Reuters: The winter landscape around the deep, blue mountain lakes of Band-e-Amir in the central Afghan province of Bamiyan presents an arresting spectacle empty of people – but the absence of visitors is costing locals dearly. Click here to read more (external link).
8am: The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid says a delegation of Russian investors met with the second deputy prime minister Abdul Salam Hanafi, saying that they are interested in investing in oil and gas extraction in Afghanistan. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News: The outpouring of money from the US government for the Afghan war provided billions of dollars to military contractors, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported. The reports also showed major instances of embezzlement. According to the report, the Defense Department spent six million dollars on a project which was aimed to import nine
WSJ: Two decades ago, Iran helped the U.S. topple the Taliban regime to remove what it saw as a threat to its national security and fellow Shia Muslims in Afghanistan. Now, four months after the Taliban seized power in Kabul, Iran and Afghanistan are both struggling under crippling U.S. sanctions—a predicament that is pushing them
AP: Arranging marriages for very young girls is common in the region. The groom’s family pays money to seal the deal, and the child usually stays with her parents until she is at least around 15. Yet with many unable to afford even basic food, some say they’d allow prospective grooms to take very young
Ayaz Gul VOA News December 30, 2021 ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has begun dispatching thousands of metric tons of wheat to Afghanistan as relief assistance, saying the humanitarian and economic situation in the neighboring country requires the urgent attention of the international community. Islamabad has pledged about $28 million worth of humanitarian aid to Kabul, including 50,000
By Farangis Najibullah RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service December 28, 2021 Abdul Kabir Wakil Khan traveled from Kazakhstan to the Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif in July to help his family members — all ethnic Kazakhs — relocate to their ancestral homeland. Instead, Wakil Khan became stranded in Afghanistan after the Taliban seized power in the war-torn country
Ariana: “Since the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan took over the government, 1.55 billion Afghanis have been collected in revenue from the 10 percent tax on SIM cards,” said Enayatullah Alkozai, the Ministry spokesman. Meanwhile, mobile users called on the IEA to ensure transparency in the collection process of the 10 percent revenue tax. Click here
Abubakar Siddique Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty December 24, 2021 The Taliban stunned the world with its rapid military takeover of Afghanistan in August, just as the last foreign troops were leaving the war-torn country. But observers say the militant Islamist group faces a battle to hold on to power as it struggles to transform from
AP: The severe drought, now in its second year, has dramatically worsened the already desperate situation in the country. Click here to read more (external link).