The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Kabul, Afghanistan - World Cup soccer returned to Afghanistan on Sunday in a match at the stadium once used by the Taliban regime for public executions. The team lost - a respectable 2-0 defeat to neighbouring Turkmenistan - but that was a side issue. Some 2,500 Afghan fans cheered for their team every time the ball made it over midfield, and there was no violence. "I am so very proud, for myself and for my nation," said Ali Ahmad, a 19-year-old midfielder on the national team. "Some day, God will help us reach the World Cup final." The last internationally sanctioned match played on Afghan soil was before the 1979 Soviet invasion plunged the country into nearly a quarter-century of war. Islamabad, Pakistan - The prime minister announced a ceasefire Sunday by Pakistani forces on the Line of Control that divides the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, where India and Pakistan routinely exchange fire and almost fought a war last year. Milan, Italy - Tens of thousands of Milanese and tourists in the city were evacuated from their homes and hotels Sunday and hundreds of train runs were rerouted from the central station so explosives experts could detonate a 500-kilogram (half-ton) World War II bomb found during construction work. The operation was described as the city's largest evacuation in the six decades since the war.11/24/2003
