Afghan Shoppers Go Online to Avoid Bombs

Afghan shopkeepers work on their laptop at their online shop in Kabul, Afghanistan June 4, 2018. Picture taken June 4, 2018. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani
Afghan shopkeepers work on their laptop at their online shop in Kabul, Afghanistan June 4, 2018. Picture taken June 4, 2018. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani
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Afghan Shoppers Go Online to Avoid Bombs

Afghan shopkeepers work on their laptop at their online shop in Kabul, Afghanistan June 4, 2018. Picture taken June 4, 2018. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani
Afghan shopkeepers work on their laptop at their online shop in Kabul, Afghanistan June 4, 2018. Picture taken June 4, 2018. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani

Esmatullah, 27, earns good profile during the month of Ramadan through his e-shop "Afghan Mart" , which he set up just over a year ago, with 500,000 afghanis ($7,000) worth of goods.

Esmatullah says that during Ramadan he receives an average of 50 calls.

" An average of 50 customers call me daily and we deliver,” he said, according to Reuters, adding that he is looking to expand into the provinces by the end of the year.

His shop's success reflects a broader trend among shoppers in the Afghan capital who are keen to buy everything from food to fashion.

It is believed that online shopping is on the rise due to people's attempt to avoid bomb attacks and harassment.

One of the delivery drives said riding a motorcycle in the streets of a city like Kabul, where danger is at every corner surrounding citizens, is a big challenge.

“We have seen more bomb blasts in Kabul that delayed our delivery services,” Esmatullah said. “When that happens, we stop delivering in that direction or that part of the city.

“But the insecurity is one of the reasons that our business has found its way. And besides the insecurity, there is a bad culture of street harassment that unfortunately our women face in cities.”



Iran Says It Will Respond to Reimposition of UN Sanctions

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei. (Iranian Foreign Ministry)
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei. (Iranian Foreign Ministry)
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Iran Says It Will Respond to Reimposition of UN Sanctions

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei. (Iranian Foreign Ministry)
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei. (Iranian Foreign Ministry)

Iran will react to any reimposition of United Nations sanctions over its nuclear program, the country's foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday, without elaborating on what actions Tehran might take.

A French diplomatic source told Reuters last week that European powers would have to restore UN sanctions on Iran under the so-called "snapback mechanism" if there were no nuclear deal that guaranteed European security interests.

The "snapback mechanism" is a process that would reimpose UN sanctions on Tehran under a 2015 nuclear deal that lifted the measures in return for restrictions on Iran's nuclear program.

"The threat to use the snapback mechanism lacks legal and political basis and will be met with an appropriate and proportionate response from Iran," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told a press conference, without giving further details.

The 2015 deal with Britain, Germany, France, the US, Russia and China - known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - states that if the parties cannot resolve accusations of "significant non-performance" by Iran, the "snapback mechanism" process can be triggered by the 15-member UN Security Council.

"The European parties, who are constantly trying to use this possibility as a tool, have themselves committed gross and fundamental violations of their obligations under the JCPOA," Baghaei said.

"They have failed to fulfill the duties they had undertaken under the JCPOA, so they have no legal or moral standing to resort to this mechanism."

Western countries accuse Iran of plotting to build a nuclear weapon, which Tehran denies.

The United States pulled out of the deal in 2018 under the first administration of President Donald Trump, who called the agreement "weak".

Trump, whose second presidency began in January, has urged Tehran to return to nuclear negotiations on a new deal after a ceasefire was reached last month that ended a 12-day air war between Iran and Israel that destabilized the Middle East.

When asked if Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi would meet with Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, Baghaei said no date or location had been set for resuming the US-Iran nuclear talks.