In Afghanistan

A temporary truce between the United States and the Taliban took effect on Feb. 21, setting the stage for the two sides to sign a peace deal next week aimed at ending 18 years of war in Afghanistan and bringing U.S. troops home.

The United States and the Taliban have agreed to a temporary truce that, if successful, would open the way for a deal that would bring American troops home from Afghanistan and end 18 years of war.

The plane which crashed in Afghanistan may turn out to be military, not passenger. The mystery is compounded after local authorities said it was not a civilian flight. Earlier, the country's national airline, Ariana Afgan Airlines, denied that the machine was their property.

Snowfall, rain and floods in parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan have killed 43 people, the Associated Press reported.

The U.S. is planning to withdraw some 4,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan, Voice of America reported, citing Afghan officials.

An early morning car bombing killed at least seven people in the Afghan capital Kabul, an official confirmed on Nov. 13

Turkey has always played a constructive and key role in NATO's Afghanistan mission since 2003, the alliance's senior representative to Kabul, Sir Nicholas Kay, said in an interview with Hürriyet Daily News at the NATO headquarters in Brussels.

At least seven servicemеn in Afghanistan have been killed after the helicopter they were traveling with crashed, AFP reported.

According to the Afghan Ministry of Defense, the air force's MI-17 helicopter crashed due to "technical faults".

"All the seven crew members including four pilots were martyred in the incident," the ministry said in a statement.

Turkish Red Crescent helped a 7-year-old deaf-mute Afghan child to regain her ability after she lost hearing during an explosion near her house.

The Taliban's chief negotiator has said their "doors are open" to resuming talks with Washington, hours after two attacks by the insurgents killed at least 48 people in war-weary Afghanistan.