Palladium, 23 February 2023 An extensive reportage from Kabul, with some surprising findings of every-day life: In the bookstores of Kabul, at least, one can still find books by Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama; contraception and tobacco are available, and the Taliban has yet to regulate internet access like other Islamic governments. One can find gyms and restaurants […]
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The National, 18 February 2023 Two Afghan journalists, Sulaiman Hakemy and Ali Latifi, have re-researched a story that made international headlines: the alleged Taleban ban of contraceptives for women. They found there is no such ban and even managed to get an official response from the Taleban: Dr Sharafat Zaman Amar, spokesman for the Taliban-run […]
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USIP, 25 January 2023 Former World Bank Afghanistan specialist Bill Byrd looks at one the current mot important policy matters: how to deal with the Taleban’s rejection to listen to any advice and keep lives-saving humanitarian work afloat in the middle of what he calls “an economic crisis for the entire country, one likely to […]
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United Nations, 30 January 2023 Here the UNOCHA-distributed transcript of remarks by UNOCHA head Martin Griffiths, in which he admits that the UN has been continuing to carry out some humanitarian programmes after the Taleban’s ban for female NGO workers only employing men, which drew criticism from some NGOs and media.
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World Bank, 25 January 2023 Afghanistan’s economy had a “positive” period in the last nine months of 2022, with reduced inflation, strong revenue collection, growing exports but still a trade deficit. The country’s currency remained stable against major currencies. Civil servants’ salaries are reported to be paid on time for both men and women.
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Freedom House, 19 January 2023 Human rights defenders in Afghanistan and those who have fled the country face ongoing threats including arbitrary arrest, kidnapping, torture, imprisonment, and violence against family members. 90 percent of Afghan human rights defenders in Afghanistan have been subjected to such violence or threats under the Taliban’s repressive rule. This is the result of […]
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The Intercept, 20 November 2022 Former BBC journalist Fahim Abed tackles a hot subject (regularly reported on by AAN, too), the role of CIA-led Afghan militias and commando forces, the so-called zero units, now evacuated to the US, regardless of (very plausible) allegations of severe human violations, if not war crimes – “celebrated as heroes […]
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Washington Post, 22 December 2022 An article plus interview looking at former President Karzai holding out in Taleban-controlled Kabul, as some believe “biding his time” for another political role in h future, with his “strong relationships with the West, as well as with China, India, Russia and Iran.” Karzai, however, insists he has ‘no aspirations […]
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The Guardian, 5 December 2022 Jonathan Steele’s obituary for head (in his last years) of AAN’s advisory board, an outstanding diplomat with outstanding achievements who, in his youth, was an activist against Franco’s dictatorship in his homeland Catalonia: disbanding of the CIA-backed “contras”; brokering a deal in El Salvador leading to a ceasefire and free […]
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Forever Wars, 22 November 2022 National-security reporter Spencer Ackerman looks at what he assumes could be the last SIGAR (“pronounced like the thing you smoke”) report, titled “Why Afghanistan’s Government Collapsed” , looks back at SIGAR’s entire reporting history and concludes: SIGAR told true stories about the trees while avoiding the forest – and the people trying […]
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UNAMA, 6 November 2022 Despite emitting only 0.03 per cent (0.28 tons per person) of worldwide greenhouse gases, the Afghanistan “is one of the least prepared against climate shocks [and] is ranked the sixth most affected in the world to climate-related threats. … The Afghan people stand on the precipice of devastating climate projections”, the […]
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Washington Post, 5 November 2022 This reportage gives detail on how the Taleban, based on “‘clear instructions from the top level’ to bring policies in line with the Taliban’s strict interpretation of sharia” (e.g. that female health workers should treat women, while male health workers should treat men), try to train female doctors, at several […]
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