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Afghanistan celebrates New Year
KABUL - Afghans across the country today marked the start of Persian Year 1390 and the first day of spring by visiting relatives, eating traditional foods and enjoying cultural events on what is the beginning of the solar year. “May this year bring you health, prosperity and happiness. May this year…
Senior UN official calls for rethinking of global drug control strategy
21 March 2011 – A top United Nations official today called on countries to rethink the global strategy on drug control in light of the diverse and complex challenges that drugs pose for public health, security and development. UN News Centre story “We must build on widespread recognition among…
Message of the Secretary-General on International Day of Nowruz
21 March 2011 - Nowruz has special meaning for many peoples in the Balkans, the Black Sea and Caspian Sea regions, the Caucasus, Central and South Asia, and the Middle East. Celebrated for millennia, the holiday is associated with a rich tapestry of customs and rituals linked with the arrival of…
Message of the Secretary-General on World Water Day
22 March 2011 - As the world charts a more sustainable future, the crucial interplay among water, food and energy is one of the most formidable challenges we face. Without water there is no dignity and no escape from poverty. Yet the Millennium Development Goal target for water and sanitation is…
Bamyanis head to the slopes on final day of Nowruz festival
22 March 2011 – Skiing competitions and snow races are underway today in the Koshak Valley in Bamyan where the province is wrapping up its annual Nowruz festival. Hundreds of residents yesterday celebrated the start of Afghan year 1390 and the first day of spring by lighting the mountainside Buddha…
UNAMA at the Middle East Institute in Washington
22 March 2011 - Staffan de Mistura, the top UN envoy in Afghanistan and head of the political mission UNAMA, today highlighted the significance of Afghanistan’s regional neighbours in the effort to achieve a sustainable peace settlement. Speaking at the US-based Middle East Institute, de Mistura…
Security Council extends UNAMA mandate until 23 March 2012
22 March 2011 - The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations mission in Afghanistan for one more year so that it can continue to assist the Government as it assumes greater responsibility for ensuring the country’s security and development. UN News Centre story In a…
OP-ED: Jailed for being abused
By Ivan Simonovic, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights 23 March 2011 - Sima is 15, but looks even younger. I met her in Kabul, in the female juveniles section of the Badam Bagh prison, earlier this month. She talks very little, but her eyes are full of grief. A defence lawyer…
- News stories
Afghanistan marks World TB Day
KABUL - On World TB Day, health officials in Afghanistan are calling the disease one of the country’s greatest public health threats. Afghanistan ranks among the 22 high-burden TB countries in the world. More than 50,000 people last year tested positive for the disease, almost 70 per cent of them…
New Year’s eve concert spreads message of peace in Helmand
24 March 2011 - Thousands of Helmandis gathered at Karzai stadium on the New Afghan Year Nowroz to take part in a celebration of peace. Popular singers and music bands from around the country sent messages of peace through their tunes during the concert organized on Monday in Lashkargah, capital of…
Afghan teens learn computer, English in joint Afghan-UNDP training
26 March 2011 – Hundreds of young Afghans this quarter are getting free computer and English training as part of an ICT4Youth, a programme created by the Deputy Ministry of Youth Affairs (DMoYA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) . In the 2010, around 300 young Afghans were trained…