What We're Watching: OIC cash for Afghanistan

What We're Watching: OIC cash for Afghanistan
Afghanistan's acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi is seen during the 17th extraordinary session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers on the Afghanistan situation, in Islamabad, Pakistan December 19, 2021.
REUTERS/Waseem Khan

An Islamic trust fund for Afghanistan. They didn’t officially recognize the Taliban government. They didn’t even allow the Taliban’s foreign minister to appear in the official group photograph. But foreign ministers from the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the second-largest intergovernmental organization after the UN, met in Islamabad on Sunday and pledged to set up a trust fund to address the worsening humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Neither the exact amount of the fund nor the contributions by member countries was released, but may not match the $4.5 billion that the UN has appealed for aid to Afghanistan amid warnings that the Afghan economy is in a free-fall, with 23 million facing starvation. The lead organization of the fund will be the Islamic Development Bank, the OIC’s in-house global lender.

More from GZERO Media

When Walmart stocks its shelves with homegrown products like Fischer & Wieser’s peach jam, it’s not just selling food — it’s creating opportunity. Over two-thirds of what Walmart buys is made, grown, or assembled in America, fueling jobs and growth in communities nationwide. Walmart’s $350 billion commitment to US manufacturing is supporting 750,000 jobs and empowering small businesses to sell more, hire more, and strengthen their hometowns. From farms to shelves, Walmart’s investment keeps local businesses thriving. Learn how Walmart's commitment to US manufacturing is supporting 750K American jobs.

- YouTube

"We don’t want an outcome where everyone in the world is not participating equally in this opportunity economy that’s coming from AI,” says Baroness Joanna Shields, Executive Chair of the Responsible AI Future Foundation. Speaking with GZERO Media’s Tony Maciulis, Shields emphasizes that responsible AI must deliver impact.

A Venezuelan Navy patrol boat sails off the Caribbean coast, amid heightened tensions with the U.S., in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, October 24, 2025.
REUTERS/Juan Carlos Hernandez

On Tuesday, the US struck four boats off the Pacific coast of Central America, killing 14 people who the White House said were smuggling narcotics.

Israeli warplanes launched heavy airstrikes targeting an entire residential block near the Al-Sousi Mosque in Al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City. The strikes destroyed a large number of homes, levelling some to the ground. Civil defense and ambulance teams rushed to the scene and are working to rescue victims and recover bodies from under the rubble amidst widespread destruction and significant difficulties in rescue operations due to the ongoing bombardment and a shortage of equipment.

Israeli strikes in Gaza killed 100 people last night, according to local officials, in the deadliest day since the signing of the ceasefire three weeks ago.