A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Tuesday, July 10, 2018
UN warns US funding freeze will lead to cut on Palestinian refugee projects
Sources within UNWRA claim most of the programme cuts are expected in the West Bank
Sources told AFP that scores of Palestinian projects will face reductions in coming months if additional funding not found (MEE)
Monday 9 July 2018
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has warned that cuts to key
programmes in the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank are planned over the
coming weeks if a US funding freeze cannot be overcome.
Figures were not yet available on the cuts being planned if the
significant gap in financing is not resolved, but a letter sent to
agency staff at the weekend and seen by AFP on Monday highlights areas
targeted.
A source familiar with the plans described the areas expected to be
affected in further detail, saying they included employment programmes,
housing assistance and mental health support, among others.
Most of the cuts are expected in the West Bank. Some programmes were due
to run out of funds by the end of July, according to the source.
The letter said the agency, known as UNRWA, would work to maintain vital
food assistance programmes, particularly for the impoverished Gaza
Strip.
But the source said those too could face reductions in the coming months if additional financing was not found.
UNRWA head Pierre Krahenbuhl said in the letter to staff that he had
called on donors that had already helped out with pledges to assist
further so the agency could "overcome the rest of the shortfall,"
currently at $217 million.
"I said to them, and I say to you now with great honesty: A shortfall of
$217 million is still far higher than any UNRWA has ever faced in its
history," the letter said.
"As the agency’s commissioner-general, I cannot hide the dramatic risks
that we face to our services if we do not receive additional funding
very rapidly."
The agency would decide in the first half of August whether it would
open the schools it operates on time following the summer break,
Krahenbuhl said in the letter.
More than 500,000 children study at UNRWA schools with 54 per cent of the agency's budget going to education.
UNRWA was established after the war surrounding Israel's creation in
1948 when more than 700,000 Palestinians were expelled or fled.
It offers support for these refugees and their descendants in Syria,
Lebanon, Jordan and the West Bank and Gaza, providing services for more
than three million people.