US releases prisoners from Bagram
(Hewad) US forces released 57 people from the detention facility at Bagram airbase on July 2. The state-run Bakhtar Information Agency reports that those released came from the southern provinces of Kandahar, Helmand, Zabul, Urozgan and Ghazni. One of the prisoners, named as Nematullah, said he had "experienced many problems" while in detention. The head of the Commission for Reconciliation and National Unity, Sibghatullah Mujaddidi, told the freed men, "I know most of you are innocent - Allah will reward you".
(Hewad is a state-run daily published mostly in Pashto.)

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France to increase military presence
(Cheragh) France has decided to boost its military strength in Afghanistan, Radio France Internationale reported on July 1. Citing a senior French army officer, the radio said that the defense ministry would send six Mirage fighters and two transport planes to work under ISAF command in Afghanistan. These planes will be withdrawn after the Afghan parliamentary elections are held in September. The French government will also send an additional 300 troops to Afghanistan. There are currently some 650 French troops serving in Afghanistan as part of ISAF.
(Cheragh is an independent daily run by the Development and Democracy Association.)

New Kandahar governor promises better security
(Arman-e-Milli) The new governor of the troubled southern province of Kandahar has pledged to improve the security situation in this former Taleban stronghold. A former governor of Ghazni province, Assadullah Khalid took up his new job as Kandahar chief at a formal function attended by elders and officials of the province on July 3. He vowed to press on with the reconstruction, saying "I will do my best to play an important role in rebuilding this province, as my predecessor Gul Agha Sherzai did," he said. Sherzai - who has been transferred to Nangarhar - advised his successor to pay great attention to security matters and reconstruction. Kandahar has recently seen a significant revival in Taleban insurgency.
(Arman-e-Milli is an independent daily.)

Assistance for flood victims
(Anis) The presidential office has approved 153 million afghanis (approximately three million US dollars) to assist victims of seasonal flooding in various provinces. According to the presidential office, the sum is based on recommendations from the Ministry for Rural Rehabilitation and Development. Recent floods in 15 provinces have caused considerable damage, leaving 60 people dead and at least 5, 000 households displaced. Some 2,900 houses have been destroyed, 4,000 head of livestock killed, and thousands of acres of agricultural land destroyed.
(Anis is a state-run daily published mostly in Dari.)

Seeds for change in Urozgan
(The Kabul Times) The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock has distributed more than 45 metric tonnes of improved seeds and 232 tons of fertiliser to farmers in the southern province of Urozgan. Ministry spokesman Abdul Latif Rasouli said that 3,500 farmers had benefited from the assistance, provided by USAID, which is part of efforts to end opium poppy cultivation through improved cultivation of alternative crops.
(The Kabul Times is a state-run paper published in English every other day.)