Stressing the gravity of the situation, the UN chief
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan...
told participants at a Tuesday meeting to raise $8.4 billion (7.9 billion euros) this year for Syrian aid efforts, that four out of five Syrians are living in poverty.
"I am pleased to announce the pledging of $500 million from Kuwait's government and private sectors to support the humanitarian efforts in Syria," Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah said as he opened the conference.
"We are meeting here to face the biggest humanitarian catastrophe in the modern history of mankind," the emir said, calling on global powers to find a political solution to a civil war now in its fifth year.
He urged the UN Security Council, especially the five permanent members, to "abandon differences and find a political solution to the destructive conflict".