The economy of Afghanistan has had significant improvement in the last decade due to the infusion of billions of dollars in international assistance and remittances from Afghan expatriates. The assistance that came from expatriates and outside investors saw this increase when there was more political reliability after the fall of the Taliban regime. The nation's GDP stands at about $70 billion with an exchange rate of $20 billion (2017), and the GDP per capita is about $2,000. It imports over $6 billion worth of goods but exports nearly $1 billion only, mainly fruits and nuts.
The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is an American twin-engined, tandem rotor, heavy-lift helicopter developed by American rotorcraft company Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol. The CH-47 is among the heaviest lifting Western helicopters. Its name, Chinook, is from the Native American Chinook people of modern-day Washington state.
Pashto, sometimes spelled Pukhto, is the language of the Pashtuns. It is known in Persian literature as Afghāni (افغانی) and in Hindustani literature as Paṭhānī. Speakers of the language are called Pashtuns/Pakhtuns/Pathans and sometimes Afghans. It is an Eastern Iranian language, belonging to the Indo-European family. Pashto is one of the two official languages of Afghanistan and it is the second-largest regional language of Pakistan, mainly spoken in the west and northwest of the country. In Pakistan, it is the majority language of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the northern districts of Balochistan. Along with Dari Persian, Pashto is the main language among the Pashtun diaspora around the world. The total number of Pashto-speakers is estimated to be 45–60 million people worldwide.
The GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast is a large-yield bomb, developed for the United States military by Albert L. Weimorts, Jr. of the Air Force Research Laboratory. At the time of development, it was said to be the most powerful non-nuclear weapon in the American arsenal. The bomb is designed to be delivered by a C-130 Hercules, primarily the MC-130E Combat Talon I or MC-130H Combat Talon II variants.
The Afghan National Army (ANA) is the land warfare branch of the Afghan Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of Defense in Kabul and is largely trained by US-led NATO forces. The ANA is divided into six corps, with the 201st in Kabul followed by the 203rd in Gardez, 205th in Kandahar, 207th in Herat, 209th in Mazar-i-Sharif and the 215th in Lashkar Gah. The current Chief of Staff of the ANA is Lieutenant General Mohammad Sharif Yaftali.
Frieder Nake is a mathematician, computer scientist, and pioneer of computer art. He is best known internationally for his contributions to the earliest manifestations of computer art, a field of computing that made its first public appearances with three small exhibitions in 1965.
The Taliban insurgency began shortly after the group's fall from power following the 2001 War in Afghanistan. The Taliban forces are fighting against the Afghan government, formerly led by President Hamid Karzai, now led by President Ashraf Ghani, and against the US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The insurgency has spread to some degree over the Durand Line border to neighboring Pakistan, in particular the Waziristan region and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Taliban conduct low-intensity warfare against Afghan National Security Forces and their NATO trainers. Regional countries, particularly Pakistan and Iran, are often accused of funding and supporting the insurgent groups.
Afghan Americans are Americans of Afghan descent or Americans who originated from Afghanistan. Afghan Americans may originate from any of the ethnic groups of Afghanistan.
The War on Terror, also known as the Global War on Terrorism, is an international military campaign that was launched by the United States government after the September 11 attacks against the United States. The naming of the campaign uses a metaphor of war to refer to a variety of actions that do not constitute a specific war as traditionally defined. U.S. president George W. Bush first used the term "war on terrorism" on 16 September 2001, and then "war on terror" a few days later in a formal speech to Congress. In the latter speech, George Bush stated, "Our enemy is a radical network of terrorists and every government that supports them." The term was originally used with a particular focus on countries associated with al-Qaeda. The term was immediately criticised by such people as Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and more nuanced terms subsequently came to be used by the Bush administration to publicly define the international campaign led by the U.S.; it was never used as a formal designation of U.S. operations in internal government documentation.
The War in Afghanistan, code named Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan (2001–14) and Operation Freedom's Sentinel (2015–present), followed the United States invasion of Afghanistan of 7 October 2001. The U.S. was initially supported by the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia and later by a coalition of over 40 countries, including all NATO members. The war's public aims were to dismantle al-Qaeda and to deny it a safe base of operations in Afghanistan by removing the Taliban from power. Since the initial objectives were completed at the end of 2001, the war mostly involves U.S. and allied Afghan government troops battling Taliban insurgents. The War in Afghanistan is the longest war in U.S. history.
Energy in Afghanistan is primarily provided by hydropower. According to the World Bank, approximately 84.1% of Afghanistan's population has access to electricity. Some rural areas, however, may not get 24-hour electricity but this will change once the major CASA-1000 project is completed in 2020.
Nake is a Madang language of Papua New Guinea.
Frank Waln or Oyate Teca Obmani is a Sicangu Lakota rapper. His first solo album, Born Ready, was released in 2017, followed by The Bridge the same year. He has been awarded three Native American Music Awards and received five nominations, both alone and with his group Nake Nula Waun. Waln grew up on the Rosebud Indian Reservation and first began listening to hip-hop as a teenager. Waln graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a BA in Audio Arts and Acoustics where he also received the Gates Millennium Scholarship
Noor Wodjouatt is an Afghan-American musician and television producer.
Hamid Naweed is an Afghan-American writer and art historian.
