https://english.almayadeen.net/news/health/hundreds-die-as-somalia-faces-famine

Hundreds die as Somalia faces famine

A drought in the Horn of Africa has taken away four of Owliyo Hassan Salaad's children this year.

Now she cradles Ali Osman, her weak and squalling 3-year-old, whom she carried on a 90-kilometer walk from her hamlet to Somalia's capital, frantic not to lose him as well.

She can scarcely speak about the young bodies buried back home in the dirt too dry for planting as she sits on the floor of a malnutrition treatment clinic full of worried mothers.

The death toll is rapidly increasing amid the region's worst drought in four decades. According to previously unreported data supplied to the Associated Press, at least 448 people have died this year in malnutrition treatment centers in Somalia alone.

Authorities in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya are now focusing on the difficult challenge of preventing starvation.

'Silent death'

Many more individuals are dying without the knowledge of authorities, such as Salaad's four children, all of whom are under the age of ten. Some are killed in isolated pastoral settlements. Some people perish while undertaking rescue missions. Some die even after reaching displacement centers because they are hungry beyond help.

“Definitely thousands” have died, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, Adam Abdelmoula, told reporters on Tuesday, though the data to support that is yet to come.

Salaad had four more children with her husband. They were too weak to travel to Mogadishu, she explained.

Drought comes and goes in the Horn of Africa, but this time it's like no other. Humanitarian assistance has been sapped by global crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and now the war in Ukraine. Prices for staples like wheat and cooking oil are rising quickly, in some places by more than 100%.

Part 1

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Millions of the livestock that provide families with milk, meat, and wealth have died. Even the food to treat hungry people like Salaad’s son is becoming more expensive and, in some places, might run out. Thus, for the first time, a fifth straight rainy season might fail.

An “explosion of child deaths” is coming to the Horn of Africa if the world focuses only on the war in Ukraine and doesn’t act now, UNICEF said on Tuesday.

Famine even threatens Somalia’s capital as displacement camps on Mogadishu’s outskirts swell with exhausted new arrivals. Salaad and her son have turned away from a crowded hospital after arriving a week ago.

They were sent instead to the treatment center for the extremely malnourished where rooms are full, extra beds have been put out and yet some people must sleep on the floor. Mothers wince, and babies wail, as tiny bodies with sores and protruding ribs are gently checked for signs of recovery.

“The center is overwhelmed,” said Mustaf Yusuf, a physician there. Admissions more than doubled in May to 122 patients.

'Drama with no witness'

The international community's sluggish response did not help. At the time, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Somalia described the situation as "a drama without witnesses." The alarms are going off again.

More than 200,000 people in Somalia face “catastrophic hunger and starvation, a drastic increase from the 81,000 forecasts in April,” a joint statement by UN agencies said Monday, noting that a humanitarian response plan for this year is just 18% funded.

Somalia is far from alone. According to UNICEF, the number of children treated for the most acute malnutrition — "the tip of the disaster" — increased 27 percent in Ethiopia's drought-affected regions in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year.

In Kenya, where Doctors Without Borders reported at least 11 deaths in a single county's malnutrition treatment program earlier this year, the rise was 71 percent.

Recent arrivals were devastated as they recalled watching family members die in one of Mogadishu's teeming displacement camps.

“I left some of my children behind to care for those suffering,” said Amina Abdi Hassan, who came from a village in southern Somalia with her malnourished baby. They’re still hungry as aid runs dry, even in the capital. “Many others are on the way,” she said.

Part 2

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/shocking-impact-of-israeli-violations-of-lebanons-skies-reve

Shocking impact of Israeli violations of Lebanon's skies revealed

A news study demonstrating the impact of "Israel's" constant illegal violation of Lebanon's airspace reveals astonishing numbers.

The research, which was published on Thursday by AirPressure.info, shows data on 22,000 flights over Lebanon in the past 15 years.

The Israeli warplanes are ever-present over Lebanese airspace, and present a constant reminder to the country's people that war could always be around the corner.

According to the data, Israeli warplanes have occupied Lebanon's skies for a total of 8.5 of the past 15 years. Some of the violations were brief, but many lasted an average of four hours and 35 minutes.

The flight routes taken by the Israeli aircraft cover most of Lebanon, and are concentrated in the south and over the capital Beirut.

Moreover, AirPressure.info compiled 11 peer-reviewed papers from academic journals that detail the physiological effects of the noise generated by the aircraft on the people of Lebanon. The symptoms range from hypertension, to diminished blood circulation and psychosomatic pains.

The psychological effect of these warplanes is not to be overlooked, as these airplanes often fly at low altitudes, causing alarm and panic.

“While in Lebanon, each one of these acts is felt as a briefly passing moment and no two residents may hear jets in the same way or at the same time,” said Lawrence Abu Hamdan, who assembled the research. “What I aim to present is an accumulated event, one extended crime that has taken place over the past 15 years.

“But really this should be seen as an atmosphere of violence. It takes its toll over time, and that’s why it has the potential to be ignored, but it shouldn’t be ignored any longer. Why should a population live under mass indiscriminate surveillance and live under a hostile sky … to the extent that it’s embodied into everyday life.”

"Israel" maintains that the hostile violation of Lebanon's airspace is "necessary". However, these actions also violate UN Security Council resolutions, namely Resolutions 425 (1978) and 1701, which "Israel" has broken more than 22,000 times with impunity in the past 15 years.

The Israeli occupation has also often illegally violated Lebanese airspace to bomb targets in Syria.

"Israel" withdrew from most of Lebanon's territories after the year 2000, and is still maintaining its occupation of some villages on the border.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/bennett-arrives-in-uae-to-meet-bin-zayed-discuss-iranian-fil

Bennett arrives in UAE to meet bin Zayed, discuss Iranian file

The Israeli occupation's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett landed in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday for talks with President Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, following a free trade deal signed last month.

Bennett's second visit to the UAE since the two normalized relations in a US-brokered 2020 deal also comes after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) adopted a resolution against Iran's nuclear activity.

The Israeli PM's office said the "snap visit" would touch on "various regional issues."

According to Israeli media, Bennett and bin Zayed will touch on the developments of the Iranian nuclear file.

Speaking before leaving for UAE, Bennett hailed the IAEA for condemning Iran.

"We see here a firm stance by the countries of the world regarding the distinction between good and evil, as they clearly state that Iran is concealing things," he said, according to a statement from his office.

It is noteworthy that the IAEA’s adoption of the resolution came after a surprising meeting between the Director-General of the Agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi, and Bennett, in "Tel Aviv" on June 3.

The UAE was the first Gulf country to normalize ties with the Israeli occupation.

The visit will mark Bennett's first meeting with Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al-Nahyan since he assumed the presidency following the death of his half-brother Sheikh Khalifa last month.

Bennett and Bin Zayed met twice last year, in Abu Dhabi and in Egypt.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/turkey-will-not-relinquish-its-rights-in-aegean-sea:-erdogan

Turkey will not relinquish its rights in Aegean Sea: Erdogan

Turkey will not give up its rights in the Aegean Sea and will not be afraid to use the powers granted to it by international treaties, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared on Thursday while attending the Efes-2022 military exercise held on the Aegean beaches.

On the return of long-running tensions between the Aegean Sea neighbors, he said Greece should stop arming the islands with nonmilitary status and follow international agreements.

"I warn Greece to avoid dreams, acts, and statements that will result in regret. Come to your senses," he said in a televised speech as he observed the Turkish military exercises on the coast of western Izmir province.

"Turkey will not renounce its rights in the Aegean and will not back down from using rights that are established by international agreements when it comes to arming islands."

Greece is acting as if it is making touristic landings on Aegean islands, he said and added addressing Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, "You can't get anywhere with this."

"Turkey will not relinquish its rights in the Aegean Sea, will not hesitate to use its powers stemming from international agreements … Turkey does not violate anyone's rights and laws but it does not allow the violation of its own rights and laws either," he stressed.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israeli-media:-wests-options-for-nuclear-talks-running-out

Israeli media: West's options for nuclear talks running out

According to Haaretz on Thursday, the US realizes that resuming sanctions against Iran by going to the UN Security Council is a futile step.

According to the publication, if the table of negotiations is vacated, there will be a breakdown of communications.

On Wednesday, Iran's delegate to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohammad Reza Ghaebi, strongly condemned the decision made by the agency's Board of Governors to adopt the resolution drafted by the US and the E3 that demands more "transparency and cooperation" from Iran.

The IAEA adopted the US-E3-sponsored resolution, criticizing Iran for "not cooperating".

Iran's delegation said that it will pursue the appropriate measures in response, noting that Iran has the right to reconsider its policy and behavior toward the agency, stressing that this resolution adopted by the IAEA is a heavy blow to the agency's credibility.