At the championship of the Afghan women's soccer league, players sprint across the field. Hoodie-style hijabs cover their hair. The scene was once unthinkable. But now the players face new obstacles.
It looked as if polio would be the second human disease to be eliminated — after smallpox. But "2020 has been a terrible year," the head of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative says.
Afghanistan's interior ministry said at least 57 others were wounded in the bombing outside of an education center in a heavily Shiite neighborhood in Kabul.
The victims of recent fighting in Helmand include a pregnant woman struck by a stray bullet. Peace talks continue, but the Taliban argue that an Afghan cease-fire should come as the talks conclude.
With talks begun between Afghanistan's government and the Taliban, U.S. special envoy for Afghan peace Zalmay Khalilzad tells NPR the U.S. has "tested" the Taliban and "they are meeting those tests."
Shamsia Alizada dropped out of the Madwdud Academy in Kabul after a suicide bomber killed more than 40 students. But she returned — and has scored top grades on the country's college entrance exams.
The historic negotiations represent the first direct talks between the long-warring sides. However, leaders warn that reaching a peace deal could take time.
Ali Al-Tamimi was sentenced to life in prison 15 years ago for encouraging several young men to join the Taliban and fight U.S. forces. He is being held in the federal Supermax prison in Colorado.
The Taliban and Afghan government agreed to halt fighting for three days during the upcoming Eid al-Adha, a move that could renew momentum toward negotiations.
A bounty program on U.S. soldiers would constitute a "massive escalation" in Moscow's testy relations with Washington, says one Russia expert. A Russian lawmaker asks: "What would we get out of this?"
