah this week.

(In Feb 1 story, corrects $159 million to billion in first paragraph, and corrects name of defense secretary in paragraph 6)

(In Feb 1 story, corrects $159 million to billion in first paragraph, and corrects name of defense secretary in paragraph 6)

President Barack Obama asked Congress to approve a record $708 billion in defence spending for fiscal 2011, but vowed to continue his drive to eliminate unnecessary, wasteful weapons programs.

The father of an Afghan-born airport shuttle driver accused of plotting an al Qaeda-inspired bomb attack on New York City has been charged with conspiring to alter, destroy and conceal evidence in the case.

NATO has almost met its target for extra combat troops in Afghanistan but will press allies this week to meet a shortfall of up to 2,400 people to train Afghan security forces, its secretary-general said on Monday.

NATO troops clashed with their Afghan allies in a so-called friendly fire incident on Saturday, calling in air strikes that killed four Afghan soldiers and stoked anger among villagers.

President Barack Obama addressed the GOP House Issues Conference in Baltimore on Friday where he criticized the Republican party of trying to prevent passage of his policies and made a call for their support in the creation of jobs.

The Afghan government on Thursday invited the Taliban to a peace council as its Western allies worked out plans to try to end the war in Afghanistan.

President Barack Obama vowed on Thursday he would not rest until U.S. businesses were hiring again, as he took his recast agenda on the road and sought to dig out of his deepest political rut since taking office.

U.S. President Barack Obama pushed job creation to the top of his agenda and vowed not to abandon his struggling healthcare overhaul after a political setback that raised doubts about his leadership.