JUBA, Jan. 26, (Xinhua/GNA) — Violent clashes that erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan, have forced 516,658 individuals into South Sudan, since mid-April 2023, the UN humanitarian agency said on Thursday.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said 81 percent of the arrivals were South Sudanese, and 18 percent were Sudanese. “The rising number of new arrivals in Renk posed challenges, demanding a coordinated and sustained response from local authorities and humanitarian partners,” OCHA said in its latest report released in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.
It said the humanitarian situation in South Sudan remains grim, with insecurity, sub-national violence and climatic shocks, adversely affecting the food and nutrition security situation of many families, compounded by the Sudan crisis influx.
The most recent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification results,m show that South Sudan, remains one of the countries with the highest proportion of food-insecure people globally.
The results project that 7.1 million, or 56 percent of the country’s population, will face acute food insecurity levels — at the crisis level or higher during the April-July lean season. Of these, 2.3 million in Jonglei State and 79,000 people in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State will face Emergency and Catastrophe food insecurity levels, including the areas inhabited by new arrivals from Sudan.
Deadly clashes have been going on between the SAF and the paramilitary forces, since mid-April last year. The conflict has killed more than 9,000 people, displacing over 6 million others within and outside Sudan, and leaving 25 million more in need of aid, according to the UN.
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Politics Trump Testimony
Trump testifies in defamation trial
NEW YORK, Jan. 26, (Xinhua/GNA) — Former U.S. President, Donald Trump, on Thursday testified briefly in E. Jean Carroll defamation trial, at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, local media reported.
Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, testified for less than five minutes, and was cut off by Judge Lewis Kaplan.
Trump said Carroll’s accusations were false, though he was not allowed to testify that he didn’t assault Caroll.
The jury in the current trial, has been shown threats of murder and rape that Carroll has received, since 2019, when she went public with her story through emails, texts and tweets, reported CBS News on Thursday.
Carroll, an American writer and former magazine columnist, accused Trump of raping her in the mid-1990s, at a department store dressing room in Manhattan, New York City, and of later defaming her by denying her claims.
The trial is tasked to determine if Trump owns any more for defaming Caroll, as another trial found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation with 5 million U.S. dollars in damages awarded to Caroll, in May 2023.
The trial will continue on Friday for closing arguments, and Trump is expected to return to the court then, according to media reports.
GNA
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26 Jan, 2024
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Politics Hamas Ceasfire
Hamas says ready to observe ceasefire in Gaza if UN Court issues such ruling
GAZA, Jan. 26, (Xinhua/GNA) — Hamas announced on Thursday, that the movement is ready to observe a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, if the International Court of Justice (ICJ), issues a ruling calling for it, as long as Israel reciprocates.
“If the court issues a ceasefire decision, the Hamas movement will adhere to the ceasefire, as long as Israel adheres to that,” the group said in a statement. In addition, it said “Hamas will release the Israeli prisoners detained by it, if Israel releases the Palestinian prisoners detained by it,” noting that Israel must “end the siege that has been ongoing for 18 years on Gaza, and allow the entry of all necessary aid for relief and reconstruction.
“The ICJ is set to deliver a ruling on South Africa’s case against Israel on Friday in Hague. It will also rule on South Africa’s demand for the court’s urgent intervention, to stop Israel’s military operation in Gaza.
On Dec. 29, 2023, South Africa filed an application to the ICJ for proceedings against Israel, concerning alleged violations by Israel of its obligations under the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, related to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
GNA