Mediaboss Marketing

TEHRAN Afghanistans Commercial Attach in Tehran has called for Iranian mining companies investment in his countrys mining sector, IRIB reported.

Speaking in a meeting with the representatives of the Iranian private sector at the place of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce Industries, Mines and Agriculture (TCCIMA), Ahmad Saeed pointed to his country's mines as a unique opportunity for Iranian companies active in the mining industry, saying the bases are prepared for the activity of Iranian companies in Afghanistan.

Noting that based on the Afghanistan governments plans, all provinces of the country will be equipped with fiber optics by 2023, Saeed underlined the telecommunications sector as another opportunity for Iranian companies in the Afghan market.

The official further pointed to the lack of sufficient knowledge and information as one of the problems in the way of developing economic relations between the two countries and said: The Commerce Department of the Afghan Embassy is ready to interact and cooperate with the Tehran Chamber [of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture] to pave the way for the two countries private sectors to know each other better.

In the meeting, which was attended by managers of several Iranian companies active in the mining and mineral industries, telecommunications equipment, power plants, construction, as well as fruits and vegetables, the TCCIMA Deputy Head for International Affairs Hessamedin Hallaj referred to the holding of several joint meetings between TCCIMA and the Commerce Department of the Afghan Embassy for drawing a roadmap for trade cooperation between the two countries private sectors and said that several proposals have been made by the two sides in this regard.

"Several proposals were made by the Commerce Department of the Afghan Embassy, including the establishment of Iranian factories in Afghanistan or joint border areas, as well as the development of cooperation in energy, minerals, medical equipment, and food industry, to strengthen the trade ties, Hallaj said.

EF/MA

Go here to read the rest:
Afghanistan calls for Iran's contribution to its mining projects - Tehran Times

SHEBERGHAN, Afghanistan -- The maternity ward at the government hospital in Sheberghan, the capital of northern Jawzjan Province, is always packed. Women from across Jawzjan and neighboring provinces brave the summer heat and travel long hours to secure an appointment with the province's most famed and respected midwife, Saira.

For nearly half a century, Saira, 70, has helped the regions women and saved many lives. She is now a local legend.

Aziza, 35, traveled over two hours from her home district of Char Bagh in the neighboring province of Sar-e-Pol to meet with Saira. Like many other women, she had heard nothing but positive things regarding the well-established midwife.

We come to visit Saira often because of her extensive experience. She is an expert in her field of work, she told Radio Free Afghanistan. If patients are sick, she knows about the major side effects and dangers that could potentially arise. She takes excellent preventive measures. Her experience is commendable, which is why we choose to come here when needed.

Another woman who speaks highly of Saira is Zarmina, a businesswoman from the outskirts of Sheberghan. Like Saira, Aziza, and many Afghans, she goes by one name only.

Zarmina tells Radio Free Afghanistan that she is always impressed with Sairas work in the maternity ward. It's been many years that I have been sending patients to go and visit Saira, and they always come back to me very pleased and satisfied, she said.

Midwife Saira has been named Shiberghans number one leading midwife of the past decade. She says she is honored for the recognition and hopes to continue to make a difference.

My sister and I were two of the first midwives who went to the capital city of Kabul to get training in the 1970s, she told Radio Free Afghanistan. It has now been 49 years since my graduation, and I have gained a lot of experience practicing, she added. It has been a great pleasure to serve my people in Sheberghan, she said of her hometown that has witnessed a tumultuous four decades during the various cycles of war in the country.

Saira has seen a sea change in peoples attitude toward healthcare and gynecological services. When I first began, many people in the villages would not welcome a midwife, she recalled. But now most women in the province consult midwives for pre- and postnatal healthcare.

She does the utmost she can when assisting her patients around the clock. Oftentimes, she delivers babies free of cost, gives free examinations for mothers, and offers free medicine. She says most of the women who visit her are poor, so it's the least she can do.

I have delivered many babies for free, especially for women who are poor. This is why many poor patients choose to visit me often, Saira said.

Midwives and nurses in Afghanistan take on large responsibilities. In a country where health services are limited and the segregation between men and women deprives women from seeing male doctors, midwives act as unsung heroes. They provide women and newborns with the basic healthcare they desperately need.

Many mothers in Afghanistan suffer from a lack of basic care such as proper nutrition and survival is often their biggest challenge. On top of that, rampant instability and widespread violence make survival for mothers and their newborns another obstacle to overcome.

In May, a maternity ward in Kabul's Dasht-e-Barchi hospital was subject to a brutal attack when a gunman fired inside the hospital, killing countless mothers and newborns. The incident received international outrage and horrified the nation.

The United Nations even blamed the Taliban and Afghan security forces for "deliberately" attacking healthcare workers and facilities, leaving Afghan mothers and patients to face increased dangers amid a conflict that has reached unfathomable levels of violence.

But despite the myriad problems, Afghanistan has seen steady growth in the number of midwives available.

Abdul Sabur Nariman, a spokesman for the Public Health Ministry in Kabul, told Radio Free Afghanistan that today more than 7,000 trained midwives are serving Afghanistans estimated 32 million people. They have played a large role in decreasing maternal deaths and infant mortality rates. In 2001, the infant mortality rate in Afghanistan was 89 per 1,000 live births, which was one of the highest in the world. Today, it stands at 48 per 1,000 live births.

Officials in Sheberghan say they are witnessing more encouraging signs. According to them, maternal and infant mortality rates in Jawzjan Province specifically have decreased since last year.

Midwife Najiba Rahmani, head of Jawzjans maternity and health department, tells Radio Free Afghanistan that daily, we have more than 15 deliveries, and yearly we have around 5,000 deliveries where 159 of those receive extra assistance because of abnormal or unforeseen circumstances during the delivery.

Jawzjan has a population estimated at about 550,000, according to officials from its health department, served by hundreds of midwives.

Last year, more than 5,000 babies were delivered at Jawzjans main hospital. Still, nearly 67 percent of mothers opt to deliver their babies at home despite the risks that come with it.

Nilly Kohzad wrote this story based on Radio Free Afghanistan correspondent Alem Rahmanyars reporting from Sheberghan, Afghanistan.

More:
For Mothers In Afghan Province, Midwives Offer A Lifeline - Gandhara

A man has revealed how he has been inspired to 'push himself out of his comfort zone' since his brother's death.

Joe Berry, a paratrooper, lost his life during active service in Afghanistan in February this year.

His brother Mark Smith says it had been Joe's lifelong aim to become a paratrooper and that he knew he wanted to join the army from an early age.

"His ultimate goal was to help people," said Mark, from Lincoln.

"He'd always go out of his way to make people happy. He knew he wanted to join the army and he always wanted to be the best of the best, which is why he joined the paratroopers.

"He even recovered from pneumonia and passed all his qualifications despite having spent weeks in bed."

Joe sadly lost his life aged just 21.

"It was incredibly hard losing Joe," said Mark.

"He was so loving. He always wanted to help and he always wanted the best.

"He was incredibly into the outdoors, big into scouts and camping.

"One holiday we went on holiday to France, close to one of the local mountains and we went for a walk. He decided just to run up the mountain.

"He would always go on trips and climbing Snowdon with his granddad."

Mark says the death of his brother has inspired him to step out of his comfort zone and take on a mammoth challenge.

"I decided to take part in the Para's 10 event and a Tough Mudder, which was set to take place in September this year, for the charity Support Our Paras, said Mark.

"After Joe's death, they helped us so much and gave us so much support.

"I wanted to push myself and give something back."

The Para's 10 event is a ten mile endurance race based on the 10 miler from The Parachute Regiments P Company test week and requires completing the course in boots and carrying a 35lb pack.

"I go to the gym and I've done a couple of half marathons but never anything like this, said Mark.

"The Tough Mudder was cancelled but the Para's 10 is still scheduled for November so fingers crossed that goes ahead. If both are cancelled I'll still set myself a challenge for this year, so then I'll get a double whammy when I do the rescheduled events next year."

Mark's football team, the under 9s Lowlands Vulcans who he coaches, trekked four miles from Waddington to the LNER stadium in a heavy rucksack to raise money for the paratrooper charity.

If you would like to donate to Mark's fundraiser, you can do so here.

Originally posted here:
'He inspires me to push myself' - man speaks of legacy left by brother who died in Afghanistan - Lincolnshire Live

Joe Biden's presidential campaign blasted President Donald Trump's conduct as "absolutely despicable" after Trump said he did not ask in a recent call with Russian President Vladimir Putin about alleged Russian bounties on U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

When asked by the news site Axios about statements by a top U.S. commander that Russian was arming Taliban fighters who fought U.S. troops, Trump replied: "Well, we supplied weapons when they were fighting Russia, too."

Andrew Bates, a spokesman for Biden, in a statement said, "The most critical and sacred obligation of a commander-in-chief is to protect those who serve our nation in harm's way."

"But months after the U.S. intelligence community sounded the alarm to Donald Trump and to our allies that Russia was placing bounties on the heads of American servicemen and women in a war zone, our president continues to turn his back on those who put their lives on the line for our country, and on his own duty," Bates said.

"This continues an indefensible pattern of Donald Trump weakening the United States in the world in a manner that no American president ever has before, and it's absolutely despicable," he said.

In the Axios interview, Trump said he never asked or challenged Putin during their call Thursday on allegations, first reported by The New York Times in June, about a U.S. intelligence finding that Russia was paying Islamic fighters bounties for killing American troops in Afghanistan.

"No, that was a phone call to discuss other things," Trump told Axios.

"Frankly, that's an issue that many people said was fake news," Trump said, adding that "a lot of people" had said as much.

In brief exchange Wednesday with reporters on the South Lawn of the White House, Trump was asked if he thinks Russia did not put bounties on the heads of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan

"As I told you, I have certainly read about it and since then I've talked about it," Trump said.

He added that former Secretary of State "Colin Powell says it's not true and Colin Powell's not exactly someone that I'm a big fan of, Colin Powell says it's not true, other people say it's not true, if it were true I'd be very angry about it."

But Powell, a retired Army general, has not said that the bounty reports are false.

Powell earlier this month had said, "Our military commanders on the ground did not think that it was as serious a problem as the newspapers were reporting and television was reporting."

Powell added at the time, "It got kind of out of control before we really had an understanding of what had happened. I'm not sure we fully understand now."

Trump said several times in the Axios interview that intelligence reports of the bounties "never reached my desk."

But he did not directly answer when reporter Jonathan Swan repeatedly pointed out that the allegations reportedly had been included in the president's daily intelligence briefing.

Trump has previously cast doubt on the alleged bounties, and has said he was never briefed on the U.S. intelligence about them because it didn't meet the evidentiary standard for him to be notified.

But The New York Times, citing two officials familiar with the matter, reported late last month that Trump was provided a briefing in late February about Russia's alleged dealings. The Associated Press also reported that the bounty reports had been included in the president's daily intelligence briefings, which Trump told Axios he reads.

The White House and other Trump administration officials have claimed that the reports are unverified and that the president had not been briefed.

In the Axios interview, Trump was asked why he did not challenge Putin on a related issue: that Russia has supplied weapons to the Taliban.

Swan noted that Army Gen. John Nicholson, the former commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, had said that.

"Well, we supplied weapons when they were fighting Russia, too," Trump replied. "When they were fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan."

The president was referring to the U.S. arming from 1979 to 1989 of mujahedeen guerrilla forces, not the Taliban, fighting Soviet Union forces who were in Afghanistan to prop up that nation's Marxist government.

When Swan pointed out to Trump "that's a different era," Trump replied, "I'm just saying, we did that, too."

"I don't know, I didn't ask Nicholson about that. He was there for a long time, didn't have great success because you know he was there before me and then ultimately I made a change," Trump said.

Trump then said, "I have heard that" Russia has armed the Taliban.

"But again, it's never reached my desk," he added.

Trump told Axios that his call with Putin focused on "nuclear proliferation, which is a very big subject, where they would like to do something and so would I."

"We discussed numerous things," Trump said, but "we did not discuss" the reported Russian bounties.

When Axios suggested Trump simply didn't believe the intelligence, the president did not answer that.

"It's interesting, you know, nobody ever brings up China," Trump instead said.

"They always bring Russia, Russia, Russia. If we can do something about Russia in terms of nuclear proliferation, which is a very big problem bigger problem than global warming, a much bigger problem than global warming in terms of the real world that'd be a great thing."

"It never reached my desk, you know why? Because they didn't think intelligence they didn't think it was real," Trump said.

"If it reached my desk, I would have done something."

Read the original here:
Biden campaign blasts Trump over Putin call that did not discuss Russian bounties on U.S. troops in Afghanistan - CNBC

WASHINGTON (AP) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that he and his team have warned Russian officials about all threats that Russia poses to Americans and U.S. interests in various parts of the world. Pompeo also defended the Trump administrations tough line on China, saying the communist nation represents a potent threat to the U.S. and Western-style democracy.

Pompeo would not say whether he had specifically raised allegations that Russia is paying bounties to Taliban fighters to kill American troops in Afghanistan, but he said the discussions with the Russians involved all manner of threats. He told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that threats from Russia against Americans in Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Ukraine and elsewhere had been covered.

Pompeos testimony came a day after President Donald Trump told an interviewer he had not raised the bounty allegations in numerous phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin despite concerns about them from the intelligence community. Among the Russian officials, Pompeo said he has discussed threats generally with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, as has the U.S. ambassador to Russia, John Sullivan.

Yes, I can assure you that each time I have spoken to Foreign Minister Lavrov, I have raised all of the issues that put any Americans at risk, Pompeo said in response to a question from the committees top Democrat, Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey. We have raised this at my level and not only at my level.

Pompeo declined to say whether he would recommend that Trump raise the matter with Putin but said the Russian leader understood full well the U.S. position. He pointed to military action taken against several hundred Russian mercenaries who were advancing on American forces in Syria in 2019. Those fighters are no longer on this planet, Pompeo noted.

Menendez, a vocal critic of Pompeo, challenged him about the Russian threats and Wednesdays announcement by the Trump administration about the redeployment of several thousand U.S. troop s from Germany. Trumps top diplomat rejected complaints that the administration has been soft on Russia.

Were the toughest administration ever on Russia, Pompeo said, noting the many steps, including sanctions, that have been taken to counter Russian disinformation, Moscows dominance over European energy supplies and aggressive actions in Ukraine and Georgia.

Numerous critics, including some former Trump administration officials, have said Trumps self-acknowledged personal affinity for Putin has undercut U.S. efforts to both counter Russian aggression and enlist allies to join its cause. They have pointed to Trumps refusal to accept intelligence findings that Russia tried to help him win election in 2016, the presidents willingness to praise Putin, and his efforts to condition vital military assistance to Ukraine on a political favor.

Pompeo rejected those assertions.

This administration has acted to protect our interests and our friends, Pompeo said, adding that he and others would act to counter Russian attempts to meddle in the 2020 presidential election. Were taking seriously the threats that the Russians will engage in disinformation campaigns.

Pompeo said the administration is acting with sanctions and threats of such penalties to prevent Russia from completing the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which would carry natural gas to Europe, in particular Germany, and increase the continents dependence on Moscow for fuel.

We want Europe to have real, secure, stable, safe energy resources that cannot be turned off in the event Russia wants to, he said.

Pompeo also took aim at China in his testimony, saying the administration was battling the Chinese Communist Partys efforts to expand its influence on multiple fronts. He pointed to recent moves the U.S. has taken to confront Chinas assertiveness in the South China Sea as well as limiting freedoms in Hong Kong and its human rights record in Tibet and western Xinjiang province.

He said those, along with Chinas recent skirmishes with India and border disputes with the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, are indicative of Chinese intentions and they are testing, they are probing to see if the world will stand up to them.

See the article here:
Pompeo says threats to US in Afghanistan raised with Russia - The Associated Press