BBC News
-
VIDEO: Drone footage shows migrants' arrival September 23, 2015
Matthew Price looks at one of the Greek hotspots for migrants entering Europe.
-
VIDEO: The Olympian who never gave up September 23, 2015
In 1992, 400m medal hopeful Derek Redmond pulled up injured in the semi-final of the Barcelona Olympics, but still finished the race.
-
VIDEO: Football legend Pele at 75 September 23, 2015
Football legend Pele is 75 this year. He talked to the BBC about what inspires him and what he makes of football today.
-
VIDEO: Pope Francis lands to cheers in US September 22, 2015
President Obama and his Family have greeted Pope Francis upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
-
VIDEO: Lesbos struggles as 4,000 arrive daily September 22, 2015
The Greek island of Lesbos is still struggling to keep up with the steady flow of migrants and refugees.
-
VIDEO: How much does making a drug cost? September 22, 2015
As Turing Pharmaceuticals raises the price of an Aids treatment, Daraprim, BBC News looks at how the pharmaceutical industry tries to balance the pursuit of profit with a patient's need to access medication.
-
VIDEO: Refugee crisis: Food and phone charging September 22, 2015
The BBC's Mark Lowen reports from a sports stadium on the Turkey-Greece border where agencies are providing shelter and food to refugees trying to reach Europe.
-
VIDEO: On the ground at refugee hotspots September 22, 2015
EU ministers have approved a controversial plan to relocate 120,000 refugees and migrants across the EU using compulsory quotas.
-
VIDEO: A guide to strange initiation ceremonies September 22, 2015
Initiation ceremonies are in the news, here are some of the stranger ones from around the world.
– AFGHAN ‘KAHANJAR OPERATION’
Amide the news that Taliban managed to kidnap an American soldier in South Afghanistan, about 4,000 USA Marines, Assisted by 650 Afghan soldiers, launched, on Thursday 07/02/2009 dawn, a major search and destroy operation in Helmand province in South Afghanistan. The operation is, probably, coordinated with the Pakistani Army fighting the Taliban in the other side of the Pakistani-Afghan border (see – Bahadur 06.30.09).
Operation Kahanjar or Strike of the Sword was planned long time before and is not related to the kidnapping of the American soldier despite the coincidence.
The operation is the first of its kind under Obama’s administration and reflects the shift of efforts from Iraq to Afghanistan (see – Obama’s deployment). Operation Kahanjar is aimed to calm Afghanistan as much as possible before the coming national elections in Afghanistan, scheduled to 08/20/2009. The second goal is to bring the war into the Taliban strongholds and to force them into a defensive mode rather the offensive mode they practice.
Brig Gen Larry Nicholson said the operation was different from previous ones because of the “massive size of the force” and its speed.
A Taliban spokesman Qari Yosuf Ahmadi said they would resist in various ways and that there would be no permanent USA victory. He added that “a large number” of Taliban were in the area. “I cannot accept the fact that 4,000 US troops have taken part in this operation,” he said, quoted by the Afghan AIP news agency.
It can be assumed that the Taliban will assimilate itself into the supportive civilian population and will use tactics of hit and run, road side and suicide bombers and will avoid any direct confrontation with USA forces.
There was always a strong presence of Taliban in Helmand and Kandahar provinces in South East Afghanistan, predominated by the Pashtu Tribes population.
***************-N-****************