UN seeks $6 billion to ease ‘appalling’ suffering in Sudan

UN seeks $6 billion to ease ‘appalling’ suffering in Sudan
Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025 (AFP)
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Updated 17 February 2025
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UN seeks $6 billion to ease ‘appalling’ suffering in Sudan

UN seeks $6 billion to ease ‘appalling’ suffering in Sudan
  • Appeal represents 40 percent increase from 2024 amid tight budgets
  • UN plan is most ambitious globally, aiming to reach 21 mln people

GENEVA: The United Nations said on Monday it is seeking $6 billion for Sudan this year from international donors to help ease suffering in what it called one of the most devastating crises of our times, characterised by mass displacement and growing famine.

The UN appeal represents a rise of more than 40 percent from last year’s for Sudan at a time when aid budgets around the world are under increasing strain, partly due to a pause in funding announced by US President Donald Trump last month that has affected life-saving programs across the globe.

But the UN says the funds are necessary because the impact of the 22-month war between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) — that has already displaced a fifth of its population and stoked severe hunger among around half its population — looks set to worsen.

“Sudan is a humanitarian emergency of shocking proportions,” said UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher ahead of the launch. “Famine is taking hold. An epidemic of sexual violence rages. Children are being killed and injured. The suffering is appalling.”

Famine conditions have been reported in at least five locations in Sudan, including displacement camps in Darfur, the UN statement said, adding that this was set to worsen with continued fighting and the collapse of basic services.

One of the famine-stricken camps was attacked by the RSF last week as the paramilitary group tries to tighten its grip on its Darfur stronghold.

While some aid agencies say they have received waivers from Washington to provide aid in Sudan, uncertainty remains on the extent of coverage for providing famine relief.

The UN plan aims to reach nearly 21 million people within the country, making it the most ambitious humanitarian response so far for 2025, and requires $4.2 billion — the rest being for those displaced by the conflict.


Saudi foreign minister and Palestinian prime minister discuss efforts to end war in Gaza

Saudi foreign minister and Palestinian prime minister discuss efforts to end war in Gaza
Updated 19 min 48 sec ago
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Saudi foreign minister and Palestinian prime minister discuss efforts to end war in Gaza

Saudi foreign minister and Palestinian prime minister discuss efforts to end war in Gaza
  • They meet at UN HQ in New York during international conference on a 2-state solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France
  • PM Mohammed Mustafa commends the Kingdom for its consistent stance on the Palestinian issue, says conference was the result of Saudi diplomacy

LONDON: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa held talks on Tuesday on coordination of diplomatic efforts to end Israel’s war in Gaza, and address the resultant starvation that is affecting nearly 2 million Palestinians in the territory.

They met at the UN’s headquarters in New York on the closing day of a two-day, high-level international conference on a two-state solution to the decades-long conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

Mustafa commended the Kingdom for its consistent stance on the Palestinian issue, and its ongoing efforts to address the issue through the Arab Contact Group and the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, the Wafa News Agency reported.

The conference in New York was co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France in an effort to gather support for the formal establishment of an internationally recognized Palestinian state, and advance efforts to achieve a two-state solution in which Israel and Palestine can live in peace, side by side.

On Tuesday, the UK government said it would officially recognize a Palestinian state during the UN General Assembly in September, unless Israel takes action to end the war in Gaza and halts its annexation policies in the West Bank. This followed a recent pledge by President Emmanuel Macron that France will recognize Palestinian statehood during the General Assembly.

Mustafa said that this week’s UN conference was the result of Saudi diplomacy, with the aim of achieving a peaceful settlement of the Palestinian issue. He stressed the need to take concrete steps, and establish a clear timeline, toward the implementation of a two-state solution.


‘Israel’s drip-feeding of aid has horrified the world,’ UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy tells Saudi-French peace summit at UN

‘Israel’s drip-feeding of aid has horrified the world,’ UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy tells Saudi-French peace summit at UN
Updated 36 min 19 sec ago
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‘Israel’s drip-feeding of aid has horrified the world,’ UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy tells Saudi-French peace summit at UN

‘Israel’s drip-feeding of aid has horrified the world,’ UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy tells Saudi-French peace summit at UN
  • Outbreak of famine in Gaza heaps pressure on world leaders to demand immediate ceasefire, aid access, and the two-state solution
  • UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer joins France in pledging to recognize Palestinian statehood unless Israel commits to lasting peace

DUBAI/LONDON: A declaration of famine in Gaza has shocked world leaders and intensified calls for immediate action. On Tuesday, a UN-backed food security monitor confirmed that large areas of the enclave are now experiencing full-scale famine, prompting outrage at the international conference on Palestine.

The grim update was followed by a major diplomatic shift when the UK announced it would recognize the State of Palestine at the UN General Assembly in September — unless Israel halts its military campaign and commits to a viable two-state solution before then. 

“The devastation in Gaza is heartbreaking. Children are starving, and Israel’s drip feeding of aid has horrified the world,” said David Lammy, the UK foreign minister. “It is a historical injustice which continues to unfold.

“It is with the hand of history on our shoulders that His Majesty’s government, therefore, intends to recognize the State of Palestine when the UN General Assembly gathers in September … unless the Israeli government acts to end the appalling situation in Gaza, ends its military campaign, and commits to a long sustainable peace based on a two-state solution.”

The UK’s statement, foreshadowed by the Palestinian prime minister on Monday and mirrored shortly after by San Marino, reflects mounting frustration over Israel’s conduct in both Gaza and the West Bank.

That shift became starker on Tuesday after the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative, a UN-backed monitor, declared that famine had spread across large swaths of Gaza. The declaration comes despite recent Israeli-announced efforts to increase aid deliveries, including airdrops and a temporary pause in military operations.

“The worst-case scenario of famine is now unfolding in the Gaza Strip,” the IPC said. “Immediate, unimpeded” humanitarian access into Gaza was the only way to stop rapidly rising “starvation and death,” it added.

In a press briefing shortly after Prime Minister Keir Starmer reaffirmed the UK’s position, Lammy added that the world was “deeply offended by children being shot and killed as they reach out for aid.”

“The time has come for a ceasefire. The time has come to see those hostages released, and the time has come to abate the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza.”

But Prime Minister Starmer’s own statement was aimed squarely at Israel, showing just how swiftly sentiment has changed among Western countries about how to end the war.

Britain followed in the steps of France, which announced last week that it would recognize an independent Palestinian state at the General Assembly in September.

“The situation is simply intolerable,” Starmer said. “I am particularly concerned that the very idea of a two-state solution is reducing and feels further away today than it has for many years.”

Gaza’s health authorities say the death toll has surpassed 60,000 — a figure that other humanitarian organizations believe is likely an underestimate.

Representatives from several countries in the Middle East stressed the need for urgent and immediate action. 

The UAE’s minister of state at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Khalifa Shaheen Al-Marar, said on Tuesday: “After 21 months since the start of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, it is time to move from mere attempts to contain the conflict to addressing its root causes.”

Echoing similar concerns, Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya said: “We are witnessing a tragic humanitarian situation that no living conscience can accept.”

Yemen’s Foreign Minister Shaya Mohsin Zindani also emphasized the severity of the crisis, saying it underscores “our shared responsibility to safeguard human dignity and the fundamental rights to life, liberty, and security for all peoples of the region.”

Despite Israel’s announcement on Sunday of a limited military pause in parts of the enclave, UN officials and Palestinians on the ground report that conditions remain dire. Desperate crowds continue to intercept and unload aid trucks before they reach their destinations amid deep mistrust in the official distribution channels and sheer desperation.

Delegates at the conference have repeatedly called on Israel to fully lift restrictions on aid entering Gaza. The demand for peace and aid access echoed throughout Tuesday’s plenary session and dominated discussions in the corridors of the UN headquarters.

“The war must end… the humanitarian crisis and starvation must end. This cycle of violence and destruction must stop,” said Ronald Ozzy Lamola, South Africa’s minister for international relations and cooperation.

Gaza has teetered on the edge of famine for nearly two years, with Israel accused of tightly controlling aid and “drip-feeding” supplies into the Strip. Now, the IPC says increasingly severe blockades have pushed the crisis beyond the brink. 

While formal famine declarations are rare — requiring data that access restrictions have made nearly impossible to collect — many say no official confirmation is needed to grasp the scale of suffering.

“Gaza has become a land of walking corpses,” said Bolivia’s Foreign Minister Celinda Sosa Lunda. “Hundreds of people have been killed while they were on their way to find food and water.”

The challenge of engaging Israel, not only to increase aid access but to find a diplomatic resolution, has been a recurring theme during the New York conference. On Monday, Jordan’s representative said that if there is a party “preventing us from moving forward, then it is about time the world took action against that party.”

“The continued military aggression and a disregard for humanitarian and legal principles represents an inability of the international community to perform its duties, and it encourages impunity,” said Kuwaiti FM Al-Yahya, calling for “immediate and effective” action against Israel.

In a rare break with Israel, US President Donald Trump — speaking during a visit to Scotland — acknowledged that “real starvation” is spreading in Gaza. He urged Israel to allow “every ounce of food” in and said its government bears “a lot of responsibility” for the crisis.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously dismissed such claims as a “bold-faced lie.”

The US and Israel are among the few countries boycotting the three-day event, with Israeli ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon dismissing it as “unproductive” and “disconnected from reality.”

US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce called the gathering “a publicity stunt that comes in the middle of delicate diplomatic efforts.”

In response, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot pushed back against Washington’s framing of the Abraham Accords as a substitute for Palestinian statehood. “We do not share those reservations,” he said. “The logic of normalization cannot be stopped — but it must be anchored in a comprehensive peace effort. We believe the US will, in time, return to that logic.”

Prince Faisal bin Farhan, the Saudi foreign minister, said: “We continue to have faith in President Trump’s ability to help deliver — not just an end to the war, but a long-term resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

Meanwhile, Israeli officials have signaled growing resistance to the two-state framework. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar dismissed the conference’s premise outright, claiming a Palestinian state would, at this stage, become a “Hamas state.”

“Israel will not be the Czechoslovakia of the 21st century,” he added, referencing the peaceful 1993 split between the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Sa’ar declined to comment on whether Israel plans to annex parts of Gaza, calling it an “internal discussion.” But according to Haaretz, Netanyahu is expected to present a formal annexation plan to his security cabinet if Hamas does not agree to a ceasefire. The plan, reportedly endorsed by the Trump administration, is seen as an attempt to shore up support from far-right coalition partners.

Such a move would come just days after the Knesset voted 71-13 in favor of annexing the West Bank — a symbolic step that raised further doubts over the potential for a Palestinian state.

The implementation of a two-state solution is key to “achieving security, stability, and prosperity for all peoples of the region,” said Prince Faisal in his opening remarks on Monday.

On Tuesday, he urged participating states to adopt the conference’s final outcome document, which outlines proposals across humanitarian, legal, and security pillars to guarantee peace and mutual recognition.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa was more direct: Israel’s intentions to annex Palestine and weaken its government are clear; hence, the international community must move beyond “condemnation and denunciation” to forcing “Israel to cease its annexation practices settlement.”

 


Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah’s visit to Japanese temple sparks social media debate among Egyptians

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah’s visit to Japanese temple sparks social media debate among Egyptians
Updated 49 min 22 sec ago
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Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah’s visit to Japanese temple sparks social media debate among Egyptians

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah’s visit to Japanese temple sparks social media debate among Egyptians
  • Club say visit was part of pre-season preparations for new football season
  • Some social media users praise Salah, laud him for respecting, accepting other religions

BEIRUT: Photographs of Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah visiting a Buddhist temple in Japan this week — alongside his teammates — have sparked controversy among Egyptians on social media, with some praising Salah’s open-mindedness and others having a different opinion.

As part of their summer tour ahead of the Premier League’s start next month, Liverpool posted a video on their X handle on Monday about their visit to Eko-in Temple, a Jodo-shu Buddhist temple in Tokyo, for what they described as a “bespoke meditation session.”

Some Arabic news websites posted photos of players, including Salah, sitting cross-legged on the temple’s floor while they seemed to be attending a meditation session, which Liverpool said was “guided by a monk.”

Some social media users praised Salah for being culturally curious and respecting and accepting of other religions, while others criticized his visit and considered whether — as an icon for millions in the Arab and Muslim world — he should instead have visited an Islamic center or a mosque in Tokyo.

Several users commented on X that Salah had represented Egypt and the Egyptians in the best way through showing respect and openness toward other cultures and religions.

Others had an opposite viewpoint, saying they would have preferred to have seen Salah visiting a mosque in Tokyo rather than a temple.

One group of users — describing the criticism and controversy as “exaggerated” — said that Liverpool’s visit to the temple had no religious significance but rather fell within the tourist and cultural program of a global sports team.

According to the club’s official website, Liverpool’s tour of Japan included friendly matches and cultural activities aimed at strengthening ties with Japanese fans.

Eko-in Temple is a popular tourist destination in the Japanese capital, distinguished by its traditional architecture and the meditation sessions held there.


Saudi Arabia, France issue joint UN declaration calling for 2-state solution, end to Gaza war

Saudi Arabia, France issue joint UN declaration calling for 2-state solution, end to Gaza war
Updated 35 min 21 sec ago
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Saudi Arabia, France issue joint UN declaration calling for 2-state solution, end to Gaza war

Saudi Arabia, France issue joint UN declaration calling for 2-state solution, end to Gaza war
  • It pushes for reunification of Gaza and West Bank under control of the Palestinian Authority, and for Hamas to relinquish power in Gaza and surrender its weapons
  • Floats the idea of a future ‘Peace Day’ to mark formal end of the conflict and the launch of regional cooperation in trade, energy and infrastructure

NEW YORK CITY: France and Saudi Arabia issued a joint declaration at the UN on Tuesday calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza, and setting out a detailed international road map for the implementation of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Released at the close of a high-level international conference in New York, which the two countries co-chaired, and seen by Arab News, the “New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine” outlined a time-bound process for establishing an independent, sovereign Palestinian state alongside Israel, with security guarantees for both sides.

The declaration was endorsed by a broad group of international partners that had chaired working groups during the conference, including Brazil, Egypt, Japan, Ireland and the EU, in what organizers described as an “unprecedented global consensus” on the urgent need to resolve the long-standing conflict.

“The war in Gaza must end now,” the declaration stated. It condemned the attacks by Hamas against Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, 2023, and the subsequent Israeli military operations in Gaza that have resulted in large-scale civilian casualties and the destruction of infrastructure.

It warned that a continuing conflict, absent a credible path to peace, “poses grave threats to regional and international stability,” and called for the immediate implementation of a phased ceasefire agreement, brokered by Egypt, Qatar and the US, to end hostilities, secure the release of hostages, and ensure the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

The declaration additionally called for the reunification of Gaza and the West Bank under the control of the Palestinian Authority, and for Hamas to relinquish power in Gaza and surrender its weapons. A transitional administrative committee, backed by international partners, would be established under the authority of the PA, supported by a temporary, UN-led stabilization mission to protect civilians and assist with the security and governance transitions.

“Only a political solution can deliver peace or security,” the declaration stated, as it reaffirmed international backing for a two-state solution based on 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

The declaration also pledged broad international support for the reconstruction of Gaza, endorsing an Arab-Organization of Islamic Cooperation recovery plan, and announced a forthcoming Gaza Reconstruction Conference to take place in Cairo. It committed to the creation of a dedicated international trust fund, reaffirmed the role of UN Relief and Works Agency, and backed the Palestinian Authority’s agenda for reforms.

Recent commitments made by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to hold elections and pursue peaceful statehood, alongside plans for democratic reforms and enhanced governance, were welcomed.

The signatories also called on Israeli authorities to halt settlement activity, end settler violence, and give a clear public commitment to a two-state solution. “Unilateral measures threaten to destroy the last remaining path to peace,” the declaration warned.

It linked Palestinian statehood to broader normalization and integration efforts in the Middle East. It proposed exploration of a regional security framework, modeled on the Association of

Southeast Asian Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and floated the idea of a future “Peace Day” to mark the formal conclusion of the conflict and the launch of regional cooperation in trade, energy and infrastructure.

The co-chairs of the conference pledged to present a progress report on efforts to implement the declaration during the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in September, and tasked the chairs of the working groups with establishing a follow-up mechanism under the umbrella of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution.

“This is a historic opportunity,” the declaration stated. “The time for decisive, collective action is now — to end the war, realize Palestinian statehood, and secure peace and dignity for both peoples.”

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Saudi FM meets with Iraqi, Portuguese counterparts on sidelines of Palestine conference at UN

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan meets separately with his Iraqi and Portuguese counterparts.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan meets separately with his Iraqi and Portuguese counterparts.
Updated 29 July 2025
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Saudi FM meets with Iraqi, Portuguese counterparts on sidelines of Palestine conference at UN

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan meets separately with his Iraqi and Portuguese counterparts.

RIYADH: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met with his Iraqi and Portuguese counterparts on the sidelines of the high level UN conference that Saudi Arabia co-chaired on Tuesday.

The ministers were in New York to attend the United Nations High-Level International Conference on “The Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution” which called for an immediate end to the war in Gaza.

It also set out a detailed international roadmap toward the implementation of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

During the separate meetings with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel, Prince Faisal reviewed relations between the Kingdom and their respective countries, Saudi Press Agency reported.

The latest developments in the region and efforts being made in this regard were also discussed.