Afghanistan
UN says 85 civilians killed, 373 wounded in Afghan election violence
KABUL (AFP): Hundreds of people were killed or wounded in violence related to Afghanistan´s recent presidential election season as the Taliban sought to undermine the democratic process, a UN agency said Tuesday. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported that 85 people were killed and another 373 wounded in election violence during the…
Read MoreCivilians killed in an airstrike
Monitoring Desk WARDUJ: At least two civilians were killed, and six others were wounded, in an airstrike in Warduj district of Badakhshan province of Afghanistan on Sunday afternoon, local officials confirmed on Monday. The airstrike took place in Zohr village of Warduj on Sunday and targeted Attaullah, a Taliban commander in the district, according to…
Read MoreElection results ready later this month: IEC
Monitoring Desk KABUL: Afghanistan’s delayed presidential election results should be ready later this month, after technical problems with the counting, its Independent Election Commission said on Monday. Afghans voted in presidential elections earlier last month despite Taliban threats and violence. However, the polling was marred by widespread misconduct and accusations of fraud — as well…
Read MoreWashington supports IEC’s decision on biometric votes
Monitoring Desk KABUL: The US Ambassador to Afghanistan John Bass said that Washington supports the decision by the Independent Election Commission to validate only biometric votes. Bass said the election commissions should continue their work independently, with full US support. He said that the important point is to protect the transparency in the process: “We…
Read MoreOver 1,200 Afghan youth commissioned to army
Monitoring Desk KABUL: A total of 1,232 youth after completion of a 12-week military training course and receiving certificates have been commissioned to the national army, said an army spokesman Barat Ali Rezai here. “The newly graduated youths have completed the three-month military training course in Kabul Military Training Center (KMTC) here and have been…
Read MoreAfghan museum restores Buddhist history, one broken piece at a time
Monitoring Desk KABUL: Restoring Afghanistan’s Buddhist artifacts that were destroyed by the Taliban 18 years ago is like working on a 1,500-year-old jigsaw puzzle, say conservators working on the latest restoration project. The militant Islamic group in 2001 destroyed artifacts dating from the third century when many Afghans practised Buddhism, including two towering Buddha statues…
Read MoreIEC records 1.7 million biometric votes in 85% of polling stations
KABUL (Ariana News): The Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Monday said that the biometrically verified turnout of 85% of polling stations is at 1.7 million voters. “All information of more than one million voters have been transferred to the main server and we have uploaded 22,916 result sheets into the system,” said Hawa Alam Nuristani,…
Read More15 civilians killed in Badakhshan airstrike
KABUL (AT News): Residents in northern Badakhshan province on Monday claimed that at least 15 civilians were killed and 18 others, including children wounded in an airstrike conducted on Sunday afternoon in Warduj district of the province. However, local officials confirmed two people were killed and six other, all of them civilians were wounded in…
Read MoreMP attendance too low to pass laws
KABUL (TOLO News): A finding of the Free and Fair Election Forum of Afghanistan reveals that the parliament achieved quorum—obtained the minimum number of lawmakers required to pass legislation—only a handful of times over the past six months. “Unfortunately, we had a complete quorum for only four or five sessions within the 40 sessions that…
Read MoreSenators send government officials to judiciary over corruption
KABUL (AT News): The members of senate sent Monday the cases of some government officials they consider corrupt to the attorney general office. The senate’s commission for public complaints said that officials from the ministries of finance, foreign affairs, higher education, commerce and agriculture, who were blamed for making illegal contracts, corruption and illegal appointments…
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