DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Middle East Crisis Amid Fears of Expanded War, U.S. Renews Push for Hostage and Cease-Fire Deal
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-06 | by ( Peter Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Since the start of the war in Gaza in October, the aid group said, it had delivered more than 43 million meals there. Mr. Al-Asaad knows many people relied on meals from World Central Kitchen, which often consisted of rice and beans and sometimes meat or chicken. His family rarely got the meals “because the demand was more than the supply,” Mr. Al-Asaad said in an interview on Friday. “Eggs cost more than gold,” Mr. Al-Asaad, 45, wrote in the caption. The World Food Program, an arm of the United Nations, says that famine is imminent in northern Gaza.

Persons: Suhail Al, Asaad, José Andrés, Mr, Biden, Israel, ”, Mohammad al, Masri, doesn’t Organizations: Mr, Food Program, United Nations, World Health Organization Locations: Gaza City, Rafah, Gaza, WhatsApp

☆ Southern Africa’s drought and floods could push tens of millions into hunger
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Sarah Dean | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The country’s top priority “is securing food for all Zimbabweans,” the president told journalists at the state house in Harare. Kb Mpofu/ReutersIn Zambia, Malawi and Central Mozambique, extreme drought has damaged more than 2 million hectares of crops, Oxfam said. Zambia declared its drought a disaster on February 29. In Mozambique — a country accounting for only 0.2% of global emissions — 3 million people face hunger, according to Oxfam. The country’s capital, Maputo, experienced devastating floods in March, after Tropical Storm Filipo hit followed a few weeks later by further intense rainfall.

Persons: South Africa CNN —, Emmerson Mnangagwa, El Niño, Zimbabwe —, Filipo, ” Teresa Anderson, Machinda Marongwe, ” Marongwe Organizations: South Africa CNN, Oxfam, Reuters, Democratic, United Nations Office, Humanitarian Affairs, United States Agency, International, Systems Network Locations: Johannesburg, South Africa, Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Harare, “, Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Namibia, Pumula East, Bulawayo, Central Mozambique, ” Southern Africa, Maputo

☆ Hunger in Haiti is spreading amid gang violence, aid workers warn
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Hira Humayun | Caitlin Stephen Hu | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

I don’t think that’s sunk in,” Jean-Martin Bauer, the World Food Programme’s country director for Haiti, told CNN last week. A server ladles soup into a container as children line up to receive food at a shelter for families displaced by gang violence, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, March 14, 2024. “We’re completely cut off from all supplies, food, medical supplies, you name it,” he said. “Conflict and hunger are closely linked,” Laure Boudinaud, Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping Officer for WFP in Haiti said. Haitian citizens try to get goods at Liceo Marie Jeanne shelter in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 21 March 2024.

Persons: CNN —, Prince, Ariel Henry, ” Jean, Martin Bauer, Odelyn Joseph, –, ”, Catherine Russell, Dr, Ralph Ternier, Zanmi Lasante, he’s, Ternier, ” Ternier, Hopital Albert Schweitzer, Jean Marc deMatteis, “, ” Laure Boudinaud, Liceo Marie Jeanne, Mentor David Lorens, Bauer, we’ve, that’s, ” Bauer, you’re Organizations: CNN, American, UNICEF, United Nations, Roads, Hopital, World Food Programme, Liceo Marie, WFP, “ Locations: Haiti, Caribbean, Port, Prince, Mirebalais, Artibonite Valley, Artibonite

☆ Food Aid for Gazans Was Sent Back to Cyprus
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Matthew Cullen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

World Central Kitchen, the charity group that paused its operations in Gaza this week after seven of its workers were killed in an Israeli strike, sent three ships with hundreds of tons of food meant for Gazans back to port in Cyprus. At least one other aid group also announced it was suspending its operations in the enclave, and the U.N.’s World Food Program stopped its overnight work while it evaluated security. The halting of the maritime aid organized by World Central Kitchen will probably be felt most in northern Gaza, where food shortages are most dire. The ships were intended to supplement the roughly 117 aid trucks that enter Gaza each day — a tally that is less than half what the U.N. estimates is needed to meet basic food needs. Here is an account of the strike and its aftermath.

Organizations: Food Program, Central Locations: Gaza, Cyprus, Israel

☆ U.N. Peacekeepers Injured in Lebanon Blast as Tensions Rise
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | Euan Ward | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

The Israeli authorities have denied blocking UNRWA, but Israel and the aid agency have been locked in a dispute over not only responsibility for the crisis, but also the status of UNRWA itself. UNRWA suspended the staff members and opened an investigation, but some of its biggest donors have since suspended funding. U.N. officials and international aid groups have reported severe and deadly malnutrition in Gaza and have blamed Israel, which inspects every truckload aid. In some cases, crowds of people have swarmed the trucks, stripping them of supplies. The World Food Program said that only 11 of its convoys carrying food had reached the north since the start of the year.

Persons: Philippe Lazzarini, Israel, Lazzarini, Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr, Natalia Kanem, “ Organizations: Nations, International Court of Justice, United Nations, UNRWA, “, Food Program Locations: Israel, Gaza, The Hague

☆ Formal talks to end war in Sudan may restart in mid-April, US special envoy says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Formal talks aimed at ending the war in Sudan may restart in mid-April, US Special Envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello said Tuesday, as the conflict nears its one-year mark. Perriello told reporters that the formal talks are not expected to start until after Ramadan, with a potential date of April 18. The war has claimed thousands of lives, displaced millions, and triggered “the world’s largest hunger crisis,” according to the UN. “We are trying to figure out what combination of actors and incentives can get this war to an end,” he added. He also noted that reports of Islamist extremists returning to Sudan ratchets up the urgency of bringing the war to an end.

Persons: Sudan Tom Perriello, Perriello, we’ve, ”, Tom Perriello, Astrid Riecken, ” Perriello, Sudan ratchets, “, “ We’ve Organizations: “, Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF, Rapid Support Forces, UN, US, United Arab, Intergovernmental Authority, Development, African Union, Alexandria Fire, Washington, Getty, Food Locations: Sudan, Paris, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Alexandria, Alexandria , Virginia, what’s

GAZA StripWhy Isn’t More Aid Getting to Gazans? From El Arish, the trucks carrying aid typically undergo security checks in Rafah, Egypt, shortly before reaching the border with Gaza. One arrow points from near Rafah crossing to Kerem Shalom crossing, and a second arrow points from near Rafah crossing to Nitzana crossing. One arrow points from Nitzana crossing to Rafah crossing, and another points from Nitzana to Kerem Shalom crossing. More than a hundred Gazans died near a convoy on Feb. 29, after thousands massed around aid trucks.

Persons: Israel El Arish JORDAN Trucks, Balah Netivot Khan Younis Ofakim, Balah Khan, Salah Al Din, Rashid, Kerem, Khan Younis, Al Rashid, Israel, Trucks, Scott Anderson, Shimon Freedman, COGAT, Freedman, Mr, Anderson, Gazans, ”, Naser Qadous, Balah, Khan Younis Ofakim, Carl Skau, Sarah Schiffling, Deir, Younis Ofakim, Deir al, Biden, it’s, Schiffling, Juliette Touma, ” Ms, Touma Organizations: United Nations, West Bank Ships, Bank, Israel El Arish Trucks, Jordan, El Arish Egypt Israel Nitzana, Arrows, UNRWA, Food, Food Program, Hanken School of Economics, Central Locations: GAZA, Gaza, Gaza’s, SyRIA, Port, Israel El Arish, Cairo Egypt Saudi Arabia, Bank GAZA, Jordan Egypt, Ashkelon Gaza, Rafah, Egypt, El Arish Egypt Israel, Egypt Rafah, Egypt Israel, Rafah Rafah, Kerem, Kerem Shalom, Sderot GAZA, Gaza City Sderot Al Rashid, El Arish, Port Sa’id, Jordan, From El Arish, Nitzana, Israel, United States, Anera, ”, Khan Younis Ofakim Israel Rafah, Shalom, U.S, Air, France, Finland, Gaza City, Cyprus, Sderot, Balah, Deir

☆ Food Aid From Cyprus Reaches Starving People in Northern Gaza, Says Charity
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( March | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

NICOSIA (Reuters) - A U.S.-based charity said a consignment of almost 200 tons of food aid had reached starving people in northern Gaza on Tuesday, a week after being despatched via a maritime route from the Cypriot port of Larnaca. World Central Kitchen (WCK), working with the United Arab Emirates and Spanish charity Open Arms, sent the food via the 200-mile (322-km) sea route from Larnaca to a makeshift jetty off Gaza. War in Israel and Gaza View All 222 ImagesA U.N.-backed report said on Monday that famine was "imminent" in the northern Gaza Strip, where some 300,000 people are trapped by fighting. Across the whole Gaza Strip, the number of people facing "catastrophic hunger" has risen to 1.1 million - half the population. "WCK is ready to send tonnes of food weekly to Gaza with support from the international community," WCK said in a statement.

Persons: WCK, Konstantinos Letymbiotis, Michele Kambas, Gareth Jones Organizations: United Arab, Spanish, Food Programme Locations: NICOSIA, U.S, Gaza, Cypriot, Larnaca, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Cyprus

☆ Famine in northern Gaza is imminent as more than 1 million people face ‘catastrophic’ levels of hunger, new report warns
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Mousa Salem/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Palestinians transport bags of flour on the back of trucks as humanitarian aid arrives in Gaza City on March 6. Omar Qattaa/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Palestinians wait to receive food at a refugee camp in Rafah on January 27. Omar Qattaa/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Humanitarian aid packages are dropped from the air by Jordanian army planes in Gaza City on March 1. Abed Zagout/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images A funeral prayer is performed for Yazan al-Kafarneh, the 10-year-old Palestinian child who died of malnutrition, on March 4. Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Children suffering from malnutrition receive treatment at a health-care center in Rafah on March 5.

Persons: Israel, Antonio Guterres, ”, Cindy McCain, it’s, Josep Borrell, Israel “, Trucks, ” Borrell, Loay, Fadi, Kamal Adwan, Omar Qattaa, Saher, Ahmed Qannan, Mohammed Salem, Said Khatib, Dawoud Abo, Jehad, crouches, Abed Zagout, Yazan, Rabie Abu Noqaira, Mohammed Abed, Alexi J . Rosenfeld, Yasser Qudih, Fatima Shbair, Benjamin Netanyahu, ” Netanyahu, Stringer, Khan Younis, “, Netanyahu, Joe Biden, Jake Sullivan, Biden, Sullivan Organizations: CNN, Integrated, IPC, United Nations, Ministry of Health, Food, UN, Washington Post, Kamal, Anadolu Agency, Getty, AFP, Reuters, US Air Force, UPI, Dawoud Abo Alkas, Aid, ”, Gaza, National Locations: Gaza, UN, ”, Israel, Rafah, Mousa Salem, Gaza City, AFP, Jordanian, Territories, Deir, Egypt, United States

CNN —The Israeli military launched an operation on Monday against Gaza’s largest hospital facility, Al-Shifa, where thousands of people are sheltering. “Military vehicles are firing at the hospital buildings’ windows, and at anyone who is caught moving between the hallways,” Hamada Abdelhadi, a displaced Palestinian man seeking shelter at Al-Shifa, told CNN. One witness who lives in nearby Gaza City told CNN he had seen “a big invasion of tanks” headed toward Al-Shifa. And dead bodies and those injured were pulled away by Israeli forces,” he told CNN by phone. During the first round of fighting at Al-Shifa in November, Israel urged Gaza’s northern residents to head south to seek refuge.

Persons: “, ”, Israel, ” Hamada Abdelhadi, Al Jazeera, Ismail Al, Abdelhadi, Abdullah Mohammed, ” Mohammed, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Shifa, –, Cindy McCain, Antonio Guterres, ” Guterres, Gazans, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Martin Griffiths, Daniel Hagari, CNN’s Amir Tal, Mostafa Salem, Joshua Berlinger Organizations: CNN, Gaza’s, Israel Defense Forces, IDF, Health, Al, “, World Health Organization, WHO, United, Food, UN, Israeli Locations: Al, Gaza, –, Gaza City, Israel, United States, Rafah, United Nations

☆ Netanyahu says he’s trying everything to get more aid to Gaza. Aid groups say that’s not true
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

In his interview with CNN, Netanyahu made several claims about his country’s aid policy in Gaza. The Israeli leader’s claim contradicts statements he made previously, in which he boasted about permitting “minimal humanitarian aid” to enter Gaza. “We provide minimal humanitarian aid,” Netanyahu said at a press conference in January. The first 15 days of March saw an average of 165 aid trucks per day cross into Gaza, UNRWA reported Sunday. The UN and other aid groups have reported some of their aid trucks had been looted, but haven’t ascribed any blame for it.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, CNN’s Dana Bash, Netanyahu, Israel, ” Netanyahu, ”, Yoav Gallant, “, “ I’ve, Janti Soeripto, – we’ve, Martin Griffiths, Long, haven’t, Sameh Shoukry, Netanyahu lauds, Philippe Lazzarini, Israel hasn’t Organizations: CNN, Israeli, United Nations, European Union, Children, ” Trucks, UN, Food Programme, Palestine, UNRWA, Amnesty International, Aid, Palestinian, CNN Sunday, Israeli Defense Force Locations: Gaza, United States, Territories, Rafah, Israel, Egypt, Arish, airdrops

Video shows RSF soldiers humiliating men from a village in Jazira state. Displaced people fleeing from Jazira state arrive in Gedaref, in the east of war-torn Sudan, on December 22, 2023. The RSF told him they would only return his car if he worked for them, Farouk recalled. Displaced people fleeing from Jazira state arrive in Gedaref, in the east of war-torn Sudan, on December 22, 2023. The RSF’s violent advances in Jazira state, their targeted destruction of warehouses, Sudan’s gene bank and irrigation systems will inevitably further exacerbate Sudan’s massive food shortages,” she said.

Persons: CNN —, “, Sudan’s, ”, Alex de Waal, Mohamed Badawi, Luis Tato, Sidiq Farouk, Farouk, ” Farouk, hasn’t, ‘, ’, Hala Al, Al Karib, Tomoya Obokata, Leni Kinzli, ” Kinzli, Omar Marzoug, geolocated, Waal, Médecins, Anette Hoffmann, You’re, ” CNN’s Benjamin Brown Organizations: CNN, Rapid Support Forces, Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF, United Nations, Peace Foundation, African Center for Justice, Peace Studies, Getty, Food Programme, UN Office, Humanitarian Affairs, UN, Hala, Initiative, Women, UNICEF, WFP, “, ” CNN, ”, Farmers ’ Alliance, Clingendael Institute, Agriculture Organization Locations: Al Jazira, Sudan’s, Darfur, Jazira, Sudan’s breadbasket Jazira, Sudan, Khartoum, of, Sudanese, Renk, South Sudan, AFP, Chad, Gedaref, Hala Al Karib, Horn of Africa, Omdurman, Al, of Africa

☆ Aid is being shipped to Gaza by sea. But a new maritime corridor is unlikely to stop the looming famine
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

With Palestinians in Gaza in dire need, any aid is welcome, but aid groups say maritime and air-dropped aid should be complementary to land deliveries, not a substitute. How do maritime aid deliveries compare to other methods? The US and other countries have meanwhile been air-dropping humanitarian aid into Gaza, a method aid agencies have criticized as ineffective given the scale of need in Gaza. Mousa Salem/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Palestinians transport bags of flour on the back of trucks as humanitarian aid arrives in Gaza City on March 6. Omar Qattaa/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Humanitarian aid packages are dropped from the air by Jordanian army planes in Gaza City on March 1.

Persons: WCK, Israel, ”, Michael Fakhr, Jamie McGoldrick, ” WCK, Joe Biden, Mahmud Hams, Lior Haiat, “, COGAT, Menahem Kahana, McGoldrick, Josep Borrell, Ashraf Al, Qidra, Loay, Fadi, Kamal Adwan, Omar Qattaa, Saher, Ahmed Qannan, Mohammed Salem, Said Khatib, Dawoud Abo, Jehad, crouches, Abed Zagout, Yazan, Rabie Abu Noqaira, Mohammed Abed, Alexi J . Rosenfeld, Yasser Qudih, Fatima Shbair, ” Juliette Touma, ” Touma Organizations: CNN, Gaza, Spanish, European Commission, United Arab, Israel, Aid, UN, Pentagon, AFP, Getty, Crescent, UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, UNRWA, Foreign, European Union, Food Programme, Gaza Ministry, Health, Washington Post, Kamal, Anadolu Agency, Reuters, US Air Force, UPI, Dawoud Abo Alkas, Communications Locations: Cyprus, Gaza, United States, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Israel, Port, Rimal, Gaza City, UAE, Palestinian, AFP, Cypriot, Territories, Kerem, Rafah, Egypt, Mousa Salem, Jordanian

☆ First ship carrying aid approaches Gaza Strip as Israel accused of stalling supplies
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Dalya Al Masri | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Video footage from the AFP news agency showed the ship visible off the shore of the Gaza Strip on Friday morning London time. Israel last year agreed to work with Cyprus in setting up an aid corridor across the sea between the European Union member and the Gaza Strip. Trucks carrying humanitarian aid and food supplies at the Kerem Shalom Crossing on the Israel-Gaza border. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesA spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces said it continues to expand its efforts to enable the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. Earlier this month, Refugees International released a report that alleges that Israel is obstructing the entry of life-saving supplies into the Gaza Strip.

Persons: —, Juliette Touma, Ahmad Hasaballah, Nebal Farsakh, Farsakh, Israel, Touma, Menahem Kahana, Philippe Lazzarini, Jesse Marks, Jordan, José Andrés, Jose Andres, Sen, Chris Coons, Peter Welch, Andres, Chip Somodevilla Organizations: Afp, Getty, AFP, European Union, Israeli Foreign Ministry, United Nations Relief, Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, CNBC, Palestinian Health Ministry, Palestine Red Crescent Society, West Bank, Bloomberg, Israel Defense Forces, United Arab Emirates, ., IDF, Palestinian, Refugees International, UN, Gaza, Arms, U.S, Capitol Locations: Cypriot, Larnaca, Gaza, Spanish, Cyprus, Israel, Rafah, Egypt, Palestine, Israeli, Kerem, U.S, United States, Israel's, Morocco, Israel's Ben Gurion, WASHINGTON, DC, Washington ,

☆ Live updates: Israel-Hamas war, aid ship headed for Gaza, ceasefire talks stall
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

A ship carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza is en route from Cyprus, according to nonprofit World Central Kitchen, which said it was the first maritime shipment of humanitarian aid to the enclave. The departure comes after announcements that Cyprus, the European Union, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom were working to establish a maritime corridor to deliver aid to Gaza. World Central Kitchen said it planned to distribute supplies for roughly 500,000 meals once the vessel reaches Gaza, including rice, flour, beans, lentils, and canned meats. The UN welcomed the news of the shipment but stressed it was “not a substitute” for overland assistance to Gazans on the verge of famine. The UN World Food Programme said a food convoy reached Gaza City on Tuesday —the first to successfully access the northern part of the enclave since February 20.

Organizations: European Union, United Arab, UN, Food Locations: Gaza, Cyprus, United States, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Gaza City

The World Food Program said that its delivery, containing food for 25,000 people, was its first since Feb. 20 to the northern part of the enclave. For five months, aid groups had been able to reach northern Gaza only by entering through one of two southern border crossings, and then attempting a difficult and hazardous drive to the north. Little aid has reached northern Gaza after major relief groups suspended operations there, citing lawlessness, poor road conditions and Israeli restrictions on convoys. The convoy included one truck full of flour and five carrying food packages. “The significance of this is that it revives the hope of continued access to northern Gaza over land,” Ms. Etefa said.

Persons: Abeer Etefa, Ms, Etefa, “, ” Organizations: United Nations, Food Program, World Food Locations: Israel, Gaza, Be’eri

☆ Only Henry can sign off on Haiti’s transitional council, embattled PM’s office tells CNN
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Anneclaire Stapleton | Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Haiti’s embattled Prime Minister Ariel Henry says his country’s constitution states that only he and his cabinet can appoint a council for the transition of power, Henry’s office told CNN exclusively on Wednesday. But Henry’s office told CNN that only he and his cabinet can appoint the transitional council and will not simply “deliver the country” to new leaders without following constitutional procedures. “According to the Haitian constitution, only the prime minister with the cabinet can appoint the presenting council. Simon Maina/AFP/Getty ImagesThe United Nations secretary-general’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Wednesday that the transitional council under the CARICOM agreement for Haiti is the path forward. While Henry was out of the country, gangs laid siege to Haiti’s main airport to prevent his safe return.

Persons: CNN —, Ariel Henry, Henry, Jean Junior Joseph, “, Simon Maina, Stephane Dujarric, Dujarric, “ It’s, we’ve, that’s, ” Henry, Haiti’s, Jovenel Moïse, Jimmy “, Viv Ansanm, Jean, Martin Bauer, Bauer Organizations: CNN, Haitian, United States International University Africa, Getty, United Nations, UN, Caribbean, International Organization for Migration, Dominican, Food Program, Bauer . Food Locations: Caribbean, Haiti, Kenya, Nairobi, AFP, Puerto Rico, Haiti’s, Dominican Republic, Hispaniola, Dominican, Port

☆ Food Aid for Sudanese Refugees in Chad Could End Next Month, WFP Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( March | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

GENEVA (Reuters) - Food aid for hundreds of thousands of Sudanese refugees in Chad, some of whom are close to starvation, will be suspended next month without more funding, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday. But the WFP says it is struggling to feed them all and many are already skipping meals. Nearly half of Sudanese refugee children under five-years-old are suffering from severe anemia. A supply route from Chad into Sudan's Darfur, where hunger is worsening, is also at risk due to funding shortages, WFP said. With more resources, WFP would be able to position food stocks ahead of the rainy season when some refugee populations in Chad get cut off from supplies by muddy rivers.

Persons: Pierre Honnorat, Emma Farge, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Food Programme, WFP's Locations: GENEVA, Chad, Sudan, Chad into Sudan's Darfur

☆ Open Arms ship carrying aid to Gaza departs from Cyprus, World Central Kitchen
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Scott Mclean | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A ship carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza has departed the port city of Larnaca in Cyprus, according to World Central Kitchen, a non-profit which said it is the first maritime shipment of aid to the war-torn strip. The non-profit said it had partnered with the United Arab Emirates, Cyprus and the Spanish charity Open Arms to coordinate the dispatch. The aid dispatch comes as Cyprus, the European Commission, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom are working to establish a maritime corridor to deliver aid assistance directly to Gaza. World Central Kitchen says it has served more than 35 million meals in Gaza since October, and is working with almost 400 locally-hired staff. Humanitarian workers and government officials working to deliver urgently needed aid for Gaza say a clear pattern has emerged of Israeli obstruction.

Persons: ” WCK, Konstantinos Letymbiotis, WCK, Jose Andres, Kamal Adwan Organizations: CNN, Arms, United Arab, Spanish, European Commission, UN, Food, Kamal Locations: Gaza, Larnaca, Cyprus, United Arab Emirates, United States, United Kingdom, Cypriot

☆ This Ramadan, American Muslims say they feel urgent need to send aid to Gaza as threat of mass starvation looms
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Monica Haider | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

On Friday, the European Union announced it’s opening an emergency maritime aid corridor from Cyprus to Gaza with allies including the US. The day prior, President Joe Biden announced the US Military is planning to build a temporary port along the Gaza coast to try to deliver much-needed humanitarian relief. In 2023, the nonprofit Islamic Relief raised more than $30 million in online donations during Ramadan, according to a spokesman for the organization. The charity, Human Appeal, has provided humanitarian relief in Gaza since 1991, according to Samina Taj, the organization’s associate director of communications. Since the start of the war in Gaza, Taj said their teams have mobilized to try to meet the desperate need for aid.

Persons: Nadia Duwaik, Duwaik, Joe Biden, Israel, Rashid, Dawoud Abo, Jad Shaheen, they’re, ”, ” Duwaik, she’s, Awrad Saleh, “, ” Saleh, Khan, It’s, it’s, Allah, Nasma, Shehadeh, ” Shehadeh, Ashraf Amra, Taj, Ramadan, Noor Traina, Traina Organizations: CNN, Ministry of Health, United Nations, European Union, Military, Dawoud Abo Alkas, Anadolu Agency, Getty, West Bank, Palestinian Children’s Relief, United Nations Agency, Islamic Relief, Islamic, The United Nations Relief, Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees Locations: Israel, Gaza, United, Cyprus, al, Gaza City, Palestinian American, West, Palestine, Khan Yunis, Rafah, Bethlehem, New York, East, Egypt, Washington , DC, Libya

☆ US, Germany and EU embassies begin evacuating staff as violence spirals in gang-plagued Haiti
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-10 | by ( Caitlin Stephen Hu | Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Dajabon, Dominican Republic CNN —The United States and other diplomatic missions have begun evacuating personnel from Haiti, as gang violence in the Caribbean nation’s capital Port-au-Prince continues to spiral. US Southern Command said the move was consistent with “standard practice for Embassy security augmentation worldwide.” No Haitians were on board the military aircraft, it added. Another source with knowledge of the operations told CNN there have been at least 12 helicopter evacuation flights into Port-au-Prince over the past three days, all evacuating diplomatic and humanitarian staff. However, shots fired nearby after the last flight’s take off on Sunday have called into question the viability of continuing the evacuation flights, the source said. The World Food Programme suspended its maritime transport services in Port-au-Prince from distributing aid across Haiti due to the instability.

Persons: Dajabon, ”, Joe Biden, Peter Sauer, Stefano Gatto, —, Prince, Gang, Jimmy Cherizier, Ariel Henry, Stephane Dujarric, Henry Organizations: Dominican Republic CNN, CNN, US State Department, US Southern Command, Southern Command, National Security Council, CNN Helicopter, European Union, EU, Caribbean Port Services, Dominican, United Nations, US Department of Treasury, Food, UN, OCHA, Kenya, Kenyan, Caribbean Locations: Dominican Republic, United States, Haiti, Caribbean, Port, Dominican, Haitian, Santo Domingo, Petionville, Haiti’s, Puerto Rico, CARICOM, Kingston

☆ The US is dropping aid into Gaza. Here’s why that will do little to ease a humanitarian crisis
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Niamh Kennedy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —The US has joined several other countries in airdropping aid into Gaza, which is grappling with a humanitarian crisis. But despite this advantage, aid agencies say their drawbacks overwhelmingly outweigh their benefits. “Humanitarian workers always complain that airdrops are good photo opportunities but a lousy way to deliver aid,” Richard Gowan, the International Crisis Group’s UN Director said. Aid agencies have consistently said not enough aid is reaching Gaza. “When countries use airdrops and these maritime piers is usually if not always in situations when you want to deliver humanitarian aid into enemy territory.

Persons: We’ve, ” Richard Gowan, Michael Fakrhi, “, ” Fakrhi, John Kirby, ”, ” Kirby, Mahmoud Shalabi, Shalabi, Abdel Qader Al Sabbah, Kerem Shalom, Michael Fakhri, Israel, Dave Harden, ” Avril Benoît, CNN’s Louis Mian, Sana Noor Haq, Nadeen Ebrahim, Lauren Kent Organizations: CNN, UN, Food Programme, Islamic, “, Crisis, White, Medical Aid, Palestinian, Food, US Aid, Biden, MSF Locations: Gaza, warzones, Afghanistan, Islamic State, Iraq, Beit Lahia, Palestinian, Israel, Kerem, Rafah

☆ The extravagant Ambani pre-wedding party was an affront to the millions of Indians in poverty, critics say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Joshua Zitser | Spriha Srivastava | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But critics say it showed a telling disregard for the struggles of the many millions of Indians living in poverty. Spanning three days, the pre-nuptial event included a private performance by Rihanna, which estimates suggest cost up to $9 million. AdvertisementTripathi pointed out that 800 million of India's 1.4 billion population receive monthly food rations of wheat or rice. Sohini Kar, an associate professor at the London School of Economics, whose work focuses on urban India, told BI she agrees. Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant serve traditional Gujarati food to villagers ahead of their pre-wedding celebrations on the outskirts of Jamnagar, India.

Persons: —, Anant Ambani, Asia's, Radhika Merchant, Rihanna, Nita Ambani, Shyam Bihari, WaterAid, Haldia, Rakhi Tripathi, Tripathi, Sohini Kar, Kar, St Louis Fed, Mukesh Ambani, Ratan Tata, Nita, Stringer Organizations: Service, Business, Bank, New, of Management, London School of Economics, BI, Oxfam International, St, Bloomberg, Architectural Digest, Reliance Foundation, Reuters Locations: India, Delhi, Asia, Mumbai, Jamnagar, Gujarat

☆ Haiti extends state of emergency as intruders break into key port terminal
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Caitlin Hu | Tara John | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Intruders broke into a major port terminal in Haiti Thursday as violence in the country escalated after the government extended its state of emergency. It comes as Port-au-Prince’s Caribbean Port Services (CPS) terminal, a major player in Haiti’s food import supply chain, was broken into around 8 a.m., two security sources told CNN. Pléiades Neo/AirbusOne Airbus satellite image shows a significant amount of material littering the area of the container port terminal. The chaos has forced tens of thousands to flee their homes in the past few days, adding to the more than 300,000 already displaced by gang violence. A law enforcement officer at a police station set on fire by armed gangs in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on March 5, 2024.

Persons: Pléiades, Jimmy Cherizier, Prince, Cherizier, Ariel Henry’s, Odelyn Joseph, Stephane Dujarric, Dujarric, ” Ronald Laroche, ” Laroche, “, ”, they’ve, Henry, Jovenel Moise, Raymond King of, King, Médecins Organizations: CNN, Caribbean Port Services, CPS, Airbus, Haitian National Police, Reuters, Food, United Nations Office, Humanitarian Affairs, UN, Protection, Kenyan, Royal Bahamas Defence Force, MSF Locations: Haiti, Region, Port, Prince, Prince’s, ”, United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Hispaniola, Kenya, Caribbean, Cité, Syria, Myanmar

CNN —The war in Sudan is “triggering the world’s largest hunger crisis,” with more than 25 million people “trapped in a spiral” of food insecurity, a United Nations agency has warned. The war, which has also created the world’s largest displacement crisis, according to the UN, has left 18 million people “acutely food insecure” in Sudan and millions more in neighboring South Sudan and Chad. “Twenty years ago, Darfur was the world’s largest hunger crisis, and the world rallied to respond. Nearly a year into a war that has sent Sudan to the verge of collapse, the vast majority of its people are going hungry, the UN's World Food Programme says. Armed transfers that must stop,” she said, remarking that the international community “is not doing nearly enough” to address the crisis.

Persons: “, ”, Cindy McCain, –, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, EBRAHIM HAMID, United Nations Linda Thomas, Greenfield, Thomas Organizations: CNN, United Nations, Food Program, UN, Sudan’s Armed Forces, SAF, Rapid Support Forces, WFP “, WFP, Getty, Thomas, West Darfur “ Locations: Sudan, South Sudan, Chad, Darfur, East, Sudan’s, Gedaref, AFP, West Darfur

Search resuls for: "World Food"

25 mentions found