GENEVA, Aug 19 (IPS) - After the horrendous tragedies of 9/11 in the year 2001, the US intervened in Afghanistan. Promising statements such as "we are going to smoke them out" and "we are after ending terrorism" received warm receptions.

The hundreds of thousands of aid workers globally who dedicate their lives to assist people in need represent “the best in humanity”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in his video message to mark World Humanitarian Day on Friday. 

With Haiti’s highways increasingly in the grip of gangs, aid delivery by ship is becoming increasingly critical. Captain Madeleine Habib, a shipping officer working for the World Food Programme in Haiti, spoke about her experiences ahead of World Humanitarian Day, which is marked annually on 19 August.

On World Humanitarian Day, marked annually on 19 August, aid workers Ahmad Alragheb, based in Syria, and Veronica Houser, stationed in Afghanistan, talk about the crucial humanitarian effort in these countries, and the challenges they and their colleagues face.

Najiba*, a mother, counsellor, and former university lecturer, helps women heal from trauma in Afghanistan. Despite threats and restrictions on her freedom to move, she continues to enable women to learn and heal.

MADRID, Aug 18 (IPS) - A couple of decades ago in Athens, a conversation over a ‘souvlaki’ and wine dinner with a young Greek economist led to talking about democracy. Asked for his opinion, he said “By then, when philosophers like Aristotle formulated their theories about democracy, the society was dominated by the rich.”

Allow human rights and humanitarian organizations to continue their work in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), UN agencies and other partners have urged Israel.

CARACAS, Aug 18 (IPS) - Illegal and excessive fishing, mainly attributed to Chinese fleets, remains a threat to marine resources in the eastern Pacific and southwest Atlantic, as well as to that sector of the economy in Latin American countries bathed by either ocean.

Countries should consider giving a second COVID-19 vaccine booster to older persons, pregnant women, health workers, people with weaker immune systems and those at higher risk of severe disease, experts appointed by the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday. 

Positive momentum on the landmark Black Sea Grain Initiative to help vulnerable people access food reflects “a victory for diplomacy” for those caught in a cost-of-living crisis as well as for Ukraine’s hard-working farmers, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told reporters on Thursday in Lviv, Ukraine.