Taliban

France recently hosted discussions between Afghan and Taliban officials. The meetings again raised the possibility of negotiations to end the fighting in Afghanistan, though many analysts remain deeply skeptical.

Three months after being shot in the head because she had been speaking out against efforts to bar girls from going to school, the Pakistani girl is well enough to leave the U.K. hospital where she's been treated. She still faces more surgery, however.

Gunmen staged new attacks Wednesday on health workers carrying out a nationwide polio vaccination program. On Tuesday, six workers were killed as they went house to house.

The Taliban attack on young Malala Yousafzai had a profound effect on her hometown, Mingora, in Pakistan's picturesque Swat Valley. For the other girls with Malala that day, the scars are both emotional and physical.

Many Afghans are wondering about the timing and motive of Pakistan's release last week of at least nine Taliban prisoners. They say mistrust born of decades of duplicity won't vanish with a few declarations or small gestures.

The four suspects were interested in training in Taliban camps in Afghanistan; three of the suspects were arrested in California, a fourth is being held in Afghanistan.

Just three and half weeks ago, Pakistani teenager Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head by the Taliban. Weekend Edition host Scott Simon talks with NPR's Philip Reeves about the condition of the young girl who has become a poster child for the Talban's brutality.

Malala was flown out of the country in an air ambulance provided by the United Arab Emirates. Pakistan said the girl will need long-term care and a center in the U.K. is better positioned to provide it.

After being airlifted to a military hospital, Malala was listed in "satisfactory" condition.

The next 24 hours are critical for the 15-year-old, who fought for the education of girls.