Hero dog

An Army search dog who saved British soldiers in Afghanistan from a booby trap "did not know how to sit" a year ago, according to his handler. Chocolat, a Belgian Shepherd, sniffed out enough explosives to make 10 improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The find was made in a bazaar in the Nad-e-Ali region of Afghanistan.

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Building bridges

Their faces etched from years of conflict in the war-torn deserts of Helmand Province, four senior Islamic scholars step into a pod on the London Eye. As the giant wheel turns they stare in silence at the city spread beneath them; the River Thames, the Houses of Parliament and miles beyond

Dead UK soldier named by the MoD

A British soldier killed in a bomb blast while on foot patrol in Afghanistan has been named by the Ministry of Defence. Guardsman Michael Sweeney, 19, of 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, was killed in the Babaji district of central Helmand province on Thursday morning. The soldier had been on patrol near the newly built Walizi base.

Day in pictures

Kashmiri women carry mustard flowers to a village in north-west India. Multimillionaire US Olympian twins Tyler (left) and Cameron Winkelvoss build up a sweat ahead of Saturday’s 156th University Boat Race

Kandahar offensive ‘due in June’

The Nato-led coalition in Afghanistan will launch a long-planned offensive in the southern city of Kandahar in June, military officials have said. A US military source was quoted as saying the goal was to rid the city of Taliban forces before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins in August. US troops are already leading a massive operation in Marjah, in the neighbouring province of Helmand.

Soldier killed by Afghan car bomb

A British soldier from Third Battalion The Rifles has been killed by a suicide car bomber in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has announced. The soldier died on Saturday afternoon after an explosion 1km east of Sangin, in Helmand Province. The death was not related to Operation Moshtarak.

Afghan insurgents in peace talks

A delegation from the second largest militant group in Afghanistan has met government officials in Kabul with a plan for peace talks. Hezb-e-Islami is one of three insurgent groups in Afghanistan – and is separate to the Taliban.

George Cross for Army bomb heroes

Two Army bomb disposal experts have been awarded the George Cross for their heroics in Afghanistan. A posthumous honour goes to Staff Sergeant Olaf Schmid, 30, who made safe 64 devices before his death in October while defusing a bomb near Sangin

Afghan attack ‘was warning to US’

Saturday’s bomb attacks in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar were a warning to US and Nato forces, the Taliban say. A Taliban spokesman said the attacks were in response to a planned major offensive by international forces against militants in the region

Lethal cocktail

Sangin in Afghanistan is the most dangerous place in the world for UK troops, with six UK servicemen being killed there since the beginning of this month. Newsnight’s Mark Urban travelled to Sangin to report on what is happening on the ground and why it is proving so lethal for UK troops

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