Geography Area: 647,500 sq. km. (249,935 sq. mi.); slightly smaller than Texas. Cities: Capital-- Kabul (1,780,000; 1999/2000 UN est.). Other cities (1988 UN est.; current figures are probably significantly higher)--Kandahar (226,000); Herat (177,000); Mazar-e-Sharif (131,000); Jalalabad (58,000); Konduz (57,000).

The MD-80 that took off from Kansas City International Airport carried about 120 passengers. Some were headed for Mexico, others to Central and South America. Once off the ground, food and beverages would be served. The flight was one of up to 180 flights flown each month by Kansas City's only locally based airline. While most are to Central and South America, others are to such exotic locales ...

BANGKOK—They came to Thailand to visit orphanages in Chiang Mai and to feed children from the slum areas in Cambodia.