Since the beginning of May, more than 50 of Afghanistan’s 370 districts have fallen to the Taliban, most of which surround provincial capitals, according to Deborah Lyons, the UN’s top diplomat in Afghanistan.
All main trends in Afghanistan, including politics, the economy, security, the humanitarian emergency, and COVID-19, are negative or stagnant, according to the Head of the UN Mission in Afghanistan, who spoke at a high-level virtual meeting of the Security Council today (22 June).She claimed that the Afghan people’s perseverance is being put to the test, and that the country’s vulnerability to disaster is apparent.
According to the UN Special Representative, the February 2020 agreement between the US and the Taliban sparked hope that it would pave the way for Afghans to find peace, but actions on the battlefield have outpaced efforts at the talking table.
The UN representative in Afghanistan stated that there is still time, however limited, to avoid the worst-case scenario from occurring. She stated that everyone must make a concerted effort now to prevent the country from devolving into a bloodbath. She went on to say that the only way for Afghanistan to move forward is to return to the negotiating table and away from the battlefield.
In March 2015, the Thanh Nien newspaper reported that from October 2011 to September 2014, there were 226 deaths in detention facilities nationwide. The Ministry of Public Security explained them as being due to illness and suicide. Since then, no further reports have been issued.
Israel has proposed a cease-fire plan for Gaza, which Hamas says it is reviewing. This follows after an Egyptian delegation visited Israel, during which officials described a “new vision” for a prolonged end of hostilities.
The need for sustainable solutions becomes more pressing as climate change wreaks havoc around the world. In Nigeria, a private company recently introduced an Uber-style taxi system made of approximately 200 electric vehicles.
A Myanmar junta airstrike on a hospital in the west of the country has killed four people, including patients and staff, and wounded 15, a rebel group told Radio Free Asia on Friday.
As part of measures to tackle the militant attacks, mass kidnappings, and banditry activities that have plagued the nation, Nigeria is considering establishing state police throughout all 36 of its states. The violence has overwhelmed the country’s police force, which numbers over 300,000 members.The state police are an addition to this force. Nigerians cautiously welcome the move.
Nearly two decades after the Tak Bai Incident where over 80 people died in Thailand’s insurgency-stricken southern border region, the victims’ families filed a lawsuit on Thursday against government officials allegedly involved in the deaths.
Pro-Palestinian protests take place on college campuses across the country every day. Students are protesting against the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and demanding that humanitarian aid be allowed to flow into the territory.It seems that the protests are not dying down while several students and demonstrators have been suspended or detained.
Environmental groups have slammed a Hong Kong government plan for a high-tech urban development despite warnings it will destroy a crucial wetland habitat for migratory birds, including the endangered black-faced spoonbill.