DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Italy's Meloni seeks EU mission to block migrant arrivals
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Yara Nardi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LAMPEDUSA, Italy, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called on Friday for the European Union to act jointly "with a naval mission if necessary" to prevent migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa. Meloni posted a video message on social media promising tough action in response to a surge in migrant arrivals this week which have overwhelmed the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa. "I intend to reiterate a request for an immediate EU mission to block the departure of migrant boats," said Meloni, for whom the swelling number of arrivals has become a major political headache. [1/6]Migrants wait at the port to be transferred to the mainland, on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, Italy, September 15, 2023. Earlier on Friday, France agreed to work with Italy towards some sort of EU response to the crisis.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Meloni, Charles Michel, Lampedusa, Yara, Claudine Nsoe, Prince, Emmanuel Macron, General Antonio Guterres, Matthew Saltmarsh, Alvise Armellini, Gavin Jones, Augustin Turpin, Dominique Vidalon, Keith Weir, Mark Heinrich, Kevin Liffey, Alistair Bell Organizations: Italian, European Union, European, EU, European Commission, REUTERS, Refugee Agency, UNHCR, U.N, Thomson Locations: LAMPEDUSA, Italy, North Africa, Lampedusa, Tunisia, Tunis, Lampedusa's, Sicily, Cameroon, Libya, France, Rome, Paris

One group of seven to eight bodies were found huddled together in what appeared to be a final embrace. Vegetation that was meant to offer protection to evade the Greek police turned into a death trap. The only spot of colour in the area where the bodies were found were two blue medical gloves left behind by investigators. At the morgue, Pavlidis has collected DNA samples from the bodies, the only way they will ever be identified. Fires in the area are still burning and Hatzigeorgiou fears more bodies will be found in the forest.

Persons: Pavlos Pavlidis, George Hatzigeorgiou, Hatzigeorgiou, honked, they'd, We've, I've, Adriana Tidona, Pavlidis, Lefteris Papadimas, Karolina Tagaris, Andrew Heavens Organizations: European Union, United, Turkish, UNHCR, Amnesty International, Thomson Locations: EVROS, Greece, ATHENS, Turkey, Avantas, Europe, Libya, East, Asia, United Nations

Some also said the tragic end, when it came, was precipitated by the actions of the Greek coastguard. after a Greek coastguard vessel attached a rope to the bow of the trawler and began to pull it while picking up speed. The shipping ministry, which oversees the coastguard, told Reuters it couldn't comment on issues that were the subject of a confidential and ongoing investigation by prosecutors. Nikos Spanos, a retired admiral in the Greek coastguard, told Reuters it was unlikely that a coastguard vessel would have attempted such a dangerous manoeuvre as towing the stricken trawler. Three survivors told authorities they paid anywhere from 50 to 200 euros ($55-220) extra for places on the outer deck, considered safer.

Persons: Stelios Misinas, Adriana, haven't, Mohamed, Nikos Spanos, Renee Maltezou, Jonathan Saul, Riham, Rachel Armstrong, Pravin Organizations: Hellenic Coast Guard, REUTERS, Greek coastguard, coastguard, Reuters, GO, Thomson Locations: Greece, Kalamata, KALAMATA, North Africa, Italy, Greek, GO ITALY, Pylos, Syria, Egypt, Pakistan, Tobruk, Europe, Tunisia, Libya, Athens, London, Berlin

☆ Over 1 million may flee Sudan conflict, UN refugee agency says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, June 27 (Reuters) - The U.N. refugee agency warned on Tuesday that an earlier projection that conflict in Sudan would prompt 1 million people to flee across its borders is likely to be surpassed. He did not give details on how far above 1 million he expected refugee numbers fleeing abroad to reach. The United Nations estimates more than 2.5 million people have been uprooted since April, most within Sudan. A Sudanese refugee who has fled the violence in Sudan's Darfur region, sits at her makeshift shelter near the border between Sudan and Chad in Koufroun, Chad May 15, 2023. The UNHCR has already had to revise its forecast for people fleeing into Chad from Sudan to 245,000 from 100,000 people, he said.

Persons: Mazou, Chad, Zohra, El Geneina, There's, Emma Farge, Alison Williams Organizations: Central African, UNHCR, Operations, United Nations, REUTERS, Rapid Support Forces, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Sudan, Egypt, Chad, South Sudan, Central, Central African Republic, Darfur, Sudan ., Sudan's Darfur, Koufroun, Khartoum

"Without strong international support, Sudan could quickly become a locus of lawlessness, radiating insecurity across the region," Guterres told a fundraising conference hosted by Germany, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and the United Nations. "I appeal to you all today to provide funding to deliver lifesaving humanitarian aid and support to people living in the most difficult and dangerous conditions," Guterres said. Germany announced on Monday that it was pledging 200 million euros to Sudan and the region until 2024, the United States pledged $171 million, and Qatar pledged $50 million. Before the donor conference, a U.N. appeal for $2.57 billion for humanitarian support within Sudan this year was about 17% funded, a U.N. website showed. More than half of that came from the United States, with the European Commission in second place with about 10% of the total.

Persons: Saba Kareem, Antonio Guterres, Guterres, Volker Turk, Turk, Geneva Hassan Hamid Hassan, Filippo Grandi, Emma Farge, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Khalid Abdelaziz, Aidan Lewis, Christina Fincher Organizations: Baghdad International, REUTERS, GENEVA, United Nations, United, Rapid Support Forces, European Commission, Thomson Locations: Sudan, Iraqi, Baghdad, Iraq, Khartoum, Darfur, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, United States, Jeddah, West Darfur, Geneva, Kuwait, Dubai

☆ 'Enormous' needs as EU hosts conference to collect money for Syria
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, June 15 (Reuters) - The European Union hosts an international conference on Thursday to collect money for Syria where an earthquake earlier this year aggravated the already dire plight of people who have been caught in war since 2011. About 5.5 million Syrian refugees live in neighbouring Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq as well as Egypt. The U.N. chiefs said they hoped for a similar level of pledges to the $6.7 billion offered for Syria and its neighbours at a similar conference last year. "Humanitarian funding for Syria is not keeping pace with rapidly increasing needs," said Janez Lenarcic, the conference host and the EU's top official for humanitarian aid and crisis management. Lenarcic also called for extended humanitarian access from Turkey to the northwestern part of Syria.

Persons: Martin Griffiths, Filippo Grandi, Achim Steiner, Janez Lenarcic, Bashar al Assad's, Assad, Lenarcic, Gabriela Baczynska, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: European Union, Three United Nations, UNHCR, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Russia, Iran, Turkish, U.S

☆ Sudanese forces clash in Khartoum after talks break down
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

AID SUPPLIES LOOTEDOutside Khartoum, the worst fighting has been in the Darfur region, where a civil war has simmered since 2003, killing around 300,000 people. The U.N.'s World Food Programme and its refugee agency UNHCR said continued looting was disrupting their efforts to help Sudanese, calling on all parties to respect humanitarian work. The UNHCR said two of its offices in Khartoum were pillaged and its warehouse in El Obeid was targeted on Thursday. With the ceasefire talks off, Khartoum residents are bracing for further problems. It's like they're alternating forms of torture," said Omer Ibrahim, who lives in a district of Omdurman that has seen little fighting.

Persons: Din Abdalrahman, Mohamed Abdallah Idris, Omar al, Bashir, Abdel, Fattah, Burhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Hemdti, El Obeid, Omer Ibrahim, Nafisa Eltahir, Khalid Abdelaziz, Angus McDowall, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, UNHCR, Thomson Locations: KHARTOUM, U.S, Khartoum, Omdurman, Sudan, The U.S, Saudi Arabia, Washington, Darfur, West Darfur, Chad, El, Cairo, Dubai

☆ More than 100,000 flee to Chad from Sudan conflict, UNHCR says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JOHANNESBURG, June 1 (Reuters) - More than 100,000 people have fled violence in Sudan to neighbouring Chad and the numbers could double in the next three months, the U.N. refugee agency said on Thursday. The near seven-week conflict has pushed Sudan into a humanitarian crisis and turned one of Africa's greatest cities - the three-part capital of Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri on the confluence on the Blue and White Niles - into a war zone. One of the poorest countries in the world, Chad was already hosting close to 600,000 refugees before conflict broke out in Sudan in April. UNHCR said it needs $214.1 million to provide vital services to displaced people in the country, which is currently 16% funded. Writing by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Andrew HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: White Niles, Laura Lo Castro, Chad, Bhargav Acharya, Andrew Heavens Organizations: UNHCR, Thomson Locations: JOHANNESBURG, Sudan, Chad, Khartoum, Omdurman, Bahri, UNHCR Chad

☆ Ukrainian firms venture abroad for growth as war hits home
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Olena Harmash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The ongoing conflict has prompted several Ukrainian firms to focus abroad to reduce their reliance on a shrinking home market and to tap into the millions of people who have left. Ukraine, which had a pre-war population of about 40 million, has seen its domestic economy turned upside down, with corporate investments and growth now rare. "Our choice was to go to Poland, mainly because Poland hosts now the highest number of Ukrainians who fled from the war." In September, 8.5% of all companies opened in Poland had Ukrainian capital, compared with 0.8% in January 2022. "The main goal is to grow abroad much faster than we planned for ourselves in the pre-war period," Vovk said.

☆ Aid groups seek green light from Myanmar junta to access cyclone-hit state
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A view of the damage caused by Cyclone Mocha in Sittwe, Myanmar in this handout image released May 17, 2023. The U.N. Development Programme, the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) and U.N. refugee agency UNHCR also said their requests were pending approval. "It is important for humanitarian actors to ascertain damage, needs and provide immediate lifesaving assistance, not least as the monsoon season nears," UNHCR spokesperson Reuben Lim Wende said. State media on Wednesday said junta leader Min Aung Hlaing had visited affected areas in Bagan, another region, and separately met with a UNHCR representative to discuss relief efforts. About 5.4 million people were expected to have been in the storm's path, the majority of whom were considered vulnerable.

☆ Fleeing Generals at War and Violent Militias, Many Say ‘We’re Not Coming Back’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Elian Peltier | Yagazie Emezi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Militias, made up mostly of Arab fighters, have exploited the power vacuum to rampage through cities, loot households and kill an unknown number of civilians, according to aid workers, doctors and local activists. In response, some civilians have begun arming themselves, and non-Arab groups have also retaliated against militias at a small scale. But while Khartoum had been a peaceful city before April, Darfur has been torn by decades of violence. More than 300,000 people were killed in Darfur in the 2000s when Sudan’s former dictator, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, ordered militias, widely known as the Janjaweed, to crush a rebellion among non-Arab groups. Its eastern region, semiarid and isolated, already has more than 400,000 refugees from Darfur living in 13 camps, which are now filling with new arrivals helped by the U.N. refugee agency.

Now, according to an internal U.N. estimate obtained by Reuters, 5 million additional people in Sudan will require emergency assistance, half of them children. Even before the latest crisis, U.N. humanitarian appeals for Africa faced a $17-billion funding gap this year, risking leaving millions without lifesaving assistance. Last year, it spent a third of its overseas aid budget housing refugees inside the UK, a British aid watchdog said in March. Sudan was hosting over 1 million refugees, mainly from South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Syria, before the outbreak of fighting last month. Aid workers have been killed, food aid looted, and WFP says it's running out of stocks.

☆ Factbox: How big is the aid crisis caused by the Sudan fighting?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SUDAN* More than 330,000 people have been displaced in Sudan since April 15, according to the International Organization for Migration. An internal U.N. estimate obtained by Reuters shows this figure is expected to increase by 5 million, including 2.5 million children. * A $1.75 billion U.N. aid programme for Sudan in 2023 is 15% funded. SOUTH SUDAN* Some 240,000 people are expected to flee from Sudan to South Sudan, UNHCR says. * The country's $1.7 billion U.N. aid programme for the year is 26% funded.

☆ Sudanese pin their hopes on talks in Saudi Arabia
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The U.S. and Saudi Arabia urged the warring parties to use the talks to move toward scheduling expanded negotiations on a permanent end to hostilities, the ministry statement added. Sudan's Forces of Freedom and Change, a political grouping leading the plan to transfer to civilian rule, welcomed the Jeddah talks on Saturday. Conflicts are not new to Sudan, a country that sits at a strategic crossroads between Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and the volatile Sahel region. Since the fighting erupted, the U.N. refugee agency has registered more than 30,000 people crossing into South Sudan, more than 90% of them South Sudanese. Aid agencies fear the influx will worsen an already dire humanitarian crisis in South Sudan.

[1/3] Smoke rises above buildings after an aerial bombardment, during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum North, Sudan, May 1, 2023. "It's been four days without electricity and our situation is difficult," said 48-year-old Othman Hassan from the southern outskirts of the city. Despite multiple ceasefire declarations, the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) appeared to be fighting for territory ahead of proposed talks. The army and RSF, which had shared power after a coup in 2021, have accused each other of breaching a string of truces. The U.N. has pressed the warring sides to guarantee safe passage of aid after six of its trucks were looted.

☆ 'Constant fear': war shakes Sudan despite truce pledges
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Khalid Abdelaziz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The fighting has also reawakened a two-decade-old conflict in the western Darfur region where scores have died this week. "We're in a constant state of fear for ourselves and our children." The army has been deploying jets or drones on RSF forces spread out in neighbourhoods across the capital. Sudan's army accused the RSF of firing at the plane, damaging its fuel system which was being repaired after the aircraft managed to land safely. Some had walked from Khartoum to South Sudan's border, a distance of over 400 km (250 miles), a spokesperson for the U.N. refugee agency said.

☆ US, African states race to extend Sudan truce, gunfire still heard
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Mahamet RamdaneKHARTOUM, April 27 (Reuters) - The United States and African nations were racing to secure an extension of a ceasefire in Sudan on Thursday, with the Sudanese army giving an initial nod to an African proposal calling for talks even as fighting continued. Gunfire could be heard on Thursday in the Khartoum area, a resident told Reuters. The military said the presidents of South Sudan, Kenya and Djibouti worked on a proposal that includes extending the truce and talks between the two forces. "Burhan thanked the IGAD and expressed an initial approval to that," the army statement said. The U.N. refugee agency has estimated 270,000 people could flee into South Sudan and Chad alone.

☆ Sudan fighting resurges as UN envoy says ceasefire partly holding
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Khalid Abdelaziz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire beginning on Tuesday after negotiations mediated by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. U.N. special envoy on Sudan Volker Perthes told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that the ceasefire "seems to be holding in some parts so far." The fighting has paralysed hospitals and other essential services, and left many people stranded in their homes with dwindling supplies of food and water. The U.N. humanitarian office (OCHA) said shortages of food, water, medicines and fuel were becoming "extremely acute", prices were surging and it had cut back operations for safety reasons. Since the fighting erupted, tens of thousands have left for neighbouring Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan.

[1/4] People gather at the station to flee from Khartoum during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum, Sudan April 19, 2023. Guterres and senior officials from the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and Egypt called Sudan's army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to urge an end to violence. Urging a three-day ceasefire, he said civilians trapped in conflict zones should be allowed to escape and to seek medical treatment, food and other supplies. Witnesses in the city of El-Obeid, east of Darfur, described clashes between the army and RSF troops and widespread looting. Many other local people remain trapped, along with thousands of foreigners in a city that has become a war zone.

☆ Pictures of the month: March
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Jeremy Schultz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

A woman dresses up her child at a hospital in Bamiyan, Afghanistan,. Since taking over in 2021, Taliban authorities have barred women from universities and most charity jobs, but they have made exemptions in the healthcare sector, such as the trainee...moreA woman dresses up her child at a hospital in Bamiyan, Afghanistan,. Since taking over in 2021, Taliban authorities have barred women from universities and most charity jobs, but they have made exemptions in the healthcare sector, such as the trainee midwife program that has been spearheaded by the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) with a local NGO, where young women train for two years in the provincial capital hospital as midwives, after which they will return home to help the women in the community. Picture taken March 2. REUTERS/Ali KharaClose

☆ Survivors of deadly raid in east Congo return to torched village
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Erikas Mwisi Kambale | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUKONDI, Democratic Republic of Congo March 11 (Reuters) - Residents of Mukondi village in eastern Congo inspected the burnt-out remains of their homes on Friday and told how they fled for their lives as rebels cut the throats of people around them. Members the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) struck Mukondi and a neighbouring village overnight on Wednesday, torching buildings and killing at least 39 people and wounding many more, according to the local authorities. "They killed with machetes and lit homes on fire," local chief Kasereka Deogratias said near the blackened wreckage of a building in Mukondi. The attackers said, "Don't bother talking because you're no more useful than the people we've just killed here," Kiviko explained. The violence has destabilised swathes of eastern Congo, driving over 5.5 million people from their homes in what has become the largest internal displacement crisis in Africa, according to the U.N. refugee agency.

☆ UK's Sunak meets France's Macron in scramble to mend relations after Boris Johnson missteps
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak prior to the 36th Franco-British Summit at the Elysee Palace on March 10, 2023 in Paris, France. Sunak and Macron greeted each other at the Élysée Palace in Paris Friday morning. "The destinies of the United Kingdom and France are linked," Macron said via Twitter, as he welcomed Sunak to Paris. It is thought that Macron and Sunak will hold a press briefing shortly after the conclusion of the talks. Sunak and Macron have billed the summit as an opportunity to reset the strained cross-Channel relationship.

☆ Fleeing drought, Somalis face malnutrition and cholera in Kenya
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Ayenat Mersie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In a ward for severely malnourished children, Ismael said her baby's condition had not improved since arriving at Dadaab. Severe malnourishment had made the baby's head swell with liquid - a common effect of malnutrition in children. In the past two years, the drought has displaced one million Somalis and about 100,000 have fled to Kenya, according to the United Nations. In the past year, 32 children have died of malnutrition in the section of the camp run by the IRC, Ngao said. "This was the worst drought I have ever seen," he said.

☆ Factbox: Migrant arrivals in Italy on the rise, despite high danger
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Some 861 of the migrants registered this year were unaccompanied minors. In 2022, 105,129 migrants reached Italy in total, up from 67,477 in 2021 and 34,154 in 2020. Some 13,386 of the migrants in 2022 were registered as unaccompanied minors. The U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) said in 2022 51% of migrant sea crossings to Italy departed from Libya, 31% from Tunisia and 15% from Turkey. Migrant arrivals stayed low in subsequent years, partly as a result of the COVID pandemic.

BRUSSELS, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The European Union is close to a 10th sanctions package against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and EU governments hope to reach a deal on Wednesday if they can overcome differences about a ban on Russian rubber and diamond imports, EU diplomats said. Among those the bloc is seeking to target are Russians it says are involved in the illegal deportation of some 6,000 Ukrainian children. "We were discussing today the 10th sanctions package against Russia," Polish ambassador to the EU Andrzej Sados said after talks by ambassadors of the EU's 27 governments in Brussels. "At least 34 Russian institutions are involved in systemic stealing of Ukrainian children, including the Russian children's ombudsman," Sados said. The U.N. refugee agency said last month Russia was giving the children Russian passports and putting them up for adoption.

Search resuls for: ". Refugee Agency"

25 mentions found