Aid agencies in Sudan grapple with looting, bureaucracy to deliver relief
Cairo, EgyptReuters Aid workers in Sudan say fierce fighting, rampant looting and reams of red tape are hampering efforts to deliver vital humanitarian supplies to the millions of people who now rely on a relief effort since a conflict erupted in mid-April. The United Nations estimates 25 million people, or more than half the population, […]
Saudi Arabia unilaterally releases detainees to Yemen amid peace push
Dubai, United Arab EmiratesReuters Saudi Arabia on Monday released 104 detainees to Yemen, the International Committee of the Red Cross and a Saudi-led coalition said, in a unilateral move that follows simultaneous detainee exchanges between Yemen’s warring parties. The military coalition, which intervened in Yemen in 2015 after the Iran-aligned Houthis ousted the government from […]
Mexico’s deadly fire a sign to rethink migrant detention centres, Red Cross says
Mexico City Reuters The fire that led to the deaths of 40 people in a migrant detention centre in northern Mexico marks a “good moment” to consider alternatives to depriving migrants of their freedom, a senior Red Cross regional officer said. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the detainees had been unable to escape […]
UN chief condemns Taliban ban on Afghan women working for UN
United Nations/Kabul, Afghanistan Reuters UN chief Antonio Guterres condemned on Wednesday a ban by Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities on Afghan women working for the United Nations, calling it “an intolerable violation of the most basic human rights” that should be immediately revoked. The United Nations has told some 3,300 Afghan staff – of which about 400 […]
Confronting the past: Two decades after Saddam’s fall, Iraqis still haunted by disappearances
CHARLOTTE BRUNEAU, of Reuters, reports from Iraq, a country which has one of the highest numbers of missing persons in the world…
Syria quake aid blocked from parts of Aleppo province, Amnesty says
Beirut, LebanonReuters The Syrian Government and Turkey-backed rebel forces have blocked more than 100 trucks carrying humanitarian aid from entering two zones in Aleppo province hit by last month’s deadly earthquake, Amnesty International said on Monday. The aid, which included food, medical supplies, tents and fuel, was sent by Kurdish authorities, the rights group said. […]
Red Cross: Hospitals in Ethiopia’s Tigray region struggle to deliver care
Nairobi, Kenya Reuters Improved security in Ethiopia’s Tigray region since a November ceasefire has allowed aid to reach some previously inaccessible areas, but humanitarian needs remain urgent, the International Committee of the Red Cross said. A two-year war that broke out in November, 2020, between the Federal Government and forces led by the Tigray People’s […]
Israel asks Pope, Red Cross to help recover four citizens held in Gaza
JerusalemReuters Israel appealed to Pope Francis, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations Secretary-General on Wednesday to help it recover four citizens held in the Gaza Strip for more than seven years. Pope Francis arrives for the weekly general audience at the Vatican, on 18th January, 2023. PICTURE: […]
Afghan hospital wards fill with children suffering from pneumonia
Kabul, AfghanistanReuters In a bitterly cold bedroom at the start of winter in Kabul, 22-year Maryam sat with her baby son bundled up in a red jumper as he coughed days after being discharged for the third time from a hospital ward for suspected pneumonia. Every time 10-month old Rahmat’s parents bring him home from […]
Russia says no ‘Christmas ceasefire’, as Ukraine downs drones; Pope urges Ukraine aid at Christmas
Kyv, UkraineReuters Moscow on Wednesday said no “Christmas ceasefire” was on the cards after nearly 10 months of war in Ukraine, where the first major drone attack on the capital Kyiv in weeks damaged two buildings but was largely repelled by air defences. The two sides are not currently engaged in talks to end the […]