Child getting polio drops (file photo)
Khaama: Public Health Ministry announced Monday a polio vaccination campaign has begun across 18 provinces targeting 7.3 million children under age five throughout Afghanistan. Ministry spokesperson Sharaf Zaman Amarkhel stated the campaign is underway in Kabul, Nangarhar, Laghman, Kunar, Nuristan, Paktia, Paktika, Khost, Ghazni, Badghis, Herat, Kunduz, Faryab, Balkh, Zabul, Uruzgan, Helmand, and Kandahar provinces. The “Polio Free Afghanistan” organization also confirmed the vaccination drive is being conducted in cooperation with international health organizations and partners. Click here to read more (external link).
Amu: Afghanistan recorded a 61-run victory over Scotland in a T20 warm-up match on Monday, with bowlers and batters combining for a dominant performance. The match was Afghanistan’s first warm-up fixture, with the team scheduled to face West Indies in their second warm-up on Feb. 4, the Afghanistan Cricket Board said. 
Amu: Cannabis is the most widely used and perceived drug among men in Afghanistan, according to a new assessment by the UN Development Program (UNDP), highlighting persistent substance use challenges despite a nationwide ban imposed by the Taliban in 2023. The assessment, based on interviews with more than 10,000 people across 21 provinces, found that cannabis ranked first for both lifetime use and past-year use among men, followed by opium, heroin and pharmaceutical drugs such as sedatives and painkillers. 
Amu: Afghanistan’s national futsal team advanced to the quarter-finals of the 2026 AFC Futsal Asian Cup despite a 5–2 defeat to Iran in their final Group Four match on Sunday. Afghanistan had earlier qualified for the quarter-finals with victories over Saudi Arabia and Malaysia in the group. 
8am: The inauguration of a major hospital in Kabul could have been a positive development in itself, especially under a regime whose name is synonymous with violence, bloodshed, and a detachment from public service. Yet, by omitting Persian from the hospital’s signage, the Taliban turned what should have been a celebrated moment into a source of controversy. Observers noted that the hospital’s plaques and signs feature only Pashto and English, effectively sidelining Persian, a language that Taliban officials and spokespeople have repeatedly claimed is official and national. This exclusion is neither accidental nor administrative negligence; it is a deliberate, politically motivated decision aimed at reinforcing a policy of anti-Persian sentiment. 
Amu: Afghanistan’s embassy in Japan will suspend all operations, including consular services, from Feb. 1, the mission said on Saturday, adding to growing uncertainty over the country’s diplomatic representation abroad following the Taliban’s return to power. The embassy, located in Tokyo’s Minato district, has been operated by diplomats appointed by Afghanistan’s former government, which was ousted when the Taliban seized Kabul in August 2021. 