Afghanistan

A spokesman for the Taliban has told a Pakistani newspaper that the militant group is hoping to reach an Afghan peace deal with U.S negotiators by the end of January. The comments by Suhail Shaheen … come after negotiators from the Taliban and the United States met for two days of talks in Qatar.

The Taliban have given the U.S. envoy their offer for a temporary cease-fire in Afghanistan that would last between seven and 10 days, Taliban officials familiar with the negotiations said Thursday.

[…] U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad and Ghani discussed several topics including the need for a ceasefire, Ghani's spokesman Sediq Seddiqi said.

The search for peace will remain of “paramount importance” to Afghanistan as the country awaits the outcome of the recent presidential election, the top UN official in the country told the Security Council on Monday. Tadamichi Yamamoto, head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), updated ambassadors on developments since voting took place in late September.

Renewed negotiations expected to pave the way for direct talks between Taliban and Kabul to end 18 years of war.

The United States is set to formally restart peace talks with the Taliban insurgency, nearly three months after President Donald Trump abruptly suspended the year-long process aimed at finding a political settlement to the war in Afghanistan.

Lawyers representing victims of the Afghanistan conflict on Wednesday urged the International Criminal Court to allow a war crimes investigation that would include scrutinizing the actions of U.S. forces. ICC judges in April rejected the request of prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to examine atrocities allegedly committed in the conflict between 2003 and 2004, including by U.S. troops, Afghan forces and the Taliban.

German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said on Monday that she supported an extension of German participation in the NATO mission in Afghanistan. Over 1,000 German troops are currently stationed there.

Thousands of supporters of a leading presidential candidate in Afghanistan rallied Friday in the capital, Kabul, demanding election officials halt the ongoing vote recount process to prevent alleged electoral fraud.