UN Funding Should Support Trump Policy Goals, Says US

The new pledge comes in addition to more than $2 billion in aid announced by the US in December last year under a new mechanism aimed at improving the efficiency, transparency and accountability of aid distribution. The move comes as US foreign aid funding has been sharply reduced.

Jeremy Lewin, deputy head of US foreign assistance, humanitarian affairs and religious freedom, said 92 percent of US aid distributed through the mechanism had gone to countries identified by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) as facing the highest levels of humanitarian need.

He added: “US assistance was focused on the places where we have a foreign policy interest, where it aligns with the president’s interest”.

Lewin said the list of countries receiving US support through OCHA, of which the US is the largest donor, now includes Venezuela and Lebanon. Countries not considered priorities for US foreign policy would therefore not be included.

He stressed that funding channeled through OCHA represents only part of overall US humanitarian assistance abroad.

“By avoiding those countries, we're not doing a disservice to the ‌humanitarian sector,” Lewin said. “We're allowing us to focus on the areas where we overlap, and we don't think that there needs to be some compromise in their principles ... while also allowing us the sovereign right to invest in places where it aligns with our national interest.”

Tom Fletcher, Head of OCHA, who appeared alongside Lewin, said the United Nations remained committed to neutrality and impartiality while adapting its humanitarian system to an era of shrinking financial resources.

According to Fletcher, before the latest US announcement, OCHA had secured $7.38 billion from 65 countries. However, that remains far below the $23 billion the agency says it needs this year.

InterAction, the largest coalition of American non-governmental organisations, welcomed Washington’s decision.

Its chief executive, Tom Hart, told Reuters there was significant alignment between the US and OCHA regarding which countries should receive aid.

It remains unclear whether Afghanistan will be included among the beneficiaries. The US previously suspended aid to Afghanistan over concerns that the Taliban were misusing humanitarian assistance.

Afghanistan had been one of the largest recipients of US humanitarian aid in recent years. However, Trump suspended assistance to the country after returning to the White House.

The Trump administration has argued that some US-funded humanitarian aid was reaching the Taliban. At the same time, several American officials, particularly members of Congress, have insisted that US taxpayers’ money should not fall into the hands of what they describe as the terrorist Taliban.

He added: “US assistance was focused on the places where we have a foreign policy interest, where it aligns with the president’s interest”.

He stressed that funding channeled through OCHA represents only part of overall US humanitarian assistance abroad.

According to Fletcher, before the latest US announcement, OCHA had secured $7.38 billion from 65 countries. However, that remains far below the $23 billion the agency says it needs this year.

InterAction, the largest coalition of American non-governmental organisations, welcomed Washington’s decision.

Its chief executive, Tom Hart, told Reuters there was significant alignment between the US and OCHA regarding which countries should receive aid.

It remains unclear whether Afghanistan will be included among the beneficiaries. The US previously suspended aid to Afghanistan over concerns that the Taliban were misusing humanitarian assistance.

Afghanistan had been one of the largest recipients of US humanitarian aid in recent years. However, Trump suspended assistance to the country after returning to the White House.

Pakistan Dismisses Taliban Denial Over Bannu Police Attack

May 15, 2026, 08:59 GMT+1

Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Tahir Andrabi, again claimed that the recent attack on a police post in Bannu was organised and directed from Afghan territory.

Earlier, Zabihullah Mujahid, Taliban spokesman, rejected Pakistan’s claims that the attack on the police center in Bannu had been planned in Afghanistan. He insisted that Afghan soil is not used against any country.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Andrabi said the conclusion was based on technical information, available evidence and intelligence data.

He added that Islamabad had asked the Taliban administration to take immediate, practical and tangible measures against armed groups, including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Baloch separatists and Islamic State Khorasan Province.

During the briefing, Andrabi also declined to comment on remarks recently made by Pakistan’s ambassador in Moscow, who told TASS that tensions with the Taliban had eased and relations were moving in a positive direction.

He similarly avoided commenting on talks in Urumqi after being asked about the recent meeting between China’s special envoy and the Taliban foreign minister.

Pakistan’s confrontational approach towards the Taliban has intensified since the Bannu attack.

On May 9, the Fateh Khel police post in Bannu district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, came under a complex attack.

According to reports, the attackers used a car bomb and then engaged in armed clashes with security forces after the explosion.

Some reports also said the attackers used small drones and ambushed reinforcements arriving at the scene.

The assault killed 15 Pakistani police officers and wounded several others. The police post building and an armoured vehicle stationed there were also destroyed.

A group calling itself the “Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan” claimed responsibility for the attack. Pakistani authorities say the group is linked to factions of the TTP.

Pakistan has insisted it will continue security operations against militant networks, while the Taliban administration has rejected Islamabad’s accusations.

Pakistan claims that around 7,000 TTP members are operating in Afghanistan under Taliban protection.

More Than One Million Added To Afghanistan’s Poor Under Taliban Rule, Says UN

May 14, 2026, 16:14 GMT+1

The United Nations Development Programme says around 1.4 million more people in Afghanistan fell into livelihood insecurity in 2025 amid deepening economic and humanitarian crises.

According to the UNDP report, around 26.6 million people in Afghanistan faced livelihood insecurity and were unable to meet basic living needs in 2024. In 2025, that figure rose to nearly 28 million after an additional 1.4 million people were affected.

The report stated that three out of every four people in Afghanistan do not have enough food.

Afghanistan is facing a deep humanitarian and economic crisis that has worsened since the Taliban returned to power, with poverty, unemployment and dependence on humanitarian aid increasing sharply.

International organisations have repeatedly warned that declining foreign aid, banking restrictions and the lack of investment have left Afghanistan’s economy in a fragile state.

According to UN reports, the Taliban’s sweeping restrictions on women and girls, particularly in education and employment, have had a direct impact on the economy and household livelihoods.

The United Nations and economic institutions have stressed that excluding women from education and the labour market has severely reduced Afghanistan’s productive and economic growth potential.

Continuing political instability, the return of migrants, climate change, drought and shrinking job opportunities have also increased pressure on Afghan citizens.

Despite efforts by aid agencies, international organisations warn that without sustained financial support and changes in Taliban policies, Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis is likely to deepen further in the coming years.

Nearly 23,000 Militants Operating In Afghanistan, Says Russian Security Chief

May 14, 2026, 14:07 GMT+1

Sergei Shoigu, Secretary of Russia’s Security Council, says between 18,000 and 23,000 militants from more than 20 groups are currently active in Afghanistan, calling the situation a major concern for regional security.

Speaking on Thursday, May 14, at the 21st meeting of security council secretaries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Shoigu stressed the need to counter terrorism and drug trafficking threats linked to Afghanistan.

He claimed the Taliban are engaged in armed conflict with Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K).

Shoigu said Russian Security Council data indicates ISIS currently has around 3,000 members in Afghanistan. He added that the group carried out 12 major terrorist attacks in 2025, killing 40 military personnel and 25 civilians, while injuring more than 50 others.

The Russian official also warned of an increasing influx of Uyghur, Tajik and Uzbek militants from Syria into Afghanistan, involving groups formerly linked to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

He said Taliban security agencies had increased monitoring of radical groups entering Afghanistan but added that the Taliban were still unable to fully control some Islamist militants operating in the country.

Shoigu also claimed Taliban authorities had made significant efforts to combat drug trafficking. According to him, opium poppy cultivation and opium production in Afghanistan have fallen by 90 per cent since the Taliban returned to power.

However, he said production of synthetic narcotics, including methamphetamine, had increased, with more than 30 tones seized along Afghanistan’s borders with neighbouring countries in 2025.

He added that around four million people in Afghanistan remain involved in cultivating narcotic crops because of severe economic conditions.

During the meeting, Shoigu also said Western countries had frozen around $590 billion in assets belonging to Russia, Cuba, Venezuela, Iraq, Iran, North Korea, Libya and Afghanistan.

He added that world leaders would likely reconsider the safety of keeping national reserves in Western countries.

Afghanistan Instability Is A Direct Regional Security Threat, Says Russia

May 14, 2026, 12:26 GMT+1

Secretary of Russia’s Security Council, Sergei Shoigu says ongoing instability in Afghanistan remains one of the main security threats within the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

According to Russia’s TASS, Shoigu made the remarks during a meeting with President of Kyrgyzstan, Sadyr Japarov,and security council secretaries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

He said participants should exchange views on global and regional crises with a direct impact on security, including the ongoing instability in Afghanistan, alongside the conflicts in Ukraine and the war involving Iran.

Shoigu said he intended to discuss a number of practical initiatives aimed at strengthening cooperation in this area.

He said he believed these initiatives would strengthen the organisation’s international standing and demonstrate that member states follow an independent foreign policy.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which includes countries surrounding Afghanistan, has repeatedly warned in recent years about the consequences of insecurity and the activities of extremist groups in the country.

EU Again Calls For Lifting Restrictions On Afghan Women & Girls

May 14, 2026, 10:09 GMT+1

The European Union says Afghans are facing poverty, food insecurity, climate shocks and widespread displacement, stressing that restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan must be lifted.

The European Union said in a post on X on Thursday, May 14, that it remained concerned about the situation of Afghan citizens, referring to a recent report by the United Nations Development Programme on the country’s humanitarian challenges.

The UNDP report said an unprecedented return of refugees, drought and declining aid had pushed Afghanistan deeper into crisis.

The report, published on May 13, stated that around 28 million people in Afghanistan were living in poverty in 2025 and that more than 80 per cent of households were in debt.

Over the past four years, the Taliban have imposed sweeping restrictions on women’s work and girls’ education, showing no sign of easing those measures.

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