The importance of diverse communities living together in harmony is expected to be underlined at a UN conference getting underway in Azerbaijan on Monday.

Governments need to start focusing on control and regulation of drug markets, rather than the traditional policy of prohibition.

That’s according to the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on HIV and AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Michel Kazatchkine.

Although Afghanistan has been cleared of nearly 80 per cent of the landmines and other explosive remnants of war (ERW) buried during conflicts, these weapons still pose serious threats to the lives of thousands of citizens.

Soccer is being used as a platform to talk about women’s issues in a male-dominated society, an Afghan female athlete has said.

Khalida Popal, a former captain and founding member of the country’s first women’s national soccer team, fled in 2011 after receiving death threats.