After defeating Hong Kong in the semifinals, Afghanistan went up against host country Nepal in the final match of the tournament. Afghanistan won the coin toss, but chose to field, and let Nepal bat first. They kept Nepal at 135 runs. When they got up to bat, they easily reached the target with 7 wickets remaining. Afghanistan’s 22 year old Gulbadin Naib was chosen as the player of the match for scoring 43 runs (not out) in the game. The young players on the team really played a big role in ensuring victory for Afghanistan, according to the Afghan coaches. This means that the future of Afghan cricket is very bright.

View scorecard for final match

PAN had also reported last week  that the Ministry of Education has pledged to reconstruct buildings and boundary walls for 56 schools in central Maidan Wardark province. The ministry will also establish 2 agricultural high schools, per PAN. The cost of this project is estimated to be $400,000 and the work is scheduled to be completed this year.

Fazlullah Wahidi, provincial governor of Kunar province

An inauguration ceremony was held today in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Kunar for a newly constructed building for the Syed Jamaludin Afghan University, Pajhwok Afghan News (PAN) has reported. The project to build the 2-story building was funded by the Minister of Higher Education at a cost $550,000, Kunar’s provincial governor, Syed Fazlullah Wahidi, told PAN.

In other good news, PAN also reported yesterday that 2 bridges over the Harirod River were inaugurated in the Daulatyar district of Afghanistan’s western province of Ghor. The 36 and 21-meter bridges will serve thousands of families and reduce the amount of time people will need to bring their products to the local market, thus increasing economic activity. On resident told PAN that before the bridges, they had to travel dozens of kilometers towards the south to cross the river.

Mohammad Ismael Khan

Yesterday, the Iranian Energy Minister Majid Namjou came to Afghanistan to meet with Afghanistan’s Minister of Water and Energy Mohammad Ismael Khan. The two ministers attended an inauguration ceremony on Sunday for two newly operational Iranian-made electrical turbines, as well held talks to further expand ties between the neighboring countries. The new turbines have the power generation capacities of 25 megawatts. Khan describe his meeting with his Iranian counterpart as positive and constructive. Today, the two signed an agreement in which Iran has agreed to increase power supply to Herat and Nimroz provinces. Iran currently exports 90 megawatts of electricity to Herat per hour and 10 megawatts to Nimroz. Under the agreement, the power supplied to Herat will be increased by 50 megawatts and there will be a 14 megawatts increase to Nimroz. Khan also said that Iran has agreed to export 50 to 100 megawatts of electricity to Farah province. According to Afghan media reports, a joint technical team was expected to visit the province for a survey. Besides the United States and Japan, Iran is one of the most important donors to Afghanistan towards the reconstruction of the country. Iran has built roads, power transmission lines, border stations, and is still involved in many other infrastructure projects

Earlier this month, PAN reported that Japan will give Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Heath (MoPH) $13.5 million to help eradicate polio and prevent other epidemic diseases. According to the PAN report, the money will be paid in a year, and it will be spent through the United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) for vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan. Afghanistan’s Minister of Public Heath, Dr. Suraya Dalil signed an agreement to the effect with Japan’s Ambassador Hiroshi Takahashi and Peter Croly, the UNICEF chief in Afghanistan.

Japan has been one of Afghanistan’s biggest contributors towards the reconstruction and development of the country.

In other development news, Afghanistan’s Bakhtar News Agency (BNA) reported last week that 14 new school buildings have officially been opened in Afghanistan’s northern province of Badakhshan. The BNA report stated that the schools were constructed in the Shuhada, Warduj, Baharak, Darayim, Keran wa Menjan, Nasi, Jurm, and Zebak districts. It took one year to build the school buildings. This is good news for a province in which out of the 702 schools it has, 200 do not have buildings, and the students have to study under tents.

Hamid Rahimi and Said Mbelwa after the fight

Afghan boxer Hamid Rahimi made history today by defeating Tanzanian Said Mbelwa in the 7th round via a technical knockout (TKO) to win the vacant World Boxing Organization Intercontinental middleweight belt in Kabul. This was the first international boxing event to be held in Afghanistan in 30 years. Millions of Afghans both inside and outside the country watched the fight with lots of excitement. The match was dubbed “Fight4Peace”, and Rahimi accomplished his goal of holding a major professional boxing event in Afghanistan.

Rahimi has been telling both Afghan and foreign media that “sports is something that can bring people of all religions and all regions together.” With this win, Rahimi improves his record to 21 wins and only one loss. Mbelwa went into the fight with 19 wins, 8 losses and 4 draws. Mbelwa lost honorably and was a great sport. He even lifted up Rahimi after the match and congratulated him.

See video below.

In other development news, Khaama Press reported today that a major Islamic Center is going to be built in Maranjan Hill at the center of Kabul City. Afghan officials said that the center which is called “The Malik Abdullah Islamic Center” will be built on 60 acres of land. The funding for the construction project which is expected to be between $45 million to $100 million, will be provided by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The project is expected to begin next year and will take 3 years to complete. Besides a masjid, the center will have a major Islamic studies university, a hostel that will serve at least 5000 students, a hospital, and a sports complex. According to the report., the masjid part will have the capacity for more than 15,000 people for prayers.

Dr. Suraya Dalil, Afghanistan's Minister of Public Health

A three-day nationwide wide campaign to vaccinate around 8 million children against polio in Afghanistan recently concluded. The campaign, which was led by Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health, had started on September 16th and included 55,000 service provides, as well as 40 volunteers who went door-to-door to administer the anti-polio vaccines to children under 5 years of age. Traveling children at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border points were also given the vaccines. Polio which is short for poliomyelitis, is a highly infectious disease that affects the nervous system and can lead to partial or full paralysis. While the disease has been virtually eliminated in most of the world, it is still prevalent in Afghanistan. According to Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health, 17 cases of polio were reported in Afghanistan this year. On top of the vaccines, children from 2 to 5 years of age were also given de-worming tablets to help reduce the number of worm infestations, which is also another health issue affecting children in Afghanistan.

In other good news, Afghanistan’s Bakhtar News Agency reported yesterday that a new large congregational masjid, that has the capacity for 7000, has been opened in Afghanistan’s southern province of Helmand. The masjid was built at a cost of $2,500,000. Funding for the project came from the United Arab Emirates and private donors.

Murray McCully

New Zealand’s government announced today that they will fund the largest solar energy plant in Afghanistan. Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully said that they will provide 18.6 million NZ dollars ($15.05 million US) so that a solar energy system can be built in Afghanistan’s Bamiyan province. Construction is expected to be completed at the end of 2013.

Once completed, the 1.05 megawatt solar plant will provide power for as many as 2,500 homes, businesses and government buildings. Two New Zealand companies, NetCon Ltd and Sustainable Energy Services International, have been awarded the contract to build the plant.