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  1. #176
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by sabang View Post
    That is what I am waiting to find out.
    From who?

    MK's The Frontier Post


  2. #177
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by sabang View Post
    Definitely. The pertinent question is though- are we (the US/ west) going to be allies of ISIS & ETIM, or enemies? That is what I am waiting to find out.
    Warning: Be cautious if you are a fragile pink

    Do you think the chinkies would let the seppos launch a few predators in Chinkystan then?
    Last edited by harrybarracuda; 25-10-2021 at 03:54 PM.

  3. #178
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    Do you think the yanks would ask permission? That would be a nice precedent.

  4. #179
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
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    ‘Children Are Going To Die’, U.N. Agency Warns As Afghanistan Verges On Collapse


    DUBAI (Reuters) - Millions of Afghans, including children, could die of starvation unless urgent action is taken to pull Afghanistan back from the brink of collapse, a senior United Nations official warned, calling for frozen funds to be freed for humanitarian efforts.

    World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director David Beasley told Reuters that 22.8 million people - more than half of Afghanistan's 39 million population - were facing acute food insecurity and "marching to starvation" compared to 14 million just two months ago.


    "Children are going to die. People are going to starve. Things are going to get a lot worse," he said in Dubai.


    "I don't know how you don't have millions of people, and especially children, dying at the rate we are going with the lack of funding and the collapsing of the economy."

    Afghanistan was plunged into crisis in August after Taliban fighters drove out a Western-backed government, prompting donors to hold back billions of dollars in assistance for the aid-dependent economy.


    The food crisis, exacerbated by climate change, was dire in Afghanistan even before the takeover by the Taliban, whose new administration has been blocked from accessing assets held overseas as nations grapple with how to deal with the hardline Islamists.


    "What we are predicting is coming true much faster than we anticipated. Kabul fell faster than anybody anticipated and the economy is falling faster than that," Beasley said.


    He said dollars earmarked for development assistance should be repurposed for humanitarian aid, which some nations have already done, or frozen funds be channelled through the agency.


    "You've got to unfreeze these funds so people can survive."


    The U.N. food agency needs up to $220 million a month to partially feed the nearly 23 million vulnerable people as winter nears.

    Many Afghans are selling possessions to buy food with the Taliban unable to pay wages to civil servants, and urban communities are facing food insecurity on levels similar to rural areas for the first time.


    WFP tapped its own resources to help cover food aid through to December after some donors failed to meet pledges, Beasley said, adding that with government appropriations already out, funds may have to be redirected from aid efforts in other countries.


    Aid groups are urging countries, concerned about human rights under the Taliban, to engage with the new rulers to prevent a collapse they say could trigger a migration crisis similar to the 2015 exodus from Syria that shook Europe.


    "I don't think the leaders in the world realise what is coming their way," he said, listing off several humanitarian crises in the Middle East, Africa and Central America.

    '''Children Are Going to Die''', U.N. Agency Warns as Afghanistan Verges on Collapse | World News | US News

  5. #180
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by sabang View Post
    Do you think the yanks would ask permission? That would be a nice precedent.
    Why do they need to get involved at all? It's the chinkies problem. I didn't see them offering to help the seppos out in Afghanistan.



    Warning: Be cautious if you are a fragile pink

  6. #181
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
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    Former Afghan government’s collapse was not in nation’s interest, says Taliban's Minister Zabiullah Mujahid

    The collapse of the former Afghan government was not in the interest of the people and nation, said Taliban's Deputy Minister of Information and Culture Zabiullah Mujahid.


    In a special interview with TOLOnews, the minister also said that whatever happened was not according to the organised plan.


    If negotiations for peace had continued between the two Afghan sides and war had ended in the nation, the situation would have been better, said Mujahid.

    “In my opinion, Afghanistan was damaged by it because if war had stopped and we reached a meaningful negotiation, the situation would have been better and different from now. And the result would have avoided the collapse of institutions and the fleeing of people from the country,” the minister said.


    As the path for further discussion has remained open, changes could be expected in the cabinet, Mujahid said.


    The concerns of some countries regarding some individuals in the government are not acceptable. “We are reiterating again and again, the terms of inclusivity means something like this... If the aim is to include the people, we have already included various ethnicities in the current government, and they are part of the cabinet,” the Taliban minister said.

    For withdrawing financial aid, the minister criticised the US. Mujahid said, the US is also encouraging other countries to withhold resources and not recognise the Taliban government.


    “We know that the (US) is behind it and it persuaded others not to recognise the Islamic Emirate as well,” Mujahid added.

    Former Afghan government’s collapse was not in nation’s interest, says Taliban's Minister Zabiullah Mujahid, South Asia News | wionews.com

  7. #182
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    They do spout some shite don't they?

    No-one made them rampage across the country to take charge and crow about it.

    Now they want some reward for their efforts.

    No matter what the international community gives them, it will be stolen, diverted, misused or sold at a profit.

    Warning: Be cautious if you are a fragile pink

    It's the chinkies turn, if they want to get their grubby little hands on all those mineral goodies, let them cough up. They could try a bit of "Belt and Owed".

    Good luck with that.
    The next post may be brought to you by my little bitch Spamdreth

  8. #183
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
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    ^ Noted your signature posted. Reminded that the post must be a certain length for a sig to show.

  9. #184
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by misskit View Post
    ^ Noted your signature posted. Reminded that the post must be a certain length for a sig to show.
    Ahaaaa.

    Thank you.

  10. #185
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    One can only see a good future for these two parties


  11. #186
    Thailand Expat Saint Willy's Avatar
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    Warning: Be cautious if you are a fragile pink

  12. #187
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
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    Progress On The Road to Shangri-La.

    Wang Yi meets Afghan Taliban in Doha


    Meetings show more positive promises on fighting terrorism: experts

    By Liu Xin and Bai Yunyi Published: Oct 26, 2021 10:22 PM Updated: Oct 27, 2021 07:29 AM


    "Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi has wrapped up the first high-level engagement with a delegation of the interim Afghanistan government during his visit to the Qatari capital of Doha, with an emphasis on helping the Afghan people to overcome their difficulties and expressing hope for the interim Afghan Taliban government to fulfill promises on making a clean break with the "East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM)" and other terrorist organizations.

    Compared with the Afghan Taliban's promises made during a visit to Tianjin in July, analysts noted that the remarks are more positive, showcasing its changes toward terrorism under the influence of China and other parties.

    On Tuesday, Wang Yi met with Amir Khan Muttaqi, acting foreign minister of the Afghan interim government. Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, released a video on his Twitter account on Tuesday, which showed Muttaqi presenting a gift to Wang Yi and the two shaking hands.

    Wang Yi said that China respects Afghanistan's exploration of a pattern that suits its own conditions, and China also respects the interim government's national implementation of policies.

    Muttaqi said that the new government has realized actual governance of Afghanistan, and the country highly cherishes peace after 45 years of war. Good relations with China are important to Afghanistan, and the country is working to realize its own security and promote regional peace.

    The two sides agreed to set up a liaison mechanism to discuss future exchanges, according to a release from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

    On Monday local time, Wang Yi met with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the acting deputy prime minister of the Afghan interim government, in Doha, which was their second meeting after their Tianjin meeting.

    Baradar said on Monday that the Afghan Taliban attaches great importance to China's security concerns and will resolutely honor its promise and never allow any forces to use Afghan territory to harm China.

    The wording of Baradar on fighting terrorism on Monday was more active than that at the Tianjin meeting, after the Afghan Taliban took power in Afghanistan. China's insistence of not interfering in the domestic affairs of Afghanistan and its timely assistance have also prompted the Afghan Taliban to fulfill its promise, Zhu Yongbiao, director of the Center for Afghanistan Studies in Lanzhou University, told the Global Times.

    Zhu noted that although there are still gaps between China's expectations and the Afghan Taliban's promises on fighting terrorism, the latter is working on it, which showed that its attitude toward terrorism is changing under the positive guidance of China and other parties.

    In an exclusive interview with the Global Times on September 9, the Afghan Taliban's spokesperson Suhail Shaheen said that many ETIM members had left Afghanistan. However, Shaheen did not reveal the exact number of ETIM members who had left or who were still in the country.

    Some Chinese experts believed that some ETIM militants currently live in Takhar province near Baharak town.

    In Tianjin, Wang Yi emphasized the ETIM's threat to China and expressed hope for the Taliban to cut ties with it and crack down on it. While in Doha, he pointed out that the ETIM is not only a threat to China but also to Afghanistan.

    Zhu noted that the changes of wording in the Doha meeting are more meaningful and showcased the mutual respect between China and the Afghan Taliban, as well as their mutual reorganization of each other's importance.

    Another important topic for the Doha meeting is to help the Taliban get assistance from the international community, given the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, with shortages of food and materials for the upcoming winter, Zhu noted.

    Aside from emergency assistance from China, Pakistan and a few countries, most of the Western countries and the US are making lip-service promises. The US is also freezing the assets of the former Afghan government, experts said.

    Wang Yi announced during a minister-level meeting of Afghanistan's neighboring countries on September 8 that the Chinese government decided to offer food, materials for winter, vaccines and medical products worth 200 million yuan ($31.4 million).

    The first batch of humanitarian assistance from China arrived at the Kabul international airport on September 29. Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan Wang Yu, together with Khalil Haqqani, the acting minister for refugees of the interim government, held the reception ceremony, during which Wang Yu said that China is speeding up preparing materials, including food, to help the Afghan people, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

    During his meeting with Baradar, Wang Yi urged the US and the West to lift sanctions on the country. He also called on all parties to engage with the Afghan Taliban in a rational and pragmatic manner to help Afghanistan embark on a path of healthy development

    Wang Yi's words were in line with the "Moscow format" talks held among China, Pakistan and Russia on Afghanistan on October 20, which is that the US - the initiator of the problems in Afghanistan - should take the main role to assist Afghanistan's rebuilding, Wang Shida, deputy director of the South Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania Research Institute of Contemporary International Relations Research Academy of China, told the Global Times.

    Recently, there has been a trend in the US and the West to let regional countries clean up the mess in Afghanistan.

    Wang Yi's remarks in Doha were consistent with what he said in Tianjin and more comprehensive, which showed that China's policies toward the Afghanistan situation are more clear and complete, Wang Shida noted.

    Wang Shida predicted that after communication with countries in the Middle East, regional countries, including China, Russia and Pakistan, may recognize the Afghan Taliban government in a collective way or in line with one another. Previously, Pakistan said that it would not recognize the Taliban government before fully communicating with related countries.

    Regional countries have criteria and considerations different from the West on whether to recognize the Afghan Taliban."

    Wang Yi meets Afghan Taliban in Doha - Global Times
    A tray full of GOLD is not worth a moment in time.

  13. #188
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    Quote Originally Posted by OhOh View Post
    Wang Yi meets Afghan Taliban in Doha
    We know


  14. #189
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by panama hat View Post
    We know

    Excuse me but you are supposed to post a warning.


    Warning: Be cautious if you are a fragile pink

  15. #190
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    The Taliban should have their pajamas made in China. Cheaper, and better.

  16. #191
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
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    Russia calls on Afghanistan’s neighbors to prevent US, NATO forces presence on their territory

    MOSCOW (TASS): Russia calls on the neighboring countries of Afghanistan to prevent the military presence of US and NATO for-ces on their territory. This was stated on Wednesday by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a video message to the participants in the ministerial meeting of the neighboring countries of Afghanistan (Iran, China, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan).


    “Once again, we call on the neighboring countries of Afghanistan to prevent the military presence of US and NATO forces on their territory, which are planni-ng to move there after leaving Afghan soil,” he said.


    Lavrov said that the United States has always treated Afghanistan only as a tool for solving its geopolitical tasks.


    “The persistent desire of the Westerners to reshape Afghanistan according to their own patterns led to sad consequences: internal enmity and bloodshed, polarization of society, socio-economic collapse, humanitarian catastrophe. It contributed to the rampant of international terrorist groups, unheard of in terms of drug production and corruption,” he said. who in the United States or other Western capitals cares about it? Afghanistan, thousands of kilometers away, has always been for them only a convenient tool for the implementation of self-serving geopolitical tasks.”


    Lavrov pointed out that today Afghanistan is a country that actually has to start everything from scratch, build up from ruins – in the literal and figurative sense of the word. “This is a natural disastrous result of two decades of imposing the US-NATO model of state building,” the minister said.


    Lavrov said that the terrorists, posing as refugees from Afghanistan, are trying to penetrate into neighboring countries, this must be countered.


    “Now on the agenda are the tasks of stopping and controlling migration flows from Afghanistan, since under the guise of refugees, terrorist and criminal elements can and are already trying to penetrate into neighboring countries,” he said.


    “This goal can only be achieved by creating normal living conditions in Afghanistan itself. In the future, this will become an important precondition for the gradual return of Afghans to their homeland,” the minister added.


    Building an inclusive government


    In addition, Lavrov said that Moscow has consistently advocated the creation of an inclusive government in Afghanistan and is not going to impose its recommendations on the country.


    “Russia is not inclined to impose its advice or recommendations on anyone. Moreover, history itself suggests effective recipes for solving problems. – he said.


    “Citizens should know that their rights and legitimate aspirations, not in words, but in deeds, are realized and will be protected by the letter of the law, of course, with respect and consideration of local traditions and customs,” Lavrov said.


    Lavrov said that Russia plans to use the full potential of the SCO and the CSTO in order to combat drug trafficking and the terrorist threat emanating from Afghanistan.


    “It is obvious that without a decisive struggle against the production and smuggling of drugs, with international terrorist groups entrenched in Afghanistan and manipulated from the outside, it is unlikely that it will be possible to build a normal foreign policy, especially with neighboring countries, which are primarily targeted by these destructive forces. – said the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry. – For our part, we plan to use all the international and regional instruments at our disposal – the resources of the UN, SCO, CSTO, and other multilateral structures. “


    He also noted that Moscow is pleased to note the closeness of the positions of the participants in the CSTO and SCO summits held in Dushanbe in September. “We are satisfied with the results of the special joint meeting of the CSTO and SCO members,” the minister added.


    The NATO member countries and the United States should bear the main responsibility for the socio-economic reconstruction of Afghanistan, since it was they who brought the country to its current state, Lavrov said.


    “It is obvious that the formation of a system of national education, health care, in general, the establishment of an effective socio-economic infrastructure of Afghanistan will require huge financial costs. In this regard, I would like to emphasize: it is those who brought the country to its current state that should bear the main responsibility,” he said.


    According to the minister, most likely the time has come “to start mobilization work to collect resources for financial, economic and humanitarian aid to Afghans.” “The principle of holding conferences for the sake of conferences, habitual for Westerners, is, I hope, already in the past. The time is coming for concrete actions in this area,” Lavrov said.


    At the same time, the Russian Foreign Minister stressed that the United Nations should play a coordinating role in this. “It was to the UN that the participants in the meeting of the Moscow format of consultations on Afghanistan on October 20 made a corresponding appeal,” he added.


    Lavrov said that the provisional government of the Taliban movement has a real, albeit elusive, opportunity to return the country to the world arena as a responsible and peaceful state.


    “Now the new administration is in power in Kabul. This is the objective reality. The country has a real, albeit elusive, opportunity to return to the international arena as a responsible and peaceful state,” the minister said.


    Moscow respects the goal of stabilizing the military-political situation, including representatives of national minorities and political forces in the interim government, and subsequently holding general elections, Lavrov said. “We note the efforts to resume the activities of government bodies, create a regular army, and ensure the security of foreign diplomatic missions,” he added.


    Lavrov also said that Russia plans to send a consignment of food and medicine to Afghanistan in the near future.


    “Russia is ready to contribute to the common efforts,” he said.


    The first meeting of the neighboring countries of Afghanistan was held on September 8 online. During the current event in Tehran, the parties plan to focus on how to help form an inclusive government in Afghanistan with the presence of all ethnic groups. Ambassador to Iran Levan Jagaryan will represent Moscow in person.


    The Taliban launched a large-scale operation to establish control over Afghanistan after the US announced in the spring of this year that it would withdraw its armed forces from there. On August 15, the radicals entered Kabul without a fight, and President Ashraf Ghani left the republic. On September 6, the Taliban announced that they had established control over the entire Afghan territory, and on September 7 they announced the composition of their interim government, the legitimacy of which has not yet been recognized by any country.

    Russia calls on Afghanistan’s neighbors to prevent US, NATO forces presence on their territory - The Frontier Post

  17. #192
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
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    China To Build Outpost For Tajikistan Special Forces Near Afghan Border

    DUSHANBE (Reuters) – China will finance the construction of an outpost for a special forces unit of Tajikistan’s police near the Tajik-Afghan border, the Central Asian nation’s parliament said on Thursday.


    The post will be located in Tajikistan’s eastern Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province in the Pamir mountains, which border China’s Xinjiang province as well as the northeastern Afghan province of Badakhshan.


    No Chinese troops will be stationed at the facility, a parliament spokesperson said.


    The plan to build the post comes amid tension between the Dushanbe government and Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers.


    Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon has refused to recognise the Taliban government, calling for a broader representation of Afghanistan’s ethnic groups – of which Tajiks are the second-biggest.


    Kabul, in turn, has warned Dushanbe against meddling in its domestic affairs. According to Russian media, the Taliban have struck an alliance with an ethnic Tajik militant group based in northern Afghanistan which seeks to overthrow Rakhmon’s government.


    A Russia-led regional security organisation held exercises last week near the Tajik-Afghan border, designed to demonstrate that Moscow stands ready to protect Dushanbe in the event of an incursion from the south.


    China is a major investor in Tajikistan and Beijing has also acted as a donor on several occasions, handing over, for example, a new parliament building free of charge.

    China to build outpost for Tajikistan special forces near Afghan border | One America News Network

  18. #193
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    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda View Post
    It's the chinkies turn, if they want to get their grubby little hands on all those mineral goodies, let them cough up. They could try a bit of "Belt and Owed".
    when is the first casino due to come on stream

  19. #194
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by malmomike77 View Post
    when is the first casino due to come on stream
    Funny you should say that, I hear someone has been in Bahrain and Dubai this week getting casino licenses... they're going to Saudi next.

  20. #195
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
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    China-Afghanistan freight trains never stop with farm product trade restored: FM

    Concrete measures will help Afghan people's livelihoods, example will encourage more to join: experts

    By Cheng Shijie in Islamabad and Liu Xin, Zhang Han in Beijing

    Published: Nov 02, 2021 10:20 PM

    "China-Afghanistan cargo trains have never stopped, trade of agricultural products between the two countries is being restored, and China will carry on listening to the call of the Afghan people to offer support within its ability, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a press conference on Tuesday.

    Wang spoke after the first flight carrying 45 tons of Afghan pine nuts arrived at the Pudong International Airport in Shanghai from Kabul.

    Afghan businessmen and foreign experts reached by the Global Times praised China for taking concrete measures to help the Afghan people by not only carrying on with bilateral trade but also offering humanitarian aid.

    Analysts said that as stability in the war-torn country is gradually restored, more products from Afghanistan, including nuts, fruits and saffron, can help increase Afghan farmers' incomes and encourage neighboring countries to help with the rebuilding of Afghanistan.

    Tiny pine nuts could bring foreign currency to Afghanistan and ease local people's difficulties. The "pine nut air corridor" is a reflection of the long-standing friendship and stable trade and economic cooperation between China and Afghanistan, the spokesman said.

    On Monday, Wang Yu, Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan, wrote on his Twitter account about the arrival of 45 tons of Afghan pine nuts at Shanghai, and said that in the coming months, tens of thousands of tons of pine nuts will be exported to China.

    Pine nuts were the gift presented to Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi by Amir Khan Muttaqi, acting foreign minister of the Afghan interim government, during their meeting in the Qatari capital of Doha on October 26.

    Afghan people view the trade in pine nuts to China with hope and gratitude, as it occurs when Afghanistan faces a special situation with its economy declining and many people suffering from poverty and unemployment, Salman Raha, an Afghan businessman who is in Yiwu, East China's Zhejiang Province, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

    "As an Afghan businessman, I want to thank the Chinese government for starting the direct flight to deliver the pine nuts, and I hope more Chinese can buy and taste the pine nuts," said Raha, noting that he hoped more products, including grapes and pomegranates, could come to the Chinese market.

    Analysts noted that China-Afghanistan cargo trains and flights en route to Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region could also be used, as trade between China and Afghan increases. They noted that airports built in Xinjiang are good transit stations, for example, the Taxkorgan Airport, located in the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, which is expected to be finished next year. The county shares borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

    The first China-Afghanistan cargo train ran in August 2016, linking Nantong in East China's Jiangsu Province and Hairatan in northern Afghanistan, reducing the time to move products to one-fourth of the original. The train departed China with daily necessities, textiles and household appliances.

    Cargo trains can also play a role in transporting humanitarian aid to the war-torn country, experts said, because trains have incomparable advantages over air freight.

    The trade in pine nuts showed that China is taking concrete measures in assisting the Afghan people. Given the COVID-19 epidemic situation globally, China has strict measures on imported goods. But it has now overcome difficulties to restore trade with Afghanistan to promote local residents' incomes, which highlights China's responsible attitude, Zhu Yongbiao, director of the Center for Afghanistan Studies in Lanzhou University, told the Global Times.

    Analysts have expressed concern over the increasing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan with the upcoming winter. However, aside from emergency assistance from China, Pakistan and a few countries, most of the Western countries and the US are giving lip-service promises.

    China announced plans to offer food, materials for the winter, vaccines and medical products worth 200 million yuan ($31.4 million). The first batch of humanitarian assistance arrived at the Kabul international airport on September 29.

    The Global Times learned from sources that the second batch will soon arrive in Afghanistan.

    The Afghan people and the interim Afghan Taliban government are facing economic and political difficulties, and China's moves would help encourage more neighboring countries to join in helping with Afghan people's livelihoods, Zhu said.

    Shakeel Ramay, director of the Pakistan Sustainable Development Policy Institute's China Study Center, told the Global Times that as a landlocked country, Afghanistan relies on "air-bridges" in direct foreign trade. Exports of Afghan carpets and pine nuts are important to the livelihoods of many Afghan farmers and craftsmen.

    As Afghan society gets more stable, Pakistan and other Afghan neighbors can help build more transport corridors to facilitate the nation's trade. Pakistan hopes that the benefits of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor will expand to include Afghanistan and help the Afghan people rebuild their war-torn homeland, said Ramay."

    China-Afghanistan freight trains never stop with farm product trade restored: FM - Global Times

  21. #196
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Great, trains from Afghanistan going into Chinkystan.

    What could possibly go wrong?


  22. #197
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    Russia to deliver large humanitarian aid to Afghanistan in November - envoy

    On these special flights in November will also repatriate Afghan nationals with Russian citizenship, Dmitry Zhirnov said

    7 Nov, 18:22

    "Russia will arrange special flights to Afghanistan in November to deliver large humanitarian aid and repatriate Russian nationals, Russia’s Ambassador to Afghanistan Dmitry Zhirnov said in an interview with the Rossiya-1 TV Channel on Sunday.

    "Now we are preparing special flights to that country [Afghanistan] to deliver large humanitarian aid, foodstuffs. On these special flights in November, we will also repatriate Afghan nationals with Russian citizenship," the envoy said.

    "The flights that will follow - and there will be several planes for that purpose - will deliver to Russia Afghan students who enrolled at our universities on special quotas and as part of onsite training. They simply have no money to buy tickets. But the educational process must go on and the Taliban themselves support this," Zhirnov said.

    The participants in the Moscow format meeting on Afghanistan held on October 20 called for providing urgent humanitarian and economic aid to the country for its recovery. The participants in the Moscow talks also proposed launching a collective initiative to convene a representative international donor conference on Afghanistan under the UN aegis as soon as possible.

    The Taliban radical militant group (outlawed in Russia) launched a large-scale offensive to seize control of Afghanistan after the United States declared its intention in the spring of this year to withdraw its troops from the country.

    On August 15, the Taliban entered Kabul without encountering any resistance while Afghan President Ashraf Ghani stepped down and fled the country. The Taliban declared on September 6 that they had established control of the entire Afghan territory and on September 7 they announced an interim government in Afghanistan that has not been recognized by any country so far."

    Russia to deliver large humanitarian aid to Afghanistan in November - envoy - Society & Culture - TASS

  23. #198
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Cunning way to deport Afghans.

  24. #199
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
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    ^^Why would those Afghans even want to go back right now? You’d think staying in Russia, working, and sending money home would be the sensible move.


    Kabul residents worried about crashing economy as winter approaches

    Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, the country has been struggling to battle poverty. Amid an economic crisis, residents of the Afghan capital city Kabul have revealed that they have been worried about the approach of winter.


    "The winter is very cold right now and people do not even have the money to buy a kilo of gas, coal and wood and they are facing a lot of problems," said Masood Ahmad Bashiri, a Kabul resident.

    Many Afghans have been selling possessions to buy food as the Taliban is unable to pay wages to civil servants. Also, the urban communities are facing food insecurity similar to rural areas.


    "If foreigners help us this year, who will help us in the years to come? So, for this reason, we have to find a solution ourselves and build up our country," said another Kabul resident Esmatullah Atal.

    Meanwhile, various aid agencies distributed food, blankets and cash to nearly 130 displaced families in Kabul. UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch said that around 9 million Afghans are "just one step away from starvation." He further added that 700,000 people, mostly women and children, have been displaced this year alone.


    The distribution was overseen by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Danish aid agency DACAAR.


    "It's a story of hunger, of conflict, of poverty and now winter is coming as well. Afghans need help desperately and quickly," said Baloch.


    Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also urged the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to resume financing support to Afghanistan for reconstruction.


    Various financial institutions suspended their engagement with the country until there was clarity within the international community on the recognition of the government led by the Taliban.


    Currently, banks are running out of money, civil servants have not been paid and food prices have surged.


    The IMF said that Afghanistan's economy was set to contract up to 30 per cent this year. "Afghanistan is in need of revival on all fronts, and development is the top priority," said Wang.

    Kabul residents worried about crashing economy as winter approaches, South Asia News | wionews.com

  25. #200
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
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    I would agree.

    But further in the article, there also appears to be students returning to Russia to continue studying.

    Quote Originally Posted by OhOh View Post
    "The flights that will follow - and there will be several planes for that purpose - will deliver to Russia Afghan students who enrolled at our universities on special quotas and as part of onsite training. They simply have no money to buy tickets. But the educational process must go on and the Taliban themselves support this," Zhirnov said

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