ITALY yesterday granted asylum to an Afghan man who faced the death penalty and threats for converting from Islam to Christianity.

Peacekeepers in Afghanistan are carrying out security checks on a house being refurbished for exiled King Mohammed Zaher Shah when he returns to Kabul this month.

Facing a power vacuum in Afghanistan with the Taliban on the run, the United Nations urged Afghan groups to meet ‘‘as early as humanly possible’’ about forming a transitional government backed by an international force.

Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said today his country was willing to host a meeting by Afghan opposition groups to discuss a new government once the Taliban is defeated.