Sudan, Guyana, Afghanistan
Today's three stories you should know
Sudan
Some 19.5 million people in Sudan, more than 40 percent of the population, are facing acute hunger, according to a report by a leading global hunger monitor, as the country’s three-year civil war continues to fuel the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Fourteen areas in North Darfur, South Darfur, and South Kordofan states are at risk of full-blown famine and 135,000 people in those areas face "catastrophic" levels of hunger, the U.N.-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification said. The situation has been worsened by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, with shipping routes for aid choked up, and rising food, fuel and fertilizer prices making a successful harvest later this year less likely.
More from Reuters here.
Guyana
Guyana’s foreign ministry has demanded that neighboring Venezuela investigate two incidents in which it says Guyanese troops were shot at along their shared border. It comes just days after the two countries appeared before the International Court of Justice in The Hague to present arguments in a dispute over the region of Essequibo, which makes up about two-thirds of Guyana’s territory. Venezuela has considered Essequibo its own since Spanish colonial times, but an 1899 decision by arbitrators from Britain, Russia and the U.S. drew a border that favored Guyana. Essequibo is rich in gold, diamonds, timber and other natural resources, and is located near huge offshore oil deposits.
More from the Washington Post here.
Afghanistan
At least three journalists have been detained in Afghanistan on unspecified charges, according to the U.N. and rights groups. Twenty-four-hour news channel TOLOnews said two of its staff, Imran Danish and Mansoor Niazi, were among those arrested. A third detainee was reported to be Jawid Niazi, who owns the Kabul-based Paigard News Agency. “A free, independent, and safe press is essential for transparency, accountability, and the well-being of Afghan society,” the U.N. mission in Afghanistan said, urging Taliban authorities “to uphold their obligations under international human rights law and ensure that journalists can do their work without fear of intimidation, harassment, or reprisal.”
More from AP here.