COMMENT | Anna Husarska | A 2023 survey conducted by three United Nations agencies in Afghanistan revealed a grim reality: nearly one-fifth of Afghan women had not interacted with anyone outside their immediate families over the previous three months. This alarming statistic underscores the severe isolation imposed on women in …
Read More »Afghans celebrate Eid al-Fitr in peaceful environment, pray for lasting peace
KABUL, Afghanistan | Xinhua | The people of war-riddled Afghanistan like other Muslims across the globe are celebrating Eid al-Fitr, which falls on Wednesday, to mark the end of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan with fervor and solemnity. Welcoming the security apparatus for ensuring peace during Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr …
Read More »Afghan army chief: U.S. drones occasionally violate Afghan airspace
KABUL | Xinhua | Afghan Chief of Army Staff Qari Fasihuddin Fitrat has accused the United States of violating Afghanistan’s airspace, saying that Washington’s pilotless planes occasionally enter Afghanistan’s airspace. “American drones occasionally fly over Afghanistan’s airspace. Drones occasionally patrol, and Afghanistan’s airspace is still occupied by the Americans,” the …
Read More »Uganda, America and Israel
Lessons from the US war in Afghanistan for Uganda’s mission in Somalia and Israel’s in Gaza THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | While thinking about Uganda’s involvement in Somalia sometime last year, I read Craig Whitlock’s book, The Afghanistan Papers, The Secret History of the War. Just after I had finished …
Read More »Lessons for Uganda from Afghanistan
It is now time to allow Al Shabab take over power in Somalia and form a government THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | It is almost two years since the United States withdrew from Afghanistan with its tail between its legs. This was in spite of spending $2.01 trillion on that …
Read More »UN calls for restoration of university rights for Afghan women
United Nations | Xinhua | UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous on Wednesday called for the restoration of Afghan women’s right to higher education after the Taliban-run administration barred them from university. The Taliban’s new order, announced Tuesday, effectively bans women from higher education, she said in a statement. “It is …
Read More »Biden says U.S. killed al-Qaeda leader al-Zawahiri in drone strike
Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | U.S. President Joe Biden announced Monday evening that al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri had been killed in a drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan over the weekend. “I authorized a precision strike that would remove him from the battlefield,” Biden said in live remarks from the Blue Room …
Read More »China urges U.S. to return assets to Afghanistan
Beijing, China | Xinhua | China’s Foreign Ministry on Friday urged the United States to unconditionally return assets belonging to the Afghan people and take concrete actions to repair the damage caused to them. Global Times, an English-language Chinese newspaper, launched an online petition on Thursday, calling on the U.S. government …
Read More »Biden enters 2nd year in office with unmet priorities
Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | This week marks one year since U.S. President Joe Biden took office, with plummeting approval ratings and unresolved key priorities. A year ago when Biden spoke to a divided nation, weeks after the U.S. Capitol riot, he said he would bring back unity and do “great …
Read More »OIC decides to establish humanitarian trust fund, launch food security program for Afghans
Islamabad, Pakistan | Xinhua | The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has decided to establish a humanitarian trust fund, launch a food security program, and facilitate to unlock financial and banking channels for Afghanistan to help the Afghan people facing looming humanitarian crisis, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Sunday. …
Read More »