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Friday, May 24, 2013

The Two-Way

Explosion, Gunfire Reverberate In Kabul

A wounded Afghan police officer is helped from the scene of Friday's explosion and gunfire in Kabul.

May 24, 2013 Witnesses say the blast happened in the late afternoon. The sound of shots followed. As night fell, at least two attackers were dead. A small number of civilians had been wounded. Offices of the International Organization for Migration appear to have been targeted.

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Sunday, May 19, 2013

Afghans With Disabilities Fight For The Right To Rights

A technician shapes a cast mold for a prosthetic limb at the Red Cross orthopedic clinic in Kabul. The clinic produces about 2,000 prosthetic limbs each year.

May 19, 2013 Their country isn't an easy place for anyone to make a living, but it's a downright hostile environment for those with disabilities. Support has mostly come from nonprofits, but activists are pressing the government to take action.

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On Weekend Edition SundayPlaylist

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Parallels

Afghan Mineral Treasures Stay Buried, Hostages To Uncertainty

An Afghan worker helps excavate part of the mountaintop copper works above the ancient city at Mes Aynak in February. Afghanistan is believed to be sitting on massive mineral and metal deposits. But many obstacles have prevented large-scale mining from getting underway.

May 18, 2013 Afghanistan is believed to be home to world-class mineral deposits, valued at up to $3 trillion and offering hope for the country's economic future. But in the current environment of uncertainty, investors are nervous and it could be many years before Afghanistan strikes pay dirt.

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On Weekend Edition SaturdayPlaylist

Friday, May 17, 2013
Thursday, May 16, 2013

The Two-Way

At Least 13 Dead, Including Americans, After Attack In Kabul

The scene Thursday in Kabul, Afghanistan, after a suicide bomber attacked a NATO convoy.

May 16, 2013 A suicide bomber in a car reportedly blew up himself and the vehicle as a NATO convoy passed by. Afghans who were nearby by, as well as some people in the convoy, were killed. Dozens of others were injured. The militant group Hizb-i-Islami has taken responsibility for the attack.

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Parallels

U.S. Hands Over Nation-Building Projects To Afghans

Afghan and U.S. officials attend the closing ceremony for the Paktia provincial reconstruction team on April 9 in eastern Afghanistan. NATO created more than 20 teams to help the Afghans rebuild. But now the U.S. teams are winding down their activities.

May 16, 2013 U.S. reconstruction teams have spent a decade building roads, bridges and other pieces of infrastructure that are badly needed in Afghanistan. But now the international effort is winding down, and it's not clear how much the Afghans will be able to do on their own.

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On Morning EditionPlaylist

Car Bomb Hits NATO Convoy In Kabul; 6 Dead

May 16, 2013 A Muslim militant group, Hizb-e-Islami, claimed responsibility for the early morning attack. The powerful explosion rattled buildings on the other side of Kabul and sent a pillar of white smoke into the sky in the city's east.

Summary

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Parallels

Heavy Metal In Kabul? It's The Music, Not The Munitions

Solomon "Sully" Omar performs with the Afghan metal band District Unknown at the third annual Sound Central Festival in Kabul earlier this month.

May 15, 2013 When 23-year-old musician Solomon "Sully" Omar left Denver for Afghanistan — his parents' homeland — his hopes for Kabul weren't high. But he discovered a music scene that was "alive and breathing," bursting with "crazy metal and dub step."

Summary

Music

A Songwriter And An Army Dad Share One Touching Story

On Monday, the team behind Lee Brice's "I Drive Your Truck" gathered in Nashville to celebrate the song's reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. From left: co-songwriters Jimmy Yeary, Connie Harrington and Jessi Alexander, military father Paul Monti and singer Lee Brice.

May 15, 2013 The song "I Drive Your Truck" is a No. 1 country hit. It began with a father's remembrance of his son, who was killed in action in Afghanistan — and a songwriter who just happened to be listening.

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On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

The Two-Way

Afghan Taxes Weigh Heavily On U.S. Contractors, Report Says

May 14, 2013 A U.S. audit shows that American firms working in Afghanistan have been hit with nearly $1 billion in taxes since 2008. Much of what's been taxed should have been exempt from such levies according to agreements with the Afghan government, auditors say.

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Wednesday, May 08, 2013

Afghans Confront Sensitive Issue Of Ethnicity

Saifulzul Husseini (right) works in Dashti Barchi, a Hazara neighborhood of Kabul. He believes that ethnicity should be listed on the new identity card.

May 8, 2013 Afghanistan is set to issue new national IDs that will have a person's ethnicity embedded in it electronically — but not printed on it. That's renewed debate over a divisive issue in a country made up of many different groups.

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On Morning EditionPlaylist

Tuesday, May 07, 2013
Sunday, May 05, 2013

National Security

The Hidden Cost Of The Drone Program

A model of a drone is hoisted in the air at a protest of the U.S. military's use of drones during a demonstration on April 3 in New York.

May 5, 2013 One expert says the administration is operating drones with a "kill-not-capture" policy, adding that you don't get intelligence from those killed. But there's also a human toll — from the pilots who remotely operate the drones to those people who live in the areas that are targeted.

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On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

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