A huge suicide bomb ripped through a secure area of Kabul at the height of the Wednesday morning rush hour, killing at least 90 people and wounding 400, Afghan officials said. The blast, which came a few days into the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, was one of the deadliest to hit the capital in recent years. The bomb exploded in the diplomatic quarter near the German Embassy and the Afghan presidential palace. The streets were packed with commuters, women shopping and children going to school, and the blast appears likely to result in a high civilian death toll. (CNN http://cnn.it/2rf1Kug)
Meet the next President of the UN General Assembly… Slovak foreign minister Miroslav Lajcak to be its next president. He will succeed Fiji’s former ambassador to the United Nations, Peter Thomson, in September and chair the assembly’s 72nd session that month. The post lasts a year. (First Post http://bit.ly/2rFUgSj)
The best (and worst) place to be a child is…Norway and Niger, respectively. From the new “end of childhood” report and rankings from Save the Children. (Save the Children http://bit.ly/2rFYM3k)
Top Stories
Heavy rains and highway obstructions are hampering efforts to get food, water and medicine to thousands of flood survivors in Sri Lanka, government officials and aid workers said. (VOA http://bit.ly/2qBC5sT)
The United Nations said that 200,000 Iraqi civilians could flee an Islamic State-controlled part of Mosul in the coming days. (VOA http://bit.ly/2qBNcBY)
Germany’s top security official ordered the re-examination of up to 100,000 decisions granting asylum to migrants after uncovering mistakes in a smaller probe undertaken after a German soldier was able to pass himself off as a Syrian refugee in a bizarre far-right plot. (AP http://apne.ws/2rVaaYF)
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte denounced Chelsea Clinton in a vulgar speech for her criticism of remarks he made last week about rape. (VOA http://bit.ly/2rbJUIo)
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said that he would sign deals for U.S. goods and services worth $15 billion to $17 billion during his visit to Washington, mainly for high-technology products and for services. (VOA http://bit.ly/2rUKf3o)
As the number of children fleeing gang violence in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras soars, UNHCR is launching a campaign for US$18 million in vital aid. (UNHCR http://bit.ly/2qGzDAw)
A top South Sudan army official used his position to accumulate millions of dollars through his personal business, while helping to orchestrate a conflict that has resulted in famine, according to a new report by a Washington-based human rights group. (VOA http://bit.ly/2rc0Qi5)
Solar power is lighting up the night sky in Jordan and making life easier for the 20,000 Syrian refugees at a camp that once had no reliable source of electricity. (VOA http://bit.ly/2rbK1Uk)
A string of high-profile crackdowns on gay rights in Indonesia has the country’s LGBT community on edge. (VOA http://bit.ly/2rbZ0xH)
Opinion/Blogs
Trump is Pulling out of the Paris Agreement. Here’s what will happen. (UN Dispatch http://bit.ly/2rFTpBh)
The Worsening Humanitarian Crisis in Syria (IPS http://bit.ly/2rkD6qu)
Legal invisibility was the best thing to happen to me (African Arguments http://bit.ly/2qGabLB)
Small Steps Can Save Millions of Lives (Bloomberg View https://bloom.bg/2qGdPox)
It’s Time for the United States to Lean In to Climate Change (Foreign Policy http://atfp.co/2qGn2gD)
We Asked, You Answered: Does U.S. Foreign Aid Raise Living Standards? (NPR Goats and Soda http://n.pr/2rbhePY)
With few memories of Biafra War, young Nigerians renew calls for independence (CSM http://bit.ly/2rbKs10)
The female journalists defying taboos and braving death threats in Afghanistan (Guardian http://bit.ly/2qGcRIY)
Africa: Could Big Data Help End Hunger on the Continent? (VOA http://bit.ly/2qARgGK)
A UN of the Future to Effectively Serve all Member States (IPS http://bit.ly/2rbA3Cp)
