UN warns 500,000 more people will need humanitarian aid in South Sudan

UN warns 500,000 more people will need humanitarian aid in South Sudan
Humanitarian conditions have been worsened by endemic violence, conflict, and access constraints. (AFP/File)
Short Url
Updated 27 November 2022

UN warns 500,000 more people will need humanitarian aid in South Sudan

UN warns 500,000 more people will need humanitarian aid in South Sudan
  • Conditions worsened by violence, public health challenges, climate change

JUBA, South Sudan: Some 9.4 million people in South Sudan will need humanitarian assistance and protection services next year, half a million more than the current number, the UN  has said in a report.

According to the 2023 South Sudan Humanitarian Needs Overview report, more people will face food insecurity in 2023. Currently, nearly a third of 12.4 million people living in South Sudan are facing severe food insecurity.

Humanitarian conditions have been worsened by endemic violence, conflict, access constraints, operational interference, public health challenges and climate change effects such as flooding and drought, the report said.

The need for assistance will be greatest in counties in the Upper Nile and Western Equatoria States that have been facing conflict.

“Something has to change in South Sudan because the number of people in need continues to rise every year and the resources continue to decrease,” said Sara Beysolow Nyanti, the Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan, in a statement. Nyanti appealed to the government to ensure conditions of peace and to foster development in order to reduce the need for humanitarian aid.

Violence continues to plague the country, posing a threat to a peace deal signed in 2018 by former rivals President Salva Kiir and deputy Riek Machar.

Machar has in recent times accused Kiir of violating the peace agreement.

Hundreds of thousands of people were killed and millions displaced in a civil war before the peace deal was signed.


Love, pain and loss at historic Ukraine cemetery

Love, pain and loss at historic Ukraine cemetery
Updated 10 sec ago

Love, pain and loss at historic Ukraine cemetery

Love, pain and loss at historic Ukraine cemetery
LVIV, Ukraine: At a historic military cemetery in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, Valeriy Pushko lights up two cigarettes. One is for himself, the other for his son whose portrait is fixed to a cross planted in the ground.
“I smoke with my son,” said the grey-haired man.
“We used to take cigarette breaks together. It’s a bad habit but it makes things easier. I talk to him, think about him and that makes me feel better.”
Pushko said many others come here to smoke with their fallen husbands or sons.
Located in southeastern Lviv, the Lychakiv cemetery is one of the oldest graveyards in Europe and is often compared to the historic Père Lachaise in Paris, where dozens of celebrities are buried.
It is the resting place of prominent figures including the poet Ivan Franko and thousands of soldiers who perished during World War I and II.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine over a year ago, rows of new graves have appeared. A sea of blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flags and red-and-black nationalist banners mark them.
Some mourners leave stuffed animals, cigarettes, and cups of coffee at the graves of their loved ones.
More unusual symbols of love and sorrow included children’s drawings, vinyl records, a golf ball, and a bottle of beer.
Shortly after the Russian invasion in February 2022, authorities began burying soldiers killed in fighting at the Lychakiv cemetery.
But the area initially designated for military burials quickly filled up, said city official Oleg Pidpysetsky.
The authorities then began laying Ukrainian servicemen to rest at a new site bordering Lychakiv.
Funerals are held nearly every day in the new burial ground. Called the Field of Mars, it now contains about 350 graves.
“No one knew how critical the situation was,” Pidpysetsky told AFP.
“Someone thought it would end in a month, two, three, six months. But, unfortunately, the war has only gotten bigger.”
Oleg, one of the mourners who came to visit a friend’s grave, called the losses “irreparable.”
“We will have our victory of course, but this is the price we pay. And that is not the end,” said the 55-year-old.
“These people gave their lives for us.”
Oleg mourns the loss of his 45-year-old friend also called Oleg.
He said the father of two volunteered to go to the front.
“Unfortunately, nothing can be done now. Thousands of Russians will not replace my Oleg,” he said bitterly.
Kyiv does not reveal the number of its military casualties but Western officials say more than 100,000 Ukrainians have been killed or wounded.
Olga, who came to visit her brother-in-law’s grave, says the mementos people leave “is all that’s left, the only connection with their heroes.”
Her sister comes to the cemetery every day, she added.
“That’s her second home now,” said Olga.
Vyacheslav Sabelnikov, who served in the infantry before receiving a serious injury, says several men he fought with are now buried at the cemetery.
“I came to visit a friend whose birthday is today,” said Sabelnikov, placing a candle in front of his portrait.
Sabelnikov said he lights up candles to remember his friends, saying it was important to “honor” their memory.
Anna Mikheyeva, a 44-year-old social worker, came to visit her son Mykhailo’s grave. He served in the 80th Parachute Brigade and was killed last year at the age of 25.
Mikheyeva says she often brings her son things “he liked” including Coca-Cola, sweets, and cigarettes.
“If I come in the morning, I buy a coffee for myself and also for him,” added the dark-haired woman.
She said she felt calm at the Field of Mars.
“There are only young people here. They are like sons and brothers to me.
“When I come I always say ‘Hi guys’. And I always, always thank them.”

Hungary: Criticism makes it hard to cooperate with West

Hungary: Criticism makes it hard to cooperate with West
Updated 25 March 2023

Hungary: Criticism makes it hard to cooperate with West

Hungary: Criticism makes it hard to cooperate with West
  • “You know, when Finnish and Swedish politicians question the democratic nature of our political system, that’s really unacceptable,” Szijjártó said
  • A vote on Sweden is harder to predict, he said

UNITED NATIONS: The West’s steady criticism of Hungary on democratic and cultural issues makes the small European country’s right-wing government reluctant to offer support on practical matters, specifically NATO’s buildup against Russia, Hungary’s foreign minister said.
In an interview with AP, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó also said Friday that his country has not voted on whether to allow Finland and Sweden to join NATO because Hungarian lawmakers are sick of those countries’ critiques of Hungarian domestic affairs.
Lawmakers from the governing party plan to vote Monday in favor of the Finnish request but “serious concerns were raised” about Finland and Sweden in recent months “mostly because of the very disrespectful behavior of the political elites of both countries toward Hungary,” Szijjártó said.
“You know, when Finnish and Swedish politicians question the democratic nature of our political system, that’s really unacceptable,” he said.
A vote on Sweden is harder to predict, Szijjártó said.
The EU, which includes 21 NATO countries, has frozen billions in funds to Budapest and accused populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban of cracking down on media freedom and other rights. Orban’s administration has also been accused of tolerating an entrenched culture of corruption and co-opting state institutions to serve the governing Fidesz party.
In a European Parliament resolution, EU lawmakers declared last year that Hungary had become “a hybrid regime of electoral autocracy” under Orban’s nationalist government and that its undermining of the bloc’s democratic values had taken Hungary out of the community of democracies.
That criticism raised objections within Hungary and made it hard for the government to support Finland and Sweden’s bids to join NATO, Szijjártó said. Skeptics insist that Hungary has simply been trying to win lucrative concessions.
When it comes to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Szijjártó said that his country’s advocacy of peace does not mean accepting that Russia would keep the territory it currently controls.
“You know, stopping the war and sitting around the table does not mean that you accept the status quo,” he said. “When the war stops and the peace talks start, it’s not necessary that the borders would be where the front lines are. We know this from our own history as well ... Cease-fire has to come now.”
As for relations with the United States, Szijjártó said they had a heyday under former President Donald Trump. His government found things more difficult under President Joe Biden.
In perfect, nearly unaccented English, Szijjártó explained that Hungary is “a clearly rightist, right-wing, Christian Democratic, conservative, patriotic government.” He then went on in terms that would be familiar to millions of Americans.
“So we are basically against the mainstream in any attributes of ours. And if you are against the liberal mainstream, and in the meantime, you are successful, and in the meantime, you continue to win elections, it’s not digestible for the liberal mainstream itself,” he said. “Under President Trump, the political relationship was as good as never before.”
Key to that relationship was Trump’s acceptance of Hungary’s policies toward its own citizens.
The law has been condemned by human rights groups and politicians from around Europe as an attack on Hungary’s pride community.
Szijjártó said Trump was more welcoming of such measures than the Biden administration.
“He never wanted to impose anything. He never wanted to put pressure on us to change our way of thinking about family. He never wanted us to change our way of thinking about migration. He never wanted us to change our way of thinking about social issues,” Szijjártó said.
He also said Trump’s attitude toward Russia would be more welcome by some parties today.
During Trump’s term in the White House, Russia did not start “any attack against anyone,” Szijjártó said.


2 men plead guilty to robbing boxer Amir Khan at gunpoint

Two men have pleaded guilty to robbing boxer Amir Khan (pictured, with his wife) at gunpoint of his £70,000 diamond watch
Two men have pleaded guilty to robbing boxer Amir Khan (pictured, with his wife) at gunpoint of his £70,000 diamond watch
Updated 25 March 2023

2 men plead guilty to robbing boxer Amir Khan at gunpoint

Two men have pleaded guilty to robbing boxer Amir Khan (pictured, with his wife) at gunpoint of his £70,000 diamond watch
  • Khan and his wife were leaving a restaurant in Leyton in east London when suspect brandished gun
  • Khan: ‘I have been put in the toughest situations, but this is something different’

LONDON: Two men have pleaded guilty to robbing boxer Amir Khan at gunpoint of his £70,000 ($86,000) diamond watch, Metro newspaper reported.

London’s Snarebrook Crown Court convicted Dante Campbell, 20, and 25-year-old Ahmed Bana on Friday after the two pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to rob and possession of an imitation firearm, with sentencing to be set at a later date.

Stuart Ponder, Met Flying Squad detective constable, said: “This was carefully planned and executed by individuals who knew exactly who they were targeting and what for.

“Despite being on a busy street with other members of the public close by, they had no qualms about brandishing a firearm and threatening Mr. Khan with the most brazen and extreme level of violence.”

The robbery, caught on CCTV, took place just after 9 p.m. on April 18, 2022, when 36-year-old Khan and his wife, Faryal Makhdoom, left a restaurant in Leyton in east London.

Pointing a gun in the former light welterweight champion’s face as the couple crossed the road, Campbell yelled, “Take off the watch,” before fleeing the scene in a silver Mercedes driven by Bana, which had pulled in front of Khan’s car just moments before the attack.

A Flying Squad investigation used CCTV footage to identify the car as being insured by Bana and through him identified Campbell as the gunman, with the pair arrested on June 22.

Speaking at a previous hearing, Khan told the court: “I am a sportsman, a fighter. I have been put in the toughest situations, but this is something different. This is really, really scary. When he put the gun to my face, I couldn’t recognize him because he had a mask on. I looked away because I didn’t want him to pull the trigger.”

Ponder said that every robbery leaves a “significant” mark on the victim, praising Khan for speaking out about the impact it had on both him and his family.

“That is why we are doing everything we can to target individuals who think they can get away with this type of behavior, from extra patrols at known robbery hotspots and developing intelligence on those carrying out these crimes,” Ponder added.

“Anyone who is a victim of a robbery should report it as soon as possible. This helps us ascertain crucial forensic evidence to take these violent criminals off our streets.”

Two other men arrested on suspicion of acting as “spotters” by dining in the restaurant to keep track of Khan’s movements were acquitted by a jury at Snaresbrook on Friday, while another man, Hamza Kulane, remains wanted in connection with the robbery.


Evacuated villagers tell how Spain’s forest fire forced them to leave animals

Evacuated villagers tell how Spain’s forest fire forced them to leave animals
Updated 25 March 2023

Evacuated villagers tell how Spain’s forest fire forced them to leave animals

Evacuated villagers tell how Spain’s forest fire forced them to leave animals
  • Residents recounted fleeing their houses and leaving animals behind
  • More than 500 firefighters supported by 20 planes and helicopters were working to bring the blaze under control near the village of Villanueva de Viver

BARRACAS, Spain: Spain’s first major wildfire of the year scorched more than 4,000 hectares (9,900 acres) of forest and forced 1,500 villagers to leave their homes in the Valencia region.
Residents recounted fleeing their houses and leaving animals behind.
“Bad, how am I supposed to feel? Your town is burning, your life is burning, Our animals were there and no one can tell us anything,” Antonio Zarzoso, 24, who had to leave the village of Puebla de Arenoso, told Reuters.
More than 500 firefighters supported by 20 planes and helicopters were working to bring the blaze under control near the village of Villanueva de Viver, emergency services said on Saturday.
However, they had managed to stop the fire spreading to other areas.
“The surrounding forest has been reached by fire and we don’t know how exactly the area looks,” Montse Boronat, from Los Calpes, told Reuters.
Ximo Puig, president of the Valencia region, told reporters the blaze was made more “voracious” by summer-like temperatures of about 30 Celsius (86 Fahrenheit).
Las Provincias, a regional newspaper, reported police believe that the blaze may have been started by a spark from a machine used to gather brushwood.
A Spanish Civil Guard spokeswoman said that an investigation was underway into the cause of the fire.
An unusually dry winter across parts of southern Europe has raised concern that there could be a repeat of last year’s devastating wildfires.
The weather will be drier and hotter than usual this spring along Spain’s northeastern Mediterranean coast, increasing the risk of fires, meteorological agency AEMET said last week.
Last year some 785,000 hectares were destroyed in Europe more than double the annual average for the past 16 years, according to European Commission (EC) statistics.
In Spain, 493 fires destroyed a record 307,000 hectares of land, according to the Commission’s European Forest Fire Information System.


With Ramadan underway, Afghan families survive on bread and tea

With Ramadan underway, Afghan families survive on bread and tea
Updated 25 March 2023

With Ramadan underway, Afghan families survive on bread and tea

With Ramadan underway, Afghan families survive on bread and tea
  • Living costs have skyrocketed since the Taliban took control in August 2021
  • UN estimates 70 percent of Afghans now depend on aid, as most are jobless

KABUL : The holy month of Ramadan is a time of celebration and unity, but with Afghanistan’s economy near collapse, families are resorting to desperate measures to buy food, with many surviving only on bread and tea. 

Since the Taliban took control of the country in August 2021, living costs and food prices have skyrocketed, while most adult Afghans are jobless. 

The UN estimates that 28 million people, or nearly 70 percent of the population, now depend on aid to survive. But even that assistance is limited as major international organizations have stopped operations in Afghanistan under its new rulers. 

As the Muslim world celebrates the holy month, with families planning flavorful dishes to enliven sahoor meals before sunrise and iftar dinners, in Afghan households that mood is no more. 

“In the past, we prepared iftar and sahoor not only for ourselves but also for security personnel and those living around us, but now we have nothing at all, only green tea and dry bread,” Shamsia Hassanzada, a former women’s rights activist and head of a kindergarten in Kabul, told Arab News.  

“Five members of our family, including me, used to work, but now only one person is working, and his income is not enough to meet our family’s needs.”  

Mohammad Naeem, a resident of Kabul who used to work as a driver for the Ministry of Defense under the previous administration, was glad that since the withdrawal of US-led forces from Afghanistan in 2021, the country has been safer and more peaceful, but the economic situation has not left much room to rejoice. 

“Believe me, I did not make a single piece of clothing for myself in the last two years because of a lot of economic problems at home,” the 71-year-old said. 

He has not received his pension for the past few months.    

“In the past, I had different types of foods at our iftar and sahoor, but now we have no food,” he said. “If I eat meat, it is somewhere at a charity, but I cannot buy it at the market for my family.” 

Fasting and charity are among the five main obligations of Islam, and during Ramadan, there is a strong focus on helping others, but that is hardly possible now when families have to fend for themselves. 

“Keeping the fast for the whole day and then having nothing for iftar and sahoor is so hard and painful for me and for most Afghan families…Most of us have nothing except green tea,” said Karishma Nazari, a women’s rights activist. 

“We had a lot of rich countrymen across Afghanistan who would donate and help many poor families. Unfortunately, these countrymen also left the country after the Taliban took control.” 

Sayed Omar, 35, who used to work for the previous administration in Kabul, has been taking odd jobs for the past two years to keep nine family members afloat — a duty that makes it hard to extend charitable deeds to others. 

He goes to the city every day to look for an opportunity to earn but often returns home empty-handed. 

“It’s very difficult to support my family,” he said. “In the past, we had enough food for both iftar and sahoor, even we were sharing our food with our neighbors, but now I’m entirely preoccupied with my family.”