Powerful earthquake strikes mountainous area of eastern Afghanistan

The Taliban government has called for foreign assistance to help affected families. [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [View in your browser]( [Top of The World]( --------------------------------------------------------------- What The World is following Powerful earthquake strikes mountainous area of eastern Afghanistan [Afghans look at destruction caused by an earthquake in the province of Paktika, eastern Afghanistan, June 22, 2022.] Credit: Bakhtar News Agency via AP Afghanistan A 6.1-magnitude earthquake has [killed around 1,000 people]( and injured another 1,500 in Afghanistan, with the death toll expected to rise. One of the deadliest in decades, the quake struck in the eastern Paktika province, a rural mountainous region. The Taliban government said it would provide emergency funding for the families of those affected, and called for [greater foreign assistance]( and humanitarian aid. The country is currently facing a severe economic and food crisis. The US and its allies froze around $7 billion of the country’s foreign reserves after the Taliban recaptured control of the country in August, cutting them off from international funding. Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told parliament on Wednesday that the nation’s economy has [“completely collapsed.”]( He did not cite new developments, but wanted to emphasize the scale of the situation. The country has been facing months of food, fuel and electricity shortages, under the weight of heavy debts, lost revenue from the tourism industry and pandemic-related challenges. Wickremesinghe said the government plans to bring together China, India and Japan at a [donor conference in August]( to secure more foreign assistance, and hopes to present an interim budget. United States The Biden administration has renewed a ban that will restrict the use of [anti-personnel landmines]( by the military. The move reverses a Trump-era decision and realigns the United States’ policy more closely with a global treaty banning the explosives. Landmines pose a lethal threat to civilians even long after the end of active combat. The move, however, [does not include the Korean peninsula](. Although the US does not currently have any minefields there, Washington’s pledge of support to defend Seoul includes the use of anti-personnel mines. The US has a stockpile of 3 million landmines, and the new policy will destroy any of them that are not needed to protect South Korea. --------------------------------------------------------------- From The World [‘We are here with one idea, one heart’: Ecuador’s Indigenous groups rally for rights in mass protests]( [Demonstrators ride trucks as they arrive to the capital to protest against the government of President Guillermo Lasso, in Quito, Ecuador, June 20, 2022.]( Credit: Dolores Ochoa/AP Thousands of Indigenous people from tribes across Ecuador have marched to the capital Quito as a part of ongoing protests. Indigenous leaders have [10 demands](, including reducing gas prices, halting new mining and gas projects, providing funds for health care and education and economic relief for millions of families in debt. [Return of Patrice Lumumba's remains to DR Congo gives 'peace of mind,' UN envoy says]( [Juliana Lumumba, the daughter of Patrice Lumumba, speaks during a ceremony to return the remains of her father to the family at the Egmont Palace in Brussels, June 20, 2022.]( Credit: Nicholas Maeterlinck/Pool Photo via AP Belgium has [returned the mortal remains]( of Congolese independence hero Patrice Lumumba to Democratic Republic of Congo and his family. Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja, DR Congo's representative to the United Nations, discussed the move and its significance with The World's host Carol Hills. --------------------------------------------------------------- Keep The World paywall free Your vital support sustains The World’s nonprofit newsroom so that The World’s independent reporting and human-centered stories can remain open and paywall free. We have a goal of raising $25,000 between now and June 30 to power our nonprofit newsroom for another year. Can we [count on your support]( to ensure The World remains free and accessible? --------------------------------------------------------------- Bright spot President Joe Biden is set to appoint Marilynn “Lynn” Malerba as the United States' first Native American treasurer. It’s part of his administration’s establishment of an Office of Tribal and Native Affairs at the Treasury Department. Her duties will include oversight of the US Mint, serving as a liaison with the Federal Reserve and overseeing Treasury’s Office of Consumer Policy. Malerba is the lifetime chief of the Mohegan Indian Tribe. “For the first time in history, a Tribal leader and Native woman’s name will be the signature on our currency,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said. 💵 [Marilynn "Lynn" Malerba at Tribal offices in Uncasville, Conn., March 4, 2010.] Credit: Jessica Hill/AP/File photo In case you missed it on The World --------------------------------------------------------------- Don't forget to subscribe to The World's Latest Edition podcast using your favorite podcast player: [RadioPublic](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Stitcher](, [Soundcloud](, [RSS]( [The World logo]( [The World on Facebook]( [The World's Twitter account]( [Donate]( | [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [Edit your subscription]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [View in your browser]( Top of the World is written weekday mornings by the team at [The World](. [The World]( is produced by [PRX]( and [GBH](.