Afghanistan
A Taliban spokesman, in an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera, said the group had a “right to react” if the US leaves any troops in Afghanistan past September. US and NATO forces are due to withdraw from the country by September 11 but US officials told the Associated Press yesterday that about 650 soldiers would stay to provide security for diplomats. Suhail Shaheen said the Taliban would consider that a violation of an agreement it signed with the US last year. “If they stay here, then I think it is a kind of continuation of the occupation,” he said. The Taliban has made sweeping territorial gains in recent weeks, capturing dozens of towns and districts.
More from Al Jazeera here.
Ethiopia
The medical aid group Médecins Sans Frontières today said three of its staff were “brutally murdered” in Ethiopia’s Tigray region where, as outlined in previous newsletters, a brutal civil conflict is taking place. In a statement, the group said emergency coordinator Maria Hernandez, assistant coordinator Yohannes Halefom Reda and driver Tedros Gebremariam Gebremichael were found dead a few meters from the car from they had been traveling in, without giving details on the manner of the killings or who might have been responsible. Hernandez, 35, was a Spanish national and Yohannes, 31, and Tedros, 31, were from Ethiopia.
More from AFP via France 24 here.
Brazil
“There is no Brazilian today who does not know someone who died from Covid, no Brazilian who has not lost a relative member, a neighbour, a friend.”
A Brazilian senator leading a congressional inquiry into the country’s coronavirus pandemic response has said there is growing evidence that the government of President Jair Bolsonaro committed “crimes against life”. More than 500,000 Brazilians have died from COVID-19, which is the second highest death toll in the world behind the US. “The most shocking thing is the realization of how negligent the government has been – on so many issues,” Senator Omar Aziz said.
More from the Guardian here.