Khaama: According to Zamir Kabulov, director of the Second Asian Department of the Russian Foreign Minister, Russia has no intentions to close its diplomatic mission in Kabul, TASS reported. “Such thoughts have not even occurred,” Kabulov said when asked whether Russia had such plans. The Al-Arabiya TV channel stated that several Arab and Western governments
Khaama: Italian TG1 News Network has revealed an investigative report showing that Qatar had paid Ashraf Ghani more than $110 million to avoid resisting the Taliban fighters. This network has published the document of receipt of this money by Ajmal Ahmadi, the special representative of Ashraf Ghani and the former head of the Central Bank
Atlantic Council: Although no government worldwide has yet to formalize diplomatic relations with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Gulf Arab governments are, to various extents, cautiously moving down a path toward soft normalization or partial recognition of the Taliban regime. Click here to read more (external link).
8am: The Taliban Ministry of Information and Culture has said that it has signed contracts worth $42 million with foreign tourists that allow them to hunt rare birds. Bakhtar news agency, the official Taliban-owned news website, reported on Tuesday (December 13th) that the million-dollar contracts with foreign tourists, especially Arabs, facilitate the legal hunting of
Tolo News: Former president Hamid Karzai left Kabul for the United Arab Emirates on Saturday where he will stay for three days before traveling to Germany, his close aide Shahzada Massoud said. This is Karzai’s first trip abroad after the establishment of the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan. Click here to read more (external link). Related
8am: Taliban allows Qatari nationals to hunt Afghanistan’s endangered birds. Sources confirmed to Hasht-e Subh that on Thursday (December 1st), Arab sheikhs, using Taliban helicopters, visited Nimruz province and are hunting rare birds. It is reported that these Arab sheikhs are residents of Qatar and until last week they were busy hunting birds in the
Cricinfo: Afghanistan will play their home games in the UAE over the next five years. An agreement was signed between the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) and the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB), firming up the deal. As part of the agreement, Afghanistan will play UAE in a three-match T20I series in each of the five years.
Khaama: The Telegraph’s report stated that senior IEA [Taliban] officials used lucrative salaries that came from the peace talks to purchase and then subcontract heavy equipment for tournament infrastructure over the past 10 years, citing a source from IEA’s Doha office. Two different senior Taliban sources detailed the lavish living expenses paid to officials during
Middle East Eye: Earlier this week, Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted out a picture of him meeting with Hamas leaders in Istanbul. In the tweet, Mujahid said that he discussed issues of Afghanistan and Palestine, including the status of Al-Aqsa Mosque, with a delegation that included Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s political chief. “The Taliban is
AFP: A United Arab Emirates firm signed a contract with Afghanistan on Thursday to manage air traffic across the country as the Taliban authorities seek to expand international flights. While some flights are operating out of Kabul airport, significant extra support is needed for major foreign airlines to resume full service. Click here to read