The British government is to co-host an international summit in London at the end of the month to agree a five-year plan to speed up the reconstruction of Afghanistan and confront an upsurge in violence. The conference is to be chaired jointly by Tony Blair, Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, and Kofi Annan, the United Nations secretary-general. Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, is also scheduled to attend. In the face of criticism that Afghanistan has been forgotten by the international community, Mr Annan told the Guardian: “After all they have achieved in recent years, the Afghan people deserve to be reassured that [Afghanistan’s] special relationship with the international community will remain strong. Full Story