Tolo News: In its Global Economic Prospects for 2020 report, the World Bank has predicted a 5.5 percent decline in the Afghan economic growth rate. “The problems originating from the spread of the coronavirus have created major challenges and their impacts will be felt even in the next few years,” said Suhrab Bahman, a spokesman for the Ministry of Economy. Click here to read more (external link).
Other Economic News
Tolo News: The Ministry of Public Health on Tuesday reported 542 new positive cases of COVID-19 out of 1,225 samples tested in the last 24 hours. Kabul was at the top of the list with 213 new cases, followed by Herat with 142. The total number of known deaths from COVID-19 in the country is 384 and the total number of recoveries is 2,651, according to the ministry. Click here to read more (external link).
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Tolo News: The Ministry of Public Health on Monday reported 575 new positive cases of COVID-19 from 978 samples tested in the last 24 hours. Kabul was on the top of the list with 193 new cases, followed by Herat with 151. The total number of known deaths from COVID-19 in the country is 369 and the total recovered cases is 2,171, according to the ministry. Click here to read more (external link).
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Tolo News: Residents of Kunar province in the east of the country say Pakistani forces have advanced towards the Afghan part of the Durand Line –which serves as a de facto border between the two countries–and in some districts have put up installations. Most of these encroachments have occurred in the Khas Kunar and Sarkano districts of Kunar, which are located along the Durand Line. Almost 100 kilometers of the line is in Kunar. Click here to read more (external link).
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
June 8, 2020
The U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, has held a new round of talks in Qatar with the Taliban’s political chief.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a spokesman for the militants, said on Twitter late on June 7 that Khalilzad and Baradar discussed the release of prisoners and the start of intra-Afghan talks.
In February, the United States and the Taliban signed an agreement aimed at ending the 18-year war — the longest military conflict in U.S. history. The deal lays out a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in return for security commitments from the Taliban.
It also stipulates that Kabul must free 5,000 Taliban prisoners, while the militants are to release 1,000 captives — a move expected to lead to intra-Afghan negotiations.
Separately, Khalilzad met with Pakistani Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on June 7, the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad and the Pakistani military said.
Both sides discussed “steps required for the start of intra-Afghan negotiations,” the embassy said in a statement on June 8.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have had strained ties for years. Kabul has long accused Islamabad of providing safe haven to Taliban militants who launch attacks against international and Afghan forces.
Pakistan last week appointed a new special envoy to Afghanistan in a fresh bid to improve bilateral relations.
Muhammad Sadiq Khan previously served as Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan from 2008 to 2014.
Khan, a former spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, would play “an effective role in strengthening ties” between the two neighbors, according to a statement by Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry.
With reporting by AFP and AP
Tolo News: The Ministry of Public Health on Sunday reported 791 new positive cases of COVID-19 from 1,427 samples tested in the last 24 hours. The total number of known deaths from COVID-19 in the country is 357 and the total recovered cases are 1,875, according to the ministry. Click here to read more (external link).
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Tolo News: Public outcry in Afghanistan is growing over an incident in Iran in which three Afghan nationals were burned to death after their vehicle crashed into a guardrail in Yazd province after being reportedly shot at by Iranian police. Afghan activists started a hashtag “bring me some water I am dying,” and called on Afghan and Iranian officials to address the issue. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News: Afghanistan’s national cricket team has begun a training camp in Kabul on Sunday to prepare for the Asia Cup and World Cup, Afghanistan’s Cricket Board (ACB) said on Sunday. The training camp will run for a month, said ACB. Click here to read more (external link).