Afghanistan

Five years after the Taliban seized power, women and girls in Afghanistan have been systematically stripped of their rights, UN agencies said on Wednesday. De facto authorities have issued more than 100 decrees curbing education, work and freedom of movement – restrictions now compounded by deep cuts to aid on the ground.

14 million Afghans face acute hunger, with only one in nine receiving WFP food assistance. Child malnutrition has reached record levels in 12 provinces, with children under two hardest hit. Funding shortages have forced WFP to scale back lifesaving nutrition programmes nationwide. The agency needs $500 million before winter to avert a worsening humanitarian crisis.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Rabab Fatima of Bangladesh as his new Special Representative for Afghanistan and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). … She currently serves as Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States.

The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) until 17 June 2027, as speakers warned that the systematic exclusion of women and girls from public life continues to undermine Afghanistan’s prospects for peace, stability and recovery.

The European Union is preparing to host the Taliban in Brussels for the first time for "technical talks" on the repatriation of Afghans despite sharp criticism from rights groups and signs Afghanistan's rulers are cracking down further on women.

A Taliban crackdown on women’s dress code in Afghanistan has escalated into a rare mass street protest in the western province of Herat, with at least two people, including one boy, killed by security forces.

Russia and the Afghan Taliban have signed a deal on repairing Soviet-era and Russian-made weapons, a seemingly small move in a larger game involving the US, Pakistan and Moscow's efforts to curb Western influence. 

Afghanistan's Taliban authorities have closed down three local radio stations in the latest move in an ongoing crackdown that has seen the country's media landscape decimated since the militant group seized power for a second time in 2021.

The European Commission has invited officials from Afghanistan's Taliban to discuss the returns of certain migrants. It's controversial on humanitarian grounds, and because Brussels doesn't recognize Taliban authority.

[…] The comment was issued by the foreign ministry in Kabul amid talks aimed at halting cross-border fighting between the two neighbours, which were launched last week following an invitation by China.