The United Nations World Food Programme will cut food stipends to hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees in Jordan by a third, partly due to having to accommodate aid requirements stemming from the war in Ukraine, the group tells The National.
The cuts, due to take effect next month, are the first tangible sign of international focus on Ukraine undermining aid to Syrian victims of a civil war, with the Middle East increasingly confined to the shadows as the war in Europe takes centre stage.
The WFP said in response to written questions from The National that Ukraine and other "competing requirements", as well as surging global food and fuel prices, had "made it difficult for WFP to raise the required resources to maintain the level of assistance".
The refugees receive other supplies of aid outside of the WFP, but the organisation is nonetheless predicting a shortfall.
The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre announced on Friday it would be donating over $3 million in medical aid to Syrian refugees in Jordan and last month, the UAE's Emirates Red Crescent announced a package of aid to the Mrajeeb Al Fhood camp, which hosts Syrian refugees.
Refugees started flooding into Jordan and other neighbouring countries in 2011, when a peaceful revolt against five decades of Assad family rule erupted in March. The uprising was militarised towards the end of that year in response to violent suppression by the regime that killed thousands.
The WFP said the cuts would affect "353,000 vulnerable refugees" in Jordan living outside two refugee camps. They are mostly Syrian but also include some Iraqis, Yemenis and Sudanese.
The stipends given to refugee families living in the two camps in Jordan will continue at the same level of $32 per month "while funding is available", the organisation said.
The camps near the Syrian border, Zaatari and Azraq, house 17 per cent of the 667,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan. The rest of the Syrian refugees in the kingdom live mostly in urban centres in the middle of Jordan and in the north.
The WFP sent text messages to refugees in Jordan this month saying “food assistance will be reduced to all beneficiaries outside the camps and that is because of a shortage of financial resources”.
The organisation says it needs a record $22.2 billion for this year to help 152 million people it describes as "food insecure", compared with the $4.8bn it has obtained, with the US being the largest contributor.
"Never has WFP’s funding gap been so wide," its statement said. "Needs outstrip resources, WFP has been forced to take from the hungry to feed the starving."
In Jordan, about 500,000 Syrian refugees are on the WFP stipends. Those outside the camps receiving $32 a month in food stipends will experience a drop to $21. Other refugees, deemed not as needy, will receive $14 a month, compared with $21 before the cut.
Diplomats say the humanitarian focus on Ukraine could further undermine the overall aid to Syrian refugees.
“The picture will become clearer by the end of this year when it will be known how much of the Syrian aid pledges has been realised,” a European diplomat said.
One refugee who lives in Zarqa, Jordan’s second city, said the reduction is making him think more seriously of moving with his wife and three children to Azraq, the smaller of the two refugee camps.
He might receive more money for food in Azraq and save on rent, he said, adding he has been contemplating the move for a while as food prices soar and the stipends he and his wife receive lost value.
“The problem is that I don’t know [whether] we will be allowed into the camp,” he said.
Another diplomat in contact with UN agencies in Jordan said the Zaatari camp was full and investment in Azraq wad needed before more refugees could be hosted.
“Funding would be needed to expand Azraq,” the diplomat said. “That has not been on the cards.”
In May, a Syrian aid conference in Brussels, the sixth since the conflict began, produced multi-year pledges for $6.7bn, compared with $6.4bn pledged at the same venue in 2021.
The money is earmarked to fund aid inside Syria proper, as well Syrian-related aid in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, and Egypt — countries the EU regards as the most affected by the conflict.
Even if the aid pledges for Syria are met this year, a European-based diplomat said the Ukraine war has further reduced any chances of western countries paying for the reconstruction of Syria, as Russia has been urging them to do.
“There has been a fairly united European position that there will be no outright reconstruction funding without a political transition in Syria,” the diplomat said.
“The Ukraine war has also made that a practical impossibility.”
Anti-semitic attacks
The annual report by the Community Security Trust, which advises the Jewish community on security , warned on Thursday that anti-Semitic incidents in Britain had reached a record high.
It found there had been 2,255 anti-Semitic incidents reported in 2021, a rise of 34 per cent from the previous year.
The report detailed the convictions of a number of people for anti-Semitic crimes, including one man who was jailed for setting up a neo-Nazi group which had encouraged “the eradication of Jewish people” and another who had posted anti-Semitic homemade videos on social media.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The Limehouse Golem
Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Bill Nighy, Douglas Booth
Three stars
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
Duterte Harry: Fire and Fury in the Philippines
Jonathan Miller, Scribe Publications
MATCH INFO
Champions League last 16, first leg
Tottenham v RB Leipzig, Wednesday, midnight (UAE)
You may remember …
Robbie Keane (Atletico de Kolkata) The Irish striker is, along with his former Spurs teammate Dimitar Berbatov, the headline figure in this season’s ISL, having joined defending champions ATK. His grand entrance after arrival from Major League Soccer in the US will be delayed by three games, though, due to a knee injury.
Dimitar Berbatov (Kerala Blasters) Word has it that Rene Meulensteen, the Kerala manager, plans to deploy his Bulgarian star in central midfield. The idea of Berbatov as an all-action, box-to-box midfielder, might jar with Spurs and Manchester United supporters, who more likely recall an always-languid, often-lazy striker.
Wes Brown (Kerala Blasters) Revived his playing career last season to help out at Blackburn Rovers, where he was also a coach. Since then, the 23-cap England centre back, who is now 38, has been reunited with the former Manchester United assistant coach Meulensteen, after signing for Kerala.
Andre Bikey (Jamshedpur) The Cameroonian defender is onto the 17th club of a career has taken him to Spain, Portugal, Russia, the UK, Greece, and now India. He is still only 32, so there is plenty of time to add to that tally, too. Scored goals against Liverpool and Chelsea during his time with Reading in England.
Emiliano Alfaro (Pune City) The Uruguayan striker has played for Liverpool – the Montevideo one, rather than the better-known side in England – and Lazio in Italy. He was prolific for a season at Al Wasl in the Arabian Gulf League in 2012/13. He returned for one season with Fujairah, whom he left to join Pune.
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General%20Classification
%3Cp%3E1.%20Elisa%20Longo%20Borghini%20(ITA)%20Trek-Segafredo%3Cbr%3E2.%20Gaia%20Realini%20(ITA)%20Trek-Segafredo%207%20secs%3Cbr%3E3.%20Silvia%20Persico%20(ITA)%20UAE%20Team%20ADQ%201%20min%2018%20secs%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Essentials
The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes.
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
Did you know?
Brunch has been around, is some form or another, for more than a century. The word was first mentioned in print in an 1895 edition of Hunter’s Weekly, after making the rounds among university students in Britain. The article, entitled Brunch: A Plea, argued the case for a later, more sociable weekend meal. “By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday night carousers. It would promote human happiness in other ways as well,” the piece read. “It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.” More than 100 years later, author Guy Beringer’s words still ring true, especially in the UAE, where brunches are often used to mark special, sociable occasions.
Five expert hiking tips
Always check the weather forecast before setting off
Make sure you have plenty of water
Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon
Wear appropriate clothing and footwear
Take your litter home with you
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Greenwood 77')
Everton 1 (Lindelof 36' og)
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
