8am: On the second day of his visit to Afghanistan, the Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) highlighted the consequences of the Taliban ban on female NGO staff in Afghanistan. In a thread on Twitter on Monday, January 9, the NRC Secretary General, Jan Egeland, pointed to the devastating consequences of the ban
By Abubakar Siddique RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi January 7, 2023 Zahra has relied on handouts of cooking oil, rice, and flour from local and foreign aid agencies to feed her seven children. The 35-year-old is among the millions of Afghans who have received lifesaving assistance in the face of a worsening humanitarian and economic crisis. But many
Stars and Stripes: A former U.S. military contractor pleaded guilty this week to bribery and visa fraud in his management of millions of dollars worth of U.S.-funded reconstruction contracts in Afghanistan. Orlando Clark, 57, of Smyrna, Ga., was accused of conspiring with an analyst at another American company in 2011 and 2012 to receive approximately
Khaama: The area of this contract is estimated 4500 square kilometers, scattered in the country’s three northern provinces including Saripul, Jawzjan and Faryab. In the contract, it is stated that Afghanistan’s share is 20 percent at present, and it will reach up to 75 percent in the future. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News: The Joint Chamber of Afghanistan-Pakistan Commerce on Monday said that Islamabad has imposed new restrictions on the transit of Afghan commodities, creating hurdles in the way of traders to transfer their products via Karachi port. “The problem is in invoice. The Pakistani government has increased the invoice of commodities such as tires, electric
NPR: Even in wealthy, developed nations with advanced technologies, heavy machinery and readily available protective equipment, mining can be a dangerous and sometimes deadly job. In Afghanistan, where much of the coal is mined by hand, every descent into the bowels of this mountain is a gamble. Click here to read more (external link).
Michael Hughes: The Taliban have much to gain – both economically and militarily – by enabling the Kuchis, Pashtun nomads, to seize land and build homes within sedentary communities in Hazarajat and other areas in the country’s northeast. However, the strategy is also pregnant with risk: for land disputes have historically been known to spark
AFP: Ismail Mashal, a lecturer in journalism for more than a decade at three universities in Kabul, shred his qualifications and resigned from the institutions after the ban was issued this month. “I’m raising my voice. I’m standing with my sisters…. My protest will continue even if it costs my life,” Mashal, 35, told AFP
Roshan Noorzai VOA News December 30, 2022 WASHINGTON — Security concerns continue to dominate China’s policy toward Afghanistan more than a year after the United States and NATO pulled out of the Central Asian country. China has stepped in and engaged with the new Taliban government, promising trade and investment. But Beijing has concerns over the
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty December 24, 2022 In the latest assault on women’s rights, Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers ordered all domestic and international NGOs to prevent female employees from working at their jobs, claiming that many were not observing dress codes in the conservative Muslim nation. “There have been serious complaints regarding the nonobservance of the