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Sudan: Unicef condemns the weekend attacks that killed 35 children

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At least 24 boys, 11 girls and two pregnant women would have been among the victims of violence, which occurred during the weekend in the communities of the city of Bara, including the villages of Shag Alnom and Hilat Hamid.

Unicef Fear that with dozens of more injured and still very disappeared, the number of victims of children could increase more.

“A complete contempt for human life”

“These attacks are an outrage,” said executive director Catherine Russell a declaration issued Tuesday.

“They represent a terrifying escalation of violence and a complete contempt for human life, international humanitarian law and the most fundamental principles of humanity.”

The former allies have become rivals – the Sudanese armed forces (SAF) and the paramilitary support forces (RSF) – have been fighting for control of the country since April 2023 and the fights have recently intensified in the Kordofan region which includes three states.

Put an end to violence now

“UNICEF condemns attacks in the strongest possible terms,” said Russell.

It called on all parties to end violence immediately and to maintain their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, as well as the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution.

The head of UNICEF stressed that civilians – especially children – should never be targeted. In addition, all alleged violations must be the subject of an independent investigation and those responsible for accounting.

“” Impunity cannot be tolerated for violations of international law, especially when children’s life is at stake“She said.

Ms. Russell extended the agency’s largest condolences to the families of the victims and to any person affected by this heinous violence.

“” No child should never live such horrors“She said.” The violence against children is unacceptable and must end now. »»

Originally published at Almouwatin.com

Gaza: more misery because the new evacuation orders have an impact on tens of thousands

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People affected by orders were invited to move to the coastal strip “already overcrowded” in Al Mawasi, according to the United Nations Bureau for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ochha), Tuesday evening.

Al Mawasi near Khan Younis is missing “the basics of survival,” insisted the United Nations agency. He also experienced nearly two dozen strikes on displaced gasans reflected in tents between March 18 and April 11, the United Nations Human Rights Office said.

While the war drags well in its 21st month, the most vulnerable people in Gaza continue to fight to survive.

Emergency dialysis

They understand Musbah Zaqqout, 70, one of the 230 patients receiving vital dialysis at the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. Its treatment was disrupted by persistent supply shortages which reduced the sessions from three to two per week at the end of last month, the United Nations World Organization (WHO) warned Tuesday.

“He suffered a lot when dialysis was not available,” said Mr. Zaqout’s wife Saadia. “It is enough and was often admitted to the hospital, to the point where he fell into a coma, lost the accent and recognized anyone. »»

With the support of the KS Relief partner organization, which has delivered dialysis and fuel supplies for the Al-Shifa hospital, so that it can resume the treatment of dialysis and other rescue services.

“Thank goodness, after restarting dialysis, her condition has improved,” said Ms. Zaqqout, While the United Nations health agency has reiterated its calls to a sustained entry of food, fuel and health aid at the scale of all possible routes.

“Critical shortages of fuel and medical supplies persist across Gaza,” warned. “Without urgent and supported replenishment, health services are likely to stop.”

Children’s malnutrition tragedy

Echoing these concerns, the United Nations Agency for Palestinians, UNRWAwarned Wednesday that it is increasingly difficult to help Gazans. Already, one in 10 of the children brought to his clinics suffer from malnutrition. The condition was unknown in the enclave before the war, but it more than doubled in children under the age of five between March and June, in the middle of the Israeli seat almost total.

“It becomes more and more difficult for us to continue to provide services,” said Louise Waterridge of UNRWA. “At least 188 UNRWA installations-more than half of all our installations in the Gaza Strip-are located in the Israeli-militarized area, under travel orders, or where these overlaps.”

In an update, Ms. Waterridge said that only six UNRWA health centers and 22 of the agency’s medical points remain operational today, in addition to 22 mobile medical points inside and outside the shelters.

According to the United Nations agency, almost 60% of essential medical supplies are now out of stock. “Children die before our eyes because we do not have medical supplies or sustained foods to treat them,” he said.

Key drugs are exhausted

Consequently direct of the Israeli blockade on Gaza which started on March 2, UNRWA said that it had ” Now, short of “drugs for high blood pressure, antiparasitic and antifungal medicine, drugs for eye infections and inflammation, all skin treatments and oral antibiotics for adults.

Providing water specific to the warpart by war remains a massive challenge and only two main water wells of UNRWA still work. Ten were operational before the war. 41 Other small wells are operational in UNRWA shelters.

In the past two months in North Gaza, UNRWA has been forced to stop providing water and sanitation services to around 25,000 people displaced in shelters, due to travel orders issued by Israeli forces.

“Restrictions on fuel entry continue to place rescue services at a serious risk,” said the United Nations Agency. “Water critical services are at risk of closing if sustained fuel supplies are not allowed.”

Originally published at Almouwatin.com

Press briefing – General Affairs Council of 18 July 2025

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Press briefing – General Affairs Council of 18 July 2025

The press briefing ahead of the General Affairs Council will take place on Thursday, 17 July 2025 at 15.00.

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First person: How many additional children should die before the agres of the world?

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Juliette Touma, communications director of the United Nations Agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWAVisited Gaza several times during and before the war and thought about the children she met there and in other areas of conflict.

“Adam has been in my mind lately, more than usual.

I met Adam years ago in the Yemenite port city of Hudaydah, at the time under siege and heavy bombardment. In the very poor district of the hospital, there were Adam, 10, weighing a little more than 10 kilograms. He couldn’t speak, he couldn’t cry. Everything he could do was to make a hoarse sound of breathing. A few days later, Adam died of malnutrition.

A child suffering from malnutrition inside a Sanaa hospital, Yemen.

Deadly malnutrition

A few years before that, my colleague Hanaa called from Syria late at night. She was in tears and could barely say a word. Hanaa finally told me that Ali, a 16 -year -old boy died. In yet another besieged city, taken in a war and not of its manufacture, he was also dead of malnutrition.

The next morning, my supervisor, an epidemiologist, said: “For a 16 -year -old boy, dying of malnutrition, says a lot. He is practically a man. This means that there is no food at all in this part of Syria. ”

Back in Yemen in one of the rare hospitals for functional children in the Sanaa capital, I walked in the children’s district during the top of a cholera epidemic. Boys aged 15 and 16 have trouble staying alive.

They were so weak and emaciated that they could barely turn into their beds.

These images and stories haunted me over the years as they have done for many of us who have worked in severe hunger or situations of famine.

The author plays with students who take advantage of the “Summer Fun Weeks” games in a UNRWA school in the Gaza Strip in 2023. (File)

Mortal hunger grows in Gaza

In 2022, when I had the great pleasure of returning and leaving Gaza, I visited the children in the UNRWA schools. Immaculation dressed, healthy, smiling, eager to learn, jumping from top to bottom in the school field to the sound of music.

At the time, Gaza was already under a blockade for more than 15 years. Food was however available on the markets by imports via Israel and locally farmed products. UNRWA also provided food aid to more than a million people.

Images of Adam and Ali were quickly pushed to the back of my memory until a few weeks ago, when they suddenly reappear.

An increasing number of children are projected for malnutrition in Gaza.

Babies can survive, but will they do it?

Our Gaza teams began to send alarming photos of emaciated babies. Malnutrition rates increase rapidly, spreading through the Gaza strip. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 50 children have died in malnutrition since the start of the siege on March 2.

UNRWA has projected more than 242,000 children into the agency’s clinics and medical points through the war torn by the war, covering more than half of children under the age of five in Gaza. One in 10 in 10 children is poorly nourished.

Ahlam has seven months. His family has been moved every month since the start of the war, looking for non -existent security. Shocked and her body weakens, the Ahlam is seriously poorly nourished. Like many babies in Gaza, its immune system has been damaged by trauma, constant forced displacement, lack of clean water, poor hygiene and very little food.

Ahlam can survive, but will it do it?

Rare bombs and supplies

There are very few therapeutic supplies to treat children with malnutrition because the bases are rare in Gaza. The Israeli authorities have imposed a tight seat blocking the entry of food, medication, medical supplies and nutritional and hygiene materials, including soap.

While the headquarters are sometimes attenuated, UNRWA (the largest humanitarian organization in Gaza) has not been authorized to provide humanitarian assistance since March 2.

Last week, Salam, another baby suffering from malnutrition, died. She was a few months old. When she finally reached the UNRWA clinic, it was too late.

Meanwhile, eight children queue for therapeutic support against malnutrition were killed when Israeli forces hit the clinic in which they were. One of my colleagues who led to the clinic a few minutes later told me that she had seen mothers looking in the abyss, crying in silence, just like Adam.

How many babies should die before the world takes measures?

Why should babies die of malnutrition in the 21st century, especially when it is completely avoidable?

At UNRWA, we have more than 6,000 food trucks, hygiene supplies and drugs outside Gaza while waiting for the green light to between.

Help will mainly help little girls like Ahlam. UNRWA also has more than 1,000 health workers who can provide boys and girls with specialized nutritional services.

In the middle of the daily distribution of horrors that we get Gaza on our screens, we can’t help but ask how many Hlam and salam must die before acting?

How long until a ceasefire is reached for bombs to stop falling on emaciated and dying children? »»

Originally published at Almouwatin.com

Scores killed in Sudan’s Kordofan region as fighting intensifies

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Scores killed in Sudan’s Kordofan region as fighting intensifies

Amid ongoing communication disruptions in the area, confirming the exact civilian death toll remains difficult, but reports indicate that at least 300 people – including children and pregnant women – were killed in attacks on villages in Bara locality, North Kordofan State, between 10 and 13 July.

During the same period, a series of attacks – including an air strike on a school sheltering displaced families – reportedly killed more than 20 people, in the villages of Al Fula and Abu Zabad in West Kordofan State.  

OCHA is also alarmed by reports of renewed shelling in Al Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan State, “deepening fears and insecurity among civilians,” the humanitarian coordination agency reported.  

Tragic civilian toll

With thousands of people reportedly killed since the beginning of the conflict between former military allies-turned rivals over two years ago, the crisis in Sudan continues to take a devastating toll on civilians. 

These incidents are yet another tragic reminder of the relentless toll the conflict is taking on civilians across Sudan,” OCHA reported.

The office emphasises that civilians and civilian infrastructures – including schools, homes, shelters and humanitarian assets – must never be targeted, and called on all parties to the conflict to “fully respect their obligations under international humanitarian law.”

Toll from displacement

Described as “the largest as well as the fastest growing displacement crisis globally,” by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in February 2025, displacement continues amid the fighting.

People fleeing North Kordofan, as well as El Fasher in North Darfur State, continue to seek shelter in the rest of Sudan, including Northern State, with humanitarian partners on the ground reporting more than 3,000 displaced people arriving in the locality of Ad-Dabbah since June.

Although some have received food assistance, the steady influx of newly displaced families is putting additional strain on already stretched resources.  

With the rainy season approaching, OCHA warned that further hardship is likely, particularly as heavy rain and strong winds destroyed shelters and food supplies for about 2,700 displaced people in eastern Sudan this past Sunday. 

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Press release – Deal on more funding to boost skills development and address new challenges

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Press briefing – General Affairs Council of 18 July 2025

Parliament and Council negotiators have reached a provisional agreement on changes to the European Social Fund+ to boost skills in the defence and decarbonisation industries.Committee on Employment and Social Affairs Source : © European Union, 2025 – EP

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Cohesion policy mid-term review: Council and Parliament strike a deal to better address current and emerging challenges

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Cohesion policy mid-term review: Council and Parliament strike a deal to better address current and emerging challenges

Council and Parliament reach a provisional agreement to better address current and emerging challenges in the context of EU cohesion policy’s mid-term review. Source link

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The scores killed in the Kordofan region of Sudan while the fight intensifies

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In the midst of current communication disturbances in the region, confirming that the exact number of civil death remains difficult, but reports indicate that at least 300 people – including children and pregnant women – were killed during attacks against villages in the locality of Bara, in the state of northern Kordofan, between July 10 and 13.

During the same period, a series of attacks – including an air strike on an school housing inappropriate families – would have killed more than 20 people, in the villages of Al Fula and Abu Zabad in the Western Kordofan State.

Ochha is also alarmed by renewed bombing reports in Al Obeid, the capital of the state of North Kordofan, “deepening fears and insecurity of civilians”, reported the humanitarian coordination agency.

Tragic civilian

With thousands of people who have been killed since the start of the conflict between the former military allies who became rivals over two years ago, the crisis in Sudan continues to make a devastating impact on civilians.

“” These incidents are still another tragic reminder of the relentless assessment that the conflict takes civilians through Sudan“Reported Ocha.

The office points out that civilians and civil infrastructure – including schools, houses, shelters and humanitarian assets – should never be targeted and have called on all parties to the conflict to “fully respect their obligations under international humanitarian law”.

Moving toll

Described as “the greatest and the greatest crisis of displacement for the fastest growth in the world”, by the United Nations Agency for Refugees (Hcr) In February 2025, the trip continued in the middle of the fighting.

People fleeing northern Kordofan, as well as El Fasher in the state of Darfur du Nord, continue to seek a shelter in the rest of Sudan, including the North State, with humanitarian partners on the ground reporting more than 3,000 displaced people arriving in the locality of Dabbah since June.

Although some have received food assistance, the constant influx of newly moved families puts additional pressure on the resources already stretched.

As the rainy season approaches, OCHA has warned that new difficulties are probably, in particular while heavy rain and strong winds have destroyed shelters and food supplies for around 2,700 people displaced in eastern Sudan.

Originally published at Almouwatin.com

The UN asks for de -escalation, the protection of civilians as a conflict kings Syria

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Violence broke out on Sunday between the tribal fighters of the Sunni Bedouins and the Druze militias in Sweida, two days after a Druze merchant was removed on the highway to Damascus.

Victims’ figures are not clear according to local reports, but the number of deaths is at least 30 years old and hundreds have been injured.

While violent troubles continued on Monday, temporary government security forces were deployed to restore order, which would have led to clashes with the local armed militia.

The same day, Israeli forces struck tanks under the control of Syrian forces to defend the Druze, which he considers a minority faithful to the house and in the occupied Golan region, according to reports.

Shortly after the forces of the Government of the goalkeeper in Damascus arrived in Sweida on Tuesday, the defense chief of Syria announced a cease-fire.

Tensions have historically been high between minority groups of the city since the Islamist rebels overthrew the regime of former President Bashar al-Assad in December and a new goalkeeper government was installed, which gained international recognition.

Guterres expresses concern

The secretary general’s spokesman Stéphane Dujarric, addressed the situation in Syria on behalf of Secretary General António Guterres At the Tuesday briefing in New York.

“The secretary general is deeply concerned about the continuous violence we have seen in the Druze-Majority region in the governorate of Sweida,” said Dujarric, adding that he is particularly alarmed by information reporting arbitrary violence against civilians.

Guterres condemned “all violence against civilians, in particular acts that may mobilize sectarian tensions” and have urged de -escalation, protection of civilians and a transparent investigation into those responsible for killings and injuries.

Israel has asked to end violations in Syria

“The secretary general is also concerned about Israel’s air strikes on the territory of Syria and calls on Israel to refrain from violations of the independence of Syria, its sovereignty and its territorial integrity,” said Dujarric.

Mr. Guterres urged support for “a credible, orderly and inclusive political transition in Syria in accordance with the key principles of Resolution 2254 of the Security Council. »»

Mr. Dujarric also relayed the reports of UN humanitarian partners in Sweida, noting that medical services are too far away and that the essential markets and services – including water, electricity and education – have been disrupted.

Although the United Nations help operations have been suspended in the affected areas due to blocked roads, the UN makes fun to meet when the conditions allow it.

Investigators have alarmed themselves

Also Tuesday, the UN Human Rights Council mandated Syrian commission of inquiry released one statement expressing the concern of the situation in Sweida and highlighting the urgent need for de -escalation and the protection of human rights.

The declaration cited the reports of local residents of murders, kidnappings, burns of goods, looting and an increase in online and in person speech.

In addition to highlighting concerns about sectarian violence and Israeli air strikes, the Commission underlined the interim government’s responsibility to maintain human rights and guarantee a safe passage and humanitarian aid.

Independent human rights investigators said they started an investigation into alleged human rights violations linked to Sweida murders in recent days.

Originally published at Almouwatin.com

Cohesion policy mid-term review: Council and Parliament strike a deal to better address current and emerging challenges

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Press briefing – General Affairs Council of 18 July 2025

Council and Parliament reach a provisional agreement to better address current and emerging challenges in the context of EU cohesion policy’s mid-term review.

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