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A field-based commentary from the province of Kandahar showcasing how successive droughts and financial hardship have pushed more farmers to start cultivating opium under the new Taliban regime.

To enter the premises of the TOLOnews headquarters located in the heart of Kabul, one must first pass through a security gate and two armoured doors jealously guarded by security personnel.

Nasiriyah, in Iraq's poor southern heartland, has been at the epicentre of protests since the revolution of October 2019. Recent parliamentary elections, held nationwide on October 10, are unlikely to answer the demands of the city’s demonstrators who are still seeking justice for the bloody crackdown on their movement. 

A field-based commentary from Afghanistan showcasing how the hard-line Islamist group, which took over ministries and local administrations following its crushing victory, is raising scepticism, fears - and sometimes cautious optimism – among the people they now have to rule.

Jimmy Carter served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981. He was awarded the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize for work to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.

Iraq is currently facing one of its driest summers on record. 2018 was the driest year ever recorded due to a lack of rainfall, and 2021 is not far behind. Recent years’ droughts have wreaked havoc on the land in Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Iraq, but climate change is not the only driver of water shortages. Consequences of unilateral, upstream activity, water mismanagement, a lack of accountability and conflict have all exacerbated Iraq’s water crisis.

Last Spring, Hezbollah began distributing magnetic cards that allow its supporters to receive a cash allowance and large discounts on basic goods. The so-called “al-Sajjad” card, which is credited with a maximum of 300,000 Lebanese pounds, gives access to party-affiliated supermarkets which are otherwise off limits to the public.