Funding crunch forces WFP to cut operations:

Official

level and catastrophe level, he said.

Daredevil known for stunts dies after falling from top of 68-storey HK skyscraper

United Nations, July 29 (IANS)

A funding crunch is forcing the World Food Programme (WFP) to cut its operations, said a highranking official.

"WFP is in the midst of a crippling funding crisis that is forcing us to scale back life-saving assistance right as acute hunger is hitting record levels," Carl Skau, deputy executive director and chief operating officer of the WFP, told reporters on Friday at the UN Headquarters in New York.

At least 38 of 86 WFP country operations have already cut, or plan to soon cut, the size and scope of life-saving food, cash and nutrition assistance programs, he said.

In Afghanistan, the WFP was forced to cut rations from 75 to 50 per cent for communities facing emergency level of hunger in March; in Syria, the WFP cut assistance in July for 2.5 million of the 5.5 million people who rely on the agency for their basic food needs; and in Yemen, the agency will be forced to scale down its work as early as next month, with cuts for seven million people across the country, he added as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.

Most of the countries in West Africa are facing extensive ration cuts, particularly the seven larger crisis operations of Burkina Faso, Mali, Chad, the Central African Republic, Nigeria, Niger, and Cameroon, where acute hunger is on the rise, said Skau.

"Less funding means WFP is forced to stop assisting people who are only in the hunger category known as 'crisis level'. This is so that we can save those who are literally starving -those in the catastrophic hunger category," he added.

But what happens is that those people at crisis level of hunger now rapidly drop into emergency

"And so, we will have an additional humanitarian emergency on our hands down the road if this continues. We are entering a humanitarian doom loop where we save people who are starving, at the cost of allowing millions of others to fall closer into that same category. Ration cuts are clearly not the way to go forward," he added.

Skau warned that funding is drying up while humanitarian needs continue to grow and the drivers for hunger remain.

The funding prospects for 2024 are more dire as aid budgets and humanitarian budgets both in Europe and the US are not what they were in 2021 and 2022, he said. World leaders must act to prioritise funding for humanitarian response, enhance coordination among aid organisations and governments, and invest in long-term solutions that address the root causes of these crises, such as conflict resolution, poverty reduction, and sustainable development, Skau added.

Cambodian PM Hun Sen to retire after over 38 yrs, transfer power to son in new govt

Hun Sen said the National Assembly would convene for the first time on August 21 under the auspices of Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni, and the new five-year-term government led by Hun Manet would be sworn in on August 22, reports Xinhua news agency.

Phnom Penh, July 26 (IANS)

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday announced that he would step down on August 22 after serving in the post for more than 38 years in the Southeast Asian nation, and would pass the reins of power to his eldest son Hun Manet. "Hun Manet will become the prime minister in just more than three weeks," the world's longest serving living Prime Minister said in a televised address on the state-run National Television of Cambodia (TVK).

The upcoming power transition was to continue ensuring the country's peace and political stability, he said, adding that the new cabinet would consist of young and dynamic leaders.

Hun Sen said the political power would remain in his hand because he was still the president of the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP); however, he would not interfere in the new government's leadership.

Hun Sen, 70, said he would take the post of President of the Senate after the Senate Election on February 25 next year. His announcement came after the CPP won a landslide victory in the seventh general election on Sunday, which was held to elect the members of parliament for the 125-seat National Assembly for the 2023-2028 new term.

The National Election Committee (NEC) released the preliminary results on Wednesday, showing the CPP received almost 6.4 million votes, or 82.3 per cent of the total valid votes of 7.77 million, and the Funcinpec Party led by Prince Norodom Chakravuth gained 716,443 votes, or 9.22 per cent of the total valid votes. Based on the results, the CPP won 120 parliamentary seats and Funcinpec gained the remaining five seats.

Sudan fighting triggers increase of diseases once under control: UN

erupted are now increasing.

"The diseases include malaria, measles, dengue and acute watery diarrhoea," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Thursday.

Hong Kong, July 31 (IANS) Remi

Lucidi, a 30-year-old French daredevil known for climbing various towers around the world, has died after falling 721-ft from the top of a 68-storey Hong Kong skyscraper that he had been scaling, according to a media report.

Lucidi, known as 'Remi Enigma' on social media, had reached the 68th floor of the 721ft Tregunter Tower, a residential block in Hong Kong's upscale Mid-Levels area before his fatal fall, reports the Daily Mail.

The daredevil had been seen by a maid knocking on the windows of the penthouse to get back inside the building, but fell to his death before any help could arrive.

On the evening of his death on July 27, Lucidi had arrived at the tower at 7.30 p.m. telling a security guard that he was visiting a friend on the 40th floor.

Building surveillance camera footage then sees Lucidi getting out of the elevator on the 49th floor before taking the stairs to the very top on level 68. The door to the rooftop was locked but Lucidi forced it open, said the Daily Mail report.

A day before his death, Lucidi, who went by the name Remi Enigma on Instagram, had posted a picture of high-rises in Hong Kong

Intense heat continues in Japan

Tokyo, July 28 (IANS) The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said scorching heat continued to grip the country on Friday, with the number of prefectures with heatstroke alerts in place reaching a record high of 40. The JMA said that temperatures of 38 degrees Celsius or higher are forecast in Kanto, Tokai,

Kansai and Kyushu regions, while the mercury is expected to hit 39 degrees in the western prefectures of Kyoto and Oita, reports Xinhua news agency. Temperatures are likely to rise further in the afternoon, with daytime highs reaching 39 degrees in Kyoto City and 36 degrees in central Tokyo, said the JMA.

The officials warned that risks of developing heatstroke are extremely high, with 40 prefectures, out of the total 47, having been put on the alert, and called on people to be fully vigilant of the intense heat.

Canadian Prime Minister overhauls cabinet

agency reported.

Ottawa, July 27 (IANS) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced major changes to his cabinet, introducing new ministers of defence and public safety.

United Nations, July 28 (IANS) UN humanitarians have warned that because fighting in Sudan disrupts public health operations, diseases that had been under control before the conflict

"As the rainy season begins, these outbreaks are likely to claim more lives unless urgent action is taken to control their spread."

The office added there are shortages of crucial medicine and medical supplies reported in some states, despite health partners' efforts, Xinhua news agency reported. Health facilities and workers in Sudan continue to be targeted, OCHA said.

The World Health Organisation reported 53 attacks on healthcare in Sudan since April, which led to 11 deaths and dozens of injuries.

According to the announcement on Wednesday, the cabinet retains 38 ministers, in addition to the Prime Minister.

A total of 23 ministers were tasked with new roles, including Bill Blair as Minister of National Defence, Dominic LeBlanc as Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs, and Sean Fraser as Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, Xinhua news

The shuffle dropped seven ministers and promoted seven new faces. Eight ministers remain in their portfolio which include Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry FrançoisPhilippe Champagne, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault and Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly. The new cabinet is ready to deliver on what matters most to Canadians including making life more affordable for the middle class and growing the economy, Trudeau said.

Local media reported that it meant to reset the minority Liberal agenda after eight years in power and the prime minister is hoping with these changes to lock in the team he will lead into the next election, currently slated for 2025.