Internews' Masood Farivar on CNN International

On Friday, CNN International's "Connect the World" program featured an interview with Masood Farivar, Manager of Salam Watandar (Hello Countryman), Internews' radio programming service for Afghanistan. The interview, which aired live, focused on the role of the media in Afghanistan. Anchor Max Foster asked Farivar to comment on his own background as a New York-based journalist who chose to move back to his native Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban to help rebuild the independent media there.

In Afghanistan, Special Post-Election Coverage to Focus on Accountability

Salam Watander, the Internews-supported radio programming service, is doing special reporting on the aftermath of Afghanistan's elections. On Monday the service aired live coverage of the Independent Elections Commission press conference announcing that, with Abdullah Abdullah pulling out of the planned runoff election for president, Hamid Karzai was the winner. In the coming weeks, Salam Watandar's flagship current affairs show, Bakhabar ("Look Out"), will focus on the theme of government accountability. Reporting will cover the extent to which the re-elected president delivers on campaign promises to bring security to his homeland and to root out corruption, a demand made of him by the international community. As part of its focus on Karzai's mandate to clean up his administration, Salam Watandar will also track new cabinet appointments and the appointment of one-third of the members of Mishrano Jirga (the Upper House of Parliament) following the presidential inauguration in two weeks.