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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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Ahmad Sarmast, the savior of Afghan music
Ahmad Naser Sarmast, a renowned musician, is the founder and director of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM). Dr. Sarmast is alumni of Monash University, Australia, and the first native of Afghanistan to obtain a PhD in Music. Dr.
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Bamiyan to be officially declared as SAARC Cultural Center by end of this week
Afghanistan’s historical city of Bamiyan will be officially declared as the Cultural Center of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in a ceremony on Thursday and Friday of this week. The Ministry of Information and Culture is in
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Real life takes to the Afghan Stage
A one-hour show is underway in Afghanistan’s southern province of Zabul. The audience is riveted by the live theater, which dramatizes a typical chapter in the life of the community. It also offers nuggets of information about how to access
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“Kabul to Kolkata” Of Belonging, Memories and Identity Photography Exhibition
In 1892, Rabindranath Tagore, a Nobel prize winner in Literature wrote a short story in Bengali language titled “The Kabuliwala ” about a man from the distant land of Afghanistan-living in Kolkata. Since then, “The Kabuliwala” has taken on a
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Calligraphy exhibition held in Herat to celebrate International Women’s Day
Yesterday, March 8th, was International Women’s Day. In order to show appreciation for and celebrate the day, ten female calligraphers in Herat organized a calligraphy exhibition with the help of the Human Rights’ Commission and the Department of Information and Culture.
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Afghan woman to receive the “International Women of Courage” award
Captain Nilofar Rahmani, the first female fixed-wing Afghan Air Force pilot in the history of Afghanistan, is among the recipients of the “International Women of Courage” award given annually by the U.S State Department. Ms. Rahmani will be among the
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UNESCO announces the winning design scheme for the Bamiyan Cultural Center
An Argentina-based team has been selected from 1,010 design entries from 117 countries for designing the Bamiyan Cultural Center. Led by Carlos Nahuel Recabarren alongside Manuel Alberto Martinez Catalan and Franco Morero, the selected scheme is entitled Descriptive Memory: The
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Story of a Rubab maker from Afghanistan
Two brothers, getting on in years, make rubabs, a traditional Afghan stringed instrument. They learned the craft from their father and are passing it on to their sons. It is a labour-intensive work. It takes a month to carve each
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5 must-watch movies on Afghanistan
Osama (2003) Director: Siddiq Barmak Starring: Marina Golbahari, Zubaida Sahar, Mohammad Arif Herati,Mohammad Nadir Khwaja During the repressive regime of the Taliban, women were barred from participating in the socio-economic affairs. This path breaking movie revolves around a girl, who loses all the male
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UNESCO Announces the Bamiyan Cultural Center Design Competition
UNESCO officially announced the design competition to build the new Bamiyan Cultural Center in Afghanistan. UNESCO, together with the Government of Afghanistan, decided to select the design of the Cultural Centre through an open international competition. The competition will generate
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2nd Herat International Women’s Film Festival kicks off
Herat International Women’s Film Festival, the first ever women’s film festival in the region, is being held for the second time in the ancient Citadel of Herat. This year, the Festival has received 500 films from different parts of the
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Balkh, the 15th oldest city in the world
According to Telegraph, Balkh is the fifteenth oldest city in the world. What is now northern Afghanistan, Balkh was an ancient city and center of Zoroastrianism. The ancient city of Balkh was renamed Bactra under the Greek, giving its name
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First North American Islamic Art Museum to open in Toronto
By Ahmadshah Ghanizada: The first Islamic museum in North America was formally opened in Canada on Friday by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the world’s Ismaili community. Speaking during a landmark
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New museums to be built across Afghanistan
Officials of the Ministry of Information and Culture said construction work on new museums in six provinces of Afghanistan would kick off soon. The museums would be built in Kabul, Bamyan, Balkh, Khost, Logar and Kapisa. General Director of the
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Afghan love story film shortlisted at Sydney Film Festival
By Ahmadshah Ghanizada-An Afghan documentary film based on a true love story has been shortlisted to receive award at this year’s Sydney Film Festival (SFF). The film – Love Marriage in Kabul is produced and directed by an Afghan-Australian filmmaker
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Young Afghan artists to compete for Afghan Contemporary Art Prize
Young Afghan artists are prepping themselves for the Afghan Contemporary Art Prize competition that is held every year to encourage local artists to bring in creativity in their work and go beyond the traditional marketplaces and landscapes’ sketches. These artists
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Regional singers perform in Kabul to convey messages of peace and brotherhood
Amid cheerful applause and motivational clapping, the musicians and singers from Afghanistan and some regional countries mesmerized a considerably big audience of mostly young Afghans in Kabul during a two-day “Afghanistan’s Peace Musical Festival” 2013. The festival—organized on 19 and
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