UN Agency Calls for Food Aid for Afghanistan Before Winter

An internally displaced Afghan woman washes clothes outside her shelter on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan February 3, 2021. (Reuters)
An internally displaced Afghan woman washes clothes outside her shelter on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan February 3, 2021. (Reuters)
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UN Agency Calls for Food Aid for Afghanistan Before Winter

An internally displaced Afghan woman washes clothes outside her shelter on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan February 3, 2021. (Reuters)
An internally displaced Afghan woman washes clothes outside her shelter on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan February 3, 2021. (Reuters)

The UN World Food Program (WFP) on Tuesday called for the international community to donate $200 million in food aid for Afghanistan so essential supplies can be delivered to remote regions before winter.

"WFP is warning that a humanitarian catastrophe awaits the people of Afghanistan this winter unless the international community makes their lives a priority," Anthea Webb, WFP deputy regional director for Asia and Pacific, told a UN briefing.

"Once the snow sets in it is simply too late."

Webb said the WFP needs to get supplies through mountain passages before they are blocked by snow.

"Any further delay could be deadly," she said.

Webb added that countries nervous about a possible exodus of people from Afghanistan after the Taliban took control should back relief missions supporting those who stay in the country.



Israel’s Prime Minister Says Trump Has Invited Him to the White House on Feb. 4

 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends his trial on corruption charges at the district court in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends his trial on corruption charges at the district court in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP)
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Israel’s Prime Minister Says Trump Has Invited Him to the White House on Feb. 4

 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends his trial on corruption charges at the district court in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends his trial on corruption charges at the district court in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says President Donald Trump has invited him to visit the White House on Feb. 4, which would make him the first foreign leader to visit Washington in Trump’s second term.

The visit comes as the United States pressures Israel and Hamas to continue a ceasefire that has paused a devastating 15-month war in Gaza.

Trump teased the upcoming visit in a conversation with reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday, but didn’t provide scheduling details. “I’m going to be speaking with Bibi Netanyahu in the not too distant future,” he said.

The meeting would be a chance for Netanyahu, under pressure at home, to remind the world of the long support he has received from Trump over the years. Netanyahu is likely to encourage Trump not to hold up weapons deliveries the way the Biden administration did.

Even before taking office this month, Trump was sending his special Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, to the region to apply pressure along with the Biden administration to get the current ceasefire achieved.