Men push a cart at the Adre border post between Sudan and Chad. AFP Sudan's RSF closes in on Al Obeid as UN warned of imminent atrocities Battle over city in North Kordofan region follows string of setbacks for Sudanese army in Darfur The National News June 21, 2026 By Hamza Hendawi Cairo: Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces is closing in on army-held Al Obeid, in the heavily contested North Kordofan region, with dozens of countries warning an attack on the city could lead to a new wave of atrocities against civilians. In videos widely shared online, RSF fighters have warned residents of Al Obeid to stay clear of military installations in the city, amid reports of daily drone attacks on army positions and civilian infrastructure. The city, home to about 500,000 people, was plunged into darkness last week when RSF drones struck its main power station, residents said. The attacks also cut water supply to thousands of homes and halted work in several hospitals. Sudan war escalates as 1,000 civilians killed in drone attacks this year, says UN “Life inside Al Obeid continues at a level that's close to normal,” said resident Zoheir Hashem. “But we have a fuel shortage because five gas stations were hit and disabled on a single day last week.” Another video shared online purportedly shows RSF fighters posing next to a column of new olive green fighting vehicles. The fighters, carrying rifles and wearing desert camouflage fatigues, can be heard saying confidently that they would capture Al Obeid in a matter of days. RSF General Mohamed Dagalo Al Obeid sits about 400km south-west of the capital Khartoum. It is home to the army's 5th Infantry Division, a storied outfit with vast combat experience in the country's past civil wars. Militias aligned with the army are also stationed in the city, a major commercial hub. Losing Al Obeid would be a major blow to the army, similar to the loss in October of El Fasher, its only remaining foothold in Darfur. That defeat left an area about the size of France in the hands of the RSF, which also controls parts of Kordofan. The capture of El Fasher was followed by a wave of atrocities by the RSF, some ethnically-motivated, prompting an international outcry and a stream of condemnations. The RSF commander, Gen Mohamed Dagalo, pledged to investigate the incidents and prosecute the perpetrators. Dozens of countries, including Britain, France and ​Germany, raised the alarm on Thursday at the UN Human Rights Council that the RSF could imminently escalate ⁠an assault on Al Obeid, possibly resulting in large-scale atrocities. Tormod ⁠Endresen, the Norwegian ambassador to the UN “We are deeply concerned at the risk of imminent escalation on the ground, leaving approximately 500,000 civilians at risk of falling victim to large-scale atrocities, including more than 100,000 internally displaced persons,” Tormod ⁠Endresen, the Norwegian ambassador to the UN, told the council in Geneva. Norway shared a statement calling on the RSF to immediately ​cease its ⁠assault on Al Obeid. The statement was presented ‌on behalf of the Coalition for Atrocity Prevention and Justice for Sudan, which comprises Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and ​Norway. The declaration was also signed by 21 other countries. The coalition urged the international community to apply maximum pressure on the RSF and the Sudanese armed forces to prevent atrocities and protect civilians. It also reaffirmed the need for unhindered humanitarian access. Like the RSF, the army is also accused of war crimes, including the use of chemical weapons and indiscriminate bombing that has killed thousands. Sudan Armed Forces General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan The army controls the capital as well as the nation's eastern, northern and central regions. The army-backed Sudanese government is based in Port Sudan on the Red Sea, while a parallel government formed by the RSF last year has its headquarters in Nyala, Darfur. The war broke out in April 2023 when months of tension between army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan and Gen Dagalo escalated into open warfare. Since then, tens of thousands of people are believed to have been killed and about 14 million displaced. The war has also created the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with 25 million people – almost half the country's population – facing hunger. Copyright 2026 The National News

In Peru and Brazil, Extractivism threatens Indigenous People in isolation: Report. June 05, 2026 Aimee Gabay The Yavarí-Tapiche Territorial Corridor from above on the Peruvian side, near the Peru-Brazil border. Image courtesy of ORPIO. Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact (PIACI) in the Yavarí-Tapiche Territorial Corridor, one of the largest contiguous, intact forests in the Amazon and home to the world’s highest concentrations of PIACI, are under threat by extractive and large-scale industrial activities, which pose an existential threat to its inhabitants and the ecosystems they depend on. This is according to a new report co-authored by Earth Insight, the Regional Organization of Indigenous Peoples of the East (ORPIO), the Coordination of the Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB) and the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest (AIDESEP). The report finds that oil and gas blocks overlap with 10% of the 16-million-hectare (39.5-million-acre) corridor, including almost 1.7 million hectares (4.2 million acres) of intact tropical moist forest, 907,000 hectares (2.2 million acres) of Key Biodiversity Areas and 713,000 hectares (1.8 million acres) of protected areas. “Pressure from hydrocarbons is increasing on the Peruvian side of the Yavarí Tapiche corridor,” Edith Espejo, senior program manager at Earth Insight and author of the report, told Mongabay over WhatsApp messages. “Our report serves as a warning for the irreversible harm that could take place if these oil blocks move into this corridor. Mining concessions within and on the peripheries of the corridor also pose a threat of encroachment and contamination of waterways.” A critical corridor for ecosystems and Indigenous communities The Yavarí-Tapiche Corridor covers Brazil’s western border states of Amazonas and Acre and Peru’s Loreto and Ucayali departments in the Amazon River’s southern basin. It is home to the greatest diversity of primates in the world, including spider monkeys (Ateles belzebuth) and pygmy marmosets (Callithrix pygmaea). Most of the corridor is on the Brazilian side, accounting for 66% of the total area, and 90% is under some form of protected status, according to the report. At least 17 isolated groups that live inside the corridor in Brazil, such as in the Vale do Javari Indigenous Territory, have been recognized. In Peru, the corridor consists of national parks and protected areas that overlap with Indigenous reserves. Some isolated peoples have been recognized, such as the Matsés, Isconahua and Remo, but the approval process to recognize all lands inside the corridor has been slow. “Perhaps one of the biggest risks to communities, and in turn the forests that they steward, is that proposed PIACI reserves in Peru remain in bureaucratic limbo,” Espejo said. “The government commission in charge of approving reserves refused to approve Yavarí-Mirim in 2025, and the anti-PIACI bills regularly introduced to the Peruvian Congress risk opening even established reserves to extraction. Communities would be less at risk if all proposed PIACI reserves in Peru were approved.” “There is a systemic problem with the decisions that have been made recently by the members of the PIACI Multisectoral Commission, led by the Ministry of Culture, because political considerations are being prioritized over the technical studies conducted by consultants and research centers hired to gather evidence on the existence of Indigenous peoples in isolation,” Hector Rodríguez, a lawyer involved in drafting a bill to recognize and establish territorial corridors in the Amazon, told Mongabay over a video call. “This is happening because there are many economic interests and political alliances seeking to expand the extractive frontier (oil and gas block contracts, forestry concessions).” Leo Chuma Teca Beso, the president of the Matsés Native community in Peru’s Loreto region, which is located within the corridor, told Mongabay over a video call that an intact forest is critical for his community. “This includes the flora and fauna, the animals, the plants,” he said. “Since we are gatherers, it’s very important for us to have a healthy life with biodiversity. Furthermore, there are Indigenous peoples living in isolation who need protection, and we, as organizations, directly care for those territories. If we don’t take care of them, who will?” Without protection, the PIACI are at risk of exposure to disease due to forced contact, conflict and the destruction of the ecosystems they depend on to survive, the report states. Pressures on ecosystems and communities According to the report, oil and gas blocks cover 537,000 hectares (1.3 million acres) of PIACI reserves within the corridor. There is currently one block under production, four under promotion and five shelved. Five kilometres downstream from the Tapiche reserve deep in the Peruvian Amazon. Image by Ryan Biller. The Yavarí-Tapiche Indigenous Reserve, the Isconahua Territorial Reserve, the Sierra del Divisor Occidental Indigenous Reserve and the Tamaya Abujao Indigenous Reserve, which are surrounded by or in some cases overlap with oil and gas blocks under production or promotion, are at greatest risk of impacts from these industries. These projects are known to cause severe environmental degradation, significant health impacts, disease, violence and cultural loss. “It’s not just the pollution of the river, but also the pollution of the mountains and the forest,” Beso said. “It also creates social problems that generate significant divisions and conflicts between families and communities. It’s a very big problem. There are also sexual exploitation and many other issues that arise when this type of company comes in.” Roberto Tafur Shupingahua, the president of the Federation of Native Communities of the Tapiche Blanco Basin, from the Huicungo community in the Yavarí Tapiche Indigenous Reserve in Peru, told Mongabay over WhatsApp voice messages that Perúpetro S.A., a state-owned company responsible for the promotion and supervision of hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation activities, has been conducting studies to develop an oil field in the Tapiche and Curín basins and the Blanco River. “I’m praying that this oil company, God willing, won’t do it,” he said. “We’re fighting to prevent them from doing too much damage to nature, knowing that our PIACI brothers and sisters are there.” Perúpetro and Peru’s Ministry of Culture did not respond to Mongabay’s request for comment by the time of publication. A significant concern is the risk of oil spills, which can carry pollution downstream to Indigenous and PIACI communities. In 2024, a collision between two oil barges near block 95 spilled crude into the Puinahua River near the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve. As a result of the contamination, Indigenous communities that almost exclusively depend on the river for their livelihoods, such as the Manco Cápac community, could no longer collect water or fish. The report also highlights the threat mining and logging pose to communities. At present, 13 mining concessions overlap with the corridor, and logging concessions cover 500,000 hectares (1.2 million acres) on the Peruvian side alone. Solutions The report recommends that governments provide logistical and security support to dismantle criminal networks, such as illegal mining and drug trafficking, which also pose a threat to communities, and expand Indigenous monitoring stations. It also highlights the importance of strengthening Indigenous governance systems, in addition to the need for investments in Indigenous-led economies and enabling infrastructure, such as electricity and digital connectivity, among other actions. Julio Cusurichi Palacios, a Shipibo-Conibo leader and treasurer for AIDESEP, told Mongabay that “in order to protect Indigenous Peoples in Isolation and in Initial Contact from the expansion of the oil and gas industry, the government should stop granting extractive concessions in the territories where our PIACI brothers and sisters live and should revoke or relocate existing concessions.” But the current political situation in Peru adds another layer of complexity to the challenge. As Mauricio Pinzás Luna, a geographer at the Peruvian NGO CooperAcción, told Mongabay over WhatsApp voice messages, Peru has faced strong political instability for the last decade. “This has affected and weakened the existing institutional framework in various sectors, including culture and the environment,” he explained. “So, there’s a lack of seriousness, a lack of technical focus, a lot of political maneuvering, corruption and setbacks in several areas.” Peruvian Amazon landscape scarred by open-pit gold mines. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay. He added that this is also linked to the influence of political interest groups and lobbyists in Peru’s Congress, which are responsible for authorizing and promoting the expansion of promotional oil and gas blocks across the country. Peru has seen eight presidents in the last decade due to legislative impeachments and resignations. The next presidential elections will be held June 7. “This weakening of the democratic, technical role of public servants and politicians in power, in favor of specific economic interests, many of them extractive, is what fosters industries typical of the extractive sector, such as hydrocarbons, gas and mining,” he said. “Regarding mining, informal and illegal mining has likely infiltrated Peruvian politics to a considerable extent. It moves a lot of money now, and with high metal prices, especially gold, it’s gaining even more influence.” © 2026 Copyright Conservation news. Mongabay is a U.S.-based non-profit conservation and environmental science news platform.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky give a press conference following his meeting with Dutch Prime Minister in Middelburg on April 16, 2026. (Robin Van Lonkhhuijsen/AFP/ANP/Getty Pictures) June 20, 2026 Warsaw, Poland (AP) — Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky has returned Poland’s highest state honor, after the Polish president stripped him of the award as a politically charged dispute over World War II history resurfaced. Ukrainians believed the order “was meant for the Ukrainian People and our army,” Zelensky wrote in a social media post explaining the gesture. “Today, I sent the Order back to the President of Poland. I believe the future will confirm the respect Ukrainians deserve.” The message published on X is accompanied by photos of the Polish order and a postal receipt that it was about to be mailed to the Polish presidential office. President Karol Nawrocki decided to strip Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle over the Ukrainian leader’s decision to name a military unit after a Ukrainian paramilitary organization accused of massacring Poles during WWII. Former Polish President Andrzej Duda bestowed the award on Zelensky in 2023 for services to security, resilience and the defense of human rights. Poland's President Andrzej Duda, right, honors Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Poland, on April 5.(Kacper Pempel/Reuters) Zelensky issued a decree on May 26 naming a unit of Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, or UPA, which operated during the 1940s and 1950s and has been accused in Poland of mass killings. “For the majority of Polish society, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army remains above all a formation responsible for cruel crimes against the citizens of the Polish Republic during World War II,” Nawrocki said in a 13-minute address on social media. Zelensky’s move reopened old wounds in Poland The Ukrainian decree was met with widespread criticism in Poland, which has hosted millions of Ukrainian refugees and is a key supporter of Kyiv as it battled Russia’s four-year invasion. However, Nawrocki is a nationalist politician who has exploited anti-Ukrainian sentiment for electoral gain. Ukrainians in Poland have been facing increasing prejudice despite their contribution to the economy. The decision to revoke the honor did not mean Poland’s support for Ukraine in its defense against Russia would decrease, Nawrocki said. Ukraine is grateful to Poland for its support, and would stay open to resolve historical differences with Poland, Zelensky wrote Saturday in his post. “I am proud of our people and of EVERY Ukrainian warrior.” Ukrainian Presidential Office chief Kyrylo Budanov wrote on Telegram that Nawrocki’s decision was “an unfriendly act toward our people” and “a gift to the Moscow aggressor, which will certainly use it against both of our countries.” Four Ukrainian officials, including Budanov, said they would return state honors that Poland had issued them. Some in Ukraine criticized the decision to return the Polish honors. Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Ukraine’s former prime minister, wrote on X that one “harmful and incorrect decision by the current president of Poland cannot be corrected by other incorrect decisions of ours.” Calls to resolve differences Poland is scheduled to host a major event on Ukraine’s postwar reconstruction next week, which Zelensky was expected to attend. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a political rival of Nawrocki, urged the two leaders to “tone down emotions, not stoke tensions.” “The front line runs elsewhere,” Tusk wrote on social media Friday night, adding that the row between Poland and Ukraine “delights Putin and shocks our allies.” Zelensky’s May decree said the designation was meant to restore military traditions and recognize the unit’s performance in defending Ukraine’s territorial integrity and independence. The UPA fought for Ukrainian independence against both Nazi Germany and Soviet forces. But it has been accused of killing tens of thousands of Poles, mostly in the Nazi-occupied regions of Volhynia and Eastern Galicia. In 2016, the Polish Parliament recognized the crimes committed by UPA as genocide. Ukrainians say armed formations on both sides, including the UPA and Polish underground forces, were involved in attacks and reprisals that led to large-scale civilian casualties among Poles and Ukrainians. Poland and Ukraine had recently made progress on the issue of the exhumation of Polish victims. A December meeting between the two presidents in Warsaw had signaled progress on historical reconciliation. © 2026 Cable News Network. A Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All Rights Reserved. CNN Sans ™ & © 2016 Cable News Network.

Musicians and production team understood to be facing same punishment after livestream of patriotic song By Deepa Parent Parastoo Ahmadi’s performance of the patriotic song Az Khoone Javanane Vatan (From the Blood of the Youth of the Homeland) in December 2024 has been viewed millions of times. Photograph: Hosseinronaghi The Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi and eight members of a production team, including musicians, have been reportedly sentenced to 74 lashes for performing in a concert livestreamed on Ahmadi’s YouTube channel in 2024. According to court documents, the criminal court of Qom province sentenced the artists to flogging, a two-year ban on leaving the country and a two-year ban on engaging in artistic activities on charges that include offending public decency through the production and publication of “vulgar and immoral content” online. Although the official judiciary news agency has yet to publish the ruling, rights groups and lawyers who reviewed the documents said the pattern of arrests and legal cases against artists publicly defying the regime reflects a broader effort to deter cultural dissent. In December 2024, the 29-year-old singer performed the patriotic song Az Khoone Javanane Vatan (From the Blood of the Youth of the Homeland) without a hijab in a livestreamed performance that went viral. She was briefly detained along with several musicians shortly after its release before being freed. Authorities later filed a formal case over the publication of the video, which has since accumulated millions of views on YouTube. Bahar Ghandehari, the director of advocacy at the US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran, said “Ahmadi’s punishment of 74 lashes for merely singing and appearing without a hijab is yet another reminder that human rights conditions in Iran have not changed, despite the Iranian authorities’ wartime propaganda campaign aimed at improving their image.” She added that the contrast between official imagery and the prosecution of artists exposed “the gap between the regime’s propaganda and reality”. Moein Khazaeli, a human rights lawyer at Dadban, a legal counselling centre for Iranian activists, said the sentence lacked legal basis. “Singing, performing music and producing or disseminating musical works by women are not criminalised under Iranian criminal law. Consequently, such activities cannot reasonably be construed as the ‘production, distribution or publication of obscene content’,” he said. “The imposition of a flogging sentence against artists, civil society activists or other citizens is not merely a matter of domestic criminal law. It also raises serious concerns regarding states’ international obligations to prohibit torture and safeguard human dignity. “For this reason, numerous human rights organisations consider flogging not a legitimate form of punishment, but rather a form of torture and inhuman treatment.” For Iranian artists, the ruling, though not unexpected, has deepened fears of escalating cultural repression. The Iranian-British actor Nazanin Boniadi said: “The sentencing of singer Parastoo Ahmadi to flogging for the simple act of singing publicly without a hijab is a stark reminder that, despite talk in Washington of a ‘new regime’ in Iran, the Islamic republic’s machinery of repression remains unchanged. “Accommodating a regime that flogs women for their voices and kills citizens for demanding their rights only emboldens it to continue down its tyrannical path.” The Iranian actor Setareh Maleki, who was forced into exile after starring in Mohammad Rasoulof’s Oscar-nominated film The Seed of the Sacred Fig, said the performance had a powerful emotive impact on her. She told the Guardian: “When I watched the video of Parastoo Ahmadi’s concert, it reignited the spirit of resistance in me. For days, I kept watching the videos over and over again, and I felt immensely proud of Parastoo. “Knowing all the consequences she would have to face, she still refused to give up her right, as a woman, to live, to sing and to be heard. Iranian women never stop fighting against tyranny, not even for a moment, and that is truly remarkable.” She added: “For an Iranian artist who refuses to comply with censorship inside Iran, the daily routine is a form of resistance. “We’ve come a long way but there is still a long road ahead. I’m grateful that every day another beloved artist reminds us of hope again and becomes a guiding light.” © 2026 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. (dcr)

UK prioritised ties with UAE over averting mass atrocities in Sudan, MPs to be told The UK Foreign Office failed to act on warnings of genocide due to ‘pressure’ from the United Arab Emirates, Yale human rights investigator will tell a parliamentary select committee. Rapid Support Forces killers during genocide in El Fasher The Guardian 23 June 2026 By Mark Townsend The British government had received intelligence that Ethiopia appeared to be supporting a genocidal militia in Sudan’s civil war as far back as 2024 but did not go public with the news for fear of upsetting the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a parliamentary committee will hear. In May 2024, officials from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) told Nathaniel Raymond, an American human rights investigator at Yale University, that “significant private pressure” from the UAE meant the UK would not publicly divulge information linking Ethiopia and the emirates to their support for the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Ethiopia’s role in Sudan’s civil war did not become public until early this year. It continues to deny involvement. In testimony to a parliamentary select committee on Tuesday, Raymond will allege that the UK government was more interested in preserving relations with the Emiratis than averting mass atrocities in Sudan. Nathaniel Raymond’s testimony will say a senior FCDO official attempted to downplay El Fasher’s death toll for ‘political’ reasons. Photograph: Lev Radin/Alamy The Commons international development committee is investigating the UK’s response to atrocity prevention after reports in the Guardian about the FCDO’s response to the RSF seizing the city of El Fasher, last year. Raymond will also focus on what he describes as the UK’s “failed efforts to prevent the mass killing” of tens of thousands of people during the RSF’s genocidal massacre in El Fasher. His testimony will include details of how a senior FCDO official attempted to downplay the huge death toll in El Fasher for “political” reasons. After El Fasher fell to the RSF, following an 18-month siege, Raymond, director of Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL), privately briefed the international development committee that at least 60,000 civilians had been killed. An FCDO atrocity-prevention official contacted Raymond to ask if the figure was too high. Raymond responded that his number did not include deaths from famine or the RSF’s bombardment of the city during its siege. Teams of volunteers risk their lives to look for bodies on the road from El Fasher, in an RSF-controlled area of Sudan. Photograph: Jérome Tubiana “I explained the math. I stated that, in reality, the number of people that the RSF systematically killed after capturing the city could have been higher,” said Raymond in written testimony to be presented to the commitee. “The FCDO official and I discussed numbers further. I came to believe that this estimate of at least 60,000 people killed by the RSF was a political problem for the FCDO.” Based on three years of encrypted messages, internal meeting notes, memos and phone records between the HRL and FCDO, Raymond’s testimony will also reveal how on 26 September 2025, a British UN official “expressed despair about the lack of any possible action by the Starmer government as the city was about to fall” – amid intelligence indicating that mass atrocities were inevitable. Raymond’s revelations of longstanding Ethiopian involvement in Sudan’s war relate to 15 May 2024, when he met FCDO officials in London and shared collated data from mobile phones inside RSF headquarters during discussions on El Fasher’s worsening predicament. Abdul Rahim Dagalo, right, RSF deputy head and brother of the RSF’s leader, Mohamed Hamdan ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo, in Nairobi in 2025. Photograph: AFP/Getty HRL had tracked handsets moving between Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, to RSF-held territory in Sudan. Some phones, Raymond will tell the committee, moved from RSF locations to addresses in the emirates, which HRL believes were shell companies linked to the RSF’s deputy commander, Abdul Rahim Dagalo. One phone moved to Abu Dhabi from Addis Ababa in four hours, despite no official air traffic data or scheduled commercial flights matching the route, indicating deliberate attempts to evade detection. FCDO officials requested Raymond to publicly release the phone data analysis linking UAE-based facilities to the RSF because the UK government could not. Raymond will tell the committee: “They told me that the UK was facing significant private pressure behind the scenes from the UAE, limiting its ability to affect the situation. “FCDO personnel suggested that HRL releasing this information could help neutralise these efforts by UAE to prevent the UK from linking them to the armament of the RSF.” Maj Gen Ibrahim Nasser al-Alawi, centre, head of the UAE air force, next to Ethiopia’s Gen Abebaw Tadesse, far left, at a military parade in Ethiopia. Photograph: Reuters At the time, HRL could not share the telecommunications data publicly because it would compromise sources and operational methods. However, HRL secretly shared the data with the US to support sanctions against Dagalo-linked shell companies. Details of Ethiopia’s involvement in the Sudanese conflict became public in February after Reuters reported that Addis Ababa was hosting a camp to train RSF fighters. Reuters said the move was backed by Ethiopia’s close ally, the UAE. Heroism, horror and the ‘pits of hell’: inside the last days of El Fasher Read more Ethiopia falsely tried to rebut the reports, as did the UAE, which has also denied repeated accusations that it funds and arms the RSF. Raymond will tell the MPs that he believes the FCDO prioritised the UK government’s “economic, security and diplomatic relationships with the UAE above preventing the intentional starvation and genocidal slaughter of tens of thousands of civilians living in El Fasher”. He will add the UK’s position as “penholder”, or lead country, on Sudan at the UN security council meant its role was vital. UN Security Council adopts a resolution demanding the RSF call off its siege of El Fasher. But nothing changed. “Consequences? Zero,” said a diplomat. The resolution did not reference the UAE. “The silence sent a signal to the killers. For the RSF and UAE, it offered consent for what would follow." The Security Council never delivered another resolution on El Fasher. “The UK was our best hope at that time for stopping what we believed would become one of the single largest mass-casualty events of the 21st century.” The FCDO was contacted for comment. The FCDO did not respond. Copyright 2026 The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/jun/23/uk-ties-uae-mass-atrocities-sudan-mps-select-committee-nathaniel-raymond Genocide Watch comment: UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) staff should be charged and tried by the International Criminal Court for complicity and aiding and abetting the genocide in El Fasher, Darfur, Sudan.

By Gurvinder Singh June 10, 2026 Hundreds taken to the border and many others put in detention centres as part of a ‘detect, delete and deport’ crackdown on undocumented migrants. Undocumented Bangladeshi migrants gathered near the Hakimpur border crossing. Credit: Al Jazeera Hakimpur, India – Raisul Islam stands under the scorching sun near a checkpoint in Hakimpur village along the border with neighbouring Bangladesh in the North 24 Parganas district of India’s West Bengal state. His wife, Rebeka Khatun, 36, and their two sons, Riad, 14, and Jubair, 16, are sitting nearby at an unfinished building erected with raw bricks and cement, as the brutal heat and humidity, coupled with an absence of potable water, turn the cramped waiting room into a furnace. The people crammed into the building are Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, who have been branded “illegal infiltrators” and brought to the border village as part of a “detect, delete and deport” policy launched by the state government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu majoritarian Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which stormed to power in West Bengal for the first time only a month ago. The Hakimpur crossing along India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal state. Credit: Al Jazeera India shares a 4,096km (2,545-mile) land border, the world’s fifth-longest, with Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority nation with historical and cultural ties to India, including a common language spoken by millions of Muslims and Hindus on both sides of the border, and a century-long history of migration of mainly impoverished workers between what is now Bangladesh and West Bengal, Assam and other Indian states. But after its sweeping victory in West Bengal, home to nearly 100 million people, the state’s BJP government ordered a crackdown to trace undocumented Muslim migrants, while it also announced the construction of “holding centres” to detain and eventually deport them back to Bangladesh. That drive has sparked fears not just among Bangladeshi migrants, but also among sections of Indian Muslims in West Bengal that they too could find themselves victims of a campaign that the government has made clear is driven as much by the religious identity of its targets as by their legal status. In the summer of 2025, Indian security agencies in the neighbouring state of Assam — also ruled by Modi’s BJP — forcible sent dozens of Indian Muslims across the border into Bangladesh, accusing them of being undocumented immigrants. Bangladesh sent them back, leaving them temporarily stranded in no-man’s land. They were eventually admitted back into India — but never received any explanation, leave along justice, for the ordeal they were put through. Now, a year later, fears are growing that the same could happen in West Bengal. Search for Better Livelihoods Like many at the Hakimpur border checkpost, 38-year-old Islam, who hails from Satkhira district in Khulna division of Bangladesh, had come to India in search of a better livelihood. “We had come here two years ago for the treatment of my wife, who is suffering from a skin disease, but decided to settle down after finding better wages here as compared to Bangladesh,” he told Al Jazeera. Islam said he paid nearly $250 – a substantial amount for him – to a tout who arranged the border crossing for him and his family. They arrived in state capital Kolkata, where they rented a room on the city’s outskirts. The couple worked as masons, earning about $10 a day between them. Raisul Islam, left, stands with his family at Hakimpur, West Bengal, India. Credit: Al Jazeera But their lives changed late last month after West Bengal state’s newly elected Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari ordered the deportation of undocumented Bangladeshi migrants, an exercise his party, the BJP, has already conducted in several states in the past decade. Adhikari’s threat came with a caveat, though: The eviction would only target Muslim Bangladeshis, with Hindus and migrants from other faiths exempt under a controversial constitutional amendment that imposed a religious test on asylum seekers for the first time. The Bengal chief minister also made clear that authorities would not bother to take those detained to court before deporting them. In December 2025, India’s Supreme Court had declared that foreign nationals have almost no rights under the Indian constitution. In effect, under the West Bengal government’s approach, the onus is on those about to be deported to prove why they should not be sent to Bangladesh. As a result, thousands of people have been rounded up across West Bengal in the past two weeks and either sent to detention centres or driven to the border by security forces to be “pushed back” into Bangladesh. Islam said he did not wait for the authorities to find him and his family. “We decided to surrender voluntarily, fearing harassment by the locals and the police for being an immigrant settled illegally here,” he told Al Jazeera. Several other migrants gathered at the Hakimpur border post narrated similar stories of economic hardships in Bangladesh that forced them to hire touts and cross the border – many without legal documents. Mirazul Ghazi, 42, told Al Jazeera he entered India, along with his wife Sabina Yasmin, 36, and their son Nayem, 18, five years ago in search of better opportunities. The couple worked as construction workers in Kolkata and earned about $12 a day, until the government crackdown forced them to return home. “We didn’t face any issue during the past five years till the new government came to power and the landlord asked us to vacate the premises. We decided to return, fearing attacks on us by the locals,” Ghazi told Al Jazeera. Mirazul Ghazi, right, with his wife Sabina Yasmin and son Nayem at Hakimpur. Credit: Al Jazeera Situated about 80km (50 miles) from Kolkata, Hakimpur and other border checkpoints across West Bengal have been witnessing a regular stream of Bangladeshi migrants since the end of May. A police officer posted in Hakimpur told Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media that about 250-300 undocumented refugees and migrants have been arriving daily at the checkpoint, where authorities, besides verifying their citizenship, are also recording their biometric details to create a digital record of the number of migrants. Speaking to reporters in Kolkata on Sunday, West Bengal’s Chief Minister Adhikari said nearly 5,000 Bangladeshi citizens had been deported, adding that his government has also “established holding [detention] centres in all districts of the state”. “From these centres, 4,800 Bangladeshi infiltrators have already been deported so far,” he said. “Another 836 people are currently in the holding centres … we are making arrangements to deport the 836 soon.” Diplomacy Strained with Dhaka Historically robust relations between New Delhi and Dhaka suffered a setback in 2024 when a youth-led revolution in Bangladesh ended the long and autocratic rule of the then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was a close ally of India. The violent uprising forced Hasina to take exile in the Indian capital, while repeated requests by Dhaka to extradite the leader convicted of crimes against humanity have been ignored by New Delhi, adding to the tensions. Earlier this year, a new government led by an anti-Hasina coalition was formed in Bangladesh, which is trying to mend the strained ties. But the West Bengal crackdown has caused new diplomatic tensions between the neighbours, with Dhaka calling for an adherence to established procedures to verify the nationality of undocumented migrants. On Monday, Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Shama Obaid told a news conference in Dhaka that they have sent “12 to 13 letters to New Delhi” over the issue. “There is a mechanism” that Indian authorities should follow, she said, as she warned that the crackdown on Bangladeshi migrants could affect relations between the two countries. The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) also said it thwarted at least 18 attempts by India’s Border Security Force (BSF) to push about 180 migrants across the border into Bangladesh since June 4. On Monday, the two forces began their three-day talks over the West Bengal deportations. Responding to an earlier criticism by Dhaka of India conducting “illegal push-ins” of Bangladeshi migrants, Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters last week that a “bilateral mechanism” was already in place between the two countries. “All foreign nationals in India, if they are here illegally, including from Bangladesh, we have laws to deal with them, and they will be accordingly dealt with,” Jaiswal said on Friday. “And once we refer these cases to the Bangladeshi side, for them to verify the nationality of these people, and once it is verified, then we take forward the deportation process,” he added. Jaiswal said New Delhi has sent “several or many of these requests,” which remain pending with the Bangladeshi side. According to media reports, India’s foreign ministry has shared details of more than 2,800 suspected Bangladeshis with Dhaka for nationality verification. Rights groups, meanwhile, have termed India’s move as “completely unethical”. Elaine Pearson, Asia director of Human Rights Watch, a global nonprofit, said she was “deeply concerned” about the current situation in West Bengal. “Even the detainees without any valid documents should be given legal representation so that no Indian citizen is wrongfully expelled from the country,” she told Al Jazeera, calling the deportations “illegal”. Deportations Stoking Religious Tensions The deportation of mainly Muslim Bangladeshi migrants is also stoking religious tensions in West Bengal, which erupted after the BJP’s rise to power in a state where 27 percent of its population is Muslim. For decades, the BJP has campaigned against Bangladeshi migrants, with federal Home Minister Amit Shah, Modi’s closest aide, calling them “termites” during an election rally in Assam, another BJP-governed border state where millions of Bengali-origin Muslims reside, and have faced a similar crackdown. Though India is home to tens of thousands of Buddhist refugees from Tibet, and Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka, the BJP has consistently singled out Muslim migrants – the Bangladeshis and the Rohingya – over their religion. In 2017, more than 700,000 mainly Muslim Rohingya fled a genocidal campaign by the Myanmar military, with an overwhelming majority of them taking refuge in southern Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district, and a small number of them finding refuge in several Indian cities, including New Delhi. The BJP’s targeting of Bangladeshi and Rohingya migrants ties in with the party’s larger policy of marginalising and persecuting India’s 200 million Muslims in order to turn a constitutionally secular country into an ethnic Hindu state. Rights activist Teesta Setalvad said the Indian authorities are “acting only on a preconceived agenda and rhetoric” against a particular community, accusing the government of not following its own guidelines while acting against undocumented migrants. “Sadly, cops are picking up people randomly and putting them in detention centres and trying to push them back as if they are a commodity. We fear that individuals would be detained illegally in the holding centres,” she told Al Jazeera, demanding the government immediately release data on the undocumented migrants housed in various detention centres in West Bengal as well as on those “pushed out” to Bangladesh. Meanwhile, in Hakimpur, as dusk falls and the sun begins to disappear behind the tall coconut trees, Islam turns tearful as he stands close to both his sons. “We took shelter in India just to give a good life to our children. We had no ulterior motive. But the incessant hounding and humiliation by a section of people has forced us to return with bitter memories of a land that teaches non-violence and kindness for all,” he said. Moments later, a group of security forces bundles the family inside a vehicle and takes them to a detention centre 18km (11 miles) away. © 2026 Al Jazeera Media Network

By Yashraj Sharma June 10, 2026 The Delhi High Court grants bail to Khurram Parvez, who has been jailed for nearly five years in ‘terror funding’ cases. Parvez Imroz, right, a Kashmiri human rights lawyer, talks to activist Khurram Parvez in their office in Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir, August 25, 2020. Credit: Al Jazeera New Delhi, India — A prominent Kashmiri human rights activist who has been imprisoned for nearly five years has won a partial legal victory after being granted bail in a “terror funding” case, but remains in jail over a second case. The Delhi High Court granted Khurram Parvez, 49, bail in a November 2021 case on Wednesday, according to legal website LiveLaw. However, he will remain in jail in a separate case from March 2023. Parvez was first arrested about five years ago by India’s main counterterrorism law enforcement bureau, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), over accusations of “terror funding”, recruitment of rebels in Indian-administered Kashmir and mobilising protesters during a civilian uprising. The second case is also related to alleged “terror funding”. International rights groups have widely condemned Parvez’s arrest and continued imprisonment. His lawyer, Swati Khanna, said she hoped Parvez could be freed from jail soon if there was a “positive result” in the second case. “We are hoping, in a month or two, he could be out,” she told reporters. The trial has not begun in either of the cases – an issue highlighted by international rights organisations, which say the process becomes the punishment for political prisoners in India who have to wait years behind bars before even facing trial. The conviction rate in the counterterror law, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), remains low at 5 percent nationally. It dips further, to less than 1 percent, when it comes to Indian-administered Kashmir. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government has been criticised for persecuting dissent and criminalising expression in Kashmir, the country’s only Muslim-majority region. Kashmiris protest against the scrapping of the special constitutional status for Indian-administered Kashmir by the government, in Srinagar, September 26, 2019. Credit: Al Jazeera “Khurram’s arrest proved to be the last nail in the coffin of any meaningful rights activism in Kashmir, one of the world’s most militarised zones,” said a political analyst based in Srinagar, Kashmir, who requested anonymity fearing repercussions from the authorities. “This bail comes in a completely shallow, and nearly fictitious, trumped-up case after years in jail, and Khurram would still not walk free.” Kashmir remains disputed between India, Pakistan, and China, which control parts of the region. Pakistan controls the northern and western portions – Azad Kashmir; and Gilgit and Baltistan. India controls the southern and southeastern parts – the Kashmir valley, including its biggest city, Srinagar; Jammu; and Ladakh. China controls the Aksai Chin area in the northeast. The two neighbours have fought three major wars over Kashmir since the end of British colonial rule and their partition in 1947 led to the creation of Muslim-majority Pakistan and Hindu-majority India. Both countries continue to assert claims to the entire region of Kashmir. © 2026 Al Jazeera Media Network

Rodrigo Paz declares a state of emergency in Bolivia "to clear the country's highways" June 20, 2026 By BBC News Mundo* *With information from Cecilia Barría, Ayelén Oliva, and Gerardo Lissardy. “This is not a state of emergency intended to restrict people's lives. It is exactly the opposite,” President Paz said on Saturday. (Photo from June 8). Photo: Aizar Raldes/AFP via Getty Images. After stating that he had exhausted “all avenues for dialogue,” Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz announced on Saturday that a state of emergency had been declared in the South American nation, which has been mired in a crisis of protests and roadblocks for more than 50 days. “This is not a state of emergency intended to restrict people’s lives. It is exactly the opposite. It is a state of emergency to restore their freedom,” the president said in a televised address. The protests, which have lasted more than 50 days, have disrupted the supply of food, medical supplies, fuel, and other basic goods in several regions of the country. “I have ordered the implementation of a state of emergency to clear the country’s roads,” the president wrote on social media platform X. “Bolivians cannot continue to be held hostage by roadblocks that prevent them from working, studying, receiving medical care, stocking up on supplies, and providing for their families,” he added. The center-right president took office in November, following two decades of governments led by the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS). Since early May, indigenous organizations, workers, farmers, and transport workers have been demanding a solution to the deep economic crisis the country is facing, as well as a change in political direction. “This state of emergency is being declared to protect democracy and life; it is being declared to protect Bolivia,” Paz said in his address. “To those who are still maintaining blockades, I say this clearly: there is still time for you to voluntarily back down. If you have legitimate demands, the doors to dialogue will remain open,” he warned. "roundtable discussions" The decree declares a state of emergency due to “internal unrest” throughout the country for a period that could be extended to 90 days. According to the document, “reports issued by the Ministry of the Interior conclude that there is evidence of a serious, extraordinary, and objective disruption of public safety.” In his televised address, the president stated that his government had opened “dialogue forums” in search of solutions to the situation facing the country. “For weeks, we have been listening to demands that for years no one wanted to hear. For 50 days, we have not stopped engaging in dialogue for a single day,” he said. “We have reached important agreements with most of the sectors that had legitimate demands,” he added. And he assured that “we continue to work with the Bolivian Workers’ Confederation (COB) and numerous social organizations.” The social unrest began with roadblocks. This photo shows an anti-government protest on June 10. Photo: Marvin Recinos/AFP via Getty Images. The president made the speech after signing an agreement with the COB on Friday, which aims to restore peace to the country and bring the country’s main routes back to normal. However, the Túpac Katari Peasants’ Federation of La Paz, which has a strong presence in La Paz, said on Friday that it would continue its protests and that roadblocks would be expanded, according to the Bolivian newspaper La Razón. According to the organization’s leader, Vicente Salazar, as quoted by La Razón, the protest is a response to demands related to the protection of natural resources and respect for the rights of indigenous peoples. That group was not the only one to reject the agreement. According to the EFE news agency, supporters of former President Evo Morales were also opposed to the pact. Morales governed Bolivia for nearly 14 consecutive years, from 2006 to 2019 (with two re-elections in between), and is currently a fugitive from justice in connection with a case involving the alleged trafficking of a minor—a charge he denies. Morales described the protests as a “popular uprising” and called for new elections. "an attempted coup" On Saturday, President Paz denounced that his government is facing “an organized strategy of destabilization against democracy and a constitutionally established government.” He compared the situation to “an attempted coup d'état by narco-terrorists against a democratically elected government.” The blockades have disrupted the supply of food and medicine, among other basic goods, in several regions of the country. Photo: Marvin Recinos/AFP via Getty Images. Peasant and labor groups have become the government’s most vocal critics and have been blocking roads and clashing with police for weeks to demand President Paz’s resignation. They have been joined by Morales’s supporters. The government, for its part, claims that Morales is behind the unrest and is the one instigating the anti-democratic agitation—a charge the former president denies. “He is a man who has been corrupted by power and will do everything in his power—regardless of the death toll, regardless of the confrontation, regardless of the destruction of Bolivia—to overthrow this democratic process,” Paz said of Morales in a May interview with the Argentine newspaper Clarín. in addition to the state of emergency The protests began in late April, following President Paz’s announcement of an agrarian reform aimed at transforming small rural properties into medium-sized ones. However, various peasant groups viewed the measure as an attempt to promote the sale of agricultural land to benefit large landowners. Added to this were protests over wage demands by teachers and other groups, as well as concerns about the quality of fuel that has been made available for sale in an effort to reduce costs. In his speech on Saturday, Paz announced the creation of a commission for the provinces of the department of La Paz, which will help implement the agreements that, he says, have been reached. “It will be a special commission for the provinces of the department of La Paz, which have historically been neglected and mistreated,” he said. Another measure he announced was “a call for a broad national agreement that will bring together political leaders, governors, mayors, universities, productive sectors, workers, and social organizations.” The decree urges all individuals and legal entities to refrain, during the state of emergency, from “impeding, obstructing, or affecting the transportation, distribution, and sale of food, fuel, medicines, medical supplies, and other goods essential to the population.” Likewise, it calls for respect for the “free movement of ambulances, emergency vehicles, and vehicles transporting food, fuel, medicines, and other essential services.” The declaration of a state of emergency, the decree states, “shall in no case suspend the guarantees of rights, nor fundamental rights, the right to due process, the right to information, or the rights of persons deprived of liberty.” supplies In late May, Luis Larrea, president of the La Paz Departmental Medical Association, spoke with BBC Mundo about the impact of the protests and roadblocks in Bolivia, one month after they began. In May, healthcare workers protested to demand that ambulances and trucks carrying medical supplies be allowed to pass. Photo: Getty Images. “I feel helpless in the face of what's happening; we don't know what to do,” he said. “We're running out of oxygen; we have newborn patients, intubated patients, and elderly people who could die,” Larrea said from La Paz. The doctor then confirmed that there had been four deaths of patients who were unable to reach hospitals in time to receive emergency care. “They died inside ambulances because they weren’t allowed to pass through to the health centers,” he said. On May 28, hundreds of healthcare workers took to the streets to march, calling on protesters to observe a “humanitarian pause” so that trucks stranded on the highways could pass. “Oxygen and food for the patients!” they chanted as they walked down the street carrying banners. This article has been adapted from the original in Spanish. © 2026 BBC. All rights reserved.

By Kristie Moore Photo showing migrants at the Tajik Border. Border signage states foreigners must follow migration rules. Source: TCA After the return of Taliban government to Afghanistan in 2021, former government employees and Afghan civilians fled the country, seeking safety in countries like Iran, Pakistan, and Tajikistan. Like in Iran and Pakistan, where governments have initiated mass deportations of Afghan refugees, the government of Tajikistan is making a similar move against Afghan refugees. Located in Central Asia and sharing a major Southern border with Afghanistan, Tajikistan has had a long and complicated relationship with neighboring Afghanistan. Events in both countries have prompted movement across borders on numerous occasions. This includes the Tajik Civil War, which lasted from 1992 to 1997. During the five years of the war, roughly 80,000 to 100,000 Tajiks fled to Afghanistan. While many of them returned following the end of the Tajik Civil War, communities of ethnic Tajiks continue to reside in Afghanistan. There have also been several phases of movement of Afghans to Tajikistan. Tajikistan has served as a refuge for citizens of Afghanistan fleeing the civil war in the 1990s, the United States (U.S) invasion in the 2000s, and the return of the Taliban in 2021. In the immediate aftermath of the fall of Kabul in 2021, the government of Tajikistan pledged to accept up to 100,000 Afghan refugees. This decision was in part tied to Tajikistan’s long-standing anti-Taliban stance. Unfortunately, due to pressure from Russia and the concerns of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), this offer never materialized. Similarly, at the end of 2024, it was estimated that around 9,902 Afghan refugees were registered in Tajikistan—although the number is likely to increase. The Tajik government has deported Afghan refugees on numerous occasions, raising concerns and criticism from the United Nations (U.N.) and international communities. Under Taliban government in Afghanistan, individuals are at high risk of persecution and even execution. By highlighting the risks and ramifications of deportation of the refugee population, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees’ (UNHCR) Director of International Protection, Elizabeth Tan, called for government of Tajikistan to “stop detaining and deporting refugees, an action that clearly puts lives at risk”. It has been reported that during the fall of the former Afghan government in 2021, as many as 18 aircrafts brought government officials, soldiers, and family members tied to the former government to Tajikistan. In August 2022, Tajik authorities sent 5 Afghan families back to Afghanistan. By September 2022, an estimated 65 Afghans had been deported. Life for Afghan refugees in Tajikistan is marked by uncertainty and hardship. Restrictions on freedom of movement are among the most pressing concerns. According to the Tajik government’s Resolution #325 of 2001, asylum seekers can reside only in designated districts. Additionally, those refugees residing in the country must regularly renew their residency documents. Many find themselves in prolonged legal limbo: they face limited pathways to citizenship in Tajikistan and few opportunities for resettlement elsewhere, as countries around the world continue to restrict access to Afghan refugees. These provisions and restrictions make Afghan refugees in Tajikistan vulnerable to mistreatment by police, who often attempt to extort bribes. Economic challenges have further compounded the struggles facing Afghan refugees in Tajikistan. They have experienced poverty, poor housing conditions, and employment barriers due to lack of secure legal documentations. In addition, many face discrimination and social exclusion stemming from stereotypes that associate Afghans with terrorism, drug trafficking, and other forms of criminality. Deportation has continued since 2022. In December 2024, the Tajik government deported 65 more Afghan refugees. In April 2025, 50 Afghans holding refugees' documents were deported. In June 2025, another 49 Afghans were deported for reasons that remain unclear. Among them, 36 held valid residency permits and 13 possessed valid visas. In early July 2025 Afghan refugees and asylum seekers in Taijkistan received an SMS message informing that they had 15 days to leave the country or face forced deportation. In the days that followed, dozens of Afghans were apprehended and taken away in vans in the Rudaki District of Dushanbe, a capital city of Tajikistan and in Vahdat, a town about 26 miles away from Dushanbe. As fear of deportation spread among Afghan population in Tajikistan and the broader Tajik publics, authorities remained largely silent. Nearly three weeks later, the Press Center of Border Troops of State Committee for National Security, Tajikistan’s border protection authority, addressed the matter in a statement published through a state news agency. The authorities said the operation targeted individuals allegedly involved in narcotics trafficking, the spread of extremist ideology, and the provision of false information to obtain refugee status. However, the statement did not explain the deportation of Afghan refugees, many of whom held valid residency permits. According to multiple accounts, many deportations took place at workplaces, leaving families without information about the whereabouts of their family members and relatives. Most of those deported were men who served as the primary or sole providers for their households, leaving families facing significant economic uncertainty. While deported Afghans face high risk of persecution by the Taliban upon return, they also return to conditions of severe economic hardship, including widespread food insecurity, hunger, and limited access to necessities. In May 2026, deportations once again became an issue of concern for Tajikistan’s Afghan population after a local news source reported the murder of a Tajik woman in the Sughd Province of Tajikistan. According to reports, Afghan citizen Rahmoni Muhammadumar allegedly killed local resident Aziza Vokhidova acting on “strong sexual attraction”. In the days following, there were reports of Afghan citizens being deported. On May 4, 2026, hundreds of migrants were detained and deported from the “Mehrbod” area of Jabbar Rasulov district in Sughd province. These individuals were taken away in 15-17 vehicles and transported to unknown locations. It is estimated that 200-250 Afghan migrants have been detained and relocated. These deportations have had a profound impact on the daily lives of Afghans living in Tajikistan, particularly in Rudaki and Vahdat, which host most of the Afghan refugee communities. Fear of deportation has become pervasive, prompting many Afghans to limit their movements and remain indoors out of concern that they could be detained and removed from the country. Throughout this period, the Tajik government remained largely silent. This was until Tajikistan’s State Committee for National Security (GKNB) confirmed the deportation of Afghan refugees, stating that those removed had “grossly violated the requirements of the law.” According to the GKNB, authorities identified 670 cases of illegal drug trafficking, 32 cases involving membership in terrorist organizations, 15 cases of sexual violence against minors, 45 instances of gambling, and 594 instances in which forged documents being used to obtain refugee status. However, there has been some debate regarding the legitimacy of these claims as little substantive detail has been provided by state agencies. Afghan refugees in Tajikistan face a difficult choice: navigate an uncertain future in Tajikistan or risk the dangers that may come with returning to a Taliban ruled Afghanistan. On the other hand, Tajikistan is the poorest country in Central Asia, and it simply lacks the economic, infrastructural, and logistical capabilities necessary to support refugee populations. Although Tajikistan seeks financial support from the international communities to support the refugee population, but its situation has been largely ignored by the international community. It is critical there is much work that needs to be done to promote better livelihoods for Afghan refugees, ensure their safety from deportation, and increase pathways for citizenship. This will require a concentrated effort from the Government of Tajikistan, local NGOs, and the International Community more broadly. Genocide Watch considers Tajikistan to be at Stage 3: Discrimination for disallowing Afghan refugees from receiving citizenship and restricting where they can live and Stage 8: Persecution for their deportation of Afghan refugees in direct opposition of international law. Genocide Watch Recommends: Complying with Article 33 of the 1951 United Nation Refugee Convention to which government of Tajikistan is a signatory, it must immediately halt the deportation of Afghan refugees. Countries with established refugee resettlement programs, which accept and help relocate Afghan refugees, must expand eligibility requirements and prioritize Afghan refugees, ensuring that those from Iran, Pakistan, and Central Asia are eligible. The Government of Tajikistan should refrain from establishing diplomatic relations with the Taliban, risking the lives and safety of Afghan refugees residing in exile in other countries in Central Asia. Such cooperation with Taliban government would aid to deportation of vulnerable groups to Afghanistan, where they face persecution. The Government of Tajikistan must invest in public awareness campaigns that mitigate stereotyping Afghanistan refugees. Such campaigns should highlight the migration of Tajiks to Afghanistan during the Tajik Civil War and their protection in Afghanistan. International organizations and foreign governments must listen to the needs of Tajikistan and provide required support in the development of refugee infrastructure and contributing towards Tajikistan’s ability to manage and support its refugee population. The Government of Tajikistan must expand legal pathways to citizenship for Afghan refugees who seek permanent residency in the country.

Copyright AP Photo 16 July 2026 Skrepetsky was known for his caricatures comparing Putin to Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. A Russian artist well-known for satirising President Vladimir Putin has been shot dead in eastern Poland, officials said on Tuesday. "An investigation is being conducted...into the murder of a 44-year-old citizen of the Russian Federation...known in the media as Semyon Skrepetsky," a spokesman for the prosecutor's office in Lublin, Marcin Kozak, told journalists. Two Belarusian nationals have been arrested in connection with the killing, he added. They were detained in the vicinity of the Belarusian consulate in Biała Podlaska in eastern Poland, where the killing took place. According to Polish officials, Skrepetsky, whose real name is Robert Kuzovkov, was shot three times on Monday morning by an unidentified gunman armed with a handgun. When the artist fell to the ground, he was approached by the assailant, who fired two more shots at close range. Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, 15 June, 2026 AP Photo As it stands, "no charges have been brought" against the two detained Belarusians, Kozak said, adding that "they remain at the disposal of the prosecutor's office and the police." Skrepetsky was known for his sometimes provocative caricatures, which targeted prominent Russian political figures ranging from Putin and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin to opposition figure Alexei Navalny and head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov. One of his best-known works reinterprets a classical Orthodox icon, depicting Stalin cradling Putin in place of the Mother of God holding the infant Jesus. Skrepetsky moved to Poland in 2021, saying he feared political persecution in Russia. In exile, he maintained a contrarian stance, attending Russian opposition events while openly criticising the opposition itself. Broader pattern The death of Skrepetsky fits into the broader pattern of the fate of Russian artists, activists and opposition figures who criticise the Kremlin. One of the best-known symbols of such dissent remains the punk band Pussy Riot, whose members, imprisoned and persecuted for anti-Putin protests, staged a protest in Venice on 6 May against Russia's presence at the 61st International Art Exhibition, the Biennale. In recent years, many opponents of Vladimir Putin have been forced into exile, and some have faced threats, persecution, or criminal proceedings. The most high-profile case remains that of Alexei Navalny, who, after being poisoned and imprisoned, died in a Russian penal colony in 2024. The Kremlin denies any involvement in the opposition leader's death. After he died, the Kremlin accused the West of exploiting the case against Russia and described criticism from Western leaders as "unacceptable." In 2025, the opposition leader's widow, Yulia Navalnaya, announced that tests carried out by foreign laboratories with the support of the governments of five countries had found the presence of epibatidine – a powerful neurotoxin found in the venom of certain species of frog – in samples taken from Alexei Navalny's body. Copyright © euronews 2026

By Alzbeta Frommerova Genocide Watch The findings of this report indicate that civilians have borne the greatest burden of the 2026 U.S.–Israel–Iran war. Women and children have been particularly affected by death, injury, displacement, and the disruption of essential services. In Iran, the conflict has also deepened existing patterns of repression and insecurity, particularly in the context of the Women, Life, Freedom movement, further restricting civic space and increasing everyday risks for many communities. A student sits by the grave of Mahsa Ranjbar, 28, a sixth-grade teacher killed in the missile strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in Minab, Iran, on Feb. 28. Only a portion of Ranjbar’s face was recovered. It is important to note that the situation remains fragile. Although diplomatic efforts have raised hopes for de-escalation, including discussions surrounding a ceasefire and a possible peace agreement, reports of military activity have continued, and a durable end to hostilities has yet to be secured. The humanitarian impact extends far beyond recorded casualty figures. Airstrikes and military operations damaged homes, schools, hospitals, and other civilian infrastructure, forcing large numbers of people to flee and disrupting access to healthcare, education, and livelihoods. Children have faced interrupted schooling, family separation, and psychological trauma, while women and girls have encountered growing barriers to healthcare, employment, and protection, particularly in displacement settings. The conflict has also worsened conditions for vulnerable populations already living in precarious circumstances. Across the region, displacement and rising living costs have left many families struggling to meet their basic needs. In Iran, Afghan refugees have faced increasing economic hardship, uncertainty, and concerns about a heightened risk of arrest or deportation amid a more restrictive security environment. At the same time, the full scale of civilian harm remains difficult to assess. Access to affected areas has been limited, reporting has often been inconsistent, and competing official narratives have complicated efforts to verify information. Available casualty figures should therefore be understood as minimum estimates rather than a complete account of the human cost of the war. For many civilians, the consequences of the conflict will continue long after the fighting subsides. Families have lost relatives, homes, livelihoods, and access to essential services, while damage to infrastructure and public institutions will take years to repair. Continued humanitarian assistance, sustained access for aid organizations, and efforts to protect civilians will remain essential as affected communities attempt to recover and rebuild their lives. Full report:

By the United Nations June 16, 2026 Top UN officials called for bolstered efforts to stave off rising hunger and foster a path towards permanent peace in Yemen as they briefed the Security Council Tuesday morning. Displaced women and girls attend a class in Yemen. Credit: UNDP Addressing the 15-member Council about the current situation on the ground, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said that while the 2022 truce between the Houthi rebels and the government continues to hold, the conflict is unresolved, with Yemenis bearing the cost of this uncertainty. “In meetings with Yemenis, we are told that entrenched front lines across the country are draining resources, deepening fragmentation and accelerating the militarisation of society, even driving students and teachers to join armed groups simply as a means of economic survival,” Mr. Grundberg said. “As long as Yemen’s conflict remains unsettled, the risk of further destabilisation persists, both within the country and, should regional tensions flare again, well beyond it.” The parties should use this window of regional de-escalation to make progress toward reviving a political process that can sustainably end the conflict in Yemen, he said. Release Detained UN Personnel The special envoy reiterated an appeal for the release of 73 UN personnel currently under arbitrary detention by Houthi rebels, many since 2024. “The Secretary-General’s recent statement underscored that these detentions violate international law, cause deep suffering to families and constrain the UN’s ability to assist millions of people in need,” Mr. Grundberg said, noting that the Security Council had condemned the detentions earlier this month, demanding the unconditional, safe and immediate release of all those held. “The United Nations will continue doing all it can to press for their releases,” he said, asking the Security Council to continue its efforts until “our colleagues are freed.” UN Relief Chief: Each Funding Cut has a Human Cost Echoing that appeal, UN relief chief Tom Fletcher also warned of a worsening humanitarian landscape, emphasising that without urgent action, acute hunger will continue to rise and lives will be lost. Earlier this month, new analysis by the leading UN-backed global food security platform found that around five million people – nearly half of the population in Government-controlled areas of Yemen – are facing high levels of acute food insecurity with the crisis set to deepen further if international aid cuts continue. Read our full story on that report here. “A hunger crisis is not just empty plates; it is stolen lives and futures,” the UN relief chief told the Council, noting that more than 2.2 million children under five are acutely malnourished and, without sustained support, many will carry lifelong consequences. “Just as needs rise, support is shrinking,” said Mr. Fletcher, who leads the UN humanitarian agency, OCHA. “Every funding cut has a human cost: a missed meal, untreated malnutrition, a community cut off from help.” Three Requests for Security Council Mr. Fletcher said OCHA’s crisis response director is currently in Yemen, hearing directly from communities, where families are trapped in repeated displacement, children are out of school, disease is spreading, women and girls are facing acute violence and deprivation and livelihoods are shattered by conflict, floods and drought. “Local partners are stepping up, but they cannot do more without sustained funding,” he said, asking the Council for three actions: Secure the release of detained colleagues Fund the response: The humanitarian appeal is less than 15 per cent funded, which is forcing OCHA to scale back operations and leave people behind Support peace efforts: “Humanitarian action can hold the line, but only just. It cannot end this crisis. Aid can keep people alive. It cannot give Yemenis the future they deserve. Only a political solution, owned by the people of Yemen and supported by this Council, can do that.” Watch the full Security Council meeting on UN Web TV below: https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/06/1167728 Follow our Meetings Coverage Section’s live page on the Security Council meeting here. Copyright © United Nations. All rights reserved.