Israeli Settlements: Facts about Dangerous Strategy

The Israeli settlements are built in the occupied Palestinian lands as part of strategy to Judaize various Palestinian regions and facilitate more land seizures. The settlement projects have had highly strategic place in the Israel�s calculations since foundation of the regime in 1948. Tel Aviv found...

Noor demands Dostum�s return and end to monopoly of power

The provincial governor of northern Balkh province and chief executive of Jamiat-e-Islami Ata Mohammad Noor demanded the removal barriers preventing the return of Abdul Rashid Dostum to the country. Noor made the remarks during a gathering organized in Mazar-e-Sharif city, the provincial capital of...

AAF To Take Delivery Next Week Of Six Black Hawks

The Afghan Ministry of Defense (MoD) on Saturday said six Black Hawk helicopters will be handed over to the Afghan Air Force (AAF) by next week. The Black Hawks will eventually replace the Russian Mi-17 and Mi-35 helicopters currently in use by the AAF. A few months ago, the United States announced...

IDB Lends Kabul $74 Million For Ring Road

Ministry of Finance (MoF) officials on Saturday said the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has provided government with $74 million USD for the construction of Kabul�s ring road as a long-term loan. According to finance ministry officials, the money will be invested in the first phase of Kabul�s ring road...

MPs To Summon IEC Officials Over Ongoing Problems

Members of the Wolesi Jirga (the Lower House of Parliament) on Saturday raised concerns over a range of issues including the existence of corruption in the IEC, the contract issue around the purchase of electronic equipment for the IEC and the inactivity of IEC officials. The concerns also come days...

McMaster And Atmar Discuss US Strategy In Video Conference

The Afghan National Security Advisor Mohammad Haneef Atmar on Thursday spoke with his US counterpart H.R. McMaster in a video conference and discussed the US�s new strategy for Afghanistan, the National Security Council said in a statement issued on Saturday. According to the statement, they went through...

Massoud slams Ghani for lack of will to eliminate terrorism, bring reforms

The former presidential advisor for good governance Ahmad Zia Massoud slammed President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani for the lack of will to eliminate terrorism and implement reforms. Speaking during a gathering in Mazar-e-Sharif to mark the week of martyrs, Massoud claimed the government has no will to bring...

US considering dropping Pakistan as an ally over terror sanctuaries

Washington is considering dropping Pakistan as an ally amid growing pressures regarding the terror sanctuaries that remain intact despite repeated calls to take actions, it has been reported. Sources privy of the development have told the UK-based The Financial Times that Washington is examining tougher...

Abdullah says formation of political coalitions a legitimate move

The chief executive of the government of national unity Abdullah Abdullah says the formation of the political coalitions is a legitimate move. Abdullah endorsed the move for the formation of a new political coalition, coalition for salvation of Afghanistan, as he was addressing a gathering in Mazar-e-Sharif...

Ghani to meet Trump on Thursday

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is expected to meet with his US. counterpart Donald Trump on coming Thursday. The scheduled meeting was announced by U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster during a press conference at the White House on Friday. "On Thursday, the President (Trump) will meet with...

Russo-Saudi Closeness: What Are Two Sides� Goals?

The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Saudi Arabia on Sunday for talks with his Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir in Jeddah. The trip also saw the Russian FM meeting the Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz who is scheduled to visit Moscow in October to be the first Saudi monarch to visit Russia...

Russia, Iran, Turkey agree on Idlib �safe zones�

Russia, Iran, and Turkey, which together act as guarantor states in peace talks for Syria, have agreed on the details of a "de-escalation zone" in the Arab country�s western Idlib province during resolution talks in the Kazakh capital of Astana. In a joint statement after two days of talks in Kazakhstan,...

Saudi Regime Continues Crackdown, Citizens Call for Protests

Saudi activists have called for peaceful protests in the kingdom on Friday while the regime in Riyadh continues with its crackdown of dissident clerics. The protests, dubbed the 15 September Movement, are set to take place on Friday after people gather in mosques around the country for the weekly...

Turkey censures Belgium over court ruling on PKK

Turkey has censured an "unacceptable" decision by a court in Belgium not to prosecute the outlawed Kurdistan Workers� Party (PKK) for terrorist activities, accusing the European country of being a "weak link" in the battle against terrorism. On Thursday, a Belgian appeals court rejected an objection...

Biden says Trump �undermines America�s standing in the world�

Former US Vice President Joe Biden has censured President Donald Trump’s leadership, accusing his administration of misunderstanding and misrepresenting the American values. In an op-ed published by The New York Times on Thursday, Biden delivered a stinging rebuke of Trump’s recent...

Qatar ready to �sit at table� to resolve Persian Gulf dispute

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani says Doha is ready to negotiate with the emirate’s fellow Arab states to find a solution to the diplomatic row in the Persian Gulf region. "As you know we have had a siege of more than 100 days against Qatar," Al Thani said at a joint press...

Facebook must �own up� to its role in spreading fake news: Clinton

Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has accused Facebook of spreading fake news, adding that she will make the online social media and networking service to "own up" to its role in this regard. Clinton said in an interview with MSNBC on Friday that Facebook had published thousands...

Spain passes measures to control Catalonia finances

The Spanish government on Friday passed measures to increase control over how Catalonia spends its money in an effort to stop the regional administration from using state cash to pay for an illegal independence referendum. The wealthy northeastern region launched its official campaign for an independence...

US drone attack kills 3 in Pakistan�s tribal region

A US drone strike has killed three people in the tribal area of Pakistan near the Afghanistan border. "Two missiles were dropped on the home of Maulvi Mohib and three people have been killed," said Baseer Khan Wazir on Friday. Wazir is the political agent and the most senior administrator in the Kurram...

North Korea�s latest missile test draws global condemnations

China and Russia have condemned a new missile launch by North Korea as international pressure mounts on Pyongyang over its ongoing missile and nuclear tests. North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan and into the Pacific on Friday. The missile flew over Hokkaido in the north and landed in the...

Human Rights Watch censures Saudi�s �coordinated crackdown on dissent�

Human Rights Watch has decried Saudi Arabia’s "coordinated crackdown on dissent" against a backdrop of arresting scores of opponents, including prominent clerics, in the kingdom. According to multiple unidentified sources and tweets by rights organizations, journalists and others, Saudi...

Man arrested after attacking police in Paris

A man has been arrested in the French capital of Paris after attacking a soldier with a knife, police say. The knife-wielding man attacked a soldier outside Chatelet subway station at about 6:30 am (04:30 GMT) on Friday. No injuries were caused, and the soldier quickly subdued the assailant. French...

Ghani Says Taliban Will Never Win The War

In an address to military forces in Paktia province on Friday, President Ashraf Ghani said the world has heard Afghanistan�s voice on counterterrorism efforts and that "the Taliban must know they cannot win the war". "You (enemies) should know that Afghanistan�s strategic situation has changed and you...

Defense Ministry To Form Militia To Secure Volatile Areas

The Ministry of Defense has a plan on hand to mobilize the public forces otherwise known as ‘militia� to maintain security in areas cleared of insurgents by the Afghan National Army, an official from the ministry said. "People will be recruited from their areas, because they know their region...

Roman soldiers suffer casualties in Kandahar suicide car bombing

At least three Romanian soldiers were killed or wounded in a suicide attack in southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan. The incident took place this afternoon after a suicide bomber detonated a Vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) near the convoy of the Romanian forces. The Ministry...

Afghan Taliban to support Pakistan against foreign invasion: Sami-ul-Haq

A prominent Pakistani politician and religious figure Maulana Sami-ul-Haq has claimed the Afghan Taliban will support Pakistan in the event the country is invaded by the foreigners. The Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam leader in a statement has said the Afghan Taliban leaders have declared their support to Islamabad...

Tillerson urges more pressure on North Korea

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has discussed the need to increase diplomatic pressure on North Korea with UK Prime Minister Theresa May in London, where the Iran nuclear deal was also raised. The top US diplomat "never misses an opportunity in bilateral, multilateral settings to raise North Korea...

Iran a partner in Syrian victory: Assad�s letter to Ayatollah Khamenei

Syrian President Bashar Assad has sent a letter to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, thanking him and congratulating the Iranian nation on recent advances in Dayr al-Zawr. "In the beginning, I would like to congratulate in the warmest terms Your Excellency...

North Korea developing nuclear capability to deter US aggression: Analyst

North Korea is developing a nuclear capability in order to deter the United States which is threatening to attack the country, an American author and investigative journalist in Philadelphia says. Dave Lindorff, a columnist for Counter Punch and a contributor to Business Week and other news organizations,...

Ansarullah missiles can reach anywhere in UAE: Houthi

The leader of Yemen’s Ansarullah movement, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, says the neighboring United Arab Emirates (UAE) is no more a safe country as missiles manufactured by the Yemeni group can now hit anywhere in the Arab country. Addressing his supporters via a televised speech...