 Hello and welcome to the International Daily Roundup by People's Dispatch, where we bring you major news elements from around the world. Our headlines? Israeli forces killed Palestinian boy amid brutal crackdown in occupied territories, hundreds protest against increasing feminicides in Puerto Rico, U.S. WACs, limited patent waiver for vaccines as COVID-19 cases soared in India, Taliban captives key districts in attacks launched across Afghanistan. In our first story, Israeli forces shot and killed the Palestinian boy in the occupied West Bank on May 5th, 16-year-old Saeed Yusuf Odeh was killed in the Odala village near Nablus. Israeli forces had fired people in the village who were protesting the restrictions on movement. Odeh was shot in the back twice and his body was later handed over to the Palestinian Red Crescent. Another teenager was also shot and is currently hospitalized. People have been protesting in the occupied West Bank against a harassment by Israeli forces in the blockades on movement. Israeli forces also conducted raids in several villages claiming to look for a suspect in a shooting. This is related to an incident reported on Sunday in which three Israelis were injured. Meanwhile, at least 22 Palestinians were injured after Israeli forces raided the Sheikh Jarrah locality in occupied East Jerusalem. Nightly protests have taken place against a court order to evict Palestinian families. Protesters have been attacked with tear gas and skunk water and at least 10 people were arrested on Wednesday. A district court had ruled earlier this year that the Palestinian family's land belonged to the Israelis. The court had given the families till May 6th to reach an arrangement with Israeli settlers. However, the families informed the court on Thursday that no agreement had been reached. The district court's final decision on eviction is expected sometime on Thursday. The Supreme Court will also decide if the families have the right to appeal a lower court decision. In our next story, we go to Puerto Rico where hundreds of people have been protesting femicides. Protests began on May 3rd following the killings of Andrea Ruiz Costa and Keisla Rodriguez-Ortiz. Andrea was killed by a former partner and her body was discovered half burnt last week. It is found that she had filed domestic violence complaint in the court but was not granted a protection order. Keisla's 27-year-old partner has been charged with her murder. Her body was discovered in the San Jose Laguna. Her family confirmed that she was going to meet her partner to tell him that she was pregnant. The weeks protest marked 100 days since the governor declared a state of emergency for gender violence in Puerto Rico. 18 cases of femicide have been reported on the island in 2021 so far. Protesters have been announced the government for failing to address the crisis. A sit-in demonstration was held outside the governor's official residence on Monday. A protest was also held outside the justice department on May 4th. People gathered outside the Hato Re police headquarters on May 5th and confronted the police lieutenant. Activists have denounced the police as a repressive apparatus stating that the institution itself had the most complaints of domestic violence. The feminist collective has demanded that the physical control board allocate $7 million towards policies to eradicate sexist violence. They have also denounced austerity measures which will lead to cuts in pensions, health services, public housing and labour rights. The collective argues that depriving women of essential services will increase their conditions of vulnerability. The group has now called for demonstrations across municipalities on May 7th to demand concrete proposals from authorities. In our next study, the United States has announced that it will support a limited waiver on patents for COVID-19 vaccines. U.S. trade representative, Katherine Tate, announced the decision on May 5th. The government will now negotiate with the World Trade Organization for a waiver of the TRIPS Agreement. However, the U.S. will not support a waiver for all COVID-19 related interventions, including diagnostics and treatment. The proposal for a temporary suspension of the agreement had been presented by India and South Africa last year. However, it had been repeatedly blocked by the U.S., the U.K. and the EU, among others. The proposal is set to be backed by over 164 members of the WTO. The European Union has also now announced that it is willing to discuss a patent waiver. The government of New Zealand too has announced its support. However, the approval is expected to take time, given the significant opposition by other countries. This is despite repeated warnings by health experts that low vaccine coverage will make it more likely for variants to reappear. According to reports, variants are already exceeding vaccination progress across the world. The situation in India is particularly critical as it witnesses massive surge in infections. The country has recorded over 412,000 cases within a 24-hour period. The Health Ministry reported 3,980 deaths as of the morning of May 6th. However, the total number of both cases and fatalities is expected to be much higher. India's second wave has been characterized by a higher rate of positivity and experts have now warned that the third wave is inevitable. While all adults are now eligible for vaccination, the country is experiencing a shortage of doses. And in our final story, we go to Afghanistan, where the Taliban has launched a series of attacks across the country. The attacks have come after the US missed the May 1st deadline to withdraw its troops. Officials say that on Wednesday, the Taliban fighters had captured the Barkha district in northern Afghanistan. Violent attacks in the country's southern region have also displaced thousands of civilians. The US government announced last month that it would withdraw all troops by September 11. In the meantime, the talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban have stalled. Here's a video feature on the current situation in the country. As US troops began withdrawing from Afghanistan on May 1st, the Taliban has launched attacks all over the country. The Doha agreement between the US and Afghanistan under former President Donald Trump had set May 1st as the deadline for the troops to withdraw. Now with the US having crossed this deadline, the Taliban too is refusing to hold up its end of the deal. On May 3rd, Taliban forces launched an offensive in Afghanistan's Hilman province just two days after the US handed over control of the Hilman base to the Afghanistan army. The fighting that broke out has led to the displacement of a thousand families in the area. News of various such attacks on military bases, security outposts, etc. is coming from various parts of the country. These attacks are being seen as part of the Taliban's spring offensive even though they have not been officially declared as such. With the US troops withdrawing, the Taliban seems to be escalating its offensive against the Afghan government in order to expand its control over the country just as many had feared. After two decades of war, the US is withdrawing without any peace plan in place. It is leaving the country after being defeated. None of its objectives have been achieved. One of the main goals was the defeat of the Taliban. Now desperate to withdraw troops, the US has proposed a transitional government which also includes the Taliban. The current US administration under President Joe Biden is openly stating that it believes the Taliban will govern less harshly this time around in comparison to what it did between 1996 to 2001. In face of the rising violence, even President Ashraf Ghani is backing this proposal after having refused to share power with the Taliban before. However, will the Taliban drop its military offensive to participate in this transitional government? Back in 2001, just as the US began its invasion into Afghanistan, Afghan leader Abdul Haq stated in an interview that military action by itself in the present circumstances is only making things more difficult, especially if this war goes on a long time and many civilians are killed. The war has gone on for 20 years and over 70,000 civilians have been killed. Haq had said that the best thing would be for the US to work for a united political solution involving all the Afghan groups. Otherwise, there will be an encouragement of deep divisions between different groups backed by different countries and badly affecting the whole region. 20 years later, the divide between the Taliban and other groups in Afghanistan seems to have become too big to bridge through dialogue. Some experts believe that the Taliban considers itself to be winning at the movement and sees no reason to become part of any power sharing agreement. The US, meanwhile, has stated that it is leaving the country but it has not publicly talked about any plans for the exit of the undisclosed 1,000 troops, the special forces, private contractors, etc. Afghanistan remains an area of strategic interest for the US because of its proximity to China, Russia and Iran. The US is partnering with Turkey in its efforts to shape the outcome in Afghanistan in accordance with its needs. This is despite Turkey's controversial involvement with ISIS and Al-Qaeda in Syria. It has been reported that ISIS has been shifting its fighters from Syria to northern Afghanistan. This movement of extremist fighters is often concerned not only to Afghanistan but also to Central Asia and to China. As the US is publicly leaving Afghanistan, it is not talking about the rights of Afghan women and girls who will again be left to the mercy of the rising fundamentalist forces. No long-term changes were established to safeguard their rights by the US in these two decades of war. The US is leaving at least publicly with the Taliban back in power. Afghanistan is back to where it was in 2001.