
-
Indian army says new exchange of gunfire with Pakistan
-
Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre takes own life in Australia: family
-
Hundreds of buildings damaged, dozens injured in 6.3 Ecuador quake
-
India and Pakistan's Kashmir fallout hits economy too
-
Francis's funeral to be grand farewell to 'pope of the poor'
-
Pogacar faces defiant Evenepoel at Liege-Bastogne-Liege
-
Chelsea eye great escape against Barcelona in Women's Champions League
-
Iran, US to hold new round of high-level nuclear talks
-
'Energy and effort' pay off for Reds as Blues' woes continue
-
Albatross and closing birdie lift China's Liu to LPGA Chevron lead
-
On the horizon? Wave of momentum for high seas treaty
-
Developing countries should fast-track US trade deals: World Bank president
-
Grizzlies' Morant 'doubtful' for must-win game 4 v Thunder
-
Trump in Rome for pope funeral in first foreign trip of new term
-
Trump says Russia-Ukraine deal 'very close' after new Kremlin talks
-
US rookies lead PGA pairs event with McIlroy and Lowry in hunt
-
Trump tariff promises get a reality check
-
Warriors coach Kerr 'relatively optimistic' injured Butler will play game 3
-
Postecoglou hopes 'Stonecutter's Credo' can inspire Spurs
-
PSG lose unbeaten Ligue 1 record ahead of Arsenal showdown
-
Venezuela accuses El Salvador president of 'human trafficking'
-
Own goal takes Sundowns to African final against Pyramids
-
Scores of buildings damaged, 20 injured in Ecuador quake
-
US stocks extend rally as market eyes busy calendar next week
-
Pope's death triggers surge of disinformation he fought against
-
Rovanpera takes control of Rally Islas Canarias
-
Zelensky insists Crimea is Ukrainian as US envoy meets Putin
-
Patel and Mendis help Sunrisers beat Kings in Dhoni's 400th T20
-
Copa del Rey ref statements 'unacceptable': Real Madrid after boycotting final build-up
-
Insurance CEO's accused killer pleads not guilty to federal murder charges
-
FBI arrests Wisconsin judge for shielding undocumented migrant
-
Brazil ex-president Collor de Mello jailed for corruption
-
Zelensky insists Crimea 'belongs' to Ukraine as US envoy meets Putin
-
Real Madrid boycott Copa del Rey build-up over referee complaints
-
Trinidad and Tobago votes for parliament, PM, with opposition in lead
-
IMF chief hails 'constructive' Spring Meetings held under tariff uncertainty
-
Iran FM Araghchi in Oman ahead of nuclear talks with US
-
Dozens of buildings destroyed, 20 injured in Ecuador quake
-
Young Barca must 'enjoy' Real Madrid Copa final fight: Flick
-
Pakistan and India border closure separates families
-
Brazil's Bolsonaro 'stable' after post-surgery setback
-
Catholics in secular Cuba hail Francis as 'bridge'
-
US envoy Witkoff, Putin discuss 'possibility' of direct Russia-Ukraine talks
-
Community seeks answers after French school knife killing
-
German prosecutors seek jail terms in VW 'dieselgate' trial
-
Sabalenka makes winning start at Madrid Open
-
EU, US should de-escalate and negotiate trade deal: IMF Europe director
-
Russia accuses Ukraine of killing general in car bombing
-
Emery wants FA Cup glory and Champions League berth for Villa
-
Buildings destroyed, one injured in Ecuador quake

Aid cuts threaten hospitals in Syria rebel enclave
The crowded hospital in Darkush in Syria's rebel-held northwest treats around 30,000 patients every month, for free -- but now foreign aid cuts are threatening its future.
Already dwindling funds have caused dire shortages of medicine and equipment in this and other clinics in the Idlib region, the last Syrian enclave to oppose the regime in Damascus.
The United Nations has appealed for urgent help from donor nations whose largesse has been sapped by the Covid pandemic and fatigue with the decade-old Syrian war.
Umm Alaa said she has been a patient for the past eight days in the Darkush hospital's gynaecological ward.
"I don't want the hospital to close," she said. "I can't afford to go anywhere else.
"Medical care here is good. But the problem is that we have to buy the drugs ourselves -- drugs I can't afford."
A rickety wooden door with a glass window leads to the general surgery ward, where patients lie on narrow beds and on stretchers wrapped in plastic.
The hospital has been financially struggling since November after the major donor, having contributed 80 percent of funding, completely halted aid.
The ambulance service, surgery and paediatric departments, the incubators and the laboratory have now stopped working, said hospital director Ahmed Ghandour.
"We need drugs for our patients and supplies for the lab, radiology, surgery as well as material for the care units and paediatric ward," he said.
The medical staff, he added, has been working without pay since the start of the year, and the hospital only has medicines for about another two months.
- Emergency aid appeal -
The UN's World Health Organization (WHO) has launched an emergency aid appeal for more than $250 million to pull Syria's crumbling health sector through 2022.
If Idlib's medical centres close down, a new catastrophe will hit the region already ravaged by a decade of bloody conflictdoctors warn.
Doctor Salem Abdane, who heads Idlib's health authority, told AFP that international donors used to provide "operational support, salaries and medical supplies".
But he said they had stopped giving aid to around 18 hospitals since the end of last year.
Abdane said that the economic impact of the pandemic and fatigue after 10 years of conflict in Syria drove the aid cuts for health care -- a view echoed by the WHO.
"International support is decreasing while needs are increasing," said Mahmoud Daher, the director of the WHO office in the nearby Turkish city of Gaziantep.
- 'People still suffer' -
Daher said some hospitals had already stopped working, without specifying how many.
The UN will soon provide support to some hospitals in the region, but Daher said it was not enough to mitigate the effects of declining aid.
Most of northwest Syria's more than 490 medical institutions rely on aid to function, Daher said, meaning that funding cuts impact "the lives of hundreds of thousands of people".
Last year, the UN and its partners already fell short of raising even half of the $4.2 billion requested for Syria's humanitarian needs.
In rebel-held areas of the northwest, health facilities have also been targeted by airstrikes.
The group Physicians for Human Rights warned last month that "the health needs of the population far exceed the capacity of available facilities and personnel in northern Syria".
"The dynamic security situation and fluctuating donor priorities threaten humanitarian actors' ability to provide lifesaving care and sustainable support."
Daher said "the Syrian people still suffer everywhere in the country," and he told AFP he was making a plea to donors for help on their behalf. "They need your support."
A.Malone--AMWN