Tuesday, June 17, 2025
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Celebrating 40 years of Schengen

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Celebrating 40 years of Schengen

We are safer too, thanks to Schengen.

Reducing barriers internally was accompanied by increased cooperation between police forces, customs authorities and external border control authorities, helping to make Europe more secure and reinforcing our external borders and managing migration more effectively. 

This is essential to fight terrorism, organised crime and hybrid threats.

Schengen Information System (SIS) is the most widely used and largest information sharing system for security and border management in Europe and allows authorities to share and access security alerts in real time across Schengen.

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More gas has been killed by trying to get food, health care near the `Complete disaster ”

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“We walk the fine gray line between operational capacity and complete disaster, every day,” said Dr Thanos Gargavanis, WHO Trauma surgeon and emergency manager, speaking of the enclave.

The comments of the United Nations veteran came in the midst of new reports on Tuesday morning that more Palestinians had been killed by trying to access food, this time near a help distribution site in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

The mass victim event left “hundreds of victims, a medical complex of Nasser completely” in Khan Younis, said who is representative of the occupied Palestinian territory, Dr. Rik Peeperkorn.

Prohibited area

Through Gaza today, health services are “barely available” and difficult to access, said Dr. Peeperkorn, because more than 80% of the Gaza territory is under evacuation orders.

“The narrowing humanitarian space makes each health activity much more difficult than the day before,” added Dr. Gargavanis.

Nasser’s medical complex is the largest reference hospital in Gaza and the only main hospital remaining in Khan Younis. It is located in the evacuation zone announced by the Israeli army on June 12.

The neighboring Al-Aal hospital-operated by Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS)-continues to provide services to patients already there, but it is unable to admit anyone else because of the ongoing military operations.

“This is what we call a completely minimal functional hospital,” said Dr. Peeperkorn.

Mortal impact of fuel shortages

Only 17 of the 36 Gaza hospitals are currently partially functional, medical supplies are extremely low and no fuel has entered the band for more than 100 days.

The latest mass victim event is only the last gasans who are trying to access aid in the middle of severe continuous restrictions imposed on the amount of aid authorized in the band by Israel.

Monday, more than 200 patients arrived at the Red Cross hospital in Al Mawasi-the greatest number received by the establishment in a single mass incident. Of this number, 28 patients were reportedly declared dead, said Dr. Peeperkorn.

One day earlier, on June 15, the same hospital received at least 170 patients, who would have tried to access a food distribution site.

“The recent food distribution initiatives by actors not one entail mass incidents each time,” insisted Dr. Gargavanis.

Fallout of private aid plan

Since the end of May, UN partners and humanitarian aid have been sidelined in Gaza as a new aid distribution model supported by Israel and the United States began operations as part of Gaza Humaninitarian Foundation (GHF), which uses private military entrepreneurs.

The WHO trauma trauma surgeon highlighted a “constant correlation” between the locations of food distribution places and the incidents of mass victims in Rafah, Khan Younis and along the Netzarim corridor.

Asked about the type of injury suffered by those asking for help and is responsible, Dr. Garavanis stressed that who is not a forensic agency.

“We are unable to clearly identify the nature of the injury,” he said, he said. “What we can say, however, is that we are talking about ball injury, and we are talking about very few incidents of shell injury. »»

The UN has repeatedly warned that the new aid distribution system does not meet the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality. The World Organization has also called for the lifting of aid restrictions.

Dr. Peeperkorn insisted that the WHO should be facilitated to move supplies to Gaza profitably “via all possible routes” to prevent other medical services closings. He said that 33 who trucks with supplies are waiting in Al Arish in Egypt to obtain a passage in the enclave, with 15 others standing in the occupied West Bank.

Originally published at Almouwatin.com

EULEX : Council renews the mandate of the EU civilian mission in Kosovo*

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EULEX : Council renews the mandate of the EU civilian mission in Kosovo*

The Council prolonged the mandate of EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo* until 14 June 2027. Source link

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Brutal cuts mean brutal choices warns UN relief chief, launching ‘survival appeal’

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Brutal cuts mean brutal choices warns UN relief chief, launching ‘survival appeal’

“We have been forced into a triage of human survival,” said Mr. Fletcher. “The math is cruel, and the consequences are heartbreaking. Too many people will not get the support they need, but we will save as many lives as we can with the resources we are given.”

New priorities

The appeal aims to reprioritise individual country plans in pursuit of two main goals: first, to reach people and places facing the most urgent humanitarian needs, and second, to prioritise life-saving support based on existing planning for the 2025 humanitarian response.  

This is intended to ensure that limited resources are directed where they can do the most good, as quickly as possible.

Rather than limiting lifesaving aid to a predetermined matrix, humanitarian partners are focused on addressing the most urgent needs in ways that respect the dignity of affected people, allowing them to choose what they need most, OCHA said.

The appeal prioritises but does not replace the Global Humanitarian Overview 2025 (GHO), launched last December, which covers 180 million vulnerable people across 70 countries. The GHO calls for $44 billion, but at the halfway point of the year, less than 13 per cent of that amount has been received.

A call for global solidarity

“Brutal funding cuts leave us with brutal choices,” said Fletcher. “All we ask is one per cent of what you chose to spend last year on war. But this isn’t just an appeal for money – it’s a call for global responsibility, for human solidarity, for a commitment to end the suffering.” 

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Press briefings – Economic and Financial Affairs Council of 20 June 2025 and General Affairs Council of 24 June 2025

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Press briefings –  Economic and Financial Affairs Council of 20 June 2025 and General Affairs Council of 24 June 2025

Press briefings ahead of the upcoming Economic and Financial Affairs Council of 20 June 2025 and General Affairs Council of 24 June 2025 will take place on 17 June 2025 at 16.00

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Without urgent funding, global hunger hotspots are set to grow, UN warns

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Without urgent funding, global hunger hotspots are set to grow, UN warns

But hunger has followed them. Over 57 per cent of the population in the world’s youngest country to the south is already facing high levels of acute food insecurity.

Sudan and South Sudan are among five global hunger hotspots of “highest concern”, trapped in a worsening cycle of conflict, climate shocks and economic decline.

Continued fighting in Sudan, anticipated flooding impacting its southern neighbour and deteriorating economic conditions in both countries are set to intensify hunger in the coming months.

A new report released on Monday by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) also identified Palestine, Mali and Haiti as the other top-priority hunger hotspots, with a further seven countries likely to see worsening food security over the next five months.

The report, which analyses existing data to project the nature of food insecurity, emphasised that without immediate humanitarian assistance, people living in these hotspots will face severe food conditions and high risks of starvation and death.  

“This report makes it very clear: hunger today is not a distant threat  – it is a daily emergency for millions. We must act now and act together to save lives and safeguard livelihoods,” said FAO Director General QU Dongyu.  

Conflict-driven hunger

The report identified that the main driver of hunger is conflict which is often compounded by climate and economic shocks.  

“There’s an on-going famine in Sudan and also a risk of famine in the case of Gaza. And all of those are driven by conflict and lack of access for humanitarians,” said Jean-Martin Baucer, FAO food security analysis director.

In Gaza, the entire population of 2.1 million people is projected to experience crisis levels of food insecurity in the next months as a result of protracted military operations, with almost 500,000 projected to face catastrophic levels of food insecurity.  

Sawsan was an artist in Gaza before the conflict began. Since then, she and her four children have been displaced, losing everything that they owned. They do not have enough to eat: Sawsan described to WFP that she now reduced to crushing macaroni to make bread for her children.  

The report also noted that climate shocks and conflict often cause protracted economic declines, diminishing the purchasing power and self-sustaining capacity of households and communities.

Window closing fast 

In recent months, humanitarian food operations have faced significant food shortages and have been geographically impeded by security crises which make the delivery of aid simply dangerous.  

WFP and FAO are calling for the international community to drastically step up funding for food and nutrition related humanitarian aid in the coming months and advocate for an end to the fighting.  

“Urgent, sustained investment in food assistance and recovery support is crucial as the window to avert yet more devastating hunger is closing fast,” said WFP executive director Cindy McCain.

‘Red alert’

In May, the food aid sector estimated that it would need $12.2 billion, but only nine per cent of this was funded.  

The report also underlined the importance of moving towards longer-term humanitarian strategies which equip communities with self-sustaining capabilities and are less expensive.

“This report is a red alert. We know where hunger is rising and we know who is at risk. We have the tools and experience to respond but without funding and access, we cannot save lives,” said Ms. McCain.   

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Largest illegal trading platform for drugs taken down | Eurojust

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Largest illegal trading platform for drugs taken down | Eurojust

The dark web marketplace was active for over five years. Archetyp was one of the only platforms to allow the sale of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. The marketplace had around 17 000 listings online, and with more than 600 000 users, it is considered one of the largest of its kind.

Investigations into Archetyp revealed that its creator and current administrator is a German national residing in Spain. International cooperation between authorities, financial tracking and digital evidence analysis led to the identification of the people behind Archetyp. Investigators discovered the location of the servers, moderators and vendors on the marketplace. A coordinated action week was planned to dismantle Archetyp and arrest those responsible for selling and operating the platform, under the coordination of Eurojust and Europol.

The action week took place between 11 and 13 June, targeting the platform’s administrator, moderators, key vendors and the servers running the website. Coordinated actions in five countries, carried out by around 300 officers, resulted in the arrest of the thirty year old administrator in Spain, seven other persons and the seizure of assets worth EUR 7.8 million. By taking Archetyp offline, authorities have dealt a severe blow to drug traffickers in Europe.

Eurojust ensured the international investigation was efficient and effective. The Agency organised multiple coordination meetings, which enabled authorities to exchange critical information for the investigation. During the action days and the preliminary investigations, Eurojust coordinated the execution of mutual legal assistance and European Investigation Orders.

Europol supported the investigation from the outset, facilitating the exchange of intelligence, conducting extensive cross-checks and helping to identify high-value targets. On the action days, Europol deployed a dark web specialist to Germany and set up a virtual command post to coordinate field activities and ensure real-time deconfliction across jurisdictions.

The following authorities, with the support of the United States, carried out the operation:

  • Germany: Prosecutor General’s Office Frankfurt am Main – Cyber Crime Center; Federal Criminal Police Office
  • Netherlands: Public Prosecutor’s Office of Rotterdam; National Police, Unit Police Unit Rotterdam
  • Spain: Investigative Court num 10 in Barcelona; International Cooperation Section of PPO Barcelona; National Police
  • Sweden: Swedish Prosecution Authority; National Public Prosecution Department, National Unit against Organised Crime in Gothenburg; Swedish National Police; National Operations Department / Swedish Cybercrime Unit
  • Romania: Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT); National Police

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Largest illegal trading platform for drugs taken down

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Largest illegal trading platform for drugs taken down

The dark web marketplace was active for over five years. Archetyp was one of the only platforms to allow the sale of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. The marketplace had around 17 000 listings online, and with more than 600 000 users, it is considered one of the largest of its kind.

Investigations into Archetyp revealed that its creator and current administrator is a German national residing in Spain. International cooperation between authorities, financial tracking and digital evidence analysis led to the identification of the people behind Archetyp. Investigators discovered the location of the servers, moderators and vendors on the marketplace. A coordinated action week was planned to dismantle Archetyp and arrest those responsible for selling and operating the platform, under the coordination of Eurojust and Europol.

The action week took place between 11 and 13 June, targeting the platform’s administrator, moderators, key vendors and the servers running the website. Coordinated actions in five countries, carried out by around 300 officers, resulted in the arrest of the thirty year old administrator in Spain, seven other persons and the seizure of assets worth EUR 7.8 million. By taking Archetyp offline, authorities have dealt a severe blow to drug traffickers in Europe.

Eurojust ensured the international investigation was efficient and effective. The Agency organised multiple coordination meetings, which enabled authorities to exchange critical information for the investigation. During the action days and the preliminary investigations, Eurojust coordinated the execution of mutual legal assistance and European Investigation Orders.

Europol supported the investigation from the outset, facilitating the exchange of intelligence, conducting extensive cross-checks and helping to identify high-value targets. On the action days, Europol deployed a dark web specialist to Germany and set up a virtual command post to coordinate field activities and ensure real-time deconfliction across jurisdictions.

The following authorities, with the support of the United States, carried out the operation:

  • Germany: Prosecutor General’s Office Frankfurt am Main – Cyber Crime Center; Federal Criminal Police Office
  • Netherlands: Public Prosecutor’s Office of Rotterdam; National Police, Unit Police Unit Rotterdam
  • Spain: Investigative Court num 10 in Barcelona; International Cooperation Section of PPO Barcelona; National Police
  • Sweden: Swedish Prosecution Authority; National Public Prosecution Department, National Unit against Organised Crime in Gothenburg; Swedish National Police; National Operations Department / Swedish Cybercrime Unit
  • Romania: Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT); National Police

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MIDDLE EAST CRISIS: Live updates for 16 June

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MIDDLE EAST CRISIS: Live updates for 16 June

After a weekend of massive strikes and counter-strikes between Tel Aviv and Tehran, the UN’s human rights chief, Volker Türk on Monday condemned the violence and echoed wider calls for a negotiated end to the attacks. Meanwhile in Gaza, aid workers report that mobile communications networks continue to be cut in the shattered enclave. We’ll be covering these developments and more across the UN system and beyond today, thanks for joining us. UN News app users can follow our live coverage here.

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Press release – EP TODAY

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Press briefings –  Economic and Financial Affairs Council of 20 June 2025 and General Affairs Council of 24 June 2025

Monday, 16 June Source : © European Union, 2025 – EP

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