Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty May 26, 2018 At least 2 million people are at risk of severe food insecurity because of a devastating drought in Afghanistan, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says. The hardest-hit are northern and western Afghanistan, where wheat planting has been either delayed or downsized in some 20
Forbes: Afghanistan’s economy is small and it is only the 145th largest exporter in the world. However, Iran plays a central role as the largest source of Afghan imports and the third largest destination for its exports, according to the World Bank. The importance of trade via Iran has been rising and was set to be
Ayaz Gul VOA News May 22, 2018 ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — A new report Tuesday said Islamic State, the Taliban and corrupt power brokers in Afghanistan are making hundreds of thousands of dollars from illegal and abusive mining of talc, almost 80 percent of which is ending up in the United States and Europe. Earnings from illegal
RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan May 21, 2018 The Taliban has warned Kabul residents to stay away from “military centers” as they vowed more attacks in the Afghan capital. In a statement published online on May 21, the militants said the coming attacks on “the enemy’s military and intelligence centers” were part of an annual spring
Tolo News: Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) said the trade volume between Afghanistan and Iran is increasing, but US sanctions on Tehran will affect trade relations between the two neighboring countries. Iran is the biggest trade partner of Afghanistan, CEO of ACCI Atiqullah Nusrat said, adding that Afghan traders are interested in increasing
Ayaz Gul VOA News May 19, 2018 ISLAMABAD — The Taliban has dismissed concerns its recent battlefield gains in western Afghanistan threaten security of a multibillion-dollar gas pipeline being laid through the area to link Central and South Asia. The project, known as TAPI, is planned to move natural gas from the world’s fourth-largest reserves in
The Globalist: U.S. government investigators have found far-reaching mismanagement by the World Bank in its capacity as the administrator of the largest multi-country official fund to assist the Afghan government with its social expenditures and to reconstruct the country. A report to the U.S. Congress, issued by the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction (SIGAR), found that
Ayaz Gul VOA News May 15, 2018 ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — China has proposed hosting a new round of three-way talks with Pakistan and Afghanistan this month to continue with its diplomatic push in helping the two neighboring countries improve their strained bilateral ties. Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing told an unofficial conference of government representatives
Modern Diplomacy: Naghlu Hydropower Plant (NHPP), Afghanistan’s largest hydropower plant, has restarted operations of one of its four turbines after being nonfunctional since 2012, providing electricity for thousands in the three provinces of Kabul, Kapisa, and Nangarhar. The rehabilitation of the NHPP is considered a great achievement in the development of Afghanistan’s hydropower infrastructure. Click
Associated Press: The Afghanistan Living Conditions Survey (ALCS), a joint study by the European Union and Afghanistan’s Central Statistics Organization, showed the national poverty rate rising to 55 percent in 2016-17 from 38 percent in 2011-12. Click here to read more (external link). Related Ghani Declares Afghanistan’s Poverty Rate ‘Shameful’