Tag: aid

WWII Pacific battlegrounds now site of US-China tug of war

by Giff Johnson Agence France Presse MAJURO, Marshall Islands (AFP) — Pacific islands that were key World War II battlegrounds but largely neglected for the past 30 years are now back in the spotlight as China challenges traditional US supremacy in the region. Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands, whose territories stretch thousands of kilometres across the Pacific, have been the recipients of largesse by Washington, Tokyo and other allied powers, […]

Carpio: PHL should require warships passing through to turn on ID system

(Eagle News)–For Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, the Philippines should require warships passing through the country’s territorial sea to keep their automatic identification system on. Carpio issued the statement after Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana revealed some Chinese vessels that passed through Sibutu Strait in Tawi-Tawi had their AIS turned off. According to Carpio, these vessels are passing through our territorial seas after all. “Because they are passing through our waters and they should […]

South Korea approves $8 million in aid for hungry North

  SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea approved $8 million in humanitarian aid for the impoverished North on Wednesday, authorities said, with negotiations over Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal deadlocked and inter-Korean relations at a standstill. It will be the first such aid Seoul has provided Pyongyang since 2015 and follows the North’s lowest recorded harvest for a decade, according to the United Nations. The donation — to be made through the UN — comes as […]

First Red Cross humanitarian aid arrives in Venezuela

by Margioni BERMÚDEZ CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — The first shipment of Red Cross humanitarian aid arrived in crisis-wracked Venezuela on Tuesday following approval from President Nicolas Maduro’s government, the organization confirmed. “This is a great step forward to support vulnerable people in the country!” tweeted Francesco Rocca, president of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The shipment included 24 tons of medical supplies and 14 power units to be distributed […]

EU to probe allegations of aid diverted to Philippine rebels

  MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — The European Union said Saturday it would investigate allegations that its aid funds were being funnelled to Philippine communist guerrillas waging a decades-old insurgency that has killed thousands. The Philippine government demanded the probe, alleging that aid supplied to a local non-profit by the EU was being diverted to the Communist Party of the Philippines and its New People’s Army (NPA), the bloc’s office in Manila said. “Should the allegations […]

Idai disaster: Stranded victims still need rescue from heavy rains as UN scales up response

Dire conditions persist in vast areas of southern Africa affected by Cyclone Idai as heavy rain continues to cause “massive destruction”, the UN said on Thursday, while aid teams scale up efforts to reach those most in need. Warning that the situation is likely to deteriorate, the World Food Programme (WFP) said that people are still stranded on rooftops after the storm began its sweep through Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe six days ago. In Mozambique […]

In Caracas, water an obsession after days of blackout

by Margioni BERMÚDEZ CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Plastic bottles and containers at the ready, Keisy Perez ignores the stench from the brown river as it slips slowly through the grimy San Agustin district of Venezuela’s capital. The quest for drinkable water has rapidly become an obsession for millions like her in Caracas days after a crippling power blackout stalled the city’s pumps. In this part of Caracas, the Guaire river is effectively an open sewer. […]

Guaido ramps up pressure after deadly Venezuela border clashes

by Esteban Rojas with Rodrigo Almoncid in Cucuta International pressure mounted against Venezuela’s leader Nicolas Maduro on Sunday, with Washington vowing to “take action” after opposition efforts to bring humanitarian aid into the country descended into bloody chaos. Self-declared interim president Juan Guaido called on the international community to consider “all measures to free” Venezuela after clashes at the border crossing left at least two people dead. Guaido announced he would participate in Monday’s Lima […]

North Korea asks UN to help address food shortage

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — North Korea has asked UN aid agencies for help to address a looming food crisis after figures forecast a sharp drop in crop production for this year, a UN spokesman said Thursday. Pyongyang has told the United Nations that it is facing a shortfall of 1.4 million tons in food production this year, including crops of rice, wheat, potato and soybean. “The government has requested assistance from international humanitarian […]

Maduro shuts border with Brazil as Guaido goes in search of aid

by Maria Isabel Sanchez Agence France Presse CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — President Nicolas Maduro ordered the closure of Venezuela’s border with Brazil on Thursday in an increasingly fraught power struggle with Juan Guaido, the opposition leader spearheading efforts to bring humanitarian aid into the country despite a military blockade. Guaido set out in a convoy of vehicles to personally pick up US aid being stockpiled on the other side of the Colombian border, defying Maduro’s […]

US aid for Venezuela lands in Curacao

WILLEMSTAD, CuracaoA plane carrying food and medical aid from the United States landed on the Caribbean island of Curacao Thursday en route for Venezuela, whose government has vowed to block it. AFP reporters saw the jet land at the airport in Curacao, one of the focal points of a volatile standoff between Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and self-declared head of state Juan Guaido. A dozen Venezuelan opposition supporters cheered and sang their national anthem as the […]

Venezuela ‘on alert,’ closes Curacao border ahead of aid shipment

by Roland Lloyd Parry and Maria Isabel Sanchez Agence France Presse CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Venezuela’s military said Tuesday it was on “alert” at its frontiers following threats by US President Donald Trump and ordered its border with Curacao closed ahead of a planned aid shipment. Opposition leader and self-declared interim president Juan Guaido vowed to bring aid in from various points Saturday “one way or another” despite military efforts to block it. But commanders […]