- Afghanistan - The World Factbook (cia.gov)
Ahmad Shah DURRANI unified the Pashtun tribes and founded Afghanistan in 1747. The country served as a buffer between the British and Russian Empires until it won independence from notional British control in 1919. A brief experiment in increased democracy ended in a 1973 coup and a 1978 communist countercoup. The Soviet Union invaded in 1979 to support the tottering Afghan communist regime, touching off a long and destructive war. Internationally supported anti-communist mujahidin rebels forced the USSR to withdraw in 1989. A series of subsequent civil wars saw Kabul finally fall in 1996 to the Taliban, a hardline Pakistani-sponsored movement. Following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, a US and Allied military action toppled the Taliban for sheltering Usama BIN LADIN.
- Keid (stars.astro.illinois.edu)
KEID (Omicron-2 Eridani, or 40 Eridani). An unassuming star, Keid (Omicron-2) of Eridanus (and more commonly known by its Flamsteed number, 40 Eridani) seems to play second fiddle to its somewhat brighter neighbor Beid, Keid the Arabic “egg shells” of Beid, “the eggs.”