1. Korean Christians deported, banned from Afghanistan
Thousands of South Korean Christians reportedly traveled to Kabul for a "peace festival and educational and entertainment programs,"  sponsored by a group called Asian Culture and Development. (Other reports say that only 927 Koreans made it into the country.) Hundreds more were en route when Afghanistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade announced that the festival was cancelled and that all Korean Christians would be deported. Ministry officials apparently told the group that it was over "security concerns," but Interior Ministry spokesman Yousef Stanezai has a different story: "The program was against the Islamic culture and customs of Afghans."

"Rumors that Korean prostitutes had entered the country and that the Christian groups were carrying 'giant crosses' marching through downtown did little to defuse the situation," Chosun Ilbo reports dryly.

About 300 Koreans were in India and were forbidden from boarding planes to Kabul. Their group leader says they'll sue the Foreign Ministry in Korea "for damages caused by Seoul's campaign to exaggerate the danger of holding such an event in Afghanistan," the Korea Times reports. "They also plan to file a protest with the Afghan embassy in Seoul for issuing visas that were useless due to the prohibition of entry into Kabul airport."

Interested? Be sure to read our March cover story on the eagerness of South Korean missionaries. It explains a lot about the Afghanistan controversy.

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