News (Consolidated) - UNSOM

9 August 2009 - Afghanistan’s most popular singer, Farhad Darya today called on his countrymen and women to actively participate in the upcoming presidential and provincial council elections. “I am not working for any particular candidates, but I am supporting the culture of elections and the…

KABUL - The top United Nations envoy in Afghanistan said today that he was concerned that the insecurity around the country will affect the turn-out of voters for the 20 August presidential and provincial council elections. In a joint press conference with the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights…

9 August 2009 - Insecurity is having a serious impact on preparations for Afghanistan's upcoming elections, especially for women, according to the United Nations and the country's human rights body, which added that despite attacks and threats, Afghans are eager to take part in the polls. A report…

11 August 2009 - The Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Kai Eide, today said that progress was being made toward meeting the goals as outlined under the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS). Mr Eide was speaking in Kabul at a day-long conference, organised to update the…

12 August 2009 - “I am a poet. For long time I have suffered from violence and injustice in our society but I couldn’t express myself, until one day I took pen and paper. The YICC [Youth Information and Contac Center] gives me finally an opportunity to learn English and how to use a computer…

13 August 2009 - In exactly seven days Afghans will go to the polls to elect their next president. A new democracy is being experienced in Afghanistan with daily television debates attracting large audiences on the dozens of new TV channels which have sprung up in the last five years. Everyday…

KABUL - Thousands of Afghans in the country’s West will benefit from a donation by the Government of Japan to the World Food Programme (WFP) for the purchase of food. The US$ 5.9 million donation – coordinated by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) – will support WFP projects in Ghor and…

14 August 2009 - In many ways, history is unfolding in this hastily-assembled office in a residential apartment in Kabul's Kolola Pushta neighbourhood. Farida Tarana, one of Afghanistan's most popular women, welcomes me into the room, then quickly engrosses herself in some papers, as a bunch of…

KABUL - Increasing voter turnout is one of the main challenges for the upcoming presidential and provincial council elections in Afghanistan, on 20 August. To raise awareness about voting procedures and to step-up the number of voters, the Independent Election Commission – the Afghan institution…

15 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.

KABUL - In the north east of Afghanistan the Independent Election Commission has started the training for more than 19,000 staff for Election Day. They’ll be trained on the working procedures for the voting and the ballot counting for the 20 August presidential and provincial council elections. “The…

KABUL - The UN Special Representative for Afghanistan Kai Eide visited US military detention facilities at Bagram this past week as part of ongoing efforts to examine conditions for detainees. The visit was part of a series that Mr Eide is making to detention facilities in and around Kabul aimed at…