The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), referring to the recent floods in Afghanistan, has called for increased investment to counter the threats arising from climate change, which primarily affect children.

In a report released on Monday, June 3, UNICEF stated that the humanitarian community and the United Nations must prepare to confront the new reality of natural disasters and climate change.

According to this report, floods pose an immediate and ongoing threat to children in Afghanistan. This “serious warning” necessitates that the international community expand its efforts and investments to support communities in reducing the impact of climate change on children.

The recent floods in Afghanistan, particularly in the provinces of Ghor, Baghlan, and Badakhshan, have raised concerns that Afghanistan is not prepared to handle the threats posed by climate change.

UNICEF’s report on the recent floods also indicates that nearly 350 people, including dozens of children, have lost their lives. Additionally, 7,800 residential houses have been completely or partially destroyed, and more than 5,000 families have been displaced due to the floods.

Meanwhile, the World Food Programme has announced that it will need at least $14.5 million over the next seven months to assist the victims of the recent floods in Afghanistan.

General Frank McKenzie, the former commander of the United States Central Command, criticized the consequences of the Doha Agreement, stating that Washington made its most egregious mistakes during these negotiations.

In a new interview with CBS, the former commander of the United States Central Command stated that the Doha Agreement led to “the destruction of the government in Afghanistan.”

The U.S. negotiating team, led by Zalmay Khalilzad, and the Taliban negotiating team, led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, signed the Doha Agreement in February 2020 after months of negotiation.

Following the signing of this agreement, the process of withdrawing foreign forces led by the U.S. from Afghanistan, which was part of the Doha Agreement, began and was completed by the end of August 2021, when the Taliban had taken control in Afghanistan.

Before the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan was complete, the then-Afghan government, led by Ashraf Ghani, collapsed. With the president fleeing on August 15, Taliban forces had taken control of nearly all provinces.

This process happened very quickly and sparked widespread international reactions. Many described the manner of the foreign forces’ withdrawal from Afghanistan as “disastrous” with devastating consequences, and General Frank McKenzie stated in his interview with CBS that the Doha Agreement “destroyed the government in Afghanistan.”

He also mentioned that both former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden, who oversaw the signing and implementation of this agreement, focused on the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan.

According to the retired general, America’s egregious mistake in negotiating with the Taliban was that Washington “treated it as a timetable for the withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan.”

In his interview, McKenzie referred to the Doha Agreement as an “operational mechanism” that led to “the destruction of the government in Afghanistan,” while, according to him, the U.S. could have achieved a better outcome.

Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai has traveled to the United States to attend his brother’s funeral, Qayum Karzai.

According to the report, Karzai will attend his elder brother’s funeral and memorial service in Maryland on Monday, June 3.

He arrived in Virginia on the evening of Sunday, June 2, and went to Maryland on Monday, June 3, for the funeral service.

The funeral of Qayum Karzai will be held on Monday at Firdaus Cemetery, and the memorial service will take place at the “Turkish” Mosque in Maryland.

Sources indicate that Hamid Karzai will stay in the United States for three days and return to Germany after the funeral.

The former Afghan president has been in Germany since June 20 for eye treatment.

Qayum Karzai, the elder brother of Hamid Karzai, passed away on the night of Wednesday in the state of Maryland, USA.

The Russian Defense Minister, Andrey Belousov, has stated that the situation in Afghanistan highlights the necessity of strengthening Tajikistan’s borders and taking other measures to ensure regional stability.

According to the TASS news agency, Andrey Belousov said on Friday, May 31, at a meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Almaty, Kazakhstan, that Afghanistan remains the primary source of instability in Central Asia.

He was, recently appointed as the Russian Defense Minister, and stated that numerous “radical” groups had gained a foothold in Afghanistan and were increasingly striving to promote their ideas in neighboring countries.

He added, “The risk of the spread of banditry and terrorism beyond the country, Afghanistan, is increasing.”

According to him, all of this requires “continuous monitoring and swift action to ensure regional stability.”

The Russian Defense Minister pointed out that these actions include efforts to strengthen the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan.

Russia and its allies in Central Asia consider the activities of quasi-military groups in northern Afghanistan, bordering Tajikistan, as a threat.

These countries have repeatedly expressed concerns about the infiltration of these groups into Central Asia.

Russian officials’ warnings about terrorist activities in Afghanistan continue as Russia seeks to expand relations with the Taliban and considers the option of removing this group from the list of terrorist organizations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently stated that the Taliban are the current authorities in Afghanistan and establishing relations with this group is essential.

The spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General said that special representatives of countries have been invited to attend the Doha meeting to create “greater clarity and coordination” in the global response to the situation in Afghanistan.

Stephane Dujarric stated that human rights and women’s rights are important priorities for this meeting.

On Tuesday, May 28, in a press conference, the UN Secretary-General’s spokesperson said that the UN will continue to engage with the Taliban. He said, “We continue our current engagement with the current rulers of Afghanistan because they are the rulers of Afghanistan.”

Dujarric added that the UN consistently and continuously raises the issue of women’s and girls’ rights with the Taliban, rights which, according to him, women and girls in Afghanistan have been deprived of.

Meanwhile, recently The Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced a review meeting for the third Doha meeting’s agenda and has approved participation.

Meanwhile, most of the country especially regional states have urged the Taliban to form an inclusive government, and respect diversity and ethnic rights, human rights and women’s rights including education and employment however, the Taliban claim that it’s an internal matter of the country and their government is inclusive.

The third Doha meeting is scheduled to be held on June 30 and July 1.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has announced that Afghanistan needs food assistance. Seventy-seven percent of the Afghan population faces an “emergency level of food crisis.”

On Wednesday, May 29, this organization released a statement calling for a strategy tailored to the region’s climate to aid in the growth and self-sufficiency of agriculture in the country.

The statement mentioned that 15.8 million people in Afghanistan are “severely food insecure.”

The Food and Agriculture Organization also reported the distribution of some wheat seeds to farmers.

According to the organization’s report, out of these, 4 million people, including 3.2 million children under five years old, suffer from “acute malnutrition,” and 3.4 million others are in the “emergency phase.”

Several humanitarian aid agencies and the United Nations have previously warned of an increasing emergency level of food insecurity in Afghanistan.

Reports indicate that the return of refugees and the rise in natural disasters, such as floods and earthquakes, have increased this need.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs also requested $3.06 billion to address humanitarian aid in Afghanistan.