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On 25 July, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) held a ceremony at the Burj Shemali camp to celebrate three years of cooperation to improve the living and health conditions of Palestine refugees in Lebanon through rehabilitation works with the support of the European Union (EU).

The project, Improvement of Housing and Health Conditions of the Most Vulnerable Palestine Refugees in Lebanon, funded by the EU with EUR 400,000, helped rehabilitate over 440 shelters in 9 out of the 12 camps in Lebanon, ensuring that the beneficiary families are able to live in safe and healthy shelters. The project also entailed rehabilitation works to three health centres in Saida, Ein El Hilweh and Burj Shemali camps.

The Deputy Director of UNRWA Affairs in Lebanon, Gwyn Lewis, said: Today I would like to recognize the hard work and achievements of this project as we stand inside the rehabilitated Burj Shemali Health Centre, a health centre that, prior to its rehabilitation, was struggling to cope with the needs of the camps population.

I look forward to the continuation and, indeed, development of this partnership between UNRWA, the EU and the other partners on the ground, supporting the basic human needs of Palestine refugees in Lebanon, she added.

In addition to the rehabilitation works, the EU support allowed the three health centres to adapt the Family Health Team approach, which focuses on the comprehensive history of the patient, rather than treating the specific ailment, thus providing a more person-centred approach to their health-care needs. EU and UNRWA: Together for Palestine Refugees

Since 1971, the European Union and UNRWA have maintained a strategic partnership governed by the shared objective to support the human development, humanitarian and protection needs of Palestine refugees and promote stability in the Middle East. Today, the European Union is the largest multilateral provider of international assistance to Palestine refugees. This reliable and predictable support from the European Union enables UNRWA to provide core services to more than 5 million Palestine refugees in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza, including quality education for roughly half a million children and primary health care for more than 3.5 million patients. Collectively, the EU and its Member States are also among the largest contributors to the Agencys humanitarian emergency appeals and projects in response to various crises and specific needs across the region. The partnership between the European Union and UNRWA has allowed millions of Palestine refugees to be better educated, live healthier lives, access employment opportunities and improve their living conditions, thus contributing to the development of the entire region.

Background Information

UNRWA is confronted with an increased demand for services resulting from a growth in the number of registered Palestine refugees, the extent of their vulnerability and their deepening poverty. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions and financial support has been outpaced by the growth in needs. As a result, the UNRWA Programme Budget, which supports the delivery of core essential services, operates with a large shortfall. UNRWA encourages all Member States to work collectively to exert all possible efforts to fully fund the Agencys Programme Budget. UNRWA emergency programmes and key projects, also operating with large shortfalls, are funded through separate funding portals.

UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and mandated to provide assistance and protection to some 5 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip achieve their full human development potential, pending a just and lasting solution to their plight. UNRWA services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, protection and microfinance.

For more information, please contact:

Huda Samra Communications Advisor Lebanon (Arabic and Francophone) Mobile: +961 81 666 134 h.samra@unrwa.org

Abdallah Chebly EU Delegation to Lebanon Communication Officer Mobile: +961 71 522701 Office: +961 (1) 569400 ext: 295 abdallah.chebly@eeas.europa.eu

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UNRWA and the European Union Celebrate Three Years of Shelter Rehabilitation - Reliefweb

Accra, Aug. 7, GNA The European Union (EU) is funding the construction of 224 housing units for workers of Golden Exotics Limited (GEL) with 5.9 million Euros.

The project, which is being undertaken by the contractor, KO&G, is expected to be completed by the last quarter of 2018.

This came to light when the European Union Ambassador to Ghana, Mr William Hanna; and the Member of Parliament for Shai Osudoku, Madam Linda Ocloo, paid a working visit to the GEL Banana Plantation, in the Greater Accra Region.

The visit was to inspect the progress of the construction of the housing and social infrastructure site at Kasunya, near Asutsuare in the Shai-Osudoku District.

When completed, it would house about 800 to 1,000 workers of GEL.

The EU funding is being provided in the framework of the Banana Assistance Measures (BAM), which provides financial assistance to facilitate trade between banana-producing countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

Ghana is one of the 11 countries receiving financial assistance for the banana trade.

The houses would ease accommodation and transportation cost of GEL employees, who now have to commute long distances, thereby saving travel time and costs on one hand and providing decent housing on the other.

In a statement issued to the Ghana News Agency Mr Hanna said: I am pleased to see work progressing well on the new houses for banana workers.

He said providing decent work and working conditions was one of the reasons Ghanas banana exports obtained the Fair Trade Label.

Mr Hanna said it was also encouraging to see that, one year after Ghanas ratification of the EPA that producers were investing more in organic production, which gave added value and secured jobs for thousands of workers.

This is an excellent example of sustainable production and consumption in the agricultural sector, he said, in the statement.

GNA

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European Union provides houses for Banana Plantation workers - Ghana News Agency

The European Commission has asked the European Court of Justice to speed up a case against Warsaw over large-scale logging in the Bialowieza forest, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The forest is also home to the largest herd of European bison, unique birds and insects, and the ECJ has issued an interim order demanding Poland cease its activities.

But the Polish government, led by the eurosceptic Rule and Jutice Party (PiS), has claimed the logging is necessary to control a beetle outbreak and has ignored the ECJ ruling.

It is the latest act of defiance by PiS, having passed controversial judical reforms giving the government greater powers over the judiciary and the state-run media.

Last week European Council president Donald Tusk, a former Polish prime minister, admitted there was a "question mark" over his country's future with the EU.

He said: "It smells like an introduction to an announcement that Poland does not need the European Union and that Poland is not needed for the EU.

"I am afraid we are closer to that moment.

Katarzyna Lubnauer, an MP for the opposition Nowoczesna party, suggested PiS was deliberately trying to provoke the EU into expelling the country from the bloc.

She said: "When we look at what is happening now, we get the deep feeling that the farewell has already begun."

GETTY

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There is no precedent for expelling an uruly member state from the bloc. The first country to leave the European Union in its history will be Britain in 2019, and of its own volition.

But European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has threatened to strip away Polands right to vote on EU matters by invoking Article 7 of the Lisbon Treaty for the first time in history.

He said: If the Polish government goes ahead with undermining the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law in Poland, we will have no other choice than to trigger Article 7."

It would take at least of third of the EUs 28 member states to back Article 7 in order to impose sanctions and suspend voting rights..

But it can only triggered if there is a "clear risk of a serious breach by a Member State of the values referred to in Article 2.

GETTY

An EU official said last week Brussels sent a letter to Warsaw, requesting it complies with the ECJ order on the forest.

The Commission also asked the ECJ to inquire with Warsaw on what it has done to stop the logging and whether "in view of these developments (the court) could give priority treatment to the case".

ECJ cases can take years to conclude and the interim order to stop the logging was meant to ensure the primeval forest is not irreversibly damaged by the time a final ruling comes.

Continued here:
'The farewell has already begun' Lawmakers warn Poland is ready to leave EU - Express.co.uk

A U.S. Marine, left, watches Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers during training in Helmand province, Afghanistan on July 5, 2017. Omar Sobhani / Reuters

There are currently more than 300 Marines assigned to Task Force Southwest, and the total additional force is less than 100 marines, the officials said. The Marines will deploy from the Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force Crisis Response Central Command, already based in the region. The officials would not say where the marines would deploy from specifically, with one saying, "we are redirecting them from where they're at now to help with the mission."

The officials said this deployment is not

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In June President Trump delegated the authority to deploy troops to Afghanistan to Secretary of Defense James Mattis, but in this case Mattis did not need to sign off on the deployment, one of the officials said.

"The commander on the ground has the authority to move people in theater around," the official said.

Related:

A spokesperson for Marine Corps Forces Central Command would not confirm the deployment, saying, "The repositioning and movement of forces in the CENTCOM [area of responsibility], to include presently deployed Marines, happen at the discretion of the CENTCOM Commander," adding "at this time there are no plans to deploy CONUS based Marines into Afghanistan," using the acronym for Continental United States.

The defense officials said there is also a request for more U.S. air support in Afghanistan, but none of them would provide detail on what is needed and why. The additional air assets have not yet been deployed.

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US Is Sending More Marines to Afghanistan - NBCNews.com

NEW DELHI: The Afghanistan government has requested India to launch a special satellite exclusively for its use, three months after India launched the South Asian Satellite. The Afghan Ministry of Telecommunications and Technology recently made such a request to the Indian government, officials in the Afghan government told ET.

Afghanistan minister Syed Ahmad Shah Sadat recently met Indian Ambassador Manpreet Vohra in Kabul to make the request. It is not yet clear if Kabul wants to use a dedicated satellite to track terrorist hideouts. The minister and the Indian envoy discussed opening of a terminal for Afghanistan in the South Asia Satellite, another special satellite and India-assisted small development projects.

A MoU would be signed soon to let Afghanistan benefit from South Asia Satellite. Two of the 12 transponders will be provided to Afghanistan and the satellite will be used in areas of telecommunications, television services, agriculture, mines and other sectors. A special satellite station in Kabul is also under construction.

In May this year, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had joined other South Asian leaders in welcoming the launch of a South Asian Satellite by India for South Asian nations, calling it a major step in regional cooperation.

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Kabul requests India to launch exclusive satellite for Afghanistan - Economic Times