Afghanistan
Yet more territorial gains for the Taliban, which has been sweeping through Afghanistan at a lightning pace in recent weeks, grabbing districts as it goes. Today, it said it had a captured a key border crossing from Afghanistan into Pakistan. Though denied by Afghan authorities, Pakistani officials confirmed the crossing was in Taliban hands. Violence has surged ahead of the final withdrawal of US and NATO troops from the country, which is due to be fully complete by the end of August.
More from Al Jazeera here.
Ethiopia
Disturbing reports out of Ethiopia that ethnic Tigrayans are being detained and their businesses closed in what activists say is a government campaign against them purely based on ethnicity. The Ethiopian government has been at war with the former ruling party of the country’s Tigray region for more than eight months. The Tigrayan group, the TPLF, last month dramatically reversed the course of the war with an offensive that saw them recapture regional capital Mekelle. The UN says hundreds of thousands of people in the region, including many children, are living in famine conditions.
More from the Associated Press here.
Brazil
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has been taken to hospital after he suffered “persistent hiccups,” according to his office. He is to stay under observation for 24 - 48 hours and staff at the hospital said he was doing well. There have been concerns about his health since he was stabbed on the campaign trail in 2018 and he has undergone several operations since. Bolsonaro has come under huge pressure to resign recently due to his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Deaths in Brazil last month crossed the 500,000 mark, the second highest in the world after the US.
More from the Independent here.