Qatar steps in to assist with exodus from Afghanistan

AFGHANISTAN has continued to flood the headlines after the Taliban announced its new leadership.

An all-male list of cabinet members will be headed by Mohammad Hassan Akhund, with Abdul Ghani Baradar as his deputy, Sirajuddin Haqqani as interior minister, and Mohammad Yaqoob, the son of Taliban founder, named as defence minister.

While China and various humanitarian agencies have stepped up aid to the Afghan people, the week ahead could show these new relationships come to fruition.

China has pledged $31 million worth of emergency aid, which includes Covid-19 vaccines and food supplies, while agencies such as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will focus on the 10% of the displaced Afghanistan population and produce food, shelter and medicine.

“Our focus is on displaced people and Afghans are like refugees in their own country,” UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi said.

“Over the last month, this displacement has increased due to conflict, natural disasters or while looking for opportunities in big cities,” he said.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, met with Qatar’s ruling Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, in Doha to discuss the safe transit of those still in Afghanistan.

Qatar has been instrumental in the reopening of airports in three provincial cities and launched the first commercial flight from Kabul where hundreds of people were still waiting to leave Afghanistan.

The week ahead we could see more international flights on the runway for those eligible to leave the country.

In climate change, a new report released by the UN revealed that the severe weather events and humanmade catastrophes and epidemics should no longer be viewed in isolation.

The report looked into 10 disasters since last year which includes the cold wave in Texas, Amazon wildfires, Great Barrier Reef bleaching and the Covid19 pandemic.

“The world witnessed a number of record-breaking disasters that showed us more clearly than ever before how interconnected we are, for better or worse,” says the report.

“As we become ever-more interconnected, so do the risks we share,” it said.

Global players such as the US and China have yet to come to an agreement on working together, however, with the latest data, we could have more collaborating solutions ahead.

US President Joe Biden also announced new vaccine requirements to combat the coronavirus outbreak and boost vaccination rates after some citizens refused to get the jab.

Biden said in a press conference that around 80 million eligible people have yet to receive their first shot and announced that the Department of Labour is creating a rule which requires all employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their workforces are fully vaccinated or undergo weekly Covid-19 tests.

Various reactions from its citizens and businesses will most likely grab the headlines in the week ahead.