After a deadly second wave spurred changes in India’s vaccine policy, the country announced it had given 7.5 million coronavirus vaccine doses Monday – a new single day record for inoculations.The previous high mark was 4.5 million on April 5, which was reportedly followed by a decline to below 3 million a day.The surge in vaccinations follows distribution changes announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this month. Under the new plan, the government would buy 75% of the vaccines and give them to the states free of charge.  India says it aims to inoculate 950 million adults by December, but experts say in order to do that, it will have to give 10 million shots a day. Less than 5% of adults are fully vaccinated, Reuters reported.India is using a locally produced AstraZeneca vaccine as well as Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, made by an Indian company.During the country’s second wave, which peaked in May, some 400,000 new cases were reported per day. Around 170,000 died between April and May.But over the past 24 hours, the infection rate has dropped below 55,000 new cases, according to Reuters.
…

Afghanistan’s former president said Sunday the United States came to his country to fight extremism and bring stability to his war-tortured nation and is leaving nearly 20 years later having failed at both. In an interview with The Associated Press just weeks before the last U.S. and NATO troops leave Afghanistan, ending their ‘forever war,’ Hamid Karzai said extremism is at its “highest point” and the departing troops are leaving behind a disaster.  “The international community came here 20 years ago with this clear objective of fighting extremism and bringing stability … but extremism is at the highest point today. So they have failed,” he said.  Their legacy is a war-ravaged nation in “total disgrace and disaster.” “We recognize as Afghans all our failures, but what about the bigger forces and powers who came here for exactly that purpose? Where are they leaving us now?” he asked and answered: “In total disgrace and disaster.” Still, Karzai, who had a conflicted relationship with the United States during his 13-year rule, wanted the troops to leave, saying Afghans were united behind an overwhelming desire for peace and needed now to take responsibility for their future. “We will be better off without their military presence,” he said. “I think we should defend our own country and look after our own lives. … Their presence (has given us) what we have now. … We don’t want to continue with this misery and indignity that we are facing. It is better for Afghanistan that they leave.” Karzai’s rule followed the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001 by a U.S.-led coalition that launched its invasion to hunt down and destroy the al-Qaida network and its leader, Osama bin Laden, blamed for the 9/11 attacks on America.  During Karzai’s rule, women re-emerged, girls again attended school, a vibrant, young civil society emerged, new high-rises went up in the capital Kabul and roads and infrastructure were built. But his rule was also characterized by allegations of widespread corruption, a flourishing drug trade and in the final years relentless quarrels with Washington that continue even until today.Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai leaves after an interview with the Associated Press at his house, in Kabul, Afghanistan, June 20, 2021.“The (US/NATO military) campaign was not against extremism or terrorism, the campaign was more against Afghan villages and hopes; putting Afghan people in prisons, creating prisons in our own country … and bombing all villages. That was very wrong.” In April, when President Joe Biden announced the final withdrawal of the remaining 2,500-3,500 troops, he said America was leaving having achieved its goals. Al-Qaida had been greatly diminished and bin Laden was dead. America no longer needed boots on the ground to fight the terrorist threats that might emanate from Afghanistan, he said. Still, the U.S.’s attempts to bring about a political end to the decades of war have been elusive. It signed a deal with the Taliban in February 2020 to withdraw its troops in exchange for a Taliban promise to denounce terrorist groups and keep Afghanistan from again being a staging arena for attacks on America. There is little evidence the Taliban are fulfilling their part of the bargain. The United Nations claims the Taliban and al-Qaida are still linked. The architect of the U.S. deal and current U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad says some progress has been made but without offering any details. Karzai has had harsh words and uncompromising criticism of U.S. war tactics over the past two decades in Afghanistan. Yet he has become a linchpin of sorts in a joint effort being launched by the United States and Britain to get a quarrelsome Afghan leadership in Kabul united enough to talk peace with the Taliban. The insurgent group has shown little interest in negotiating and instead has stepped up its assaults on government positions. The Taliban have made considerable strides since the May 1 start of the U.S. and NATO withdrawal. They have overrun dozens of districts, often negotiating their surrender from Afghan national security forces.  But in many instances the fighting has been intense. Just last week a brutal assault by the Taliban in northern Faryab province killed 22 of Afghanistan’s elite commandos, led by a local hero Col. Sohrab Azimi, who was also killed and widely mourned. “The desire of the Afghan people, overwhelmingly, all over the country is for peace,” said Karzai, who despite being out of power since 2014 has lost little of his political influence and is most often at the center of the country’s political machinations. Diplomats, Western officials, generals, tribal elders and politicians on all ends of Afghanistan’s political spectrum regularly beat a path to Karzai’s door in the heart of the Afghan capital. As the final military withdrawal is already more than 50% complete, the need for a political settlement or even a visible path to an eventual settlement would seem to be taking on greater urgency even as Afghans by the thousands are seeking an exit. They say they are frustrated by relentless corruption, marauding criminal gangs — some linked to the powerful warlords in Kabul —and worsening insecurity. Few see a future that is not violent. Karzai had a message for both sides in the conflict: “The two Afghan sides, none of them should be fighting.” While accusing both Pakistan, where the Taliban leadership is headquartered, and the United States of stoking the fighting, Karzai said it is up to Afghans to end decades of war. To Pakistan’s military and civilian leadership, Karzai said Afghanistan wants “a civilized relationship… if Pakistan adopts an attitude away from the use of extremism against Afghanistan, this relationship can grow into a beautiful relationship, into a very fruitful relationship for both sides.” To the warring sides in Afghanistan, Karzai said: “I’m very emphatic and clear about this, both sides should think of the lives of the Afghan people and the property… fighting is destruction.” “The only answer is Afghans getting together. … We must recognize that this is our country and we must stop killing each other.” 
…

The Taliban attempted Sunday to convince the global community a “genuine Islamic system” that the hardline insurgent group is seeking in a post-conflict Afghanistan would allow women to work and seek education “with confidence.” 
 
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, deputy chief for Taliban political affairs, outlined the assurance in a statement his office released to media, renewing a commitment to finding a negotiated settlement to the Afghan war. 
 
The statement came amid an unprecedented increase in fighting between Afghan government forces and the Taliban as U.S.-brokered slow-moving peace negotiations between the two adversaries failed to make any headway. 
 
Meanwhile, the United States and NATO allies are withdrawing their last remaining troops from Afghanistan by a September 11 deadline, raising fears of more bloodshed and chaos that could encourage the Islamist Taliban to regain power through military means. The insurgents have overrun dozens of Afghan districts since the foreign troop drawdown formally began on May 1. 
 
“A genuine Islamic system is the best means for solution of all issues of the Afghans,” Baradar maintained. “Our very participation in the negotiations and its support on our part indicates openly that we believe in resolving issues through [mutual] understanding.” 
 
The Taliban are largely blamed for the deadlock in what are known as the intra-Afghan negotiations being hosted by Doha, the capital of Qatar. 
 
Critics say the insurgents have not yet submitted a peace plan as to what type of governance system they would want and whether the dialogue process would eventually lead to safeguarding rights of all Afghans, particularly women. 
 
“We understand that the world and Afghans have queries and questions about the form of the system to be established following withdrawal of foreign troops,” said Baradar, who also heads the Taliban’s political office in Doha. 
 
Baradar said his group would ensure protection of rights of all minorities and facilitate the work of diplomats as well as global non-governmental organizations operating out of the poverty-stricken country. 
 
“We take it on ourselves as a commitment to accommodate all rights of citizens of our country, whether they are male or female, in the light of the rules of the glorious religion of Islam and the noble traditions of the Afghan society,” he said. 
 
He did not elaborate on whether the Taliban would allow women to carry out public roles and whether workplaces as well as schools would be segregated by gender as was the case after the Islamic group swept to power in 1996 and went on to rule the country for five years. 
 
Mohammad Naeem, who speaks for the Taliban’s Doha office, told VOA when contacted for clarification that his group has always supported and “respected” all those rights of women that are “granted by Islam to them and that are in line with Afghan cultural traditions.” He dismissed as “misplaced propaganda” anything that counters the group’s stated policy. 
 
“However, the details and the contours will be determined once we have the system in place and our prominent religious scholars work out those details through consensus,” Naeem said when asked whether the Taliban would allow women to participate in politics and carry out other public roles. 
 
The Taliban had imposed a harsh version of Islamic law that barred girls from school and women from stepping out of their homes without a male relative, among other controversial measures. 
 
The U.S.-led military invasion of Afghanistan nearly 20 years ago ousted the Taliban from power for harboring al-Qaida leaders who plotted the September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. 
 
There are growing concerns that if the Taliban return to power in a dominant way, they will roll back the progress made in Afghan women’s rights with the help and massive U.S. financial assistance over the past two decades. 
 
Afghan women activists have vowed to defend those gains. 
 
Sahraa Karimi, an artist and independent filmmaker, said both negotiating teams must be willing to make compromises to move the peace process forward. 
 
“But there is a difference between a compromise and forcing something on the other side. If they [Taliban] want to ignore Afghan women, there wouldn’t be peace,” Karimi told VOA. “The new generation of Afghan women are very well aware about their rights. They are not the women of 1990s. So, they [Taliban] should accept us. They cannot force us to go backward.” 
 
Fatima Gailani is one of the four women who are part of Kabul’s 21-member team negotiating peace with the Taliban. She says her delegation has made it clear to insurgent interlocutors that the space Afghan women have acquired over the years must be preserved in any eventual arrangement. 
 
“They [Taliban] do say that what happened [to women] during that situation [when Taliban ruled Kabul], was a mistake and it was something which happened in a hurry,” Gailani told a seminar in Islamabad last week. She had been asked whether, in their talks, they had raised concerns stemming from the Taliban’s treatment of women previously. 
 
Gailani spoke from Doha via video phone to the participants of the unofficial dialogue between Afghan and Pakistani lawmakers, officials and activists on peace prospects in Afghanistan.  
 
The Taliban defend the policies of the ousted government, saying the country was in the grip of a deadly civil war at the time and lawlessness required emergency measures to ensure protection of women. 
…

Armenia’s political fate hangs in the balance ahead of a parliamentary election on Sunday, with opinion polls putting the party of acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and that of former President Robert Kocharyan neck-and-neck.The Armenian government called the snap election to try to end a political crisis that erupted after ethnic Armenian forces lost a bloody six-week war against Azerbaijan last year and ceded territory in and around the Nagorno-Karabakh region.Pashinyan has been under pressure ever since, with regular street protests demanding he step down over the terms of the peace agreement that ended the conflict. Under the deal, which Russia brokered, Azerbaijan regained control of territory it had lost during a war in the early 1990s.Pashinyan himself called the agreement a disaster, but said he had been compelled to sign it in order to prevent greater human and territorial losses.According to a recent Gallup International poll conducted June 7-10, 24.1% of voters were ready to vote for Kocharyan’s Armenia Alliance and 23.8% for Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party.Russia, Turkey watchingArmenia, which hosts a Russian military base, is a close ally of Moscow, though Pashinyan, who came to power on the back of street protests and on an anti-corruption agenda in 2018, has had cooler relations with the Kremlin.”We wish a successful election to our close ally and partner,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday.Turkey, which supported Azerbaijan in last year’s conflict, will also be watching closely.Pashinyan’s main rival is Kocharyan, a native of Nagorno-Karabakh, the region that was fought over last year. It is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but has long been claimed by ethnic Armenians, too.He was president of Armenia from 1998 to 2008 and was accused of acting unlawfully when he introduced a state of emergency in March 2008 following a disputed election. At least 10 people were killed in the clashes that followed between the police and protesters.In a recent interview with Russia’s RT TV channel, Kocharyan accused Armenian leaders of inaction during last year’s war and pledged to start negotiations on Nagorno-Karabakh’s borders if he came to power.
…

Ahead of World Refugee Day, the World Food Program is appealing for international support for millions of destitute refugees, many of whom are facing hunger because money to feed them has dried up. The World Food Program assists more than 115 million people in 80 countries.  Currently, it has received just 55 percent of the $15.3 billion it needs to implement its life-saving operations this year.To make ends meet, it has been forced to make draconian cuts in food rations for millions of refugees across eastern and southern Africa, as well as the Middle East.  WFP spokesman Tomson Phiri says in eastern Africa alone, nearly three-quarters of refugees have had their food rations cut by half.”In Southern Africa, refugees in Tanzania who depend entirely on WFP assistance have had their rations cut by almost one-third,” said Phiri.  “Significant funding shortages for the Syria Regional Refugee Response mean 242,000 refugees in Jordan may be cut off from assistance at the end of August unless more funding is received.”   Phiri says the WFP urgently requires $4.5 billion over the coming six months to restore those benefits.   “If we do not get money, we may be forced to prioritize further or even to suspend activities.  This will affect vulnerable groups depending on WFP support, particularly malnourished children,” said Phiri.  “You have other vulnerable groups or other populations of concern.  Pregnant and expecting mothers, nursing mothers.  They are all parts lumped together in that category that we refer to as refugees.”  The U.N. refugee agency says a record number of more than 80 million refugees and internally displaced people have been forced to flee their homes because of war, violence, and persecution.  It says most of those forcibly displaced live precariously on the margins of society, with little hope of returning home any time soon.As nations prepare to commemorate World Refugee Day, the World Food Program is urging donors not to turn their back on the most vulnerable people when they need their support more than ever.  
…

Donations to the Afghan Taliban are on the upswing in Pakistan border regions as the militant group intensifies attacks against Afghan forces ahead of the U.S. troop withdrawal, locals told VOA.Multiple sources and eyewitnesses on the ground with knowledge of these donations have confirmed to VOA that fundraising for the Taliban has continued in various parts of Pakistan.An informed resident of Duki, the capital of Baluchistan province some 148 kilometers east of Quetta  — told VOA that Afghan Taliban militants stay with coal miners in the nearby mountains and come to the bazaar area every Friday to solicit 5,000-10,000 Pakistani rupees ($50 to $70) from shopkeepers.”They are coming on motorbikes and asking larger stores for contributions. They say that they belong to the Taliban movement and that they are fighting in Allah’s path,” said the resident, who did not want to be named because he fears retaliation by the militants.”In the past, they were coming to a few mosques. But recently they have started coming to collect contributions from shops,” he added.A member of the Baluchistan assembly, who also requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, told VOA that members of the Taliban openly hold fundraising campaigns in several districts of the province.”It is not a secret,” he said. “It is going on in Quetta, Kuchlak Bypass, Pashtun Abad, Ishaq Abad, Farooqia Town.”The lawmaker added that he suspects Taliban supporters used the money to fund the insurgents’ recent fight against the U.S.-backed government in Afghanistan.More Taliban sightingsA resident of Quetta, where Quetta Shura — a militant organization linked to the Afghan Taliban — is allegedly based, said he regularly witnesses the Taliban at mosques.”I went there for the Friday prayers,” he said. “A Talib with long hair gave a five-minute speech. He said that they were fighting and we should help them financially.”‘If someone cannot go to jihad, he should support us financially,'” the resident said, quoting the Taliban orator.Multiple videos have recently surfaced on social media platforms, showing people allegedly collecting donations for the Taliban. VOA could not independently verify the authenticity of these videos.The increased fundraising comes as the Taliban have captured more than a dozen districts across Afghanistan.Some Afghan officials say the militants have become emboldened since the United States and its NATO allies began withdrawing remaining forces on May 1.Money sourcesDonations are only one of the sources through which the insurgent group finances its bloody insurgency against the Afghan government.Noor Zaman Achakzai, a reporter and analyst of the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, said the Taliban have sources of income beyond donations.”Taliban have numerous sources of wealth. They collect double the tax gathered by Afghan authorities, from smuggling, transportation of oil, narcotics, weapons and local cultivation,” he said. “In Ramadan, they also received huge Zakat (alms) from Islamic countries.”The United Nations also says the Taliban subsidize their insurgency through drug trafficking, kidnapping for ransom, illegal mining and taxation in areas under their control.The annual Taliban income from different sources is estimated to be between $300 million and $1.6 billion, according to a U.N. report.Pakistan positionPakistan’s government says that it has strict laws to curb terror financing and that it prosecutes individuals and groups accused of fundraising for militants.Islamabad often points to several high-profile arrests and convictions in recent years of key leaders of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the fundraising front of U.S.-designated terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba.The group’s leader, Hafiz Saeed, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for terrorism-financing charges in early 2020. The group’s other prominent leader, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, was sentenced to five years in prison for similar charges in early January.Some critics, however, charge that Islamabad’s actions against these individuals are symbolic and aimed at improving its image at the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF).FATF, a global terror-financing and money-laundering watchdog, has retained Pakistan’s “gray list” status for its failure to curb terror financing and money laundering.Liaquat Shahwani, a spokesperson for the Baluchistan government, told VOA that local authorities had “no such information” that the Taliban were collecting funds in the province.”After the FATF, we legislated in the Baluchistan parliament under the Social Welfare Act to strictly forbid any group from collecting funds,” Shahwani told VOA.”If any such fact emerges, then we will definitely take notice and action under our laws,” he said, referring to the videos of alleged Taliban fundraising at mosques.BanSome analysts in Pakistan say the government has been effective in banning Taliban activities in cities but not so much in rural areas bordering Afghanistan.A Punjab-based correspondent, Mohammed Asad, told VOA that in various communities, loudspeakers have been confined to mosque interiors, donation boxes have been removed from outside, and security officials regularly patrol prayers to prevent fundraising campaigns.Faizullah Khan, a journalist in Sindh, said it was no longer possible for the Afghan Taliban to collect donations from inner cities.”However, in the far-flung areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan, complaints of Taliban donations have appeared on social media, and there are such videos,” he told VOA.Religious partiesThe Taliban enjoy the support of mainstream Islamic parties such as Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) and Jamaat-i-Islami, which have been part of the government.Some of the parties, including JUI, were involved in training the Taliban when they first emerged in 1990s.Shuja ul Mulk, a leader of the party who also served in the National Assembly of Pakistan, told VOA that he wished success for the Taliban, “who have made many sacrifices, and with whom we share a common ideology.”He did not deny, however, that funds were being collected from JUI for the Afghan Taliban, adding that individuals who join the insurgency have the right to do so of their own free will.”JUI Shoora has a system, and we have a stand, but everyone has his own stand, and we don’t have the right to stop them,” he added.Anwarullah Khan, from the Bajaur tribal area, says that unlike after 9/11, religious parties such as JUI and Jamaat-i-Islami no longer openly solicit for fighters or donations for Afghanistan.”There are such reports from North and South Waziristan, but it’s not done publicly,” he told VOA.JUI Nazriati, which splintered off from JUI after 9/11, remains among the Taliban’s most loyal supporters.The group’s leader, Maulana Abdul Qadir Luni, openly supports Afghan jihad in speeches, rallies and videos, according to Chaman-based reporter Noor Zaman Achakzai.The same group also held funeral prayers for Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaida terror group, who was killed in the 2011 U.S. special forces raid in Abbottabad.Nafisa Hoodbhoy contributed to this report from Washington. 
…

Military officials and security analysts foresee the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan — due for completion in the coming months — as an opportunity for China and Russia to compete for influence there.“Afghanistan is clearly a place of interest” for China, Gen. Frank McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), said during an interview with VOA in Egypt Tuesday.Noting China’s aggressive drive to build infrastructure across Asia and beyond, he said, “Anywhere you see [these projects] across the Middle East, that’s where in fact nations are vulnerable. I think Afghanistan is going to be one of those areas as we go forward.”WATCH: Gen. Frank McKenzie Talks to VOASorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
Army Gen. Joseph Votel speaks to reporters May 21, 2016 during a secret trip to Syria.“We should expect to see more of that,” Votel said, adding that as America’s military presence is cut, the U.S. must “make sure that our diplomatic house is in order” through confirmed ambassadors and well-resourced, in-country State Department teams that can defend and support U.S. interests.For years, China has been expanding its economic power through “Belt and Road” initiatives across the globe, providing affordable infrastructure in the short-term, in exchange for long-term debt repayment plans that leave countries more dependent on China’s authoritarian government. Beijing has already said that it wants to expand the program to Afghanistan.China’s Interests in AfghanistanChina opposed the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan nearly 20 years ago, but now also opposes a quick American withdrawal which, Beijing says, could leave the country in even more turmoil.Last month following another deadly attack in Kabul, a spokesperson for FILE – Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, left, shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on April 25, 2019, as part of the second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing.This handout photo taken from a video released on April 22, 2021 by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, shows Russian troops take part in drills in Crimea.Although the Soviet Union collapsed in December 1991, Russia continues to see itself as a dominant player in Central Asia, where it maintains a significant military presence. “Moscow is the region’s largest arms supplier and has thousands of troops stationed at bases in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan,” according toFILE – A protester from the Uighur community living in Turkey holds up an anti-China placard during a protest in Istanbul, Turkey, Oct. 1, 2020.Michael Yahuda, an emeritus professor of international relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science, told VOA Mandarin in an email that China and Russia have different interests in Afghanistan.“China fears that its Uighurs may both draw strength from their fellow Uighurs in Afghanistan, who may supply terrorists and others to make life difficult for the Chinese. The Chinese can be expected to be more active in Afghanistan,” he said. “But Russia will be unlikely to do much. The memory of its humiliation there is still fresh.”Ross from Boston College agrees. He said that only China has the resources and the political will to play a role in post-war Afghanistan, and the SCO will be a platform, but not the only platform.He suggests it’s likely that the Chinese will take a two-way approach, pumping up the anti-terrorism initiative with the SCO while simultaneously working independently with Afghans to build a lasting economic initiative. 
…

The Taliban said Friday its leaders already had conveyed to Turkey their opposition to any foreign troops remaining in Afghanistan after the U.S. and NATO forces leave the war-torn country by a September 11 deadline.The insurgent group’s statement comes a day after U.S. officials said President Joe Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed in their meeting Monday that Turkey would continue providing security at the international airport in Kabul, the Afghan capital, following the troop pullout.“The clear commitment from the leaders was established that Turkey would play a lead role in securing Hamid Karzai International Airport, and we are now working through how to execute to get to that,” Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, told reporters Thursday.Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, when asked for a response to Sullivan’s comments, told VOA that guarding the airports and other locations in the country is the responsibly of Afghans.FILE – Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.“If foreign forces want to retain a military presence here in the name of airport security, Afghans will not allow it and will view them as invaders, be it Turkey or any other country,” Mujahid told VOA.He insisted the Taliban maintain “diplomatic ties” with Turkey and seek “brotherly” relations with the Islamic country. “In recent meetings and discussions with Turkish diplomats they had shared with us [Turkey’s] proposed continued military presence here, but we told them it was unacceptable for us. And they assured us that our stance will be conveyed to their leadership,” Mujahid said. He added that Turkey and America can discuss their bilateral issues, but it is for Afghans alone to decide on how to conduct their “internal affairs and expect others to respect it.”Turkey has about 500 troops stationed in Afghanistan as part of a NATO-led non-combatant military mission in the country and has long provided security for the airport. Kabul airport security is crucial for the working of diplomatic missions in Afghanistan amid concerns intensified hostilities between the Taliban and Afghan forces could plunge the country into another round of civil war following the withdrawal. The Taliban previously also has expressed opposition to any foreign military presence in post-withdrawal Afghanistan. Sullivan, however, dismissed those assertions, saying Biden and Erdogan tasked their teams to work together to finalize the proposed security plan.   
 
“We do not believe that what the Taliban has said publicly should or will deter the efforts underway right now to establish that security presence, which in turn will enable international missions —diplomatic missions to operate,” Sullivan said. Australia, which has roughly 80 remaining troops in Afghanistan announced the sudden closure of its diplomatic mission in Kabul earlier this month. US-Taliban dealThe U.S.-led military drawdown, which formally began on May 1, is stemming from an agreement Washington negotiated with the Taliban in February 2020, to end nearly 20 years of American involvement in the Afghan war.   NATO Assistance Essential as US Withdraws from Afghanistan, CENTCOM Chief Says Top US commander in the region says help from NATO allies will be important to keep the pressure on terror groups 
The Taliban say Turkey’s plans to guard and run the Kabul airport will be a violation of the U.S.-Taliban deal. Peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban, however, which resulted in the deal, have had little success and have mostly been stalled, with each side blaming the other for the deadlock.Russia also endorsed Friday the Taliban’s assertions. Russian media quoted Moscow’s presidential envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, as saying that Turkey’s proposed plans run counter to the U.S.-Taliban agreement. “Of course, this is a violation,” Kabulov said.Taliban advancesThe Taliban also have stepped up attacks and made significant battlefield gains across the country since the foreign troop withdrawal started, capturing fully or partially more than two dozen districts.Mainstream Afghan TV channel Arian News reported Friday the insurgents have seized control of 37 districts in the past month or so.Afghan forces have launched counteroffensives to regain the lost territory, leaving scores of combatants dead on both sides. The Defense Ministry claimed Friday that Afghan forces had killed nearly 300 insurgents across different provinces in the last 24 hours. The Taliban also made similar claims of inflicting heavy casualties on government forces, and it released videos on its social media platforms showing scores of Afghan forces surrendering to the insurgents or joining their ranks. Both Afghan rivals routinely issue inflated claims about the fighting, which are difficult to verify from independent sources and the real situation remains unclear. The increase in hostilities also is inflicting casualties on Afghan civilians, who have borne the brunt of the long conflict.
…

The World Food Program warns tens of millions of people, mainly in Africa, are teetering on the brink of famine because of conflict, climate shocks and economic downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic.The U.N. food agency estimates more than 270 million people, most of them in Africa and the Middle East, around the world are acutely food insecure, with millions at risk of starving to death.  It says the number of people at imminent risk of famine has increased from 34 million last year to 41 million now.   Climate-Related Drought Disasters Threaten Development, UN Warns UN report says climate change is causing more intense global drought disasters, which are threatening agricultural production and world’s safe water supplyWithout immediate emergency food aid, World Food Program spokesman Tomson Phiri warns the slightest shock will push those extremely vulnerable people over the cliff into famine.  He says more than half-a-million people already are facing famine-like conditions.”These are people in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, Madagascar—particularly in the southern part, South Sudan, especially now as we are now at the height of the lean season in that country and Yemen,” Phiri said.Phiri says Nigeria and Burkina Faso also are of particular concern because in recent months pockets of people have been in a state of famine.  He says the WFP is mounting the biggest operation in its history to avert the catastrophic situation from taking hold.   “WFP is focused on scaling up life-saving food and nutrition assistance to meet the essential needs of those furthest behind, overcoming access challenges and expanding cash-based transfers with significant scale-ups foreseen across several operations,” Phiri said.  Hunger Threatens Ethiopia’s Tigray RegionSix months into conflict, concern rises over disruptions to food aid and coming planting seasonPhiri says the WFP is targeting its food assistance program to 139 million people in countries at particular risk, including Ethiopia, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Sudan, and Syria.  He says the WFP will need $5 billion to carry out the mammoth operation this year.
…

The Delta variant of the coronavirus, first detected in India, has been detected in neighboring Sri Lanka.  “It is the worst we could have imaged at such a time,” Dr. Chandima Jeewandara, director of the Allergy, Immunity and Cell Biology Unit at the Sri Jayewardenepura University, told The Hindu newspaper.  “We are already dealing with a spike in cases with the Alpha variant. Delta poses a greater risk because our vaccine coverage is low, and among those who are vaccinated a majority have got only one dose.”According to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center, Sri Lanka, a nation of about 22 million people, has more than 233,000 COVID cases.In South Korea, a delay in the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines has pushed the government to offer its residents mixed doses.   People who received the Astra Zeneca vaccine as a first dose will now be offered the Pfizer vaccine for the second.A panel of health care experts say they believe India will likely experience a third surge of coronavirus cases in October.  “It will be more controlled” than previous surges, said Dr. Randeep Guleria, director at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, because some people have been inoculated.On Friday, India reported more than 62,000 new COVID-19 cases in the previous 24 period. The nation also reported 1,587 COVID-19 deaths, the country’s lowest death toll in 60 days.Johns Hopkins said early Friday it has recorded more than 177 million global COVID-19 cases.  The U.S. leads the world in the number of cases with 33.5 million, followed by India with 29.8 million and Brazil with 17.7 million.  Worldwide deaths from the disease have now topped 3.84 million.Johns Hopkins also said 2.5 billion vaccine doses have been administered.
…

Top U.S. defense officials are sounding a dire warning about the danger Afghanistan’s top terror groups will pose to America once the last U.S. and coalition troops leave the country in the coming months.Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers Thursday that it will take groups like al-Qaida or Islamic State “possibly about two years” to regenerate the capability to plan attacks against the United States and its Western allies.The nation’s top-ranking military officer, Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, further warned that this timeline could be accelerated depending on the fate of the current Afghan government.Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley looks on during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing in Washington, June 17, 2021.“If there was a collapse of the government or a dissolution of the Afghan security forces, that risk would obviously increase,” Milley said.U.S. President Joe Biden announced in April the decision to pull all remaining U.S. forces from Afghanistan, arguing that the United States has already achieved its original goal — to hold al-Qaida and its leader Osama bin Laden to account for carrying out the deadly September 11, 2001, terror attacks on New York’s World Trade Center and the Pentagon.“We delivered justice to bin Laden,” Biden said in a speech to a joint session of Congress. “And we degraded the terror threat of al-Qaida in Afghanistan. … After 20 years of valiant valor and sacrifice, it’s time to bring those troops home.”But concerns about the potential for al-Qaida and Islamic State in Afghanistan, known as IS-Khorasan, to reemerge without U.S. boots on the ground have persisted.U.S. military and intelligence officials have warned repeatedly of a possible ripple effect that could destabilize Afghanistan, as well as its neighbors, giving terror groups a long-awaited opening to strengthen and grow their operations.”Anywhere that we see a significant terror presence, there is a danger of that becoming some kind of platform to threaten the homeland from,” Christine Abizaid, nominated to lead the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, told lawmakers last week, noting the need for the U.S. to maintain “relentless pressure” on groups like al-Qaida and IS to minimize the danger.”That is true for the Af-Pak region just as it is true for #Iraq-#Syria, for North #Africa & various other areas where an #ISIS & #alQaida presence, in particular remain” per #NCTC nominee Abizaid, noting need for “relentless pressure”— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) June 9, 2021A recent assessment by United Nations member states has likewise raised concern, warning that Afghanistan’s Taliban insurgents appear poised to topple the current Afghan government by force if negotiations fail to produce favorable results.It also warned that contrary to the Taliban’s promise to sever ties with al-Qaida, the relationship “has grown deeper as a consequence of personal bonds of marriage and shared partnership in struggle, now cemented through second-generational ties.”For the most part, officials at the White House and at the Pentagon have sought to assure the public that it will be possible to counter the potential reemergence of al-Qaida and IS, also known as ISIS, with long-range strikes, whether from bases or aircraft carriers in the Middle East.“We’re still going to have the capability to go in over-the-horizon to get after al-Qaida and ISIS should those targets emerge and be ones that we want to take,” General Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command, told VOA this past week. In the case of the several hundred IS fighters in Afghanistan, however, McKenzie warned that “continued CT [counterterrorism] pressure, continued direct pressure,” is all that has stood in the way of the group “coming back together and expanding their numbers.”And even though the U.S. withdrawal is more than 50% complete, plans for what the “over-the-horizon” capability will look like appear to be in flux.”We are talking to a wide range of countries about how we build effective over-the-horizon capacity, both from an intelligence & from a defense perspective” per @JakeSullivan46#Afghanistan#Pakistan#alQaida#ISIS— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) June 7, 2021″We’re in the process now of looking at the over-the-horizon architecture that we need to have,” Ronald Moultrie, the Defense Department’s undersecretary for intelligence and security, told lawmakers last week.“We’ve been having weekly, almost daily discussions on how to do this,” Moultrie added. “We’re going to have to work very closely with our partners and allies to ensure that it’s a robust architecture.”Time is running out, with U.S. and coalition troops likely to be out of Afghanistan well before the September deadline set by Biden.”There are no guarantees in any of this,” Milley told lawmakers Thursday. “There’s a range of outcomes here.”Carla Babb contributed to this report.
…

In an effort to escape the insecurity and war in Afghanistan, thousands of Afghans make a difficult journey to Turkey illegally each year. VOA’s Lima Niazi brings us the story of two friends whose journey through Turkey and Europe ended, back in Afghanistan. Bezhan Hamdard narrates.Camera: Lima Niazi   Produced by: Lima Niazi 
 
…

Dozens of people at the U.S. embassy in Afghanistan have tested positive for the coronavirus, prompting officials to lock down much of the diplomatic mission.
 
Officials say one person has already died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, 114 people have been placed in quarantine and several people medically evacuated. Officials say 95 percent of the cases involve people who have not received a COVID-19 vaccine or who are not fully vaccinated. A person is fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the second shot in a two-shot regimen or two weeks after receiving the one-shot Johnson & Johnson dose.
 
Officials say that because of the outbreak, group activities are banned and that until the chain of transmission is broken, the restrictions will remain in force. They say military medical facilities are at full capacity and that temporary COVID-19 wards have been set up to provide oxygen to those who need it. The embassy says people will only be allowed to leave confinement for food or to exercise outdoors, alone.  
 
Authorities also say anyone violating the policy will be sent out of the country on the next available flight.
 
The outbreak comes as the United States withdraws military forces from Afghanistan after nearly 20 years of war.
 
The number of coronavirus cases in Afghanistan has sharply risen over the past few weeks, threatening to overwhelm the conflict-torn country’s fragile health system.
 
Afghan officials on Thursday recorded 2,313 positive cases and 101 deaths from the pandemic since Wednesday, the highest reported deaths in a single day since the outbreak hit the country in early 2020. The latest official figures increased the national tally of infections and deaths to nearly 99,000 and more than 3,900 respectively.  
 
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) warned in a statement that infection rates in Afghanistan have climbed by 2,400 percent in the past month. It noted 34 percent of tests returned positive results last week, pointing to many thousands of undiagnosed infections.  
 
“Afghanistan is at a crisis point in the battle to contain COVID-19 as hospital beds are full to capacity in the capital Kabul and in many areas,” an IFRC statement quoted Nilab Mobarez, acting president of the Afghan Red Crescent Society, as saying.
 
“This surge is fast spiraling out of control adding huge pressures on our fragile health system and millions of people living in poverty,” said Mobarez. “We fear that we are just a heartbeat away from the kind of horror that we have already seen in countries like India and Nepal.”FILE – An Afghan security officer stands guard at the Green Zone, which is home to a number of foreign embassies, in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 25, 2021.India’s COVID-19 outbreak has broken records for cases and deaths, though daily case numbers have been declining there since mid-May. But the Indian variant has spread to neighboring Nepal, where it is causing massive infections and straining a less-resourced health system.   
 
India recorded 29.7 million cases and 382,000 deaths while Nepal reported 614,000 and 8,558 as of Thursday.  
 
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs suspected Thursday the  Delta variant, first detected in India, could be responsible for the recent spike in Afghan cases.  
 
“While Afghanistan lacks in-country facilities to test for the variant that originated in India, concern over the variant’s spread is high as many of the patients hospitalized over the last four weeks have a history of recently returning from India or having contact with people who have,” the agency said in a statement.
Meanwhile, hospitals around Afghanistan have refused to accept new coronavirus patients, citing a lack of beds and oxygen shortages.
 
The global agency was working with Afghan authorities to provide more resources and try and boost medical oxygen production, said Necephor Mghendi, the head of the Afghanistan country delegation for IFRC.
 
“More international support is needed to help win this race against this virus, so we can save thousands of lives,” he said.
 
Afghan officials and aid groups say Afghanistan is also dealing with a vaccine shortfall exacerbated by a high level of hesitancy.
 
“Less than half a percent” of the country’s estimated 35 million population has so far been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to IFCR.
 
Adherence to safety measures such as wearing mask and physical distancing to prevent the disease from spreading are said to be “very low” across the country.
 
China donated around 700,000 doses of its Sinopharm vaccine last week, enabling Afghan authorities to start the next round of its national inoculation drive.
 
Afghanistan, one of the powers and most disaster-prone countries in Asia, is currently also in the grip of one of the worst drought crises in decades. The United Nations estimates nearly half the population is grappling with food shortages stemming from the drought.
 
Meanwhile, neighboring Pakistan has donated urgently needed medical supplies to Afghanistan, including ventilators, oxygen cylinders, personal protective equipment and other gear required to combat COVID19. The Afghan Foreign Ministry issued a statement welcoming the donation. 
…

The International Criminal Court has sworn in a top international defense lawyer as its new prosecutor.
 
British lawyer Karim Khan inherits investigations from outgoing prosecutor Fatou Bensouda in unsettled areas, such as the Palestinian territories, Myanmar and Afghanistan.
 
The 51-year-old Khan, who previously led the United Nations’ special team investigating Islamic State crimes in Iraq, vowed to reach out to non-member nations in his effort to end immunity for atrocities.  
 
The United States, Russia and China are not members of the 123-member ICC and do not recognize its authority.
 
The ICC, in need of resources, is currently handling 14 investigations and eight preliminary probes. Khan will be scrutinized as he handles investigations opposed by non-member countries like the United States, Russia and Israel.
 
The Trump administration sanctioned Bensouda over her decision to investigate allegations of war crimes in Afghanistan, including by American troops, and by Israeli troops and other armed groups in Palestinian territories.
 
President Joe Biden’s top U.S. diplomat, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, lifted the sanctions against Bensouda on April 2.
…

India’s iconic Taj Mahal monument reopened Wednesday as a devastating second wave of the coronavirus pandemic begins to ebb, prompting authorities to ease restrictions.  A steep decline in new infections this month has encouraged major cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru to reopen vast swathes of the economy, including tourist sites, hotels, shopping malls and restaurants.   But after reports came in of crowded markets and packed rail stations, doctors warned of a possible resurgence. India Breaks World Record After Posting 6,000 COVID Deaths in a Day World’s second-most populous nation records 6,148 deaths Thursday after revised count from eastern Bihar state “It’s going to be a major risk if COVID guidelines are not followed. I am very scared we could see a third wave very early if things go on like this,” said Suranjit Chatterjee, senior consultant of internal medicine at New Delhi’s Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in New Delhi. “Citizens have to be very careful and the government has to be also very strict in enforcing restrictions.”  Restricted numbers were allowed into the Taj Mahal in Agra city, with daily numbers capped at 5,000. Before the pandemic, India’s top tourist site saw nearly 20,000 visitors daily.
 
Television images showed people taking selfies as they posed outside the monument that is located in Uttar Pradesh, one of the state’s worst hit by the second wave.  However, tourism industry representatives are not optimistic of a quick revival. “The situation is grim. We only expect people from cities around Agra to visit and this will not bring immediate relief because the tourist economy is largely sustained by international visitors,” said Rajiv Tiwari, president of the Federation of Travel Association of Agra. “So many tourist guides, drivers etc. are hand to mouth, and things are unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels for two to three years.”  Tourism dependent towns like Agra are suffering for the second time since the pandemic hit. The monument had reopened in September following last year’s stringent lockdown but was shut again two months ago.  FILE – A small group of tourists visit the Taj Mahal in Agra, India,September 21, 2020.Still, it’s reopening brought a glimmer of hope to the nearly 400,000 people in the town whose livelihoods are sustained by visitors. “Some customers from Gujarat came to my shop today,” said Ramesh Chandra, owner of Marble Handicrafts, a shop selling tourist souvenirs.  “I have barely done any sales in the last year, but we must look ahead.” Agra is not the only city to reopen its doors to visitors. People also flocked to other popular tourist destinations, such as Goa and hill towns in India’s northern states to escape the sweltering heat in cities like New Delhi. Several hotel owners reported almost complete occupancy, and people shared photographs on social media of highways crammed with cars.   At its peak last month, India was reporting 400,000 cases a day. But it is reopening swiftly amid pressure to restore the millions of livelihoods that were lost during the second shutdown since the pandemic.    With less than 5% of the country fully vaccinated, though, there are fears that the more infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus that ravaged the country could again lead to a spike in infections.Health experts say failure to follow COVID-19 protocols and super spreader events like huge public gatherings and weddings fueled India’s second wave.  “Citizens have to understand that there is a problem with this virus, it is highly contagious. If they don’t do that, we could land in big trouble again,” Dr. Chatterjee said. “We saw how the crisis hit so many families during the second wave, so we must be very cautious.” Delhi was among the worst-hit cities as acute shortages of oxygen and hospital beds led to a public health crisis the city of 20 million had never had to endure prior.   India has reported nearly 30 million infections and 380,000 deaths, although that is widely believed to be an underestimate.
…

The United Nations is urging reforms that make it easier for migrants to send money back to their home countries, as it observes its annual International Day of Family Remittances.
 
“Migrants have shown their continued commitment to their families and communities during the pandemic with more remittances transfers made digitally than ever before,” Gilbert Houngbo, president of the U.N.’s International Fund for Agricultural Development, said in a statement.  “Unfortunately, families in rural and remote areas — where remittances are a true lifeline — battle to access cash outlets or even more convenient alternatives such as mobile money accounts. Governments and the private sector need to urgently invest in rural digital infrastructure to address this.”
 
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres used his own statement to call for remittance fees to be set “as close to zero as possible,” and for those in the industry to “foster the financial inclusion of migrants and their families.”
 
“Looking forward, we must continue efforts to support and protect migrants, who — as the COVID-19 pandemic has made clear — play such an important role in keeping essential services and the economy at large running in many parts of the world,” Guterres said.
 
Data from the World Bank showed remittances to low- and middle-income countries hit $540 billion in 2020, a decline of 1.6% from the previous year.  It said last month it expects the amount of money sent to those countries to increase by 2.6% this year and 2.2% in 2022.
 
Latin America and the Caribbean saw an increase of 6.5% in remittances received last year, according to the World Bank, followed by 5.2% in South Asia and 2.3% percent in the Middle East and North Africa.
 
Remittances declined 7.9% to East Asia and the Pacific, and 9.7% to Europe and Central Asia.  Remittances to sub-Saharan Africa rose 2.3%, not counting Nigeria, which saw the amount of money sent there by migrants plummet 28%.
 
India, China, Mexico, the Philippines, Egypt and Pakistan were the top destinations for migrants to send money in 2020.
 
Migrants working in the United States, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and Germany sent the most money home, according to the World Bank.
 
Worldwide, the U.N. says there are 200 million migrant workers who send money to support more than 800 million family members, and that in 2020, 75% of that money was spent on “immediate needs.”
 
The United Nations has set a target for those facilitating remittances to charge no more than a 3% fee.  But the World Bank said that at the end of last year, the global average fee to send home $200 was 6.5%.
…

The government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in a battle with U.S. tech firms over a new set of online speech rules that it has enacted for the nation of nearly 1.4 billion.  The rules require companies to restrict a range of topics on their services, comply with government takedown orders and identify the original source of information shared. If the companies fail to comply, tech firm employees can be held criminally liable.  The escalation of tensions between Modi’s government and tech firms, activists say, could result in the curtailment of Indians’ online speech.  “Absent a change in direction, the future of free speech in the world’s largest democracy is increasingly imperiled,” said Samir Jain, director of policy at the Center for Democracy & Technology, a digital rights advocacy group. “Users will have less freedom of expression and less access to news and entertainment that is unapproved by the government. The rules will thereby undermine Indian democracy,” Jain told VOA. At the center of the battle is Twitter, which asked for a three-month extension to comply with the new IT rules that went into effect May 25.  On May 24, New Delhi police attempted to deliver a notice to Twitter’s office, which was closed at the time, and then released a video of officers entering the building and searching the offices on local TV channels. #WATCH | Team of Delhi Police Special cell carrying out searches in the offices of Twitter India (in Delhi & Gurugram)Visuals from Lado Sarai. pic.twitter.com/eXipqnEBgt— ANI (@ANI) May 24, 2021In a tweet days later, Twitter said it was “concerned by recent events regarding our employees in India and the potential threat to freedom of expression for the people we serve.”Right now, we are concerned by recent events regarding our employees in India and the potential threat to freedom of expression for the people we serve.— Twitter Public Policy (@Policy) May 27, 2021“We, alongside many in civil society in India and around the world, have concerns with regards to the use of intimidation tactics by the police in response to enforcement of our global terms of service, as well as with core elements of the new IT rules,” the company said.  Earlier this month, the government sent a letter to Twitter saying it was giving the company “one final notice” adding that if Twitter fails to comply, there will be “unintended consequences,” according to NPR, which obtained the letter.  “It is beyond belief that Twitter Inc. has doggedly refused to create mechanisms that will enable the people of India to resolve their issues on the platform in a timely and transparent manner and through fair processes by India based clearly identified resources,” the letter said. The Indian government is pushing back on criticism that its new rules restrict online speech.  “Protecting free speech in India is not the prerogative of only a private, for-profit, foreign entity like Twitter, but it is the commitment of the world’s largest democracy and its robust institutions,” India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said in a statement. Some who are critical of the government’s new IT rules are also skeptical of the tech industry’s response.  It is “not an existential crisis as everyone will have us believe,” said Mishi Choudhary, a technology lawyer and founder of India’s Software Freedom Law Center. Choudhary said users will be forced to stay on the sidelines, rather than taking an active role in discussions about their basic rights.  “Some of the companies are still playing the game of ‘we are a sales office’ or ‘our servers are in California,’ frustrating anyone who comes to their legitimate defense as well,” Choudhary said.  India has a long tradition of free speech, and its tech savvy market is attractive for U.S. tech firms looking to expand. Although the Indian constitution protects certain rights to freedom of speech, it has restrictions. Expressions are banned that threaten “the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence.”Even before the recent tensions between tech firms and the government, India was among the top nations in the world seeking to restrict online speech. From Jan. 1, 2020, to June 1, 2020, India was one of the top five countries asking Twitter to remove content. For example, after violent protests on Jan. 26th involving farmers unhappy with new agricultural laws, the Modi government demanded Twitter block 500 accounts, including those of journalists, activists and opposition leaders. Twitter did so, and then eventually reversed course only to receive a noncompliance notice, according to a company statement. Several Indian journalists faced charges of sedition over their reporting and online posts following the protest by farmers. Among them is the executive editor of the Caravan magazine, Vinod K. Jose and although his Twitter handle is currently active, it was withheld in India this year.The official handle of @thecaravanindia is withheld in India: pic.twitter.com/2t4FV5IgM0— Vinod K. Jose (@vinodjose) February 1, 2021The government is also particularly sensitive about criticism of its handling of the coronavirus, asking that social media firms remove mention of the B.1617 variant as the “Indian variant.”  In May, the government ordered social media firms to remove any mention of the Indian variant. The variant first reported in India is now called Delta, according to the World Health Organization. Earlier this month, Twitter complied with a request from the government to block the Twitter account of Punjabi-born Jaswinder Singh Bains, alias JazzyB, a rapper. While Twitter informed him that he had been blocked for reportedly violating India’s Information Technology Act, he said he believes he was blocked for supporting the farmers in their protests, according to media reports. Jason Pielemeier, director of policy and strategy at the Global Network Initiative, an alliance of tech companies supporting freedom of expression online, wrote to the MeitY, Pielemeier calling attention to many issues with the new rules.  “Each of these concerns on its own can negatively impact freedom of expression and privacy in India,” he wrote. “Together, they create significant risk of undermining digital rights and trust in India’s regulatory approach to the digital ecosystem.” Twitter isn’t the only tech firm affected by new laws. WhatsApp, the encrypted messaging app owned by Facebook, filed a lawsuit in May against the Indian government arguing that the new rules allow for “mass surveillance.” According to the lawsuit, the new rules are illegal and “severely undermine” the right to privacy of its users.At issue for WhatsApp is that under the new rules, encryption would have to be removed, and according to The Guardian, messages would have to be in a “traceable” database. 
…

Officials in conflict-torn Afghanistan said Tuesday gunmen had shot dead at least five polio vaccinators and injured several others in separate attacks in eastern Nangarhar province.  
 Afghanistan and its neighbor Pakistan are the only two countries in the world where the crippling polio disease remains endemic. 
 
Authorities said the early morning violence in parts of Jalalabad, the provincial capital, and nearby Khogyani district came on the second day of a four-day national campaign administering polio drops to children under five years of age.  
 
Jan Mohammad, head of the provincial immunization department, told VOA they had suspended the vaccination campaign following the deadly attack. No one immediately took responsibility for what appeared to be a coordinated shooting spree.   
 
In March, three female anti-polio workers were gunned down in Jalalabad during this year’s first polio immunization drive. Islamic State claimed responsibility for that attack. The terror group’s regional affiliate, known as IS Khorasan Province, has bases in Nangarhar and adjoining Afghan provinces.  
 
The United Nations condemned Tuesday’s attack, saying depriving children from an assurance of a healthy life “is inhuman.” 
 
Ramiz Alakbarov, U.N. secretary-general’s deputy special representative for Afghanistan, demanded the “senseless violence must stop” and authorities bring to justice those responsible for it.  
 
“I am appalled by the brutality of these killings,” Alakbarov wrote on Twitter. The United Nations strongly condemns all attacks on health workers anywhere. Delivery of health care is impartial attack against health workers and those who defends them is an attack on children, whose very lives they are trying to protect. @UNAMAnews@UNICEFAfg@WHOAfghanistan— Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov (@RamizAlakbarov) June 15, 2021Afghanistan reported 56 new cases of polio last year. But officials say only one wild polio virus case has been detected in the country since October 2020, and transmissions to polio-free Afghan areas have also been contained.  
 
Wahid Majrooh, the acting Afghan health minister, said on Monday the current immunization drive intends to administer polio drops to nearly 10 million children across the country’s 34 provinces.  
 
He lamented, however, that relentless fighting and restrictions on door-to-door vaccinations in areas held by Taliban insurgents continue to deprive around three million children of the polio vaccine.  
 
Majrooh again urged warring parties to help ensure trouble-free access for his teams so they can vaccinate all Afghan children against polio.  
 
“We cannot end polio unless we are able to vaccinate children everywhere,” he said. 
…

New details have emerged about the expected U.S. role in Afghanistan after America’s military exit after nearly 20 years of war. Our VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb is the only reporter traveling with the commander of U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations across Afghanistan and the Middle East.
…

The United States is not planning to support Afghan forces with air strikes after the U.S. troops withdrawal is complete, and counterterrorism strikes in Afghanistan will be limited to instances when attack plans have been discovered to strike the U.S. homeland or the homelands of our allies, according to the top U.S. commander in the Middle East. “That would be the reason for any strikes that we do in Afghanistan after we leave, (it) would have to be that we’ve uncovered someone who wants to attack the homeland of the United States, one of our allies and partners,” Gen. Frank McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command, told VOA in an exclusive interview as he traveled toward the region aboard a U.S. military plane. The general’s comments appear to refute a report by the New York Times that said the Pentagon is considering seeking authorization to carry out airstrikes to support Afghan security forces if Kabul or another major city is in danger of falling to the Taliban. McKenzie’s candid description of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan after its withdrawal coincides with a narrowing counter-terror offensive against Islamic State and al-Qaida as the Pentagon prioritizes competition with China and Russia. The general said his force size in the Middle East was now “closer to 40,000,” a significant reduction from 18 months ago, when that number was between 60,000-80,000 troops.Marine General Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, speaks with U.S. troops while visiting Forward Operating Base Fenty in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, Sept. 9, 2019. Since President Joe Biden took office, he has ordered the full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and cut U.S. military support for the Saudi-led offensive against Iranian-back Houthi rebels in Yemen, all while the Pentagon has moved ships, weapons systems and troops out of other Middle East nations.  McKenzie says the withdrawal from Afghanistan is a major event that has strained resources, not only across his command, but also across the U.S. Transportation Command, which helps shuttle U.S. military people and equipment to various locations across the globe. Those resources will continue to be strained, he tells VOA, as U.S. aircraft will fly from bases thousands of kilometers away in order to gather intelligence and surveillance and “keep the pressure up” on terrorists in Afghanistan. “It’s a long haul to get forces, aircraft into Afghanistan from over the horizon. We’ve said all along this is a very difficult thing to do. It’s not an impossible thing to do, and we’re working that right now,” McKenzie said. Plans ‘well advanced’  Experts and former commanders have raised concerns about the lack of details that have been associated with securing Afghanistan after the withdrawal.U.S. Marines watch during a change of command ceremony at Task Force Southwest military field, Helmand province, Afghanistan, Jan. 15, 2018. The final phase of ending U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan began May 1, 2021.“The plans are very well advanced,” McKenzie said, deferring to the Defense Department to release further information.  Ret. Gen Joseph Votel, the former commander of CENTCOM, told VOA he has hoped to see a “more comprehensive plan for what this withdrawal would look like” in order to leave the government of Afghanistan and the Afghan forces “on the very best footing that we could.” He pointed to the 2011 withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq as a “much more deliberate approach” that left behind a large embassy and left a security cooperation element of special forces on the ground. “Those are the kinds of things that that I would be expecting to see. I think the challenge with this right now is we’re just not seeing a lot of details,” Votel added.  According to McKenzie, the U.S. will help the Afghan air force, one of the country’s biggest advantages against the Taliban, maintain its aircraft through a combination of virtual advising from afar and flying parts in and out of the country. The method will undoubtedly slow the maintenance process, which could leave Afghan forces with limited air support.  “Risk will be greater, significantly greater,” McKenzie acknowledged. There is also a complete plan to evacuate Afghans who helped the United States, should the need arise, although the size, scope and timing of the operation would come from the Department of State, he said. Turkey in the spotlight One post-withdrawal plan that does not appear to be finalized is how the Kabul airport will be secured. The airport serves both civilian and military aircraft. Several hundred troops from NATO ally Turkey have been defending the airport, but it is unclear whether they will remain once NATO withdrawals, stoking fear that diplomats will not be able to safely enter and exit Afghanistan. McKenzie said the U.S. military was still “in consultation with Turkish partners about the issue.” Biden is expected to meet with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Brussels on Monday to discuss the airport security dilemma.  Reports have said Erdogan is looking for concessions in exchange for securing the airport, including an agreement from the U.S. that allows Ankara to keep and operate its Russian S-400 air defense system. The U.S. opposes Turkey’s acquisition and use of a Russian system alongside NATO weapons like the F-35 fight jet. Another major concern is how well the U.S. will be able to uncover terrorists plots in Afghanistan, the very plots its military is supposed to be preventing through airstrikes, without a military presence in the country.  Bradley Bowman, a defense expert with the Washington-based think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies, criticized the pullout for reducing the United States’ capability to monitor and deter the approximately 20 terror groups in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region. “Just because we leave and we say it’s over, it’s not over,” Bowman said. “The Taliban is interested, and al-Qaida’s interested in forever jihad, and they’re going to keep fighting.” 
…

Blasts hit two buses in western Kabul Saturday, killing at least seven people, according to police. 
The explosions took place in a neighborhood dominated by the minority Hazara community where similar attacks on buses earlier this month killed 12 civilians.
 
Basir Mujahid, Kabul’s police spokesman, added that six people also had been wounded in Saturday’s blasts. Violence has been rising as foreign forces withdraw from the country by September 11, and efforts to broker a peace settlement between the Afghan government and insurgent Taliban have slowed.
 
It was not immediately clear who was behind Saturday’s attacks.
 
The Hazara community has been the target of multiple attacks by the Islamic State terror group. In May, an unclaimed attack on a school in the area left about 80 people, mostly schoolgirls, dead. 
…

The Taliban warned Saturday that it would be “unacceptable” to them and a “mistake” on the part of any nation to retain a military presence in Afghanistan to guard airports or other installations after the departure of U.S.-led NATO troops from the warn-torn country.
 
The insurgent group’s warning raises questions for Washington, other world countries, and aid groups with missions in Kabul about how to safely evacuate their personnel from the landlocked South Asian nation should fighting intensify and engulf the Afghan capital once all international forces withdraw by a September 11 deadline.  
 
Turkey, with about 500 soldiers still in Afghanistan, has offered its services to guard and run Kabul’s international airport beyond the withdrawal deadline set by U.S. President Joe Biden. Ankara reportedly floated the proposal at a NATO meeting last month.
 
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday that talks between different allies, including Turkey, were underway on exactly how to ensure security and safe administration of the Kabul international airport.  NATO Chief Admits Afghan Withdrawal ‘Entails Risks’Despite ‘lot of uncertainty,’ Jens Stoltenberg says the alliance will continue to support the Afghan government, even when the last of its troops have left the country 
But the Taliban vowed to resist deployment of any foreign military in the country after all international forces leave.
 
“The presence of foreign forces under whatever name or by whichever country in our homeland is unacceptable for the Afghan people and the Islamic Emirate [the name of the Taliban’s ex-government in Kabul],” the insurgent group cautioned Saturday in a policy statement sent to journalists.
 
The Taliban insisted that security of airports, foreign embassies and diplomatic offices is the responsibility of Afghans, saying that  “no one should hold out hope of keeping military or security presence” in Afghanistan.   
 
“If anyone does make such a mistake, the Afghan people and the Islamic Emirate shall view them as occupiers and shall take a stance against them as they have taken against invaders throughout history,” the statement said.
 
Stoltenberg said the security of the Kabul airport and other “critical” infrastructure” would be discussed at Monday’s NATO summit in Brussels.
 
“Because this is important not only for NATO but … for the whole international community, for a diplomatic presence of all countries, and of course, also for development aid and different aid organizations. So, NATO allies are addressing these issues as we speak.”  
 
While the Taliban regularly attacked U.S. and allied troops during their nearly two-decade long stay in Afghanistan, Turkish forces remain unharmed.  
 
Turkey is the only Islamic country serving under NATO’s non-combatant Resolute Support mission, which is mandated to train, advise and assist Afghan security forces battling the insurgents.
 
The U.S.-led military drawdown is an outcome of the February 2020 agreement Washington signed with the Taliban in return for counterterrorism guarantees and pledges the group would negotiate a political settlement to the war with the Afghan government.  
 
But the so-called intra-Afghan dialogue, which started last September in Qatar, has met with little success and mostly has been stalled, with each side blaming the other for the deadlock.  
 
Afghan battlefield hostilities have particularly intensified since the foreign forces formally began pulling out from the country on May 1.  
 
The Taliban has captured at least 15 new districts in recent days, while hundreds of combatants on both sides and Afghan civilians have been killed.  
 
Meanwhile, Islamic State militants have stepped up attacks, targeting Afghan forces and civilians, mainly those from the minority Hazara Shi’ite community.
 
Officials said Saturday bomb blasts struck two buses in the western part of Kabul, killing at least seven people. There were no immediate claims of responsibility.  
 
The surge in violence has raised concerns Afghanistan will see more bloodshed in coming months, which could plunge the country into another round of civil war once all international forces leave.
…

Pakistani police have arrested a cleric after a video of him in which he threatens Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai over her recent comments about marriage went viral on social media, officials said Thursday.The cleric, Mufti Sardar Ali Haqqani, was arrested in Lakki Marwat, a district in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, on Wednesday, said Waseem Sajjad, a local police chief.In the video, the cleric threatens to target Malala with a suicide attack when she returns to Pakistan, allegedly because of her comments earlier this month to British Vogue magazine about marriage that he claims insulted Islam.Yousafzai has been living in Britain since 2012, after the Pakistani Taliban shot and seriously wounded her. She was just 15 at the time and had enraged the Taliban with her campaign for girls’ education.At one point in the Vogue interview, Malala says: “I still don’t understand why people have to get married. If you want to have a person in your life, why do you have to sign marriage papers, why can’t it just be a partnership?”The remark caused a stir on social media in Pakistan and angered Islamists and clerics like Haqqani. Under Islamic laws, couples cannot live together outside marriage.Malala’s father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, defended her on Twitter, saying her remarks were taken out of context.Malala, now 23, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for working to protect children from slavery, extremism, and child labor. She briefly visited Pakistan in 2018.She remains highly popular in Pakistan but is also widely criticized by Islamists and hard-liners.In February, Malala’s 2012 attacker threatened a second attempt on her life, tweeting that next time, “there would be no mistake.” Twitter subsequently permanently suspended the account with the menacing post.The threat prompted Yousafzai to tweet herself, asking both the Pakistani military and Prime Minister Imran Khan to explain how the suspect in her shooting, Ehsanullah Ehsan, had escaped from government custody.Ehsan was arrested in 2017 but escaped in January 2020 from a so-called safe house where he was being held by Pakistan’s intelligence agency. The circumstances of both his arrest and escape have been shrouded in mystery and controversy.
…

Officials say at least 23 people have died and more than 40 others were injured when a bus overturned in southwestern Pakistan and fell into a ravine.  The accident happened Friday in the Khuzdar district of Balochistan province.  The Associated Press reports that a passenger said they had cautioned the driver several times to drive more carefully.  The passengers were pilgrims returning to Dadu in Sindh province, after visiting a shrine of a Sufi saint.  The bus was overcrowded, with some passengers riding on the roof when it overturned, according to Bashir Ahmed, a deputy commissioner in Khuzdar district.  “There is not a single passenger who does not have an injury because of the bus accident,” Ahmed told the Associated Press.
…