Afghanistan

U.S. officials and representatives of the Afghan Taliban have begun discussing ways to revive a peace process after talks fell apart last month, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Afghanistan's Defense Ministry says government forces have gained control of a district in the country's north from the Taliban. In a statement, the ministry said the Dash-e Archi district of Kunduz Province, along the border with Tajikistan, was retaken on October 12. … The Taliban has maintained a strong presence in Kunduz, a strategically and economically important northern province.

“Multiple” airstrikes by the US military on alleged methamphetamine drug labs in a remote area of western Afghanistan earlier this year, killed or injured dozens of civilians who should not have been treated as military targets, the UN said on Wednesday.

Despite pulling off a safer presidential election than expected, Afghanistan looks headed for a prolonged period of political uncertainty, with the two front-runners claiming victory before ballots are tallied and signaling they would not accept defeat. … Results are expected on Oct. 19. If neither man wins over half the votes, a runoff would take place.

As leaders of the deeply unpopular and fractured national-unity government, both men's reputations have been tarnished. But with no viable challengers, they are front-runners in an election that features former mujahedin fighters, warlords, and communists.

The Taliban have told the BBC that their "doors are open" should US President Donald Trump want to resume peace talks in the future. Chief negotiator Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai insisted negotiation remained "the only way for peace in Afghanistan" during an exclusive interview. Mr Stanikzai's words came a week after Mr Trump declared the talks "dead".

The UN Security Council has unanimously extended its assistance mission in Afghanistan after China withdrew its threat of a veto if the text did not mention Beijing's Belt and Road infrastructure initiative. The 15 members of the council on September 17 extended the mission for one year with a compromise text, negotiated by Germany and Indonesia, that doesn't mention "any specific initiative" but refers to promotion of "regional cooperation and connectivity," according to diplomats.

An Afghan health official says 24 people were killed Tuesday in a bombing attack near the site of an election rally held by President Ashraf Ghani.

A spokesman for Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani says the Afghan government will only consider making a "legitimate" peace with the Taliban after a national election in September, despite political uncertainty following the recent collapse of U.S.-Taliban peace talks.

As negotiations between the U.S. and Taliban collapsed this week, the top U.N. official in Afghanistan called Tuesday for direct intra-Afghan talks to resolve the country’s nearly two-decade old conflict. “Conflict can only be resolved by direct talks between the Afghan people,” U.N. envoy to Afghanistan Tadamichi Yamamoto told a meeting of the Security Council. “It is imperative, therefore, that direct talks between the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban commence as soon as possible.”