Tolo News: The US negotiators and the Taliban members have reached to some kind of agreements on the modality of foreign forces withdrawal from Afghanistan and the guarantee that Afghanistan’s territory is not used as a threat against other countries, Taliban sources familiar with the talks said. But, the Presidential Palace said the final agreement on any
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty March 4, 2019 The government of Afghanistan has contributed $1 million to the main United Nations agency that supports Palestinian refugees. In a ceremony in Istanbul on March 3, Abdul Rahim Sayed Jan, Afghanistan’s ambassador to Turkey, handed the donation to Pierre Kraehenbuehl, commissioner of the UN Relief and Works Agency
Tolo News: President Ashraf Ghani in four decrees released on Sunday announced the list of new members of the Independent Election Commission and the Independent Electoral Complaints Commission as well as the heads of the secretariats of the two electoral bodies. The commissioners were selected from amongst 81 candidates for whom 17 presidential candidates voted at
1TV: The Integrity Watch, an anti-corruption watchdog, admitted that foreign official trips are needed, but claimed that many of the trips are arranged based on personal preference. According to the watchdog, high-level officials book expensive hotels and air tickets. Click here to read more (external link).
1TV: Cheryl Bernard (wife of Zalmay Khalilzad) said Afghan women need to recognize that the Taliban is not their only or worst problem. Deep-seated cultural values and traditions, such as the so-called Pashtun “honor code,” are far more devastating to women’s lives, and most of these are clearly un-Islamic or even anti-Islamic, she said. Cheryl
By RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan March 3, 2019 KABUL – A planned meeting of hundreds of Afghan politicians and tribal, ethnic, and religious leaders aimed at discussing negotiations with the Taliban has been postponed, officials say. The gathering, known as a consultative Loya Jirga, was initially set to be held in Kabul from March 17-20.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty March 3, 2019 At least 20 people have been killed, including several children, as flash floods struck Afghanistan’s Kandahar Province, UN relief officials say. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on March 2 that floods washed away homes and vehicles after heavy rains hit Kandahar city
Michael Hughes: In some of the most advanced countries in the world citizens are continuing to fight – with just cause – for rights such as freedom of speech, freedom from discrimination and freedom from all sorts of state oppression. Yet in certain countries there are virtually no de facto rights. In fact, one could argue that many