Tag: aid

Iran: Normalising ties with Saudi will aid to end war in Yemen

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Tehran: Iran’s mission to the United Nations has said that the restoration of diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran will contribute to finding a political solution to the war in Yemen, state news agency IRNA reported.
“The restoration of diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran [would] speed the ceasefire, help launch a national discussion, and build an inclusive national administration in Yemen,” the Iranian UN mission stated on Sunday, according to IRNA.
On Friday, Saudi Arabia and Iran announced a historic agreement to re-establish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after seven years of heightened tensions, backing opposing sides in regional conflicts, and supporting various parties in political disputes throughout the Middle East. China mediated the deal.
Gulf nations have long charged Iran with inciting instability in the Middle East by providing financial and military aid to its network of Shia proxies there, particularly in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen. Iran.
Since its outbreak in 2014, the conflict in Yemen has been fought on a battlefield where Riyadh and Tehran have supported opposing parties. The Arab Coalition was established by Saudi Arabia to defend the Yemeni government, which is recognised internationally, militarily against the Houthi movement, which is backed by Iran, reported Al Arabiya News.
Arab and Western governments have long accepted that Iran supplied weapons to the Houthi militia, which was then used to launch cross-border strikes primarily against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Throughout the years, the regional warships of the US and the UK have successfully stopped numerous shipments of weapons built in Iran aboard ships bound for Yemen.
Analysts have hailed the significant diplomatic achievement as a huge step towards resolving several regional military crises.

According to the statement from the Iranian envoy, relations between Riyadh and Tehran are significant on three tiers bilateral, regional, and global levels. All three tiers, including West Asia and the Islamic world, will benefit from the reestablishment of political links between the two nations, Al Arabiya News reported.
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#Iran #Normalising #ties #Saudi #aid #war #Yemen
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 13, 2023
UN continue to deliver quake-related aid to Syria, Turkey

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United Nations: The UN and its specialised agencies have continued delivering aid to Turkey and Syria following the devastating February 6 quakes that killed more than 53,300 people in the two countries, a spokesman said.
In Syria, at least 8.8 million people were affected by the earthquakes, which, among other factors, also have a significant impact on the response to a cholera outbreak, said Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
“Our partners launched a cholera vaccination campaign in earthquake-hit areas of Northwest Syria on Tuesday,” Xinhua news agency quoted Haq as saying.
“They plan to distribute 1.7 million vaccine doses in high-risk areas. More than 53,000 suspected cholera cases and 23 associated deaths have been reported in Northwest Syria as of March 5.”
More than 100,000 people who had their water infrastructure damaged received water since the start of the response, he said.
Humanitarian workers have also provided hygiene kits to more than 100,000 people in reception centres.
“Our colleagues also tell us that 3.7 million children in earthquake-affected areas across Syria are facing the risk of contracting diseases and lack access to basic services,” Haq told a regular briefing.
He said the Syria earthquake flash appeal has received $218 million, or 55 per cent, of the nearly $400 million needed.

Turning to Turkey, the spokesman said the world body continues to support the government-led response to the massive earthquakes.
“The UN and our partners have provided more than 42,000 tents and hundreds of thousands of blankets, bedsheets and mattresses,” he said.
“More than 900,000 people have received food assistance and the World Food Programme has supplied more than 5.7 million food packages and hot meals.”
Haq said the World Health Organization provides healthcare to nearly 24,000 people.
The Unicef reached 319,000 people, including more than 183,000 children, with hygiene kits and non-food items, winter clothes and heaters, among other critical supplies.
However, Haq said the Turkey earthquake appeal of $1 billion is only 10.4 per cent funded.
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#continue #deliver #quakerelated #aid #Syria #Turkey
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 10, 2023
UN continues to deliver cross-border aid into Syria

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United Nations: Twenty-two truckloads of aid from the World Food Programme and the UN Children’s Fund (Unicef) crossed into Northwest Syria from Turkey, bringing the total of cross-border delivery to 557 trucks since February 9 in the wake of massive earthquakes, said a UN spokesman.
The UN has carried out 18 inter-agency cross-border missions to Northwest Syria since the first interagency visit to Idlib on February 14, said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, at a daily press briefing on Friday.
On Thursday, a joint delegation by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and Unicef carried out a mission focussed on gender and accountability to affected people, including a field visit to a site for internally displaced persons in Kelly Mountain and to Al-Iman hospital in Sarmada, Idlib, he added.
“Our humanitarian colleagues also tell us that over 105,000 households have reportedly been displaced following the earthquakes. Many are staying with host communities or going back to their inhabitable homes, making it very difficult to estimate the total number of displaced,” said Haq as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.
The world body is currently supporting structural damage assessments of affected buildings to help facilitate families’ return. Longer-term shelter operations are also being identified for families that cannot return to their homes due to the scope of the damage, he added.
The $400-million appeal in response to the February 6 earthquakes has so far received $173 million, or 43.5 per cent of the funding required, he said.
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#continues #deliver #crossborder #aid #Syria

( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 4, 2023
Saudi Arabia supports Ukraine with $410 million worth aid package

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Riyadh: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) provided two packages of humanitarian aid to Ukraine worth 410 million dollars, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
Saudi-Ukrainian meeting in Kiev on Sunday, witnessed the signing of an agreement and a memorandum of understanding, with financing amounting to $400 million.
The agreement includes a joint cooperation program to provide humanitarian aid from the Kingdom to Ukraine at a value of $100 million.
The memorandum of understanding also includes financing oil derivatives worth 300 million dollars as a grant provided by the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through the Saudi Fund for Development for Ukraine.
On Sunday, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan visited the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, and met with President Volodymyr Zelensky, first of its kind visit by a Saudi official since the start of the war nearly a year ago.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy received Prince Faisal in Kiev on Sunday.
In a press conference reported by the media, from Kiev, the Saudi foreign minister said that his country is keen to end the Ukrainian-Russian crisis peacefully and is looking for opportunities for settlement with all parties.
The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said that the signing of the agreement and memorandum reflects the Kingdom’s support for Ukraine in facing social and economic challenges.

On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine, which was followed by angry international reactions and the imposition of “tough” economic and financial sanctions on Moscow.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 27, 2023
Nikki Haley says if voted to power, she will cut foreign aid to countries which hate America

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Washington: Indian-American Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has vowed that if voted to power, she will cut every cent in foreign aid for countries which hate America.
She mentioned Pakistan, China, Iraq and other countries, saying “a strong America doesn’t pay off the bad guys”.
The 51-year-old two-term Governor of South Carolina and the former US Ambassador to the United Nations formally launched her 2024 presidential bid earlier this month.
“I will cut every cent in foreign aid for countries that hate us. A strong America doesn’t pay off the bad guys. A proud America doesn’t waste our people’s hard-earned money. And the only leaders who deserve our trust are those who stand up to our enemies and stand beside our friends,” she wrote in an op-ed in the New York Post.
She said that America has spent USD 46 billion on foreign aid last year, which is given to countries like China, Pakistan, and Iraq. American taxpayers deserve to know where that money is going and what it’s doing, she added.
“They will be shocked to find that much of it goes to fund anti-American countries and causes. As president, I’ll put a stop to this fiasco,” she said.
According to Haley, the Biden administration resumed military aid to Pakistan, though it’s home to at least a dozen terrorist organisations and its government is deeply in hock to China.
She said that as the US ambassador to the UN, she strongly supported then president Donald Trump’s decision to cut nearly USD 2 billion of military aid to Pakistan because that country supported terrorists who kill American troops.

“It was a major victory for our troops, our taxpayers and our vital interests, but it didn’t go nearly far enough. We’ve still given them way too much in other aid. As president, I will block every penny,” she added.
She said that the Biden administration restored half a billion dollars to “a corrupt United Nations agency” that’s supposed to help the Palestinian people but in fact covers for deeply anti-Semitic propaganda against our ally Israel. She added the US has given Iraq more than USD 1 billion over the last few years, even though its government is getting closer to Iran.
She said American taxpayers still give money to “Communist China for ridiculous environment programs, despite the obvious threat China poses to Americans.”
“We give money to Belarus, which is Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s closest ally. We even give money to Communist Cuba a country our own government has designated as a state sponsor of terrorism,” she said, adding that it’s been happening for decades under presidents of both parties.
“I am running for president to restore our nation’s strength, our national pride and our people’s trust. Backing American allies and friends like Israel and Ukraine is smart. Sending our tax dollars to enemies isn’t,” she added.
“At the UN, I put together a book of how much money we give other countries and how often they vote with us. It was eye-opening. We are giving huge amounts of cash to countries that vote against us most of the time. That doesn’t make sense. I’ll stop it. America can’t buy our friends. We’ll certainly never buy off our enemies,” she added.
Less than a fortnight after entering the race to the White House, Haley is leading against President Joe Biden in a hypothetical match, according to a latest opinion poll on Friday. But she trails badly against leading GOP candidate former president Trump, Rasmussen Report said based on a survey it conducted between February 16 to 19.
Among the Republicans she comes at the third position after Trump (52 per cent) and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (24 per cent).
Born Nimrata Nikki Randhawa to immigrant Punjabi Sikh parents, Haley is the third Indian-American to run for the US presidency in three consecutive election cycles. Bobby Jindal ran in 2016 and Vice President Kamala Harris in 2020.
Before entering the presidential ballot, Haley has to win the Republican Party’s presidential primary which will start in January next year. The next US presidential election is scheduled to be held on November 5, 2024.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 26, 2023
Zelensky discusses defence aid with Dutch PM

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Kiev: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and visiting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte discussed defense aid for Kyiv and new sanctions on Russia.
At the talks, Zelensky thanked the Netherlands for the decision to transfer Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine and the participation in the “tank coalition”, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the presidential press service.
The Netherlands together with Germany and Denmark are preparing to hand over about 100 Leopard tanks to Ukraine, Zelensky said.
This year, the Netherlands allocated 2.5 billion euros (about $2.67 billion) for helping Ukraine in the military, financial, humanitarian, and legal spheres, he added.
Zelensky has called for imposing new sanctions on Moscow over the Russia-Ukraine conflict, including restrictive measures against the nuclear sphere, the missile industry, the IT sector, and all industries and enterprises that contribute to the implementation of the Russian missile program or the production of drones.
For his part, Rutte said that his country stands ready not only to supply tanks and air defense systems to Ukraine, but also to provide training and exercises for the Ukrainian military.
Rutte also announced that the International Center for the Investigation of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine will be established in the Netherlands to collect evidence of crimes.
Rutte arrived in Kiev earlier in the day for his second visit since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict nearly one year ago.

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#Zelensky #discusses #defence #aid #Dutch
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 18, 2023
UN continues cross-border aid to earthquake-hit Syria

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United Nations: The world body is continuing its cross-border aid delivery into Northwest Syria in the aftermath of the massive earthquakes, a UN spokesman has said.
Twenty-two trucks carrying aid from the World Food Programme and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) crossed the Bab Al-Hawa crossing from Turkey, Xinhua news agency quoted Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, as saying.
Two additional trucks carrying tents provided by the UNHCR crossed the Bab Al-Salam crossing. In Northwest Syria, shelter needs are the top priority among displaced people, he said.
The Bab Al-Hawa crossing point was authorized by the UN Security Council for cross-border aid delivery into Northwest Syria.
After the February 6 earthquakes, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad decided to open the two crossing points of Bab Al-Salam and Al Ra’ee from Turkey to Northwest Syria for an initial period of three months to allow for the timely delivery of humanitarian aid.
Dujarric said many homes had collapsed in the aftermath of the earthquakes. As of Tuesday, more than 8,900 buildings had been destroyed or damaged in Northwest Syria, leaving 11,000 people homeless.
Other priorities, obviously, in addition to shelter needs and food, are cash assistance and supplies to cope with the harsh winter weather conditions, he said.

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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 17, 2023
Kathua gang rape: Delhi HC orders media fines to be deposited in J&K legal aid

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New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed its Registrar General to transfer the sum paid by media houses as fined for disclosing the Kathua rape case victim’s name to the Victim Compensation Fund maintained by Jammu & Kashmir State Legal Services Authority.
The amount is for donating the victims or family of deceased victims of sexual violence.
A division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad said: “The Registrar General of this court is directed to transmit the amounts so deposited by respondents no.8, 28 (two media houses) and by other respondents (media houses) in the present case, if any such amount is still lying with the court, to the Victim Compensation Fund maintained by the Jammu and Kashmir State Legal Services Authority for disbursement of funds to the victims/families of the deceased victims of sexual violence.”
In the 2018 brutal gangrape was followed by the victim’s murder, the High Court in the same year took by itself the decision against media houses for their reports disclosing the victim’s name, violating Sections 23 and 228A of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
“The manner of reporting of the incident is also against the public justice,” said the bench.
The court had issued notices to over 15 media houses and directed them to deposit Rs 10 lakh each.
With time, more media organisations were asked to pay the compensation.
Earlier, the court had called the media houses’ move of displaying the photograph of the victim “unfortunate” and “extremely distressing”.

The incident dates back to January 10, 2018, when the eight-year-old had disappeared from near her home in a village near Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir. A week later, her body was found in the same area.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 16, 2023
Mehrauli demolitions: Delhi govt approves ‘immediate aid’ to families made homeless

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New Delhi: In the wake of the Delhi Development Authority’s recent demolition drive in south Delhi that rendered many homeless, the Delhi government on Thursday approved a proposal to provide ‘immediate aid and relief’ to affected families.
Highlighting the severity of the situation, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has approved a proposal to provide affected families with tents, food, blankets, and other essential supplies. The file is now pending with LG V.K. Saxena for the approval.
Delhi Revenue Minister Kailash Gahlot had sent a proposal to Chief Minister seeking to address the concerns of the affected families, who had lost their homes on Wednesday. In the proposal, he apprised the CM of the recent developments that had taken place in the matter so far.
The DDA had initiated a large-scale demolition drive in the Ladha Sarai village under the pretext of a disputed demarcation of the Mehrauli Archaeological Park. The move left hundreds of persons without shelter or basic amenities.
However, opposing the move by the DDA, the Delhi government intervened to stop the demolition and ordered a fresh demarcation of the disputed area through orders of Revenue Minister Gahlot.
Meanwhile, LG Saxena on Tuesday directed the Delhi Development Authority to stall the ongoing demolition drive in these villages till further instructions.
“The decision came after a delegation of residents of these villages met the LG and sought relief from the demolition drive while citing the anomalies in the demarcation of land in these areas, that was carried out by the AAP Government in 2021”, a statement from LG Secretariat had said.

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#Mehrauli #demolitions #Delhi #govt #approves #aid #families #homeless
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 16, 2023
UAE President orders additional $50m in quake aid to Syria

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Abu Dhabi: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) President, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on Wednesday ordered the provision of an additional sum of 50 million dollars for the relief of those affected by the earthquake in Syria.
According to Emirates News Agency (WAM), 20 million dollars of the additional amount will be allocated to implement humanitarian projects.
This came in response to an appeal made by the United Nations, in coordination with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
For the tenth day in a row, the UAE continues to send relief aid to those affected by earthquakes in Syria and Turkey, and has flown 70 planes to Syria and Turkey so far.
The UAE has flown 38 planes to Syria carrying about 1,243 tons of food and medical aid, in addition to 2,893 tents to shelter about 20,000 people.
A search and rescue team consisting of 42 people to carry out search and rescue missions in the areas affected by the earthquakes.
On the Turkish side, the UAE has operated 32 aircraft carrying medical equipment and materials, in addition to 927 shelter tents, benefiting nearly 5,000 people, in addition to a search and rescue team of 92 people.
Morever, UAE opened an integrated field hospital in Turkey, in the Turkish correctional area, containing 50 beds and a medical team, in addition to establishing another hospital in the Hatay region, containing 200 beds.

UAE also sent a search and rescue team consisting of 92 people to carry out search and rescue operations in the Kahramanmaras region.
On February 6, two successive earthquakes of magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 occurred in southern Turkey and northern Syria, causing great loss of life and property in both countries.
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#UAE #President #orders #additional #50m #quake #aid #Syria
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 16, 2023