Dozens of members of Afghan police forces have been reported killed over the past two days in heavy fighting in the southern province of Helmand. – Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Afghanistan's government has offered the new Taliban leader a choice: make peace or face the same fate as his predecessor, killed in a U.S. drone strike last week. But Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada is a hard-liner who has used his religious credentials to justify the Taliban insurgency that has killed or wounded tens of thousands of Afghan civilians as a "holy war" and his succession has inspired little hope for an end to the bloodshed. – Associated Press
A breakaway Taliban faction is willing to hold peace talks with the Afghan government but will demand the imposition of Islamic law and the departure of all foreign forces, a senior leader of the group said Sunday. – Associated Press
A fight is brewing in the Senate over special immigration visas for Afghans who assisted U.S. troops and diplomats during the Afghanistan War. – The Hill
A bipartisan group of Senate Armed Services Committee members is urging President Obama to announce a decision on U.S. troops levels in Afghanistan prior to NATO conferences this summer. – The Hill
Amid daily battles between government forces and Taliban insurgents, the number of Afghans who have fled their homes to other parts of the country has doubled since 2013 to 1.2 million people, according to a report released Tuesday by Amnesty International. – Washington Post
Amid the city’s swirling winds, construction crews work steadily to create a new downtown strip that, someday, will include high-rise office towers and thousands of new homes. That’s bad news for people like Nesar Ahmad Papalzai who have watched the rising property values in their city in western Afghanistan contribute to a chronic problem: land-grabbing. – Washington Post