May 16, 2001

Afghans dread approaching conflict
By Kate Clark in north-eastern Afghanistan BBC News
The United Nations has called the situation in Afghanistan the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

Prime time in Afghanistan
By Kate Clark in Faizabad, north-eastern Afghanistan BBC News
When the Taleban took power in Afghanistan, they banned television.
They said images of living creatures were blasphemous against God as the sole creator.

New Afghan refugee crisis feared
By Eurasia analyst Adrian Foreman BBC News
There is concern about a new wave of refugees from Afghanistan following reports from neighbouring Tajikistan saying that many hundreds of people are arriving at the border.

U.N. team assesses impact of sanctions on Afghans
KABUL, May 16 (Reuters) - A United Nations team is in Afghanistan to assess the impact of Security Council sanctions on the war-battered country at the time of a humanitarian crisis,

UN sanction committee team arrives in Kabul
Islamabad, May 15, IRNA - The delegation of UN office for coordinating humanitarian activities arrived in Afghanistan and had a meeting with

Pakistan assures solution to Afghan refugees' problems
Islamabad, May 15, IRNA - Pakistan has assured Taliban that Afghan refugees will not be harassed who have legal documents.

A thousand more refugees flee to Tajik-Afghan border
Tuesday, 15-May-2001 11:30AM
DUSHANBE, May 15 (AFP) - Some 1,000 new refugees have f led to the Afghan-Tajik border to escape a new escalation of violence in civil war-torn Afghanistan, Russian border patrol officials said Tuesday.

UNICEF Proposes Ceasefire for Polio Vaccinations, ISA Will Observe
News Brief
Tuesday 15 May 2001
The United Nations Children's Fund's (UNICEF) has appealed for a six-day cease-fire in Afghanistan due to the third round of polio vaccinations which will begin  this Thursday May 17.

Afghanistan: Potential for famine "apocalyptic" - US aid worker
ISLAMABAD, 15 May (IRIN) - The US is expected to announce a significant new tranche of funds for Afghanistan in the coming weeks - the result of its recent mission to the northern and western areas

Taliban likely to lift ban on women's education
By M. Ilyas Khan - DAWN
PESHAWAR, May 15: The Taliban government is considering to lift the ban on women's education in Afghanistan, highly informed sources told Dawn here on Tuesday.

Envoy denies terrorists presence in Afghanistan
DAWN
ISLAMABAD, May 15: The Afghan ambassador in Islamabad Mullah Abdus Salam Zuaeef said on Tuesday his country did not shelter any of the terrorists listed by Pakistan and hence there was

US official to visit Pak tomorrow
Tims of India
ISLAMABAD: US acting assistant secretary of state for South Asia Alan Eastham would arrive here on a two-day visit on Wednesday to establish first ever high level contact between

US General Visits Tajikistan to Strengthen Ties
WASHINGTON, May 16, 2001 - AAR - General Tommy Franks, head of the United States Central Command spent a few hours in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan on Wednesday

Int'l community pledges $430 mil. for Tajikistan
.c Kyodo News Service
TOKYO, May 16 (Kyodo) - The international community pledged Wednesday a total of $430 million in aid for Tajikistan to help its efforts in reducing poverty and achieving economic stability, the World Bank said.

Troops seize 120 kilos of heroin in Tajikistan
DUSHANBE, May 16 (Reuters) - Russian border guards deployed in Tajikistan have seized 120 kg (276 lb) of heroin transported from neighbouring Afghanistan, a guards spokesman said on Wednesday.

Ivanov, Annan to discuss regional conflicts, security
MOSCOW, May 15, 2001 (Itar-Tass via COMTEX) -- Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, who came to Moscow on Tuesday to pay an official visit,

Tribal fighting continues in Pakistan
Intense fighting is continuing in Pakistan's north-western tribal areas, where more than 10 people have been killed in the past two days.

India, Pakistan a test-bed for nuclear deterrence theory, says IISS
LONDON, May 16 (AFP) - Troubled relations between India and Pakistan are a "rapidly evolving test-bed for nuclear deterrence theory," the International Institute for Strategic

Female candidate retracts bid for presidential office
Tehran, May 15, IRNA -- Female presidential hopeful Farah Khosravi has had second thoughts to stand for June 8 presidential elections

Pakistan seizes one tonne of Afghan opium, kill smuggler
Tuesday, 15-May-2001 8:30PM
QUETTA, Pakistan, May 15 (AFP) - Pakistani authoritie s seized one tonne of opium after killing an Afghan smuggler near a border town in southwestern Baluchistan province, officials said Tuesday.