EU Pledges $650 Million at Syria Aid Conference
Voice of America
PARIS - The European Union has pledged more than $650 million in humanitarian aid for Syrians during a Brussels pledging conference co-hosted by the United Nations, as aid officials warn of escalating needs inside and outside the war-torn country.
This is the fifth humanitarian pledging conference for Syrians since their country plunged into a brutal and ongoing civil war a decade ago. Instead of getting better, the U.N.'s relief chief, Mark Lowcock, said their humanitarian situation is getting worse. "There's less violence, but there's more suffering," he said. "And that is because of the economic consequences primarily that have been wrought on Syria. There is an increase in the number of people who are in need of humanitarian assistance, and the scale and severity of their needs is also higher than it's ever been." Lowcock said the U.N. is matching the soaring needs with its biggest-ever response plan.A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's rocket launch during a news program at a bus terminal in Seoul, South Korea, May 27, 2024. FILE - Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks to reporters in Colombo, July 29, 2023. FILE - A TV screen shows a report of North Korea's spy satellite into orbit with its third launch attempt this year with an image of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Nov. 22, 2023.
Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah on May 27, 2024. Fire rages following an Israeli strike on an area designated for displaced Palestinians, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, in this still picture taken from a video, May 26, 2024. Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah on May 27, 2024. A member of the bomb squad of the Israeli police collects debris after a rocket fired by Palestinian militants struck in the Israeli city of Herzliya on May 26, 2024.