News (Consolidated) - UNSOM

29 July 2009 - Provincial Council candidates in the eastern province of Kunar want both domestic and international observers to hit the ground as soon as possible. In an interview with UNAMA earlier this week, three provincial candidates – Sohaila Babur, Amroz Safi and Rafiullah Haidari – said…

BAMYAN - Local Journalists and media in Bamyan have been trained to report on the polling and counting processes for the 20 August elections. The media development non-government organizations Internews Network and its Afghan partner Nai have been training journalists across the country. “Internews…

KABUL - “As the conflict intensifies and spreads, it is taking an increasingly heavy toll on civilians,” says the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in a mid year report released Friday on the situation of civilians in armed conflict in 2009. دری - پشتو The report, compiled by…

KABUL - The ongoing conflict in Afghanistan continues to take a heavy toll on the country’s civilians, according to the United Nations mission there, which recorded over 1,000 deaths in the first six months of 2009 – 24 per cent more than during the same period last year. “Both anti-government…

1 August 2009 - UNAMA's latest radio show "Afghanistan Today" broadcast in Dari and Pashto on Radio Television Afghanistan is now available to listen to online and on iTunes.

1 August 2009 - Two issues currently focus the international community’s perspective on Afghanistan: The upcoming Presidential and Provincial Council Elections on 20 August and the major military offensive started by coalition forces in the South following the military surge initiated by US…

2 August 2009 - The Media Commission today, once again, warned the state media, in particular, Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) for its biased reportage, favouring incumbent President and candidate Hamid Karzai. With elections just three weeks away, the media monitoring body released its fourth…

KABUL - As the final weeks approach for the 20 August presidential and provincial council elections the massive logistical operation behind organizing the polls is becoming clear. A two step plan has been formulated by Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission and the UN’s elections support…

2 August 2009 - The UN’s top envoy in Afghanistan has tested the indelible ink to be used in the country’s forthcoming elections. Officials from Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission applied the special ink to Special Representative Kai Eide’s right hand index finger. The ink failed to be…

KABUL - The top United Nations official in Afghanistan today condemned violent attacks on presidential hopefuls ahead of this month's national and provincial elections, urging all parties to concentrate on the political debate. “There has been - and there is - concern about irregularities, and those…

3 August 2009 - Malang Darya and Amruddin Sanjar’s childhood dreams came true when they climbed the highest mountain in Afghanistan. “I wanted to make my country proud by raising its flag on Afghanistan’s highest mountain peak, Noshaq,” said Amruddin at a press conference in Kabul today hosted by…

3 August 2009 - Political reconciliation efforts in Afghanistan must accelerate after this month’s presidential elections, the top United Nations envoy to the war-ravaged country has stressed, warning that regardless of the result of the poll, military operations will not bring durable peace. “I’m…