A Norwegian aid group has suspended mine clearing activities in 13 countries following the freezing of US foreign aid, one of its directors told AFP on Monday. Last year, Norwegian People’s Aid received $41 million from US authorities to support its demining activities around the world.
On Friday, “we were told that we had to put on hold all activities that had received US support while the US authorities reviewed their aid,” Aksel Steen-Nilsen, Director of Humanitarian Mine Action and Disarmament at the NGO, told AFP.
Read more…
Source: Barron’s News
Sign up for Counter-IED Report Newsletter
Related:
- Italy launches EUR 6 mln grant competition for landmine clearance in Ukraine
March 20, 2025
The Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) has announced a EUR 6 million grant competition for demining operations in war-affected frontline regions of Ukraine. The maximum funding per project is EUR 1.8 million. According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy, projects should focus on both technical and non-technical land surveys and must include public awareness campaigns about ...
- EU, others pledge more than $6bn to Syria in post-al-Assad donor drive
March 17, 2025
The European Union has hosted a donor drive for Syria to encourage a peaceful transition following the ousting of former leader Bashar al-Assad. Western and regional powers participated in Monday’s one-day meeting in Brussels, chaired by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. Among all donors, the EU reported that 5.8 billion euros ($6.3bn) was pledged in ...
- Austria to allocate millions of euros to Ukraine for mine clearance and grain delivery
March 14, 2025
Vienna will allocate €5 million to Ukraine for mine clearance efforts and €2 million for grain delivery following a visit by Austria’s Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger to Kyiv on Friday 14 March. Meinl-Reisinger is reported to have arrived on a visit to Ukraine on 14 March. She announced that Austria will allocate €5 million to assist ...
- Ukraine agrees to proposal for ceasefire with Russia as US restores aid and intel sharing
March 11, 2025
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that Ukraine had accepted a 30-day ceasefire proposed by the United States, following critical peace talks between US and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia. The ceasefire proposal accepted by Ukraine covers the entire front line of the fighting with Russia, not just the air and sea, Zelensky said after the ...
- EU unveils $840 billion “ReArm Europe” plan to boost defense spending
March 4, 2025
European Union leadership announced a plan Tuesday to shore up the continent’s collective defense by significantly boosting military spending, hours after President Trump said the U.S. was suspending all its military aid to Ukraine. “We are in an era of rearmament,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told journalists on Tuesday while announcing the plan ...
- MAG receives £5.5m grant for Ukraine from Canadian government
March 4, 2025
MAG (Mines Advisory Group), the global landmine charity, is to receive a new grant of 10 million Canadian dollars (or £5.5m) to support its work in Ukraine until April 2026. The Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, announced a series of measures to support Ukraine while visiting Kyiv last week, including funding for humanitarian mine action. The ...
- Trump administration pauses U.S. military aid to Ukraine
March 3, 2025
The Trump administration has paused U.S. military aid to Ukraine, the White House confirmed Monday. Since Mr. Trump took office in January, $3.85 billion has been available in drawdown authority for weaponry that can be pulled from existing U.S. stockpiles and sent to Ukraine, U.S. officials previously told CBS News. But the Trump administration has not ...
- Vietnam: Japanese-funded bomb, mine clearance equipment project launched
March 2, 2025
A ceremony has been held in Hà Nội to announce the project for receiving bomb and mine clearance equipment funded by Japan for the Việt Nam National Mine Action Centre (VNMAC). Speaking at the February 28 event, Colonel Lê Quang Hợp, Deputy General Director of VNMAC, noted that the project would include the acquisition of four ...
- UK to intensify support for Ukraine with £2.26 billion loan to bolster defences
March 1, 2025
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said he will intensify efforts to support Ukraine with a £2.26 billion loan to bolster its defences. The announcement comes as European leaders are set to meet in London for a summit on Sunday to round off a week of intense diplomatic talks, including feisty discussions between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ...
- Supporting Ukraine to build a mine-free future
March 1, 2025
Together with the government of the Netherlands and local partners, UNOPS is working to enhance Ukraine’s capacity to eliminate the threat of explosive ordnance. February 2025 – UNOPS procured and delivered a mechanical clearance machine for Ukraine’s State Special Transport Service (SSTS). Operated remotely, the machine protects the operator from exposure to explosives and increases the speed ...
- Ukraine needs almost US$30 billion for mine clearance
February 27, 2025
Ukraine requires US$29.8 billion to clear the war-affected areas of landmines and other explosive ordnance. Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy, citing an assessment by the Fourth Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA4) conducted by the World Bank, the government of Ukraine, the European Union and the United Nations. The Ministry of Economy has lowered the estimated cost ...
- Pakistan: Faisalabad, Multan airports to get advanced screening system
February 27, 2025
The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) will instal state-of-the-art explosive detection system (EDS) CT machines along with an advanced baggage handling system at Karachi, Multan, and Faisalabad airports. A spokesperson for the PAA said on Wednesday that the project was being implemented with Japanese grant through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Read more… Source: The Nation News Sign up ...
- UK hikes defense spending to 2.5 percent by cutting aid
February 25, 2025
The United Kingdom will increase defense spending to 2.5 percent of GDP from 2027 by cutting the international development budget, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Tuesday. Starmer was speaking ahead of his visit to Washington, D.C. to meet United States President Donald Trump later this week. The government pledged to reach 2.5 percent spending on defense ...
- UK announces its largest aid package for Ukraine
February 24, 2025
The United Kingdom will deliver its largest-ever aid package to Ukraine, amounting to £4.5 billion ($5.69 billion). At the same time, London will introduce a new package of sanctions against Russia, RBC-Ukraine reports, citing UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “We must strengthen Ukraine even more to guarantee lasting peace, not just a pause in this war. ...
- Government of Japan commits over $500,000 to MAG Vietnam
February 24, 2025
A new grant agreement worth $503,597 USD (equivalent to VND 12.5 billion) was signed today between the Government of Japan, represented by His Excellency Ambassador ITO Naoki, and MAG Vietnam to support mine action efforts in Quang Binh province. Since 2015, funding from Japan has enabled MAG to clear over 25 km² of contaminated land, respond ...
- Zimbabwe appeals for more donor funding to complete landmine clearance
February 19, 2025
Zimbabwe on Tuesday appealed for more donor funding to complete the clearance of landmines in some parts of the country. Defense Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri made the call at a dialogue on demining held in Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital, which was attended by various Zimbabwean government and defense officials as well as representatives of the international donor community. “It ...
- Ukraine’s minefields must be a priority at Munich meeting
February 15, 2025
Clearing the deadly debris of war should be a key goal of delegates at the Munich Security Conference, the head of the world’s largest landmine clearance charity, The HALO Trust, said today. HALO CEO and former British General James Cowan: “From the vast grainfields of Ukraine to the former front lines in Syria, removing landmines builds ...
- UK to allocate US$5.5 bn in military aid to Ukraine this year
February 12, 2025
UK Defence Secretary John Healey has announced that Britain will provide £4.5 billion (approx. US$5.5 billion) in military aid to Ukraine in 2025. Healey at a Ramstein-format meeting on Wednesday, 12 February, as reported by European Pravda. Healey told the Ukraine Defence Contact Group that 2025 is a “critical year” for the war in Ukraine.The UK ...
- Cambodia: Hit by US aid crunch, demining struggles to continue
February 10, 2025
Although the suspension of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has impacted demining activities in Cambodia, mine clearance operations continue with financial support from the government and partners. Senior Minister Ly Thuch hoped the funds from USAID will resume. “Clearance of landmines, cluster munitions, and other explosive remnants of war (ERW) in Cambodia continues ...
- Cambodia does not receive direct aid from USAID for mine clearance – CMAA
February 9, 2025
The Cambodian government, through the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA), has clarified that the Kingdom does not receive direct funding from USAID. Instead, it receives funding from the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement of the US State Department, which provides support to demining organisations in Cambodia. A press release from the CMAA, ...
- Vietnam: Mine clearance workers halt operations in war-torn Quang Tri province
February 8, 2025
The Quang Tri Mine Action Center (QTMAC) confirmed on February 8 that approximately 1,000 mine clearance workers from three non-governmental organisations – Mines Advisory Group (MAG), Norwegian People’s Aid/Renew (NPA/RENEW), and PeaceTrees Vietnam (PTVN) – were affected by the US government’s decision. These organizations rely heavily on funding from the US government. In a letter sent ...
- Cambodia: Japan allocates $1.3 mil for mine, UXO clearance
February 6, 2025
The Japanese government has committed $1,302,539 to support mine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance efforts in Cambodia under the Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects. The grant contract was signed between the Japanese Ambassador to Cambodia Atsushi Ueno, and a representative of the recipient organisation during a ceremony at the Japanese Embassy. The funding will support ...