UN says 3 million children facing acute malnutrition
in war-torn Sudan
Port Sudan (Sudan) (AFP) – Some 3.2 million children are expected to face malnutrition in Sudan this year, the United Nations Children's Fund said Friday. Aid agencies have complained of lack of access to the war-torn country, where both the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces are accused of using "starvation tactics".
An estimated 3.2 million children under the age of five are expected to face acute malnutrition this year in war-torn Sudan, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
"Of this number, around 772,000 children are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition," Eva Hinds, UNICEF Sudan's Head of Advocacy and Communication, told AFP late on Thursday.
Famine has already gripped five areas across Sudan, according to a report last month by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a UN-backed assessment.
Sudan has endured 20 months of war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), killing tens of thousands and, according to the United Nations, uprooting 12 million in the world's largest displacement crisis.
Confirming to AFP that 3.2 million children are currently expected to face acute malnutrition, Hinds said "the number of severely malnourished children increased from an estimated 730,000 in 2024 to over 770,000 in 2025."
The IPC expects famine to expand to five more parts of Sudan's western Darfur region by May -- a vast area that has seen some of the conflict's worst violence. A further 17 areas in western and central Sudan are also at risk of famine, it said.
"Without immediate, unhindered humanitarian access facilitating a significant scale-up of a multisectoral response, malnutrition is likely to increase in these areas," Hinds warned.
Sudan's army-aligned government strongly rejected the IPC findings, while aid agencies complain that access is blocked by bureaucratic hurdles and ongoing violence.
In October, experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council accused both sides of using "starvation tactics".
On Tuesday the United States determined that the RSF had "committed genocide" and imposed sanctions on the paramilitary group's leader.
Across the country, more than 24.6 million people -- around half the population -- face "high levels of acute food insecurity," according to IPC, which said: "Only a ceasefire can reduce the risk of famine spreading further".
(AFP)
Britain-led coalition to send Ukraine 30K drones
Jan. 9 (UPI) -- A British-led international coalition will send Ukraine 30,000 drones, London announced Thursday, amid uncertainty over the future of U.S. support for the besieged European ally as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House.
The drones, valued at some $55.3 million, come from contracts placed by the Drone Capability Coalition. Founded in February and co-led by Britain and Latvia, the coalition has the goal of scaling up and streamlining the supply of so-called first-person-view drones to Kyiv.
OK, that is less than $2,000 per drone. Is that realistic?
Along with Britain and Latvia, the tens of thousands of drones will also be funded by Denmark, Netherlands and Sweden.
The announcement was made by Defense Secretary John Healey of Britain, alongside his Latvian counterpart, Andris Sprūds, at U.S. Ramstein Air Base in Germany during the Ukraine Defense Contact Group -- the last of the Biden administration where the United States unveiled a $500 million military aid package for Ukraine.
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While the United States has been by far the largest back of Ukraine's defense against Russia's invasion, uncertainty over future U.S. support for Kyiv loomed over the Thursday meeting. President-elect Donald Trump -- who is to take over the White House on Jan. 20 -- has been an outspoken critic of funding Ukraine's defense and is known for praising Russian President Vladimir Putin, casting doubt on continued U.S. support.
Trump also campaigned on being able to end the war in 24 hours -- a claim that he revised earlier this week in a press conference from his Florida Mar-a-Lago golf club resort, extending the timeline to six months.
In the potential absence of U.S. dollars, the European Union and individual European nations have projected a strong stance of continued support for Ukraine.
During the announcement, Healey stated the Thursday meeting of more than 50 nations "sends a clear message to Putin about the international community's unwavering support for Ukraine."
If Trump stops sending weapons to Ukraine, that unwavering support will begin to waver.
Following the meeting in Germany, Sprūds commented online: "Our strategic goals are clear: to ensure Ukraine's needs for armaments and training in 2025."
But your real goals are to move as much of the war industry inventories as possible before that nasty Trump ends the war and the weapons feeding frenzy.
Ukraine's Ministry of Defense expressed appreciation for the drone commitment.
"We are grateful to the leaders and participants of the Drone Coalition for their support. The Capability Coalitions have proven to be an effective mechanism of coordinating international military assistance to Ukraine," the ministry said on X.
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