A US army officer has accused the American military of painting a misleading picture of progress in the war in Afghanistan while glossing over the Afghan government's many failings. The accusations have sparked fresh debate about the US mission in Afghanistan. "What I saw bore no resemblance to rosy official statements by US military leaders about conditions on the ground," Colonel Davis wrote in an article published in Armed Forces Journal, a private newspaper not affiliated with the Pentagon. "Instead, I witnessed the absence of success on virtually every level," he wrote under the headline, "Truth, Lies And Afghanistan: How military leaders have let us down". "How many more men must die in support of a mission that is not succeeding ...?" Troop commanders and politicians say the handover to Afghan troops is going well, but Lieutenant-Colonel Daniel Davis, who has just returned from the country, is challenging those statements in congress. He says that conditions on the ground are ruinous - a conclusion deeply at odds with the picture of progress put forth by the top US military brass. It is a rare instance of a US officer openly contradicting his superiors, and Davis' insights, first published in a military journal on Sunday, have been picked up by several members of congress. At a Pentagon briefing on Wednesday, the US military's number-two commander in Afghanistan, Lieutenant General Curtis Scaparrotti, answered Davis' criticism, saying it was only one person's <b>...</b>

Iraqi domestic violence 'on the rise' The UN estimates that one in five women in Iraq suffer from domestic abuse, in a society where a woman leaving her husband for any reason is considered grounds for punishment. One rights group says cases of abuse appear to be on the rise since the fall of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein nearly nine years ago. But even for women who do manage to escape their abuse, there are few places in the country they can go to seek refugee. Al Jazeera's Jane Arraf has this exclusive report from the capital, Baghdad.

Scientists have been drilling through some of Antarctica's thickest ice for more than two decades as part of efforts to reach the core to examine air trapped there for millions of years. Now, a team of Russian scientists are reported to have broken through the ice to discover a vast lake that has not seen light for more than 20 million years. Al Jazeera's Tarek Bazley reports.

Rescue workers in the Philippines are searching for dozens of people feared killed by a powerful earthquake that triggered landslides and toppled buildings on the heavily populated islands of Negros and Cebu.

For decades, the Philippine army has been battling a scattered rebellion by communist fighters wanting to set up a Maoist state. Now, the military is trying a potentially controversial strategy, which it hopes will defeat the rebels once and for

Bart is officially signed, sealed and qualified to swim!!

More than 400 Rhinos in South Africa were attacked for their horns last year. And now there is growing concern that veterinarians could be involved. Al Jazeera's Tania Page reports from Capetown in South Africa. Warning: Viewers may find so

Violent crime in one of Brazil's biggest cities is soaring as state police strike over pay. Al Jazeera's Gabriel Elizondo reports.

Frost Over the World - 'Why It All Went Wrong In Afghanistan' Sir David speaks to Oscar and Golden Globe nominee Viggo Mortensen; brand guru and marketing maestro Martin Lindstrom; and Sandy Gall, a former foreign correspondent and author, about her book on Afghanistan.

An international project to map out the DNA of more than 18000 tumors is tipped to help tackle the disease.