Humanitarian Aid
In Afghan Quake: ‘I Did Not Expect to Survive’
SHARANA, Afghanistan — As the earth shook, she said, speaking through her tears, she felt the walls of the room collapsing on her. Then everything went dark. When Hawa, a 30-year-old mother of six, regained consciousness, she was choking on dust, and struggled to make sense of the scene around her. “I did not expect […]
Know More
Some Ukrainians Stay Behind in Eastern Donbas Region
Follow live news updates on the Russia’s war in Ukraine. BAKHMUT, Ukraine — The volunteers listened patiently to the pensioner and stuffed a frozen chicken into her shopping bag. Olena Tyvaniuk, 70, a slight woman with a stoop, explained tearfully that she needed more than food. She needed drugs. “I have a son, he is […]
Know More
Diplomats Fear Russia May Use Syrian Aid as Bargaining Chip in Ukraine
WASHINGTON — Only one route remains open for international convoys bringing food, water and other aid to over one million Syrians besieged by civil war. Now, officials warn, Russia might try to shut it down or use it as a bargaining chip with world powers in another war, about 1,000 miles away in Ukraine. Diplomats […]
Know More
Sisters Recount Escape From Mariupol as Russians Closed In
Vera and Nicole thought they had endured the worst of the war as Russia besieged their city, Mariupol, for weeks. The sisters helped neighbors bury neighbors, melted snow for drinking water and survived a bombardment that tore a hole in the ceiling of their home. But by mid-March, they knew it was time to leave. […]
Know More
Afghan Restaurateurs Provide Hope to Refugees Fleeing the Taliban
Hamasa Ebadi, 27, and her parents, Hamida, 58, and Atiq, 60, opened the tiny restaurant in the fall of 2020, inside a former bubble-tea shop. And Assad Akbari, the former longtime general manager and chef at the Helmand, has announced plans to open his own Afghan restaurant this year, on the same street. Ms. Ebadi […]
Know More
‘This Is True Barbarity’: Life and Death Under Russian Occupation
TROSTYANETS, Ukraine — The last three Russian soldiers in this Ukrainian town are in the morgue, their uniforms bloodied and torn. The first one’s face is frozen in pain. The second has his wooden pipe in his lap. The third is stuffed in his sleeping bag. These dead are not all that was left behind […]
Know More
Who Killed Three Aid Workers for Doctors Without Borders in Ethiopia?
This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. As the fight intensified in northern Ethiopia in June last year, three aid workers from Doctors Without Borders jumped into their four-wheel drive and raced across the battle-scarred landscape, searching for casualties. Hours later they vanished. The aid workers stopped answering their satellite phone. […]
Know More
Democrats Strip Covid Aid From $1.5 Trillion Spending Package
WASHINGTON — Democrats on Wednesday abruptly jettisoned a $15.6 billion package to fight Covid-19 from a sprawling federal spending bill that includes a huge infusion of aid for war-torn Ukraine and money to keep the government funded through September. The decision to strip out the coronavirus money came amid disputes about its cost and was […]
Know More
For Ukraine’s Refugees, Europe Opens Doors That Were Shut to Others
WASHINGTON — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has pushed tens of thousands of people out of their homes and fleeing across borders to escape violence. But unlike the refugees who have flooded Europe in crises over the past decade, they are being welcomed. Countries that have for years resisted taking in refugees from wars in Syria, […]
Know More