Afghanistan

• Five years after the chaotic US withdrawal, Afghanistan remains gripped by one of the world's most severe humanitarian and human rights emergencies. • The situation has worsened following the US president's decision in early 2025 to terminate nearly all USAID humanitarian and development contracts. • This policy shift resulted in the loss of more than $1.7 billion in planned assistance, further destabilizing the region's impoverished population.

• Human rights campaigners are expressing growing concern that increasing global diplomatic ties with the Taliban are undermining pressure for human rights improvements in Afghanistan. • Fereshta Abbasi of Human Rights Watch highlighted the tension between the necessity of engagement for aid agencies to mitigate the humanitarian crisis and the ambiguity of the long-term goals of these contacts. • The situation matters because normalization of relations may signal acceptance of the Taliban's governance without securing essential protections for the Afghan population.

Campaigners fear deeper diplomatic contacts are undermining demands for improvements in human rights The Taliban in Afghanistan have launched a diplomatic effort to end their isolation as major regional and international powers show a readiness to engage more closely with the repressive regime despite its systematic human rights abuses.Five years after the Taliban took power, an increasing number of countries are renewing ties or scaling up diplomatic contacts with the hardline Islamists, who seized power in Kabul in 2021 after 20 years of brutal insurgent warfare. Continue reading...

• Five years after the Taliban seized power in Kabul, Afghans face a starkly divided reality where some report improvements while many others endure increasing hardship. • Syria continues to struggle with the aftermath of over a decade of conflict, which resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths and a massive global displacement crisis. • These reports highlight the ongoing humanitarian challenges and slow recovery processes in regions destabilized by long-term political upheaval and war.

Attorney general grants former army lawyer’s release after 27 months in jail Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastDavid McBride, the former army lawyer jailed for his role in stealing secret defence documents about the Afghanistan war and leaking them to the media, has been released from prison in Canberra on Thursday.McBride was sentenced to a maximum five years and eight months in jail in May 2024, but is being released on parole after serving his full non-parole period of 27 months. Continue reading...

National disaster agency confirms ‘severe financial and human losses’ in remote province of NuristanAt least 20 people have been killed and more than 80 injured in flooding that hit Afghanistan’s Nuristan province, the country’s disaster management agency said Monday.In Parun, the provincial capital, a further 105 people including the mayor were missing, said Feraidon Samim, a spokesperson for the Nuristan governor. Continue reading...

• The United Nations warned on Monday that Afghanistan is currently facing one of the world's largest displacement crises due to poverty, climate shocks, and decades of conflict. • A recent UNDP socioeconomic review highlights that the return of approximately 2.7 million Afghans is placing immense pressure on the country's fragile economy and public services. • This crisis is exacerbated by recurring natural disasters and prolonged humanitarian challenges, which threaten the livelihoods of communities already struggling to recover.