Tag: UN

Categories
-Top News Europe USA

At UN, Biden reaffirms support for Ukraine

In a stern message to Russia, Biden called upon the world leaders at the UN General Assembly to stand up to the “naked aggression” and deter other would-be aggressors…reports Asian Lite News

Reaffirming Washington’s support for Ukraine at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, US President Joe Biden said that the US, with its allies and partners around the world, will continue to stand with the “brave people of Ukraine” in defending their sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Biden’s remarks came at the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly which is taking place in New York.

Biden said, “Russia believes that the world will grow weary and allow it to brutalize Ukraine without consequence. But I ask you this: If we abandon the core principles of the UN Charter to appease an aggressor, can any member state feel confident that they are protected?

In a stern message to Russia, Biden called upon the world leaders at the UN General Assembly, “If we allow Ukraine to be carved up, is the independence of any nation secure? The answer is no. We must stand up to this naked aggression today to deter other would-be aggressors tomorrow.”

“That is why the United States together with our Allies and partners around the world will continue to stand with the brave people of Ukraine as they defend their sovereignty and territorial integrity – and their freedom,” Biden added.

The first day of the high-level general debate is taking place at the 78th United Nations General Assembly.

“The United States seeks a more secure, more prosperous, more equitable world for all people, because we know our future is bound up with yours. And no nation can meet the challenges of today alone,” the US President said.

Moreover, US President Joe Biden also highlighted the issue of climate change and ongoing wildfires ravaging North America and Southern Europe.

He said, “Record breaking heatwaves in the United States and China. Wildfires ravaging North America and Southern Europe. A fifth year of drought in the Horn of Africa. Tragic flooding in Libya that has killed thousands of people. Taken together these snapshots tell an urgent story of what awaits us if we fail to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and begin to climate-proof our world.”

More than 140 world leaders are meeting to discuss the pressing world issues at the 78th session of the ongoing United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City.

Notably, US President Joe Biden is the only representative among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council who is attending the UNGA.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will attend the General Assembly for the first time since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of his nation in February 2022.

One of the most anticipated annual UN events, the General Debate, provides a platform for leaders to discuss topics of worldwide concern in 15-minute statements. While speakers at the General Debate are free to discuss whatever they like, each year’s event is framed by a broad theme, according to Al Jazeera.

This year, the theme is “Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity”. (ANI)

Zelenskyy attacks Russia  

In a rousing speech at the United Nations on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy lashed out at Russia, accusing it of “weaponising” food and energy and attacking children during the war in Ukraine reported the New York Post.

Zelenskyy framed Russia’s war on his country as an attack on the “international order” and urged the world leaders to “act united to defeat the aggressor”

“Let unity decide everything openly,” Zelenskyy said. “While Russia is pushing the world to the final war, Ukraine is doing everything to ensure that after Russian aggression no one in the world will dare to attack any nation.”.

“Weaponization must be restrained, war crimes must be punished, deported people must come back home and the occupier must return to their own land. We must be united,” he said, to spirited applause,” the New York Post quoted Zelenskyy as saying.

Japanese student dresses like Zelensky for graduation ceremony.(photo:Instagram)

Zelenskyy had begun his speech slamming Russia for “weaponising food, energy and attacks on children against Ukraine”.

“We know the names of tens of thousands of children…kidnapped by Russia in the occupied territories of Ukraine and later deported. The International Criminal Court issued international arrest warrants for Putin for this crime. We are trying to get children back home but as time goes by…what will happen to them?” he asked.

He added, “For the first time in modern history, we have a real chance to end the aggression on the terms of the nation that was attacked. And this is a real chance for every nation… to have the same outcome if attacked”.

In an apparent reference to the death of Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, Zelenskyy said, “Evil cannot be trusted”.

The embattled leader took the stage hours after US President Biden, who also urged international unity against Russia’s offensive.

Addressing the 78th UNGA session, Biden reaffirmed Washington’s support for Ukraine and said that the US, with its allies and partners around the world, will continue to stand with the “brave people of Ukraine” in defending their sovereignty and territorial integrity.

ALSO READ-US releases $6bn of Iran’s oil revenues ahead of UN meet

Categories
-Top News Europe

Erdogan again raises Kashmir at UN; calls for India-Pak talks

Erdogan signalled to the Taliban regime, which has barred women and girls from education in the name of Islam that and most work, that it would be accepted internationally if it gave up the restrictions…reports Arul Louis

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has again raised the Kashmir issue saying that resolving it through dialogue by India and Pakistan will lead to regional stability.

“Developments that will pave the way for regional peace, stability and prosperity in South Asia will be the establishment of a just and lasting peace in Kashmir through dialogue and cooperation between India and Pakistan,” he said on Tuesday at the high-level UN General Assembly meeting.

“Turkiye (Turkey) will continue to support the steps to be taken in this direction,” he added.

His latest comment was mild as it had been the last two years and by avoiding references to UN resolutions or a direct mediation offer, it was closer to India’s position that the Kashmir dispute was a bilateral matter.

In 2020, Erdogan called the Kashmir situation a “burning issue” and criticised the abolition of the special status for Kashmir.

The previous year, he had asserted that “despite the resolutions (UN) adopted, Kashmir is still besieged and eight million people are stuck in Kashmir”.

Last year, only Erdogan and then-Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan were the only two leaders to refer to the Kashmir issue while the 191 others ignored it despite Islamabad’s lobbying, showing its isolation in the UN.

Erdogan signalled to the Taliban regime, which has barred women and girls from education in the name of Islam that and most work, that it would be accepted internationally if it gave up the restrictions.

“The transformation of the interim (Afghanistan) government into an inclusive administration in which all segments of society are fairly represented will pave the way for Afghanistan to be positively received in the international arena,” he said. He criticised China for its treatment of the Uyghur minority, who are mostly Muslim.

“We will continue to express our sensitivity regarding the protection of the fundamental rights and freedoms of Uyghur Turks, with whom we have strong historical and humanitarian ties,” he said.

Erdogan said that the Security Council “has ceased to be the guarantor of world security and has become a battleground for the political strategies of only five countries”.

ALSO READ-Erdogan: Turkey May End EU Bid

Categories
-Top News India News

India Seeks UN Reforms

India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar speaks at a news conference in New York on Saturday, September 24, 2022. (Photo: Arul Louis/IANS)

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar says that the pressure to change has grown over the years on the UN, and the message needs to be understood by the global body…reports Asian Lite News

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that the resistance of the United Nations to reform its structure, will eventually lead to the body being “anachronistic” and people will start finding solutions outside.

The External Affairs Minister made the remarks in an address to students of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology in Thiruvananthapuram today.

Addressing the event, Jaishankar gave an “injudicious” reference of passengers sitting in a bus drawing a comparison with the permanent members of the UN Security Council.

“I somewhere injudiciously…described it like a passenger in a bus. A person sitting on the seat, will not vacate it for the next person. So there are these five guys sitting. Sometimes, you see such passengers, you see someone is tired, someone is carrying a baby, they will not get up and give up that seat,” he said.

The EAM further said that the pressure to change has grown over the years on the UN, and the message needs to be understood by the global body.

“There has to be pressure. Over the last few years, a large part of the world feels this is something that needs to be done. There are 54 countries in Africa, but they don’t have a single member. There is not a single Latin American member. The most populous country is not there, the fifth largest economy is not there,” Jaishankar said.

He added, “So how long would you continue that? What happens if you do not reform, people will find solutions outside. This is a message that the UN has to understand. They will become anachronistic, and develop the danger of heading towards not extinction, but a little bit of irrelevance”.

Notably, reforms in the global systems have been an issue continuously raised by India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the global stage.

During his concluding address at the G20 Leaders Summit here in the national capital, PM Modi reiterated his stance of making global systems in accordance with the “realities of the present” and took the example of the United Nations Security Council.

“When the UN was established, the world at that time was completely different from today. At that time there were 51 founding members in the UN. Today the number of countries included in the UN is around 200. Despite this, the permanent members in UNSC are still the same,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that a lot has changed in the world since that time, be it transport, communication, health, or education, every sector has been transformed.

“These new realities should be reflected in our new global structure. It is a law of nature that individuals and organizations that fail to adapt to changing times inevitably lose their relevance. We must think with an open mind as to what is the reason that many regional forums have come into existence in the past years, and they are also proving to be effective,” he further said.

‘Need to get over West is the bad guy syndrome’

Jaishankar on Sunday said the West was not the “bad guy” as it was not flooding Asian and African markets with goods on a massive scale and that there was a need to get over the “syndrome” of seeing it in a negative way.

Jaishankar, in an interview to Asianet, also made it clear that he was not batting for the West. He was in Thiruvananthapuram as part of the launch of the PM Vishwakarma scheme.

“It is not the West which is flooding Asia and Africa with goods on a massive scale. I think we need to get over the syndrome of the past that the West is the bad guy and on the other side are the developing countries. The world is more complicated, the problems are much more complicated than that,” the minister said.

On being asked whether Chinese President Xi Jinping did not attend the G20 summit in New Delhi because it did not want India to be seen as leader of the Global South, Jaishankar said the reasons were up for speculation.

He said the issue today was the building up of a strong sense, over the last 15-20 years, over the inequities of globalisation where countries saw their products, manufacturing and employment come under stress due to their markets being flooded by cheap goods — an indirect reference to the Chinese trade and economic policies.

The minister said this underlying resentment and pain of those countries regarding the global economy was building up for the last 15-20 years and the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine conflict resulted in prices of energy and food items going up.

So there was a sense of anger building up in countries about them being used as an extractive resource to fuel the economy of another nation and added that the West was not to be blamed for that.

He made it clear that he was not batting for the West and said that in today’s globalisation there was a concentration of manufacturing that was being leveraged and subsidised and was affecting economies of various nations. (ANI)

ALSO READ-‘Resistance to UN reform weakens multilateralism’

Categories
-Top News Afghanistan Asia News

UN Calls On Taliban To ‘Reverse Draconian Policies’ On Women

Afghan-Pakistan relations in turmoil as Pak detains refugees.(photo:IN)

The education and work of girls and women are the two main issues which sparked reactions at an international level….reports Asian Lite News

The UN special rapporteur for Afghanistan, Richard Bennet, called on the Taliban to reverse the “draconian, misogynist policies” against women and allow them to work and run businesses, Tolo News reported.

Speaking to the 54th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council, Bennett said 60,000 women have lost their jobs due to recent restrictions of the interim Afghan government.

“Recently the Taliban has restricted women’s activities even more. Beauty salons have been prohibited, eliminating approximately 60,000 jobs, depriving them of one of few remaining women’s only safe spaces,” Tolo News quoted Bennet as saying.

The education and work of girls and women are the two main issues which sparked reactions at an international level.

Meanwhile, the representatives of some countries who attended the meeting also voiced concerns over the restrictions on Afghan girls and women in access to education and work.

Lubna Qassim, UAE Deputy Representative to the UN Human Rights Council, said the “significant humanitarian challenges facing Afghanistan will have a significant negative impact on the Afghani society and its future.”

Lubna Qassim, added that there is no positive progress on the “ban imposed by the Taliban government on universities, education for girls, and their exclusion from working and civil society organizations national and international humanitarian organizations,” Tolo News reported.

Pakistan Deputy Representative to the UN Human Rights Council, Zaman Mehdi, urged the Taliban authorities “to take steps toward the resumption of female education” and enable them to “contribute to the Afghan society” and respect the rights and freedom of all Afghans including women and girls.

He also expressed concern about the “increasingly worrying humanitarian, human rights, and social-economic conditions in Afghanistan.”

However, the Islamic Emirate in response said that the rights of women are observed within an “Islamic structure”, Tolo News reported.

“Afghanistan is an Islamic country, and we define the rights through Islamic Sharia. Our people also want that right which Sharia determined for them. I am sure the ruling government in Afghanistan is not wasting the rights of anyone,” Tolo News quoted Mujahid as saying.

Notably, with the resurgence of the Taliban in August 2021 in Afghanistan, the country’s educational system has suffered a significant setback. As a result, girls have been deprived of access to education, and seminaries or religious schools have gradually filled the void left by schools and universities.

Afghanistan’s women have faced numerous challenges since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Girls and women in the war-torn country have no access to education, employment and public spaces.

It has imposed draconian restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly, and movement for women and girls.

Taliban leaders have also disregarded international calls for women and girls to be given access to education and employment. Apparently, they have also issued warnings to other nations not to meddle in Afghanistan’s domestic affairs.

Taliban have also barred girls from attending secondary school, restricted women and girls’ freedom of movement, excluded women from most areas of the workforce and banned women from using parks, gyms and public bath houses. (ANI)

ALSO READ: Modi Won At The G20 Summit But Did India Win?

Categories
-Top News Africa News

UN Envoy Volker Perthes Steps Down from Role in Sudan

The Sudanese Foreign Ministry said in June that the government of Sudan officially notified Guterres that Perthes had been declared persona non-grata…reports Asian Lite News

Volker Perthes, the UN envoy to Sudan, has said that he is stepping down from the position.

Perthes made the announcement on Wednesday while briefing the Security Council on the situation in Sudan, Xinhua news agency reported.

“I have had the privilege to serve as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sudan for more than two-and-a-half years,” he added.

“I am grateful to the Secretary-General for that opportunity and for his confidence in me, but I have asked him to relieve me of this duty. This will therefore be my last briefing in this function,” said Perthes.

In response to questions at a press conference on Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Perthes has very strong reasons to resign and “I have to respect his will and accept his resignation”.

The Sudanese Foreign Ministry said in June that the government of Sudan officially notified Guterres that Perthes had been declared persona non-grata.

A UN spokesperson then said Guterres “recalls that the doctrine of persona non-grata is not applicable to or in respect of United Nations personnel”.

ALSO READ-Sudan-based hackers shut down X for hours

Categories
-Top News India News World News

UN Chief Applauds India’s G20 Role

In his opening remarks at the news conference ahead of the high-level General Assembly session, Guterres said: “Effective leadership is compromise.”…reports Arul Louis

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has paid “tribute” to India’s presidency of the G20 for building consensus at the Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi last week and raising the voice of the Global South.

“I should pay tribute to the Indian presidency. The Indian presidency did its best in order to have the South’s voice represented and did its best to put development agenda in the centre of the discussions of the G20,” he said on Wednesday.

“Then, of course, the conclusions are what they are. It depends on what countries are ready to accept. But I think that effort needs to be underlined.”

The G20 consensus document did not adopt two key proposals Guterres has been championing – action to keep global warming to 1.5 degree Celsius and cut out fossil fuel, and an annual fund of at least $500 billion for reaching the UN’s multi-faceted Sustainable Development Goals.

But the UN chief appeared to accept that it was the cost of consensus.

As for building consensus in a deeply divided forum, he said: “The simple fact of having a consensus means that there was a compromise and compromise is something that is essential in present dates.”

In his opening remarks at the news conference ahead of the high-level General Assembly session, Guterres said: “Effective leadership is compromise.”

He spoke of the emerging multipolar world and said that while “multipolarity can be a factor of equilibrium”, he said that “it can also lead to escalating tensions, fragmentation and worse”.

Therefore, he said, “it is time for compromise for a better tomorrow. Politics is compromise. Diplomacy is compromise”.

“Today’s multilateral institutions that were created after the Second World War reflect the power and economic dynamics of that time, and so, they need reform.

“To bring our multipolar world together, we need strong, reformed multilateral institutions, anchored in the UN Charter and international law. I know reform is fundamentally about power – and there are obviously many competing interests and agendas in our increasingly multipolar world,” Guterres added.

“But at a time when our challenges are more connected than ever, the outcome of a zero-sum game is that everyone gets zero.”

The Secretary-General also held up to Palestinians the example of Mahatma Gandhi and his philosophy of non-violent action for Independence.

Asked by a Palestinian journalist why Palestinians “when they resist occupiers” are labelled terrorists, including by UN officials, Guterres said: “I came from India and I went to pay tribute to Gandhi. Let’s not forget the example of Gandhi. I do not think that it is with violence that the Palestinians will be able to better defend their interests. That is my humble opinion.”

A Pakistani journalist referred to the G20 Delhi Declaration deploring religious hatred and intolerance and asked Guterres if he had raised attacks on religious minorities with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He said there was no bilateral meeting with Modi during the G20 Summit.

“But, our position has been very clear. Religious intolerance is a violation of human rights that is totally unacceptable.”9

ALSO READ: September Brings No Relief as Canada’s Wildfires Rage On

Categories
-Top News World

UN Secy General “strong advocate” for UNSC permanent seat for India

Dujarric was speaking on the sidelines of the ASEAN-India Summit and East Asia Summit in Jakarta, which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi…reports Asian Lite News

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been a “strong advocate” for India’s inclusion in the permanent seat for United Nations Security Council, his spokesperson said on Thursday.

“In terms of Security Council, the secretary general has been a strong advocate for Security Council reform to make it more reflective of the world that we live in today, as opposed to the world in 1945,” Stephane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General said.

Dujarric was speaking on the sidelines of the ASEAN-India Summit and East Asia Summit in Jakarta, which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Pitching for reforms at the United Nations Security Council, India has told the UN Security Council that there is a “need” for a council that better reflects the geographical and developmental diversity of the UN today.

India’s Permanent representative to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj, on Tuesday, said, “What we therefore need is a Security Council that better reflects the geographical and developmental diversity of the United Nations today. A Security Council where voices of developing countries and unrepresented regions, including Africa, Latin America and the vast majority of Asia and Pacific, find their due place at this horseshoe table.”

Speaking at the UNSC Open Debate on Working Methods, India’s Permanent representative to the UN, Kamboj attempted to summarise India’s main concerns on the need to improve the working methods of the Security Council.

Earlier in August, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said keeping India out of the permanent membership of the UNSC would only call the credibility of the international organisation into question.

Ambassador Kamboj also said that the Council will “never be good enough” by merely “fixing the working methods”.

In August, at the BRICS Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also emphasised undertaking reforms in the UNSC. The BRICS joint statement also called for UNSC reforms and affirmed support for the aspirations of emerging and developing countries like India, Brazil and South Africa.

The statement emphasised the need for reforms in the UNSC to make it more democratic, representative, effective and efficient, and to increase the representation of developing countries in the Council’s memberships.

Meanwhile, on Guterres’s participation in the upcoming G20, Summit in Delhi, Dujarric said, “The Secretary-General will be going to the G20. He looks forward to participating under India’s leadership. The theme of the G20, of bringing One Family, One Planet, One Earth, is very important. We are living in a multipolar world, but multipolarity by itself will not solve the issue. We need to fight against fragmentation, and the G20 has an opportunity to do that. Secretary-General also expects quite a lot from the G20 nations, which are the 20 leading economies of the world.”

The UN Chief further spoke on India’s G20 Presidency and said that he is confident that India will do everything possible to make sure that the geopolitical divide that exists, overcome and that the G20 can conclude with possible results

ALSO READ-‘Keeping India out of UNSC will call its credibility into question’

Categories
-Top News World World News

UN Peacekeeping Chief Calls for Stronger Support from Member States

UN peacekeepers are also working to keep civilians out of harm’s way by preserving ceasefires and preventing the resumption of hostilities, he said…reports Asian Lite News

The UN peacekeeping chief has urged the need for stronger, more consistent and unified support from member states for the world body to fulfill its key peacekeeping goals.

Growing divisions among member states, combined with the increased complexity of today’s conflicts, pose a formidable challenge to peacekeeping and the broader task of maintaining peace and security, said Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the UN undersecretary-general for peace operations, on Thursday.

“Peacekeeping is not a magic wand to help a country return to stability, but with the support of a unified international community, political processes and peace agreements have been implemented,” Lacroix told a UN Security Council meeting.

Even where political solutions to conflicts seem distant, peacekeepers continue to protect the lives of hundreds and thousands of civilians in the countries and regions in which they are deployed, he added.

UN peacekeepers are also working to keep civilians out of harm’s way by preserving ceasefires and preventing the resumption of hostilities, he said.

Lacroix noted that a convergence of global phenomena, including geopolitical tensions, climate change and transnational organised crime, point to a future of overlapping crises, Xinhua news agency reported.

“We must continue to strengthen the effectiveness of one of the most powerful multilateral tools at our disposal to manage and resolve conflict,” he added.

ALSO READ-G20 an Opportunity for to Showcase India’s Global Leadership

Categories
-Top News World News

UN Urges Immediate Action as Earth Swelters in Hottest Summer

Earth has sweltered through its hottest Northern Hemisphere summer ever measured, with a record warm August capping a season of brutal and deadly temperatures, according to the WMO…reports Asian Lite News

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that “climate breakdown has begun”.

The UN chief released a strongly worded statement on a record summer of global warming in the Northern Hemisphere, according to the European Union’s climate service Copernicus and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), Xinhua news agency reported.

“The dog days of summer are not just barking, they are biting,” the Secretary-General said on Wednesday, adding that “our planet has just endured a season of simmering — the hottest summer on record. Climate breakdown has begun”.

The top UN official said that “scientists have long warned what our fossil fuel addiction will unleash”.

“Our climate is imploding faster than we can cope with extreme weather events hitting every corner of the planet.”

“Surging temperatures demand a surge in action,” said the Secretary-General.

Guterres called on leaders to “turn up the heat now for climate solutions”.

“We can still avoid the worst of climate chaos — and we don’t have a moment to lose,” he added.

Earth has sweltered through its hottest Northern Hemisphere summer ever measured, with a record warm August capping a season of brutal and deadly temperatures, according to the WMO.

Last month was not only the hottest August scientists ever recorded by far with modern equipment, it was also the second-hottest month measured, behind only July 2023, WMO and Copernicus announced on Wednesday.

ALSO READ-UN releases $125 mn for 14 underfunded humanitarian crises

Categories
-Top News World World News

UN releases $125 mn for 14 underfunded humanitarian crises

The fund will also provide $8 million to support refugee operations in Bangladesh and $6 million for refugees in Uganda….reports Asian Lite News

The United Nations released $125 million from its emergency relief fund Tuesday to boost underfunded humanitarian operations in 14 countries around the world, saying needs are skyrocketing.

Afghanistan and Yemen top the list of recipients, with each getting $20 million, followed by Burkina Faso and Myanmar at $9 million each and Mali, Haiti and Venezuela at $8 million each.

The UN Central Emergency Relief Fund known will also provide $6.5 million to both Central African Republic and Mozambique, $6 million to both Cameroon and the Palestinian territories and $4 million to Malawi.

The fund will also provide $8 million to support refugee operations in Bangladesh and $6 million for refugees in Uganda.

“It is a cruel reality that in many humanitarian operations, aid agencies are scraping along with very little funding right at a time when people’s needs compel them to scale up,” UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said in announcing the new allocations:

He said the Central Emergency Relief Fund can fill some gaps and save lives thanks to the generosity of a wide range of donors, “but we need individual donors to step up as well — this is a fund by all and for all.”

This year, the UN has appealed for more than $55 billion — a record — to help 250 million people affected by conflict, climate, natural disasters, disease outbreaks, displacement and other crises. But so far, its appeal has received about $16 billion, under 30 percent of the funds needed.

The $125 million from the Central Emergency Relief Fund brings the total amount allocated to underfunded emergencies this year to more than $270 million, the largest amount since the fund was established in 2005.

The UN humanitarian office said this reflects “skyrocketing humanitarian needs and the fact that regular donor funding is not keeping pace.”

UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said millions of people will go hungry this year unless donors provide the nearly $39 billion still needed to meet the UN’s appeal.

He pointed to Tuesday’s announcement from the UN World Food Program that it is being forced to cut an additional 2 million hungry people in Afghanistan from food assistance this month because of a lack of funding. That brings the total number of Afghans who have lost aid this year to 10 million.

In the coming months, the World Food Program said, it can provide food to only 3 million people. The Rome-based agency said $1 billion would be required for it to reach the 21 million people in need for the next six months.

ALSO READ: Australia Sets Eyes On Southeast Asia