Germany’s top diplomat expressed concerns during a visit to Pakistan that neighboring Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers are leading that country into a complete “downfall” and bringing about incredible suffering and hunger. (https://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Top-German-diplomat-Taliban-to-cause-17224437.php) Annalena Baerbock spoke at a press conference with her Pakistani counterpart, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, after discussing a range of issues with officials in Islamabad. Since seizing power in mid-August last year, the Taliban have imposed harsh edicts in Afghanistan, harking back to their repressive rule during the late 1990s. They have restricted freedoms and rights of women, who are now barred from going to school beyond the sixth grade, and minorities. The country has plunged into an unprecedented crisis, hurtling toward an economic meltdown as famine and hunger loom. In Islamabad, Baerbock urged that any economic aid to Afghanistan’s Taliban should be coupled with improvements in the human rights situation.