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Add: In front of Habibia High School, District 3, Kabul, Afghanistan

KABUL - Officials in Kabul said recent US sanctions against Iran have affected Afghan investors’ trading through Iran’s Chabahar Port – which is otherwise consid-ered a good alternative for Af-ghanistan-Pakistan trade routes.For example, business owners have not received payment for a talc shipment – comprised of 50 containers – which was exported to India eight months ago, ac-cording to Sakhi Ahmad Paiman, deputy head of the Chamber of Industry and Mines.Paiman said the investors have not sent other talc shipments to

Chabahar since.“At least 1,000 (metric) tons of talc was exported through Chaba-har Port to India but the export-ers have not been able to receive their money over the past eight months,” he said.The Ministry of Transportation said the Chabahar Port is exempt-ed from the US sanctions on Iran but acknowledged that there are some challenges for Afghan in-vestors in the seaport.“The Chabahar Port is exempt from US sanctions but if there are any challenges, the Ministry of Transportation is committed to

Female Athletes Deprived of Afghanistan National Bowling Team Membership

Due to Disregarding Islamic Hijab

Kabul Municipality: The Environmental Status of the Capital Is Worrying

NPC Head’s Refusal to Appear Angers Lawmakers

Pakistan Embassy in Kabul Resumes Its Full Consular Services

Prices of Sugar, Ghee Up in Kabul Market

Taliban Backs Weeklong Ceasefire in

Afghanistan: WSJ

KABUL - National Procure-ment Commission (NPC) chief Mohammad Umar Elham Ho-taki’s refusal to appear before the Wolesi Jirga on Saturday angered lawmakers.Hotaki has been accused of cor-ruption and illegal activities by some lawmakers who demanded the NPC head referral to the At-torney General Office.Hotaki declined to appear before lawmakers on Monday and sent a letter in which he fixed Wednes-day to come to the lower house.Speaker Mir Rahman Rahmani said: “We are not under the NPC head authority, he pledged to come last week and he was in-cluded in the agenda but he de-manded projects to be specified

KABUL – The Pakistan Embassy in Kabul has announced that it will resume its consular office af-ter nearly two months.The Pakistan Embassy in Kabul had announced on Nov. 4, that

KABUL - Officials in Kabul, the Ministry of Interior and the De-partment of the Environment at-tended a news conference follow-ing an increase in air pollution in a high alert environmental situ-ation of Kabul. At the meeting, Mahtab Alemi, Kabul’s municipal services, and environment deputy minister called the Kabul weather unbearable, stressing that the Ka-bul municipality had launched an action plan to fight environmen-tal pollution and that the project was due to be launched in the country’s capital tomorrow.“Most perpetrators and violators of the environmental and air pol-lution in the city are identified as homeowners, homes, baths, sky-lights, brick dashes and regres-

KABUL - The prices of sugar and ghee have in-creased while the rates of other essential com-modities remained stable during the outgoing week in capital Kabul, market source said on Sat-urday.Mohammad Samim, a wholesaler in Kabul Man-davi Market, told Pajhwok Afghan News that the price 49 kilograms of Pakistani sugar increased from 2,020afs to 2,040afs from and the price of 16 liters of Khorshid ghee from 1,180 to 1,220 afs.The prices of other commodities remain stable. Samim said that 49-kg of Kazkhstani flour cost 1,600afs, 24 kilograms of rice 2,100afs, a kilogram of Indonesian green tea 300afs and the same quantity of African black tea 320afs, the same rates of last week’s.Ahmad Mustafa, who owns a grocery store in Taimani area of Kabul, sold a 50-kg sack of Ka-

KABUL - The Taliban’s leadership has agreed to to a weeklong ceasefire in Afghanistan, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.The agreement came during the council’s meet-ing on Wednesday in the Pakistani city of Quet-ta, where it is based, WSJ reported citing an identified person which it said was briefed by a senior Taliban official who was present at the gathering.The Taliban’s supremer leader, Hibatullah Akunndzada, attended the meeting and ap-proved the ceasefire, the report said.US negotiators renewed talks with the Taliban earlier this month. Those talks had been halted by President Donald Trump in September, who cited a deadly attack in Kabul in announcing the

sions,” said Miss Alemi. These people do not use smoke filters, along with the poor use of coal to cause more pollution, “the Ka-bul municipality official added.” Environmental offenders will be prosecuted and punished.”Meanwhile, Ezzatullah Siddiqui, a deputy director of the National Bureau of Environmental Pro-tection, said the capital’s envi-ronmental status is concerning, citing environmental pollution in the city as a concern, in order to ensure public order and law enforcement every influential and involved organization Will

do their jobs. At the same time, government officials warn envi-ronmental violators that they will

face a short-term prison sentence, a fine and a ban on their activities if ...( More on P4)...(4)

for him about which the lawmak-ers may question him.” He asked lawmakers to take the final deci-sion in this regard.Mir Haidar Afzali, head of Wolesi Jirga Defence Commission, said their inspection showed the NPC had not approved medicine con-tract for a 400-bed hospital which had run out of medicines. The rice contract of the Defence Ministry was offered to a company that violated the contract and pro-vided foreign rice under the label of local rice to the Defence Minis-try. According to the contract, local rice should be provided to the De-fence Ministry.Hameeda Ahmadzai, a Kochi law-maker, said: “It is quite clear that officials ...( More on P4)...(2)

the country is closing its consu-lar office in Afghanistan’s capi-tal, due to unspecified security reasons. Nearly two months on, the embassy today ...( More on P4)...(5)

Team have been cancelled due to disregarding ‘Islamic veil’, offi-cials at Afghanistan Bowling Fed-

eration said.Faila Hoorzad and Zohal Bayat are the only two members of Afghanistan National Bowling whose memberships at the Af-ghanistan’s National Bowling Team have been cancelled by the Afghanistan Bowling Federation.Officials at the Afghanistan Bowl-ing Federation claim that the membership of these athletes have been cancelled because the have not regarded the Islamic Hi-jab while they were in Kuwait for the 25th Asian Bowling Champi-onship.“Serious disciplinary actions will be taken against ‘disregarding

Islamic Hijab according to the Bylaws of the federation.”, Sayed Ahad Sorosh, a spokesperson for Afghanistan Bowling Federation said.But Fazila Hoorzad one of the fe-male players whose membership has been cancelled after she has returned from the Asian Champi-onship games in Kuwait, calls it a ‘slander’ and an ‘accusal’.“We fully appeared in Islamic veil during the play and attended all the official meeting and events with hijab. It is our own choice how to appear outside the official time or while we are at our own privacy.”, Fazila Hoorzad said.The video footages and the pho-tographs published from the 25th Asian Bowling Championship show Zohal and Fazila are in Is-lamic hijab.“I want the authorities to to promptly ...( More on P4)...(3)

KABUL - The memberships of only two female members of Af-ghanistan’s National Bowling

zakhstani flour for 1,700afs, a 49-kg bag of sugar for 2,200afs, 24-kg of Pakistani rice 2,300afs a 16-litre tin of ghee for 1,300afs, one-kg of Indone-sian green tea for ...( More on P4)...(6)

decision.Khalilzad demanded a ten-day Taliban ceasefire before the signing of any deal, WSJ reported cit-ing US and Afghan officials. (1TV NEWS)

solving them,” said Ali Sina Saed, a ministry spokesman.The Chabahar port is located in the Sistan-Baluchistan Province on Iran’s southeastern coast (out-side the Persian Gulf) and is of economic importance for the de-velopment of regional maritime traffic to Afghanistan and Central Asia.The agreement of the port was signed between Afghanistan, India, and Iran in May 2016. Ac-cording to the agreement, the port will provide direct access to Afghanistan to India and other countries ...( More on P4)...(1)

Despite Exemptions, US Sanctions Hinder Trade

in Chabahar Port

HERAT CITY - Unidentified gun-men have shot dead two workers of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNA-MA) in western Herat province, an official said on Saturday.Jilani Farhad, the governor’s spokesman, told Pajhwok Afghan News the incident took place in the Pul-i-Pashtun area in front of the UN mission’s provincial n Fri-day evening.He said the two UNAMA guards were shopping when gunned down by unknown motorcyclists, who managed to flee the area.A manhunt had been launched for the killers, he said, adding the mo-tive behind the shooting was yet to be ascertained.The attack comes weeks after resi-

AIBAK - Eleven Taliban militants have been killed during a clash with the security personnel in the Dara-i-Sauf Payeen district of northern Samangan province, an official said on Saturday.Police spokesman Munir Rahimi told Pajhwok Afghan News the

KABUL - American and other global firms helped finance a Tali-ban-led insurgency in Afghanistan that killed or wounded US soldiers and civilians, alleges a new law-suit.Filed on Friday, the suit claims the contractors made protection pay-ments to the Taliban because they had lucrative businesses in post-9/11 Afghanistan.Payments were made to convince the insurgents into refraining from attacks on their business interests, according to the suit filed by fami-lies of more than 100 people who were killed and wounded in Af-ghanistan from 2009 to 2017.“Those protection payments aided and abetted terrorism by directly funding an al-Qaeda-backed Tali-ban insurgency that killed and injured thousands of Americans,” the lawsuit said.According to mainstream US me-dia outlets, the payments to the Taliban were rationlised as a nec-essary cost of business.

The firms used a network of sub-contractors and private security groups to transfer cash to Taliban agents, while the group was wag-ing a violent campaign against US forces and their allies, CNN said.“Defendants decided that buying

off the terrorists was the most ef-ficient way to operate their busi-nesses while managing their own security risks ..,” the lawsuit says.MTN Group, a telecommunica-tions firm, DAI Global, the Louis Berger Group Inc. and Black &

Veatch Special Projects Corp, are some of the contractors for USAID in Afghanistan, taking in more than $1 billion of the agency’s funding.The plaintiffs, 385 Americans, have accused the companies of violating the Anti-Terrorism Act. (Pajhwok)

KABUL - The Ministry of Defense on Friday said that the number of soldiers in the ranks of the Af-ghan National Army (ANA) is supposed to be around 234,000 officers, however, currently there are about 200,000 soldiers serv-ing in the force. Afghanistan started reshaping its security institutions after the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, a move that is considered one of the major achievements of state-building programs in the country in the post-Taliban democracy. “The size of the army should be about 234,000, but currently

GHAZNI - At least eight peo-ple were rescued from a Tali-ban prison in central Ghazni province, the Defense Ministry (MoD) said.In a statement released on Satur-day, the MoD said that Afghan forces carried out an operation in the Mushki area of Qarabagh district in Ghazni province.As a result, eight people in-cluding six Afghan forces and

there are around 200,000 soldiers serving,” confirmed Rohullah Ahmadzai, spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, but he downplayed the significance of the difference: “But the recruit-ment process is normal for a na-tional army.” Toofan Mahdavi, a former offic-er of the Afghan National Army who served in the force for three years and was wounded during one of the battles, said that a lack of troops has serious consequenc-es. He left the military because he was personally threatened by armed ...( More on P4)...(10)

two members of local uprising forces were freed from a Taliban prison in the district.The Taliban militant group yet to make a comment in this re-gard.Ghazni is among the insecure provinces in central Afghani-stan where the Taliban insur-gents are actively operating in parts of it including the provin-cial capital Ghazni city. (ATN)

US Contractors Sued for Bribing Taliban in Afghanistan

2 UN Mission Guards Gunned Down in Herat City

Taliban’s Military Leader Among 11 Killed in Samangan Clash

ANA Not Meeting Target Enlistment Numbers: MoD

Afghan Forces Rescue Eight People from

Taliban Prison in Ghazni

Dec 29, 2019 - You’re always intellectually curious, but today you might be especially so. Although you’re usually idealistic, today your imagination is in full swing. You might want to try writing or painting. It will be bet-ter to go with fiction or impressionism than

history or realism. Study of spiritual or esoteric subjects is likely to clear a path between intellect and intuition.

Dec 29, 2019 - The morning could find you somewhat worried about finances. Past reckless spending may be on your mind. Go through your records and look at them objectively. You’ll proba-bly find that things aren’t as bad as they

seem. Write down a plan for handling whatever does need attention. You’ll be able to take care of business without making yourself crazy.

Dec 29, 2019 - Romance and marriage are always important to you, and today they’re especially so. You should feel par-ticularly warm, loving, and attractive, and matters of love and partnership should be especially romantic. Today bodes well

for other forms of partnership, as an increased level of understanding passes between you and others. Casual acquaintances could become friends.

Down

Across Yesterday’s Solution

1. Destined, 2. Fall color, 3. Tapestry, 4. Japanese apricot, 5. Be present at, 6. A condition marked by tremors, 7. Assist in crime, 8. Mollycoddling, 9. Dawn goddess, 10. Cassava, 11. Dislikes, 12. Achy, 13. 2 2 2 2, 18. Ruffle, 22. Gait faster than a walk, 24. Rip, 26. Website addresses, 28. Hearing-related, 29. Snare, 30. Evergreens, 31. Grumble, 32. Not under, 33. Discern, 34. It mea-sures atmospheric pressure, 37. Behold, in old Rome, 38. An international trade agreement, 40. Alone, 41. Thin, 43. Move unsteadily, 44. Cheddar or edam, 46. Stairs, 47. Yours (archaic), 48. Fails to win, 49. Excrete, 50. Its symbol is Pb, 51. Countercurrent, 53. Region, 56. South south-east, 57. Expression of surprise

1. Froth, 5. Quickly, 10. Spar, 14. Unit of land, 15. Forbidden, 16. Affirm, 17. Improvident, 19. Roman emperor, 20. Historic period, 21. Relaxes, 22. Rubber wheels, 23. Fate, 25. Units of European currency, 27. A late time of life, 28. Barbarity, 31. Reef material, 34. Constructed, 35. Mineral rock, 36. Anagram of “Rave”, 37. Deservedly receives, 38. Chew, 39. Record (ab-brev.), 40. Scrawny one, 41. Pants, 42. Code of correct conduct, 44. Feline, 45. Automaton, 46. Badminton birdie, 50. Slowly, in music, 52. Consumed, 54. Pig, 55. Modify, 56. Urban smarts, 58. Axlike tool, 59. Oozes, 60. 1 1 1 1, 61. One who colors cloth, 62. Delete, 63. Toward sunset

Outlook Horoscope

Pisces (Feb.19-Mar.20)

Aquarius (Jan 20-Feb.18)

Capricorn (Dec.21-Jan19)

Scorpio (Oct.23-Nov.22)

Libra (Sep 23-Oct. 22)Cancer (June 21-July 20)

Sagittarius (Nov.23-Dec.20)

Leo (July 21-Aug. 21)Taurus (Apr.21-May 20)

Aries (Mar. 22-Apr.20)

Gemini (May 21-June 20) Virgo (Aug. 22-Sep 22 )

Dec 29, 2019 - An unexpected visit or call from a friend could bring exciting news. You might decide to get together with this person and celebrate. Good fortune comes your way from an unforeseen source, but don’t waste time

wondering about it. Make the most of it. Future successes may hinge upon it. By day’s end you might be aiming for entirely different goals than you were this morning.

Dec 29, 2019 - Today you feel especially imaginative, and you might want to try writing, painting, or composing. The past is especially appealing, so you may want to stroll through an art gallery or

museum or attend a concert. Use your intuition, as it’s operating at a high level. Messages might come through art that bring insight and perhaps revela-tion. Write down your impressions!

Dec 29, 2019 - Optimism and foresight are important today, as you take charge of your life and seek new opportunities. Conversations lead to ideas for possi-ble personal and career expansion, and

you’re likely to send out and receive a number of messages. You could even be considering a move, perhaps to another city. Don’t rush. Plan carefully and all should work out as you wish.

Dec 29, 2019 - Your biorhythms may be low today, so you might not be feeling quite up to par. This could make you feel restless and a little blue. Most likely your

malaise is related to stress. Play some soft music. Sur-round yourself with flowers or other colorful objects. If possible, get a massage. This will help you relax. You’ll feel like your old self by tomorrow.

Dec 29, 2019 - New ideas and opportunities for advancing yourself financially may come your way today, yet this isn’t the day to act indiscriminately or make any definite chang-

es in your financial structure. Your judgment may be a bit clouded. You could have difficulty deciding among different options. Write down all the information, study it, and sleep on it for a few nights before committing to anything.

Dec 29, 2019 - Matters of love seem to be taking a turn for the better. Discuss your relationship with your partner. Your friend may or may not share your opin-ions, and a compromise may need to be

reached. Don’t let this dampen your enthusiasm. Ro-mance looks bright for the near future as long as you keep the lines of communication open.

Dec 29, 2019 - Have you been think-ing about remodeling or redecorat-ing your home? If so, this is the day to do it. Your energy and aesthetic

sense are high today. Enlist the aid of family members in planning colors, styles, and arrange-ments. A lot of activity may go on in and around your home, and you’ll be enthusiastic. Make sure on one works to the point of exhaustion.

Dec 29, 2019 - Your usually dependable judgment may seem clouded by emotion today. Perhaps you’re unable to decide between different courses of action. Or

perhaps you’re feeling distracted and can’t focus on what needs to be done. Don’t be afraid to put things off and work on something less taxing. Things will seem clearer tomorrow. Spend your day relaxing. Forget about work for a while.

Dec 29, 2019 - Today, you may feel es-pecially sociable. You might want to look up old friends you haven’t seen

for a while, perhaps to release past quarrels or hurt feelings. Take care to release them instead of bring-ing them up again. You could feel more sensitive than usual, and so any sort of explanation may lead to friction. Be aware of your friends’ good qualities so you can enjoy their company.

action after check coach compensation cram direc-tion easel expect fixed floorfranchisee great hare honey immediate insistleap lies mine money night notify peppermint pipe plows quality rightscrew slide speed spend...

dents and activists of provincial capital expressed serious concerns over growing insecurity, especial-ly terrorist activities, in the city.The Herat government has banned all unregistered vehicles and mo-torbikes in the area for a month. The ban went into effect from Sat-urday (today).Governor Abdul Qayyum Rahimi said the restrictions had been put in place to assess the overall secu-rity situation in the province.Sayed Ashraf Sadat, a civil society activist, voiced his deep concern over increasing insecurity, say-ing basic programmes, like an in-crease in the strength of security forces and intelligence operatives, would help ensure peace in the province. (Pajhwok)

security forces conducted clear-ing operations in parts of the dis-trict late on Friday night.He said 11 Taliban rebels, includ-ing their military chief for the dis-trict, were eliminated and another two wounded in the operation in ...( More on P4)...(11)

Main News PageDecember 29, 20192

In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Kind

December 29, 2019

Ting Zhao, Scholar, Yunnan University, P. R. China; Shiping Tang & Yuting Zhou, Scholar, Kunming Institute for advanced Information Studies, P. R. China; Di Liu, Scholar, Yunnan Vocational College of Land and Resources, P. R. China

Why Afghanistan Was Left Alone When the Soviet Union Left

the Country

In December 1979, in the midst of the Cold War, the Soviet 40th Army invaded Afghanistan in order to prop up the communist government of the People’s

Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) against a grow-ing insurgency. At the time, the United States had been making headway in the Middle East at Moscow’s ex-pense, successfully courting Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and others. The Soviet Union feared the loss of its communist proxy in Afghanistan. There are evidence showing that Hafizullah Amin want-ed an improvement in U.S-Afghan relations. In fact, he wanted a long range hedge against over dependence pn the Soviet Union. This approcah of Amin, was the main factor that pushed the Soviet Union to rush in invading Afghanistan; because this meant losing Afghanistan to the West. In this case, they could lose more than a strate-gically placed country on their order. In addition to this, many political analysts believe that invasion of Afghani-stan stemmed from the age-long dream of Moscow to have direct access to the Indian Ocean. The United States was very cautious about Amin’s re-orientation. However, Moscow noticed it with alarm; they considered it as strategic reorientation to the West. Amisn’s keeping contacts with the American chargé d’affaires from Moscow and it cost his life. Why Afghans Starred Fighting Against the Soviet Union InvasionAfghans considered the Moscow backed government as a “godless, communist-dominated regime” in Kabul. As the experience of the central Asian countries showed, when the Soviet Union invaded them, dissident Islamist and anti-Soviet Central Asians fled to Afghanistan, Brit-ish India, and to the Hijaz in Saudi Arabia. When the So-viet Invaded the Central Asian countries they remained there and started banning Islamic activities to replace it with Communism ideology. This caused painc in Afghan-istan. In Addition to this, religious scholars encouraged, both sunni and shia scholars, encouraged people to up-rise againsy the Afghan communist regime and its Soviet Union backers. As a result armed resistance groups were formed in the country supported by Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Western Countries. Although, the invasion was intended to be a quick operation, but lasted several years as resistance to the Soviets was fierce and unrelent-ing. Afghans think that the West just looked for its own inter-ests. Once the Red Army left Afghanistan, they had bro-ken down the Soviet Union and it posed no more threats against the West. In fact, some U.S. officials felt Wash-ington’s geostrategic aims had been achieved. As a re-sult, they left Afghans alone with a shattered country that had changed to the weapons catchy of the Soviet Union. Although they knew that an overall civil war will start in Afghanistan, they just turned their back to Afghans. However, it was a big mistake, because five years later came the first attack on the World Trade Center. After the West Afghanistan alone, the country changed to the safe haven of the terrorist groups. Invasion of Afghanistan cost the Soviet Union dearly. The power of the Kremlin declined, its economy col-lapsed and finally the USSR collapsed. As a result, the cold war era ended and the U.S became the only World Super power. The introduction of large quantities of weapons and funds by the West and the weapons left from the USSR exacerbated simmering historical ethno-linguistic, sectar-ian, and regional divisions in Afghanistan and encour-aged alternative social and political structures and pro-cesses of local governance in the periphery. The big lesson of the USSR withdrawal from Afghanistan for the West is that if the West abandon Afghanistan, once they are in it and engaged, there is a very real pos-sibility that they will pay a higher price in the end as they paid before. The last but not the least, such withdrawal, may serve the Afghans as the USSR withdrawal that Af-ghanistan is suffering from it after about 3 decades.

Chairman / Editor-in-Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Vice Chairman / Exec. Editor: Moh. Sakhi Rezaie

Email: outlookafghanistan@gmail.comPhone: 0093 (799) 005019/777-005019

www.outlookafghanistan.net

The security situation in Afghanistan has been sharply strained since U.S. President Donald trump called off talks with the Taliban. Mili-tary clashes between Afghan government forces and the Taliban

forces have intensified. Afghan government forces have stepped up their offense against the Taliban in recent days. Up to now, fighting has raged in at least 10 provinces, including Takhar, Baghlan, Kunduz and Badakhshan. With the escalation of fighting, there will probably be more civilian and the armed casualties. The situation in Afghanistan which involves differ-ent countries, tribe faction and religious conflicts is becoming serious and complex. The influence of war in Afghanistan has spilled over the land and spread into other neighboring countries of Afghanistan, exerting a bad in-fluence on regional security and stability. Facing the urgent situation in Af-ghanistan, international community, especially the regional powerhouses, honor the responsibility to build a peace mechanism with international multinational participation to cope with Afghan issues. 18 years have elapsed ever since 2001 when U.S. troop launched the war on terrorism in Afghanistan. There is no dialogue or cooperation mecha-nism between Beijing and Washington over Afghanistan issues, and even all neighbouring countries related to Afghanistan have not been aware of importance of solving Afghanistan issues jointly. All stakeholders are drawing their own route maps according to their own scripts, and coun-tries including Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan adjacent to Afghanistan are affected by refugees, drugs and terrorists issues since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. As Afghanistan has not recov-ered peace and stability yet, neighbouring countries have been troubled by Afghanistan refugees, drugs and terrorists, especially Pakistan. From 1979, Afghanistan has nearly become the largest original place of refugees in Pakistan. A report issued by UNHCR shows that up to now, 1.3 million Afghanistan refugees are still living in Pakistan. Pakistan has formulated specialized route maps to handle Afghanistan refugee issues and it’s hoped that Afghanistan refugees can return to Afghanistan as soon as possible so as to relieve heavy economic and social pressure on Pakistan. It’s notewor-thy that China, Russia, India, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan have their own route maps to solve Afghanistan issues. However, route maps of different countries have not completely solved Afghanistan issues, and even contradiction exists between their route maps. To some extent, all countries are inclined to cope with Afghanistan issues according to their own route maps, as a consequence, the peace and stability of Af-ghanistan can’t be realized for a long time. Afghanistan issues has become the largest unstable factor troubling the entire region. It’s gratifying that all countries in these regions are not troublemakers and they all hope that Afghanistan can recover peace and stability as soon as possible. Especially Beijing more hopes that Afghanistan can recover peace and stability in a short period so that solid foundation can be laid for deepening economic and trade cooperation. China has seen persistent efforts made by U.S. in Afghanistan and China hopes that Afghanistan can recover peace and sta-bility with the assistance of the international community as soon as pos-

The views and opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authers and do not reflect the views or opinions of the Daily Outlook Afghanistan.

Historically, the e basic study of sociology backs to the classic age but it has considerably developed in modern era. With the collapse of autocratic regimes and emerging modern social institution, it was

born and the social scholars such as Marx, Montesquieu and Kant were of the founders and pioneers of this principle. They played important role in modernization of today’s world while some of world countries still stuck in tribal and despotic environment. In Afghanistan, we could not use these scientific theories and valuable achievement of these scholars. As a result, we have not been successful in solving many of the social and political is-sues while the solutions have been provided several centuries ago.What is political sociology? And what is the political sociology of Afghani-stan? The Political sociology discusses about the relationship between social institution and political power. It explains which social institutions and which social components influence over the political power and gov-ernment. For example, what is the general role of political culture, religion, military, intellectuals, elites, political parties, language, tribe and race on the political power? In the other word, both the subject of politics and po-litical sociology is political power but methodologically they are different. It means, politics discuss about political power from top to bottom but po-litical sociology discusses from bottom to top. Given the fact that Afghanistan is a multicultural and multi-ethnical soci-ety, and given the abovementioned political sociologic theories, there are several factors which influence and affect the political power and often act as buriers against state building process. The first factor which influences the political condition is tribal competition. Ethnic competition can play helpful or harmful role in political development depending on general po-litical management. It plays negative role when people try to gain social or economical privileges reclining on tribal, language and religious gaps. According to Suzan, the social conflicts happen when the social groups compete over the limited resources. In other word, the social gaps can play negative role when there are no culture of meritocracy in distribution of wealth, power, prestige and opportunities. The second factor which activates the social gap or intensifies ethnical ten-sion in a society is ethnical deprivation. According to political sociologists, when the deprived ethnic groups feel that they are able to bring changes, they will proceed against the superior ethnic group to revive their rights while the superior ethic group will try to conserve the current situation. These kinds of conflicts are called vertical conflicts which have always ex-isted in Afghanistan, but could not find proper opportunity to emerge due to the absolute control. In1992 after the collapse of central government and with freeing from political control, it was tremendously appeard in form of demanding ethnic rights which led to domestic war in the country. So,

How Multilateral Mechanism is Important for the Peace Progress of Afghanistan

The Sociological Factors of Ethnic Tension in Afghanistan

sible. In the eyes of Chinese scholars, China and U.S. have many common interests over Afghanistan issues and can reach a consensus over recovery of peace and stability in Afghanistan. In terms of community governance, China has entirely different experience from western countries like U.S., U.K. and France in community gover-nance. As a country deeply threatened by terrorism, China has developed feasible social management system in order to cope with terrorist threats, and terrorist activities have presented continuously reducing trend in re-cent years. Features of China’s experience lie in that it can mobilize most common Chinese people to participate in anti-terrorism operations so that terrorist activities can be timely found and eliminated in initial phase. If U.S. and its NATO allies can deeply take a part in community governance in Afghanistan, and there is a mechanism which actively supports the gov-ernment in each village and community in Afghanistan and China’s ex-perience in anti-terrorism operations can be taken as a reference, then Af-ghanistan issues will develop towards a benign direction. From the angle of regional cooperation mechanisms, the optimal method to solve Afghan-istan issues is that all countries related to Afghanistan interests should sit together. At present the only regional cooperation mechanism which can exert important effect is Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Except Turk-menistan which doesn’t join in Shanghai Cooperation Organization as a permanent neutralized state, China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and other countries are all members of Shanghai Cooperation Organization and they are also countries related to Afghanistan interests. Indeed, if U.S. doesn’t welcome Shanghai Cooperation Organization, an-other scheme is to reconstruct a new platform or mechanism namely “Af-ghanistan Peace talks” to gather countries like U.S., China, Russian, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan to jointly solve common concerns over Afghani-stan. All sides related to Afghanistan issues should stay calm and sit down to have sincere dialogue with one another to solve problems. Even though all stakeholders may have their own route maps to solve Afghanistan is-sues, every stakeholder should follows the principle of Afghan People First and takes Afghan people’s interest into consideration. Afghanistan issues has been lasting for decades and cannot be solved by one or two countries. Multinational cooperation and effective settlement mechanism can be the optimal route map to Afghanistan issues. Afghanistan has been plagued by war and invasion for a long time. Afghan people are eager for peace-ful and secure life. Moreover, a peaceful and stable Afghanistan conforms to the interest of the world. With its natural geographical advantages and bountiful energy storage, Afghanistan shows promise to be the model of development among South Asia and Central Asia countries. China sin-cerely hopes that Afghanistan can get rid of war and poverty with the joint effort of international community as soon as possible.

Editorial and Opinions3

By: Mohammad Zahir Akbari based on this theory, any types of deprivation from civil rights can lead to unpleasing social and political consequences among the ethnic social groups. The third factor which activates the social gap and ethnical tensions in a society is elites’ competition. The elites are those categories of people who have social, economic and political influence on society while hold govern-mental and non-governmental positions. The elites can play both construc-tive and destructive role through demonstration, provoking ethnic and religious emotion. In fact, they are very expert in using social gaps in or-der to reach political interests. With looking at the history of Afghanistan, there are a lot of examples when they used social gaps to reach personal or political goals, especially in last one hundred year. Unfortunately, both government and non-government politicians have had role in creating this divisions and yet persists in the country. The political elites persistently provoke ethnic sensitivities because they have no national program to unite the people on the basis of a constructive national plan and so prefer to use the timeworn destructive tool. Unfortu-nately, in last two decades we have not seen any ethnic political leaders to come with a big political program. Not only, they play a negative role but also show a wrong role model for Afghan people to imitate. As result, most of private institutions such as media, university, political candidates and even residential settlement have become tribal while we are in twenty first century. The forth factor which activates the social gap in a society is cultural unification. In multi-cultural society such as Afghanistan, it is obvious that people are loyal to their traditional and cultural values. So, when one tribe wants to impose its values, it activates some social gap in the country. Fortunately, this issue is not true in modern Afghanistan as all major branches of ruling religion and language are legally recognized by national constitution. However, the people of Afghanistan have no good memory from dogmatic approach of Taliban in recent years. The last factor which activates the social gap in a society is role of international system on ethnic conflicts in certain circumstances. According to some international relation analysts, the tribal and religious phenomena can be studied at the international level. It means that some regional or international elements may use the social gaps for reaching their political interests. In last two decades in Afghanistan, several terrorist attacks were launched on certain ethnic or religious group aiming to activate the social gaps and divide the Afghan ethnic groups, but fortunately Afghan people have patiently neu-tralized those sinister goals. Finally, it is expected from all Afghan people be cautious and all Afghan elites stay committed to the moral and national values.

By: Ting Zhao, Shiping Tang, Yuting Zhou, Di Liu

Mohammad Zahir Akbari is the permanent writer of the Daily Outlook Af-ghanistan. He can be reached at mohammadzahirakbari@gmail.com

December 19, 2019

WASHINGTON - A U.S. defense contractor was killed in a rocket at-tack on Friday outside the city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq, a U.S. of-ficial told Fox News.About 30 rockets landed at the base used by U.S and Iraqi forces, the of-ficial said.“Several” U.S. troops were also in-jured in the rocket attack, the offi-cial said. It’s not immediately clear how severe the injuries are.

LUCKNOW, India - The chief minister of India’s Uttar Pradesh state has rebuffed accusations from rights groups of police abuses during protests against a new citizenship law, crediting his tough stand with restoring calm to the streets.The northern state has seen the most violent turmoil over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s citi-

‘Several’ US Troops Injured in Iraq Rocket Attack That Killed US Contractor

Riyadh signs deal with Raytheon Saudi Arabia to localize Patriot maintenance

DUBAI - Saudi Arabia signed a deal with the local unit of U.S. weapons maker Raytheon on Saturday to localize maintenance of its Patriot mis-sile defense system, as part of efforts to boost Saudi’s defense indus-tries and its broader economy.Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman plans to diversify the kingdom away from its reliance on oil exports and wants Riyadh to produce or assemble half its defense equipment locally, aiming to create 40,000 jobs for Saudis by 2030. (Reuters)

Hardline Leader in Indian State Defends “Strict” Action to Quell Protests

‘We Will Not Be Lectured’: Russia Stands by Putin Calling Pro-Hitler Polish WWII Envoy ‘Bastard

& Anti-Semitic Pig’MOSCOW - Poland summoned the Russian ambassador in Warsaw to explain President Vladimir Putin’s remarks about the anti-Semitism of the 1930s Polish ambassador to Germany. Moscow is refusing to budge from historical truth. In a speech on Tuesday, Putin described Jozef Lipski, the Polish ambassador to Berlin (1934-39), as “a bastard and anti-Semitic pig.” He based this on Lip-ski’s own words from 1938, when the envoy told Hitler the Poles would “erect him a beautiful monument in Warsaw” if he carried out the plan to expel European Jews to Africa. (RT)

There are roughly 5,000 U.S. troops deployed to Iraq.Earlier this month, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blamed Iran for two separate rocket attacks on the Bagh-dad International Airport, on Dec. 9 and 11, where U.S. and Iraqi forces are located on the other side of the commercial airport. In a statement, Pompeo warned of a “decisive U.S. response” if any Americans were harmed in the future. (Fox News)

zenship law, which activists say is discriminatory towards the Muslim community, which makes up some 14% of India’s popula-tion. Out of at least 25 people who have been killed since the pro-tests began this month, 19 were in Uttar Pradesh (UP), India’s most populous state.Meanwhile, Hindu activists as-sociated with Modi’s party were

conducting workshops in slums in an effort to ease public discon-tent.“We have to explain the facts to the common people who are be-ing misled against the law by the opposition,” said Ram Naresh Tanwar, a member of a group called the Hindu Jagran Samiti, or Hindu awareness committee, in New Delhi. (Reuters)

December 29, 20194

(1) Despite Exemptions, ...via sea.“Chabahar is 700 kilometers closer compared to the Karachi port and it is 90 kilometers clos-er to the center of the country, Kabul. Therefore, distance has an impact,” said Kabul-based analyst Abdul Rasheed Janbaz. (TOLO NEWS)(2) NPC Head ...of the NPA are involved in cor-ruption and have violated the laws. Massive corruption is hap-pening in this organization and most of the contracts are award-ed to companies that did not meet the criteria. ”Nazir Ahmad Hanafi, a law-maker from Herat province, said Hotaki’s denial to appear was a disgrace to lawmakers and said: “This house is not answerable to anyone and added if the NPC is not pulled out of the Presiden-tial Palace, the situation will fur-ther deteriorate.” (Pajhwok)(3) Female Athletes ...review their decision and renew the membership of these female athletes enabling them to at-tend domestic and international games.”, Hamidi said. (KHAA-MA PRESS)(4) Kabul Municipality ...they continue environmental violation. On the basis of this ac-tion plan and on the basis of the country’s penal law, environ-mental offenders are condemned to revoke their licenses to oper-ate, they would be also banned from leaving the country, and to report to judicial and judiciary bodies, and their names would be publicized to the media. (pas-banan)(5) Pakistan Embassy ...Saturday, December 28, an-nounces that it will resume its full consular services by tomor-row.Prior to this, only emergency patients could receive a visa while the consular section of the Pakistan Embassy in Kabul was closed. (MEP)(6) Prices of Sugar ...320afs and the same amount of black African tea for 360afs—higher than wholesale rates.Abdul Hadi, a worker at Wazi-rabad Fuel Station in Kabul said that the price of a liter of petrol was 50afs and the same quantity of diesel 48afs, same rates of last week’s.Ahmad Javid, a liquefied gas seller in Taimani area of Kabul said that a kilogram of the com-

modity cost 65afs, the same rate of last week’s.Basir Ahmad, a jeweler in Lycee Mariam area of Kabul, said that one gram of Arabian gold cost 3,000afs and the same quantity of Russian variety 2,500afs, no changes have recorded in gold rates.Haji Mir Hussian Sadaqat, a moneychanger at the Money Exchange Service in Sara-i-Shahzada, said one US dollar was accounted for 78.15afs and 1,000 Pakistani rupees for 494afs against last week’s 78.20afs and 505afs. (Pajhwok)(7) Complaints ...Paktia, Khost and Kandahar provinces and would be ad-dressed based on law.Earlier, Mualvi Din Mohammad Azimi, IECC deputy head, said no decisions would be made in violation of the law. “There is no political pressure on us, we are committed and will act based on the law,” he said. (Pajhwok)(8) Slain Japanese ...Ambassador to Japan Bashir Mo-habbat and Peshawar-kai Chair-man Masaru Murakami were also present at the ceremony. (Pajhwok)(9) Nangarhar ...of 2, 5. 10, 20, 50 and 100 af-ghanis -- would be provided to moneychangers, government departments, district chiefs and others to address the issue of their shortage in the province.Mayor Al-Ameen Hussain said they had prepared new price lists, as the previous ones had problems. Nobody would be al-lowed to violate the fresh lists.Haji Mustafa, head of mon-eychangers’ association, prom-ised keeping an eye the brokers to ensure the small bills were not hoarded. (Pajhwok)(10) ANA Not ...groups because he served in the ANDSF, but another reason he gave for leaving was “challeng-es on the battlefield.” Mahdavi cites a lack of troops as one of the challenges: According to the report, there were 180,869 Afghan National Army (ANA) and 91,596 Afghan National Police (ANP) personnel enrolled and accounted for as of May 25, 2019, which is roughly 10,000 ANA fewer and 25,000 ANP fewer than the numbers re-ported to SIGAR in the previous quarter. Part of the drop was attributed to different standards of count-ing, in this case counting only

on Dec. 27, 2019 until further notice. Overall the company has nine Fokker 100 planes in use. The crashed plane was manu-factured on April 8, 1996, it is 23 years old. The airworthiness cer-tificate of the plane was renewed on May 22, 2019,” Griffiths said. (Trend)(16) Philippines ...ing Duterte’s war on drugs.Police say those killed were drug dealers who resisted arrest, but activists say many of the killings were murders. (Reuters)(17) Turkey Reveals ... 50 billion U.S. dollars to the Turkish economy in the 15 years following 2022, when the first vehicle of the C-SUV is expect-ed to hit the road, according to Mehmet Gurcan Karakas, the CEO of TOGG.The investment will enjoy com-prehensive tax cuts, free land al-location, interest rate reductions and a government purchase guarantee of 30,000 vehicles un-til the end of 2035, according to the decree.Reactions to the prototype were generally favorable.“Efforts leading to the birth of this prototype were enormous and I personally think that there will be a real market for this car once it will be produced in 2022,” automotive expert Saffet Ucuncu told private broadcaster NTV.“The road ahead will not be easy at all because there is still a lot to be done in the path to mass production and to make it A survey conducted this year showed that the rate of Turk-ish drivers, who said they could buy an electric car in the next five years is at an encouraging 60 percent, above the world av-erage. (Xinhua)(18) New Russian ... Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu informed Putin that the first missile unit equipped with the Avangard hypersonic glide ve-hicle entered combat duty.U.S. officials have talked about putting a layer of sensors in space to more quickly detect en-emy missiles, particularly the hypersonic weapons. The ad-ministration also plans to study the idea of basing interceptors in space, so the U.S. can strike incoming enemy missiles during the first minutes of flight when the booster engines are still burning.The Pentagon also has been working on the development of

hypersonic weapons in recent years, and Defense Secretary Mark Esper said in August that he believes “it’s probably a mat-ter of a couple of years” before the U.S. has one. He has called it a priority as the military works to develop new long-range fire capabilities. (AP News) (19) Navy SEAL ... Gallagher said in a statement to the Times issued by his lawyer.Last weekend, Trump hosted Gallagher and his wife at Mar-a-Lago, the president’s Florida resort, where he is spending the Christmas holidays. (AFP)(20) Oman Eager ...passenger shipping line between Iran and Oman depends on Pas-sengers’ demand.Elsewhere in his remarks, Saeedipour vowed increasing ports and maritime activities be-tween Hormuzgan and Masan-dan. (IRNA)(21) Large-Scale ...national Monetary Fund, in con-nection with the global finan-cial crisis, the world economy growth pace has slowed down.Taking into account the changes that have taken place, all neces-sary measures have been taken promptly for the timely imple-mentation of the adopted pro-grams and the maintenance of the social standard of living of the people, the Turkmen presi-dent emphasized.In particular, Berdimuhamedov noted that the Turkmen food safety was ensured, about 1. 7 million tons of wheat and over 1 million ton of cotton were har-vested.“All this is the result of our ef-forts to develop the national economy in the near future,” the president said, expressing con-fidence that the commissioning of these facilities will bring posi-tive results.Turkmenistan, according to a British Petroleum (BP) report, ranks fourth in terms of natural gas reserves in the world and currently exports it to China and Russia.Ashgabat is looking for new gas export routes, at the same time, it is conducting large-scale di-versification of the economy. Presently, the textile and oil products industries have ad-vanced, the oil and gas chemi-cal industries and the building materials industry are actively developing. (Trend)

biometrically-validated soldiers. (TOLO NEWS)(11) Taliban’s Military ...Ahangaran area.However, a resident who wished to go unnamed said two fight-ers, including Maulvi Badar, the military head, were killed.He said four security forces were also wounded while a fifth was killed in the clash. The Taliban, however, have not yet comment-ed on the firefight. (Pajhwok)(12) China, Russia ...the three countries “the new tri-angle of power in the sea”.“The aim of this drill is to bolster security of international mari-time commerce, combatting pi-racy and terrorism and sharing information ... and experience,” the flotilla commander said.“Us hosting these powers shows that our relations have reached a meaningful point and may have an international impact,” he added.Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said on Thursday the drill would “deep-en exchange and cooperation between the navies of the three countries.” He said the Chinese navy’s guided-missile destroyer “Xining” was taking part in the exercise. The US reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran after quit-ting the nuclear deal last year, prompting Tehran to hit back with countermeasures by drop-ping nuclear commitments. Remaining parties to the badly weakened agreement include the UK, France and Germany, as well as China and Russia.In June, US President Donald Trump authorised an attack af-ter Iran shot down a US drone, only to call off the retaliation at the last moment. (Aljazeera)(13) Violent Clashes ...plaza, according to AFP report-ers.The flames were brought under control after almost an hour, but the center was almost complete-ly destroyed, according to the deputy commander of the San-tiago Fire Brigade.The cinema owner reported that no workers were injured by the flames. (AFP)(14) Roscosmos ...bles will be allocated for the pro-duction, takeoffs and landings of the spacecraft. (Interfax) (15) Kazakh Bek ... was renewed on Nov. 12, 2019.“The certificate was suspended

International5

Neighbor News

Dozens Killed in Mogadishu Car Bomb Attack

‘Mix of Anomalies and Contradictions’: Pakistan’s Ex-Leader Musharraf Blasts

His Death Sentence in Court Petition

Russian Foreign Minister to Visit Uzbekistan

Large-Scale Construction Underway in Turkmenistan

Philippines Bans Two U.S. Senators, Mulls New Visa

Rules for Americans

Mexico Authorities Arrest Police Chief on Suspicion of

Link to Cartel Massacre That Killed 9 Americans

Turkey Reveals Prototypes of First

Homegrown Electric Car

Navy SEAL Cleared by Trump Called ‘Freaking Evil’

By Comrades

New Russian Weapon Can Travel 27 Times The Speed

of Sound

Kazakh Bek Air Company’s Air Operator Certificate Suspended Until Jan. 2020

Oman Eager to Import from Iran Instead of Lebanon, Syria

Roscosmos Orders Launches of 8 Soyuz Crewed Spacecraft to ISS in 2021-2025

ISLAMABAD - For-mer Pakistani Presi-dent and military chief Pervez Mush-arraf has filed a peti-tion against the “hur-ried” trial after a court tried him in absentia and sentenced him to death for high treason and undermining the constitution.An 86-page petition, filed to Lahore High Court (LHC) on Fri-day by Musharraf’s legal team, states that the verdict against the former president

TASHKENT - Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lav-rov will pay an offi-cial visit to Uzbeki-stan on January 12-13, 2020, Trend reports citing Uzbekistan’s Foreign Ministry. It is expected that the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry will be received by Presi-dent of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev. “The program of the visit includes bilat-eral negotiations at the Ministry of For-eign Affairs of Uz-bekistan, a visit to the branch of the Moscow State Institute of In-ternational Relations (MGIMO) in Tash-

ASHGABAT - Con-struction of more than 2,000 industrial and social facilities with a total contracted value of about $35 billion is underway in Turk-menistan, Trend re-ports referring to the local Altyn Asyr TV channel.Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimu-hamedov made the remark at a meeting of the Cabinet of Min-isters. The importance of the ongoing con-struction of the Turk-m e n i s t a n - A f g h a n i -stan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline was noted.Unique structures are being built in all districts, the Turk-men president said, adding that new big

TEHRAN - Referring to agreements in maritime and shipping transpor-tation, Mohammad Ali Asl Saeedipour said reducing ports and cus-toms tariffs to increase trade exchange volume is on the agenda.He referred to promot-ing shipping compa-nies’ cooperation on transporting goods between Iran, Oman and third countries, facilitating cargo and passenger ships move-ments in ports, agree-ments on technical co-operation, including rescue, protecting the maritime environment, training courses, mari-time security, exchang-ing information and experiences as main is-sues mentioned in the agreement.

MEXICO CITY - A Mexican small-town police chief has been arrested on the suspicion of being linked to the brazen massacre of nine women and chil-dren from a Mormon community by drug cartel members last month, authorities said Friday.The arrest of Villegas confirmed that Mexi-

MANILA - The Philip-pines has banned two U.S. lawmakers from visiting and will in-troduce tighter entry restrictions for U.S. cit-izens should Washing-ton enforce sanctions over the detention of a top government critic, the president’s spokes-man said on Friday.President Rodrigo Duterte will impose visa requirements on U.S. nationals should any Philippine offi-cials involved in the incarceration of Sena-

WASHINGTON - A Navy SEAL platoon lead-er controversially pardoned of war crimes by US President Donald Trump was described as “toxic” and “freaking evil” by veterans who served with him in Iraq, The New York Times reported Friday.Video testimony provided to war crimes in-vestigators and published by the newspaper showed former members of Eddie Gallagher’s elite commando unit accusing him of shooting at a 12-year-old and discussing the accusations that Gallagher targeted civilians.“My first reaction to seeing the videos was surprise and disgust that they would make up blatant lies about me, but I quickly realized that they were scared that the truth would come out of how cowardly they acted on de-ployment,”...(More on P4)...(19)

ANKARA - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan un-veiled on Friday his nation’s first indigenously manufac-tured electric automobile, a project that has hit several set-backs over the years.The Turkish leader introduced two slick and flashing proto-types, a C segment SUV and a C segment Sedan, during a ceremony at the Gebze indus-trial zone, located 50 km south of Istanbul, the industrial heartland of Turkey.Erdogan sat on the driving seat and test-drove one of the vehicles which will have a driving distance of up to 500 km with a locally produced Lithium-ion battery with a maximum speed of 180 km/h. He didn’t reveal the name of the car brand.According to a presidential decree published hours before the ceremony broadcasted live, a 3.7 billion-U.S. dollar investment will enable the se-rial production of five models and a total output of 175,000 vehicles a year.The prototypes which are re-portedly designed in Italy, made their debut to the public under the patronage of Tur-key’s five largest industrial companies that have joined hands under Turkey’s Auto-mobile Joint Venture Group (TOGG) to build the car.The project is expected to con-tribute...(More on P4)...(17)

MOSCOW — A new intercontinental weapon that can fly 27 times the speed of sound became operational Friday, Rus-sia’s defense minister reported to Presi-dent Vladimir Putin, bolstering the coun-try’s nuclear strike capability.Putin has described the Avangard hy-personic glide vehicle as a technological breakthrough comparable to the 1957 So-viet launch of the first satellite. The new Russian weapon and a similar system be-ing developed by China have troubled the United States, which has pondered de-fense strategies.The Avangard is launched atop an inter-continental ballistic missile, but unlike a regular missile warhead that follows a predictable path after separation it can make sharp maneuvers in the atmosphere en route to target, making it much harder to intercept....(More on P4)...(18)

“contained a mix of anomalies and contradictory state-ments,” as quoted by local media.The document also says the court “rap-idly and hurriedly wrapped up the trial which was far from conclusion,” and that His supporters view him as a defender of Pakistani interests who stood up to Is-lamist militants and championed progres-sive causes such as women’s rights. (RT)

kent. The Russian Foreign Minister will also deliver a report to the students of the MGIMO’s Tashkent branch, which was opened on Decem-ber 9 this year,” said spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova.During the upcom-ing negotiations, a wide range of issues of bilateral political, economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation will be discussed. It is also planned to sign the Cooperation Program between the Foreign Ministries for 2020-2021. (Trend)

housing estates are being created, thou-sands of kilometers of high-speed highways and railways are be-ing laid. Transport infrastructure sys-tems of international importance are being formed, Berdimuham-edov added.To date, 66 major facil-ities with a total value of over $5 billion have already been commis-sioned, the Turkmen president empha-sized, highlighting among them the plant for the production of environmentally friendly gasoline in the Ahal region.B e r d i m u h a m e d o v also drew attention to the fact that, accord-ing to the Inter...(More on P4)...(21)

He noted that one of the main objectives is to transfer the Common-wealth of Independent States (CIS) products and to become a transit corridor in the region.Oman has welcomed importing Iranian products like fruit, meat, saffron, and pis-tachio.Referring to sea as one of the suitable paths for exchanging goods be-tween Iran and Oman, he said decisions have been made to facilitate the customs procedure and tariffs, decreasing bureaucracy procedure and issues related to standardization.Stressing the cultural commonalities be-tween Iran and Oman, he said launching the ...(More on P4)...(20)

MOSCOW - The state corporation Roscosmos has signed contracts for the launches of eight Soyuz-MS crewed spacecraft and 13 Prog-ress-MS space freight-ers to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2021-2025, according to data from SPARK Mar-keting.According to the con-tracts, the Energia Rocket and Space Cor-poration must produce eight Soyuz-MS crewed spacecraft and take part in their launches and landings in the period from January 1, 2021 to November 31, 2025. Ad-ditionally, Energia will build 13 Progress-MS

NUR SULTAN - The Air operator cer-tificate of Kazakh Bek Air company, the passenger plane of which crashed on Dec. 27, is suspended until at least Jan. 10, 2020, General Director of Ka-zakhstan’s Aviation Administration Peter Griffiths, Trend reports with reference to Kazakh media.On the morning of Dec.27, 2019, the Fokker-100 plane of Bek Air airline implementing flight on the route Al-maty – Nur-Sultan lost its height dur-ing takeoff and broke through a con-crete fence, colliding with a two-story building.According to the latest data, 12 peo-ple died in the crash, 66 were injured

MOGADISHU SOMA-LIA - At least 61 people have been killed and many wounded in a car bomb attack in the So-mali capital Mogadishu on Saturday, police and witnesses said.Police officer Mohamed Hussein said the blast targeted a tax collec-tion centre during the morning rush hour.Close to 100 wounded people, including chil-dren, were rushed to hospitals. Among them were several university students who had been

cargo transportation ve-hicles.The contracts also in-clude the services of ensuring the Soyuz-MS spacecraft’s landings

in 2020-2021 and the production of another crewed spacecraft by February 28, 2025.A total of 58.6 billion ru...(More on P4)...(14)

out of whom 50 were hospitalized. A total of 98 people were on the plane, including nine children and five crew members.“Air operator certificate will not be renewed until at least Jan.10, 2020. The investigation should be carried out first. Specialists from England, Europe and US will be engaged in investigation. The decision to renew the certificate will be based on their report,” Griffiths said.He noted that the investigation will take at least 14-20 days.Griffiths added that the previous air operator certificate of Bek Air com-pany...(More on P4)...(15)

travelling in a bus, Hussein saidSomalia has been riven

can law enforce-ment cooperates with drug gangs, LeBaron said.“They have a mo-nopoly on security and they get paid a wage for protection and later we find out that they partic-ipate in the murder of women and chil-dren,” LeBaron told the newspaper. (Fox News)

tor Leila de Lima be de-nied entry to the Unit-ed States, as sought by U.S. senators Richard Durbin and Patrick Leahy.Duterte’s move comes after the U.S. Con-gress approved a 2020 budget that contains a provision introduced by the senators against anyone involved in holding de Lima, who was charged with drug offenses in 2017 after she led an investigation into mass killings dur...(More on P4)...(16)

Violent Clashes in New Round of Chile Protests

SANTIAGO - Thou-sands of protesters clashed with police Friday in Santiago in a fresh round of anti-government demonstra-tions that erupted more than two months ago in Chile.The rally took place in the Plaza Italia, which has since October 18 become the epicenter of massive citizen protests against President Sebas-tian Pinera’s right-wing government. Police en-

tered the square in mid-afternoon and dispersed demonstrators with

water cannon and tear gas. But after almost two hours of confrontations,

thousands of protest-ers finally occupied the ...(More on P4)...(13)

by conflict since 1991, when clan warlords overthrew former

leader Siad Barre, then turned on each other. (Aljazeera)

December 29, 2019TEHRAN - Iran has kicked off the first joint naval drill with Russia and Chi-na in the northern part of the Indian Ocean, Iranian state TV has reported.The four-day exercise comes at a time of heightened tensions since the Unit-ed States withdrew from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal with Iran in May last year.“The message of this exercise is peace, friendship and lasting secu-rity through cooperation and unity ... and its effect will be to show that Iran cannot be isolated,” Rear Admi-ral Gholamreza Tahani said on state television.Tahani added that the drills included rescuing ships on fire or vessels under attack by pirates and shooting exer-cises, with both Iran’s navy and its Revolutionary Guards participating.State television showed what it said was a Russian warship arriving at Chabahar port in southern Iran and said the Chinese will join shortly, call-ing ...(More on P4)...(12)

China, Russia and Iran Begin Joint Naval Drills

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KABUL - The preliminary elec-tion result was announced last Sunday and Ashraf Ghani who secured 50.64 percent votes is the winner. Dr. Abdullah Abdullah is second by securing over 39 per-cent of votes.Based on the electoral law, can-didates can register their com-plaints within three days after the announcement of preliminary results and the IECC should re-spond to them within 15 days.Qutbuddin Roidar, an Independ-ent Election Commission (IEC)

PESHAWAR - Renowned Japa-nese physician Tetsu Nakamura, who was killed in the eastern city of Jalalabad this month, has been awarded posthumously a deco-ration for his contribution to Af-ghanistan’s development.The 73-year-old Japanese aid group leader and five Afghan citizens were killed as gunmen at-tacked their vehicle in the capital of Nangarhar on Dec. 4.Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gave Nakamura’s widow Naoko the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, and a letter of appreciation in Tokyo on Friday.Kyodo news agency quoted Abe as saying: “You deepened the friendly relationship between Ja-pan and Afghanistan and made remarkable contributions to ex-panding humanitarian assistance and international cooperation.”

JALALABAD - The circulation of process 200million small bank-notes has begun in eastern Nan-garhar province, following public complaints regarding their short-age and a campaign to discourage the use of the Pakistani currency.The distribution of small bank-notes kicked off at the governor’s house in Jalalabad. Governor Shah Mahmood Miakhel called the shortage of small bills and high rates the main challenges in pro-moting the afghani.But the central bank provided the required bills, whose distribution began today, the governor an-nounced while addressing a news conference at his office.Price lists, drawn up by the mu-nicipality and transport depart-ment, are being enforced by a

The Independent Election Complaints Commission (IECC) on Saturday said it has registered in total 16,500 complaints and dispatched them to

14 provinces for assessment starting tomorrow.

including Kabul, and their assess-ment would start tomorrow.According to his information, 2,300 complaints have been sent to Kabul, 2,000 to Kandahar, 1,011 to Paktia, 1,000 to Nangarhar, 838 to Helmand, 360 to Logar, 332 to Laghman, 302 to Ghor, 207 to Wardak, 162 to Takhar, 121 to Ka-pisa, 89 to Parwan, 55 to Faryab and 20 to Bamyan province for assessment. He said the most of the complaints were registered in Kabul, Nangarhar, ...( More on P4)...(7)

commissioner, told Pajhwok Af-ghan News 16,500 complaints had been registered from four electoral teams.“Around 8,000 complaints have been registered by the Stabil-ity and Partnership team, around 4,400 complaints by Peace and Is-lamic Justice team, over 3,500 reg-istered by State Builder team and 15 complaints have been lodged by Security and Justice team,” he said.He said these complaints have been dispatched to 14 provinces,

In the Rising Sun order, Gold Rays with Rosette is the fourth highest among six decorations awarded in recognition of achievements in international relations and other fields.The slain doctor had been provid-ing medical aid near the Afghan border with Pakistan for years. He also promoted tree plantation

commission comprised of local officials and representatives of the people and private sector, Miakhel told journalists.The governor warned the indi-viduals using these notes for profit of punitive action under the law of the land.

besides implementing a project to improve water supply to poverty-hit area.After the ceremony in Tokyo, Naoko Nakamura called her hus-band’s death regrettable and dis-appointing. She told reporter: “I hope there will be more green land in Afghanistan.”Afghan ...( More on P4)...(8)

Tawhid Yar Ahmadzai, Da Af-ghanistan Bank director, said the central office had sent Nangarhar notes worth 500,000 million af-ghanis, including 200 million small bills, to the province.The small banknotes -- in denomi-nations ...( More on P4)...(9)

Complaints Assessment in Provinces Starts Tomorrow

Slain Japanese Aid Worker Honored Posthumously

Nangarhar: Circulation of Small Notes Gets Under Way