U.S. Secretary of Defense pays unannounced visit to Afghanistan

Robert Gates, U.S. Secretary of Defense, arrived in Afghanistan this morning unannounced to "get an update on the campaign, not only in Marjah but the next steps as we look to spring, summer and fall", he told reporters.

A NATO-led coalition are fighting back a Taliban offensive in the Southern Helmand province, around the town of Marjah. The Taliban have a shadow government set up in the Marjah region and it is an area known to be "the heroin breadbasket of Afghanistan", according to CNN.

The U.S. is hoping to convince locals to grow useful crops such as wheat, instead of poppies which are the main ingredient in the Taliban's drug trade.

Gates is scheduled to meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan. Iranian President Ahmedinejad was supposed to arrive on Monday as well, but postponed his trip to mid-March.

"Iran is playing a double game in Afghanistan," Gates told reporters on the flight to Afghanistan.  He said that Iran wants to stay on good terms with Afghanistan, and also do anything to "hurt the U.S.... for it to be not successful." (CNN).

International Women's Day at the White House

President Obama and the First Lady, Michelle Obama, hosted a short ceremony Monday at the White House in honor of Women's Day.

The president gave a speech at the event, commending the accomplishments and challenges facing women, and promising to continue his efforts to empower women in the United States and around the world. (New York Times). 

Guests at the ceremony included actress Kerry Washington and American Idol singer Katherine McPhee. President Obama made sure to commend Senator Clinton on her efforts and ability to put “millions of cracks in America’s glass ceiling.” (New York Times).

Alice in Wonderland Breaks All Box Office Records

Premiering Friday in roughly 7,400 screens at 4,000 locations, Tim Burton's 'Alice in Wonderland' reeled in an estimated $116.3 million in only three days. (CNN).

The Disney movie soared past the $77 million that Avatar made in its opening last Dec., making it the biggest March opening and setting a new record for the debut of a 3-D movie. Even the industry expected lower, according to BoxOfficeGuru.com, they expected it to make around $70 million in its first weekend. (CNN).

'Alice in Wonderland' is the sixth biggest opening weekend in box office history and earned the highest grossing for a movie that was not released in the peak seasons of May, July and Nov..