Let humanitarian organisations do their jobs in Gaza
Palestinian boys queue at a hot meal distribution point in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, on June 4. PHOTO: AFP
Deprived of food, water and medical aid, desperate Palestinians were penned in by fences, waiting to receive basic necessities for survival that were denied by Israel for nearly 90 days. Then chaos erupted. Shots were fired. Bloodshed.
More injury and death compounded weeks of hunger and 19 months of dehumanisation.
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Straits Times
8 hours ago
- Straits Times
Millions sit China's high-stakes university entrance exam
Students queue to enter a school during China's National College Entrance Examination outside a high school in Beijing on June 7. PHOTO: AFP BEIJING - Hopeful parents accompanied their teenage children to the gates of a busy Beijing test centre on June 7, among millions of high school students across China sitting their first day of the highly competitive university entrance exam. Nationwide, 13.35 million students have registered for the multi-subject 'gaokao' series in 2025, according to the Ministry of Education, down from 2024's record-high 13.42 million test takers. Outside the central Beijing secondary school, a proud parent who gave her name as Chen said '12 years of hard work have finally led to this moment' – as she waved a fan in front of her daughter while the student reviewed her notes one last time before the test. 'We know our kids have endured so much hardship,' Ms Chen told AFP, adding that she was not nervous. 'I'm actually quite excited. I think my child is excellent, and I'm sure she will get the best score,' she said. China's gaokao requires students to use all their knowledge acquired to this point, testing them on subjects including Chinese, English, mathematics, science and humanities. The exam results are critical for gaining admission to university – and determining whether they will attend a prestigious or more modest institution. While teachers and staff offered students their support, holding up signs of encouragement, some test takers, dressed in school uniforms, appeared panicked, including a girl with tears in her eyes. 'There's no need for us parents to add pressure. The children are already under a lot of it,' said a woman named Ms Wang, whose son had just entered the exam hall. Like many mothers, she wore a traditional Chinese qipao in hopes of bringing good luck. 'I hope my son achieves immediate success and gets his name on the (list of high-scoring candidates),' Ms Wang said with a smile. Higher education has expanded rapidly in China in recent decades as an economic boom pushed up living standards – as well as parents' expectations for their children's careers. But the job market for young graduates remains daunting. As of April, 15.8 per cent of people aged 16 to 24 living in urban areas were unemployed, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Due to this pressure, many Chinese students prepare for the gaokao from a young age, often with extra lessons after the regular school day. 'Safe gaokao' And every year, education authorities are on guard against cheating and disruptions during the exam. This week, China's Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang called for a 'safe gaokao', stressing the importance of a rigorous campaign against cheating. Areas around exam centres are closely guarded by police, with road lanes closed to traffic and several cities banning motorists from honking their horns so as not to disrupt the concentration of students. In some schools, facial recognition is even used to prevent fraud. While the university admission rate for gaokao test takers has exceeded 80-90 per cent in recent years, many students disappointed with their results choose to repeat the exam. As there is no age limit for the test, some have become notorious for attempting the exam dozens of times, either after failing it or not getting into their top-choice university. One teacher at the Beijing school where parents saw off their children on June 7 estimated that only about 10 of the approximately 600 final-year students there would earn a place at one of the capital's top universities. Mr Jiang, a final-year high school student who only gave one name, said he dreamt of attending a Beijing university, and was remaining calm shortly before his Chinese exam. 'Even though the pressure is intense, it's actually quite fair,' he told AFP. 'I feel like all the preparations that needed to be made have been made, so there's really no point in being nervous now, right? 'Whatever happens, happens. It's truly not something I can completely control.' AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

Straits Times
9 hours ago
- Straits Times
TBR (To Be Read): What the late Ngugi wa Thiong'o, who rejected English, can teach Singapore
Kenyan author Ngugi wa Thiong'o wrote Devil On The Cross (1980), his first novel in his native Gikuyu language, in prison on toilet paper. PHOTO: REUTERS SINGAPORE – One Wednesday evening in 2017, when I was a literature undergraduate, Kenyan writer Ngugi wa Thiong'o – who famously stopped writing in English and switched defiantly to his native Gikuyu – made an appearance on campus and said something that has troubled me since. He was almost 80, subdued in manner, and often dropped the kind of pithy sentence that inspired not applause but reverential silence, then scribbling. To the Singapore audience, he had said: 'If you know all the languages of the world, but not your mother tongue, that is enslavement.' Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

Straits Times
10 hours ago
- Straits Times
‘Can you say that in English?' Why a common tongue matters
Language should never be a barrier, but a bridge to connect us. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: UNSPLASH In May, I walked into my daughter's recent Parents' Day celebration in her pre-school with one worry on my mind – that I would be the oldest parent there among those in their 20s and 30s. However, during the course of the event, something else made me even more uncomfortable. One of the teachers kept switching between Mandarin and English when conducting an activity and interacting with parents. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.