In response to Afghan government concerns, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commander of US troops in Afghanistan, issued a directive last July making the protection of civilian life a top priority during combat operations.
The exchange, known as Prince's Market, operates in a courtyard that is accessed through a tiny dark alley, situated in Kabul's busy downtown commercial district. On a typical day it is packed with entrepreneurs who are long accustomed to operating under adverse conditions.
Prior to the city's conquest by Ottoman Turks, present-day Istanbul was known as Constantinople, one of the major centers of the Christian faith. These days, given the profusion of over-the-top Christmas light displays and decorations, it seems that Istanbul residents are interested in channeling some of Constantinople's traditions.
"In other parts of the world, TB is a disease of young men, and here [in Afghanistan] we see that 70 percent of the cases are female - a fact that has yet to be satisfactorily explained," said Dr. Sara Morgan of the NGO Medair.
The delivery room at the hospital remains ill equipped by Western standards. But it is clean. As soon as the patient arrived, the attending doctor jumped from her lunch and quickly examined her, giving rapid orders in Dari. The only decipherable word is "breech." The midwives sprung into action, prepping the soon-to-be mother for birth.
The Turkish and Armenian national teams met for a World Cup qualifier on October 14. The outcome on the field turned out to be of secondary importance to the action in the stands. Turkish President Abdullah Gul and his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan watched the match from a VIP box, hoping to boost a reconciliation initiative to end almost a century of enmity between the two nations.
