News (Consolidated) - UNSOM

KABUL - A senior Afghan counter-narcotics officials said on Tuesday that poppy eradication operation carried out earlier this year cost lives of 133 members of the security forces, which is twice as big as 2012. Afghanistan’s Deputy Minister for Counter-Narcotics, Mohammad Ibrahim Azhar, told a news…

KABUL - Ahead of the World Press Freedom Day that falls on 3 May, an Afghan journalists union honoured two journalists yesterday with this year’s Ajmal Naqshbandi Media Award, named after a journalist killed in 2007 by the Taliban in southern Helmand province. Ali Akbar Rostami, a reporter with the…

KABUL - On the eve of World Press Freedom Day, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) calls on all political stakeholders in the country to join hands in securing freedom of the press and the right of expression that have been one of the main achievements of the past decade in…

KABUL - In a series of television and radio round-table discussions, organized by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in coordination with local media partners on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day across the country, media experts and officials called for more…

KABUL - Amid calls for more security for journalists, increased access to information and job security in Afghanistan, a leading Afghan media rights group today reported a sharp rise in violence against Afghan journalists in the first quarter of this year. At an event in the capital, Kabul, the…

KABUL - Qais Shaqasi fell in love at a family wedding some five years ago. The object of his affection was an “oddly shaped wooden contraption” being handled by a man at the wedding and which made appealing sounds. He later learned that the “contraption” was called a guitar. When he turned 18 he…

KABUL - The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) strongly condemns an attack against a Government compound in the south-western province of Farah on 3 April that resulted in the deaths of at least 41 civilians, most of whom were civilian Government workers, and injuries to more…

KABUL - A senior United Nations official with personal experience of South Africa’s own path to reconciliation last week told members of the body leading Afghanistan’s peace negotiations not to lose hope and keep moving forward. “Peace negotiation is like riding a bicycle – everything is alright…

KABUL - Afghanistan continues to be the largest grower of opium in the world, with the country accounting for an estimated 64 per cent of its global production, according to a report from the United Nations agency leading global efforts to fight against illicit drugs and international crime. The…

KABUL - A two-day United Nations-backed conference, which concluded in Kabul today, highlighted the need for placing agriculture at the core of Afghanistan's national strategy for economic growth and sustainable job creation. Participants at the conference – organized jointly by the Government of…

KABUL - The Ministry of Finance today signed a grant agreement of $55 million with the World Bank. The grant is being provided by the International Development Association (IDA) – the World Bank’s concessional lending arm – to assist Afghan youth to advance their skills and competencies, enabling…

GHAZNI - Officials in Ghazni province reopened four schools that had been closed nine years ago following clashes between security forces and insurgents. The schools resumed functioning in Ghazni City, Maqur, Khwaja Omari and Rashidan districts of the province. Education official Maulvi Zahoor Ahmad…