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Rashid Khan was picked by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 4 crores while Mohammad Nabi was the first Afghanistan player to be picked at the auction.

There was a lot of excitement for the cricket-mad public of Afghanistan as two of their players were picked at the Indian Premier League auction. (LIVEBLOG)

Their eighteen-year-old leg-spinner, Rashid Khan, is now being called the million dollar baby by his teammates after Rashid was picked by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 4 crores on Monday. Veteran all-rounder Mohammad Nabi was the first Afghanistan player to be picked at the auction at his base price of Rs 30 lakhs.

His googly is difficult to pick and he fires it on target, is how former Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi described Rashid on the eve of the auction.

READ|IPL auction: Ben Stokes goes for record Rs14.5 cr to Rising Pune Supergiants

Rashid has been following in the footsteps of Nabi. If Nabi was the top wicket-taker at the 2016 World T20 Cup in India with 12, Rashid was a close second with 11. The highlight of Rashids performance being his spell of three for 11 in the win over Zimbabwe at Nagpur.

He repeated the performance on Sunday, when he claimed three wickets for 25 runs to rout Zimbabwe in the second ODI at the Harare Sports Club. Nabi also snared three wickets in the game and scored 33-ball 33.

READ|IPL quick fix: Pace bowlers the flavour at Indian Premier League auction

The two were brilliant at the Bangladesh Premier League with Nabi claiming 19 wickets in 13 games and Rashid claiming 13 wickets in eight games.

The rest is here:
IPL 2017 auction: Afghanistan players Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan create history - Hindustan Times

The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign and Security Policy and VicePresident of the European Commission, Federica Mogherini, and the Minister of Finance of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Eklil Hakimi, today signed a Cooperation Agreement on Partnership and Development (CAPD), in the presence of the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani.

"The European Union has always stood by the Afghan people and will continue to do so. After the very successful international conference we have jointly chaired in Brussels last year, now our cooperation grows even more. The Cooperation Agreement we have signed today will allow us to build on the areas that we already engage with the Afghan authorities on, such as human development, anti-corruption, state building, and the rule of law, as well as cooperation on migration. This agreement is a partnership agreement by name and by nature. The European Union will keep working with our Afghan partners for the stability and the sustainable development of the country, for the sake of all Afghans," said the High Representative/Vice-President, Federica Mogherini.

Minister Hakimi underlined that: "The Cooperation Agreement on Partnership and Development (CAPD) is a vital new framework for partnership between Afghanistan and the European Union. This agreement builds on our mutual commitments for stability and development made in Bonn in 2011, in Tokyo in 2012, in London in 2014 and renewed at the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan last year. It also formalises our partnership and provides an opportunity to strengthen friendship and cooperation between Afghanistan and the EU by conducting regular political dialogue on various fronts including on support for peace, security and development in Afghanistan and the region. I thank Ms. Mogherini, on behalf of the EU, for opening up a new chapter in the Afghanistan-EU relationship.

The Cooperation Agreement on Partnership and Development is the first contractual relationship between the Union and Afghanistan and establishes the legal framework for EU-Afghanistan cooperation. The agreement confirms the EU's commitment to Afghanistan's future development during the "Decade of Transformation" (2015-2024). It will provide a basis for the EU's ongoing support to Afghanistan in the implementation of its comprehensive and detailed reform programme.

The CAPD reflects the principles and conditions for the EU-Afghanistan partnership, with an emphasis on holding regular dialogue on political issues, including human rights, in particular the rights of women and children, which are essential elements of this agreement. The Agreement will provide the basis for developing a mutually beneficial relationship in an increasing range of areas such as the rule of law, health, rural development, education, science and technology, as well as actions to combat corruption, money laundering, the financing of terrorism, organised crime and narcotics. It also foresees cooperation on migration. The Cooperation Agreement will also enable the EU and Afghanistan to jointly address global challenges, such as nuclear security, non-proliferation and climate change.

Read more:
European Union and Afghanistan sign Cooperation Agreement on Partnership and Development - EU News

Joint Press Release: The European Union and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan sign Cooperation Agreement on Partnership and Development.

The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign and Security Policy and VicePresident of the European Commission, Federica Mogherini, and the Minister of Finance of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Eklil Hakimi, today signed a Cooperation Agreement on Partnership and Development (CAPD), in the presence of the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani.

"The European Union has always stood by the Afghan people and will continue to do so. After the very successful international conference we have jointly chaired in Brussels last year, now our cooperation grows even more. The Cooperation Agreement we have signed today will allow us to build on the areas that we already engage with the Afghan authorities on, such as human development, anti-corruption, state building, and the rule of law, as well as cooperation on migration. This agreement is a partnership agreement by name and by nature. The European Union will keep working with our Afghan partners for the stability and the sustainable development of the country, for the sake of all Afghans," said the High Representative/Vice-President, Federica Mogherini.

Minister Hakimi underlined that: "The Cooperation Agreement on Partnership and Development (CAPD) is a vital new framework for partnership between Afghanistan and the European Union. This agreement builds on our mutual commitments for stability and development made in Bonn in 2011, in Tokyo in 2012, in London in 2014 and renewed at the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan last year. It also formalises our partnership and provides an opportunity to strengthen friendship and cooperation between Afghanistan and the EU by conducting regular political dialogue on various fronts including on support for peace, security and development in Afghanistan and the region. I thank Ms. Mogherini, on behalf of the EU, for opening up a new chapter in the Afghanistan-EU relationship.

The Cooperation Agreement on Partnership and Development is the first contractual relationship between the Union and Afghanistan and establishes the legal framework for EU-Afghanistan cooperation. The agreement confirms the EU's commitment to Afghanistan's future development during the "Decade of Transformation" (2015-2024). It will provide a basis for the EU's ongoing support to Afghanistan in the implementation of its comprehensive and detailed reform programme.

The CAPD reflects the principles and conditions for the EU-Afghanistan partnership, with an emphasis on holding regular dialogue on political issues, including human rights, in particular the rights of women and children, which are essential elements of this agreement. The Agreement will provide the basis for developing a mutually beneficial relationship in an increasing range of areas such as the rule of law, health, rural development, education, science and technology, as well as actions to combat corruption, money laundering, the financing of terrorism, organised crime and narcotics. It also foresees cooperation on migration. The Cooperation Agreement will also enable the EU and Afghanistan to jointly address global challenges, such as nuclear security, non-proliferation and climate change.

Read the rest here:
European Union and Afghanistan sign Cooperation Agreement on Partnership and Development - ReliefWeb

ISLAMABAD

The International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC, called Saturday for the safe and unconditional release of two staff members abducted in northern Afghanistan earlier this month.

The abductees were part of an ICRC convoy transporting food for livestock of poverty-stricken farmers in the northern Jowzjan province on February 8 when they were ambushed, allegedly by Islamic State militants.

The assailants killed six ICRC employees before taking two others to an unknown location, according to Afghan security officials.

Operations suspended

The charity has since suspended its humanitarian operations across the country, where millions of people are in urgent need of aid because of the intensification of a Taliban-led insurgency.

We call on the abductors sense of humanity and request the immediate, safe and unconditional release of our colleagues and to avoid taking any action that could endanger their lives a statement Saturday quoted the ICRCs country chief, Monica Zanarelli, as saying.

We do not want the agony and heartache of this tragedy to deepen, she added.

Zanarelli appealed to authorities and armed groups operating in northern Afghanistan to help secure the safe release of the two ICRC staff members. The deadly attack on its staff is the worst such incident against ICRC in the country.

Charity in country 30 years

The charity has been active in Afghanistan for three decades, impartially assisting victims of the conflict with medical care, food assistance, family contacts and the dignified handling of human remains.

Afghan authorities say they have been making efforts to locate the abductees, while the Taliban has distanced itself from the incident.

The Islamist insurgency has vowed to find and punish those behind the deadly attack, saying it respects ICRCs contributions in helping Afghans and has even called on the charity to resume its activities.

See the article here:
ICRC Appeals for Release of Staff Abducted in Afghanistan - Voice of America

Germany needs to reassess its integration policy, the Bundestag'shuman rights commissioner,Brbel Kofler (SPD), said on Saturday,amid growing concerns over the deportation of rejected Afghan asylum seekers back to their home country.

"The situation in Afghanistan hasn't changed," Kofler told the German "Passauer NeuePresse"newspaper. "Rather, it's the domestic political situation here that has changed. People shouldn't be the ones carrying the burden of this upheaval."

Kofler: People should not bear the burden of Germany's domestic political upheaval.

Of the 250,000 Afghans living in Germany, 11,900 have been asked to leave the country since mid-December, according to the German Interior Ministry. The policy has prompted outcry and protests across Germany, as large parts of Afghanistan remain violent and under Taliban control. The country is not on Germany's official list of "safe countries of origin."

"The security situation in Afghanistan may vary from region to region, but one cannot say that the situation anywhere in the country is particularly good," Kofler said.

She also indicated that many Afghan asylum seekers, legal or otherwise, had integrated successfully in Germany and "found their place in society." They, and the Germans who have supported them,cannot understand "why they are suddenly being torn away from their homes," she said.

The issue of deportations has put the federal government at odds with some states. While deportations are a state matter, the federal government has made clear that it wants to play a bigger role in them. German Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU party has been pushing for speedier repatriations of failed asylum seekers following December's terrorist attack on a Berlin Christmas market.

Last week, Merkel agreed to a 16-point plan with German state leaders that would see the creation of a central coordination center in Berlin, as well as federal deportation centers near airports that would facilitate collective deportations.

However, on Tuesday the state of Schleswig-Holstein announced that it would immediately suspenddeportations back to Afghanistan on "humanitarian grounds."

dm/rc(AFP, dpa, KNA)

Link:
German human rights official urges end to Afghanistan deportations ... - Deutsche Welle