06/19/2013 04:22 GMT

by Omar Ibrahim

TRIPOLI, June 19, 2013 (AFP) - Forced by Syria's war to sit her secondary school diploma exam in northern Lebanon, Riham Othman, 19, bursts into tears, fearing the Lebanese authorities will never recognise the test results.

Worse still, she dreads her dream of becoming a journalist may also never come true.

Her eyes fixed on the desk, Othman's anxiety is written all over her face.

"I know that when I finish my tests, no university will accept me," says Othman, who lost a year of schooling to Syria's war.

Ibrahim Barbour is 63 years old. He lives in the poor Nabaa neighborhood of Beirut. He had his first heart surgery in 2000, the second in 2008. Since then, he takes five different kinds of medicine per day. Missing out on one of them could cause yet another heart attack “We don’t have any health insurance. Without the help of the medical center, I don’t think we could make it.” Every other week, Ibrahim and his wife visit the Medico-Social Center of the Greek Orthodox Church to receive his medicine–every other week for 13 years.

GAZIANTEP – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has received a generous contribution of €15 million (US$20 million) from the Government of Germany that will help provide critical food assistance to tens of thousands of Syrian refugees who fled the fighting in Syria. The latest contribution brings total German support to WFP’s Syria emergency operations to close to €25 million (US$33 million).

The crisis in Syria has generated a refugee flow of catastrophic proportions. The current figure of over 1.6 million registered refugees in the region is expected to swell to 3.45 million by the end of the year. With thousands of new refugees arriving in neighboring countries every day, the scale of humanitarian need is overwhelming host communities and exacerbating economic, political, and sectarian tensions throughout the region.

FAO seeks USD 30.1 million, within the framework of the Regional Response Plan 5, to address critical needs in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey resulting from the crisis in Syria.

This $300 million in additional humanitarian aid from the United States will increase food aid, medical care, clean water, and provide shelter and other relief supplies for families suffering in Syria and neighboring countries.

HIGHLIGHTS

• President Obama announces more than $300 million in additional USG humanitarian assistance for conflict-affected Syrians

• U.N. documents 93,000 deaths as a result of the crisis

• Access remains limited to Al Qusayr and surrounding areas

17 June 2013

Enniskillen, Northern Ireland