<p>The UN Security Council held a virtual conference to discuss the peacekeeping mission in Mali where 15,000 UN peacekeepers are stationed, and violence continues to escalate.</p> <p>Al Jazeera reports that in the northern city of Bamba in Mali, 25 soldiers were killed in a single attack this week. Mali has thus far reported 52 positive cases of coronavirus and 5 deaths.</p>

<p>The World Health Organisation, whilst not issuing a blanket policy, has warned against easing measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus stating the importance of preventing a fall back again.</p>

<p>Discussions between the Afghan government and the Taliban over a possible prisoner exchange have broken down following the&nbsp;withdraw&nbsp;of Taliban negotiators.</p> <p>Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for Taliban told reporters that this withdrawal was caused by “intentional delays in the release of our prisoners”.</p> <p>As part of these discussions, both the Taliban and Afghanistan were set to release an approximate 6,000 prisoners in total.</p>

Brazil’s lower house of Congress has pushed forwards a “war budget” in response to the COVID 19 pandemic which aims to distinguish spending on the government’s response to the coronavirus from their main budget.

Jammu and Kashmir medical workers have been threatened by the state they “will end up in jail for up to six months” if they speak against the government.

Last week, the Directorate of Health Services in Kashmir issued a circular intimidating workers with “strict action” if they criticise the government’s efforts to combat the pandemic on social media, or to the press.

<p>Tensions have escalated in Yemen where warring sides accused each other of attack an oil pipeline in the central province of Marib.</p> <p>The attack follows&nbsp;calls from the United Nations for a global ceasefire in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Neither side has given details of the attack&nbsp;but it is known that the pipeline is operated by the Yemeni government’s Safer oil company.</p>

US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, has announced the reduction of US aid to Afghanistan’s security forces by $1 billion which would hamper efforts by the Afghan government to combat the Taliban and weaken its negotiating position.

Indian police fired tear gas at approximately 500 workers in the western city of Surat after stating that they could not return home despite losing their jobs.

According to Vidhi Chaudhari;

“The police tried to convince them that it is not possible since buses or trains are not available...However, the workers refused to budge, and started pelting stones at police,”

US coalition troops have withdrawn from a military base in Northern Iraq.

The US withdrawal follows the assassination of senior Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began a number of countries around the world have released thousands of prisoners in order to stem a possible spread of the virus within prisons. According to public health experts, prisons are a ripe place for the spread of COVID-19 due to the close contact between prisoners, overcrowding and unsanitary conditions.

Human Rights Watch has expressed caution with respects to Nigeria’s plans to deploy police and soldiers to enforce social distancing warning that they have been implicated in a number of human rights abuses including “arbitrary arrests, extortion, illegal detention, and use of excessive force”.

Militants are holding Mali’s main opposition leader, Soumaila Cisse, as well as 6 members of his delegation hostage following an attack on their campaign trail.

Following calls for a global ceasefire, Yemen’s warring parties have entered into a truce as coronavirus presents an unprecedented threat to public health however the US has began to withdraw aid.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called upon Australia’s Defence Department to re-examine previously dismissed cases of alleged summary executions and other war crimes in Afghanistan in light of new evidence.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) broadcasted an episode on March 16^th reporting on the possible war crimes of Australian soldiers in Afghanistan and showed footage where an Australian soldier, from the Special Air Service (SAS), is shown to kill an unarmed Afghan civilian during a raid on a village in 2012.