France starts airdrops of humanitarian aid into Gaza
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot speaks to the media on the day he attends the European Union Foreign Ministers council in Brussels, Belgium July 15, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
PARIS - France on Friday started to air-drop 40 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Gaza as it urged Israel to allow full access to the area which it said was slipping into famine.
"Faced with the absolute urgency, we have just conducted a food airdrop operation in Gaza. Thank you to our Jordanian, Emirati, and German partners for their support, and to our military personnel for their commitment," President Emmanuel Macron wrote on social media platform X.
"Airdrops are not enough. Israel must open full humanitarian access to address the risk of famine," he added.
Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot earlier in the day had told broadcaster franceinfo that France was sending four flights carrying 10 tonnes of humanitarian aid each to Gaza from Jordan.
A global hunger monitor said on Tuesday that a famine scenario was unfolding in the Gaza Strip, with malnutrition soaring, children under five dying of hunger-related causes and humanitarian access severely restricted.
France participated six times in the European humanitarian airlift set up in mid-October 2023 by the European Union to Jordan and Egypt to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, Macron's office said.
The European airlift enabled the organisation of more than 60 flights carrying over 3,350 tons of humanitarian cargo, with most of the donations in-kind transiting through Egypt and Jordan, according to Macron's office.
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
Tech Reporting suspected advanced cyber attacks will provide a defence framework: Shanmugam
Singapore Tanjong Katong sinkhole: Affected road will open progressively to motorists from noon on Aug 2
World Trump modifies reciprocal tariffs ahead of deadline; rate on Singapore remains at 10%
Business Singapore's US tariff rate stays at 10%, but the Republic is not out of the woods yet
Singapore Thundery showers expected on most days in first half of August
Singapore Synapxe chief executive, MND deputy secretary to become new perm secs on Sept 1
Singapore 5 women face capital charges after they were allegedly found with nearly 27kg of cocaine in S'pore
Business Sumo Salad had valid insurance coverage for work injury claims: MOM
Part of this aid has still not entered Gaza due to a lack of agreement from the Israeli authorities, the president's office said. REUTERS
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
35 minutes ago
- Straits Times
How Trump-vetted scientists are trying to shred the climate consensus
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Climate experts say it will hobble the country's efforts to rein in rising temperatures. NEW YORK – A new report from the US Department of Energy says projections of future global warming are exaggerated, while benefits from higher levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) such as more productive farms are overlooked. It concludes, at odds with the scientific mainstream, that policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions risk doing more harm than good. Released on July 28, the report is part of an effort by the Trump administration to try to end the US government's authority to regulate greenhouse gases. It's the output of scientists known for contradicting the consensus embodied in volumes of research by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), whose work is approved by virtually every nation. Publishing an alternate approach to the science of global warming on the same day that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it plans to revoke the endangerment finding – a determination that greenhouse gases harm public health and welfare – marks a step up in the administration's war on regulations. Since its adoption in 2009, the endangerment finding has become the bedrock of many US environmental rules. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said repealing the finding would 'end US$1 trillion or more in hidden taxes on American businesses and families.' Climate experts say it will hobble the country's efforts to rein in rising temperatures and lessen the impacts, such as more intense storms, droughts and wildfires. The federal government's own research shows climate-fuelled extreme weather is already causing US$150 billion (S$193.2 billion) in losses a year in the US. In its proposed rule to nix the finding, the EPA references the Energy Department's report more than two dozen times. Energy Secretary Chris Wright wrote in the report's foreword that he had commissioned it and selected the authors to form a working group. The agency's support for the contrarian research stands in contrast to the broad rollback of other climate work under President Donald Trump. Since his inauguration in January 2025, hundreds of scientists have been dismissed from agencies , including some who had focused on climate change. The EPA recently moved to shutter its main scientific research arm, which has been a crucial tool for policymaking. The US cancelled a landmark climate change report , the sixth National Climate Assessment, and has taken down numerous webpages on climate science. Some of those were related to previous National Climate Assessments – studies that hundreds of researchers spent years painstakingly compiling. The new report's authors include Steven Koonin, a fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution who wrote a 2021 booking arguing that climate science is 'unsettled'; Roy Spencer, a University of Alabama in Huntsville scientist and senior fellow at the climate-denying group Cornwall Alliance; and Judith Curry, a climatologist formerly of Georgia Tech who testified to a Senate committee in 2023 that climate change has been mischaracterised as a crisis. An Energy Department spokesman said the report's authors 'represent diverse viewpoints and political backgrounds and are all well-respected and highly credentialed individuals.' The spokesman added that the report 'was reviewed internally by a group of DOE scientific researchers and policy experts from the Office of Science and National Labs,' and that there will be a 30-day comment period for the public to weigh in. Ann Carlson, an environmental law professor at the University of California at Los Angeles, said the report presents a series of arguments the administration can draw on to contend 'public health and welfare is not endangered by emissions that come from the auto sector, from the trucking sector, from the electricity sector.' Rather than denying climate change is occurring, Prof Carlson said, 'What they're trying to say instead is, 'Well, it's not so bad. It's really expensive to mitigate. And that expense actually harms people more than anything we could do' to slow it down. That's in keeping with past comments by members of Trump's cabinet that have downplayed global warming or public concern about it. Prof Carlson said the report is 'a wholesale assault' on climate science and previous policy. Zeke Hausfather, the climate lead at Stripe Inc and a research scientist at nonprofit Berkeley Earth, has contributed to major US and international climate reports. He described the Energy Department publication as 'scattershot' and said it 'would not pass muster in any traditional scientific peer review process'. That the administration released it after taking down webpages hosting 'the actual, congressionally mandated National Climate Assessments,' he said, is 'a farce'. The report is a 'package of punches' against the scientific consensus that previously grounded US climate policy, and against that policy itself, said Jennifer Jacquet, a professor of environmental science and policy at the University of Miami. 'It's really surreal to think that's where we are in 2025.' The EPA will have to go through the lengthy federal rulemaking process to try to abolish the endangerment finding. If the proposed rule is finalised, legal challenges are inevitable. The issue could end up before the Supreme Court, which ruled in 2007's Massachusetts v EPA that greenhouse gases were pollutants the EPA could regulate under the Clean Air Act. Getting the court, which now has a conservative supermajority, to overturn the 2007 decision may be the endgame, said Prof Carlson. The effort would be risky but could succeed, she said. 'I think on every front, the arguments that the [EPA] administrator is going to make – based on the DOE report – are extremely weak,' said Prof Carlson. 'But we also have a court that's very hostile to environmental regulation.' BLOOMBERG
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Now flying solo, Acres CEO Kalaivanan Balakrishnan presses ahead with wildlife rescue efforts
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Mr Kalaivanan Balakrishnan took over as the sole president of Acres in May 2025. SINGAPORE - After four years of running a wildlife rescue non-profit with a co-pilot, Mr Kalaivanan Balakrishnan is now flying solo – and taking the challenges that come with it in his stride. The 39-year-old – formerly one of two co-chief executives of the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) – intends to continue its mission of rescuing all needy wildlife, even those that may not be cute or cuddly. Ms Anbarasi Boopal, the other former Acres co-chief executive, stepped down from her role on April 30. She plans to work on policies on the welfare of farmed animals next. The pair had originally taken on the co-chief executive roles in 2021, when Acres founder Louis Ng relinquished the role to focus on politics. He served as a PAP MP for Nee Soon GRC for a decade, from 2015 to 2025. Ms Boopal oversaw Acres' advocacy arm, while Mr Kalaivanan managed the group's day-to-day operations, such as its efforts to rescue and rehabilitate injured wildlife. One of his most memorable rescues was in 2018, when he helped to save a dolphin tangled in a fishing line at Bedok Jetty. He has also been involved in rescues of more commonly seen wildlife, including Javan mynahs and kingfishers stuck in glue traps, and injured pigeons, macaques and otters. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore LTA, Singapore bus operators reviewing Malaysia's request to start services from JB at 4am Singapore Despite bag checks and warnings, young partygoers continue to vape in clubs in Singapore Singapore Ong Beng Seng to plead guilty on Aug 4, more than 2 years after trip to Qatar with Iswaran Singapore NDP 2025: Veteran Red Lion says each leap 'feels like 5km run' Business Decoupling to save on tax? You may lose right to property if ties go awry Singapore Lessons learnt from Singapore's love-hate relationship with e-scooters Opinion At UN's Wipo, Singaporean Daren Tang strives to create an equal music for haves and have-nots Asia Mass grave with over 100 skeletons in Sri Lanka brings up old wounds With Ms Boopal's departure, Mr Kalaivanan has had to take on fund-raising efforts, which he says is a big challenge for him. 'Fund-raising for wild animals is a challenge on its own, because our animals do not wag their tails, do not purr, do not meow – they don't have a cute factor,' he said in an interview on July 23 at Acres' premises in Sungei Tengah. 'Not everybody can resonate with snakes or pigeons, so to fund-raise, we need to constantly find new ways.' Alongside a team of around 30 staff members, he is planning for Acres' upcoming gala – its largest annual fund-raising event – on Aug 16. The organisation held its first gala in 2005. This year's ball aims to raise $400,000, with those in the last few years raising around $100,000 to $300,000. Though galas in the past were usually held in the month of May to coincide with Acres' birthday, the 2025 gala was delayed due to the leadership transition. The funds raised will help to cover the operating costs of its rescue hotline and in-house veterinary facilities, and fund the expansion of its wildlife rescue centre . In 2024, owing to a lack of funds, Acres ceased the 24-hour operations of its wildlife rescue hotline. Its rescue services now run from only 7am to 1am daily. The organisation also lost several volunteers during the Covid-19 pandemic. 'We've been trying to attract more volunteers who can help us more consistently, but that has proven a challenge, because everybody's so busy with work in Singapore,' Mr Kalaivanan said. Working in wildlife rescue was not always in the cards for Mr Kalaivanan, who is an industrial designer by training. The wildlife aficionado first joined Acres in 2009 as a volunteer, before becoming a full-time staff member in 2011. Being able to apply his design skills to help animals – be it in creating roadshow banners or building enclosures – kept him going all these years, Mr Kalaivanan said. 'At NGOs (non-government organisations) like Acres, you often have to make do with less, to do more. That's something I find very addictive,' he said. Mr Kalaivanan helps to ensure that Acres' animal rescue, rehabilitation and repatriation efforts run smoothly. ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN One of his biggest milestones was leading the construction of Acres' first animal sanctuary in 2013. The sanctuary meant that animals saved from the illegal wildlife trade get the opportunity to bask outdoors. Prior to the construction of its outdoor sanctuary, many of Acres' rescued animals were kept in quarantine areas or indoor enclosures. Animals such as Indian star tortoises and ball pythons are often illegally brought into Singapore to be kept as pets. 'For the first time in many years, a lot of the tortoises, turtles, could be under sunlight, feel the rain,' he said. Having a sanctuary also opened up the opportunity for Acres to conduct private educational tours, further raising awareness about the plight of rescued animals, Mr Kalaivanan said. Moving forward, Mr Kalaivanan's vision is for Acres to expand its premises and the breadth of its work. Today, 129 animals – including various species of reptiles, birds and mammals – live on its 0.5ha premises, about the size of a football field. Some animals, like the 30 pig-nosed turtles under Acres' care, are highly territorial, and have to be housed in individual enclosures, leading to significant space constraints. 'If you have insufficient space, you can keep rescuing animals, but the quality of care is going to decrease for each animal,' Mr Kalaivanan said. As such, his top priority is to reclaim and develop the 1.5ha of previously poisoned land beside its existing premises, which the authorities greenlit in May 2024. Acres had originally been allocated 2ha of land in their current Sungei Tengah site, but contamination by a building contractor rendered much of it unsafe for use. A groundwater test in December 2023 found a fall in the level of contaminants. Prior to the construction of its outdoor sanctuary, many of Acres' rescued animals were kept in quarantine areas or indoor enclosures. ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN Acres hopes to approach the expansion with care, Mr Kalaivanan said, adding that a biodiversity survey had been done to identify flora and fauna potentially impacted by the expansion. Animals that used the space included birds such as the long-tailed parakeet and common emerald dove, as well as other animals such as the plantain squirrel, reticulated python and Indochinese rat snake. 'We will keep pockets of small greenery so that wild animals like birds, snakes and turtles can continue to be there,' he said. Acres will also continue its advocacy efforts to urge people to better co-exist with wildlife in Singapore, he said. 'If we can get people to co-exist more with nature, then we have to rescue less animals and can save resources.' Mr Kalaivanan also hopes for Acres to strengthen its focus on cruelty-free living. This would mean enhancing educational initiatives on veganism, and greater outreach on the origins of leather and other animal products, he said. 'My goal is to ensure that when people see Acres, they don't recognise us just for animal rescue and rehabilitation. Instead, I want them to think of animal welfare at large.'
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Founder of The Dog Grocer inspired by her picky dog to make fresh, wholesome treats
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Ms Soo Ming Hui, founder of The Dog Grocer, creates wholesome pet treats and meals that are preservative- and chemical-free. SINGAPORE – Dogs enter the shop, head for the bulk bins, sniff the treats and chews, and then let their owners know which one they want. The concept of The Dog Grocer (TDG) was formed when founder Soo Ming Hui, 44, faced challenges feeding her picky dog Piggy, who refused to eat anything but fresh treats. However, many pet foods available in the market are mass-produced and highly processed. Ms Soo also often wondered about the possibility of dogs having the same home-cooked meals as what her mother cooks for the family. Inspired by her mother's food, Ms Soo started experimenting with Asian-style marinades and began crafting fresh, natural treats in 2018. When her fussy Singapore Special, 13, approves of her experiments, she knows other dogs will enjoy them too. TDG's pet foods are made in-house using human-grade ingredients, such as beef eye round, chicken and duck breast, pork loin, chicken feet and bull pizzles. The meats are either dehydrated or freeze-dried, and all products are preservative- and chemical-free. Ms Soo also avoids using additives and fillers, focusing on natural nutrition and flavour. The products adhere to the United States Department of Agriculture's food safety guidelines, and TDG's ready-to-eat meal packs are formulated to meet the standards set by US agency National Research Council for dog food. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Despite bag checks and warnings, young partygoers continue to vape in clubs in Singapore Singapore Ong Beng Seng to plead guilty on Aug 4, more than 2 years after trip to Qatar with Iswaran Singapore LTA, Singapore bus operators reviewing Malaysia's request to start services from JB at 4am Singapore NDP 2025: Veteran Red Lion says each leap 'feels like 5km run' Business Decoupling to save on tax? You may lose right to property if ties go awry Singapore Lessons learnt from Singapore's love-hate relationship with e-scooters Opinion At UN's Wipo, Singaporean Daren Tang strives to create an equal music for haves and have-nots Asia Mass grave with over 100 skeletons in Sri Lanka brings up old wounds TDG products are produced in Singapore in a kitchen licensed by the Animal & Veterinary Service under the National Parks Board, using ingredients from sources approved by the Singapore Food Agency. Signature items from the freeze-dried meat cube range include Ondeh Ondeh Chicken and Black Sesame Duck. Marinated jerkies such as Dang Gui Wolfberry Pork, and Chicken and Honey Sesame Beef are popular snacks. Dogs also like chews such as whole pig ears. Prices are between $13 and $33 for dog treats and ready-to-eat meals, with freeze-dried meat cubes and marinated jerkies available in the store for the dogs to sniff and select. These are placed in bins at a height where the pooches cannot eat them. Ms Soo opened TDG in Crane Road in June 2020 with an investment of $130,000 from her savings and government grants. It was not an easy endeavour, as the Covid-19 pandemic was still prevalent. Singapore had just entered Phase One of its reopening after the circuit-breaker period , in which people were encouraged to leave their homes only for essential activities. However, pet ownership boomed during the pandemic, which helped Ms Soo's business. She managed to break even in 18 months. She subsequently opened a commercial kitchen in Sembawang and the store relocated to a bigger space in Joo Chiat Road. 'It was good to have a proper kitchen,' says Ms Soo. 'I used to operate from a tiny makeshift kitchen at the back of the shophouse, cutting, marinating and dehydrating meats.' She adds that with the larger facility, production capacity has increased substantially. However, she continues to keep the scale of the food production small so everything remains fresh. 'We are constantly making new batches as the shelf life of our pet food is very short, about six to eight months depending on the product,' she says. Prices are between $13 and $33 for dog treats and ready-to-eat meals. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI Starting a pet food business never crossed Ms Soo's mind. After graduating from the National University of Singapore with a mechanical engineering degree in 2004, she convinced her parents to let her pursue her dream of becoming a jockey. 'I've always loved animals. So, I thought, like, why not be a job?' says Ms Soo, who is single. This passion led her to New Zealand, where she spent almost six years training to be a jockey. She also took on other jobs at cafes, orchards and canning factories. During those years, she also found time to earn two chef certificates, one in general culinary arts and another in pastry. However, being a jockey was not meant to be because she was over the strict weight limit required for the profession. After returning to Singapore , she volunteered at animal shelters, drawing on her experience with horses to help rehabilitate dogs. It was there when she learnt how limited and heavily processed most pet food options were, particularly for dogs with specific dietary needs or preferences. While some of the products are sold in boxes, pet owners are encouraged to scoop what they need and pack the treats in their own containers. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI Sustainability plays a big role at TDG. Though some products are sold in boxes, pet owners are encouraged to take along their own containers and fill them up from the bulk bins. Ms Soo makes a conscious effort to choose ingredients from certified sustainable sources, such as wild-caught Atlantic cod and pollock, which are Marine Stewardship Council-certified fish. She also takes the 'entire cut' approach. For instance, slices of pork loin become jerkies, while off-cuts or ends are minced into pork cubes. Fish bones become broth that are used for seasonal creations, such as Chinese New Year soups and National Day recipes. Fruit, vegetables and meat scraps are dropped off at a local permaculture site every other month for composting, turning food waste into nutrient-rich soil. With the business expanding to include both cooked and raw meals, catering to the evolving preferences of pet owners, Ms Soo hopes to open another outlet, possibly in western Singapore. 'We have been looking for a second shop for almost a year, but rental costs are incredibly high,' she says. It has been rewarding for her to see customers grow alongside TDG. 'We see them at different stages, some from puppies to adult dogs, others from adults to seniors,' says Ms Soo. She adds that her dream is to have a cafe where pets can have their own omakase experience. For now, though, her happy place is in the kitchen, where she concocts new recipes and creates nutritious food for pets.
