UN agencies say a violence-hit part of South Sudan is on the brink of famine
JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — Three United Nations agencies warned on Thursday of looming famine in a conflict-stricken part of South Sudan.
People in 11 of 13 counties in South Sudan's Upper Nile state now face emergency levels of hunger, the World Food Program, the U.N. Children's Fund and the Food and Agriculture Organization said in a joint statement.
Upper Nile is the scene of fighting between government troops and armed militias that oppose the government of President Salva Kiir. The fighting has escalated in recent months, 'destroying homes, disrupting livelihoods and impeding the delivery of humanitarian aid,' the statement said.
Some 32,000 people are in hunger conditions categorized as 'catastrophic,' more than three times the previous projection, it said.
Although some other parts of South Sudan are seeing improvements in food security, some 57% of the east African country's 11.5 million people face acute food insecurity.
Famine was declared in parts of South Sudan in 2017.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, the leading international system to designate hunger crises, considers an area to be in famine when three things occur: 20% of households have an extreme lack of food, or essentially are starving; at least 30% of children suffer from acute malnutrition or wasting, meaning they're too thin for their height; and two adults or four children per every 10,000 people are dying daily of hunger and its complications.
The IPC unites experts from more than 20 organizations, including U.N. agencies, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, the European Union, and the World Bank.
Nasir, one of the counties facing a famine warning, is a stronghold for anti-government militias and the scene of fighting that has left mounting civilian casualties.
'Once again, we are seeing the devastating impact conflict has on food security in South Sudan,' Mary-Ellen McGroarty, the World Food Program representative in South Sudan, said in the statement by the U.N. agencies. 'Conflict doesn't just destroy homes and livelihoods, it tears communities apart, cuts off access to markets and sends food prices spiraling upward. Long-term peace is essential, but right now, it is critical our teams are able to access and safely distribute food to families caught in conflict in Upper Nile, to bring them back from the brink and prevent famine.'
___
Muhumuza contributed from Kampala, Uganda.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
24 minutes ago
- New York Post
The 21 cases left for the Supreme Court to decide, including transgender care
The Supreme Court is in the homestretch of a term that has lately been dominated by the Trump administration's emergency appeals of lower court orders seeking to slow President Donald Trump's efforts to remake the federal government. But the justices also have 21 cases to resolve that were argued between December and mid-May, including a push by Republican-led states to ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors. One of the argued cases was an emergency appeal, the administration's bid to be allowed to enforce Trump's executive order denying birthright citizenship to U.S.-born children of parents who are in the country illegally. The court typically aims to finish its work by the end of June. 7 The Supreme Court has 21 cases to resolve that were argued between December and mid-May. REUTERS Here are some of the biggest remaining cases: Tennessee and 26 other states have enacted bans on certain treatment for transgender youth The oldest unresolved case, and arguably the term's biggest, stems from a challenge to Tennessee's law from transgender minors and their parents who argue that it is unconstitutional sex discrimination aimed at a vulnerable population. At arguments in December, the court's conservative majority seemed inclined to uphold the law, voicing skepticism of claims that it violates the 14th amendment's equal protection clause. The post-Civil War provision requires the government to treat similarly situated people the same. 7 The oldest unresolved case stems from a challenge to Tennessee's law on transgender youth AP 7 The court is weighing the case amid other federal and state efforts to regulate the lives of transgender people, such as which bathrooms they can use, and pushes to keep transgender athletes from playing in girls' sports. The court is weighing the case amid a range of other federal and state efforts to regulate the lives of transgender people, including which sports competitions they can join and which bathrooms they can use. In April, Trump's administration sued Maine for not complying with the government's push to ban transgender athletes in girls sports. Trump also has sought to block federal spending on gender-affirming care for those under 19 and a conservative majority of justices allowed him to move forward with plans to oust transgender people from the U.S. military. Trump's birthright citizenship order has been blocked by lower courts The court rarely hears arguments over emergency appeals, but it took up the administration's plea to narrow orders that have prevented the citizenship changes from taking effect anywhere in the U.S. The issue before the justices is whether to limit the authority of judges to issue nationwide injunctions, which have plagued both Republican and Democratic administrations in the past 10 years. 7 Protesters confront law enforcement outside of a federal building and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Los Angeles. Getty Images These nationwide court orders have emerged as an important check on Trump's efforts and a source of mounting frustration to the Republican president and his allies. At arguments last month, the court seemed intent on keeping a block on the citizenship restrictions while still looking for a way to scale back nationwide court orders. It was not clear what such a decision might look like, but a majority of the court expressed concerns about what would happen if the administration were allowed, even temporarily, to deny citizenship to children born to parents who are in the country illegally. Democratic-led states, immigrants and rights groups who sued over Trump's executive order argued that it would upset the settled understanding of birthright citizenship that has existed for more than 125 years. 7 A majority of the court last month expressed concerns about what would happen if the administration were allowed to deny citizenship to children born to parents who are in the country illegally. REUTERS The court seems likely to side with Maryland parents in a religious rights case over LGBTQ storybooks in public schools Parents in the Montgomery County school system, in suburban Washington, want to be able to pull their children out of lessons that use the storybooks, which the county added to the curriculum to better reflect the district's diversity. The school system at one point allowed parents to remove their children from those lessons, but then reversed course because it found the opt-out policy to be disruptive. Sex education is the only area of instruction with an opt-out provision in the county's schools. 7 LGBTQ+ veterans hold signs protesting the ban on transgender military members as they march in the World Pride parade in Washington, DC on June 7. Nathan Posner/Shutterstock The school district introduced the storybooks in 2022, with such titles as 'Prince and Knight' and 'Uncle Bobby's Wedding.' The case is one of several religious rights cases at the court this term. The justices have repeatedly endorsed claims of religious discrimination in recent years. The decision also comes amid increases in recent years in books being banned from public school and public libraries. A three-year battle over congressional districts in Louisiana is making its second trip to the Supreme Court Lower courts have struck down two Louisiana congressional maps since 2022 and the justices are weighing whether to send state lawmakers back to the map-drawing board for a third time. The case involves the interplay between race and politics in drawing political boundaries in front of a conservative-led court that has been skeptical of considerations of race in public life. At arguments in March, several of the court's conservative justices suggested they could vote to throw out the map and make it harder, if not impossible, to bring redistricting lawsuits under the Voting Rights Act. 7 The case about Louisiana congressional maps involves the interplay between race and politics in drawing political boundaries in front of a conservative-led court. AP Before the court now is a map that created a second Black majority congressional district among Louisiana's six seats in the House of Representatives. The district elected a Black Democrat in 2024. A three-judge court found that the state relied too heavily on race in drawing the district, rejecting Louisiana's arguments that politics predominated, specifically the preservation of the seats of influential members of Congress, including Speaker Mike Johnson. The Supreme Court ordered the challenged map to be used last year while the case went on. Lawmakers only drew that map after civil rights advocates won a court ruling that a map with one Black majority district likely violated the landmark voting rights law. The justices are weighing a Texas law aimed at blocking kids from seeing online pornography Texas is among more than a dozen states with age verification laws. The states argue the laws are necessary as smartphones have made access to online porn, including hardcore obscene material, almost instantaneous. The question for the court is whether the measure infringes on the constitutional rights of adults as well. The Free Speech Coalition, an adult-entertainment industry trade group, agrees that children shouldn't be seeing pornography. But it says the Texas law is written too broadly and wrongly affects adults by requiring them to submit personal identifying information online that is vulnerable to hacking or tracking. The justices appeared open to upholding the law, though they also could return it to a lower court for additional work. Some justices worried the lower court hadn't applied a strict enough legal standard in determining whether the Texas law and others like that could run afoul of the First Amendment.
New York Post
34 minutes ago
- New York Post
Zelensky complains that US is being ‘too warm' towards Russia: ‘They started this war'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky chided the tone of U.S. and Russia relations as 'too warm' Saturday, while re-upping his push for Washington to ratchet up sanctions on Moscow. The Ukrainian leader stressed that 'no one has been able to stop' Russian strongman Vladimir Putin so far, but surmised that President Trump could if he takes a tougher stand. 'Right now, the tone of the U.S.–Russia dialogue feels too warm. Let's be honest: that won't stop Putin. What's needed is a shift in tone,' Zelensky wrote on X. 'Putin must understand clearly: America will stand with Ukraine, including by imposing sanctions and supporting our army. Any signals of reduced aid, or of treating Ukraine and Russia as equals, are deeply unfair. Russia is the aggressor. They started this war. They do not want to end it. 3 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is hoping to meet with President Trump at the G7. AFP via Getty Images 3 President Trump has admitted to having frustrations with Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin. AP 'That's why the world must send a clear message: if Putin refuses to end the war, the strongest possible sanctions will follow.' Zelensky's remarks appear to take aim at some of Trump's recent comments, where he likened the warring nations to 'two young children fighting like crazy.' He's also repeatedly implied that Kyiv bears — as does Russia — responsibility for the bloody war. 'You should have never started it,' Trump pubically said of Zelensky back in February. Russia began the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are currently mulling a sanctions package introduced by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) last month. That sweeping package further tightens the existing sanctions on Russia and slaps 500% tariffs on countries that do business with the Kremlin. Trump has sent mixed signals about the sanctions package, concerned that it could derail negotiations with Russia while also indicating that he is losing patience with Putin. Zelensky appears to be angling to pressure Trump on further tightening the screws on Russia ahead of the Group of 7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, beginning on Sunday. Zelensky had been working to meet Trump at the G7, which would be their first face-to-face since their meeting at the Vatican in April. 'No one has been able to stop Putin. Only Trump remains, he might be able to. But to stop Putin, one thing is essential: he must lose money. Only then will he be unable to expand his army and military sector,' Zelensky said. 3 Russian leader Vladimir Putin has sought to flatter President Trump with a painting and a tale about praying for him after the assassination attempt. AP The Ukrainian leader called for tougher sanctions targeting Russia's oil revenue, banking sector and avenues of circumventing existing penalties. He warned that 'Putin has radicalized his society through propaganda' and pumped his people 'full of hatred toward NATO, the US, and the West.' 'Ukraine has shown it is ready to do everything for peace — everything except surrender. But let's be honest: what is a ceasefire if not simply the act of ceasing fire?' he added. At the start of the month, Ukraine carried out a stunning drone attack that wiped out dozens of Russian bombers deep within its neighbor's territory. Trump had a call with Putin days after that military breakthrough, but publicly acknowledged that it is 'not a conversation that will lead to immediate peace.'
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Jordan's state-run media says its airspace will reopen to civilian aircraft at 7:30 a.m. local
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Jordan's state-run media says its airspace will reopen to civilian aircraft at 7:30 a.m. local.
