Top of the Morning: Protests in India after School Children Poisoning Deaths

Top stories from DAWNS Digest 

India: Protests Follow Poisoning Deaths of School Children

No word on whether the poisoning was accidental or deliberate. “The Indian state of Bihar saw violent protests Wednesday in the aftermath of 22 children dying and dozens more being hospitalized after eating a tainted free school lunch. Parents and villagers took to the streets in Dharmasati Gandaman, where the children attended school. Four police vehicles were set on fire in the district and locals blocked streets and locked railway gates with poles and sticks.” (GlobalPost http://bit.ly/15N6gya)

Turkey Emerges as Fourth Largest Humanitarian Aid Contributor

Governments gave $12.9bn for emergency humanitarian relief in total, to which Turkey contributed about a billion. “Turkey, which also received official development assistance, ranked behind only the US ($3.8bn), the EU ($1.9bn), and the UK ($1.2bn), according to the global humanitarian assistance report 2013, released by Development Initiatives (DI), a research group. It is likely that a significant proportion of Turkey’s contribution was spent on housing Syrian refugees within Turkey. The UN has appealed for $5.2bn to deal with the Syria crisis, where 6.8 million people are in need, including 1.6 million refugees and 4.25 million internally displaced people.” (Guardian http://bit.ly/12L7W6j)

UN Needs $13 Billion for Humanitarian Work Through Year’s End

A mid-year review of the UN’s work reveals a need for $13 billion to help 73 million people in 24 countries through the end of 2013. “The people in the Central African Republic, Niger, Afghanistan, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Yemen, and Chad among many others need help to feed their families, to treat malnourished children and to get safe drinking water and other essential supplies,” said Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos. (VOA http://bit.ly/15OIYYP)