Afghanistan

World News

Defense Secretary Expresses Concern Over Russian Support For Taliban

5:12pm March 31, 2017

by Tom Bowman

Russia has begun supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan against U.S. forces and the government in Kabul. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis warned in London that the U.S. is "concerned" about this support, first revealed earlier this year, as it weighs the next phase of its approach to the longest-running war in American history.

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Hossein Mahrammi with his wife and four young sons arrived at at Dulles International Airport in Virginia earlier this month with Special Immigrant Visas for the work Mahrammi had helped the U.S. with in Afghanistan.

Special Immigrant Visa Holders Still Face Questioning Upon Reaching U.S.

1:28pm March 27, 2017

by Joel Rose

Visa holders who worked with the U.S. overseas say they've been detained and threatened with deportation upon arrival in the country, but federal officials say there is broad discretion to deny entry.

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Pakistani security officials gather outside the devastated Marriott Hotel in Islamabad on September 21, 2008, following an overnight suicide bomb attack. The Pentagon announced yesterday that a recent airstrike had killed Qari Yasin, who was linked to the

World News

Pakistani al-Qaeda Leader Killed In U.S. Strike In Afghanistan

11:23am March 26, 2017

by Laurel Wamsley

The Pentagon said that Qari Yasin was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Afghanistan. Yasin is linked to the 2008 bombing of a hotel in Islamabad and the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team.

Sandi Toksvig on the TED Stage at TEDWomen 2016 in San Francisco, California.

Sandi Toksvig: Can Social Change Start With Laughter?

9:10am March 24, 2017

by NPR/TED Staff

When comedian and TV host Sandi Toksvig came out as gay in the early 1990s, she used humor to recover from the onslaught of vitriol.Today, she says, humor can help bring about social change.

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Nowruz, the Persian New Year, is a celebration of the start of spring marked through large parts of the Middle East and Central Asia. Above, a Nowruz haftseen table, laden with seven items meant to symbolize rebirth or renewal.

For Afghan Immigrants, Nowruz Celebrations Of Spring Are A Taste Of Home

2:01pm March 21, 2017

by Eileen Guo

Celebrating this ancient festival was banned under the Taliban. For refugees and immigrants in America, the holiday and the feasts that accompany it are an important cultural link to Afghanistan.

Current school uniforms let Afghan girls run.

Health & Safety

Afghan Women Say No To The Dress

6:58pm March 19, 2017

by Diane Cole

The government wanted to change uniforms for schoolgirls so they'd be longer — making it harder to run or play sports. Women pushed back.

Former U.S. Army interpreter Qismat Amin arrived in the U.S. from Afghanistan on Feb. 8. Amin waited nearly four years for his Special Immigrant Visa, living in hiding after receiving death threats from the Taliban for helping American troops.

Afghans Who Worked With U.S. Forces Told They Can No Longer Apply For Special Visas

8:01pm March 10, 2017

by Rebecca Hersher

On Thursday, the U.S. State Department announced that it expected to run out of special visas by June 1. The visas are for Afghans who are in danger because they assisted the U.S. mission.

World News

Afghanistan's Ambassador On The Future Of The War

8:16am March 09, 2017

Rachel Martin talks with Afghanistan's ambassador to Washington, Hamdullah Mohib, who is hopeful the Trump administration will provide his country the help it needs to finally defeat the Taliban.

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Two Afghan men weep for their relatives in front of the main gate of a Kabul military hospital Wednesday, after a deadly six-hour attack claimed by the Islamic State.

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Gunmen Disguised As Doctors Mount Hours-Long Assault On Kabul Hospital

12:46pm March 08, 2017

by Colin Dwyer

The attack, which was claimed by the Islamic State, killed at least 30 people and injured dozens more. It took several hours of floor-by-floor fighting to retake the hospital.

Then-deputy director of CENTCOM, U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Robert Harward, is pictured with Jordan's Prince Faisal and the Army's head of operations and training Major General Awni Adwan in a May 2012 photo. Harward is now under consideration to replace Mic

White House Narrows List Of National Security Adviser Candidates To Replace Flynn

8:41pm February 14, 2017

A senior administration official says the White House has already interviewed former CENTCOM deputy director Robert Harward about the vacancy, speaking to him last week and again on Monday.