UNICEF Takes Action after Cholera Case Confirmed in Northern Lebanon

Workers unload humanitarian aid packages provided by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Program (WFP) to residents of the predominantly Christian village of Qlayaa in southern Lebanon on October 15, 2024. (AFP)
Workers unload humanitarian aid packages provided by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Program (WFP) to residents of the predominantly Christian village of Qlayaa in southern Lebanon on October 15, 2024. (AFP)
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UNICEF Takes Action after Cholera Case Confirmed in Northern Lebanon

Workers unload humanitarian aid packages provided by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Program (WFP) to residents of the predominantly Christian village of Qlayaa in southern Lebanon on October 15, 2024. (AFP)
Workers unload humanitarian aid packages provided by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Program (WFP) to residents of the predominantly Christian village of Qlayaa in southern Lebanon on October 15, 2024. (AFP)

The UN’s children’s agency says it has activated an emergency cholera response to help protect children and families by containing the disease.

The announcement by UNICEF Friday follows the confirmation of a cholera case in the Akkar governorate in North Lebanon.

The health ministry said in a statement that the cholera case was unrelated to the growing displacement crisis in Lebanon. However, the country remains vigilant in controlling the spread of communicable diseases amid the ongoing displacement.



US Journalist Missing in Syria Since 2012 Is Believed to Be Alive, Says Aid Group

A banner for journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared while reporting in Syria in 2012, hangs outside the National Press Club building in Washington, US, May 2, 2023. (Reuters)
A banner for journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared while reporting in Syria in 2012, hangs outside the National Press Club building in Washington, US, May 2, 2023. (Reuters)
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US Journalist Missing in Syria Since 2012 Is Believed to Be Alive, Says Aid Group

A banner for journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared while reporting in Syria in 2012, hangs outside the National Press Club building in Washington, US, May 2, 2023. (Reuters)
A banner for journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared while reporting in Syria in 2012, hangs outside the National Press Club building in Washington, US, May 2, 2023. (Reuters)

American journalist Austin Tice is believed to be still alive, according to the head of an international aid group.

Nizar Zakka, who runs the Hostage Aid Worldwide organization, said there has never been any proof that Tice, who has been missing since 2012, is dead.

He told reporters in Damascus on Tuesday that Tice was alive in January and being held by the authorities of ousted Bashar al-Assad. He added that US President Joe Biden said in August that Tice was alive.

Zakka said Tice was transferred between security agencies over the past 12 years, including in an area where Iranian-backed fighters were operating.

Asked if it was possible Tice had been taken out of the country, Zakka said Assad most likely kept him in Syria as a potential bargaining chip.

Biden said Dec. 8 that his administration believed Tice was alive and was committed to bringing him home, though he also acknowledged that “we have no direct evidence” of his status.