Obama’s top diplomats and generals are abandoning for now their get-tough tactics with Afghanistan’s Hamid Karzai and attempting to forge a far warmer relationship.

A suicide bomber killed 16 people in a busy city square in western Afghanistan, while near Kabul a powerful former warlord narrowly escaped an assassination attempt, officials said.

In closing arguments, an Italian prosecutor says Amanda Knox had a growing hatred for her roommate and killed her in retaliation during a drug-fueled sex game.

Pakistan says it fears that a large increase in foreign troops in Afghanistan could push militants across the border into its territory.

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