Habibi
Khaama: The FBI in Washington has released a missing-person poster for Mahmood Shah Habibi, an Afghan–American citizen and former head of Afghanistan’s Civil Aviation Authority. In a statement issued Sunday, August 10, the FBI announced a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the location and safe return of Habibi. The agency urged the public to report any details regarding his disappearance or current whereabouts, emphasizing that tips can be provided anonymously. Click here to read more (external link).
Ariana: Abu Muslim Farah FC, the reigning Afghan league champions, are set to embark on a landmark journey in Asian football as they take on Bhutan’s Paro FC at the iconic Changlimithang Stadium on Tuesday, August 12. This match marks not only their debut in the AFC Challenge League (ACGL) Preliminary Stage but also presents the historic opportunity for Abu Muslim Farah FC to become the first Afghan club to advance to the Group Stage of an AFC competition. 
Afghanistan International: Following the Taliban’s official ban on opium cultivation and trafficking, some Taliban officials and drug smugglers have turned to producing methamphetamine, locally known as shisha, derived from the ephedra plant, known in Afghanistan simply as ephedra. An investigation by Afghanistan International indicates that certain Taliban figures are directly involved in the ephedra trade. Local sources say this drug trade has flourished under Taliban rule. 
Amu: The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan says in a quarterly report that it has documented three explosions in Afghanistan, all of which happened in the northern province of Balkh, in which one civilian was killed and 17 others were wounded. UNAMA says that two of the blasts were claimed by the Afghanistan Freedom Front, which wounded a total of seven civilians. 
Amu: Taliban security forces killed at least 10 people and wounded more than 40 others during crackdowns on protests against poppy eradication in Afghanistan’s northeastern Badakhshan province in May and June, the U.N. mission in Afghanistan said in its latest quarterly report. 
Afghanistan International: The UN report confirmed that in June, the Taliban arrested at least 165 Uzbek residents of Faryab province following clashes between local Pashtun and Uzbek communities. The violence began when “a group of Pashtun youths threw firecrackers at a gathering of Uzbek girls”, prompting a confrontation between Pashtun youths and a group of Uzbek men at the scene. 
Khaama: Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said at a press conference that the process of upgrading relations has been completed, and the Taliban representative in Islamabad now enjoys ambassador-level protocol. He added that presenting credentials from the Taliban’s ambassador to Pakistan’s president is not necessary.