TASS TASS Russian News Agency TASS (), abbr. TASS () is a major news agency in Russia, founded in 1904. TASS is the largest Russian news agency and one of the largest news agencies worldwide, along with Reuters, the Associated Press (AP) and Agence France-Presse (AFP). TASS is registered as a Federal State Unitary Enterprise, owned by the Government of Russia. Headquartered in Moscow, TASS has 70 offices in Russia and in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), as well as 68 bureaus around the world. The TASS name comes from the former Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union (, "Tyelyegrafnoye
Bakhtar News Agency Bakhtar News Agency Bakhtar News Agency is the official state news agency of the Afghan government, based in Kabul. The agency is a major source of news for all media in Afghanistan, gathering domestic and international news and providing information to outlets. The government had planned to make the agency independent of government control in 2004 before elections. In 2002, Agence France-Presse established a satellite link providing news information to the Bakhtar News Agency. Established in 1939 by the Government Press Department, it monitors foreign and domestic news before distribution. The English sector of the news distribution was not added