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☆ Win over England can kick-start Afghanistan cricket: Trott
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Afghanistan posted 284 after half centuries from Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ikram Alikhil, before bowling out England for 215 to claim just their second victory at a World Cup - eight years after their maiden win over Scotland in 2015. "This is significant, certainly in the manner and by the margin as well," Trott told reporters on Sunday. "What Afghanistan cricket can achieve, hopefully this will be the sort of kick-start." Women's sport in Afghanistan has also suffered since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. "It's not just cricket that the guys are playing for," Trott said.

Persons: Arun Jaitley, Ikram Alikhil, Rashid Khan, Mark Wood, Jonathan Trott, Rahmanullah, Trott, It's, " Trott, that's, Aadi Nair, Peter Rutherford Organizations: Cricket, ICC Cricket, REUTERS, England, Scotland, Thomson Locations: England, Afghanistan, New Delhi, India, Zealand, Chennai, Bengaluru

☆ Afghanistan stun champions England at World Cup
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/7] Cricket - ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 - England v Afghanistan - Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi, India - October 15, 2023 Afghanistan's Ikram Alikhil celebrates after Rashid Khan bowls out England's Mark Wood to win the match REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Afghanistan beat defending champions England by 69 runs in a huge World Cup upset on Sunday, only their second ever win in the tournament. Afghanistan came into the match having lost 16 of their last 17 World Cup games, their only victory coming against Scotland in 2015. Put into bat, Afghanistan posted 284 after a blistering knock of 80 from opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz and a half-century from Ikram Alikhil. England crumbled to 215 all out in reply with Harry Brook the only batter to adapt to the conditions with a fighting 66 as spinners Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan took three wickets each. Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Arun Jaitley, Ikram Alikhil, Rashid Khan, Mark Wood, Anushree, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Harry Brook, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Rohith Nair, Ed Osmond Organizations: Cricket, ICC Cricket, REUTERS, England, Scotland, Thomson Locations: England, Afghanistan, New Delhi, India, DELHI, Alikhil, Bengaluru

☆ ICC Cricket World Cup: Afghanistan stuns England in one of the biggest ever sporting upsets
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The pantheon of great sporting upsets gained another monument on Sunday as Afghanistan roundly defeated England by 69 runs at the ICC Cricket World Cup in Delhi, India. It was an upset of immense proportions – Afghanistan had only ever won one World Cup match in its entire history while England is the defending world champion, still basking in the glow of a golden era that has bestowed mythical status on much of its team. But England sputtered from the very start as some loose bowling allowed Afghanistan to build an impressive platform, putting on more than 100 runs without losing a wicket. Defeating England following the earthquake added another dimension to Afghanistan’s historic victory, one which captain Rashid Khan hoped will give Afghans a “little bit of smile on their faces,” he said, per ESPN Cricinfo. After already losing to New Zealand, this shock defeat leaves England in real danger of crashing out the World Cup in the group stages, giving Saturday’s game against South Africa even more importance.

Persons: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ikram Ali Khil, Harry Brook’s, Afghanistan's, Alikhil, Money Sharma, Ur Rahman, Rashid Khan, ” Organizations: CNN, England, ICC Cricket, Getty, Sky Sports, ESPN, New, South, New Zealand Locations: Afghanistan, Delhi, India, England, Herat, New Zealand, South Africa

☆ Another quake strikes western Afghanistan; official says more homes destroyed
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Mohammad Yunus Yawar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] A general view of the quake-hit area in the district of Zinda Jan, in Herat, Afghanistan October 10, 2023. There were no details on casualties so far, disaster management spokesman Janan Sayeeq told Reuters, but provincial officials said hundreds of homes had been destroyed. Hemmed in by mountains, Afghanistan has a history of strong earthquakes, many in the rugged Hindu Kush region bordering Pakistan. Herat province borders Iran, which said it would send humanitarian aid. The United Nation's humanitarian office has also announced $5 million worth of assistance.

Persons: Zinda Jan, Ali Khara, Janan Sayeeq, Noor Ahmad Shahab, Shahab, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Mrinmay Dey, Gibran Peshimam, Jacqueline Wong, Simon Cameron, Moore, Miral Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Mobile, World Health Organisation, German Research Center, Geosciences, United, Thomson Locations: Zinda, Herat, Afghanistan, Rights KABUL, Pakistan, Iran, Rubat, Turkey, China, Kabul, Bengaluru

☆ Net run-rate concern not a factor, says India's Bumrah
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Amlan Chakraborty | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Net run-rate could come into play later in the tournament, but Bumrah denied it was a factor in India's performance against Afghanistan. (Besides) we did not know that Rohit will give us such a headstart," Bumrah told reporters. Bumrah claimed figures of 4-39 to help restrict Afghanistan to 272-8. Just because I've taken four wickets that doesn't mean I'm very, very happy or I've done something extraordinary," he said. Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Arun Jaitley, Pandya, Afghanistan's Mohammad Nabi, Jasprit Bumrah, Anushree, Rohit Sharma, Bumrah, Rohit, I'm, I've, Amlan Chakraborty, Ed Osmond Organizations: Cricket, ICC Cricket, Jasprit Bumrah REUTERS, Arun, Afghanistan, Thomson Locations: India, Afghanistan, New Delhi, DELHI, New Zealand, Pakistan, Ahmedabad

☆ Afghanistan earthquakes a 'disaster on top of a disaster', World Food Programme says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KARACHI, Pakistan, Oct 11 (Reuters) - The World Food Programme on Wednesday called the recent Afghanistan earthquakes a 'disaster on top of a disaster,' urging the international community to provide humanitarian aid to the war-torn nation. Limited aid makes relief work difficult after earthquakes and aftershocks since Saturday rattled the religiously conservative nation. "In Afghanistan, this is a disaster on top of a disaster, on top of a disaster, on top of a disaster," said Philippe Kropf, head of communications at the World Food Programme (WFP) Afghanistan, in an interview. "If we can help them prevent malnutrition, that's how we do it, because preventing malnutrition is much cheaper than treating malnutrition." Women and children make up two-thirds of the injured in Afghanistan, said Dr. Alaa AbouZeid, head of the World Health Organization's emergency response in the country, on Monday.

Persons: Philippe Kropf, Kropf, Zinda Jan, Ali Khara, Alaa AbouZeid, Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam, Ariba Shahid, Richard Chang Organizations: tremblors, Food Programme, REUTERS, Health, Soviet Union, United Nations, WFP, Thomson Locations: KARACHI, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey, Syria, Herat, Afghan, Zinda, Karachi

☆ Rohit flattens Afghanistan as India romp to second win
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Amlan Chakraborty | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/9] Cricket - ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 - India v Afghanistan - Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi, India - October 11, 2023 India's Rohit Sharma in action as he hits four runs REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI, Oct 11 (Reuters) - World Cup hosts India cantered to their second successive win of the tournament after captain Rohit Sharma's incendiary century set up their eight-wicket thrashing of Afghanistan on Wednesday. Electing to bat, Afghanistan were 63-3 in the 14th over before skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi (80) and Azmatullah Omarzai (62) combined in a 121-run stand to frustrate India. Rohit became the first batter to smash five hundreds in a single World Cup in the tournament's previous edition in England and Wales four years ago. Rohit treated Rashid with disdain, hitting him for back-to-back fours and following it with a six, but the spinner eventually had his revenge. Rohit lost his stumps to Rashid attempting a slog-sweep but Kohli stayed put to guide India home.

Persons: Arun Jaitley, India's Rohit Sharma, Anushree, India cantered, Rohit, Virat Kohli, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Hashmatullah, Jasprit Bumrah, Ibrahim Zadran, Mohammed Siraj, Bumrah, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rahmat Shah, Omarzai, Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid, Ishan Kishan, Kohli, Amlan Chakraborty, Christian Radnedge, Ed Osmond Organizations: Cricket, ICC Cricket, India, Arun, India's, Wales, Thomson Locations: India, Afghanistan, New Delhi, DELHI, Saturday's, Pakistan, Ahmedabad, England

"The operation is almost done," spokesman for the Disaster Management Ministry Janan Sayeeq told Reuters, adding that rescue efforts were still going on in some villages. Hemmed in by mountains, Afghanistan has a history of strong earthquakes, many in the rugged Hindu Kush region bordering Pakistan. [1/2]People search for survivors amid the debris of a house that was destroyed by an earthquake in the district of Zinda Jan, in Herat, Afghanistan October 9, 2023. In the village, funeral prayers were held for the dead before they were buried, wrapped in blankets, in freshly dug graves. In addition to medical and food aid, survivors are in dire need of shelter as temperatures drop, the head of the World Health Organization's emergency response said.

Persons: Disaster Management Ministry Janan Sayeeq, Sayeeq, Zinda Jan, Ali Khara, Siah, , Taj Mohammad, Abdul Sattar, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Syed Hassib, Gibran Peshimam, Miral Organizations: World Health Organisation, Disaster Management Ministry, Reuters, REUTERS, Siah Aab, Health, Thomson Locations: HERAT, Afghanistan, Afghanistan's, Herat, Pakistan, Turkey, Syria, Zinda, , Siah

☆ Most Casualties in Recent Afghan Earthquakes Are Women, Children -WHO
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

KABUL (Reuters) - Women and children make up two-thirds of the victims of the recent earthquakes in Afghanistan who were hospitalized with severe injuries, the head of the World Health Organization's emergency response in the country said on Monday. "Two-thirds of those with severe injuries who are admitted in the hospital I have seen yesterday are children and women," he said, referring to his time in Herat following the quake. AbouZeid said it was "devastating" to see the number of children in hospital in critical condition. The WHO's response teams were taking the matter seriously, given the impact of such injuries on the victim and their families who would need to support them in the long run, he said. While the response teams saved many lives, hospitals need to be better equipped to deal with further casualties and similar situations in future, he said.

Persons: Alaa AbouZeid, AbouZeid, Gibran Peshimam, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Health, Reuters Locations: KABUL, Afghanistan, temblors, Turkey, Syria, Herat, East, Ukraine

☆ Most casualties in recent Afghan earthquakes are women, children -WHO
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Two-thirds of those with severe injuries who are admitted in the hospital I have seen yesterday are children and women," he said, referring to his time in Herat following the quake. He also warned that financing the humanitarian operations remained critical, with global attention and funding shifting away from Afghanistan. AbouZeid said it was "devastating" to see the number of children in hospital in critical condition. REUTERS/Ali Khara Acquire Licensing Rights"I have seen a child like 3-4 months old with head trauma, due to the earthquake," he said. While the response teams saved many lives, hospitals need to be better equipped to deal with further casualties and similar situations in future, he said.

Persons: Alaa AbouZeid, AbouZeid, Zinda Jan, Ali Khara, Gibran Peshimam, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Health, Reuters, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Afghanistan KABUL, Afghanistan, temblors, Turkey, Syria, Herat, East, Ukraine, Zinda

HERAT, Afghanistan, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Rescue workers on Monday scrambled to pull out survivors, and the dead, from beneath the rubble two days after the northwestern city of Herat and its surroundings were struck by the deadliest earthquakes to rattle Afghanistan in years. Neighbours Pakistan and Iran have offered to send rescue workers and humanitarian aid, while China's Red Cross Society offered cash relief aid. Hemmed in by mountains, Afghanistan has a history of strong earthquakes, many in the rugged Hindu Kush region bordering Pakistan. Pakistan said its disaster management authority had put a search and rescue team on standby to assist in the disaster hit area. Iran, whose border is less than 90 kilometres (56 miles) from the site of the worst hit area, also pledged humanitarian aid, the Taliban administration said.

Persons: Nissar Ahmad Elyias, Mir Ahmed, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Syed Hassib, Emma Farge, Gibran Peshimam, Miral Organizations: Neighbours, Cross Society, Reuters, Diplomats, Thomson Locations: HERAT, Afghanistan, Herat, Turkey, Syria, Neighbours Pakistan, Iran, Pakistan, Zindajan, Kabul, Geneva

Deadly earthquake hits Afghanistan Earthquake impact mapPowerful earthquakes struck northwestern Afghanistan on October 8, killing more than 2,400 people, the Taliban administration said, in the deadliest tremors to rock the mountainous country in years. A boy cries as he sits next to debris, in the aftermath of an earthquake in the district of Zinda Jan, in Herat, Afghanistan, October 8, 2023. For example, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7 is ten times larger than a magnitude 6 earthquake. Afghanistan’s five highest magnitude earthquakes (7.4 to 7.8 magnitude) have occurred along the Hindu Kush mountain range in the country’s north-east region. A man carries the body of his child, in the aftermath of an earthquake in the district of Zinda Jan, in Herat, Afghanistan October 8, 2023.

Persons: Zinda Jan, Stringer Afghanistan’s, Damage Organizations: U.S . Geological Survey, REUTERS, Stringer Poor, Diplomats, International Committee, World Health Organization, WHO Locations: Afghanistan, Herat, U.S, Turkey, Syria, Zinda, Pakistan, South Asia, Kabul, Herat province

☆ Deadly Afghanistan Earthquakes Over the Years
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-08 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

Afghanistan, hemmed in by mountains, has a long history of strong earthquakes, many in the rugged Hindu Kush region bordering Pakistan. KUNAR, September 2022As Afghanistan was recovering from strong earthquakes three months earlier, tremors hit Kunar province in September, killing eight. HINDU KUSH, 2015A quake of magnitude 7.5, one of the largest in Afghanistan's recorded history, killed 399 people in Afghanistan and neighbours Pakistan and India. HINDU KUSH, 2002Twin earthquakes in the Hindu Kush in March 2002 killed a total of 1,100. HINDU KUSH, 1991An earthquake in the Hindu Kush killed 848 people across Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Soviet Union.

Persons: Mayank Bhardwaj, Afghanistan's, William Mallard Organizations: Mayank Bhardwaj NEW DELHI Locations: Afghanistan, Pakistan, BADAKHSHAN, Badakhshan, Jurm, KUNAR, Kunar, Paktika, India, Soviet Union, Iran, TAKHAR, Takhar

☆ Afghan earthquakes kill 2,053, Taliban say, as death toll spikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-08 | by ( Mohammad Yunus Yawar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Janan Sayeeq, spokesman for the Ministry of Disasters, said 2,053 people were killed, 9,240 injured and 1,320 houses damaged or destroyed. More than 200 dead had been brought to various hospitals, said a Herat health department official who identified himself as Dr Danish, adding most of them were women and children. Beds were set up outside the main hospital in Herat to receive a flood of victims, photos on social media showed. It was not immediately clear if the Herat hospital was on that list. "While search and rescue operations remain ongoing, casualties in these areas have not yet been fully identified," it said.

Persons: Janan Sayeeq, Sayeeq, Danish, Suhail Shaheen, Naseema, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Ariba Shahid, Gibran Peshimam, William Mallard, Sanjeev Miglani Organizations: U.S . Geological Survey, Ministry, Diplomats, International Committee, Reuters, World Health Organization, WHO, Thomson Locations: KABUL, Afghanistan, Herat, U.S, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Qatar, Pakistan, Herat province, Kabul, Karachi

☆ Afghan earthquakes kill 2,445, Taliban say, as death toll mounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-08 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

More than 2,400 people were killed in earthquakes in Afghanistan, the Taliban administration said on Sunday, in the deadliest tremors to rock the quake-prone mountainous country in years. They were among the world's deadliest quakes this year, after tremors in Turkey and Syria killed an estimated 50,000 in February. Afghan residents sit at a damaged house after earthquake in Sarbuland village of Zendeh Jan, district of Herat province, on October 7, 2023. Diplomats and aid officials say concerns over Taliban restrictions on women and competing global humanitarian crises are causing donors to pull back on financial support. The Islamist government has ordered most Afghan female aid staff not to work, although with exemptions in health and education.

Persons: Janan Sayeeq, Sayeeq, Danish, Suhail Shaheen, Mohsen Karimi, Naseema Organizations: U.S . Geological Survey, Ministry, Taliban, AFP, Getty, Afp, Diplomats, International Committee Locations: Afghanistan, Herat, U.S, Turkey, Syria, Afghanistan's, Iran, Qatar, Sarbuland, Zendeh Jan, Herat province, Pakistan

☆ Deadly Afghanistan earthquakes over the years
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-08 | by ( Mayank Bhardwaj | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

An Afghan man walks past a damaged house after the recent earthquake in Wor Kali village in the Barmal district of Paktika province, Afghanistan, June 25, 2022. Afghanistan, hemmed in by mountains, has a long history of strong earthquakes, many in the rugged Hindu Kush region bordering Pakistan. KUNAR, September 2022As Afghanistan was recovering from strong earthquakes three months earlier, tremors hit Kunar province in September, killing eight. HINDU KUSH, 2002Twin earthquakes in the Hindu Kush in March 2002 killed a total of 1,100. HINDU KUSH, 1991An earthquake in the Hindu Kush killed 848 people across Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Soviet Union.

Persons: Ali Khara, Afghanistan's, Mayank Bhardwaj, William Mallard Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Afghan, Barmal, Paktika province, Afghanistan, DELHI, Pakistan, BADAKHSHAN, Badakhshan, Jurm, KUNAR, Kunar, Paktika, India, Soviet Union, Iran, TAKHAR, Takhar

☆ At least 15 dead in Afghanistan earthquakes, official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-07 | by ( Mohammad Yunus Yawar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KABUL, Oct 7 (Reuters) - At least 15 people were killed and 40 injured after multiple earthquakes struck western Afghanistan on Saturday, a disaster management official told Reuters. The quake registered a magnitude of 6.3, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said, with subsequent quakes striking 35 km (20 miles) northwest of the city of Herat. The casualty figures are based on primary reports from the Zinda Jan district of Herat province, said Mullah Jan Sayeq, spokesperson for Afghanistan's ministry of disaster management. He added that the earthquakes had also shaken the provinces of Farah and Badghis, where there are reports of widespread damage to houses, but no details about casualties there yet. Emergency teams and volunteers are preparing to go Herat and help victims, Erfanullah Sharafzoi, spokesperson for the Afghan Red Crescent said.

Persons: Jan Sayeq, Erfanullah Sharafzoi, Crescent, Naseema, Rishabh, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Giban Peshimam, Edwina Gibbs, William Mallard Organizations: Reuters, U.S . Geological Survey, Afghan, Thomson Locations: KABUL, Afghanistan, U.S, Herat, Herat province, Farah, Badghis, Bengaluru, Kabul

☆ Pakistani minister defends decision to expel Afghans
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"So, accordingly，this is in line with the international practice that we have taken this decision." Pakistan's interior minister said on Tuesday some 1.73 million Afghans in Pakistan had no legal documents and the number of Afghan refugees in Pakistan totalled 4.4 million. In defending the decision to expel Afghans, Pakistani authorities said 14 of 24 suicide bombings this year had been carried out by Afghan nationals. "Whenever there was any problem, people would immigrate to Pakistan, take refuge in Pakistan," Jilani said. "But now I think it has been more than 40 years, so the government of Pakistan has taken a decision," Jilani said, noting that the situation in Afghanistan had stabilised.

Persons: Fayaz Aziz, Jalil Abbas Jilani, Hong, Jilani, Albee Zhang, Ryan Woo, Robert Birsel Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Phoenix TV, Thomson Locations: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Torkham, Rights BEIJING, Europe, Asia, Tibet, U.S

REUTERS/Fayaz Aziz/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsISLAMABAD, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Pakistan said on Friday that it would repatriate all illegal immigrants including hundreds of thousands of Afghan nationals in orderly phases rather than in one go. She did not have exact data on the total number of illegal immigrants, including Afghans. Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti said on Tuesday some 1.73 million Afghans in Pakistan had no legal documents and the number of Afghan refugees in Pakistan totalled 4.4 million. Pakistan has hosted the largest number of Afghan refugees since the Soviet invasion of Kabul in 1979. Pakistan's foreign minister Jalil Abbas Jilani defended the order for the departure of illegal immigrants, saying no other country allowed illegal immigrants to stay and live.

Persons: Fayaz Aziz, frayed, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, Sarfraz Bugti, Bugti, Jalil Abbas Jilani, Hong, Albee Zhang, Ryan Woo, Robert Birsel, William Maclean Organizations: United Nations, Refugees, REUTERS, Rights, Aid, Phoenix TV, Thomson Locations: Pakistan, Peshawar, Rights ISLAMABAD, Islamabad, Kabul, Afghanistan, U.S, Tibet, Beijing

☆ India says Afghan embassy still open despite suspension
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

People are seen outside the Afghanistan embassy in New Delhi, India, September 29, 2023. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Afghanistan's embassy in New Delhi continues to function, India's foreign ministry said on Thursday, days after the embassy announced that it was suspending operations. Rejecting the claims, Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "I don't think they are factually correct". “Our understanding is that the embassy in New Delhi is functioning," Bagchi told reporters. He added that the foreign ministry had been informed of the embassy's decision to halt operations and was in touch with Afghan diplomats at the embassy and consulates in Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

Persons: Anushree, Ashraf Ghani, Arindam Bagchi, Bagchi, ” Bagchi, Krishn Kaushik, Blassy, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Afghanistan, New Delhi, India, DELHI, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, “

☆ No current talks with Taliban, Afghanistan's Massoud says, promising guerrilla warfare
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( John Irish | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Massoud, who operates from overseas, said the NRF had been forced to change tactics because it could not fight the well-equipped Taliban conventionally. Massoud dismissed any suggestion of returning to Afghanistan as part of a Taliban reintegration scheme of former officials. "Those people who left Afghanistan, they left for more than just house or a car. "If the Taliban announced that they accept elections, today we all can return because this is what we want." The most recent elections in Afghanistan were held under the U.S.-backed administration which Taliban deposed in August 2021 when Western troops withdrew.

Persons: Ahmad Massoud, Ahmad Shah Massoud, Massoud, John Irish, Michael Perry Organizations: National Resistance, of, Taliban, U.S, Western, Thomson Locations: of Afghanistan, Soviet, Paris, France, PARIS, Afghan, Afghanistan, Panjshir, Kabul, Ukraine

☆ Displaced Afghan women athletes defy Taliban at Asian Games
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Ian Ransom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Now in Hangzhou, they yearn to give hope to the hopeless - the women athletes left behind in their homeland. "Nowadays, they are looking for hope," Mursal Khedri, a Pakistan-based, 24-year-old member of the volleyball team, told Reuters. They play their first group match against Kazakhstan when the women's volleyball tournament starts on Saturday. For the Afghanistan women in Hangzhou, it is a thrill to compete at a high level but there are also nerves. They are unlikely to attend competition venues to cheer on the women's volleyball team or other Afghan women athletes due to the sensitivity of the situation.

Persons: Nasrin Khazani, Khushal Malakzai, Malakzai, Yousofi, John Quinn, Ian Ransom, Christian Radnedge Organizations: Asian, Olympic, Tokyo, Reuters, Kazakhstan, Games, Thomson Locations: HANGZHOU, China, Hangzhou, Afghanistan, Asia, Pakistan, Iran, hijabs, Melbourne, Australia

☆ Afghanistan women's volleyball team fumes at training conditions in Hangzhou
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( Ian Ransom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HANGZHOU, China, Sept 24 (Reuters) - The Afghanistan women's volleyball team has lamented training conditions at the Asian Games and are concerned they will not be ready for an event where they are participating in defiance of the country's Taliban rulers. I don't know why they can't have training for an hour or two when they have all these facilities. Malakzai said they had been allocated one training session two days before the women's competition starts on Saturday. Hangzhou Games organisers and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) did not immediately respond to requests for comment. With the backing of the OCA and the International Olympic Committee, Afghanistan's exiled national Olympic committee has sent 17 women to compete in athletics, cycling and volleyball at Hangzhou.

Persons: Khushal Malakzai, Malakzai, Afghanistan's, Ian Ransom, Hugh Lawson Organizations: volleyball, Asian Games, Reuters, Hangzhou Games, Olympic Council of Asia, OCA, International Olympic Committee, Olympic, Thomson Locations: HANGZHOU, China, Afghanistan, Hangzhou

HANGZHOU, China (AP) — In the first Asian Games since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, two teams of athletes are arriving in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, looking very different. The games official opening ceremony is on Saturday. They have barred women from most areas of public life such as parks, gyms and work and cracked down on media freedoms. They have banned girls from going to school beyond the sixth grade, and prohibited Afghan women from working at local and non-governmental organizations. Rahimi said that the previous government had been working hard to increase women's participation in sport since the previous Taliban regime, and that it had increased to 20%.

Persons: Atel, Hafizullah Wali Rahimi, ”, Rahimi, they'll Organizations: —, Asian Games, Olympic, Associated Press, Afghanistan's National Olympic, NATO, United Nations Locations: HANGZHOU, China, Afghanistan, Hangzhou, Taliban, Afghan, Iran, Italy, Australia

PESHAWAR/KABUL, Sept 15 (Reuters) - The main Afghanistan-Pakistan land border crossing reopened on Friday after being closed for nine days following firing between guards on both sides, a senior Pakistani official told Reuters. Thousands of travellers and hundreds of trucks laden with goods were left stranded last week by the closure the Torkham border crossing, at the western end of the fabled Khyber Pass. Spokespersons for Pakistan's foreign ministry and the Afghan authorities in Nangarhar province confirmed the reopening of the crossing. "The border closure was causing huge losses to traders and common people of the two neighbouring countries," Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, director of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry said. The Taliban foreign ministry criticised the closure of the crossing and said Pakistan security forces had fired on its border guards as they fixed an old security outpost.

Persons: It's, Abdul Nasir Khan, Torkham, Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, Amir Khan Muttaqi, Mushtaq Ali, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Gibran Peshimam, Tom Hogue, Gerry Doyle, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Reuters, Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Thomson Locations: PESHAWAR, KABUL, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Pakistan's Khyber, Nangarhar province, Pakistani, Peshawar, Jalalabad, Nangarhar, Kabul, Torkham

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