Malala responding well to treatment, doctors say

Making progress

The doctors treating Malala Yousafzai at a Birmingham hospital said Wednesday that she "remained in stable condition and continued to impress doctors by responding well to her care," as donations to fund her continued treatment flood into the hospital and hundreds of people have left messages of support on the hospital website (WSJ, The News, AFP). A Pakistani official said Wednesday that Malala had been moving her limbs, an encouraging sign in particular because she had been shot in the head and likely suffered some brain damage (AP). According to Pakistani intelligence officials, one of the two Taliban militant suspected of shooting Malala last week was detained by the Pakistani military during the 2009 offensive in Swat, but was subsequently released because of a lack of evidence tying him to specific plots (AP, Reuters).

The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday froze the assets of Maulawi Adam Khan Achekzai, Aamir Ali Chaudhry, and Qari Ayyub Bashir, three Pakistan-based men suspected of supporting the Afghan Taliban, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (Reuters, The News, CNN).

Members of Pakistan’s minority Hazara community, which is frequently targeted by extremist Sunni Muslim militants, are increasingly employing smugglers and risking their lives to travel first to Indonesia then on to Australia (AP). But many die when the overcrowded, rickety boats they are squeezed onto capsize on the journey to Australia.

Child soldiers?

NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) confirmed Wednesday that three children were killed in an artillery strike on Sunday targeting people laying bombs in Nawa District of the southern Afghan province of Helmand, but also suggested that the Taliban had been using the youths to lay roadside bombs (NYT). After locals picked up the bodies, ISAF forces stopped their vehicle, and were able to identify the three bomb-layers as "coming from the same family," and having been 12, 10, and 8 years old.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Thursday that Afghanistan’s police and military forces are ready to take control of the nation’s security if NATO decides to speed up its withdrawal of troops, as the war becomes increasingly unpopular amongst the Western public (AP). But NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen also said Thursday that the international coalition has no intention of changing its drawdown plans, adding that their "goal is that Afghanistan will stand on its own feet, but Afghanistan will not stand alone" (AP).

And a video obtained by ABC News appears to show drunk and stoned American defense contractors in Kabul, demonstrating what former coworkers said was an example of regular outrageous behavior (ABC).

Drawing attention

Legendary pop singer Madonna dedicated her song Human Nature to Malala Yousafzai during a performance last weekend (AOL). Critics, however, questioned the tactic of using her usual onstage striptease and stenciling of "MALALA" across her back to raise awareness of the young activist’s campaign for girls’ education, the attempt on her life by the Taliban.