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MCC have today confirmed that the recent fixture with Afghanistan at Lords was a great success off the pitch as well as on, with the live broadcast of the match being watched by over 1.3 million people worldwide.

Around 930,000 viewed the action on MCCs official Facebook page, with another 390,000 supporters watching the stream via the Lords website and YouTube channel.

Afghanistan, who were recently awarded Full Member status by the International Cricket Council and were playing for the first time at Lords, faced a vastly experienced MCC line-up who included Brendon McCullum, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Misbah-ul-Haq amongst their ranks.

Despite the match ending without a result due to rain, the Afghanistan supporters made for a partisan atmosphere inside Lords, with around 6,000 in attendance.

The broadcast also included ball-by-ball analysis from a team of commentators who welcomed several guests on air throughout the day.

One of the guests was Dr Sarah Fane, Chief Executive and Founder of Afghan Connection, who have been supporting cricket in the country since 2008 with the help of MCC.

BBC Pashto, an arm of the BBC World Service, were also at Lords to broadcast clips from the match to Pashto speakers in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Derek Brewer, MCC Chief Executive and Secretary, said: The match between MCC and Afghanistan was a huge success, despite the rain, and the atmosphere spectators created inside the ground made for a very special occasion.

The numbers that were reached around the world with the broadcast of the game are staggering and proves the popularity of Afghanistan cricket around the globe.

Given MCCs support of the charitable work which has taken place in Afghanistan over the last decade, it was a thrill and privilege for us all at the Club to see the team play at Lords.

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MCC v Afghanistan stream a worldwide success - Lord's

Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah said at the event that all regional countries must take part in the fight against terrorist.

The fourth conference of Afghanistan-Central Asia dialogue was kicked off in Bamiyan province on Friday where high ranking foreign and Afghan officials including Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah attended.

The two-day session will discuss the mechanisms to improve Afghanistans trade and political ties with the Central Asian countries.

The conference will also discuss ways to improve regional countries cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

The conference has been organized by Afghanistan Strategic Studies Institute.

Abdullah said at the event that Afghanistan had various relations with the Central Asian countries and that Kabul continues its efforts to improve the ties.

He said the dialogue will discuss cooperation among regional countries in the fight against terrorism.

He stressed the need for regional countries contribution in anti-terror campaign.

"Afghans are on the front line in fighting terrorism and have endured massive suffering. Central Asian countries must work together to stop terrorism, he stated. Cooperation is better in cultural and trade arenas. (But) in fight against terrorism, a big part of the efforts is done Afghanistan.

The chief executive called on representatives of other countries to convey the message of balancing the cooperation in the war.

Referring to a number of regional countries, he said terrorism is still supported by some states in the region.There is no difference between Daesh and Taliban as well as between good terrorists and bad terrorists, Abdullah said.

The session will continue for two days where senior officials from Afghanistan and Central Asian countries will discuss a wide range of issues particularly boosting cooperation among countries in the region.

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4th Afghanistan-Central Asia Dialogue Kicks Off In Bamiyan ... - TOLOnews

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says the revamped U.S. strategy for Afghanistan, which he promised by mid-July, is still not finished.

Mattis, speaking to reporters in an impromptu session Friday, said "it's underway," but would not says how soon it will be ready to present to the president. "You know me, I don't give timelines," he said.

Even though it's already mid-July, Mattis said mid-July remains his goal to complete the review.

"Somewhere around there," he said. "We are driven by the maturity of the discussion, and where we're at. We're not going to meet some timeline if we are not ready, but we are pretty close."

One holdup appears to be a White House initiative backed by chief strategist Steve Bannon to use private contractors to train and equip Afghan forces in the future, a proposal that was first reported by the New York Times.

Mattis is said to be opposed to the idea, which is designed to save money but is often more expensive than using U.S. military personnel.

The idea of using more contractors and fewer troops was defended Thursday by Sebastian Gorka, presidential deputy assistant. He told CNN, "We open the door here at the White House to outside ideas."

"It's about saving the U.S. taxpayer money, it's about creating indigenous capacity," Gorka said. He also appeared to confirm that Erik Prince, a founder of the private security firm Blackwater Worldwide, was among those approached for alternatives to dispatching more U.S. troops.

"This is a former operator. This is a man who hires former operators, first tier, special operations forces, retired individuals, not to go and fight there instead of somebody else, but to help the Afghans, to help local indigenous forces protect their own territory," Gorka said. "So this is a cost-cutting venture."

This week, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, expressed frustration that the promised strategy has not been provided to the Congress, and threatened to insert his own strategy into the Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Bill.

At a defense ministers meeting in Brussels last month, NATO countries committed to send several thousand additional military trainers to support the alliances "Resolute Support" mission of which the U.S. contribution was expected to number as many as 4,000 troops.

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Jim Mattis: New Afghanistan strategy isn't finished yet - Washington Examiner

ISTANBUL When the French energy giant Total signed a landmark gas deal with Iran this month, the companys chief executive lauded the nearly $5 billion investment as a trailblazing initiative for peace.

Were here to build bridges, not walls, Patrick Pouyann said in an interview with Agence France-Presse at the signing ceremony in Tehran.

The venture, which includes Chinas National Petroleum Corp. and the Iranian company Petropars, will develop the South Pars gas field under a 20-year contract. It is Irans the first major energy contract with a European firm since a nuclear deal with world powers lifted sanctions on Iran last year.

Economic development is also a way of building peace, Pouyann said.

Pouyanns remarks reflect a broader vision among European leaders for improving ties with Iran, in part by encouraging firms such as Total to invest now that major sanctions are gone. But his comments also highlight the growing rift between the United States and Europe over how to engage with Iran, which the Trump administration has identified as a global menace and singled out for sanctions and isolation.

Since Donald Trump took office, Europe and the United States have pursued increasingly different courses on Iran, casting doubt over the future of the nuclear accord, which limits Iranian nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief and other trade.

For Europe, the nuclear deal negotiated in 2015 has facilitated relations with a key if problematic player in the Middle East, while opening a vast consumer and energy market to European companies.

[Trump administration plans to certify Iranian compliance with nuclear agreement]

Many European banks and firms have been reluctant to jump in, but French, German and Italian companies have also invested in everything from renewable energy to luxury hotels and auto manufacturing. On Thursday, the French company that makes Peugeot and Citroen cars said its sales nearly tripled in the Middle East and Africa in the first half of the year because of new production in Iran.

The Europeans are returning, the Chinese are returning, the Russians, Ukrainians its all over the place, said Fabien Dany, a Tehran-based consultant who advises companies on the Iranian market. There are very big companies with appetites for investment in Iran, he said. And theyre going through with it.

But in Washington, the agreement, which was negotiated by the Obama administration, has been portrayed as a boon for a repressive regime that threatens the region. Some in the White House are pushing for harsher measures against Iran, which they say should not go unpunished for activities such as ballistic-missile development.

In April, the administration informed Congress that Iran was in compliance with the deal, a certification it must make every 90 days. But it also put the accord under review with the option to abandon it entirely. On Monday, the administration plans to certify again. Officials have said the policy review should be completed before the next certification is due in October.

In the meantime, the Treasury Department has not even said whether it will allow companies such as Boeing to do business with Iran, despite potential sales the firm says would create tens of thousands of American jobs.

There is a clear division between where the Europeans are going and where the Americans are going on Iran, said Ellie Geranmayeh, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. The Europeans have embarked on a path of rapprochement. The U.S. is looking at a policy of isolationism and containment.

The optics of Totals $4.8billion investment, which analysts say has the backing of the French government, were seen as, Were going ahead despite all the uncertainties of the U.S. administration, Geranmayeh said. The Europeans are messaging: Our foreign policy on Iran now is different to yours in Washington. Were not just going to automatically follow suit.

Critics of the European approach, and of the deal more generally, say the pro-business attitude has blinded the international community to incremental violations of the accord by Iran, as well as more nefarious activities in the region.

Iran, critics point out, has twice breached the limit the accord places on heavy water, a chemical used in nuclear reactors capable of yielding plutonium. Still, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the body tasked with monitoring Irans nuclear program, certified in June that it was in compliance with the agreement.

Europe sees Irans violations as individual and accidental, said Behnam Ben Taleblu, Iran analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based think tank. FDD has taken a critical stance on the deal, and its chief executive, Mark Dubowitz, has publicly urged Persian Gulf states to refuse to work with companies that do business with Iran.

Because European businesses want to return to Iran, they are inclined to downplay those violations, Taleblu said, adding that U.S. officials believe that the violations add up to something much more nefarious.

But should the White House decide to pull out of the accord or push for a renegotiation of the deal, analysts say, the United States would struggle to bring Europe and other signatories such as Russia or China on board. The administration would also face obstacles enforcing a stricter sanctions regime without support from other world powers.

European nations have been pretty open about their commitment to the deal and readiness to counter any U.S. opposition, said Richard Nephew, former principal deputy coordinator for sanctions policy at the State Department.

The Total deal in particular says that the company itself and likely the French government are prepared to battle a U.S. decision to snap back the sanctions for anything less than a very good reason, he said.

Geranmayeh said European leaders are already discussing contingency planning for if the U.S. were to overtly or covertly start to interfere with European foreign policy on Iran.

The Europeans are playing the middle ground and are trying their best to keep the Americans on board with them, she said. But they are also saying, If there is unreasonable obstruction to that, we are going to be looking at what our options are.

Karen DeYoung in Washington contributed to this report.

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The United States and Europe are on a collision course over Iran - Washington Post

Iran has piqued financial interest throughout the world for its massive energy reserves, but the country actually has a host of other opportunities in less obvious areas, according to one global investor.

For Clemente Cappello, CIO of London-based Sturgeon Capital, Iran holds promise in part for its cheap labor, abundance of natural resources, and well-educated youth. Specific sectors that could benefit from this mix include glass, manufacturing and petrochemicals, he explained, but Iran could also grow its technology sector.

In fact, the country already has local versions of Uber, Amazon and eBay.

In addition, Cappello mentioned that he thinks "equity opportunity is the easiest and most profitable" option in the country. Stocks, he said, are trading on average of six times price-to-earnings ratio, dividend yields are "well into the double digits" and interest rates could soon be cut in half.

Iran's recent election in May could provide a strong mandate for President Hassan Rouhani to continue with a foreign policy of re-integrating Iran's economy with the rest of the world, and also with his domestic economic reforms, especially in the troubled banking sector.

Cappello, who launched Sturgeon Capital's Iranian fund, told CNBC's "Street Signs" that service providers such as banks are the "real obstacle" for foreign investors. Those banks, he said, "are not keen to do business with Iran."

The investor also highlighted the risk foreign investors run when they lack understanding about the changing Iranian business dynamics. Other risks associated with doing business in Iran include not understanding the stakeholder structure of entities, he said.

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This London-based investor says Iran holds huge promise and it's not just in energy - CNBC