Erik Abild

– The situation for many of Norad’s partners is critical as a result of the sudden loss of US funding. It is important for Norad to be a principled and flexible donor, says Erik Ablid, head of the humanitarian department at Norad

Read the full story: www.development-today.com/archive/2025...

Hope. In a bit of dark times..

Because tomorrow, in the sunrise, there is hope. Although there is a darkness over Gaza that will never go away, along with all the light of the people who are gone forever.

The picture is from the roof where I lived in Gaza. That house is gone. Like most homes in Gaza are. Bombed, gone. But the sun is there. And the people. And maybe there will be more, new life in the streets there tomorrow.

And that is a hope that Norway and Norad will contribute to strengthening. We will support efforts to strengthen the humanity and infinite resilience that resides in the people of Gaza.

Norway and international aid organizations have also done some that has meant something for those who were reached. Nobody has done more than the organization and staff of UNRWA. Now a new phase may start. With new uncertainties, and endless needs. But also with hope.

All the Palestinian health workers, Gazan aid workers, teachers, farmers, aunts, siblings - all who who have taken care of each other. Shown each other humanity in the face of inhumanity.

But of course there is. The war has been so brutal, so inhumane, but it is humanity that has made people in Gaza strong enough to keep each other alive. Strength to endure, and to care of each other. They have shared. Cried together.

I feel a strong hope. But also fear and uncertainty. There is a government in Israel that has crossed some lines that make any future uncertain.

It is powerful to see the pictures from Gaza. All those who cry while celebrating. You could have thought that there weren’t any tears left.

Hope. There is strength in that word. Tonight, many people in Gaza are hoping. And in Israel - think how much the families have thought about those who were captured, and the hope they now have.

@crisisgroup.org just published a new report on #Syria 🇸🇾, ft. a 360-degree view of how Assad's fall will reshape relations, from Türkiye to Iran to the U.S. and more.

One of the entries focuses on the UN Security Council. A quick 🧵 on what we said. 👇

www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-...

china’s population…one of the more important charts you’ll see.

God wept.

The Syrian Regime Collapsed Gradually—And Then Suddenly Assad’s fall offers the possibility of change.

"As Hemingway once wrote of bankruptcy, the collapse of autocratic regimes tends to happen gradually and then suddenly—slowly, and then all at once." www.theatlantic.com/internationa...

november numbers are in: 2024 will officially be the hottest year on record
and first which global temperatures exceed 1.5 degrees celsius of warming

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order.

#booksky #bookchallenge

20/20

Last book is also the last I read on the list. A book that made me love reading, running and the mountains even more.(The Lovers /La felicità del Lupo)

Hunger and malnutrition have increased across Sudan since 2023, when the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces began battling for control reut.rs/3ZFzQaI 1/5

Nei til utvinning på havbunnen åpner mineralmuligheter i dagen Det var fornuftig å bremse planene om utvinning av havbunnsmineraler. Nå må fokuset rettes mot gjenvinning av sjeldne råmaterialer fra norsk industri, skriver Helene Falch Fladmark, daglig leder i Eyd...

Leder i Eyde-klyngen:
Det vil ta tiår før vi eventuelt kan utvinne mineraler fra havbunnen. Det er også forbundet med stor miljørisiko. Gjenvinning av materialer i dagen kan vi starte opp raskt.
#KampenOmDyphavet
www.altinget.no/klima/artikk...

The future is uncertain. But the past was hell.

All the first- and second-order consequences of Syria, the death and displacement, the way it warped the politics of countries near and far, in the end all just to buy a few more years for a regime that collapsed anyway under the weight of its own brutality and incompetence

Syrian opposition leader calls for 18 month transition period before elections Syria should have an 18 month transition period to establish "a safe, neutral, and quiet environment" for free elections, Hadi Al-Bahra, the head of Syria's main opposition abroad, said to Reuters on the sidelines of the Doha Forum on Sunday.

Hadi al-Bahra, the head of Syria's main overseas opposition group, calls for an 18-month transition period: six months to draft a new constitution (with a referendum on it), and then elections for whatever political system it spells out. www.reuters.com/world/middle...

Agree - a very interesting read. And it echoes things I’ve heard from you and @icvanetwork.bsky.social’s partners. Tough questions for INGOs, the UN and us donors.

Localisation doesn’t shift power. It deepens international dominance. Trying harder to localise aid will replicate the same results. Trying something new is the greater challenge.

This is one of the most interesting reads on localsation in the sector for a while. www.thenewhumanitarian.org/opinion/2024...

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order.

#booksky #bookchallenge

19/20

A book about the Viking settlement in Greenland - so far away, yet a stirringly alive book about nature, love and life. A fabulous book.

Homs City is under full rebel control.

The remaining regime positions in the east and south will likely fall the next hours, the latest tomorrow.

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order.

#booksky #bookchallenge

18/20

First book I read after my paternal grandfather died. He had another favorite by Hamsun (Victoria), but I will never forget reading this. Or him.

Thanks! Seems right - didn’t find him when I searched, but again: thank you!

Ok, Twitter still seems to have more and faster updates on #Syria then here on Bluesky, and although this is already 1 day old, it is very interesting. Talking about fast: Who knows how it will look in 1 day from now..

x.com/charles_list...

What Actually Mattered This Week: South Korea’s (Brief) Descent into Martial Law 🔔 Want to stay updated on global politics every weekday? Subscribe to GZERO Daily to get the news delivered straight to your inbox. WHAT ACTUALLY MATTERED THIS WEEK The Six Hours of Chaos That Dragged...

what should you take away from south korea's flirtation with martial law?

it will remain a democracy thanks to the strength of its institutions

The world’s hunger watchdog warned of catastrophe in Sudan. Famine struck anyway. Here’s how the world’s hunger monitoring-and-response system is supposed to work – and why it’s not achieving its mission.

NEWS: Today we take a graphics-driven, deep dive into the failures that led to famine at Zamzam IDP camp. www.reuters.com/graphics/FAM...