U.N. makes first Somalia aid airdrop after pope calls for help

[rug]

NAIROBI/CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy: The first U.N. aid delivery has been made to a rebel-held Somalia region after the rebels who hold the area lifted a ban on the operations of foreign aid agencies, according to a spokeswoman who spoke to AFP Sunday.

The move came after world leaders, including Pope Benedict XVI urged the international community to make haste in aiding hundreds of thousands of people fleeing drought and famine in Somalia and elsewhere in the Horn of Africa.

Labeling the situation a “humanitarian catastrophe,” the pope said: “I am deeply concerned by news from the Horn of Africa and in particular Somalia, hit by a very serious drought followed in some regions by heavy rains, which is causing a humanitarian catastrophe.”

“Countless people are fleeing from famine in search of food and aid,” said Benedict. He issued his appeal after giving his weekly blessing to pilgrims at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, in the Alban Hills south of Rome.

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2011/Jul-18/UN-makes-first-Somalia-aid-airdrop-after-pope-calls-for-help.ashx#ixzz1Sb4nlYGP

[trotsky]

1. Pope Ratzi is concerned about famine?

Too bad he and his church push policies that exacerbate it.

[rug]

2. Tell him to recall the food drop.

[trotsky]

7. I'd just tell him to be consistent.

Thank goodness my time & money aren't spent propping up him and his corrupt church.

[Maine_Nurse]

3. Here we go again.

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. He's a bit slow, isn't he?

Please tell me that this isn't the first time he's appealed for aid there. I thought churches were meant to be clued up about charity.

[rug]

5. The answer is in the article.

"Two years ago, Al-Shabaab expelled foreign aid groups, accusing them of being Western spies and Christian crusaders, and imposed draconian rules on the operations of relief groups."

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. no, the article shows he's slower than a Tory government

and the previous Al-Shabaab ban on aid only applies inside Somalia. It doesn't stop the Pope calling for aid to the area. And they lifted the ban last Wednesday; does the Pope only work on Sundays now?

[rug]

9. Wow, he shouldn't have even bothered.

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. I'm surprised a paper thought it worth putting in a headline, or you in R&T

It's so close to "Pope says what a Catholic is meant to say", it's almost parody.

[rug]

12. Clearly the newspaper has a better grasp than you.

[humblebum]

15. He was probably waiting to see how much help the atheist groups

were going send in, then he would just pick up the slack.

[AlecBGreen]

8. so the big question is...

Is the Pope cutting a check from the church coffers?

[rug]

10. Would you like to donate?

http://crs.org/kenya/drought-endangers-millions-in-east-africa/

[AlecBGreen]

13. way ahead of you rug

:hi: a member of our church is Kenyan and he went home to try and save his family's land & livestock. His wife and children are leaving soon to meet him. I cant imagine the feeling of hopeless frustration he and his people are facing now :(

[rug]

14. I wish them well.

:hi: