Sultan Qaboos completely dominated the political life of Oman for almost 50 years Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said of Oman, the Arab world’s longest-serving ruler, has died aged 79. The sultan deposed his father in a bloodless coup with British support in 1970 and set Oman on a path …

Parliament is ratcheting up pressure on the government to desist from any reshuffle of high-ranking officials until presidential election results are announced. The Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament, Mir Rahman Rahmani, said on Saturday bad appointments and reshuffles in government’s high-ranking positions are taking place under the excuse of ‘reforms’ and “that is …

AT News KABUL: The Taliban are expecting the signing of a peace agreement with the US in the near future, a Russian media outlet has quoted a well-placed source of the insurgent group as saying, while a former Taliban official believed the landmark inking ceremony might take place this week. …

AT News KABUL: A delegation from parliament is to be appointed to assess this week airstrike in Herat province’s district of Shindand in the west in which more than 60 civilians were killed. The US military launched an airstrike this week apparently against a Taliban offshoot leader Mullah Nangialay in …

AT News KABUL: Representatives from western province of Herat in the parliament said Saturday they had reliable reports that the US military planned to leave their base stationed in the Shindand district near Iranian border. The legislators warned that the Daesh terrorist group would likely use the vacuum and get …

AT News KABUL: Two U.S. service members have been killed and two U.S. service members were wounded in action on Saturday when their vehicle struck an IED in southern Kandahar province, Spokesman for the Resolute Support said. The service members were conducting operations as part of NATO’s Resolute Support Mission. …

AT News KABUL: An explosion in Quetta state of Pakistan on Friday has wounded a Taliban Shadow Chief Judge Abdul Hakim and killed several other top members of the group, sources said. The blast left 15 people dead and 18 others wounded, while some source said at least 30 Taliban …

Afghanistan has joined the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) after 41 years, according to the education ministry. In a statement on Saturday, the ministry said Afghanistan’s scout movement is WOSM’s 171st member and will be entitled to all its rights and privileges. “Afghanistan’s scouting members will be participating …

AT News KABUL: Saffron is considered as one of the world’s most expensive spices as it is largely cultivated and harvested by hands requiring a vast amount of labor for its harvesting and on-farm processing. Saffron stigma and corm are used in cooking for color and delicate flavoring, perfume and …

Tensions are mounting between Afghanistan’s two election commissions over the complaints tribunal’s decision to recount ballots from 2,555 polling stations after a sweeping audit, further ratcheting up the post-election turmoil. The independent election commission and the complaints commission remain at an impasse over whether to conduct a recount on constituencies …