Six years ago coalition forces headed into Afghanistan to eradicate the Taliban. Now an international think tank says more than half of the country is under the Taliban’s thumb. Meanwhile, an Oxfam report sharply criticized US-led development efforts in the region.

In war-torn Afghanistan, the Taliban is gaining ground again as it continues its insurgency. A report released Wednesday by the Senlis Council, an international security and development policy think tank, concludes that more than half the entire country is now under Taliban control.

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The UAE could implement Value Added Tax (VAT) "in a year’s time", which could be supervised by a new federal authority, a government official said.

"We are currently carrying out various studies on the implementation of VAT in a year’s time," Abdul Rahman Al Saleh, executive director for Corporate Affairs at Dubai Customs, told Gulf News on Thursday.

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Two of Pakistan’s leading private television networks said they have been forced to shut down completely after being ordered to stop transmissions via the UAE.

Geo and ARY One World, which have studios in Dubai Media City, were ordered off air in Pakistan during President Pervez Musharraf’s emergency rule. "We have been told by Dubai Media City that our transmission will be shut down," said Imran Aslam, president of Geo News. "This is all I can say at the moment."

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Mobile phone users will soon be able to make and receive calls on Emirates flights, according to a senior official at the airline. Emirates will become the first carrier in the world to allow passengers to talk on their own phones in the air, Patrick Brannelly, vice-president of Passenger, Communications and Visual Services told.

“We are extremely close to getting all the required approvals from various regulatory bodies. All the telephone regulatory authorities in the Middle East and Europe have already given the green signal for the project,” he said.

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