Globe Trot: Did Taliban target a Christian daycare in latest Afghan attack?

AFGHANISTAN: A Taliban-led shootout at a guesthouse in Kabul may have been meant for the day care run by Western Christians next door. In the attack on Roots of Peace, which runs USAID-financed agricultural projects in Afghanistan, American residents escaped harm while five Taliban attackers were killed by armed guards.

The New York Times’ coverage repeats a too-common mistake, saying “the practice of Christianity is outlawed” in Afghanistan. Article 2 of Afghanistan’s 2004 constitution states: “Followers of other religions are free to exercise their faith and perform their religious rites within the limits of the provisions of law.” Afghanistan also has signed the UN Declaration of Human Rights, which allows for freedom of thought and religion.

SYRIA: Turkey’s military support for opposition fighters in Syria could risk NATO intervention. It’s not farfetched to think the collective security alliance could be called in on behalf of the NATO member, should Syria retaliate for incursions and the shooting down of a Syrian jet fighter last week. Heightened tensions follow the latest cross-border offensive by foreign fighters, who assaulted Armenian villages in Syria, forcing at least 3,000 from their homes.

UKRAINE: With an estimated 40,000 Russian troops amassed near Ukraine’s eastern border, NATO is prepping for military exercises in eastern Europe. Ukraine is not a member of NATO, but Baltic states potentially threatened by Russian aggression are.

INDIA: Facebook is cracking down on fake likers. With election season on in India, the social media site suspects that politicians there are using fake accounts to boost online support—not hard to do perhaps, with 93 million active users in India.

NOTE: There will be no Globe Trot on Wednesday.

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