Afghanistan War News Updates -- June 22, 2010

U.S. Army 1st. Lt. Harold Castweda, center, talks with an Afghan village elder about any improvements that can be made to a mosque in the village of Dubazai at Logar province, Afghanistan, May 9, 2010. Castweda is assigned to 173rd Brigade Support Battalion, which conducted a security check of the village. U.S. Army photo by Spc. De'Yonte Mosley

Drug Use Has Increased in Afghanistan, U.N. Report Says -- New York Times

KABUL, Afghanistan — The last several years of poverty, conflict and widely available opium are taking a toll on the Afghan population, with roughly 800,000 Afghan adults now using opium, heroin and other illicit drugs, a jump from five years ago, according to a study by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

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More News On Afghanistan

UN: Drug Addiction Growing at 'Alarming' Rate in Afghanistan -- Voice of America
Afghanistan Witnessing Rise in Addiction -- Scoop.nz
Sharp rise in Afghan drug addicts, UN report says -- BBC
U.N. Report: 1 Million Afghans Addicted to Narcotics -- Politics Daily
Afghan opiate use doubled in last 5 years, UN says -- AP
FACTBOX-How Afghanistan treats its drug problem -- Reuters

U.S. Said to Fund Afghan Warlords to Protect Convoys -- New York Times
U.S. indirectly paying Afghan warlords as part of security contract -- Washington Post
US military faulted over truck security in Afghanistan -- Boston.com
Afghan insurgents allegedly getting U.S. taxpayer money -- CNN
U.S. indirectly funds Afghan warlords in security contract -- Montreal Gazette, AFP
Investigators probing US money flow to insurgents -- AP
Afghan security firms linked to Taliban allegedly extorting money from U.S.-paid contractors -- Canadian Press

Nine Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan -- Wall Street Journal
Nine NATO soldiers killed in Afghanistan -- AFP
9 NATO troops killed in Afghan helicopter crash, bombings -- Washington Post
Nato soldiers killed in Afghanistan -- Al Jazeera
Three diggers dead in black day in Afghanistan -- ABC News (Australia)
Crash kills three Diggers in Afghanistan as death toll rises to 16 -- News.com.au
Defence prepares to bring fallen soldiers home -- ABC News (Australia)
Sangin: Afghanistan's poppy town that became deathtrap for British army -- The Guardian
Woman was behind Afghan suicide attack: ministry -- Reuters

Afghanistan: 300th British casualty 'lived his days as a lion' -- The Telegraph
British death toll in Afghanistan reaches 300 -- AP
U.K. suffers 300th Afghanistan fatality -- CNN
Another grim milestone for armed forces as death toll in Afghanistan hits 300 -- The Independent
Britain Marks 300 Afghan War Deaths -- New York Times
Afghanistan: '300th death is no more or less tragic than the 299 before it' -- Scotsman
Afghanistan: timeline of British involvement -- The Telegraph

Afghanistan In Focus For Top U.N. Diplomats -- New York Times/Reuters
UN pulling out some foreign staff in Afghanistan -- AP
Security Council arrives in Afghanistan to assess progress, show support -- UN News Centre
UK special envoy to Afghanistan who called for talks with Taliban quits -- The Guardian
UK's Afghan special envoy to leave his post -- BBC