The United Nations Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution enabling international peacekeepers to operate beyond the Afghan capital Kabul. The measure, which passed 15-0 with no abstentions, allows the Nato-led force to deploy in a number of provincial towns. It wants to start by sending German troops to the northern city of Kunduz. The vote has been warmly welcomed by the Afghan administration. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has long demanded that the force’s mandate be expanded, in an effort to reassert his control beyond Kabul. Full Story