Balkh, Afghanistan News

The Swedish government has decided to increase aid to Afghanistan to help the country restore democracy and improve human rights.

From his makeshift home on a hill, Sikandar peer downs silently at a muddy stream below, which a month ago flooded his village in the Chaharbolak district of Balkh province.

The invasion of Afghanistan is certainly a campaign against terrorism, but it may also be a late colonial adventure.... [ snip ] Afghanistan has some oil and gas of its own, but not enough to qualify as a major strategic concern.

As August 20, the date set for Afghan presidential election, is getting nearer, election campaign in Afghanistan is gaining momentum.

Following are security developments in Afghanistan reported at 0830 GMT on Friday.

Thousands of people who lost their houses in January-May flooding in different parts of Afghanistan need help to repair or rebuild their homes, or find new ones, before winter.

Archaeologists warn that the Cheshma-e-Shafa gorge in the northern Afghan province of Balkh, where traces of human occupation date back to the sixth century BC, is in danger of being lost due to the construction of a tar road, despite laws that heritage sites must be protected.

When discussing the possibility of the IJU being a faked terror group , I declared the IMU inactive in Northern Afghanistan.

About 1,000 Afghan Shi'ite Muslims rallied in Kabul on Saturday to demand the ratification of a controversial law which contains harsh provisions on women some critics have called a step back towards Taliban-era rules.

UNHCR 06/23/2009 By [Printer Friendly Version] MAZAR-I-SHARIF - Three staff members of a UNHCR partner organization, the Development and Humanitarian Services for Afghanistan , were killed in northern Afghanistan's Jowzjan province on Tuesday when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device.

"Do you want to meet the Taleban?" the Afghan lad who ran the dingy chaikhana, or teahouse, on the edge of Kabul's chaotic Grand Bazaar asked me.

Unknown armed men set on fire a vehicle of Afghan Red Crescent in Balkh province north of Afghanistan Wednesday, a local official said.

KANDAHAR, 21 June 2009 - Over 1,000 families in a camp for internally displaced persons in Kandahar Province, southern Afghanistan, have opted to return to their home areas in the north and northwest of the country because of worsening insecurity and lack of aid at the camp.

Afghan Jogi, sometimes known as gypsies, have few legal rights, despite having been in Afghanistan for hundreds of years.

JANGI, BALKH PROVINCE // At the entrance of Qala-I-Jangi, the soldier in charge held out his mobile phone and asked whose face was on the screen.

Afghanistan Independent Election Commission , after weeks of reviewing complaints against presidential candidates, on Saturday announced the final list of those on the run to secure the country's top slot.

Turkey will move at once for restoration of a house in the Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif that was once owned by the father of 13th century Sufi saint Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi, Foreign Minister Ahmet DavutoA Ylu said on Friday.

Onne Parl shares his travelogue notes and pictures about his trip from Kabul to the Balkh province of Afghanistan.

Germany has decided to contribute 200,000 euros to the flood-affected people in Afghanistan, a press release of Afghan Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

My companion and I haven't lived in Astoria for very long, but we've already eaten our way around the globe! Here are some preliminary impressions, organized by country.