Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today recommended Army Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal to replace Army Gen. David D. McKiernan as the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, citing the need for fresh leadership as the U.S. takes a new approach to the region.

With the Taliban-era ban on girls from attending school still fresh in the minds of Afghans, the country's education system can already boast that nearly 40 percent of students are girls. Since the authorities opened the way for private investment into Afghanistan's education system nearly two years ago, more than 300 private schools have opened, from Kabul to remote provinces.

President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan has backed down on the so-called "marital rape" law, which had such draconian elements as a ban on married women leaving their homes without their husbands’ permission and the requirement that a wife be available for sex at least every four days unless ill or in danger of harm from sexual intercourse.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) applauded Afghanistan's National Environment Protection Agency (NEPA), which announced today the establishment of the country's first internationally recognized national park.

Violence erupted today during a protest of a law passed last month in Afghanistan that has several affects, one of which is regulating when and why a wife may leave her home alone. But the more controversial portion of the law, which many say constitutes marital rape, states that a husband can demand sex with his wife every four days unless she is ill or would be harmed by intercourse.

Taliban gunmen in the remote district of Khash Rod in southern Afghanistan executed a young couple for trying to elope, Hashim Noorzai, head of Khash Rud district of Nimroz province said Tuesday.

Finally some good news that change is happening is coming from Afghanistan, and that's about the fashion industry and modeling. One young woman is sporting jeans, a long-sleeved woolen jacket, and running shoes. Another is clad in a colorful Afghan national costume -- a loose-fitting outfit with wide trousers and a long scarf. Both amble gracefully down a carpeted catwalk before a panel of prickly judges.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has welcomed the openness of his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama to reaching out to moderate elements of the Taliban insurgency.

President Obama and Secretary Clinton name special envoys to Afghanistan, Pakistan,and the Middle East at the U.S. Department of State.

The Arizona Cardinals won the first playoff game of the 2008 NFL playoff schedule, 30-24 over the Atlanta Falcons. Prominently displayed at the stadium were references to former Cardinal player Pat Tillman. The question arose, via an impromptu remark by analyst Cris Collinsworth: should Pat Tillman be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

Here's an interesting story from CNN about an Afghan girl whose life is threatened after swallowing a battery. It hasn't gotten much traction anywhere on the Web. Strange, as its definitely a human interest story, and one that any parent should take care to listen to.

Hamid Karzai, president of Afghanistan, has opened a new terminal at Kabul International Airport. The US$35m (£22m) two-story structure was gifted by Japan as the old terminal building had become badly damaged by decades of war.