The Wire: (Book Review) – Timothy Nunan’s Humanitarian Invasion: Global Development in Cold War Afghanistan is an insightful and lucid account of contemporary Afghanistan. This is a magisterial undertaking that belongs to a new genre – a book on development, steeped in history, and embellished with insights on contemporary regional and global politics. It is easy to
VOA News May 15, 2017 On May 15, 1988, the Soviet Union began withdrawing from Afghanistan after eight years of military intervention that cost an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 Soviet soldiers their lives and killed or displaced millions of Afghans. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev described the Afghan intervention, which began in late 1979, as a
RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan May 5, 2017 KABUL — Hundreds of Afghans have staged a protest against Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, hours after the notorious militant leader held a large rally in Kabul to mark his return to the country under a peace deal with the government. The rally at a stadium and the protest outside Hekmatyar’s
ESPNCricinfo: It looks as if Afghanistan may soon be playing Test cricket. But apparently there is already a Test cricketer who was born there. Afghanistan’s only Test cricketer so far is Salim Durani, who was born in Kabul in 1934. Durani played 29 Tests for India from his debut on New Year’s Day 1960 to 1972-73.
IWPR: The ruins of Kabul’s once grand Darulaman Palace, devastated by decades of war, have long been an iconic sight in the capital. An ambitious Afghan-led 16 million US dollar reconstruction project agreed in May 2016 aims to both restore the palace built by King Amanullah Khan in the 1920s and turn it into a symbol
AFP: It has withstood time, the elements, looters and war,but after at least 15 centuries buried underground, a spectacular Buddha restored and removed from one of Afghanistan’s most dangerous regions is to make its public debut in the country’s national museum. The statue, which depicts the sage in a purple shroud offering his hands to the
Fair Observer: Afghanistan’s Khorasan region is often associated with war and social conservatism, yet it has a rich history of religious tolerance and a passion for art. Whether known to be the graveyard of empires or the land of lions, Afghanistan has always been perceived as the motherland of fearless, rural fighters. Yet the view of
The Art Newspaper: A cultural centre at the Unesco World Heritage site in Afghanistan where the Taliban destroyed the Bamiyan Buddhas is due to open to the public in summer 2018. Construction began in September on the 2,450 sq. m building by the Argentinian firm M2R Arquitectos, which beat more than 1,000 other entrants in an
Khaama Press: The first phase of the restoration work of the historic Dar-ul-Aman Palace has been completed as President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani said he is hopeful that the restoration work completes as soon as possible. Hailing the speedy work being done for the restoration of the Palace, President Ghani said he is hopeful that the Palace
Sky News: Experts are meeting to discuss whether two ancient statues of Buddha destroyed in Afghanistan in 2001 by the Taliban should be restored. The monumental antiquities were carved into the cliffs of the Bamiyan Valley in central Afghanistan and had stood watch over the population for centuries. Now, archaeologists and restorers are considering whether the imposing