LA Times: In previous years, the Afghan central bank — known as Da Afghanistan Bank, or DAB — would withdraw annually 3 billion to 4 billion afghanis’ worth (about $33 million to $45 million) of decrepit banknotes and substitute them with new ones printed abroad. (Afghanistan does not have its own mint.) But the international
Economic Times: United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week that Washington would be providing Afghanistan with $327 million in much-needed aid. The aid comes as the country’s humanitarian crisis has continued for more than one year since the Taliban took over. Blinken issued a statement Friday last week announcing the additional $327
8am: At least 8,582 people who were begging in Kabul city have been rounded up by the Taliban in more than a month. The committee for collecting beggars, headed by Mullah Baradar, the economic deputy of the Taliban’s Prime Minister, published these statistics on Monday (September 26th). These statistics, recorded since the beginning of collecting
Bloomberg: Experts who follow the country say that after two decades of warfare, the Taliban haven’t managed to transition from insurgents to rulers. The government is run largely based on orders from spiritual leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, who rules from the Taliban birthplace in the Kandahar region bordering Pakistan. All of that is also giving China
AP: The number of children put to work in Afghanistan is growing, fueled by the collapse of the economy after the Taliban took over the country and the world cut off financial aid just over a year ago. Click here to read more (external link). Related Photos: Backbreaking work for kids in Afghan brick kilns
Michael Hughes: The Taliban’s draconian gender-based restrictions are harmful to Afghan women and threaten to undermine the country’s entire health system, two new reports by medical experts revealed this week. The reports come as several governments and NGOs across the world ratchet up pressure on the Taliban to roll back restrictions imposed on women and
By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi September 24, 2022 Maryam Hotak loves eating out and Kabul, the Afghan capital where she lives, has an ample number of eateries offering succulent kebabs, greasy beef pilaf, and delicious “manto” dumplings. The city of 5 million’s fast-food joints and upscale restaurants offer foreign and Afghan cuisine. Unfortunately, many of these eateries
8am: Local sources in Ghazni report that on Friday, September 23, the Taliban started destroying poppy fields in the Gilan district of this province, while they had already collected the crops two weeks ago. According to sources, the local Taliban are involved in the planting, production, and trafficking of narcotics, and have dramatically destroyed harvested
Xinhua: What Afghans say about U.S. aid to their country: -“America’s 20-year presence in Afghanistan had no results. All of them were here for their own interests.” -“U.S. gave the aid because of the expansion of its hegemony, presence and survival in Afghanistan. When U.S. left Afghanistan, it took everything away.” -“The U.S. presence in
Modern Diplomacy: After the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, the Afghan state and the public rapidly declined. The country’s territories have become the source of international terrorism and many global problems. In addition to the economic decline, there has been a rise in drug production in Afghanistan. Drugs are one of the Taliban’s main income