Christies.com: On Monday 10 May, a fine Safavid tinned copper bowl (1501–1722), which had been looted from the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul, was presented to the Embassy of Afghanistan in London for return to the country. The bowl, dating to the early 17th century, was lost during the civil war in Afghanistan in the 1990s.
Khaama Press: An Afghan film actress Marina Golbahari has been forced to seek asylum in France after receiving death threats from the hardliners in Afghanistan for her role as an actress. The death threats against Golbahari reportedly intensified after appearing in a film festival in South Korea where she was pictured with head uncovered, drawing the attention
The Guardian (UK): Afghanistan usually celebrates its national heroes with pomp and fanfare. But Najibullah Popal is not remembered with the celebratory gunfire that welcomes home a victorious cricket team, or the presidential speeches bestowed on assassinated rebel leaders. His feat – preserving some of the country’s most valuable heritage from the ravages of war – was
Qantara.de: Few musical cultures have been as affected by political upheavals and violence as that of Afghanistan. This is reflected in the title of the book ″War, Exile and the Music of Afghanistan: The Ethnographer′s Tale″ by John Baily, Emeritus Professor of Ethnomusicology at Goldsmiths, University of London Over the past four decades Baily has been deeply
Reuters: Now living in an orphanage in the Afghan capital of Kabul, Negin Khpalwak leads the Zohra orchestra, an ensemble of 35 women at the Afghanistan National Institute for Music that plays both Western and Afghan musical instruments. When she went home on a recent visit, her uncles and brothers threatened to beat her for a performing
BBC News: A group of Afghan activists and artists are attempting to reclaim Kabul after years of war – by arming themselves with paintbrushes. Because of the poor security situation, many defensive walls have sprung up around high-profile buildings in the city, and these provide the ArtLords with their canvases. Click here for more (external link).
Xinhua: Afghan security forces have seized 24 pieces of antiques from smugglers and handed over to the Department of Information and Culture in Herat on Thursday. Click here to read more (external link).
Smithsonian: Laura Bush may have been a quiet First Lady—her clothes didn’t make headlines, her political positions didn’t make news—but she is no wallflower. She recently toured a new Smithsonian exhibition focusing on the traditional arts of Afghanistan, and at the end of her visit stated her strongly held conviction that whoever becomes the next
Scroll.in: The region known in ancient times as Khorasan bequeathed a rich and diverse cultural heritage to human civilisation. Like all long-lived cultures, Khorasan’s geography expanded and constricted like a huge lung breathing art, beauty and elevated thought, spread across much of what today we call Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan. So huge was its
Tolo News: Kurdish and Afghan refugees stranded at Idomeni, on the closed border between Greece and Macedonia, still celebrated the Nawroz festival on Sunday. Nawroz, is an ancient festival celebrated around the first day of spring and officially ushers in Afghanistan’s first day of the new solar year – or Persian calendar. “In this day, we want peace