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Polar Music Prize Winner Metallica Donates it’s Prize Money to Afghanistan
Metallica has donated their 1 million Swedish Kronor prize money, awarded last week when they became the 2018 Polar Music Prize Laureate, to three charities. 50% is given to the Stockholm City Mission, which supports the homeless in Stockholm, 25%
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Afganistan’s National Institute of Music Receives Prestigious Polar Music Prize
Dr. Ahmad Sarmast, founder of Afghanistan’s National Institute of Music, accepted prestigious Polar Music Prize from the hands of His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden at a ceremony held at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm on Thursday evening.
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Aryana Sayed Nominated for 2018 Atlantic Council Freedom Award
Aryana Sayed, Afghanistan’s most popular pop star, songwriter, and TV personality is among the recipients of the 2018 Atlantic Council Freedom Award. Born in 1985 in Kabul to a Pashto speaking father and a Dari speaking mother, Aryana left her country
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Ala Nowruz Amad…ala Nowruz Amad (New Day has arrived…New Day has arrived)
Nowruz means New Day and it marks the start of the New Year. It usually occurs on March 21 or the previous/following day depending on where it is observed. Nowruz is the celebration of spring—a new season which indicates the
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‘Hidden Flames’, written by Afghan female author, available in international market
The Hidden Flames, a fiction book written by a former child bride and a successful writer Zahra Yaganah, is now also accessible outside of Afghanistan Azmin.co and Amazon.com. The book is based on the real story of Yaganah’s life. Yaganah was
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Bamiyan Cultural Center to open in summer 2018
Bamiyan Cultural Center is scheduled to open in the summer of 2018, three years after its design was approved. In February 2015, an Argentina-based team was selected from 1,010 design entries from 117 countries for designing the Bamiyan Cultural Center.
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Afghan Women Orchestra wins the Freemuse Award 2017
Zohra, Afghanistan’s first and only all women orchestra, received the Freemuse Award 2017 for their role in empowering women through music. The women from Zohra orchestra are students at the National Institute of Music (ANIM) and the first women in
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Construction of Bamiyan Cultural Center inaugurated a year after its design approval
The construction of Bamiyan Cultural Center was officially inaugurated today by Afghan Minister of Urban Development Affairs Syed Sadat Mansoor Naderi. The inaugural ceremony was attended by Afghan government officials, representatives of UNESCO and the Embassy of South Korea. Minister
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Ghani inaugurates reconstruction of a historic palace in Kabul today
President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani will inaugurate the historic Dar-ul-Aman palace situated in the outskirt of capital Kabul today , according to a statement from the presidential office. The reconstruction work of the palace will be carried out by the Ministry
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Six Afghan female cyclists to participate in a tournament in France
Six Afghan female cyclists are invited to participate in an international tournament in France. The tournament is scheduled to be held in two weeks, Afghanistan’s cycling federation said. This comes after the cycling team’s nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.
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Shakespeare’s Globe Theater stages Hamlet in Kabul
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre staged Shakespeare’s most popular tragedy, Hamlet, for a local audience at the UK embassy in Kabul on Sunday night. The show was held in conjunction with the British Council and was attended by high-ranking Afghan officials, students
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‘Sesame Street’ unveils Afghan Muppet called Zari
Baghch-e-Simsim, which is the Afghan version of the Sesame Street, unveiled a fresh face on Thursday: a Hijab-clad muppet named Zari. Zari plays the role of a feminist in the show where she will focus on “girls’ empowerment, national
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President Ghani approves restoration work of Dar-ul-Aman Palace
President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani announced approval of the restoration of the historic Dar-ul-Aman Palace on Wednesday. The announcement was made via an online statement posted on official Twitter account. “Shattered Dar-ul-Aman Palace is a reminder of our darkest days. Thus,
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Ghani pledges $20,000 from own budget for construction of Daud Khan mausoleum
President Ashraf Ghani has issued orders for the construction of a mausoleum for Afghanistan’s first President Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan. He has called for formation of a committee for this task and has pledged to contribute USD 20,000 from his
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Afghan women’s cycling team nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
Afghan Women’s Cycling Team has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by members of the Italian parliament. According to Total Women’s Cycling, an Italian group of 118 parliamantarians started a petition to have the women’s cycling team nominated for
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Afghan treasuries to be exhibited at Japan’s Kyushu National Museum
Afghan Information and Culture Minister Zardasht Shams inaugurated the exhibition of 231 ancient artworks from the National Museum of Afghanistan at Kyushu National Museum of Japan on Saturday. “I extend my warmest gratitude to Kyushu National Museum, the people and
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Historic Bamiyan joins UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network
The historic city of Bamiyan has now joined UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network which consists of 47 cities from 33 countries. The network includes seven different creative fields: crafts and folk art, design, film, gastronomy, literature, media arts and music. By
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The Afghan film ‘Utopia’ disqualified from Oscars
The Academy has disqualified Afghan film Utopia which was nominated for Oscar Award. The film was disqualified for containing too much English. According to sources, the film is partially filmed in English and partially in Dari, which does not meet
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Saffron flower festival held in Herat province
The first saffron flower festival was held in western Herat province on Wednesday to appreciate the works of saffron producers in the country. The pioneer province in the cultivation of saffron, Herat expects to produce more than 4 tons of
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Satellite-based map to be used to preserve Afghanistan’s cultural heritage
The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan has announced the launch of a new project with the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago and the Afghanistan Institute of Archaeology to help preserve Afghanistan’s cultural heritage. The project, formally launched on October
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Afghan luxury jewelry makes it to the international market
Pippa Small, a British Jewelry designer, has helped luxury jewelry handcrafted by Afghan men and women in Kabul to find way to the United Kingdom and the United States. Small has been visiting the Turquoise Mountain Foundation since 2008 and
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Angelina Jolie to produce animated film of “The Breadwinner”
Angelina Jolie is set to executive produce an animated film of “The Breadwinner”, a novel based on an Afghan girl who disguises herself as a boy to become the breadwinner of the family when her father is unfairly imprisoned during
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Eid-ul-Fitr
The first Eid was celebrated in 624 CE by the Prophet Muhammad with his friends and relatives after the victory of the battle of Jang-e-Badar. Eid-ul-Fitr is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. Muslims are not only celebrating the end
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Ramadan-The Month of Fasting
What is Ramadan? Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, when Muslims fast during daylight hours. There are several reasons why Ramadan is considered important: The Qur’an was first revealed during this month The gates of Heaven are
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Bamiyan Buddhas of Afghanistan rebuilt with light
The spectacular Bamiyan Buddhas of Afghanistan were animated with 3D light projection technology on Sunday. The empty cavities were animated using a USD 120,000 projector, which was donated by a Chinese couple, Janson Yu and Liyan Yu. Hundreds of locals
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