The U.S. shouldn't ignore the starving Rohingya of Myanmar
Recent reports from inside the mostly closed country, including from the Burmese Rohingya Organization UK, detail how the ruling junta has imposed blockades that cut off virtually all vital supplies to the 145,000 Rohingya confined to overcrowded, squalid internment camps. At least 25 Rohingya adults are reported to have died this year from starvation, and seven died from a lack of medical care. Children are suffering from malnutrition.
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Netanyahu asks for Red Cross help to get aid to hostages in Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has requested the Red Cross's help in getting food and medical care to hostages in Gaza. Mr Netanyahu said on Sunday he had spoken with the organisation's regional head, Julien Lerisson. There are 49 hostages believed still in Gaza, of whom 27 are believed dead. In a post on X, Mr Netanyahu said he had requested Mr Lerisson's 'immediate involvement' in providing the hostages with food and medical treatment. He also repeated his earlier claim that Palestinian people in Gaza are not suffering from starvation. That comes despite reports from Palestinian health officials of more than 111 malnutrition-related deaths in the enclave and warnings from several of the world's largest aid organisations of a devastating humanitarian crisis. 'The lie of starvation propagated by Hamas is spreading worldwide, but the reality is that systematic starvation is being carried out against our hostages – men and women who are subjected to severe and cruel physical and psychological abuse,' his post said. 'The world cannot remain indifferent to the shocking images that are reminiscent of Nazi crimes. 'I demanded the involvement of the world's nations in condemning the terrorist organisations Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and in halting all forms of support for them, direct or indirect. 'I emphasised to [Mr Lerisson] that the actions of these terrorist organisations violate international law and the Geneva Convention.'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
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Suicide crisis in South Korea: Nearly 10 aged 65+ take own lives each day
SEOUL, Aug 3 — Nearly 10 South Koreans aged 65 and above died by suicide each day between 2019 and 2023, according to a new medical study in the Journal of the Korean Medical Association. A total of 18,044 people in that age group took their own lives during the five-year period; this works out to more than 3,000 deaths every year, The Korea Herald reported today. The study was authored by Dr Oh Dae-jong, assistant professor of the Workplace Mental Health Institute at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital and the Seoul Metropolitan Government. According to the study, the suicide mortality rate among South Koreans aged 65 and older stood at 40.6 per 100,000 in 2023. This was 45 per cent higher than the rate of 28 recorded among those aged 15 to 64. 'Older adults are less likely than younger people to seek psychiatric help before attempting suicide, and many take their own lives after only one or a few attempts, making early identification of high-risk seniors important,' Dr Oh was quoted as saying in the study. Depression in South Koreans aged 65 and above is often linked to the loss of a spouse, financial stress, loneliness, family conflict and feeling like a burden to their families, the study noted. Chronic physical illness is another major factor, especially in the period soon after a diagnosis. Compared to younger people, those aged 65 and above are more likely to use fatal methods such as ingesting pesticides or hanging, which makes survival much less likely. The South Korean study advised on the need to train 'gatekeepers across the medical field who can identify and respond to early verbal, emotional and behavioral warning signs in older adults at risk of suicide'. It also recommended comprehensive, collaborative strategy between health professionals and the community to prevent more suicides. Statistics Korea said the population of people aged 65 and older crossed the 10 million mark for the first time in November last year. There were 10.12 million in that age group, an increase of 513,000 from the year before. People aged 65 and above now make up 19.5 per cent of South Korea's total population of 51.81 million. This means nearly one in five South Koreans are now 65 or older. * If you are lonely, distressed, or having negative thoughts, Befrienders offers free and confidential support 24 hours a day. A full list of Befrienders contact numbers and state operating hours is available here: There are also free hotlines for young people: Talian Kasih at 15999 (24/7); Talian BuddyBear at 1800-18-2327(BEAR)(daily 12pm-12am); Mental Health Psychosocial Support Service (03-2935 9935 or 014-322 3392); and Jakim's Family, Social and Community Care Centre (WhatsApp 0111-959 8214).
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At least 23 people seeking food killed by Israeli gunfire, health officials say
Israeli forces killed at least 23 Palestinians seeking food on Sunday in the Gaza Strip, according to hospital officials. Witnesses described facing gunfire as hungry crowds surged around aid sites as the malnutrition-related death toll surged. Desperation has gripped the Palestinian territory of more than two million, which experts have warned is at risk of famine because of Israel's blockade and nearly two-year offensive. Yousef Abed, among the crowds en-route to a distribution point, described coming under what he called indiscriminate fire, looking around and seeing at least three people bleeding on the ground. 'I couldn't stop and help them because of the bullets,' he said. Southern Gaza's Nasser Hospital said it had received bodies from near multiple distribution sites, including eight from Teina, about 1.8 miles from a distribution site in Khan Younis run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) – a private US and Israeli-backed contractor that took over aid distribution more than two months ago. The hospital also received one body from Shakoush, near a different GHF site in Rafah. Another nine were killed by troops near the Morag corridor who were awaiting trucks entering Gaza through an Israeli border crossing, it said. Three Palestinian eyewitnesses, seeking food in Teina and Morag, said the shootings occurred on the route to the distribution points, which are in military zones secured by Israeli forces. They said they saw soldiers open fire on hungry crowds advancing towards the troops. Further north in central Gaza, hospital officials described a similar episode, with Israeli troops opening fire on Sunday morning towards crowds of Palestinians trying to get to GHF's fourth and northern-most distribution point. 'Troops were trying to prevent people from advancing,' one witness said. 'They opened fire and we fled. Some people were shot.' At least five people were killed and 27 were injured at GHF's site near the Netzarim corridor, Awda Hospital said. Eyewitnesses seeking food in Gaza have reported similar gunfire attacks in recent days near aid distribution sites, leaving dozens of Palestinians dead. The United Nations reported 859 people were killed near GHF sites from May 27 to July 31, and hundreds more have been killed along the routes of UN-led food convoys. The GHF launched in May as Israel sought an alternative to the UN-run system, which had safely delivered aid for much of the war but was accused by Israel of allowing Hamas, which guarded convoys early in the war, to siphon supplies. Israel has not offered evidence of widespread theft. The UN has denied it. GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots to prevent deadly crowding. Israel's military has said it only fires warning shots as well. Both claimed the death tolls have been exaggerated. Neither Israel's military nor GHF immediately responded to questions about Sunday's reported fatalities. Meanwhile, the Gaza health ministry also said six more Palestinian adults died of malnutrition-related causes in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours. This brings the death toll among Palestinian adults to 82 in the past five weeks since the ministry started counting deaths among adults in late June, it said. Ninety-three children have also died of causes related to malnutrition since the war in Gaza started in 2023, the ministry said.
