Patsy Widakuswara VOA News October 16, 2021 WHITE HOUSE — U.S. officials and independent analysts reacted skeptically Friday to a Taliban claim that China is ready to invest billions of dollars in Afghanistan. White House press secretary Jen Psaki indicated the United States is more concerned with helping the Afghan people as the nation’s economy collapses
8am: Officials in Mazar-e-Sharif say that 85% of manufacturing plants in the province are closed due to restrictions on monetary services and banks. They call on the Taliban to take action immediately to address their challenges while supporting domestic production. Click here to read more (external link). More Economic News Drought Has Affected Almond Harvesting
Ayaz Gul VOA News October 14, 2021 ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — Turkey hosted leaders of Afghanistan’s Taliban government for the first time Thursday, repeating its advice to the Islamist group on the need to form an inclusive government in the war-torn South Asian nation and to ensure Afghan female participation in education as well as public life.
Ayesha Tanzeem VOA News October 14, 2021 KABUL, AFGHANISTAN — China wants to invest billions of dollars in Afghanistan if the Taliban guarantee security for their workers and their assets. This, according to the Taliban’s acting Deputy Minister of Information and Culture Zabihullah Mujahid, who also said his government is ready to deliver. In a television
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty October 13, 2021 Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have warned U.S. and European envoys that continuing to use sanctions as a means to put pressure on the militant group would trigger a new wave of economic refugees. The acting foreign minister of the Taliban government, Amir Khan Muttaqi, told Western diplomats at talks
VOA News October 12, 2021 ROME — Leaders of the grouping of the world’s 20 largest economies are holding a virtual extraordinary meeting Tuesday on Afghanistan, less than two months after the Taliban took over the country. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who holds the rotating presidency of the G-20, had pressed for the meeting
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty October 11, 2021 The United States and Britain have warned their citizens to stay away from hotels in Kabul, specifically citing the Serena Hotel, a popular venue for foreign guests in the Afghan capital. “U.S. citizens who are at or near the Serena Hotel should leave immediately,” the U.S. State Department
Many media outlets across Afghanistan have shut down in the wake of the Taliban takeover, with some journalists leaving the profession or the country out of fear of reprisals. Gul Ahmad Almas is one former freelance journalist whose life has been upended by the new regime. With no income from reporting, he is dependent
The Guardian (UK): The United States has agreed to provide humanitarian aid to a desperately poor Afghanistan on the brink of an economic disaster, but refused to give political recognition to the country’s new rulers, the Taliban said on Sunday. Click here to read more (external link).