Taliban and US officials to meet amid quake relief efforts
Afghan finance and central bank officials from the Taliban-led government have departed for Qatar to meet with U.S. officials after last week’s deadly earthquake highlighted how critical relief efforts have stumbled under the weight of the country’s spiraling economic woes
washingtonpost.comDeath toll of children in Afghanistan quake rises to 155
The United Nations says that the death toll of children in last week’s devastating earthquake in southeastern Afghanistan has risen to 155 as the scope of the deadliest quake to hit the impoverished country in two decades comes into focus
washingtonpost.comTaliban struggle to respond to earthquake amid international isolation
(Lorenzo Tugnoli for The Washington Post)Taliban militants distribute bread in Paktika province. (Lorenzo Tugnoli for The Washington Post)Villagers remove rubble of a destroyed house in Paktika province. (Lorenzo Tugnoli for The Washington Post)Aslad Khan, 40, recovers in a hospital in Urgun after 15 members of his family were killed in the earthquake. (Lorenzo Tugnoli for The Washington Post)Paktika has been one of the country’s most neglected provinces for decades. (Lorenzo Tugnoli for The Washington Post)Haq Nawaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this report.
washingtonpost.comIndia flies tons of essentials to quake-rocked Afghanistan
India sent family tents, blankets and other relief supplies for a team to distribute in eastern Afghan villages where a deadly earthquake collapsed thousands of timber and stone homes to rubble. Pictures of the relief effort were accompanied by a tweet from India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar: “India, a true first responder.” The supplies total 27 tons delivered over two flights to Afghanistan's capital Kabul, where the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Afghan Red Crescent Society will coordinate its distribution, a ministry statement said Friday.
news.yahoo.comUN envoy's farewell: My heart breaks for Afghan girls, women
The U.N. representative in Afghanistan says her heart is breaking because of the harsh edicts that the Taliban have imposed on girls and women since they seized power in the country, denying them the right to education and work and forcing millions to stay at home
washingtonpost.comSome Afghan refugees now have chance to avoid terrorism designation that blocked path to U.S.
Doctors, teachers, engineers and other Afghans who were forced to associate with the Taliban will now have a chance at asylum or visas after the Biden administration loosened a terrorism-related designation on Tuesday, according to government officials and documents reviewed by the Los Angeles Times.
latimes.comAir Force: Crew not at fault for Afghan deaths in evacuation
The Air Force has concluded that air crew members acted appropriately and were not at fault for some tragic deaths during the chaotic evacuation from Afghanistan last year, when desperate Afghans clung to a military plane as it was taking off and fell to their deaths or were caught in the wheels.
Afghans go hungry as U.S. and Taliban officials blame each other
Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis has been building for decades, driven not just by persistent poverty and too little rain, but also by generations of war and an economy almost entirely dependent on international support.
washingtonpost.comUN: Taliban faces threat from Islamic State, new resistance
U.N. experts say Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers are maintaining close ties with al-Qaida as they consolidate control over the country, and their main military threat is coming from the Islamic State extremist group and guerrilla-style attacks by former Afghan government security personnel.
Pulitzer Prizes award Washington Post for Jan. 6 coverage
The Washington Post won the Pulitzer Prize in public service journalism Monday for its coverage of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, an attack on democracy that was a shocking start to a tumultuous year that also saw the end of the United States’ longest war, in Afghanistan.
President Biden offers statement for “Blood Sunday” anniversary
On Sunday, March 7, 1965, time stopped and blood spilled as brave and righteous Americans sought to cross a bridge named after a Klansman in Selma, Alabama, to reach the other side of justice. Led by the late John Lewis, they marched to secure their sacred right to vote. Their heroism was met by batons and tear gas. They were beaten, but not defeated. Their absolute courage forced America to look in the mirror and Congress to act. Soon after, President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965.