Most of Karzai's Cabinet picks rejected, again
Kabul, Afghanistan - Afghan President Hamid Karzai's second attempt to seat a new Cabinet failed Saturday with the parliament rejecting a majority of his selections. (Afghan parliament members take a vote in photo above.)
The parliament approved seven ministers out of 17 nominees. They include Karzai's former national security adviser, Zalmai Rasoul, as foreign minister and Amina Afzali, one of three female nominees, as social affairs chief. FULL POST
Militants, troops killed in fighting
Kabul, Afghanistan - Fourteen militants and three international troops died in fighting over the past 24 hours in Afghanistan, authorities said Saturday.
The British Defense Ministry said two British soldiers were killed while on foot patrol in Helmand on Friday. The NATO command said an ISAF service member was killed Saturday but didn't list the nationality or location of the incident.
Meanwhile, 11 insurgents died in an overnight raid by Afghan and NATO-led troops in Sistanay, a village in the Nad-e-Ali district of Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said. FULL POST
