As in many countries around the globe, soccer is widely viewed in Afghanistan as the national pastime. The country's legacy of violence, however, meant that Afghanistan has not competed in the international arena for much of the past two decades.
The title of the film has been a source of some confusion. The film has nothing to do with al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, or terrorism for that matter. "Osama" is a poignant portrayal of life under the Taliban, focusing on the severe conditions experienced by Afghan women.
One of Afghanistan's few reconstruction bright spots these days is found in the capital, where a sense of normalcy is slowly returning after almost a quarter century of conflict. As Edward Grazda's photo essay shows, Kabul is in the midst of a construction boom.
Financing for Shakhid-Tela's reconstruction was provided by the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), a Saudi Arabia-based organization that maintains an office in Bishkek, according to Yakubjan Sabirov, a financial officer at the mosque. Media reports said the Saudi organization donated $93,000 to the project.
Today, her debut single, "The Closest Thing to Crazy," is a Top-20 hit in Britain and her debut album, "Call Off the Search," has already earned her a gold disc.
Melua has been called a "breath of fresh air" and is being compared to Norah Jones, the young, smoky-voiced jazz singer in the United States who already has a string of Grammy awards to her name.
It follows Piers Lewis, a pony-tailed young Briton working for AES, as he tries to lift bill collection rates by shutting off power to non-paying customers. Lewis has a hard job: years of poor maintenance have left power lines unreliable, and widespread inability to pay has forced Georgians to make their own hazardous hookups.
Hinalugis, who number 2,000, live as a distinct tribe. Some call them a nation. They come from a distinct genetic pool and their language, which descends from Caucasian, is foreign even in nearby villages. Some men who served in the Soviet armed forces speak Russian; most speak Azeri, which they need in order to communicate with the outside world.
After the Taliban gained control of the Afghan capital Kabul in 1996, the movement authorized a large number of public works projects in Kandahar. The first order of business was improving the main transport link between the country's seat of political power, Kabul, and its new religious center, Kandahar. Over 40 miles of road, linking Kabul with the large town of Maidan, were paved.
The plight of women in Afghanistan is well documented. Perhaps the statistic that best illustrates today's situation is life expectancy -- for an Afghan woman it is now estimated at 46.2 years, while the average man can expect to live to 47.6.
