Latest news with #Bollen
CTV News
27-07-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Can Israel's 10-hour pause bring relief to Gaza's children facing hunger and trauma?
UNICEF spokesperson Rosalia Bollen says the situation has 'considerably deteriorated,' with children facing daily trauma, hunger, and no safe shelter.
The Mainichi
25-07-2025
- The Mainichi
News in Easy English: Man bikes from Belgium to Japan, meets students in Itami
ITAMI, Hyogo -- A man named Jolan Bollen, 32, rode his bicycle from Hasselt, Belgium to Itami, Hyogo Prefecture in Japan. These two cities are "sister cities" and have a special friendship. Bollen traveled about 20,000 kilometers through 15 countries. His trip took 448 days. He came to Itami City High School and talked to about 120 students. He told them about meeting many kind people and said it is important to try new things and not give up. Bollen started his trip in April 2024 to celebrate 40 years of friendship between Hasselt and Itami. He only used a ship to cross the sea, but rode his bike the rest of the way. He even rode through a desert for a month and camped in very cold weather. Sometimes he wanted to quit, but people in every country helped him. In Uzbekistan, an 80-year-old woman let him stay at her home. Bollen said that the world is kind and that he now has "family" all over the globe. He added that the most important thing is to share happiness with others and that he hopes the students will be curious and take on challenges. When asked by a student if his bottom hurt from riding the bicycle for so long, Bollen laughed and replied that it was painful at first but now his buttocks are as hard as a rock. Third-year student Nayu Sugawara, 17, remarked, "His words about not giving up left a strong impression. I also want to take on challenges." (Japanese original by Yukiharu Sakurai, Kobe Bureau) Vocabulary sister cities: two cities in different countries that have a special friendship desert: a very dry place with little water challenge: something that is hard to do but helps you grow curious: wanting to know or learn new things buttocks: the part of your body you sit on (your bottom) remarked: said or commented impressive: something that makes you feel respect or admiration
The Mainichi
23-07-2025
- The Mainichi
Belgian man arrives in Japan's Itami after 448-day, 20,000-km bicycle journey
ITAMI, Hyogo -- A man who embarked on a bicycle tour from Hasselt, Belgium, to Itami, Hyogo Prefecture -- international sister cities -- recently completed his journey at Itami City High School, where he interacted with about 120 students. Jolan Bollen, 32, originally from Hasselt and now residing in Brussels, covered approximately 20,000 kilometers across 15 countries over 448 days. He shared with the students the joy of connecting with people worldwide and the importance of a spirit of challenge. The two cities established their sister city relationship in 1985. Their exchanges continue as the Hasselt city government gifted a carillon installed in front of JR Itami Station, and the Itami Municipal Government is assisting in the creation of a Japanese garden in Hasselt. Bollen planned his first bicycle journey to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the sister city relationship, aiming to reaffirm the bond between the two cities. He departed from Hasselt in April 2024. An Itami city government employee who maintained contact with Bollen through social media during his adventure suggested the interaction with local high school students, and the event was realized. On July 9, Bollen was greeted and congratulated by students in the school's gymnasium. Showing no fatigue, he smiled and recounted his days of adventure. Apart from crossing the sea by ship, Bollen pedaled continuously. He spent a month cycling through a desert without encountering anyone. He also camped in temperatures as low as minus 15 degrees Celsius. Although the journey was tougher than expected and he felt like giving up at times, people in each country showed him kindness, he said. In Uzbekistan, an 80-year-old woman offered him a place to stay. Bollen said that the world is kind and that he now has "family" all over the globe. He added that the most important thing is to share happiness with others and that he hopes the students will be curious and take on challenges. When asked by a student if his bottom hurt from riding the bicycle for so long, Bollen laughed and replied that it was painful at first but now his buttocks are as hard as a rock. Third-year student Nayu Sugawara, 17, remarked, "His words that not giving up is important were impressive. I also want to take on challenges." (Japanese original by Yukiharu Sakurai, Kobe Bureau)
RTÉ News
11-07-2025
- Health
- RTÉ News
Six killed in Israeli strikes, says Gaza civil defence
Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli strikes have killed at least six people in the Palestinian territory's north, including five at a school-turned-shelter. "Five martyrs and others injured in an Israeli strike on Halima al-Saadia School, which was sheltering displaced persons in Jabalia al-Nazla, northern Gaza," the agency said in a brief statement. In a separate strike on Gaza City, to the south, the agency said at least one person was killed and several others wounded. In central Gaza, the Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat said it received several casualties after Israeli forces had opened fire at civilians near an aid distribution point. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has recently intensified its operations in Gaza. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency and other parties. A Palestinian speaking to AFP from southern Gaza on condition of anonymity said there were ongoing attacks and widespread devastation, with Israeli tanks seen near the city of Khan Younis. "The situation remains extremely difficult in the area - intense gunfire, intermittent air strikes, artillery shelling and ongoing bulldozing and destruction of displacement camps and agricultural land to the south, west and north of Al-Maslakh," an area to Khan Younis's south, said the witness. 'Absolute panic' Meanwhile, UNICEF Communications Specialist for Children in Gaza said there were "absolute panic" yesterday after nine children were killed in an Israeli attack outside a health clinic in central Gaza. Speaking to RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Rosalia Bollen said mothers and children had gathered at the site, which had not yet opened, to receive therapeutic nutrition products for malnourished children. She said the organisation distributing the aid was one UNICEF worked closely with and a UNICEF team was deployed to the scene in the aftermath of the strike. "My colleagues went to the hospital, they interviewed several children and mothers," she said. "There was a mother of two boys, she lost her one-year-old and her 10-year-old is in the ICU. "It was a very chaotic scene, there was absolute panic. "Hospitals in Gaza are overwhelmed with a constant inflow of very severely injured people day in day out. "These aren't people with a couple of scratches or maybe light concussions, we're talking about people who've lost limbs, who have shrapnel lodged in their bodies with very severe injuries that may be life changing." Ms Bollen said that in the first seven days of July, at least 100 children had been reported killed. She said what happened yesterday was "not a unique case" and is the "daily reality" for families in Gaza. She said families have been deprived of the basics that they need to survive, which has led to diseases, malnutrition and preventable deaths. "There's just not enough of everything. There's not enough food, there's not enough medicine," she said. "There's no hygiene products, sanitary pads, nappies. It's all very scarce, and this is engineered scarcity. "We hope that we will be seeing a major change because what families in Gaza need is the mass influx of supplies today."
The National
25-06-2025
- Health
- The National
Children are dying of thirst in Gaza, Unicef says
The UN agency has said the Palestinian territory of more than two million people is hitting "rock bottom" while the world's attention has turned to the conflict between Israel and Iran. Unicef has said that 400 aid distribution points in Gaza had dwindled to just four as Israel continues to impose restrictions. Children are beginning to die of thirst in Gaza as fuel for trucks to distribute water across the territory has not been allowed in, the organisation has said. READ MORE: Child poverty falling in Scotland but rising in rest of UK Unicef Communications Specialist for Children in Gaza, Rosalia Bollen, said hospitals are on their last legs and are overwhelmed with the overflow of injured people, shortages of medicine and medical supplies. Speaking to RTE, she said: "We are seeing a very chilling pattern day in, day out. No one should have to choose between dying of hunger or risking their life to get food." She said gunfire and people screaming can be heard near aid distribution points. According to figures issues by the Hamas-run health ministry, 500 people have been killed and nearly 3800 wounded in the territory by Israeli fire while seeking aid since the start of last month. Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli fire killed at least 20 people this morning, including six who were waiting to collect food aid. "Every child is hungry, thirsty and exhausted," Bollen said, adding that as temperatures soar, there is not enough clean water for sanitation. "It's really a man-made catastrophe we are seeing unfolding in front of our eyes." Unicef said last week 5119 children between six months and five years of age were admitted for treatment for acute malnutrition in May alone. The conflict has damaged or destroyed essential water, sanitation, and health systems in Gaza, and has limited the ability to treat severe malnutrition, with just 127 of 236 treatment centres remaining functional. READ MORE: Scottish minister leaves door open to US war planes refuelling at Prestwick Unicef regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, Edouard Beigbeder, said: "Every one of these cases is preventable. The food, water, and nutrition treatments they desperately need are being blocked from reaching them. "Man-made decisions that are costing lives. Israel must urgently allow the large-scale delivery of life-saving aid through all border crossings." After a truce on the 12-day Iran-Israel conflict was announced, Israel's military chief Eyal Zamir said Israel's focus would "now shift back to Gaza". Israel's military campaign on the back of the October 7 attacks has killed at least 56,077 people, according to the Gaza health ministry.
