Afghan national museum reopens

The national museum of Afghanistan has reopened for the first time in a decade and features a major new exhibit feared lost in the civil war.

The artefact, known as the Rabotak Stone, a one and a half metre wide block of white limestone is two thousand years old and contains unique information about the mighty Kushan empire.

Other items on display include a big, black stone bowl from the early Islamic era and a small Buddha statue.

The BBC Kabul correspondent says although many of the museum's treasures have been stolen and sold abroad, the museum is of special importance to Afghans who have seen much of their cultural heritage destroyed during the last twenty years of war.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service