Kiwi soldiers have been caught on camera posing beside a 2000-pound bomb, with the message, "Dear Taleban, enjoy this" on it.

A man was beaten and his nose and ears were slashed off for voting in defiance of the Taliban in Afghanistan's recent elections.

Millions of Afghan women will be denied their chance to vote in presidential elections this week because there are not enough female officials to staff the women-only polling stations, The Independent is reporting.

New Zealand's decision yesterday to send the SAS back to Afghanistan came as the top US general there warned that the Taleban are gaining the upper hand.