SAN DIEGO: Sirhan Sirhan was denied parole for fatally shooting Robert F. Kennedy after a confidante of the slain senator who was shot in the head forgave him and repeatedly apologized for not doing more to win his release.
Paul Schrade’s voice cracked with emotion during an hour of testimony on his efforts to untangle mysteries about the events of June 5, 1968. The 91-year-old former labor leader said he believed Sirhan shot him but that a second unidentified shooter felled Kennedy.
“I should have been here long ago and that’s why I feel guilty for not being here to help you and to help me,” Schrade said.
The men faced each other for the first time since Schrade testified at Sirhan’s 1969 trial. Schrade apologized for not going to any of Sirhan’s 14 previous parole hearings.
As Sirhan left, Schrade shouted, “Sirhan, I’m so sorry this is happening to you. It’s my fault.”
Sirhan, who had nodded politely when the victim addressed him, tried to shake hands with Schrade but a guard blocked him.
Commissioners concluded after more than three hours of intense testimony at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Center that Sirhan did not show adequate remorse or understand the enormity of his crime.
Sirhan, who is serving a life sentence that was commuted from death when the California Supreme Court briefly outlawed capital punishment in 1972, will next be eligible for parole in five years.
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Kennedy assassin denied parole
Kennedy assassin denied parole
UN warns 200,000 more Afghan children face acute malnutrition in 2026
“Acute malnutrition among children is soaring,” WFP’S Country Director John Aylieff said
Some 200,000 additional children face acute malnutrition this year
GENEVA: Hundreds of thousands more children face acute malnutrition in Afghanistan this year amid a hunger crisis exacerbated by foreign aid cuts and violence on the border with Pakistan, a UN official said on Tuesday.
International aid to Afghanistan has fallen sharply since 2021, when US-led forces exited the country and the Taliban regained power. The crisis has been compounded by natural calamities including earthquakes.
“Acute malnutrition among children is soaring. Last year we saw the highest surge ever recorded in Afghanistan, and this year, a staggering 3.7 million children will need malnutrition treatment,” the World Food Programme’s Country Director John Aylieff told a Geneva press briefing.
Some 200,000 additional children face acute malnutrition this year, he added.
Funding cuts mean the UN agency only has the resources to treat one in every four children needing treatment for acute malnutrition, Aylieff said.
Others do not even have the means to reach clinics, he said, voicing concerns that some are trapped by snowfall in remote highland areas.
Most children who die in Afghanistan do so “during the winter... at home silently,” he said.
“What I fear is when the snow is melted at the end of March or in April, we will find there has been a very high toll of child deaths in the villages.”
Expulsion policies in neighboring Pakistan and Iran have resulted in over 5 million returnees since late 2023, further straining limited resources, Aylieff said.
Many of those returning to Afghanistan are close to areas where Pakistani and Afghan troops have clashed in recent days, forcing WFP to suspend some services there.
“We foresee that acute malnutrition will be driven up further by the conflict as people are prevented from accessing health services,” imperilling tens of thousands of children, said Aylieff.
Some 200,000 additional children face acute malnutrition this year
GENEVA: Hundreds of thousands more children face acute malnutrition in Afghanistan this year amid a hunger crisis exacerbated by foreign aid cuts and violence on the border with Pakistan, a UN official said on Tuesday.
International aid to Afghanistan has fallen sharply since 2021, when US-led forces exited the country and the Taliban regained power. The crisis has been compounded by natural calamities including earthquakes.
“Acute malnutrition among children is soaring. Last year we saw the highest surge ever recorded in Afghanistan, and this year, a staggering 3.7 million children will need malnutrition treatment,” the World Food Programme’s Country Director John Aylieff told a Geneva press briefing.
Some 200,000 additional children face acute malnutrition this year, he added.
Funding cuts mean the UN agency only has the resources to treat one in every four children needing treatment for acute malnutrition, Aylieff said.
Others do not even have the means to reach clinics, he said, voicing concerns that some are trapped by snowfall in remote highland areas.
Most children who die in Afghanistan do so “during the winter... at home silently,” he said.
“What I fear is when the snow is melted at the end of March or in April, we will find there has been a very high toll of child deaths in the villages.”
Expulsion policies in neighboring Pakistan and Iran have resulted in over 5 million returnees since late 2023, further straining limited resources, Aylieff said.
Many of those returning to Afghanistan are close to areas where Pakistani and Afghan troops have clashed in recent days, forcing WFP to suspend some services there.
“We foresee that acute malnutrition will be driven up further by the conflict as people are prevented from accessing health services,” imperilling tens of thousands of children, said Aylieff.
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