humanitarian aid

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Obama Lifts Abortion 'Gag Rule'

(Newser) - President Obama today overturned the “gag rule” prohibiting the US from funding groups that provide abortions or abortion counseling overseas, Reuters reports. The policy has been enforced and rescinded depending on the Oval Office occupant since it was instituted under President Reagan. Unlike yesterday's high-profile signing ceremony, today's executive...

Israel Again Pauses to Let Gaza Aid in

Death toll reaches 898 as new humanitarian supplies arrive

(Newser) - For the fifth day Israel has paused in its onslaught of Gaza to allow residents to retrieve food and supplies, CNN reports. Israel allowed 160 trucks through two border crossings but said it would resume attacks after three hours. Although one Israeli official suggested that the operation may soon conclude,...

Gaza Blowup Could've Been Avoided: Carter
Gaza Blowup Could've Been Avoided: Carter
OPINION
Jan 8, 2009 2:24 PM CST

Gaza Blowup Could've Been Avoided: Carter

Agreement on aid crossings would've prevented recent violence

(Newser) - The destruction being visited upon Gaza could easily have been avoided, Jimmy Carter writes in the Washington Post. The former president, during visits last year, saw both the effects of Hamas rockets on Israeli communities, and the misery and malnutrition caused by the Gaza blockade. He details his own efforts,...

UN Halts Gaza Aid, Citing Israeli Attacks

(Newser) - The United Nations today halted all aid deliveries to the besieged Gaza Strip, citing a series of Israeli attacks on UN staff and installations. The announcement came shortly after the driver of a UN truck was killed by tank fire as he was headed to an Israeli border crossing to...

60 Strikes Pound Gaza Overnight

Mosque used as hideout leveled; death toll nears 700

(Newser) - Israel intensified its airstrikes in Gaza last night, reports CNN, bombing about 60 targets across the Strip on the 13th day of the operation. One of the targets was a mosque that the Israeli military claims stored weapons and sheltered Hamas fighters. The airstrikes also targeted 10 Hamas tunnels used...

Cynicism Key to Israel's Arsenal
Cynicism Key to Israel's Arsenal 
OPINION
Jan 7, 2009 2:13 PM CST

Cynicism Key to Israel's Arsenal

Aid to Palestinians 'not unlike raising animals for slaughter,' as Tel Aviv acts ever the victim

(Newser) - “The promulgation of a hyper-nationalist ethos” in Israeli media coverage of the Gaza situation doesn’t surprise Neve Gordon, he writes in the Nation—what’s unsettling is the cynical war ethic emerging around humanitarian aid. As one reporter explains, Israel gives assistance to Palestinians during times of war...

Jolie Returns, Moved, From Afghanistan Trip

Goodwill ambassador visited refugees, urges international aid

(Newser) - Angelina Jolie made a trip to Afghanistan last week in her role as goodwill ambassador for the United Nations, spending two days among the country's returning refugees. The actress visited sites where thousands of Afghans live in makeshift housing and struggle to find work, problems that typify the stress the...

Bush Plans $1B for Georgia Ahead of Cheney Visit

Navy set to deliver more supplies; VP touts 'deep and abiding interest' in region

(Newser) - President Bush wants another $1 billion in economic aid for Georgia, the AP reports. An announcement is scheduled for later today, even as Vice President Dick Cheney is continuing a tour of former Soviet states that will take him to Georgia tomorrow. Meanwhile, a third US Navy ship entered the...

India Struggles to Save Millions in Flood

Villagers turning desperate, living on uncooked rice and polluted water

(Newser) - Rescue helicopters are trying to save villagers in India after a dam flooded thousands of towns this month, killing 85, displacing 2 million, and wrecking a quarter-million acres of farmland, the Daily Telegraph reports. Torrential rain kept helicopters grounded for most of yesterday as one boat capsized, killing 20. “...

Second US Ship Docks in Georgia
 Second US Ship
 Docks in Georgia
Aug 27, 2008 7:42 AM CDT

Second US Ship Docks in Georgia

Russians say move is 'devilish'

(Newser) - A US military ship docked at the Georgian port of Batumi today on a humanitarian aid mission, the AP reports. Early reports had the ship headed to Poti, which was heavily damaged and is still occupied by Russian troops, but Batumi is well south of the combat zone. One top...

US Aid Ship Arrives in Georgia
 US Aid Ship Arrives in Georgia
Aug 24, 2008 12:57 PM CDT

US Aid Ship Arrives in Georgia

(Newser) - A US Navy warship carrying humanitarian aid anchored at the Georgian port of Batumi today, sending a strong signal of support to an embattled ally as Russian forces built up around two separatist regions. But a top Russian general suggested that the presence of US and other NATO ships in...

US Military Showing Softer Side
 US Military Showing Softer Side 
ANALYSIS
Jul 28, 2008 2:08 PM CDT

US Military Showing Softer Side

Greater emphasis on humanitarian operations seen by some as 'out of whack'

(Newser) - Despite recent focus on shooting wars, the Defense Department has tweaked the core mission of US armed forces to promote “soft power,” such as humanitarian aid, the Boston Globe reports. Some civilian onlookers say the foreign policy is “out of whack,” and “too dominated by...

Gift Cows Give Hope to Kosovo War Widows

Aid group helps heal the wounds of war in Europe's fledgling country

(Newser) - A Dutch organization is helping steer Kosovo's war widows toward a brighter future, Radio Free Netherlands reports. Many were left to fend for themselves after losing loved ones in the war against Serbia; now the Dutch group The Bridge is giving them cows to put food on the table and...

Junta Leader Visits Nargis Victims as UN Envoy Arrives

General meets survivors for first time since cyclone hit

(Newser) - The head of Burma's junta emerged today for the first time since cyclone Nargis struck two weeks ago to meet with survivors, CNN reports. Gen. Than Shwe visited a refugee camp 200 miles south of Yangon, touching the faces of infant survivors. The visit came as the UN's humanitarian secretary...

Analysts Urge Washington to Invade Burma

Others advise against forcing aid on devastated country

(Newser) - Analysts and aid workers appalled by Burma’s attitude to foreign aid are urging Washington to invade, Time reports. One observer has called for the US to airlift food regardless of the junta’s restrictions; a retired general wants China to pacify Burma about US aid, or Thailand to paint...

Irate UN Cuts Burma Off After Junta Seizes Aid

No reason given after goods confiscated

(Newser) - An enraged UN has shut off all further cyclone aid to Burma after its military junta seized two planes carrying a massive food shipment, CNN reports. “This is another example of them actively getting in the way of relief getting to the victims,” said the UN's Asia World...

UN, US Again Blast Burma's Reluctance With Help

Insular state disappoints would-be donors; 1.5M could be affected

(Newser) - Officials the world over are expressing dismay at Burma's apparent disinterest in swift international aid to victims of the devastating cyclone that has 1 million homeless and perhaps more than 100,000 dead, Reuters reports. The US ambassador to the UN said today he was “outraged by the slowness...

First Major Aid Finally Reaches Cyclone Survivors

But some planes grounded as officials dicker with junta to get help to villagers

(Newser) - A single United Nations plane laden with relief supplies has finally landed in Burma's Irrawaddy Delta region—six days after a pulverizing cyclone killed an estimated 100,000 people, AP is reporting. Three other UN planes are expected to land later today, but flights operated jointly by the US and...

Google Tracking Refugees
 Google Tracking Refugees 
Apr 8, 2008 5:45 PM CDT

Google Tracking Refugees

UN info on displaced peoples now available through Earth mapping feature

(Newser) - A new feature allows Google Earth users to take a tour of the world’s refugee hotspots, with images of camps supplemented by information from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the AP reports. The search titan has greatly improved the available resolution in its satellite photos of refugee areas—...

Dressed-Up Pyongyang Hid Grim Reality

N. Korean capital masked poverty for NY Philharmonic's visit

(Newser) - North Korea's capital was prettied up last month to show off the country's nonexistent prosperity to the New York Philharmonic and the accompanying press corps, the LA Times reports. The visitors to Pyongyang ate luxurious meals in newly painted hotels, but after they finished, the lights went out. "As...

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