- Argentine ex-president Fernandez gives statement in corruption case
- Mexico says Trump tariffs would cost 400,000 US jobs
- Car-centric Saudi to open first part of Riyadh Metro
- Brussels, not Paris, will decide EU-Mercosur trade deal: Lula
- Faeces, vomit offer clues to how dinosaurs rose to rule Earth
- Ruby slippers from 'The Wizard of Oz' up for auction
- Spain factory explosion kills three, injures seven
- US Fed's favored inflation gauge ticks up in October
- Defence lawyers plead to judges in French mass rape trial
- US says China releases three 'wrongfully detained' Americans
- New clashes in Mozambique as two reported killed
- Romania officials to meet over 'cyber risks' to elections
- Chelsea visit next stop in Heidenheim's 'unthinkable' rise
- Former England prop Marler announces retirement from rugby
- Kumara gives Sri Lanka edge on rain-hit day against South Africa
- Namibia votes with ruling party facing toughest race yet
- Spurs goalkeeper Vicario out for 'months' with broken ankle
- Moscow expels German journalists, Berlin denies closing Russia TV bureau
- Spain govt defends flood response and offers new aid
- France says Netanyahu has 'immunity' from ICC warrants
- Nigerian state visit signals shift in France's Africa strategy
- Stock markets waver as traders weigh Trump tariffs, inflation
- Tens of thousands in Lebanon head home as Israel-Hezbollah truce takes hold
- Opposition candidates killed in Tanzania local election
- Amorim eyes victory in first Man Utd home game to kickstart new era
- Fresh fury as Mozambique police mow down protester
- Defeat at Liverpool could end Man City title hopes, says Gundogan
- Indonesians vote in regional election seen as test for Prabowo
- Guardiola says no intent to 'make light' of self harm in post-match comments
- New EU commission gets green light to launch defence, economy push
- Opposition figures killed as Tanzania holds local election
- Taiwan Olympic boxing champion quits event after gender questions
- European stocks drop on Trump trade war worries
- Volkswagen to sell operations in China's Xinjiang
- FA probes referee David Coote over betting claim
- Serbia gripped by TV series about murder of prime minister
- Putin seeks to shore up ties on visit to 'friendly' Kazakhstan
- New EU commission pushes for defence and economy spending
- Plastic pollution talks must speed up, chair warns
- Pakistan web controls quash dissent and potential
- 1,000 Pakistan protesters arrested in pro-Khan capital march
- ICC prosecutor seeks arrest warrant for Myanmar junta chief
- Philippine VP's bodyguards swapped out amid investigation
- EasyJet annual profit rises 40% on package holidays
- Ukraine sees influx of Western war tourists
- Greeks finally get Thessaloniki metro after two-decade wait
- New EU commission to get all clear with big push on defence and economy
- Thousands of Lebanese head home as Israel-Hezbollah truce takes hold
- Australia takes step to ban under 16s from social media
- Volkswagen says to sell operations in China's Xinjiang
Taliban pledge no interference with quake aid, but many await relief
Afghanistan's Taliban rulers pledged on Saturday they would not interfere with international efforts to distribute aid to tens of thousands of people affected by this week's deadly earthquake.
Even before Wednesday's quake the country was in the grip of a humanitarian crisis, with aid flows and financial assistance severely curtailed since the Taliban's return to power.
The 5.9-magnitude quake struck hardest in the rugged east along the border with Pakistan, as people slept, killing over 1,000 and leaving thousands more homeless.
Aid organisations have complained in the past that Taliban authorities have tried to divert aid to areas and people that supported their hardline insurgency -- or even seized goods to distribute themselves and claim the credit.
But Khan Mohammad Ahmad, a senior official in hard-hit Paktika province, said international organisations helping relief efforts would not be interfered with.
"Whether it is WFP, UNICEF or any other organisation... the international community or the United Nations... they will do the distribution by themselves," said Khan.
"The responsible people from the Islamic Emirate are here... our members will be always with them (to help)," he added, referring to the Taliban's new name for Afghanistan.
- Huge challenge -
The disaster poses a huge logistical challenge for the government, which has isolated itself from much of the world by introducing hardline rule that subjugates women and girls.
But the international community has been quick to respond to the latest disaster to befall the country and aid is starting to flow -- although not always where it is needed most.
"What don't we need? We need everything," Said Wali told AFP in Serai, a small village close to the epicentre of the quake, around 200 kilometres (125 miles) southeast of Kabul.
"We are alive, but there is no one listening to us and we have not received any aid so far."
Many of the buildings in the village -- like most in the Afghan countryside, made out of mud bricks -- had been flattened in the quake.
"Our beds and all our stuff are buried under our home. Our homes are destroyed... there is nothing left," he said.
"Currently we need money so that we can buy our necessities -- clothes, mattresses, equipment. We also need flour and rice."
- 'Courage and resilience' -
Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN's top official in Afghanistan, praised Afghans for their resilience and courage after touring the area Saturday.
"What signs of resolve in face of this adversity -- I would say endless adversity," he told AFP.
"Endless difficulties, endless tragedy, and yet these people are so gracious, so strong. And they are willing to overcome, and they are coming together as a community and as a society."
Delivering aid has been made more difficult because the quake struck areas already suffering the effects of heavy rain, causing rockfalls and mudslides that wiped out hamlets perched precariously on mountain slopes.
Communications have also been hit with mobile phone towers and power lines toppled.
Officials say nearly 10,000 houses were destroyed, an alarming number in an area where the average household size is more than 20 people.
Even before the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan's emergency response teams were stretched to deal with the natural disasters that frequently strike the country.
Afghanistan is frequently hit by earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range, near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.
Afghanistan's deadliest recent earthquake killed 5,000 in 1998 in the northeastern provinces of Takhar and Badakhshan.
R.Adler--BTB