Latest news with #ChrisGunness
Al Jazeera
29-05-2025
- General
- Al Jazeera
US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund a 'fig leaf for genocide'
Chris Gunness, a former UNRWA spokesperson, on Israel channeling aid through the Gaza Humanitarian Fund and why critics say it weaponises humanitarian aid.
Al Jazeera
28-05-2025
- General
- Al Jazeera
Can new US and Israeli-backed aid foundation in Gaza work?
Gaza has been under total blockade by Israel for nearly three months. Aid agencies have been stopped from delivering the most basic of supplies, leaving 2.3 million people starving. Now, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is delivering food packages, but it is backed by Israel and the US. Its first attempt turned into chaos. The foundation has also faced strong criticism from the UN and other aid agencies. They say it does not follow humanitarian principles and appears to be 'weaponising' aid. So why has Israel decided to let in some aid, yet only under an agency it backs? Presenter: Folly Bah Thibault Guests: Chris Gunness – Former director of communications for UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees Amjad Shawa – Director of the Palestinian NGOs Network Eyal Weizman – Director of the research agency Forensic Architecture at Goldsmiths at the University of London; author of The Least of All Possible Evils: Humanitarian Violence from Arendt to Gaza
Al Jazeera
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
The UN says global hunger has hit a new high
The world is dangerously off course, comes the stark warning from the United Nations after it found that more than 295 million people faced acute hunger in 2024. Fears are growing for the future as major donor countries are set to reduce funding this year. Climate change and economic crises are affecting 96 million people in 18 countries, including Syria and Yemen. Conflict and violence are the leading causes of the world's largest humanitarian crisis in Sudan, after two years of civil war. In Gaza, Israel's blockade of all food, water and medicine has entered a third month, creating a manufactured crisis. So is global food hunger a failure of systems – or a failure of humanity? Presenter: Guests: Chris Gunness – Former director of communications at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Elise Nalbandian – Regional advocacy and campaign manager for Oxfam in Africa Sara Hayat – Specialist in climate change law and policy
Al Jazeera
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Myanmar-Thailand earthquake updates: 1,700 killed, aftershocks cause panic
Update: Date: 18h ago (16:50 GMT) Title: That's a wrap from us Content: Thank you for joining our live coverage of the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that struck parts of Myanmar and Thailand on Friday. You can continue following the story by reading our up-to-date news piece here. And you can also check out our report from Sagaing, the central Myanmar city closest to the epicentre of the magnitude 7.7 quake, here. We also have a picture gallery from both Myanmar and Thailand here. Update: Date: 18h ago (16:40 GMT) Title: Here's what happened today Content: We'll be closing this live page soon, so let's bring you up to speed with the day's main developments: Update: Date: 18h ago (16:22 GMT) Title: Ethnic armed group criticises Myanmar military government over attacks Content: The Karen National Union, one of Myanmar's oldest ethnic armies, has issued a statement criticising the military government for continuing to carry out air attacks 'targeting civilian areas, even as the population suffers tremendously from the earthquake'. The group said under normal circumstances, the military would be prioritising relief efforts, but instead is focused on 'deploying forces to attack its people'. There was no immediate comment from the military government. This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. End of dialog window. This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. Update: Date: 19h ago (16:00 GMT) Title: Calls for Myanmar no-fly zone, humanitarian access Content: Chris Gunness, the director of Myanmar Accountability Project, has accused Myanmar's military government of using 'disproportionate and indiscriminate force against the very people who they say they are trying to assist'. 'This is an utter abomination. Even as the earthquake was striking, junta jets were attacking targets in Sagaing, the very epicentre of the earthquake,' he told Al Jazeera. Gunness urged the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution enforcing an extended humanitarian pause that would explicitly ban the usage of fighter jets, helicopters, motor paragliders and drones. 'There must be a no-fly zone imposed; we cannot see the junta using jets to bomb people,' he said, also calling for humanitarian access across the country and the restoration of telecommunications. 'If we are going to have a proper aid operation, that needs to come to force,' Gunness added, urging the international community to work with local, non-military government groups and ensure their protection. Update: Date: 19h ago (15:45 GMT) Title: Myanmar military government: What to know Content: Myanmar's military government seized power in a 2021 coup, led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, ending the country's short-lived experiment with democracy after nearly 50 years of military rule. The military government is now fighting several rebel and ethnic groups across the country, all of whom oppose military rule. Its operations are largely funded through state-controlled businesses and international financial transactions, despite widespread sanctions. Military-controlled entities such as the Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited generate significant revenue for the current government. In addition, the military government has secured substantial arms deals with countries like Russia and China, giving it access to advanced weaponry. Update: Date: 19h ago (15:30 GMT) Title: Military government continues bombing parts of Myanmar Content: Myanmar's military government has continued to carry out attacks, even as Myanmar's main rebel movement announced a unilateral partial ceasefire to aid rescue efforts following the devastating earthquake. Air attacks have been reported on Pauk township in the country's northwest. Military forces also attacked Bhamo, in Kachin state, which borders China. As we've been reporting, Myanmar has faced widespread conflict since the 2021 military coup, with ethnic rebel groups fighting the military government. Update: Date: 19h ago (15:15 GMT) Title: 'We tried everything to save her' Content: We have some more information about Mathu Thu Lwin, the pregnant woman who was pronounced dead shortly after being pulled from a collapsed apartment block in Mandalay. Rescuers had to amputate the 35-year-old's leg in order to be able to release her after more than two days of entrapment in the wreckage of the Sky Villa Condominium. Chinese and Myanmar rescuers used a drill, a chainsaw and rotary saws to penetrate the concrete trapping her. She was eventually brought out soon after 8pm (02:30 GMT) and doctors examined her, performing CPR on a gurney, but she was pronounced dead shortly afterwards. 'We tried everything to save her,' AFP quoted one of the medical team members as saying. Mathu Thu Lwin lost too much blood during the leg amputation to survive, and a makeshift operating theatre that had been prepared in an outbuilding to stabilise her went unused. Update: Date: 20h ago (15:00 GMT) Title: Photos: Search operation continues as night falls in Bangkok Content: Update: Date: 20h ago (14:45 GMT) Title: Pregnant woman trapped in Mandalay building pronounced dead after being freed Content: We have a regrettable update about the effort to save the pregnant woman who was under the wreckage of the Sky Villa apartment complex in Myanmar's second city of Mandalay. AFP is reporting that its journalists at the scene saw that Mathu Thu Lwin was pronounced dead shortly after she was freed after more than 55 hours under the rubble. Rescuers thought they had saved the life of the 35-year-old but they were unable to resuscitate her after extracting her from the ruins. Update: Date: 20h ago (14:30 GMT) Title: US pledges $2m in aid for quake-affected communities Content: The United States Embassy in Myanmar has issued a statement saying the US government will provide up to $2m 'through Myanmar-based humanitarian assistance organizations' to support communities affected by the earthquake. It added that an emergency response team from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which is underergoing massive cuts under the administration of US President Donald Trump, is deploying to Myanmar 'to identify the people's most pressing needs, including emergency shelter, food, medical needs, and access to water'. 'The United States stands with the people of Myanmar as they work to recover from the devastation. We offer our deepest condolences for the loss of life and infrastructure in this difficult time,' the statement concluded.
