Commission proposes further €500 million in Macro-Financial Assistance to Jordan building on our long-standing strong relationship
Hunger in Gaza: women and children face death in search of food
“I easily received help distributed by the UN,” said ABIR SAFI, a displaced person from the Zeitoun district of Gaza City, UN News. “Now we don’t get anything. I risk my life by going to the crossing of Zikim and returning with an empty bag. All I want is to go back to my children with food. ”
Ms. Safi said that she had never imagined that her children would become a fatal adventure. After losing her husband during the war, she found herself alone, faced with the responsibility of supporting her family in the midst of humanitarian conditions.
It was one of the thousands of citizens who gathered along Rashid Street in the north of Gaza, which links the crossing of Zikim north of Gaza, in the hope of receiving humanitarian aid.
A cart drawn on horseback carries the body by more than seven Palestinians killed while trying to reach help.
“Balle on my head”
Our correspondent witnessed the arrival of thousands of Palestinians returning from a trip in search of food supplies. Thousands of emaciated bodies – men, women and children – have been taken in a scene that has become a daily event. Everyone runs in search of a few aid trucks that reach northern Gaza.
The United Nations has the capacity and resources necessary to distribute the aid in a safe and worthy manner to all those who need it in the Gaza Strip. The organization continues to request the lifting of the restrictions imposed by the Israeli authorities on the entry and distribution of assistance to Gaza.
The danger lies not only in congestion and chaos, but also in death that hides around everyone. Fayza al-Turmisi, a displaced person from Shuja’iyya, described the horrible scene along rue Rashid in the north of Gaza.
“They fire us of shells and bullets here. We are forced to lie on the ground. I hide from more than 200 men and the bullets fly on my head. If you raise your head, you are struck. If you stay on the ground, the balls fall around you. ”
A young Gazan was injured while he was trying to get help.
Between mourning and hunger
Mohammed Mudeiris, seven -year -old, said that he had lost his father in an air strike just the day before. He does not have the luxury of mourning for his father because he is now the only family support for his brothers and sisters.
By walking through the dense crowd, he extends his small hand, begging that a handful of flour to bring back to his brothers and sisters.
“I am the eldest of my brothers and sisters,” he said. “My father was killed in an air strike yesterday. I try to ask someone to give me a plate of flour or a meal of the help that has arrived today. ”
Mohammed Mudeiris, a child who lost his father in an Israeli air strike, coming to get food for his brothers and sisters of aid trucks arriving via the crossing of Zikim.
“I risk my life to bring food to my children”
The food race is not limited to men. Women are forced to take this risk, motivated by the responsibilities of maternity and the needs of their children.
“I throw myself in danger to bring food for my children,” said Asma Masoud, who was moved from northern Gaza.
“We never get our right part of help,” she said. “My husband is paralyzed, and there are widows and women like me who cannot provide food for their children.”
Stressing that some young people take the help and sell it at exorbitant prices that she cannot afford to buy, Ms. Masoud called the world to ensure “a fair distribution mechanism and to allow UNRWA [the UN agency for Palestine refugees] and international organizations to do so ”.
The aid must be distributed by SMS so that each person in need receives their share, as was the previous case, she said.
“But now, only a few people take advantage and sell help,” she said. “We cannot tolerate this. It is an injustice. »»
Asma Masoud, a woman displaced from the north of Gaza, returning from a search for food.
‘I don’t know how I’m going to feed my children’ ‘
Ms. Sadi agreed with Ms. Masoud, complaining that “the beneficiaries are now largely thieves”.
“I have lost a lot of weight and all my health has disappeared,” said Safi. “I don’t know how I’m going to feed my children. I want to receive help with dignity. The help came by the United Nations, and I could easily go and receive it, but now I do not receive anything. »»
I want to receive help with dignity.
This chaotic system leaves widows, women, the elderly and many other complex humanitarian cases, such as Maqboula Adas, who supports her injured husband and her son who has a broken leg.
“My husband is injured and cannot move,” she said. “My eldest son has a broken leg, and I also have three daughters. No one supports us except God. Every day, I will try to get flour. If it was not for that, they would have died of hunger. ”
Maqboula Adas, a woman moved by Shuja’iyya.
The carts bear corpses
At the height of this tragedy, emerging macabre scenes. Instead of carrying bags of flour, a cart pulled by horses transports the bodies of at least seven Palestinians who were killed while they were trying to get help.
While some young men wore bags of flour on their backs, the ambulances bring the wounded and the dead in the northern regions. The realization of food aid has a high price.
A young man was injured in the head and the face as he tried to collect aid.
“I came to collect aid, but today it was not my day,” he said. “I will come back despite my injury, and I hope God will provide me next time.”
Thousands of Palestinians in search of aid from the crossing of Israeli Zikim in northern Gaza.
Risk of famine
Gaza faces a serious risk of famine, with indicators of food consumption and nutrition at their worst levels since the start of the current conflict, according to a warning issued by the integrated classification of the food security phase (IPC).
At least 147 deaths due to hunger and malnutrition were reported, including 88 children. More than 28,000 cases of severe acute malnutrition have been recorded in children, according to reports from the World Health Organization and World Food Program.
Despite the promises to facilitate the flow of help, the restrictions on the entrance to food and fuel, as well as ongoing attacks near level passages, prevented supplies from reaching people in need. In addition, the chaotic distribution of aid within Gaza has further complicated the situation and placed civilian civilians.
The United Nations Human Rights Office (Ohchr) documented the deaths of hundreds of people who try to access help in the middle of the current shots and bombing near the road truck roads and military distribution points.
ABIR SAFI, a moved woman from the Al-Zaytoun district.
“If I am killed, who will take care of my children?”
In the middle of this chaos, the widow Enaam Siam, mother of six, tells her fight for food.
“I am a widow and mother of six orphaned children, one of whom is injured,” she said. “Every day, I go out in the middle of death to bring them food. I see the dead and the wounded. ”
She asked why help was no longer delivered to warehouses and distributed by SMS.
“If I am killed, who will take care of my children?” There are thousands of women in a similar situation. We want security, peace and a fair system that guarantees that help reaches those who need it. ”
Originally published at Almouwatin.com
Gaza: While help trucks come in, videos of Israeli hostages and attacks on the Red Crescent Staff are indignant
Meanwhile Thursday and again on Saturday, Palestinian Islamic activists and Hamas activists have published disturbing videos of two emaciated Israeli hostages, aroused world indignation and the conviction of UN leaders, including Secretary General António Guterres Monday.
The illustrated hostages, Roma Braslavsk and Evyatar David, are two of the 49 still detained in Gaza, including 27 which, according to the Israeli army, are dead.
During the daily briefing on Monday in New York, the UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said that the secretary general “was very shocked by this unacceptable violation of human dignity”.
The UN Rights Volker Türk added in a declaration That it was dismayed by the humiliating treatment of the hostages. He and the Under-Secretary General of Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, reiterated Their call for an unconditional immediate release of all hostages is still organized since the terrorist attacks on October 7.
The High Commissioner said that the “intolerable” view of the famine in Gaza recalled that violence should end. “Saving lives must be everyone’s priority. »»
He called on Israel to immediately allow and facilitate rapid and unhindered help: “refusing civilians access to food can constitute a war crime, as well as potentially a crime against humanity.”
Attack against humanitarian workers
On Sunday, the Israeli army would have struck the seat of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in Khan Younis, killing one and injuring three other staff members.
The installation is marked with the emblem of the red crescent and is therefore protected by international humanitarian law.
The United Nations Rights Office (Ohchr) in Palestine expressed Deep shock and outrage in the face of these murders.
“These workers continue to engage in life safeguard efforts by putting their own life in danger,” said the OHCHR.
Help entry
In the midst of these controversies, the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, published on social networks On Saturday, saying that since Friday, the agency had brought 24 trucks with medical supplies in Gaza.
The articles included essential drugs, trauma and surgery supplies, treatments for non -transmitted diseases and laboratory and water supplies.
Mr. Haq also pointed out on Monday that in recent days, the UN and its partners have collected wheat flour, ready -to -eat rations and hot meals, passing by Gaza points, but most of the cargo was taken by hungry and desperate before reaching the expected destinations.
In addition, hygiene kits and nutrition supplies, including high energy cookies for pregnant women and breastfeeding and infants preparations, entered last week.
However, during the second week since the Israeli announcement of the tactical breaks to allow safe passages for the United Nations help convoys, Mr. Haq said that realities on the ground remain largely the same.
This includes many challenges to provide help, which led to the obstacle of two of the 11 missions on Sunday and the full passage of only seven.
Famine conditions
This help is always a fraction of what is necessary, as a catastrophic food crisis aggravates through the band.
The world gastronomic program (Wfp)) said He “does everything possible to distribute vital food assistance to families”, but reported on Sunday that more than half a million people in Gaza are undergoing famine type conditions.
The United Nations Help Agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) released a audio De Manar, an employee who works in Gaza on Monday. She said that “food is never sufficient” and that many work in heat for hours to search for food and medical supplies.
The Commissioner General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, underlines The fact that this quasi-family is largely due to deliberate efforts to dismantle the non-coordinated humanitarian system through the Israeli Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and supported by the United States (GHF), which is responsible for the murder On nearly 1,400 Palestinians hungry near its sites and convoy routes, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
Priorifying the GHF, Israel has prevented UNRWA-“the backbone of the humanitarian response”-from provoking aid since March 2, he said.
Originally published at Almouwatin.com
Monthly update of the symmetric adjustment of the equity capital charge for Solvency II – end-July 2025
The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has published the technical information on the symmetric adjustment of the equity capital charge for Solvency II with reference to the end of July 2025.
Click here to view the documentation.
Legal Background
The symmetric adjustment is regulated mainly in Article 106 of Directive 2009/138/EC (Solvency II Directive); Article 172 of the of the Delegated Regulation of Solvency II as well as in EIOPA’s Final report on ITS on the equity index for the symmetric adjustment of the equity capital charge: Read more
Mounting civilian casualties in Sudan as fighting intensifies
It has now been 842 days since conflict between troops from the military government and their former allies-turned-rivals in the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces erupted in Sudan, turning the country into the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
Heavy fighting continues in North Darfur State, with multiple civilian casualties reported in recent days – most notably during clashes in the state capital, El Fasher, on 1 and 2 August – following earlier violence between armed groups near the Abu Shouk camp for displaced people, which currently hosts 25,000 residents.
Starvation threat
One year after famine was confirmed in Zamzam camp on the outskirts of El Fasher, the city remains under siege, with no food aid deliveries entering by road, leaving residents of the regional capital increasingly facing starvation.
Prices of food items such as sorghum and wheat are more than four times higher than elsewhere in the country, while many families are unable to afford even the most basic items.
“Limited cash assistance continues, but it is nowhere near enough to meet rising needs,” said Deputy UN Spokesperson Farhan Haq on Monday during the daily briefing in New York.
Cholera menace continues
Meanwhile, cholera continues to spread across Darfur, with nearly 1,200 cases reported – around 300 of them children – in the locality of Tawila since late June.
In South Darfur, health authorities have reported more than 1,100 suspected cases and 64 deaths since late May, as “shortages of medical supplies, clean water and sanitation services are severely hampering the humanitarian response,” said Mr. Haq.
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warns that the lives of more than 640,000 under-fives are at heightened risk of violence, disease and hunger in the region.
Compounded crisis
In Blue Nile State, floods in Ed Damazine displaced more than 100 people and destroyed at least 200 tents at Al-Karama camp on 1 August, further compounding the challenges facing people who fled their homes due to conflict.
Meanwhile, in Khartoum State, the presence of deadly landmines in multiple locations adds a dangerous new layer to the threats already faced daily by civilians.
As OCHA’s Director of Operations, Edem Wosornu, visits Sudan this week to assess the humanitarian situation, the agency has called for sustained and expanded humanitarian access along with greater international support for the most vulnerable.
The EBA consults to simplify and streamline its technical standards on resolution plans and on the functioning of resolution colleges
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a public consultation to amend the Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) on resolution plans and the RTS on resolution colleges. These revisions target both the structure and content of resolution plans as well as the operational functioning of resolution colleges for cross-border groups. The aim is to simplify and streamline resolution plans and the functioning of resolution colleges and strengthen cooperation among college authorities. The consultation runs until 5 November 2025.
Drawing on over a decade of experience in resolution planning and taking into account lessons learned from crisis cases and simulation exercises, the EBA is proposing targeted changes to the RTS on resolution plans and resolution colleges, adopted in 2016 and combined under Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1075.
On the RTS on resolution plans and resolvability assessments, the proposed amendments simplify and streamline plans by eliminating unnecessary details and duplications, improve operational readiness for a more effective resolution execution, and introduce greater optionality to accommodate different resolution scenarios. Key changes include more consistency in the essential information to be included in the plan summary, a more focused plan content tailored to each institution or group, and a clearer distinction between strategy selection and resolvability assessment. The proposed changes also reorganise the resolvability assessment along seven core dimensions to ensure consistency and effectiveness of the resolvability assessment across the EU.
Experience has shown that the resolution colleges are spending too much time focusing on the procedural aspects of reaching joint decisions, potentially hindering efficient and timely decision-making. The amendments to the RTS on resolution colleges aim to simplify processes, improve cooperation and information exchange among authorities and improve effective coordination in the implementation of the resolution scheme, thus increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the functioning of resolution colleges in the planning as well as in the execution phases.
Consultation process
Responses to the consultation can be submitted to the EBA by clicking on the “Submit response” button on the consultation page.
All contributions received will be published after the consultation closes, unless requested otherwise. The deadline for the submission of comments is 31 October 2025.
A public hearing on this consultation will take place via conference call on 16 September 2025 from 14:00 to 16:00 CEST. The deadline for registration is 10 September 2025 at 16:00 CEST.
Legal basis
The Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) – Directive 2014/59/EU – mandates the EBA to specify the content of resolution plans (Articles 10 and 12), the assessment of resolvability (Article 15), and the operational functioning of resolution colleges (Article 88). The original RTS were submitted to the Commission in 2014 and adopted in 2016.
Geography should not define fate: the UN summit on nations without coastlines is open in Turkmenistan
Userping world leaders to rethink the development of landlocked nations, the UN chief said: “We are now meeting to reaffirm a fundamental truth: Geography should never define fate. “”
According to the United Nations Development Program, 32 landlocked developing countries (Lldcs) in the world, 16 are in Africa, 10 in Asia, four in Europe and two in Latin America. Together, they house more than 500 million people.
Commercial barriers, distress of debt and deep inequality
Mr. Guterres described the “intimidating challenges” that the LLDCs continue to cope – from high barriers to trade, high transport costs and limited access to global markets. He warned that the debt burden of these countries had reached “dangerous and unsustainable levels”.
Although the LLDC represent seven% of the world’s population, they represent just over one percent of world economic production and trade. “This is a brutal example of deep inequalities that perpetuate marginalization,” said the secretary general, attributing it to “an unjust global economic and financial architecture which does not reflect the realities of the interconnected world of today”, as well as to the legacy of colonialism.
Decades of ambition: the Awaza action program
The task before the conference, known as the name LLDC3 And running in Awaza until Friday is to find solutions to these challenges.
“LLDC3 consists of launching a new decade of ambition – through the Awaza action program And its deliverables – and fully unlock the development potential of developing countries without coastline, “said Mr. Guterres.
Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2024, this action plan represents a global commitment renewed and strengthened to support the development aspirations of the LLDC.
Four Progress priorities
The secretary general described four key priorities:
- Accelerate economic diversification and digital transformation
• Invest in value added industries, local innovation and inclusive growth.
• Throw the digital ditch to unlock AI, electronic commerce and intelligent logistics. - Strengthen trade, transit and regional connectivity
• Improve infrastructure and simplify cross -border procedures.
• Integrate LLDC into global value chains and reform commercial systems. - Advance of action and climate resilience
• Double adaptation funding and build an infrastructure resilient to the climate.
• Support LLDC in green transitions with technology and partnerships. - Mobilize funding and partnerships
• Reform global financial systems to ensure fair and accessible funding.
• Failure of concessional finance and unlock climate investment at high speed.
“The success of landlocked developing countries is essential to the success of the 2030 agenda“, Underlined Mr. Guterres.
“We have knowledge, and we have the tools … Together, we can transform the geography of a barrier into a bridge – connecting not only the markets, but the peoples and cultures that give meaning to development.”
Talk to journalists Later, Mr. Guterres stressed that the conference reflects a new era of cooperation taking shape through Central Asia – a property based on mutual trust, shared priorities and increasing regional solidarity.
“At a time when multilateral cooperation is tested, this spirit of partnership is more essential than ever,” he said.
Regional challenges, global solidarity
The session has opened its doors with the reception of the president of Turkmenistan, Serdar Berdimuhamedov, who underlined national initiatives to strengthen international cooperation in health care, climate action and environmental protection.
He also drew attention to regional challenges such as drying the Aral Sea and waterfall levels in the Caspian Sea, which is the largest closed water in the world and the framework of the third LLDC one.
In his remarks, a President of the General Assembly Philemon Yang noted “the deadline to approach quickly for the 2030 agenda” and called for a decisive action and a renewed commitment to multilateralism and fundamental values.
He pointed out that the three pillars of Charter of the United Nations – Peace, development and human dignity – must remain at the heart of all efforts, and that actions must reflect the promise of leaving no one behind.
Noting the vulnerability of the LLDC to climate change and structural challenges, Mr. Yang said that these countries “never had to lack access to opportunities, prosperity or hope” and called for international solidarity, the investment of infrastructure and the practical realization of freedom of transit.
He also announced that the General Assembly had proclaimed on August 6 as the International Awareness Day to Development Countries without coastline, to observe each year.
“The General Assembly will continue to serve as a global platform in support of these countries,” he said, stressing the importance of monitoring the Awaza action program and preparing its high-level examination in 2029.
Transform vulnerability into opportunity
Also addressing the opening session, Lok Bahadur Thapa, President of the UN Economic and social councilsaid LLDC3 is “a central moment” for the 32 landlocked nations which endeavor to overcome structural obstacles to development.
Originally from Nepal, which is both landlocked and the least developed, he stressed that the Awaza action program must serve as a “plan of fatty, ambitious, exploitable and future” to transform the vulnerability into opportunity for more than 570 million people.
Thapa underlined the urgency of dealing with the “growing complexity, scale and emergency” of the challenges facing the LLDC, including the distress of debt, climatic impacts and infrastructure gaps. Mr. Thapa has urged the creation of an infrastructure investment installation for LLDC, as well as climate finance on a scale, increased concessional resources and accelerated technology transfer.
He also underlined the importance of regional cooperation and sustainable transport, praised the leadership of Turkmenistan and reaffirmed Ecosoc’s commitment to advance the Awaza action program – undertaking to integrate LLDC priorities such as food security, empowerment of young people and climate awareness of all ecosoc discussions and processes.
LLDC3 continues tomorrow, Wednesday, August 6, with round tables and events on a range of subjects, including connectivity and transport, South-South cooperation, young people and more. Find all our cover here.
Originally published at Almouwatin.com
World News in Brief: Uganda’s refugee funding crisis, academic freedom tested in Serbia, rural resilience in Afghanistan
Uganda has a progressive refugee policy which enables refugees to work and access public services. This coupled with its geographic proximity to crises has made it the continent’s largest refugee-hosting country.
“Emergency funding runs out in September. More children will die of malnutrition, more girls will fall victim to sexual violence, and families will be left without shelter or protection unless the world steps up,” said Dominique Hyde, UNHCR’s director for external relations.
UNHCR estimates that it costs $16 per refugee per month to provide essential services, but at this point, the agency will only be able to deliver $5 worth of aid each month.
Funding missing
Most refugees are entering Uganda from war-torn Sudan, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo – all countries which have been ravaged by protracted armed conflicts and acute food insecurity.
These refugees are seeking shelter and life-saving aid, and many of them are children.
In a recent visit to some of the refugee camps, Ms. Hyde met one 16-year-old girl who fled violence in South Sudan after losing her parents. She is now caring for her four younger siblings alone.
“She dreams of going back to school, but survival is all she can think about,” Ms. Hyde said.
Children like her depend on the aid which UNHCR and the Uganda government provide. But with only 25 per cent of the funding required, the aid is quickly disappearing.
“Uganda has opened its doors, its schools, and its health centers. This model can succeed, but it can’t do it alone,” Ms. Hyde said.
A test of democratic resilience in Serbia as crackdown on protests continues
Independent human rights experts warned Monday that Serbia’s intensifying crackdown on protests and protestors — especially students, professors and civil society — violates international human rights and undermines democracy.
The protests, which began in late 2024 in response to an infrastructural collapse which killed 16 people, have become a nationwide call for accountability, transparency and justice.
“What we are witnessing in Serbia is a systematic attempt to silence critical voices and dismantle the independence of academic institutions. This is not just a student protest — it is a test of human rights accountability and democratic resilience,” the experts said.
Independent experts are appointed by the Human Rights Council in Geneva to monitor and report on special human rights matters. They are independent of the UN system and any government.
Renewed commitment
Since the end of June, the experts said that they have observed increasingly violent repression of protests, including unlawful arrests, prolonged detention and smear and surveillance campaigns against individuals. Some protesters have reportedly been seriously injured.
Educational institutions in particular have come under pressure with some universities slashing faculty salaries and some high school teachers have been threatened with disciplinary action for supporting the protesters.
“Instead of listening to young people’s voices, the Government has chosen to punish them. This approach not only violates international human rights standards, but also, by its very nature, undermines the very foundation of a democratic society,” the experts said.
The experts called on the Serbian government to renew its commitment to human rights and justice, stressing that academic freedom and access to justice are pillars of democracy.
New programme in Afghanistan seeks to rebuild farmer resilience
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in concert with the United Kingdom, is launching a new agricultural resiliency programme in Afghanistan in the hopes of improving production and nutrition throughout the country.
Resilient Agriculture Livelihoods (ReAL) hopes to reach over 150,000 people in all eight regions of the country by the end of next May. It will specifically target small-scale farmers, landless labourers, livestock keepers and women and girls.
“Afghanistan’s farmers are extraordinarily resilient, but repeated climate and economic shocks are eroding this strength. This project lays down important pathways to help farmers rebuild that resilience,” said Richard Trenchard, the FAO representative in Afghanistan.
Agricultural cornerstone
The ReAL program will work to expand market access for farmers in addition to managing climate risks in a way that will promote sustainable land use and enable communities to not rely on humanitarian assistance long-term.
Between 2022 and 2024, FAO reached over 30.3 million people in Afghanistan with emergency food relief and long-term resilience projects, work which helped to decrease the food insecurity crisis by half.
“In a country where agriculture sustains most lives, this is a short-term investment with long-term impact,” said Mr. Trenchard.
