UN report says 1.1 billion people in acute poverty

GENEVA: The UN refugee agency said Wednesday that it was taking a string of temporary measures as it faces “funding uncertainty” following a US decision to freeze virtually all foreign aid.
“We have taken note of the decision by the new US administration to pause allocation of funds to foreign assistance programs,” a UNHCR spokesperson told AFP in an email.
“While we are still assessing the impact of the new US administration’s decision, including possible exceptions, we are implementing a series of temporary precautionary measures to mitigate the impact of this funding uncertainty.”
President Donald Trump on returning TO office last week ordered a 90-day pause to review assistance by the United States, the world’s largest foreign aid donor in dollar terms.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio followed up by freezing virtually all funding, though he specified exemptions for emergency food, as well as military assistance to Israel and Egypt.
In a follow-up memo on Tuesday after an outcry from aid groups, Rubio clarified that other “humanitarian assistance” besides food would also be exempt during the review period.
The UNHCR said it did not yet have “specific information” about how the Trump administration’s decision would impact the agency, which has long counted the United States as by far its biggest donor.
In 2024, the United States contributed $2.05 billion to the UNHCR’s total budget of over $10.6 billion.
The spokesperson said the precautionary measures being implemented “touch upon travel, workshops, supply procurement and the hiring of new colleagues.”
The UNHCR noted that it had “worked closely with the United States for decades.”
“We are looking forward to engaging actively and constructively with the US government as a trusted partner,” the spokesperson said.
“Our focus is to maximize the impact, cost-effectiveness, and efficiency of our operations around the globe, with the aim of saving lives, protecting families fleeing war and persecution, fostering stability in unstable places, advancing self-reliance, and reducing dependency on humanitarian aid.”
UNHCR is not the only UN agency feeling the burn.
The World Health Organization said last week that it was reviewing its priorities after Trump ordered the full withdrawal of the United States, traditionally the agency’s largest donor.
WHO was “freezing recruitment, except in the most critical areas” and was dramatically cutting back on travel expenditures, the organization’s chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a letter sent to staff on Thursday.
Tedros said the UN health agency hoped the new administration would reconsider its decision, noting that it was open to dialogue on preserving the relationship.

NEW DELHI: At least 30 people were killed in crowd crushes at India’s Maha Kumbh Mela festival on Wednesday morning, local police said, as tens of millions of worshippers gathered to take a holy dip in the Ganges.

Hindu devotees have been arriving in Prayagraj in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh since Jan. 13 for the celebrations that some 400 million people are expected to attend by the end of February.

When worshippers gathered on Tuesday evening to cleanse themselves of sins by bathing in the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers, their numbers swelled.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath told the local media that up to 100 million people were going to attend the ritual.

As people rushed to take the holy dip before dawn, some people were sleeping on the riverbank, as others pushed to reach the river and trampled on them.

“About 90 people were taken to the hospital through ambulances but unfortunately, 30 devotees have died. Out of these 30, 25 have been identified and the rest are yet to be identified,” Uttar Pradesh Deputy Inspector General Vaibhav Krishna said in a press conference.

Local reporters present at the site have counted over a dozen bodies, but the actual toll is believed to be much higher.

“Since 2 a.m. in the morning, ambulances have been moving. That means what has happened is really not small. I have seen people crying and wailing after getting separated from their near and dear ones,” Vivek Kumar, a Prayagraj-based journalist, told Arab News.

Another witness, Vishu Vinod Shukla, said that people at the site still could not find their family members. Many were seen crying outside the mortuary of one of Prayagraj’s hospitals.

“I have returned from the site of the incident. The scene was disturbing. I have seen huge piles of torn clothes, abandoned shoes and slippers, blankets, combs. There are a lot of abandoned things lying there,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi acknowledged the deaths in a social media post and conveyed his “deepest condolences to the devotees who have lost their loved ones.” 

While the Uttar Pradesh administration did not respond to requests for comment, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi decried “mismanagement” by the local authorities as being responsible for the deaths.

The Kumbh Mela pilgrimage takes place every 12 years and is widely seen as the “festival of festivals” in the Hindu religious calendar. This year, the celebration is particularly significant, referred to as “maha” or “grand.”

The world’s biggest religious gathering, Maha Kumbh Mela takes place only every 144 years, marking a special celestial alignment of the sun, moon, Jupiter and Saturn.

Deadly crowd crushes at the festival are not new. In 2013, a stampede broke out at the train station in Prayagraj — then still known as Allahabad — killing 42 people and injuring dozens of others.

In 1986, at least 200 were killed in a stampede during the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar. In 1954, 800 people were trampled to death during the first-ever Kumbh held after India’s independence.