Asia Times: Soured diplomatic relations and extensive monitoring along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border has led to a steep fall in trade between the two countries. In the last two years, more than 70% of Afghanistan’s trade has shifted to Iran, China and India. Iran is now Afghanistan’s biggest trade partner, a position held by Pakistan before 2016. Click here
Al Jazeera | October 10, 2018: Afghanistan’s government is trying new ways to help young men who fought with the Taliban. Some of them are as young as 12 and have been sentenced for offences such as attempted suicide bombing or possessing roadside explosive devices. Prison authorities are converting what were once cells into classrooms, using education and games
Tolo News: The International Olympic Committee elected nine new members on Tuesday – one of which is an Afghan woman, Samira Asghari. Asghari, 24, has been a member of the Athletes’ Entourage Commission since 2014 and is the first Afghan to ever be elected to the IOC. Click here to read more (external link). Other Sports
UNAMA: The figures released today by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) show continuing high casualty rates being inflicted on the Afghan civilian population, especially by anti-government elements. Covering the period 1 January to 30 September 2018, the new UN report documents 8,050 civilian casualties (2,798 dead and 5,252 injured), reflecting the same extreme
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty October 10, 2018 Washington’s new envoy tasked with pursuing a peaceful settlement of Afghanistan’s 17-year war is visiting Pakistan to seek help from Islamabad’s new government in bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table, the U.S. Embassy said. Zalmay Khalilzad, a former U.S. ambassador to Kabul, arrived in Pakistan on October
Insider: On October 7, the US entered its 18th year of war in Afghanistan. What started as retaliation for the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City has spiraled as insurgents like the Taliban have regrouped and restrengthened over the years. 2018 is projected to be the deadliest year in
Tolo News: Shafiq Stanikzai, CEO of Afghanistan’s Cricket Board (ACB), has predicted the rise of their national squad in all formats of the sport in the near future, according to a Gulf News report. “We have marked our presence in all formats of the game. We are a force in T20 cricket and in the ODIs already. Now, we need
RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan October 9, 2018 A suspected suicide bomb attack at an election rally in southern Afghanistan has killed at least eight people, officials say, as militants escalate their attacks across the country ahead of general elections scheduled for later this month. Umar Shakti, the provincial governor’s spokesman, told RFE/RL that 11 people