KHARTOUM: The World Bank has released $100 million for the World Food Programme to tackle “deep food insecurity” for 2 million people in Sudan, where aid was suspended following an October coup.

The funds will help provide an “emergency safety net” amid worsening hunger in the northeast African nation “caused by a poor harvest and rising international food prices,” the bank said in a statement. Grain prices surged earlier this year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

BEIRUT: Lebanese children are at risk as water supply systems across the country teeter on the brink of failure, UNICEF has warned.

“While a total collapse of public water supply networks has so far been averted, the (water supply) systems remain on the brink, which poses a threat for the health of millions of people, especially children,” UNICEF said in a statement.

The UN body said Lebanon’s limited power supplies make it impossible to pump enough water, and in some cases, “cause pumping operations to shut down entirely.”

NEW YORK: The Syrian regime is still failing to comply with a Security Council resolution ordering the destruction of its chemical weapon stockpiles, the UN said on Wednesday.

ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his government’s plan for a new military offensive in northern Syria will be on the table as long as Kurdish militants continue to pose a security threat to his country.

Erdogan also called on the US to pull troops from east of the Euphrates River, accusing the NATO ally, once again, of training and helping Syrian Kurdish militia that Ankara considers to be terrorists.

BAGHDAD: In the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, surrounded by buildings that were reduced to rubble years ago, the ruins of the Al-Nuri Mosque are starting to come to life again. The iconic structure — and many like it in Mosul’s famed Old City — was damaged by Daesh during the battle that raged here in December 2017.

The “Revive the Spirit of Mosul” project, a UNESCO-led project to rebuild the city’s damaged heritage sites, is bringing hope to Iraqis and foreigners alike that the city’s rich past will once again have the chance to shine.