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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

☆ Afghanistan recall fast bowler Naveen for World Cup
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KABUL, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Fast bowler Naveen-ul-Haq has returned to the Afghanistan one-day squad for the upcoming World Cup in India more than two years after playing his last ODI. Omarzai missed the ongoing Asia Cup with a side strain but has recovered to reclaim his place in the 15-member squad announced on Wednesday. Rashid Khan will spearhead a spin attack that also includes Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Noor Ahmad. All-rounder Gulbadin Naib, who led the team when they finished bottom at the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales, is one of three reserve players. Afghanistan will kick off their World Cup campaign on Oct. 7 against Bangladesh in Dharamsala.

Persons: Naveen, Haq, Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naib, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rahmat Shah, Riaz Hassan, Najibullah Zadran, Ikram, Azmatullah Omarzai, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Ul, Amlan Chakraborty, Peter Rutherford Organizations: Ireland, Bangladesh, Thomson Locations: KABUL, Afghanistan, India, Abu Dhabi, Asia, England, Wales, Dharamsala, New Delhi

☆ In a US showdown with China, there are some missions with no special-operations 'easy button'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Special-operations forces have been a centerpiece of US military operations for two decades. US leaders should remember that special operators aren't suited for some tasks, one expert says. But in an era of strategic competition with China, there are some missions with no special-ops "easy button," according to David Ucko, a professor and expert on irregular warfare. First, the US special-operations community should consolidate its core strengths, particularly irregular warfare, which is "highly relevant" to strategic competition with China. US Navy SEALs train with Philippine Navy special-operations and Australian army special-operations troops in Palawan in April 2022.

Persons: David Ucko, David Devich, Ucko, US Army John F, Mario A, Ramirez, Jared N, Stavros Atlamazoglou Organizations: Service, US Special Forces, US Army, Royal United Services Institute, China, Air Force, RAF Mildenhall, US Air Force, Tech, Westin Warburton, Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, State, Justice, Treasury, US Navy, Philippine Navy, US Marine Corps, Army Green Beret, Philippine National Police, Coast Guard, British SAS, Commonwealth, Group, SAS, Allies, Army Delta Force, Delta Force, US Army Rangers, US Army Green Berets, Psychological Operations, Boat Service, Hellenic Army, 575th Marine Battalion, Army, Johns Hopkins University, Johns Hopkins, School, International Locations: China, Wall, Silicon, SOF, Afghanistan's Ghazni, British, Russia, North Carolina, Palawan, Ukraine, Taiwan, North Africa, Iraq, Afghanistan, Johns

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Afghanistan is the world’s fastest-growing maker of methamphetamine, a report from the United Nations drug agency said Sunday. The report called Afghanistan’s meth manufacturing a growing threat to national and regional health and security because it could disrupt the synthetic drug market and fuel addiction. It said seizures of meth suspected to have come from Afghanistan have been reported from the European Union and east Africa. Afghanistan also has the ephedra plant, which is not found in the biggest meth-producing countries: Myanmar and Mexico. But you need a lot of it.”Me said it was too early to assess what impact the Taliban’s drug crackdown has had on meth supplies.

Persons: Angela Me, ”, Abdul Mateen Qani, “ Organizations: United, Taliban, United Nations ’ Office, Drugs, European Union, Associated Press, Interior Ministry, AP, Farmers Locations: ISLAMABAD, Afghanistan, United Nations, Africa, Myanmar, Mexico, Afghan

☆ Afghanistan meth trade surges as Taliban clamps down on heroin, UN report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Taliban soldiers celebrate on the second anniversary of the fall of Kabul on a street near the US embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 15, 2023. REUTERS/Ali Khara/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 10 (Reuters) - Methamphetamine trafficking in and around Afghanistan has surged in recent years, even as the Taliban has curbed heroin trafficking since taking power, a United Nations report said on Sunday. The Taliban, which regained power in August 2021, announced a ban the following April on the production of narcotics in Afghanistan, the world's main opium producer. While heroin trafficking has slowed, the UNODC said in a statement, meth trafficking "has intensified since the ban". Countries as far away as France and Australia have reported seizing methamphetamine that likely originated in Afghanistan it said.

Persons: Ali Khara, Ghada Waly, Charlotte Greenfield, William Mallard Organizations: REUTERS, United, Drugs, Thomson Locations: Kabul, Afghanistan, United Nations, Iran, Pakistan, France, Australia

☆ Biden says he's 'forever grateful' to forces in Afghanistan on two-year anniversary of exit
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Amanda Macias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

"We also remember the hundreds of service members from allied and partner countries who lost their lives during this 20-year war. The conflict, which spanned over four administrations, claimed the lives of nearly 2,500 U.S. service members and more than 100,000 Afghan troops, police personnel and civilians. In April 2021, Biden ordered the full withdrawal of approximately 3,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11 of that year. Taliban forces stand guard in front of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, September 2, 2021. Evacuees crowd the interior of a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft, carrying some 640 Afghans to Qatar from Kabul, Afghanistan August 15, 2021.

Persons: WASHINGTON —, Biden, Defense Lloyd Austin, servicemembers, Austin, George W, Bush, Hamid Karzai, Stringer, Ashraf Ghani, Antony Blinken Organizations: Forward Operating Base, Department of Defense, WASHINGTON, Taliban, NATO, Defense, World Trade, Pentagon, Bagram Air Base, U.S, Afghan National Security and Defense Force, Reuters, Western, U.S . Air Force, Handout Locations: Forward Operating Base Salerno, Khost province, Afghanistan, U.S, Kabul's, New York City, Bagram, Kabul, Doha, Qatar, United States

☆ Taliban stopped 100 women flying to Dubai for university scholarships, UAE billionaire says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Charlotte Greenfield | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Afghan women shout slogans during a rally to protest against what the protesters say is Taliban restrictions on women, in Kabul, Afghanistan, December 28, 2021. REUTERS/Ali Khara/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 23 (Reuters) - The head of a Dubai-based conglomerate on Wednesday said Afghanistan's Taliban authorities had stopped around 100 women from travelling to the United Arab Emirates where he was to sponsor their university education. Spokespeople for the Taliban administration and Afghan foreign affairs ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. They allow Afghans to leave the country but usually require Afghan women travelling long distances and abroad to be accompanied by a male chaperone, such as their husband, father or brother. Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield and Maha El Dahan Editing by Bill BerkrotOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Ali Khara, Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, Al Habtoor, Charlotte Greenfield, Maha El, Bill Berkrot Organizations: REUTERS, United, United Arab Emirates, Al, UAE, Thomson Locations: Kabul, Afghanistan, Dubai, United Arab, Maha

☆ UN says over 200 former Afghan military, officials killed since Taliban takeover
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Ali Khara/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 22 (Reuters) - More than 200 members of Afghanistan's former military, law enforcement and government have been killed since the Taliban took over, the U.N. mission in Afghanistan said on Tuesday, despite a "general amnesty" for old enemies. The mission said in a report it had recorded at least 218 extrajudicial killings with links to the Taliban from their takeover of Afghanistan in mid-2021 up to June. "In most instances, individuals were detained by de facto security forces, often briefly, before being killed," the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said. Senior Taliban leaders have said there is an amnesty for former government officials and members of the military by order of their supreme leader. In total, UNAMA had recorded 800 incidents of human rights violations connected with the Taliban against former government employees and military including arbitrary arrests, disappearance and torture.

Persons: Ali Khara, UNAMA, Charlotte Greenfield, Robert Birsel Organizations: REUTERS, Senior, Afghan National Defence and Security Forces, Thomson Locations: Emirate, Afghanistan, Kabul, Islamic Emirate

[1/4] Taliban soldiers stand guard at the second-anniversary ceremony of the takeover of Kabul by the Taliban in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 15, 2023. Taliban parades were expected through the day and several departments, including the education ministry, held gatherings to celebrate. For many women, who enjoyed extensive rights and freedoms during the two decades of rule by Western-backed governments, their plight has become dire since the return of the Taliban. OBSTACLE TO RECOGNITIONGirls over the age of 12 have been mostly excluded from classes since the Taliban returned to power. For many Western governments, the ban is a major obstacle to any hope of formal recognition of the Taliban administration.

Persons: Ali Khara, Ashraf Ghani, Zabihullah Mujahid, Mujahid, It's, Amina Mohammed, Matiullah, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Charlotte, Robert Birsel Organizations: REUTERS, Taliban, Islamic, U.S . Federal Reserve Bank of New, Swiss, Thomson Locations: Kabul, Afghanistan, Ali Khara KABUL, U.S, Western, U.S . Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Charlotte Greenfield, Islamabad

☆ In pictures: Afghan Taliban celebrate second year of return to power
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PicturesIn pictures: Afghan Taliban celebrate second year of return to powerAfghanistan's Taliban marked the second anniversary of their return to power on Tuesday, celebrating their takeover of Kabul and the establishment of what they said was security throughout the country under an Islamic system.

Organizations: Taliban Locations: Kabul

☆ Art therapy offers relief to Afghan women struggling with mental health
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

But she sank into depression since the Taliban closed tertiary institutions to women in December, requiring psychiatric treatment where she was recommended art therapy classes. But many women, particularly in urban areas, who gained opportunities in education and work during the 20-year presence of foreign troops and a Western-backed government are now struggling with a deep sense of despair and mental health challenges, Afghan women and mental health experts say. There are few reliable figures on mental health trends but anecdotally doctors and aid workers say more women are struggling with mental health in the wake of the orders restricting women's work and education. Not only did I make good friends here, I also receive art therapy," said a former university student at the class. Khushi said the art therapy gave her a respite from home and a little hope for the future.

Persons: Khushi, I'm, Charlotte Greenfield, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Health, Reuters, Thomson Locations: MAZAR, SHARIF, Afghanistan, Balkh province's, Islamic Emirate, Balkh's, Mazar

[1/2] Rescue workers and other people transport an injured person to the hospital, after a blast in Bajaur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan July 30, 2023. Rescue 1122/Handout via REUTERSDERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan, July 30 (Reuters) - At least 40 people were killed and over 130 injured when a suicide bomber set off explosives at a political rally in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Sunday, police said. The provincial police chief Akhtar Hayat told Reuters the explosion was caused by a suicide bomb. "The JUI-F organised a workers convention in Khar town of Bajaur in which 40 people lost their lives and more than 130 were injured," Khan said. Pakistan has seen a resurgence of attacks by Islamist militants since last year when a ceasefire between the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamabad broke down.

Persons: DERA ISMAIL, Fazl, Akhtar Hayat, Nazir Khan, Khan, Zabihullah Mujahid, Shehbaz Sharif, Saud Mehsud, Dera Ismail Khan, Jibran Ahmad, Nilutpal, Gibran Peshimam, Andrew Cawthorne, Christina Fincher Organizations: Sunday, Ulema, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Bajaur district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Bajaur, Afghanistan, Peshawar, Khar, Taliban Pakistan, Islamabad, Islamic State

☆ Afghanistan's exiled soccer team wants the right to play for their country
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( Hilary Whiteman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

It’s not like going on a moon.”The Afghan Women's Team took on Football Empowerment during The Hope Cup on July 18, 2023 in Melbourne, Australia. The Afghan Women's Team began training last year with local club Melbourne Victory. “If the Afghan Football Federation recognize a team and say: ‘Yes, we accept a team to represent Afghanistan,’ they can be shot. Afghan Women's Team goalie Fatima Yousifi buried her kit before fleeing Afghanistan. When told the Afghan women’s team was in the crowd, cheering the Matildas on, she said: “I think that’s great they’re here tonight supporting us.

Persons: Coldplay’s, Khalida Popal, “, ’ ”, she’s, ”, Kelly Defina, Heather Barr, HRW’s, Penny Wong, Sarai Bareman, Fatma, Bareman, ” Behram Siddiqui, Popal, ’, Craig Foster, “ They’ve, that’s, Fatima Yousifi, John Didulica, Didulica, he’s, there’s, Hilary Whiteman, Emily van Egmond, Yousifi, ” Foster Organizations: Australia CNN, Brisbane, Nigeria, Afghan women’s national, Taliban, FIFA, women’s, Afghan Women's, Football Empowerment, Rights Watch, Human, United Nations, HRW’s Women’s Rights, Afghan, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade, Foreign, Association, Afghan Football Federation, CNN FIFA, Afghan Women's Team, Melbourne Victory, UN, “, Hope, Melbourne, Afghan national, Australia, CNN, Canada Locations: Brisbane, Australia, Denmark, Australian, Afghanistan, Europe, Canada, Melbourne, Kabul, United, ’, women’s, Nigeria, Afghan

The audit has not changed the U.S. Treasury's view that the bank must make reforms before the department will support disbursements from the Afghan Fund to Da Afghanistan Bank, or DAB, as the central bank is known, said a U.S. Treasury official on condition of anonymity. It also must prove that it has "adequate" controls against money-laundering and terrorism financing and install a "reputable" independent monitor, said the Treasury official. A Taliban administration spokesman and a spokesperson for the Afghan central bank did not respond to request for comment. Afghanistan remains mired in grave humanitarian and economic crises that some experts say has been worsened by U.S. restrictions hampering DAB's ability to perform key central bank functions, such as ensuring stable exchange rates and prices. Calling the audit a "preliminary assessment," the Treasury official said its "limitations" suggested that "more comprehensive third-party assessment efforts may be needed."

Persons: ”, disbursements, Shah Mehrabi, Mehrabi, Anwar ul, Haq Ahady, Jonathan Landay, Charlotte Greenfield, Don Durfee Organizations: U.S ., Afghan, Da, Da Afghanistan Bank, Treasury, Federal Reserve Bank of New, DAB, U.S . Agency for International Development, USAID, U.S, Afghan Fund, State Department, The State Department, Reuters, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON, ISLAMABAD, U.S, Da Afghanistan, Swiss, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Afghan, Washington, United States, Afghanistan, American

☆ Taliban halt Swedish activities in Afghanistan after Koran burning
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KABUL, July 11 (Reuters) - The Taliban administration said on Tuesday all activities by Sweden in Afghanistan must stop after the burning of the Koran outside a mosque in the Swedish capital last month. The order was likely to affect the Swedish non-governmental organisation, the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, which has thousands of aid workers at work throughout the country in health, education and rural development. An Iraqi immigrant to Sweden burned the Koran outside a Stockholm mosque last month, causing outrage in the Muslim world. The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Taliban order. The Taliban administration did not provide details on which organisations would be affected.

Persons: Zabiullah Mujahid, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Charlotte Greenfield, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Swedish Committee, United, Thomson Locations: KABUL, Sweden, Afghanistan, Swedish, Emirate, Iraqi, Stockholm

☆ Taliban leader endorses Elon Musk's Twitter, accuses Mark Zuckerberg's Threads of having an 'intolerant' policy on free speech
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Charles R. Davis | Haley Tenore | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Anas Haqqani, a Taliban official, said Twitter is more committed to "free speech" than its rivals. Haqqani's father founded the Haqqani Network, a US-designated foreign terrorist organization. The Taliban was designated a terrorist group more than a decade earlier, following the Sept. 11 terror attacks. "The Taliban wanted to counter their propaganda and that's why we too focused ourselves on Twitter," the Taliban member said. "Social media is a powerful tool to change public perception."

Persons: Anas Haqqani, Haqqani's, Haqqani, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, El Pais, Critics, Musk, Jalaluddin Haqqani, Hedayatullah Hedayat, Abdul Haq Hammad Organizations: Taliban, Twitter, Haqqani Network, Service, El, Haqqani, Radio Free, Radio Liberty, National Counterterrorism Center, Meta, Facebook, BBC Locations: Wall, Silicon, Turkey, India, Radio Free Europe, Afghanistan, WhatsApp

☆ Taliban official letter reinforces bar of female aid staff in southern Kandahar
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KABUL, June 23 (Reuters) - Taliban authorities in Afghanistan's Kandahar province ordered female aid workers this week to stop work on a refugee project, according to an official letter, reinforcing rules against women working despite exemptions sought by some organisations. The letter underscored the uncertainty of the operating environment in Afghanistan for aid agencies who say they intend to stay and deliver aid during a humanitarian crisis but seek exemptions to let female staff work, to reach female beneficiaries and avoid breaching UN charter principles. The Taliban administration signalled in January it would work on a set of written guidelines that could allow aid groups to operate with female staff in some cases, but it has not yet done so. The Norwegian Refugee Council, an international NGO, in May said it had received exemptions for many of its operations in Kandahar and was resuming work with female staff. The Taliban's restrictions on women aid workers and access to education have been widely criticized by the international community.

Persons: Haibatullah Akhundzada, Charlotte Greenfield, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Peter Graff Organizations: Reuters, Department of Refugees, United Nations, Norwegian Refugee Council, NRC, Diplomats, Thomson Locations: KABUL, Afghanistan's Kandahar, Kandahar, Spin, Pakistan, Afghanistan, United States

☆ Water wars: Afghanistan and Iran's deadly border flare-up spotlights scarcity crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Kajaki Hydroelectric Dam in Kajaki, Afghanistan in the Helmand province on June 4, 2018 in Kajaki, Afghanistan. Iranian and Afghan border guards clashed on May 27, exchanging heavy gunfire that killed two Iranian guards and one Taliban soldier and wounded several others. A dangerous borderThe 580-mile border between Afghanistan and Iran is porous and crawling with crime, predominantly coming from the Afghan side into Iran. "Iran's Afghan border has always been its most vulnerable," said Kamal Alam, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's South Asia Center. In the 1950s, Afghanistan built two major dams that limited the flow of water from the Helmand river into Iran.

Persons: Maplecroft, Wakil Kohsar, Soltvedt, Kamal Alam, Alam, Ryan Bohl, Rane, Ebrahim Raisi, Yamil Lage Organizations: Orbital, Copernicus Sentinel, Getty Images, CNBC, Taliban, Afp, Getty, Asia Center, East Locations: Kajaki, Afghanistan, Helmand, Getty Images Iran, Iran, Tehran, destabilization, East, North Africa, Afghan, Zaranj, Iran's, Khuzestan, Nimruz, Helmand Province, Sistan, Baluchistan, Havana, Cuba

☆ Meta is playing a game of whack-a-mole with the Taliban as the isolated Afghan government increasingly attempts to use WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption for official business
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The New York Times reported Taliban government officials increasingly use WhatsApp to communicate. WhatsApp owner Meta is engaged in an uphill battle to block the accounts in order to comply. Taliban officials then try finding workarounds to access the app, like buying new SIM cards and creating new accounts, prompting a cyclical cat-and-mouse game. It remains unclear what proof Meta officials require that a WhatsApp account is associated with a Taliban user before blocking them. WhatsApp, in particular, has long faced criticism from law enforcement groups (and praise from data privacy experts) for its standardized end-to-end encryption.

Persons: Meta, —, Shir Ahmad Burhani, WhatsApp, James Comey, Comey Organizations: New York Times, Meta, Times, Afghanistan's Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defense, US Patriot, FBI Locations: Afghanistan, California, Baghlan Province

☆ Afghanistan's Taliban needs money so badly they are selling tickets to monuments their own fighters smashed to pieces: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Afghanistan is selling tickets to the ruins of recently-destroyed monuments, the Washington Post reported. Tickets to see the cavernous remains of the Bamiyan Buddhas, in the Hazarajat region, are sold to locals for 57 cents and $3.45 to foreigners, the paper reported. L: One of the Bamiyan Buddhas in 1997. But some Afghan officials believe that sites like Bamiyan still have potential to bring in significant tourist money, despite the loss of the Buddhas. Mohammedi is planning a souvenir market nearby, The Washington Post reported.

Persons: —, Sayed Salahuddin, Bamiyan, Saifurrahman Mohammadi, we've Organizations: Washington Post, Service, Slate, American, Taliban, Sayed Salahuddin AS, Reuters, CNN, UN, Financial Times, The Washington Post Locations: Afghanistan, Hazarajat, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, The

☆ Taliban's central-bank governor meets Chinese envoy to discuss banking ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Charlotte Greenfield | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Ali Khara/File photoJune 16 (Reuters) - The Taliban's acting governor of the Afghan central bank met China's ambassador this week to discuss banking relations and business, the bank's spokesperson told Reuters on Friday. Afghanistan's banking system has been severely hampered by U.S.-led sanctions, a drop in liquidity from frozen central bank assets and a cut in development spending. Regulatory risk concerns of international banks have also largely cut off the country's formal banking sector from the global financial system. "China has always supported the peaceful reconstruction of Afghanistan, provides sincere help to Afghanistan, and welcomes Afghanistan to join the Belt and Road Initiative," it said. Badri is a senior Taliban figure who became acting head of the central bank in March after stepping down as acting finance minister.

Persons: Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Wang Yu, Ali Khara, Hassibullah Noori, Mullah Hidayatullah Badri, Badri, Charlotte Greenfield, Laurie Chen, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Frances Kerry Organizations: Afghan, REUTERS, U.S, Reuters, Initiative, Thomson Locations: China, Islamic Emirate, Afghanistan, Kabul, Afghan, Beijing, Taliban, Islamabad

☆ UN in talks about possibly handing over Afghan teaching projects to Taliban
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Charlotte Greenfield | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Aid officials say that the Taliban had signalled international organisations could no longer be involved in education projects, in a move criticised by the U.N. but not yet confirmed by Afghan authorities. A spokesperson for the Taliban did not respond to request for comment. International organisations have been heavily involved in education projects, and UNICEF made an agreement with the Taliban to run community classes before they took over the country. Two humanitarian sources told Reuters this month that aid agencies had been told provincial authorities had been directed to stop the involvement of international organisations in education projects, possibly within weeks. The Taliban took over Afghanistan after a 20-year insurgency against U.S.-led forces with a speed and ease that took the world by surprise.

Persons: Afghanistan's, Samantha Mort, Charlotte Greenfield, Nick Macfie Organizations: UNICEF, REUTERS, Afghan, de, Ministry of Education, Reuters, Education, United Nations, Taliban, U.S, Thomson Locations: Jalalabad, Afghanistan, New York

☆ Sixty Afghan girls hospitalised after school poisoning - police
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KABUL, June 5 (Reuters) - Around 60 Afghan girls were hospitalisd after being poisoned at their school in nothern Afghanistan, police said on Monday. The poisoning, which targeted a girls' school in the Afghan province of Sar-e Pol, comes after intense scrutiny of girls' education in the war-torn nation since the Taliban took over and barred most teenage female students and after a wave of poison attacks on girls' schools in neighbouring Iran. "Some unknown people entered a girls' ... school in Sancharak District .. and poisoned the classes, when the girls come to classes they got poisoned," said Den Mohammad Nazari, Sar-e-Pol's police spokesperson, without elaborating on which substance was used or who was thought to be behind the incident. In neighbouring Iran, poiosoning incidents at girls' schools sickened an estimated 13,000 mostly female students since November. During Afghanistan's previous foreign-backed government, several poisoning attacks, including suspected gas attacks, on girls' schools had taken place.

Persons: Den Mohammad Nazari, Nazari, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Charlotte Greenfield, Stephen Coates Organizations: Thomson Locations: KABUL, nothern Afghanistan, Afghan, Sar, Iran, Sancharak District

☆ Exclusive: Qatar prime minister, Taliban chief hold secret Afghan talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Jonathan Landay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The Taliban say they respect women’s rights in line with their interpretation of Islamic law and Afghan customs. The Taliban in March 2022 barred girls from high schools and extended the ban to universities in December. ADDRESSING HUMANITARIAN CRISISSheikh Mohammed and Haibatullah also discussed efforts to remedy Afghanistan's humanitarian crisis, the source said. The U.S. and its allies say the Taliban harbor members of al Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban. Sheikh Mohammed, who also serves as Qatar's foreign minister, met publicly in Kandahar with Mullah Hassan Akhund, the Taliban prime minister, on the same day he met the supreme leader.

Persons: Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, Akhunzada, Joe Biden's, Sheikh Mohammed, Haibatullah, al, Mullah Hassan Akhund, Jonathan Landay, Don Durfee, Deepa Babington Organizations: Qatari, Qatar, United, The State Department, Human Rights, United Nations, Islamic, Haibatullah, Thomson Locations: Afghan, Kandahar, Thani, Kabul, United States, Washington, Qatar, U.S, Geneva, Islamic State, Afghanistan, The U.S, al Qaeda, Doha

☆ At least three killed in clash on Iran-Afghan border
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBAI, May 27 (Reuters) - Two Iranian border guards and one Taliban fighter were killed after shooting broke out near a border post between Iran and Afghanistan, a Taliban spokesman and Iran's state media said on Saturday. "Today, in Nimroz province, Iranian border forces fired toward Afghanistan, which was met with a counter-reaction," spokesman for the Taliban-run interior ministry, Abdul Nafi Takor, said in a statement. He said one person had been killed on each side and several injured, though Iran's official IRNA news agency later said two Iranian border guards had been killed and two Iranian civilians injured. Following the clash, Iranian authorities closed the Milak – Zaranj border post, a major commercial crossing - and not the site of the clash - until further notice, IRNA said. Iran's border guards said in a statement they had "used their superior heavy fire to inflict casualties and serious damage", IRNA reported, without giving details.

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