Mediaboss Marketing

Apr. 14, 2014

Official results of 10 percent of votes cast in 26 of Afghanistans 34 provinces shows presidential candidates Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani are leading in race; runoff election appears increasingly certain.MORE

Normally raucous news media in Afghanistan has eased up on criticism and taken on more of a cheerleader role for the political process; change is a measure of the urgency that Afghans are feeling about their presidential election; on Election Day and days since, journalists have keep focus on the positive, and at times trouble spots seem to have deliberately been played down.MORE

Afghanistan's Independent Election Complaints Commission reports a cleaner presidential election this year than widely discredited 2009 election; none of leading candidates have said so far that they would dispute this year's balloting, whose results have not yet been announced.MORE

Editorial holds that 60 percent turnout in Afghanistan's presidential election suggests a maturing political system and a sense of civic resilience; argues it is also a sign that the time has come to end America's combat role there after 13 years of conflict.MORE

Afghans, after enduring months of Taliban attacks and days of security clampdowns, revel in apparent success of presidential election; election officials say vote count indicated that about 60 percent of the 12 million eligible voters had cast ballots.MORE

Serge Schmemann Quick History column reflects on the week's events, including the Supreme Court campaign finance decision, faltering Middle East peace talks and elections in Afghanistan.MORE

Afghan voters turn out in such high numbers to choose new president and provincial councils that polling hours are extended nationwide; voters defy campaign of Taliban violence in lead up to election day, while militants fail to mount single major attack; election marks first time in modern history that Afghans have changed their leader democratically as Hamid Karzai's dozen years in power end.MORE

Fear of reprisal from the Taliban keep many voters in Shinwar and other rural areas of Afghanistan from casting ballots in presidential election; low turnout is in distinct contrast to high level of participation in Kabul and other cities.MORE

Obama administration officials say ensuring a stable Afghanistan remains important to avoid complicating the United States' larger strategic interests in the region; administration remains open to rekindling a relationship with whoever becomes Pres Hamid Karzai's successor after country's presidential elections.MORE

Read the original post:
Afghanistan News - Breaking World Afghanistan News - The ...

WARNING: Travelling in Afghanistan is extremely dangerous, and independent travel/sightseeing is emphatically discouraged due to the armed conflict between Government forces and Taliban insurgents. The current Afghan government has little control over large parts of the country. Taliban rebels have killed up to 18,400 people in 2013 from terrorist bombings, kidnappings, and gun warfare against the Afghan government. Although parts of Kabul and the north are calmer regarding Taliban activity, the country is a war zone. Threats are unpredictable and the situation can change very quickly. If you must go, see war zone safety

Trips should be meticulously planned and travellers should keep abreast of the latest security situation throughout their stay. If, despite the risks, you still find yourself heading there, see War zone safety and the "Stay safe" section below.

Afghanistan is a landlocked country in the heart of Asia, bordered by Pakistan to the south and east, Iran to the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to the north. There is a short border with China to the far northeast, but in extremely inaccessible terrain.

Afghanistan has been the centre of many powerful empires for the past 2,000 years. However, in the last 30 years the country has been in chaos due to major wars -- from the Soviet invasion of 1979 to their withdrawal in 1989 and from warlordism to the removal of the Taliban in 2001 and the ensuing American and NATO invasion. Economically, Afghanistan is considered poor compared to many other nations of the world. The country is currently going through a nation-wide rebuilding process.

Afghanistan has spent the last 3 decades in the news for all the wrong reasons. While visiting has not been advisable for several years, it has much to offer the intrepid traveller. That said, even the more adventurous should consider looking elsewhere for thrill-seeking at the moment.

Temperatures in the central highlands are below freezing for most of the winter, and snow is common at higher elevations. Summertime highs in lower elevations (such as Jalalabad or Mazar-e Sharif) can exceed 50C/120F. In higher areas such as Kabul, summer temperatures can be 30C/90F and winter around 0C/30F. The most pleasant weather in Kabul is during April, May and September.

Mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest. The Hindu Kush mountains run northeast to southwest, dividing the northern provinces from the rest of the country, with the highest peaks found in the northern Wakhan Corridor. South of Kandahar is desert.

The lowest point is Amu Darya at 258m, and the highest is Nowshak at 7,485m.

Afghanistan is an ethnically diverse country. Tribal and local allegiances are strong, which complicates national politics immensely.

The largest ethnic group is the Pashtun, followed by Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek and others.

See the original post here:
Afghanistan - Wikitravel - The Free Travel Guide

Afghanistn (officially called Islamic Republic of Afghanistan; Pashto: , Dari: ) is a country in South Asia.[8][9] It has border with Pakistan in the south and east, Iran in the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the far northeast.[9]

In early times people passed through it with animals and other goods as it connected China and India with Central Asia and the Middle East. More recently, Afghanistan has been damaged by many years of war and no jobs.

The country is around 251,826 square miles (652,230 square kilometers) in size or area. There are 30 million people in Afghanistan. There are people called refugees who are in Pakistan and Iran for some time. Kabul, the big city, had about 3,691,400 people living in it in 2011.[10]

Afghanistan has many mountains. The mountains are called Hindu Kush Range and Himalayas. The big mountain in Afghanistan is Mount Nowshak. There are plains (which have soil that is good for growing plants) and foothills. Part is also dry and called the Registan Desert.

Afghanistan has snow and glaciers in the mountains. Amu Darya is the big water stream, or river.

Afghanistan is dry and cold in winter and hot in summer. No water sometimes causes problems for farmers. Sandstorms happen a lot in the desert.[11]

The country has a lot of a valuable stone called lapis lazuli, which was used to decorate the tomb of the Egyptian king Tutankhamun.[12]

Southern Afghanistan has not many plants because it is dry. There are more plants where there is more water. Mountains have forests of pine and fir. cedar, oak, walnut, alder, and ash trees.

Afghanistan's animals are in the mountains. There are wolves, foxes, jackals, bears, and wild goats, gazelles, wild dogs, camels, and wild cats such as the snow leopard in the country. The birds are falcons, eagles and vultures. The Rhesus Macaque and the red flying squirrel are also in Afghanistan.

Many years of war, hunting, and years of no water have killed animals in Afghanistan. Tigers used to be in Afghanistan, but they are extinct, which means that there are no more tigers there. Bears and wolves are almost gone.[12]

Read more:
Afghanistan - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Gunmen sprayed a prominent female politician's vehicle with bullets in the Afghan capital on Tuesday but the victim remained defiant.

Mariam Koofi was hospitalized with a wounded leg, according to her family. Her wounds were not considered life-threatening.

Her younger sister Fawzia Koofi, who was a one-time presidential hopeful, called the attack an assassination attempt and claimed it was politically motivated.

However, she insisted that neither woman would quit politics.

"Their goal is to stop us from progress, to put women down from social and political positions, said Fawzia Koofi, who has also survived several attempts on her life. "We will not let this happen. We do this for the sake of other women."

It has come to our attention that the browser you are using is either not running javascript or out of date. Please enable javascript and/or update your browser if possible.

Afghanistan's Ministry of Interior maintained that the attack was not politically motivated.

On Tuesday, gunmen kidnapped Afghanistan's deputy minister of public works. The high-ranking official was snatched from his car at gunpoint as he was being driven to work in broad daylight.

First published April 16 2014, 4:27 AM

Read more:
Female Lawmaker Defiant After Assassination Bid in Afghanistan

Associated Press

Afghan security officers arrive to the scene after two suicide bombers have struck near the home of candidate running for president, Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai in the countrys April 5 elections, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, March 25, 2014. AP

KABUL, Afghanistan Gunmen abducted the Afghan deputy public works minister in Kabul on Tuesday, officials said, a grim reminder of the insecurity plaguing Afghanistan as most foreign troops prepare to withdraw from the country at the end of the year.

Ahmad Shah Wahid was on his way to work when five gunmen ran his car off the road in northern Kabul, dragged him into their 4-wheel-drive vehicle and sped away, said Gul Agha Hashim, the citys police chief of investigations.

The armed men shot and wounded Wahids driver when he tried to drive away to safety, said public works ministry spokesman Soheil Kakar.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the abduction. Kakar said there has so far been no ransom demand.

Kidnappings for ransom and abductions by Taliban insurgents are relatively common in Afghanistan, but Wahid is the highest-ranking government official abducted in years.

A Taliban spokesman said by telephone that he was not aware of Tuesdays abduction but would check to see if the insurgents were involved.

RELATED STORIES

At least eight civilians killed in Kabul hotel attack

Originally posted here:
Gunmen abduct Afghan deputy minister in Kabul