Afghanistan Archives - Page 2 of 4

World News in Brief: 500 million heading into extreme poverty, Afghanistan quake latest, Darfur deaths mount

·October 18, 2023·3 min read

Marking the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, Mr. Guterres pointed out that nearly 700 million people are living on less than $2.15 per day and over a billion don’t have access to basic needs like food, water, health care and education. Billions more lack sanitation and access to energy,...

‘A mountain of hardship’, as Afghanistan suffers yet another earthquake

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·October 17, 2023·1 min read

The latest, 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck areas northeast of Herat city Sunday morning local time. According to the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as of Monday evening local time, two people were reported to have been killed and over 150 injured in the latest quake. In total,...

UN teams ramp up aid after another earthquake strikes Afghanistan

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·October 12, 2023·1 min read

The 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck near the city of Herat at 5:10 AM (00:40 AM GMT) local time, injuring over 100 people, many of whom were taken to hospitals, according to media reports. UN response UN agencies have stepped up support, deploying teams to assess the damage and assist ongoing...

Afghanistan: Aid efforts rapidly expand as post-quake death toll rises

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·October 9, 2023·2 min read

“The United Nations and our partners in Afghanistan are coordinating with the de facto authorities to swiftly assess needs and provide emergency assistance,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said. UN agencies, partners, and the de facto authorities continued to mount emergency operations. Initial assessments indicated that the 6.3 magnitude quake that...

Earthquake kills at least 100 in Herat, Afghanistan

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·October 8, 2023·1 min read

Initial assessments indicate that the 6.3 magnitude quake caused deaths across eight villages, with a further 500 people injured, according to the latest update from UN humanitarian office (OCHA), which reported that it destroyed 465 houses and damaged another 135. Mahal Wadakah was the worst affected village. Rescuers search collapsed...

Afghanistan: Human rights ‘in a state of collapse’, warns Türk

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·September 12, 2023·2 min read

“Human rights in Afghanistan are in a state of collapse,” he told the Human Rights Council, before sounding the alarm over ongoing reports of extrajudicial killings, torture and ill-treatment and arbitrary arrests and detentions, as well as serious violations against former Government officials, as documented in a new human rights office...

Meth trafficking surges in and around Afghanistan

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·September 11, 2023·2 min read

Understanding Illegal Methamphetamine Manufacture in Afghanistan, highlights a drastic increase in seizures of the drug, from 2.5 tons in 2017 to 29.7 tons in 2021. In its street drug form, meth or “crystal meth” it is a powerful and highly addictive stimulant that impacts the central nervous system and can...

Afghanistan: WFP forced to cut food aid for 2 million more

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·September 5, 2023·2 min read

Forced to take the drastic measures citing a “massive funding shortfall”, WFP will only be able to provide emergency assistance to three million people per month across the country from October. “Amid already worrying levels of hunger and malnutrition, we are obliged to choose between the hungry and the starving, leaving millions...

INTERVIEW: Building bridges between Afghanistan and the world because ‘isolation is not an option’

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·July 4, 2023·7 min read

Since then, as international funding has stalled amid skepticism about the Taliban’s return, the UN has been acting as the world’s “eyes and ears” in Afghanistan. After shifting mainly to humanitarian work, UN agencies and partners are finding ways to help the long-suffering population meet basic needs and preserve hard-won...

Afghanistan mission chief to Taliban: Bans on women and girls cost you legitimacy at home and abroad

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·June 21, 2023·2 min read

UN Special Representative Roza Otunbayeva was briefing the Security Council on the dire situation facing the country and the international aid effort, with UN women workers among those now prevented by Taliban edicts from working. “We will not put our national staff in danger and therefore we are asking them not...

Afghanistan: Rights experts alarmed over Taliban use of ‘brutal’ punishments

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·May 11, 2023·1 min read

The urgent call from the ten Special Rapporteurs and members of the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls, came in response to an announcement by the Taliban-appointed Supreme Court in favour of punishments including stoning, flogging and burying people under a wall. Women most vulnerable The de facto...

Locust outbreak in Afghanistan threatens wheat harvest

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·May 11, 2023·3 min read

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) sounded the alarm on Wednesday after locusts were spotted in the country’s north and northeast. FAO said that a “full outbreak” this year could destroy up to 1.2 million metric tonnes of wheat, or a quarter of the total annual harvest. FAO Representative...