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WFP's Cindy McCain: Gaza could be 'a humanitarian catastrophe ... like none other'

WFP's Cindy McCain: Gaza could be 'a humanitarian catastrophe ... like none other'

Yahoo2 days ago

United Nations World Food Programme Executive Director Cindy McCain stressed the "immeditate" need for aid and a ceasefire in Gaza.
"It's a tragedy. And what we need right now is an immediate ceasefire, complete, unfettered access, along with the safe fence roads, every gate open, to feed people and stop this catastrophe from happening. If we don't do that, it's going to be a humanitarian catastrophe, as I've said, like none other," McCain said Sunday on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos."
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
WFP's Cindy McCain: Gaza could be 'a humanitarian catastrophe ... like none other' originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

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Civilian casualties mount in South Sudan amid fighting between army and local militias
Civilian casualties mount in South Sudan amid fighting between army and local militias

Associated Press

time23 minutes ago

  • Associated Press

Civilian casualties mount in South Sudan amid fighting between army and local militias

AKOBO, South Sudan (AP) — Wiyuach Makuach sat on her bed in a dimly lit ward of a hospital near South Sudan's border with Ethiopia and rested her remaining arm in her lap as she recalled the airstrike that took her other arm and nearly killed her. 'Everything was on fire,' she said in an interview at the hospital in the border town of Akobo where she was being treated for her injuries. The bombing happened on May 3 at another hospital in the northern community of Fangak where she had traveled to be with her 25-year-old son while he sought treatment for tuberculosis. A series of strikes there, including several at the Doctors Without Borders facility, killed seven people. 'I ran outside and started rubbing mud on myself to stop the burning,' Makuach said. Makuach, 60, is just one of the dozens of civilians who aid groups say have been killed or badly injured by airstrikes in recent weeks as South Sudan's army clashes with militia groups across the country. The army says it targets only combatants, and has not commented on civilian casualties. 'The army displaced us and our families into the bush and that's when we decided we would fight back,' said Gatkuoth Wie, 24, who was wounded while fighting in northern Jonglei State. The fighting has led to U.N. warnings that South Sudan is again on the brink of civil war. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is seeking to send to South Sudan a group of eight deportees from Cuba, Vietnam and elsewhere who have been convicted in the U.S. of serious crimes, sparking a legal fight that has reached the Supreme Court. Many of those wounded in the South Sudan clashes have been transported to Akobo, where the International Committee for the Red Cross has set up a temporary surgical response. Others have been stranded for days by the fighting. Doctor Bjarte Andersen, a surgeon working with the ICRC, says that the fighting has made it difficult to transport patients that have been critically wounded. 'We know of one person who has died waiting for transportation, but there are probably more,' he said. 'The most critical cases cannot even be moved, they are not likely to survive the journey,' said Christina Bartulec, who oversees the organization's medical operation in Akobo. The ICRC does not track which patients are combatants and which are civilians. Most of the people brought to their facility are young men, several of whom told The Associated Press that they were engaged in fighting. In the past month, however, an increasing number of the victims have been women and a few children, according to hospital staff. One is Kuaynin Bol, 15, who was gravely injured by a blast as he lay asleep in his home. Surgeons have removed bone fragments from his brain and performed four operations on his leg, which was badly broken. Simmering tensions between the government and opposition groups erupted in March when a local militia called the White Army overran a military barracks in Nasir, a town in the country's northeast. The government pinned responsibility for the attack on First Vice President Riek Machar, placing him under house arrest and detaining other members of his SPLM-IO party. It also brought in Ugandan forces to support a sweeping military offensive against opposition troops and community militias across the country. That offensive centered on Upper Nile State and allegedly involved use of improvised incendiary weapons that Human Rights Watch has said killed at least 58 people, including children. In May, the fighting spread to northern Jonglei State where Fangak is located, a region previously unaffected by the violence, after the government alleged several barges were hijacked by opposition forces there. Isaac Pariel, a member of Machar's opposition party who is the local chairman in Fangak of the government's Relief and Rehabilitation Commission, said that at least 25 civilians have been killed this month. But the true toll is likely higher, as much of the fighting has taken place in remote areas that are inaccessible to medical workers. One bombardment in the village of Wichmon on May 15 killed 12 people including 8 children, according to local authorities and one eyewitness. The Associated Press was unable to independently verify those figures. The government has not officially claimed responsibility for the strikes. Army spokesman General Lul Ruai Koang told The Associated Press he was not authorized to comment on 'ongoing military operations across the country.' The violence has been devastating for civilians already reeling from successive humanitarian crises. Much of the fighting has taken place in South Sudan's Greater Upper Nile region, a vast floodplain that in recent years has been ravaged by extreme weather, disease, and severe food insecurity. 'The people here are moving all the time, just during the night,' said William Nyuon, a Fangak resident. 'They fear the plane will come and bomb them again.' ___ For more on Africa and development: ___ The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at

University of Denver student arrested for political vandalism on campus: DU
University of Denver student arrested for political vandalism on campus: DU

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

University of Denver student arrested for political vandalism on campus: DU

DENVER (KDVR) — A student was arrested for spray painting political messages on campus on Friday night, according to an email from University of Denver Chancellor Jeremy Haefner. The messages were reported to have expressed 'political views, including pro-Palestine and anti-Trump rhetoric' and were found in several locations, but the locations were not named. The messages were allegedly sprayed days before an attack on a pro-Israel group in Boulder by a man who yelled, 'Free Palestine,' and is now being called a terror attack by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Total injured in Boulder attack increases to 12 'The act of defacing our shared spaces is unacceptable and contrary to our community standards,' Haefner wrote to the DU campus in his email. 'Vandalism is not a form of free expression. It is not protected speech. It is a violation of our shared values and disrespectful to the living and learning environment we share as a community.' Haefner added that DU 'supports the right to express diverse perspectives—but that must happen through lawful means.' According to a probable cause statement obtained by FOX31, the student, identified as 23-year-old Marshall Ray, spray painted 'Free Gaza and 'Free Palestine' on campus property. The statement said that Ray was spray painting a traffic sign when contacted and was painting 'Gaza' at that point. Officers also said a can of spray paint and two paint markers were in his pocket. Ray is being held for investigation of criminal mischief and disturbing the peace. The final determination of charges will be made by the Denver District Attorney's Office. Haefner said that facilities crews were 'working diligently' Monday morning to clean up the graffiti, and said the administration is committed to ensuring campus community members feel safe, respected and heard. The chancellor said that the DU student was arrested by the Denver Police Department. The investigation is ongoing and evidence is being reviewed, Haefner wrote, because there could be others involved. Anyone with information that may assist in the investigation is asked to contact Campus Safety at 303-871-2334. DU said the incident has also been reported to Equal Opportunity and Title IX (EOIX) for review. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

An interfaith group's 1950s MLK comic book remains a prominent nonviolence teaching tool
An interfaith group's 1950s MLK comic book remains a prominent nonviolence teaching tool

Washington Post

time3 hours ago

  • Washington Post

An interfaith group's 1950s MLK comic book remains a prominent nonviolence teaching tool

(RNS) — At cross-cultural gatherings in Bethlehem, West Bank, groups of children and adults turn to a 67-year-old, colorful comic book with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s image on its cover, his tie and shirt collar visible beneath his clerical robe. As they read from 'Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story,' the group leader is prepared to discuss questions about achieving peace through nonviolent behavior.

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