BRISBANE, Australia — An Australian Special Forces Explosives Detection Dog named Sabi has been found alive and well almost 14 months after being declared missing in action in Afghanistan.
The black Labrador retriever, who was trained to detect improvised explosive devices in the Oruzgan province, was recovered by a US soldier at an isolated patrol [...]

If your country went through an outrageously corrupt election that was exposed by an “impartial” governing body, you’d think as president you’d have the balls to sack the chief of your electoral commission, especially after agreeing to a run-off election with your main opponent.

Hear the podcast here or on iTunes!
Blast’s news department is starting up a weekly world news podcast to augment our Terra blog.
Our own Sachin Seth will be narrating the episodes, so don’t miss out!

As ballots are counted in Afghanistan, reports have surfaced, despite the media blackout, that at least 27 people, including nine civilians, have been killed across the country in a slew of attacks on voting day, according to Global Post.

A few weeks ago it seemed like Afghanistan’s main candidates for president, the incumbent Hamid Karzai and his former foreign minister Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, were locked in a dead heat, running side by side toward that coveted post; to govern a country rocked by economic troubles and war.

Internet!
Here are my most recent book reviews (in most to least recent):
1) “Horse Soldiers” by Doug Stanton sucked.
2) “Hey! Nietzsche! Leave them kids alone!” by Craig Schuftan was amazing.
3) “The Chris Farley Show” by Tanner Colby and Tom Farley, Jr. surprisingly stuck with me (and still does).
More stuff right here.

When you’re writing a book about the military, this critic thinks, you’ve got to be a great writer. You have got to know what you’re doing, and you have got to understand the shark-infested waters you’re swimming in.
A bad book about the military will do one or several of the following things: 1) reduce [...]

Doug Stanton’s newest novel is waiting to be directed by Tony Scott.

An angry, armed mob attacked five villages and destroyed 20 houses suspected to belong to Taliban forces. Seven Taliban fighters were killed in the surge and the villagers now occupy three villages and are attempting to push the Taliban out of the other two.

The time has come. Obama’s first speech to a joint session of Congress takes place tonight at 9 p.m., broadcast on all major television stations. Will he extend a hand towards Iran, following up on his promise to engage in open discourse with President Ahmadinejad? What will he say about health care reform? The economy?

• Obama’s first budget comes with the promise of slashing the deficit in half in four years

President Obama launched a “fiscal responsibility summit” at the White House today by vowing to cut the federal deficit in half by the end of his first term in office, and he pledged to reinstate pay-as-you-go budgeting rules to prevent the government from spending money it does not have.

• The government is looking to buy majority stakes in large banks as the markets continue to tumble.

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration put the nation’s biggest banks on notice Monday that the government could become their biggest shareholder if regulators decide they are not strong enough to weather a deeper-than-expected downturn in the economy.

• US is secretly training the Pakistani military to fight the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

BARA, Pakistan — More than 70 United States military advisers and technical specialists are secretly working in Pakistan to help its armed forces battle Al Qaeda and the Taliban in the country’s lawless tribal areas, American military officials said.

The Americans are mostly Army Special Forces soldiers who are training Pakistani Army and paramilitary troops, providing them with intelligence and advising on combat tactics, the officials said. They do not conduct combat operations, the officials added.

• Karl Rove defies a Congressional subpoena. Again.

So today was the day that Karl Rove was supposed to appear before the House Judiciary committee to testify about the US Attorney firings. And of course, Rove didn’t show.

That wasn’t a surprise. After getting the deadline pushed back, Rove had already publicly indicated he didn’t plan on being there, citing President Bush’s claim of executive privilege. Rove’s lawyer had then asked for a second postponement, a request that Judiciary chair John Conyers had declined to grant.

Haji Juma Khan, otherwise known as Haji Juma Khan Mohammadhasni, has been arrested on charges of trafficking narcotics with the intent of financing a Taliban terrorist insurgency.