UN warns Afghanistan "marching towards starvation"August 25, 2021 - 13:52 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Millions of Afghans could soon face starvation due to a combination of conflict, drought and the coronavirus pandemic, the executive director of the World Food Programme said on Tuesday, August 24, calling on political leaders to act fast, Reuters reports. "There’s a perfect storm coming because of several years of drought, conflict, economic deterioration, compounded by Covid," David Beasley told Reuters in Doha. "The number of people marching towards starvation has spiked to now 14 million." The WFP is warning of a human catastrophe looming in Afghanistan if the United Nations agency is not able to raise $200 million by September. Afghanistan is facing economic collapse after foreign countries and institutions said they would withhold aid and monetary reserves after Islamist Taliban insurgents took control of the capital Kabul on Aug. 15. Beasley said the international community faced some very difficult decisions, warning it would be "hell on earth" for the people of Afghanistan if the economic situation deteriorated. "The people of Afghanistan need aid now," he said, adding that the amount of people needing the WFP's help could double if the international community "turns their back" on Afghans. "The politics needs to be worked out as soon as possible." Beasley said he was very worried about whether the agency would raise the $200 million needed and that it hoped Qatar, other Gulf Arab states and the United States would contribute. Photo. Reuters Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |