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First person: from the rescue worker to refugees and Sudan torn by the war
Sudan is one of the largest and most complex humanitarian crises in the world, with more than 30.4 million people-more than half of the population-requiring emergency humanitarian aid, but the humanitarian plan and the Sudan 2025 response plan is very underfunded, with only 13.3% of the required resources received so far.
Forced to flee the country with his family after the intensification of the war, Mr. Ibrahim returned to help people affected by the war in the Darfur. Before World Humanitarian Day, marked every year on August 19, he described his trip, from worker aid to refugees and again in Sudan.
“I was at home to help my daughter revise her sixth year exams, scheduled for the next day. Then, from nowhere, the sound of heavy shots broke the silence in my hometown, Zalingei, the capital of the state of central Darfur, which remains seized by insecurity and critical shortages of basic services.
The former building of the Humanitarian Aid Commission in Khartoum, Sudan.
At first, I thought the shots would pass quickly. I rushed to fill up on food supplies and water, enough for six days. However, the streets have become battlefields. All I could do was try to keep my family safe.
Despite the chaos, I continued to work. Access to electricity and the Internet was sporadic, but I kept my phone loaded to send daily updates Ochha Office manager. It gave me a goal in the midst of uncertainty.
Finally, he became too dangerous to stay.
The trip of the trip
On the 39th day, we fled. Our family of 10 people started a heartbreaking trip without a clear destination, only the desperate need to escape. We have left more than walls and personal effects; We have left a life built with love and hope.
Adam with two of his daughters in Uganda.
Our trip first took us to Nyala in the south of Darfur, then to Kosti in the state of the white Nile. From there, we crossed the border with the South South Sudan and finally reached Uganda, a country that I had heard of stability and a good education system for children. The car trip took 23 days. My children had no passport and there were no refugee camps for Sudanese nationals at the time.
In my relief, the migration authorities in the two countries were kind and favorable. In Kampala, we rented a house and received asylum status within three days. As I kept our refugee cards, I expired deeply and I thought “we did it”.
I scored my children in school and started working online, finally finding a feeling of stability.
I was there, a worker now a refugee, needing the same support that I provided to others.
Return to Zalingei
Months later, I faced a difficult decision. Do I stay with my family or go back to the Darfur and continue the work I had done for years? I chose to come back.
Leaving my family was incredibly difficult, but their safety was essential.
I returned to Zalingei with a renewed sense of the duty to serve those who are always trapped in the difficulties I had endured. I was also the only family support for my family and I had to make sure they could survive Uganda.
My hometown changed
When I arrived in Zalingei, I barely recognized him. The buildings were marked with ball holes.
I found another family housing inside our house, a doctor and his family whose own house had been destroyed. I let them stay, putting aside a small section for myself and a colleague. The house had been pillaged. The windows had disappeared and our property had disappeared. I had hoped to find the school certificates of my children, the photos, the documents left behind. But, they had left.
Everyone was armed, even children as young as 15 years old. People were stretched, traumatized and still victims of the next wave of violence.
Google Earth Image of Zalingei on March 21, 2025 with visible signs of house destruction in the southern part of the city.
Machine guns and wrecks in the west of Darfur
I did not stay long in Zalingei. Soon, I was called to El Geneina in western Darfur, a city devastated by violence and that people desperately needed humanitarian support.
The streets of El Geneina were scattered with wreckage from exhausted military vehicles. Armed men have patrolled in vans mounted with machine guns.
Humanitarian needs were immense. People lacked food, shelter, essential elements of households, health care, clean water and protection, but we have never had enough resources for them.
Family, sacrifice and hope for Sudan
It is heartbreaking to see the suffering caused by the recent donor financing cuts. Many organizations have been forced to relieve their operations, leaving countless people without help.
It is heartbreaking to see the suffering caused by the recent donor financing cuts.
However, we did everything we could.
Between 2023 and 2025, we reached more than 800,000 people displaced with critical aid, in the west and center of Darfur.
I also continued to work with OCHA colleagues in Chad to coordinate cross -border humanitarian convoys in Darfur.
These convoys were living lines, delivering food, medication and supplies to the communities cut by conflict.
Today, I stay in Sudan.
My family is still in Uganda. I visit them once a year, but the separation is painful. »»
Originally published at Almouwatin.com
Europe starts testing high voltage supplies to heat ITER
For electrical engineers, first energisation is one of the major milestones marked on a project’s timeline. It is the moment when equipment is brought to life and starts to operate under real conditions. At ITER, the teams of F4E, Ampegon and ITER Organization recently reached this point with the high voltage power supplies of the Electron Cyclotron heating systems. After months of installation and checks, they successfully connected the equipment to ITER’s electrical network. This marks the beginning of full commissioning and paves the way for their integration with the gyrotrons.
Europe is responsible for providing eight power supply units, each consisting of a Main High Voltage Power Supply (MHVPS) and two body power supplies (BPS). They are made to feed precise voltage to 16 gyrotrons, which will convert it into powerful microwaves to heat ITER’s plasma. Each MHVPS can deliver up to 6MW of energy (at 55kV of Direct Voltage and 110A). At full capacity, the eight of them could power 100 000 homes —a medium-sized city. This voltage can be adjusted quickly on demand and switched off in microseconds.
In 2013, Fusion for Energy (F4E) signed a contract with Ampegon, a Swiss SME to design and manufacture the units. The supplier completed the series production three years ago and then took on their installation at the ITER Radiofrequency Building. They connected the different power supplies, set up the control cabinets and switchgears and checked the insulation and cooling water systems. In parallel, F4E worked diligently to ensure the equipment met the highest safety standards.
This year, it was finally time to power up the system. After the first tests with low voltage, came the awaited first energisation of the MHVPS with 22kV. This is the first equipment to be fed by ITER’s pulsed power electrical network (PPEN), the infrastructure delivered by F4E that will power the magnets and heating system. “It’s a significant step forward that will allow us to do proper testing, spot possible issues and learn a lot about the equipment’s performance under different operation scenarios,” describes Cyril Lescure, F4E Technical Officer.
“The tests at the factory a few years ago already showed an excellent functional performance. The power supplies even exceeded the stringent technical specifications in aspects like voltage stability, dynamic response and low energy dissipation in case of shutdown. If this is confirmed during commissioning, it will be very positive news for the future operation and reliability of the Electron Cyclotron heating system of ITER,” asserts Ferran Albajar, Programme Manager at F4E.
The ongoing tests will soon lead to the hand-over of the first European power supply unit to ITER Organization. The plan is to commission all eight units in the next two years. During that time, two Ampegon experts will be working every day on-site to operate the systems, in close coordination with F4E. “We have entered an exciting and decisive phase, the culmination of all joint efforts to deliver this advanced electrical equipment. In such a demanding technological environment, trust-based collaboration with F4E and ITER Organization is central. We are highly confident that the results of the commissioning will reward the commitment of everyone involved and let the unique expertise of the involved teams truly shine,” says Marcel Frei, Head of R&D at Ampegon.
Europe starts testing high voltage supplies to heat ITER
For electrical engineers, first energisation is one of the major milestones marked on a project’s timeline. It is the moment when equipment is brought to life and starts to operate under real conditions. At ITER, the teams of F4E, Ampegon and ITER Organization recently reached this point with the high voltage power supplies of the Electron Cyclotron heating systems. After months of installation and checks, they successfully connected the equipment to ITER’s electrical network. This marks the beginning of full commissioning and paves the way for their integration with the gyrotrons.
Europe is responsible for providing eight power supply units, each consisting of a Main High Voltage Power Supply (MHVPS) and two body power supplies (BPS). They are made to feed precise voltage to 16 gyrotrons, which will convert it into powerful microwaves to heat ITER’s plasma. Each MHVPS can deliver up to 6MW of energy (at 55kV of Direct Voltage and 110A). At full capacity, the eight of them could power 100 000 homes —a medium-sized city. This voltage can be adjusted quickly on demand and switched off in microseconds.
In 2013, Fusion for Energy (F4E) signed a contract with Ampegon, a Swiss SME to design and manufacture the units. The supplier completed the series production three years ago and then took on their installation at the ITER Radiofrequency Building. They connected the different power supplies, set up the control cabinets and switchgears and checked the insulation and cooling water systems. In parallel, F4E worked diligently to ensure the equipment met the highest safety standards.
This year, it was finally time to power up the system. After the first tests with low voltage, came the awaited first energisation of the MHVPS with 22kV. This is the first equipment to be fed by ITER’s pulsed power electrical network (PPEN), the infrastructure delivered by F4E that will power the magnets and heating system. “It’s a significant step forward that will allow us to do proper testing, spot possible issues and learn a lot about the equipment’s performance under different operation scenarios,” describes Cyril Lescure, F4E Technical Officer.
“The tests at the factory a few years ago already showed an excellent functional performance. The power supplies even exceeded the stringent technical specifications in aspects like voltage stability, dynamic response and low energy dissipation in case of shutdown. If this is confirmed during commissioning, it will be very positive news for the future operation and reliability of the Electron Cyclotron heating system of ITER,” asserts Ferran Albajar, Programme Manager at F4E.
The ongoing tests will soon lead to the hand-over of the first European power supply unit to ITER Organization. The plan is to commission all eight units in the next two years. During that time, two Ampegon experts will be working every day on-site to operate the systems, in close coordination with F4E. “We have entered an exciting and decisive phase, the culmination of all joint efforts to deliver this advanced electrical equipment. In such a demanding technological environment, trust-based collaboration with F4E and ITER Organization is central. We are highly confident that the results of the commissioning will reward the commitment of everyone involved and let the unique expertise of the involved teams truly shine,” says Marcel Frei, Head of R&D at Ampegon.
Frontex and Bulgaria conclude drone pilot project, paving way for smarter EU border surveillance
Frontex and the Bulgarian Border Police have successfully concluded a pilot project exploring how drones can support border surveillance across the EU. The project, which ran from May to July, tested advanced aerial technology to improve how Europe protects and manages its external borders.
Frontex and Bulgaria conclude drone pilot project, paving way for smarter EU border surveillance
Frontex and the Bulgarian Border Police have successfully concluded a pilot project exploring how drones can support border surveillance across the EU. The project, which ran from May to July, tested advanced aerial technology to improve how Europe protects and manages its external borders. Source link
A backbone of trust: how the Single Resolution Fund safeguards Europe’s banking system
In times of uncertainty – whether triggered by geopolitical instability, or economic downturns – confidence in the financial system becomes more than a desirable feature; it becomes essential. In this blog post, I’m going to look at the role of one of the most important tools at the disposal of the European Banking Union to uphold that confidence – the Single Resolution Fund (SRF).
A backbone of trust: how the Single Resolution Fund safeguards Europe’s banking system
In times of uncertainty – whether triggered by geopolitical instability, or economic downturns – confidence in the financial system becomes more than a desirable feature; it becomes essential. In this blog post, I’m going to look at the role of one of the most important tools at the disposal of the European Banking Union to uphold […]
We shouldn’t oppose the integration of European banking, as long as it makes financial sense
The vice-president of the SRB calls for advancing the common deposit guarantee fund and simplifying banking regulation without losing sight of financial stability
Rivers and streams release ancient carbon into the atmosphere
Watercourses release soil carbon that can be thousands of years old into the atmosphere. This runs counter to
