Lawmakers urge Biden to appoint an ambassador to protect security of Afghan women as U.S. forces exit
CBSN
Worried about the plight of women in Afghanistan once U.S. troops leave, lawmakers are urging the Biden administration to ensure the U.S. will help keep women and girls in Afghanistan safe once the last U.S. forces have departed.
Should the Taliban seize control of more of the country, women could see their rights restricted or worse. There has already been a 37% increase in women killed or injured in the first quarter of 2021 compared to 2020, according to United Nations data. Democratic Senators Mazie Hirono and Jeanne Shaheen and Republican Senator Susan Collins sent a letter to the White House last week asking for an ambassador-at-large for global women's issues to be designated to coordinate the protection of women's rights in Afghanistan.Zhytomyr, Ukraine — Exactly 1,000 days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine, Russia's defense ministry accused Ukrainian forces on Tuesday of firing six U.S.-made and -supplied ATACMS missiles at the Russian region of Bryansk. If confirmed, it could be the first time Ukrainian troops had taken advantage of President Biden easing restrictions over the weekend on Ukraine's use of the U.S.-made missiles to strike targets deeper inside Russian territory.
President Biden's decision to allow Ukraine to fire U.S.-made and supplied missiles deeper into Russia — a major policy shift announced over the weekend after months of intense lobbying by Kyiv — has drawn a furious response from Moscow. While there was no immediate reaction directly from the man who launched the nearly three-year war on his neighboring nation, lawmakers aligned with President Vladimir Putin in Russia said Monday that the move was unacceptable and warned it could lead to a third world war.
Tel Aviv — After more than a year of bombing and homelessness, Gazans are looking to a new administration in Washington for help. President-elect Donald Trump's election victory has raised hopes and fears among the five million residents of the Palestinian territories — the warn-torn Gaza Strip and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.