Full Coverage: Afghanistan

18.11.2009 Seventy per cent of Afghans surveyed see poverty and unemployment as the major cause of the conflict in their country, according to new research by an international aid agency and a group of Afghan organisations.

06.11.2009 British Prime Minister Gordon Brown jhas been asked to undertake an investigation into the death of Afghan journalist Sultan Munadi, the New York Times reporter killed during a British military operation that rescued reporter Stephen Farrell from Taliban captors.

22.10.2009 Iraq remains the top country of origin of asylum applicants (13,200 claims) in industrialised countries for the fourth consecutive year, according to the UN refugee agency. Afghans (12,000) and Somalis (11,000) are the next largest groups as security conditions continue to deteriorate in large parts of their home countries.

15.10.2009 Afghanistan’s next government must urgently devote greater resources to building up to 6,000 new schools, training upwards of 5,000 new midwives and professionalising the police, say aid agencies.

02.10.2009 Four actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated - Afghanistan, Bosnia, Guinea and Uganda - in September and none improved, according to the International Crisis Group.

08.09.2009 The Afghan government is urged to free two writers accused of blasphemy, following the pardon of a man convicted of distributing a translated article about the role of women in Islam without the accompanying Arabic script.

24.08.2009 Afghans are complaining that last week’s elections were marred by serious fraud, in contrast to the international community’s assessment that voting was fair.

19.08.2009 Too few ordinary Afghans are benefiting from international aid efforts in their country, with a third of the population at risk of hunger, an international aid agency warned today, on the eve of elections.
+ Afghan children tell their leaders what they want

14.08.2009 A revised controversial Shia family law - which allows men to withhold food and basic provisions from wives who refuse sexual demands - has been published in Afghanistan.
+ Law Curbing Women’s Rights Takes Effect

03.08.2009 Conflicts in Afghanistan, China, Chechnya and Nigeria deteriorated in July 2009 and the situation in Guinea-Bissau improved, according to the International Crisis Group.

19.07.2009 Harry Rud finds ten reasons to feel guilty about his two years as an aid worker in Afghanistan. Harry Rud

02.05.2009 The Tricycle has not only put itself on the theatrical map with The Great Game: it has also put Afghanistan more firmly on the British map.

04.04.2009 The planned troop surge in Afghanistan could see more Afghans suffering in the conflict unless international military forces prioritise the safety of civilians in all their operations, say leading aid agencies.
+ Only the aid agencies seem convinced of the efficacy of international aid

28.03.2009 The Great Game: Afghanistan Film Festival is a programme of features, shorts and documentaries - including nine premieres and many Q&A sessions – that gives a celluloid glimpse into the joys, sorrows and adventures of everyday life in Afghanistan.

10.03.2009 The Afghan supreme court's confirmation of a 20-year prison sentence for blasphemy on a journalist - without hearing arguments from the defence - has been condemned by international media groups.

07.03.2009 “In Afghanistan”, says the ad for Afghan Star, “you risk your life to sing.”

04.03.2009 Some of President Barack Obama's decisions on Bagram, the US prison in Afghanistan, have "quietly signaled support for many of Bush's 'war on terror' policies," says Stacy Sullivan.

22.02.2009 With Afghanistan set to be a key focus of British, European and US foreign policy for many years, the Tricycle Theatre is staging a festival of plays, exhibitions, films and discussions on the country.

08.02.2009 This year's "Bird's Eye Film Festival" features an evening celebrating women in Afghanistan with the UK premieres of these short documentaries made by young women.

02.02.2009 President Obama has the opportunity to chart a new course for US policy in Afghanistan by taking the urgent steps needed to reverse the slide into a major humanitarian crisis, according to an international aid agency.