UN Warns of Humanitarian Collapse in Gaza as Hunger Crisis Deepens
Envoy urges Israel to halt civilian strikes; WFP reports deadly warehouse breach amid food shortages after 80-day blockade
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The United Nations envoy to the Middle East has told the UN Security Council that Palestinians living in the war-torn Gaza Strip "deserve more than survival. Israel must halt its devastating strikes on civilian life and infrastructure," Sigrid Kaag said. Separately, its World Food Program (WFP) said "hordes of hungry people" had broken into one of its warehouses in central Gaza. At least two people died and several more were injured, according to initial reports. WFP said that the incident had occurred in Deir al-Balah, and that supplies in the warehouse had been pre-positioned for distribution. The agency said it is still confirming details of the incident. "Humanitarian needs have spiralled out of control after 80 days of complete blockade of all food assistance and other aid into Gaza," WFP said. "Gaza needs an immediate scale-up of food assistance. This is the only way to reassure people that they will not starve," it added. The agency also called for unimpeded humanitarian access in order to enable the orderly distribution of food across Gaza with immediate effect. A day earlier, security forces fired shots as a crowd of hungry people stormed an aid distribution site set up by the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The UN has rejected the new aid system, stating that it is unable to meet the needs of Gaza's population of over two million. Until last week, Israel had prevented food and other supplies from entering Gaza for almost three months - DW
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel had killed Mohammed Sinwar, a senior Hamas leader in Gaza and the younger brother of the group's former chief, Yahya Sinwar, who was previously killed by Israeli military - DW
US President Donald Trump has been asked whether he has any frustrations with the way Netanyahu has pursued the Israeli offensive in Gaza. “No, we’re dealing with the whole situation in Gaza, we’re getting food to the people of Gaza,” Trump responded in an apparent reference to a US-backed Gaza aid distribution scheme that has spurred chaos and the killings of at least 10 Palestinian aid seekers this week. The US president called his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, to the podium in the Oval Office to provide an update on efforts to reach a Gaza ceasefire agreement. “I think that we are on the precipice of sending out a new term sheet that, hopefully, will be delivered later on today,” Witkoff told reporters. “The president is going to review it, and I have some very good feelings about getting to a long-term resolution – temporary ceasefire and a long-term resolution, a peaceful resolution of that conflict.” - Al Jazeera
US secretary of state Marco Rubio has announced visa restrictions targeting foreign officials whom the Trump administration says are “complicit in censoring Americans”. “Foreigners who work to undermine the rights of Americans should not enjoy the privilege of travelling to our country,” Rubio said in a statement posted to X. “Whether in Latin America, Europe, or elsewhere, the days of passive treatment for those who work to undermine the rights of Americans are over.” It was not immediately clear which officials would be affected by the visa restrictions or how the policy changes would be implemented. But Rubio said in a separate statement that in “some instances, foreign officials have taken flagrant censorship actions against US tech companies and US citizens and residents when they have no authority to do so”. He added it was “unacceptable” for foreign officials to threaten to arrest US citizens or residents for their social media posts and for foreign officials to “demand that American tech platforms adopt global content moderation policies or engage in censorship activity that reaches beyond their authority and into the United States”. “We will not tolerate encroachments upon American sovereignty, especially when such encroachments undermine the exercise of our fundamental right to free speech,” the secretary of state said - FT
President Donald Trump's administration has ordered its missions abroad to stop scheduling new appointments for student and exchange visitor visa applicants as the State Department prepares to expand social media vetting of foreign students, according to an internal cable seen by Reuters on Tuesday. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in the cable that the department plans to issue updated guidance on social media vetting of student and exchange visitor applicants after a review is completed and advised consular sections to halt the scheduling of such visa appointments - Reuters
Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said that Berlin would seek to help Kyiv jointly develop new long-range weapons that can strike deeper inside Russia as Germany agreed on a new €5 billion aid package. Heralding the beginning of a "new form of military industrial cooperation between our two countries," Merz said that Germany and Ukraine would seek to "enable joint production" of weapons. "This will be a cooperation on an industrial level, which can take place both in Ukraine and here in Germany," Merz said. Following Merz's statement, the defence ministers of Ukraine and Germany signed a memorandum which also includes direct German investment in Ukraine's defence industry and a broader agreement between Ukraine and German arms manufacturers.
View my live interview from Moldova on German pledges to provide Ukraine with more muscle to push back Russia
President Donald Trump’s dismantling of Task Force KleptoCapture, an anti–corruption initiative set up in 2022 to seize the assets of Russian oligarchs, has set off a “dizzying” shift in “dirty money coming into the United States,” a source told the New York Times. In addition to shutting down the task force, the Trump administration has also ordered the Justice Department to end the enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, banning businesses from paying bribes. Under former President Joe Biden’s tenure, KleptoCapture traced yachts, jets and luxury properties hidden behind shell companies in global tax havens, which were sold to help fund Ukraine’s defense against Russia. The task force’s most prominent case involved the 2022 seizure of a $300 million yacht owned by Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov. After its shutdown in February, KleptoCapture scored a post-mortem victory in March, NYT reported. After a lengthy legal battle and several attempts by the Trump administration to interfere with the process, a judge ruled that Kerimov was the true owner of the yacht and that the U.S. government was allowed to sell it - Daily Beast
COVID-19 cases are rising again as a new variant begins to circulate in some parts of the world. The World Health Organization said Wednesday the rise in cases is primarily in the eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia and western Pacific regions. Airport screening in the United States has detected the new variant in travelers arriving from those regions to destinations in California, Washington state, Virginia and New York. The new variant is called NB.1.8.1. It arrives as the United States’ official stance on COVID-19 vaccination is changing. On Tuesday, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that COVID-19 shots are no longer recommended for healthy children and pregnant women — a move immediately questioned by several public health experts. The new variant, increasing globally, had by mid-May reached nearly 11% of sequenced samples reported. The WHO has designated it a “variant under monitoring” and considers the public health risk low at the global level with current vaccines expected to remain effective. The WHO said some western Pacific countries have reported increases in COVID cases and hospitalizations, but there’s nothing so far to suggest that the disease associated with the new variant is more severe compared to other variants - AP
King Charles III was given a heartfelt standing ovation in Canada's parliament in Ottawa after a historic speech in support of the country staying "strong and free.” Outside the Senate building later, another voice from the crowd shouted: "Thanks for coming King Charles" in a voice full of emotion - as the King himself had sounded at the end of his speech. But what was never mentioned was what the speech was really about: US President Donald Trump. There was a promise to "protect Canadians and their sovereign rights", but with diplomatic discretion, there was no mention of who might be threatening the country's independence. Claims by Trump that Canada would be the 51st US state hung over this speech, but his name was never uttered. Not when the speech talked of the virtues of "open trade" (ie, not tariffs) or when it talked of a "critical moment" in which "democracy, pluralism, the rule of law, self-determination and freedom" must be protected. And there was no one named as making it necessary to guard the country's "fundamental rights and freedoms". There might even have been an olive branch, with a promise by the Canadian government to do more to stop fentanyl crossing the border, a drug that was the subject of accusations by the US administration. But there was no mention of Trump by name. The opening of parliament followed a general election in which Mark Carney had been brought to power on a wave of anti-Trump sentiment - BBC
The U.S. state of Maine is placing new highway signs across the state to welcome Canadian visitors, as the U.S. trade war threatens to disrupt the upcoming summer tourism season. The first “Bienvenue Canadiens!’ sign was installed last week in Old Orchard Beach, which is a vacation hot spot for Quebec tourists. During a typical summer, up to 40 per cent of Old Orchard Beach visitors come from Canada. Maine Gov. Janet Mills said more signs would be installed at border crossings and locations popular with visitors, with other versions of welcome signs to be available for businesses. “Look, I know that a sign alone cannot fix this economic uncertainty, but it can convey to our neighbours that they are welcome here, and that we do value their presence in our state,” said Mills in a weekly radio address. “We do not feel hostility towards our Canadian friends and neighbours.” Mills said nearly 800,000 people from Canada visited Maine in 2024, representing about five per cent of the state’s total number of visitors last year. “But this year, just from February to April alone, 166,000 fewer Canadians travelled by land to Maine,” said Mills. “That’s 26 per cent less than the same period last year. That’s a big drop in visitors. So, my administration is doing what we can to market Maine as a destination for Canadian travellers.” - CTV
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