BBC News: Boris Johnson authorised the evacuation of animals from Afghanistan during the fall of Kabul, according to emails leaked by a whistleblower. The PM has previously dismissed as “nonsense” claims he intervened in the evacuation of the Nowzad charity, run by former Royal Marine Pen Farthing. But an email from an official in minister
8am: The United States has informed Afghan diplomats in Washington that it is shutting down the Afghan embassy in the country, Al Arabiya English TV reported. According to Al Arabiya English TV, the US will close all Afghan diplomatic missions in the country. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News: Doctors expressed concern over the sharp increase of patients infected by COVID-19, saying that the number of reported patients showing the symptoms of the new COVID-19 variant has risen by 70 percent within the past week compared to the week before. They called on citizens to take the virus seriously. Click here to
8am: The Free Speech Hub has reported that the Taliban forces had forcibly canceled the news conference of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). Before holding the conference, a bunch of Taliban forces rushed to the meeting place, threatening and pressuring the federation’s officials to cancel the conference, according to the FSH’s statement. Click here
Margaret Besheer VOA News January 26, 2022 The U.N. secretary-general warned on Wednesday that Afghanistan is “hanging by a thread,” as the organization appealed for a total of $8 billion to scale up humanitarian assistance to more than 22 million Afghans this year. “When it comes to complex humanitarian emergencies, Afghanistan is as bad as
Fair Observer: Victory against the US, ethnic conflict within Afghanistan and disappointment with Islamabad could lead the Taliban to create a new Pashtun state on the ruins of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Click here to read more (external link).
8am: The Taliban carried out a three-hour operation against the National Resistance Front (NRF) forces, according to Sharifullah Sangin, a member of (NRF) in the Darah Charkh-e-Falak district of Khost in Baghlan province. Mr. Sangin said that two members of the (NRF) were killed and wounded in the clashes, however, no figures are available for
Al Jazeera: The Afghan Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice plastered posters across Kabul’s cafés and shops earlier this month to encourage the wearing of the burqa, a full-body veil that also covers the face. It did not issue an official directive. Click here to read more (external link).
The Guardian (UK): The lives of LGBTQ+ people in Afghanistan have “dramatically worsened” under Taliban rule, according to a new survey, which highlights cases of violence, gang-rape and death threats since the group seized power last year. The report, by Human Rights Watch (HRW), recorded nearly 60 cases of targeted violence against LGBTQ+ people since