Former Prince Andrew reportedly sent a confidential UK government briefing on Afghan investment opportunities to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The document, prepared for Andrew during his role as the UK’s special representative for international trade, detailed “high value commercial opportunities” in Helmand province, including gold, uranium, marble, and potential oil and gas reserves. In a December 2010 email, Andrew described it as a “confidential brief produced by the provincial reconstruction team in Helmand.”

The briefing coincided with Andrew’s visit to Helmand, where British forces were stationed, and official guidance requires trade envoys to keep such information confidential.

Emails suggest he may have also shared reports from trade visits to Singapore, Hong Kong, and Vietnam, along with additional files labeled “Overseas bids.”

Thames Valley Police are reviewing claims that Andrew improperly shared sensitive documents while serving as trade envoy.

Andrew, 65, stepped back from royal duties in 2019 after his connection to Epstein emerged and settled a civil lawsuit with Virginia Giuffre in 2022, denying any liability.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UNICEF, and the Government of France have launched a €2 million initiative to support communities in eastern Afghanistan affected by the August 2025 earthquake.

The project, funded under the French Initiative for Food Security and Nutrition (FIFSAN), aims to restore food security, improve nutrition, and protect livelihoods, particularly for women and children.

The programme will directly reach 51,870 people in Kunar and Nangarhar provinces, with indirect benefits for approximately 190,000 more, focusing on rebuilding productive assets, promoting household food production, and reducing malnutrition.

Using FAO’s Cash+ approach, families will receive unconditional cash transfers, livestock protection packages, poultry and vegetable support, and nutrition education. UNICEF will complement these efforts by improving access to nutritious first foods, promoting optimal infant and young child feeding, and strengthening WASH services to prevent malnutrition.

“Targeted support gives families the space to recover with dignity rather than being forced into impossible choices,” said Richard Trenchard, FAO Representative in Afghanistan.

Dr. Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF Representative, added that nearly 80% of Afghan children affected by malnutrition are under two, making early intervention critical.

The joint initiative addresses both immediate needs and the long-term recovery of food systems, nutrition, and livelihoods in a region still reeling from natural disasters and repeated crises.

The U.S. State Department has begun paying Afghans to repatriate as it attempts to close a camp in Qatar where they have been stranded for years, Reuters quoted the top State Department official for South and Central Asia told lawmakers on Wednesday.

More than 1,100 people have been held at the former U.S. Army base Camp As Sayliyah (CAS) since at least early last year, when Republican President Donald Trump’s administration halted resettlement for Afghans who feared retribution from Islamic Emirate authorities for their links to the U.S. military.

Advocates say the group includes civilian refugees, women who served as special operators for the U.S. during its 20-year war in Afghanistan, and family members of U.S. servicemembers, all of whom would be in danger if returned to the country, read the report.

Democrats have blasted the administration’s plan to offer payment to those who agree to “self-deport” ahead of the planned closure of the facility at the end of March. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee holding the hearing on Wednesday, called it a “betrayal of our Afghan allies.”

Assistant Secretary of State S. Paul Kapur said he believed around 150 had already accepted the payments, but did not know what happened to them after they returned.

“We are not forcibly repatriating Afghans to Afghanistan. Some have gone of their own volition, but we’re not forcing anybody,” Kapur said.

“We’re looking to relocate them. We’re in negotiations with third countries to do that. Our belief is that is actually a good outcome. Keeping them indefinitely on CAS is not … reasonable.”

Kapur did not offer details of the payments and the State Department did not respond to a request for comment.

Shawn VanDiver, head of AfghanEvac, a coalition of veterans and advocacy groups, told Reuters the payments being offered were $4,500 for a main applicant and $1,200 per additional person who relocates.

VanDiver said the repatriation was not truly voluntary, saying that staff at the facility in Qatar were telling the Afghans they should accept the offer, with third-country relocation uncertain.