Jordan marks World Food Day with call for global effort to combat hunger and malnutrition

Jordan's Princess Basma Bint Talal led Jordan's observation of World Food Day on Wednesday in conjunction with the 79th anniversary of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN. (Jordan News Agency)
Jordan's Princess Basma Bint Talal led Jordan's observation of World Food Day on Wednesday in conjunction with the 79th anniversary of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN. (Jordan News Agency)
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Updated 16 October 2024
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Jordan marks World Food Day with call for global effort to combat hunger and malnutrition

Jordan marks World Food Day with call for global effort to combat hunger and malnutrition

AMMAN: Jordan’s Princess Basma bint Talal led Jordan’s observation of World Food Day on Wednesday in conjunction with the 79th anniversary of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.

This year’s theme, “The Right to Food, for a Better Life and a Better Future,” highlighted the urgent global need to combat hunger and malnutrition.

In her recorded address, Princess Basma underscored the disparity between the one-third of global food production wasted annually and the nearly 10 percent of the world’s population that suffers from hunger, the Jordan News Agency reported.

“The world must address this crisis,” Princess Basma said, calling for a unified and integrated approach involving governments, private sector entities, civil society, and academic institutions to safeguard food systems.

She advocated for innovation within the agricultural sector and stressed the importance of encouraging farmers to adopt sustainable practices.

She said this would preserve land fertility, enhance global food security, and create more efficient food systems. She also urged for rational consumption patterns to ensure the sustainability of the food supply, especially for vulnerable populations.

Praising the FAO’s ongoing efforts, Princess Basma acknowledged the role that international, regional, and local bodies play in addressing hunger crises and improving food security.

Jordan’s Minister of Agriculture Khaled Hneifat echoed her sentiments.

He emphasized the kingdom’s recognition of food security as a cornerstone of national resilience through the establishment of the Food Security Council, which provides essential data on food security and oversees the implementation of Jordan’s National Food Security Strategy 2021–2030.

Hneifat noted the ministry’s ongoing efforts to reduce food loss and waste while maximizing the benefits of local agricultural production.

These initiatives are designed to ensure that basic food items remain available and affordable to all Jordanians.

FAO representative in Jordan Nabil Assaf also spoke on the global hunger crisis, noting that around 730 million people suffer from hunger worldwide, while more than 2.8 billion cannot afford a healthy diet. 

Assaf called for collective global action to ensure access to diverse, nutritious, and affordable food.

He stressed the need for agricultural food systems that are inclusive, sustainable, and resilient, while also respecting both traditional food cultures and scientific knowledge.


Lebanon asked US, France to press Israel to halt truce breaches, say sources

Lebanon asked US, France to press Israel to halt truce breaches, say sources
Updated 27 sec ago
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Lebanon asked US, France to press Israel to halt truce breaches, say sources

Lebanon asked US, France to press Israel to halt truce breaches, say sources
  • The truce came into effect on Nov. 27 and prohibits Israel from conducting offensive military operations in Lebanon
  • Lebanon’s parliament speaker says Beirut had logged at least 54 Israeli violations of the ceasefire so far
BEIRUT: Top Lebanese officials have urged Washington and Paris to press Israel to uphold a ceasefire, after dozens of military operations on Lebanese soil that Beirut has deemed violations, two senior Lebanese political sources told Reuters on Tuesday.
Deadly Israeli strikes on south Lebanon and Hezbollah rocket launches on an Israeli military post on Monday have put a US-brokered ceasefire between the two in an increasingly fragile position less than a week after it came into effect.
Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, a close Hezbollah ally who negotiated the deal on behalf of Lebanon, spoke to officials at the White House and French presidency late Monday and expressed concern about the state of the ceasefire, the sources said.
Neither the French presidency nor the foreign ministry were immediately available to comment. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot spoke to his Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar on Monday, saying both sides should adhere to the ceasefire.
US State Department spokesperson Matt Miller told reporters on Monday that the ceasefire “is holding” and that the US had “anticipated that there might be violations.”
The truce came into effect on Nov. 27 and prohibits Israel from conducting offensive military operations in Lebanon while requiring Lebanon to prevent armed groups, including Hezbollah, from launching attacks on Israel. It gives Israeli troops 60 days to withdraw from south Lebanon.
A monitoring mechanism chaired by the United States is tasked with monitoring, verifying and helping enforce the truce, but it has yet to begin work.
Berri on Monday urged it to “urgently” ensure Israel halts its breaches, saying Beirut had logged at least 54 Israeli violations of the ceasefire so far.
Israel says its continued military activity in Lebanon is aimed at enforcing the ceasefire and does not violate its obligations under the truce.
Mikati on Monday met in Beirut with US General Jasper Jeffers, who will chair the monitoring committee, and stressed the need for Israeli troops to swiftly withdraw.
Two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that France’s representative to the committee, General Guillaume Ponchin, will arrive in Beirut on Wednesday and that the committee would hold its first meeting on Thursday.
“There is an urgency to finalize the mechanism, otherwise it will be too late,” the source said, referring to Israel’s gradual intensification of strikes despite the truce.
Miller said the monitoring mechanism would begin its work “in the coming days.”
At least 12 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon on Monday, Lebanese authorities said, in the deadliest day since the ceasefire came into effect.
They included six people in the southern town of Hariss and another four people in the southern town of Taloussa, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

Israel strikes car on Damascus airport road: state media

Israel strikes car on Damascus airport road: state media
Updated 03 December 2024
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Israel strikes car on Damascus airport road: state media

Israel strikes car on Damascus airport road: state media
  • An Israeli air strike hit a car on the Damascus airport road on Tuesday, causing it to explode

DAMASCUS: An Israeli air strike hit a car on the Damascus airport road on Tuesday, causing it to explode, Syria’s official news agency SANA reported.
“A car exploded after it was targeted in an Israeli aggression on the road to Damascus International Airport,” SANA reported, citing a police source, without saying who was targeted or if there were any casualties.


Hamas, Fatah agree on joint committee to run post-war Gaza

Hamas, Fatah agree on joint committee to run post-war Gaza
Updated 03 December 2024
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Hamas, Fatah agree on joint committee to run post-war Gaza

Hamas, Fatah agree on joint committee to run post-war Gaza

CAIRO: Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’s Fatah party have agreed to create a committee to jointly administer post-war Gaza, negotiators from both sides said Tuesday.
Under the plan, which needs Abbas’s approval, the committee would be composed of 10 to 15 non-partisan figures with authority on matters related to the economy, education, health, humanitarian aid and reconstruction, according to a draft of the proposal seen by AFP.


Iraqi armed group urges government to deploy troops to Syria

Iraqi armed group urges government to deploy troops to Syria
Updated 03 December 2024
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Iraqi armed group urges government to deploy troops to Syria

Iraqi armed group urges government to deploy troops to Syria

BAGHDAD: Iraq’s powerful Iran-aligned Kataeb Hezbollah armed group has called on Baghdad to send troops to Syria to support the Damascus government against a militant offensive.
Kataeb Hezbollah, or Hezbollah Brigades, made the appeal in a statement shared on pro-Iranian Telegram channels late Monday. Excerpts were also posted on its official website.
The militant offensive, led by Islamists, has seized the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, stirring concern in political and security circles in neighboring Iraq.
A spokesman for Kataeb Hezbollah, part of the Iran-backed “axis of resistance,” said the group had not yet decided to deploy its own fighters but urged Baghdad to act.
“We believe the Iraqi government should take the initiative to send regular military forces in coordination with the Syrian government, as these groups pose a threat to Iraq’s national security and the region,” the spokesman said.
Kataeb Hezbollah has previously fought in Syria alongside forces loyal to President Bashar Assad.
In Iraq, it is part of the Hashed Al-Shaabi, a coalition of former paramilitary forces now integrated into the regular armed forces.
This coalition, under the Iraqi prime minister’s command, denies involvement outside Iraq’s borders.
Iraq remains scarred by the rise of the Daesh group in 2014, which saw the extremists capture nearly a third of the country before being defeated in 2017.
On Monday, Iraq said it had sent armored vehicles to bolster security along its 600-kilometer (370-mile) border with Syria.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, reported the deployment of about 200 pro-Iranian Iraqi fighters in Syria’s Aleppo region to back government forces.


Syrian army and allied forces confront attack by SDF forces in Deir Al Zor, state news agency says

Syrian army and allied forces confront attack by SDF forces in Deir Al Zor, state news agency says
Updated 03 December 2024
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Syrian army and allied forces confront attack by SDF forces in Deir Al Zor, state news agency says

Syrian army and allied forces confront attack by SDF forces in Deir Al Zor, state news agency says

DUBAI: The Syrian army and allied forces confronted an attack launched by forces affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces alliance on villages in the northern countryside of Deir Al Zor province on Tuesday, state news agency (SANA) reported.
The SDF is a Kurdish-led alliance in north and east Syria which worked with the US-led coalition against Daesh. Spearheaded by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and including Arab fighters, it holds a quarter of Syria, including oil fields and areas where some 900 US troops are deployed.
Turkiye, Syria’s northern neighbor, considers the YPG and the SDF by extension to be “terrorist” groups.