Afghanistan to grant licences to first foreign banks in yearsAfghanistan ratified new commercial and central banking laws yesterday and would issue its first operating licences to private-sector banks this week, the country's top banking official said.

Fur Love to Fur Shame: Change of Heart for a PrincessFashion Wire Daily October 17, 2003 - Paris -On Tuesday night, Le Bar du Plaza Athenée on Avenue Montaigne -- Paris toniest shopping street currently dripping in ultra-expensive winter pelts -- bore witness to a rather unusual event, as it host

A warm winter day at Breezes Beach Club. Photo: Susan WyndhamSusan Wyndham explores Zanzibar's heady mix of history and culture.

Izatullah Baig in the small mountain village of Passu is grateful that his children of both sexes had a good education.
In Pakistan's Northern Areas, the Aga Khan charitable foundation funds schools and academies for both boys and girls, without discrimination.

Kieren Fallon, fresh from his success on Ouija Board in the Darley Irish Oaks yesterday, added the Group Two Daily Record Scottish Derby to his haul on Kalaman at Ayr yesterday.

Parliament has approved the speedy divestiture of Nile Hotel International Limited through a 30-year concession to Serena Tourism Promotion Service SA, a subsidiary of Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development.

Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, a former head of the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR and U.N. humanitarian envoy to Afghanistan, has died at age 70, his office said on Tuesday.

President Pervez Musharraf on Thursday held useful discussion with French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin on all matters of international and regional importance.

The biggest global threat is not failed states but failed democracies, the Aga Khan told a graduating class at the University of Toronto on Friday afternoon.

One of India's most ancient gardens surrounding the 16th century Humayun's tomb in Delhi has been restored to its past glory.Two hundred people worked for three years to revitalise the garden's pathways, fountains and water channels in the heart of the capital.

Focus Humanitarian Assistance (FOCUS), an agency affiliated with the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), has mobilised specialised staff, volunteers and resources in response to the widespread destruction following the earthquake which struck several parts of Pakistan.

JCR-VIS has assigned a medium to long-term rating of 'A+' with a 'positive' outlook, and short-term rating of A1+ to First Micro Finance Bank Limited (FMBL), said a press release on Monday.

The Aga Khan, spiritual leader of Shia Ismaili Muslims, announced the first Ismaili Centre to be built in the Middle East.

1SRG and Western Disaster Center team to provide training for FOCUSMOFFET FIELD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 29, 2003--1SRG (1st Special Response Group), an all-volunteer, rapid-deployment first response unit returned from conducting an assessment for Focus Humanitarian Assistance (FOCUS) in Taj

The foundation stone of the Central Asian University campus has been laid in the eastern Tajik town of Khorugh, Tajik television reported on 6 July.It said President Emomali Rahmonov and his entourage (presumably including the visiting world Ismailis leader Prince Aga Khan IV) had attended a cere

Afghan President Hamid Karzai inaugurated the five-star Serena Hotel here Tuesday, saying that after 30 years of armed conflict the country could boast of a hotel that could provide the best hospitality.

Girls' High School in Afghanistan is First with Information Technology Kabul, Afghanistan, 2nd July, 2003 - Tajwar Sultana School, a girls' high school formerly on a frontline in Kabul, today became the first educational institution in the country with state-of-the-art computing facilities, inclu

The First Micro Finance Bank Limited (FMFBL), one of the first institutions of its kind to receive a license from the Afghan government, has recently been awarded highest rating by the JCR-VIS, a credit rating agency, said a press release on Friday.

SERIOUS CHALLENGES continue to face outlying populations of quake-hit Nahrin District in Afghanistan as aid agencies consider downscaling relief efforts around Nahrin City. Inaccessible populations, landmines, water and sanitation, and changing weather remain major problems.

Investors set to give over 30m dollars to eastern Tajik power supply systemKhorugh: Investors, among which are the Aga Khan Foundation, the World Bank and the Swiss government, intend to invest over 30m dollars in the development of the [eastern Tajik] Badakhshon electric power supply system.

The Dushanbe [the Tajik capital] office of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) will realize three projects to improve the educational sphere in Tajikistan, in cooperation with the Aga Khan Fund, Open Society Institute-Assistance Fund [of the Soros Foundation], Save the Children (U

Finance Minister Shuakat Aziz on Monday lauded the achievements of Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) and pledged the government's firm backing to the initiative.

Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, a former head of the United Nations refugee agency and U.N. humanitarian envoy to Afghanistan, has died at age 70, his office said on Tuesday.Sadruddin was uncle to the current Aga Khan, Karim, who is spiritual leader of the world's 15 million Ismaili Muslims.

More than a thousand people attended a fund-raising event on Saturday night at which hundreds of thousands of rupees were raised for poor patients.
Anwar Maqsood and Tina Sani performed at the event which was organized by the Resource Development Committee of the Aga Khan University.

Christine Albanel a remis, le 28 mai, les distinctions de « Grand Mécène » et de « Grand Donateur » du ministère de la Culture à Son Altesse l'Aga Khan IV.

Foreword by His Highness the Aga Khan

THE First Lady, Janet Museveni, has paid tribute to the Aga Khan Foundation for its contribution to the development of Uganda, particularly in the education sector, a State House statement said on Friday.

SINGAPORE : Singapore Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo is in Paris for a three-day official visit.

On Sunday, he was hosted to lunch by the Aga Khan, who is the Imam of Shi'a Ismaili Muslims.