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FG, UN Agencies, Dev Partners, Ambassadors Others Commit To Coordinated Approach, Durable Solutions for Humanitarian Response in Nigeria

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…To Raise $5 billion annually for Nigeria’s Humanitarian and Poverty Alleviation Trust Fund

It was the first humanitarian coordination meeting in Nigeria which featured a heart-to-heart frank discussion at the United Nations House, Abuja Tuesday as Nigeria’s Minister For Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu engaged Ambassadors, UN agencies, Development Partners, International and and other NGOs on their Commitment to Humanitarian crises in Nigeria.

The meeting, which was at the instance of the Minister, brought all the humanitarian responders in Nigeria under one roof, where they all committed to a durable, smart, and coordinated approach to humanitarian response.

Part of the resolutions of the meeting, was the commitment to raise $5 billion annually for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Trust Fund in Nigeria by the federal government, other countries, private sector, donor agencies and the Development Partners,. The hosting of the African Humanitarian summit, which is a follow-up to the World Humanitarian Summit of Istanbul in 2016, joint field assessment by government and partners,Quarterly humanitarian coordination meeting and Nigerian humanitarian report, creation of the Nigeria Humanitarian Dashboard amongst others

Dr. Edu conveyed President Bola Tinubu’s appreciation to UN agencies and development partners for their immense contributions to easing humanitarian challenges in Nigeria. She, however, stressed that the era of uncoordinated, unaccountable, and silotic approaches to humanitarian response in Nigeria was over.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu does appreciate the effort of the UN agencies as well as other organizations that are working in the humanitarian space. but we just need to bring this effort in a more coordinated manner so that we can achieve more, especially in the face of dwindling resources.

“There is a need for the government to take the lead and properly coordinate.The days of uncoordinated responses to the humanitarian crisis in Nigeria should be over.

” The days of operating in silos and duplicating efforts that lead to wastage amongst other things should be over. The government must take the lead to coordinate, to ensure that we are first in line with government priorities, and then secondly, we are meeting our targets.”Plan with government, implement with government, and let’s get the right results in the right direction.

“Government will follow up. The government will be proactive, and the government will monitor because we want to see results. Like I told you, We signed a bond, so that bond, we will deliver on it together as a team. Yes, we will.”the Minister said.

She emphasized the federal government’s commitment to reduce, prevent, mitigate, and respond adequately to the humanitarian crisis in Nigeria in a more coordinated manner, thereby reducing poverty by 50 per cent.

On his part, United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Matthias Schmale who spoke on behalf of UN agencies expressed absolute support to the government of Nigeria in its effort to tackle humanitarian challenges facing the country and commended Dr.Edu for providing dynamic leadership in that regard.

“We’ve heard very clearly from you, honourable Minister, that humanitarian needs of course span the rest of the country.We are here as United Nations Agencies to support in ensuring proper coordination, develop review and implementation response plan, mobilise resources for country response as well as align to Federal Government priorities.

The UN chief was optimistic that the “Renewed Hope Agenda of the government is leading the way forward in terms of Nigeria being able to deliver on the SDGS, and address humanitarian needs”

The Ambassador of Malaysia, Norway and United Arab Emirates, amongst other Ambassadors present, committed to supporting Nigeria in a more strategic way to address humanitarian crises in Nigeria.

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JUST IN: 7.7-magnitude quake hits Myanmar

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A powerful 7.7 earthquake hit central Myanmar on Friday, close to the country’s second city of Mandalay, home to around 1 million people and historic temple complexes, with tremors shaking buildings as far away as the Thai capital of Bangkok.

Video posted online from both countries showed panicked residents running from swaying residential towers as dust fills the air, and traffic comes to a sudden stop on busy city streets.

Myanmar is already reeling from more than four years of civil war sparked by a bloody and economically destructive military coup, with has seen military forces battle rebel groups across the country.

It remains one of Asia’s poorest nations and is ill-equipped to deal with major natural disasters.

One resident in Yangon, Myanmar’s commercial hub and around 380 miles away from the epicenter, told CNN: “We felt the quake for about one minute and then we ran out of the building.”

“We saw other people running out of the buildings too. It was very sudden and very strong.”

Another resident said phone networks in the city home to around 8 million people were briefly down following the quake but were now running again.

Video obtained by CNN from Myanmar appeared to show a road bridge spanning the Irrawaddy River that runs through Mandalay, collapsing into the river in a cloud of dust and water.

The epicenter was in nearby Sagaing region, which has been ravaged by the civil war, with the junta, pro-military militia and rebel groups battling for control and all running checkpoints, making travel by road or river extremely difficult.

In an early indication of the quake’s strength, tremors were felt not just in Thailand, but also China’s southwestern Yunnan province.

Video posted to X showed the collapse of a building in Chatuchak Park, Bangkok. The building, which appeared to be under construction, fell in a matter of seconds, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The National Institute for Emergency medicine says 43 people were trapped in the building while seven others have been injured.

A resident in Thailand’s northern city of Chiang Mai, who also did not want to be named, said “I felt it for about ten seconds in my room then I figured out I couldn’t stay inside. So I rushed out on to the street.”

CNN

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World Heritage site in danger as South Korea wildfires continue to rage

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The wildfires plaguing South Korea’s southeast region continued to rage on Tuesday, threatening a world heritage site and forcing thousands more residents to evacuate their homes.

With a population of 150,000 people, the city of Andong, home to Hahoe Village, a UNESCO World Heritage site, issued an alert to its residents to evacuate to safe areas.

Deadly wildfires continued to rage across the region as authorities designated the affected counties ‘special disaster zones’.

No fewer than four people have been killed and hundreds forced to flee their homes since blazes broke out in several areas on Saturday, stoked by strong winds and dry weather.

It was gathered that the wildfires have already gutted local landmarks including ancient Buddhist temples.

“Because this is such an old temple, it is so regrettable and heartbreaking that it has been burned down,” said Jeung Meung-suk, a 55-year-old Buddhist follower at Unramsa, a thousands-year old temple whose most buildings were burnt.

Meanwhile, acting President Han Duck-soo on Tuesday vowed to deploy resources from helicopters to workers on the ground to put out the fires as quickly as possible.

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US offers $15 million for Chinese nationals accused of aiding Iran

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The United States government has placed a bounty on Liu Baoxia, also known as Emily Liu, and three other Chinese nationals accused of supporting Iran.

The 43-year-old woman, a “procurement agent and arms broker”, is on the most wanted list of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Liu, Li Yongxin (Emma Lee), Yung Yiu Wa (Stephen Yung) and Zhong Yanlai (Sydney Chung) allegedly aided IRGC armaments production and sales through delivery of U.S. dual-use technology.

The Department of State, through its Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program, is offering a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to their arrest.

The U.S. is working to disrupt the financial mechanisms of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its branches, all designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

The government accused the IRGC of financing terrorist attacks globally, “including via its external proxies such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran-backed militia groups in Iraq.”

A statement by the department said the IRGC partly funds its terrorist activities through sales of military equipment, including unmanned aerial vehicles or drones.

On Thursday, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced it had sanctioned a “teapot” oil refinery and its chief executive officer.

The allegedly purchased and refined hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian crude oil from vessels linked to the Ansarallah, aka the Houthis, and the Iranian Ministry of Defense of Armed Forces Logistics.

Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent stated that the teapot refinery’s purchases of Iranian oil “provide the primary economic lifeline for the Iranian regime.”

Bessent reiterated America’s commitment to “cutting off the revenue streams that enable Tehran’s continued financing of terrorism and development of its nuclear program.”

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