VOA News/April 8, 2018: From a refugee camp in Pakistan to an exhibit at the Smithsonian, Saeeda Etebari has had a remarkable journey, even more extraordinary because she is deaf in a region where there is less opportunity for people with disabilities and also a woman in a field dominated by men. Munaza Shaheed profiles
PTI: The controversial China-Pakistan Economic Corridor – the flagship project of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – is being extended to Afghanistan, a study report said today… “China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project under the Belt and Road Initiative, has not only improved local infrastructure but also is extending toward Afghanistan, reducing poverty, the
Al Jazeera / April 7, 2018: Beekeeping is being used as a way of helping Afghanistan’s economy and to counter the opium trade. But it also gives women the chance to earn money, in a country where many rarely work outside their homes. And one female student is now running her own successful honey business.
Nieman: Business DNA, a new English-language financial magazine launched by a Kabul-based consulting firm Pearl Horizon, is setting its sights on potential readers with a business interest in stories about growing industries in Afghanistan, hoping a fresh lens will encourage entrepreneurship within the country and investment in new businesses. Click here to read more (external link).
Jeff Seldin VOA News March 28, 2018 PENTAGON — Efforts to bolster Afghanistan’s armed forces, along with an increased use of American air power, seem to be doing little to change the country’s reputation as a magnet for foreign fighters and jihadists. Afghan officials have been warning for months about the flow of 3,000 foreign fighters,
AFP: Old Afghan men looking to soothe their aching joints or enrich their rice dishes stand around a tiny shop where they are lulled by a camel’s steady steps as sesame oil flows into a plastic bucket. The traditional industry in northern Afghanistan is the domain of ethnic Turkmen, though its origins seem unclear. The sesame
FPRI: While utilizing Chabahar does fuse common regional and economic interests by allowing an alternate trade route into Afghanistan—and thereby reducing Afghanistan’s dependence on Pakistani ports—relying too heavily on Chabahar raises serious security and economic concerns in Kabul because using Chabahar is bound to further fray Afghanistan’s already tenuous relationship with Pakistan. Click here to read
Tolo News: Afghanistan Central Bank (ACB) said Sunday that due to economic and financial problems in Pakistan, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that Pakistani Rupees will lose value against the USD. Click here to read more (external link). Related Pakistani Rupee Loses Value Against USD
Press TV March 24, 2018 Afghanistan says Iran has asked to extract iron ore from a mine in Herat but the two neighbors have yet to reach an agreement on where to process it. Iran wants to transfer the extracted materials to an ore processing plant on its soil across the border but Afghanistan is
Tolo News: Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) says Iran was Afghanistan’s biggest trade partner in the last solar year – March 2017 to 21 March 2018 – and exported goods to the value of over $1.98 billion USD. The ACCI said trade volume between Afghanistan and Pakistan was $1.2 billion USD in the same