Afghanistan deadliest place to be a journalist

Afghanistan was the world’s deadliest place for journalists in 2018, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said Tuesday.

According to RSF, at least 63 journalists around the world were killed doing their jobs in 2018, with Afghanistan being the deadliest place for journalists worldwide.

The organization reported that violence against reporters rose 15 percent compared to 2017.

“The hatred of journalists that is voiced … by unscrupulous politicians, religious leaders and businessmen has tragic consequences on the ground, and has been reflected in this disturbing increase in violations against journalists,” RSF Secretary-General Christophe Deloire said in a statement.

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Afghanistan ranked 167th in Ease of doing business

With five reforms in the past year, Afghanistan has improved its position from 183rd to 167th position in the global ease of doing business rankings, the World Bank said in its latest annual report on Wednesday.

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Afghanistan ranked second-worst country in world for protecting minority investors

Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said in a new report that Afghanistan ranked second-worst country in the world for protecting minority investors.

“Insecurity, corruption and lack of infrastructure are the main challenges. The government does not have a specific mechanism to protect the minority investors,” Khan Jan Alkozay, deputy of Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) said.

The report said that Afghanistan’s ranking for starting a business declined significantly over past year – from 42nd last year to 107th in 2018.

“We have declined the licence cost from 30000 AFN to 100 AFN. We are witnessing a better position compared to the past two years,” Musafer Quqandi, spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce asserted.

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Afghan passport placed 105th in Henley & Partners latest index

The Afghan passport has secured the last sport in the latest passport index of a major American global citizenship and residence advisory firm – Henley & Partners.

The latest passport index released by the firm includes 105 countries where Afghanistan has been placed among the 5 countries that have secured the least points.

According to Henley & Partners, the ranking has been given based on the information related to the visa-free access the passports of each country are enjoying from.

Somalia has secured the 101st spot by having 32 points as the residents of the country have visa-free access to 32 countries.

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