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☆ Flash floods due to unusually heavy seasonal rains kill at least 68 people in Afghanistan
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Remainings of houses damaged by the flood are pictured in Firozkoh the capital city of Ghor Province, Afghanistan, May 18, 2024. REUTERS/StringerFlash floods from heavy seasonal rains have killed at least 68 people in Afghanistan, Taliban officials said Saturday, adding the death toll was based on preliminary reports. Afghanistan has been witnessing unusually heavy seasonal rains. In the hard-hit western province of Ghor, 50 people were reported dead, said Abdul Wahid Hamas, spokesman for the provincial governor. The U.N. food agency posted on social media platform X, saying Ghor was the most affected by the floods where 2500 families were impacted.

Persons: Abdul Wahid Hamas, Feroz Koh, Esmatullah Moradi, Ghor Organizations: REUTERS, Stringer, WFP, World Food Organization Locations: Ghor Province, Afghanistan, Ghor, Farayab, Baghlan, Farah, Herat, Zabul, Kandahar

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel has imposed financial restrictions on the main U.N. agency providing aid in the Gaza Strip, a measure which prevented a shipment of food for 1.1 million Palestinians from reaching the war-battered enclave, the agency's director said Friday. The U.N. food agency defines a famine as when 30% of children are malnourished, one-fifth of households face acute food shortages and two of every 10,000 people are dying from hunger or malnutrition. UNRWA, which serves about 6 million Palestinians whose families were displaced during the war surrounding Israel's creation in 1948, denies the charges. UNWRA is the main provider of aid to Palestinians in Gaza, but Israeli bombardment and combat between Israel and Hamas has made much of the territory too dangerous for aid convoys to cross. Israel alleged last month that 12 employees of the aid agency participated in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in southern Israel.

Persons: — Israel, Philippe Lazzarini, Israel, Juliette Touma, Touma, Bezalel Smotrich, ”, Benjamin Netanyahu, didn't, Lazzarini, “ Organizations: JERUSALEM, UNRWA, Food, Israel, Bank Leumi, Hamas, Food Program Locations: Gaza, Israel, U.S, Turkey, Ashdod, Port Said, Egypt, Rafah

CAIRO (AP) — The U.N. food agency said Friday it has received reports of people dying from starvation in Sudan, where raging fighting between rival generals is hampering the distribution of aid and food supplies to those most hungry. The conflict erupted last April in the capital, Khartoum, and quickly spread to other areas of the country, after months of simmering tensions between the two forces. World Food Program said that some 18 million people across Sudan currently face acute hunger, with the most desperate trapped behind the front lines of the conflict. Photos You Should See View All 45 Images"Life-saving assistance is not reaching those who need it the most, and we are already receiving reports of people dying of starvation,” said Eddie Rowe, WFP's director for Sudan. Burhan and Dagalo are yet to meet in person since the conflict began.

Persons: Abdel Fattah Burhan, Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, ”, Eddie Rowe, Burhan Organizations: Sudanese, Rapid Support Forces, Food Program, The United Nations Locations: CAIRO, Sudan, Africa, Khartoum, Darfur, Kordofan, Gezira, Sudan’s, Saudi Arabia, United States

Now they say they have nowhere to hide from intense flooding as rainfall exacerbated by the weather phenomenon El Nino pummels large parts of Somalia. Somalia's federal government declared a state of emergency in October after extreme weather exacerbated by El Nino destroyed homes, roads and bridges. Scientists believe climate change is making El Nino stronger. Hakima said her family may be safe from flooding in their camp, but they are hungry and desperate for warm shelter. At least 53 people have been confirmed killed by flooding across Somalia, said Hassan Issee, who manages emergency operations at the Somalia Disaster Management Agency.

Persons: Nino, Hakima Mohamud, “, El Nino, El, Beledweyne, Hakima, ”, Mukhtar Moalim, Hassan Issee, Hamza Abdi Barre Organizations: El Nino, Information Management, Somalia Disaster Management Agency Locations: MOGADISHU, Somalia, Ethiopia, Beledweyne, Shabab, Somali, Kutiimo, Horn of Africa, Kenya, Hiran, Mogadishu, Dollow, Gedo, Africa, africa

JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — At least one in five children arriving in South Sudan from Sudan are malnourished and more than 90% of arrivals haven’t eaten in days, the U.N. food agency said Tuesday. The World Food Program said that nearly 300,000 people have arrived in South Sudan in the last five months — the majority of whom are South Sudanese. South Sudan plunged into civil war in 2013, forcing thousands of its citizens to flee to neighboring countries, including Sudan. “We are seeing families leave one disaster for another as they flee danger in Sudan only to find despair in South Sudan,” says Mary-Ellen McGroarty, WFP’s country director in South Sudan. The WFP is appealing for additional funding of more than $120 million to meet humanitarian needs at the border.

Persons: ”, Mary, Ellen McGroarty, Abdel Fattah Burhan, Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo Organizations: Food Program, South, Rapid Support Force Locations: JUBA, South Sudan, Sudan, South Sudanese, Sudan’s

☆ One year of war in Europe: How the dollar, energy and food prices swirled
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

LONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Russia's invasion of Ukraine has disrupted economies and markets around the world, from energy and food prices to European banks, emerging market stocks and the Russian currency. Below are five charts that show how Europe's biggest conflict since World War Two has shaped global financial markets in the last 12 months. But when Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine in late February, European natural gas prices rocketed by almost 400% in two weeks. Energy prices soared, bringing the threat of blackouts, recession and a worrying switch back to dirtier sources of fuel. Food price pressures are easing, but that does little to soften the blow for many developing nations, where food and energy prices make up a larger share of spending.

☆ North Korea paper calls outside aid 'poisoned candy', urges self-reliance
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, Feb 22 (Reuters) - North Korea's official newspaper said on Wednesday that relying on external aid to cope with food shortages would be equal to taking "poisoned candy", urging economic self-reliance despite deepening hardships amid sanctions and coronavirus lockdowns. Most U.N. agencies and Western relief groups have since left North Korea, with China remaining one of the few sources of external food assistance. "It is a mistake to try to boost the economy by accepting and eating this poisoned candy," the commentary said. "Food production dropped from last year, and there is a possibility of distribution issues due to a change in their food supply and distribution policy," a ministry official told reporters. Unification Minister Kwon Young-se has said Pyongyang had asked the U.N. food agency, the World Food Programme, to provide support but there was no progress because of differences over monitoring issues.

☆ Renewing Black Sea grain deal critical for Africa, WFP boss says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( John Irish | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Negotiations will start in a week on extending the trade agreement, a senior Ukrainian official said on Friday. "It's critical," World Food Programme (WFP) Director David Beasley told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the Munich Security Forum. "With all the crises we are facing around the world with climate change, droughts, flash floods, we can't afford the Black Sea Grain initiative to fall through at all," Beasley added. The grain deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July allowed exports from three Ukrainian ports. He warned Moscow that shutting down the ports would be catastrophic, notably in Africa, where millions of people are facing famine.

☆ North Korean food shortage seems to be worsening, South Korea says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, Feb 15 (Reuters) - A North Korean food crisis appears to have deteriorated, South Korea said on Wednesday, as a newspaper reported that North Korea has cut rations to its soldiers for the first time in more than two decades. North Korea has effectively acknowledged serious food shortages, South Korea's unification ministry said, referring to a North Korean state media report this month about plans for an "urgent" ruling party meeting on agriculture. "Its food situation seems to have deteriorated," the South's unification ministry, which handles relations with North Korea, said in a statement. South Korea's DongA Ilbo newspaper said on Wednesday that North Korea has reduced daily food rations to its soldiers for the first time since 2000, citing an unidentified senior South Korean official. The WFP, which has helped North Korea over the years, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

☆ Afghan malnutrition rates at record high, U.N. food agency says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Malnutrition rates in Afghanistan are at record highs — with half the country enduring severe hunger year-round — a spokesman for the U.N.'s World Food Program said. “Half of Afghanistan endures severe hunger throughout the year, regardless of the season, and malnutrition rates are at a record high for Afghanistan,” said Phillipe Kropf, a spokesman for the United Nations food agency in Kabul. The Taliban takeover in August 2021 drove millions into poverty and hunger after foreign aid stopped almost overnight. Ebrahim Noroozi / APAid agencies have been providing food, education and healthcare support to Afghans, including heating, cash for fuel and warm clothes. “Since the Taliban have come, the economic condition is so bad and people don’t have food to eat.

☆ World food prices hit record high in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Sybille De La Hamaide | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) food price index, which tracks international prices of the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 143.7 points in 2022, up 14.3% from 2021, and the highest since records started in 1990, the agency said on Friday. Food prices surged after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February last year on fears of disruptions to Black Sea trade. "Calmer food commodity prices are welcome after two very volatile years," FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero said. Still over the whole of 2022, four of the FAO's five food sub-indexes - cereals, meat, dairy and vegetable oils - had reached record highs, while the fifth one, sugar, was at a 10-year high. The FAO Cereal Price Index index rose 17.9% in 2022 due to factors including significant market disruptions, higher energy and input costs, adverse weather and continued strong global food demand, the FAO said.

The plan would show how the food industry and farming can align with the world's goal of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius, Food and Agriculture Organization Deputy Director Zitouni Ould-Dada said. More than forty investors managing a combined $18 trillion urged the FAO in June to create a plan to curb emissions in the sector, often overlooked in global warming debates yet one of the biggest sources of climate-damaging emissions. "There has never been this much attention to food and agriculture anytime before. Livestock accounts for nearly a third of the global methane emissions linked to human activity, released in the form of cattle burps, manure and the cultivation of feed crops. Reporting by Simon Jessop and Sarah El Safty; Editing by Frank Jack DanielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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