By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — The Saudi-led airstrikes in Yemen on January 21, which killed at least 70 civilians, has shifted the focus once again to the festering seven-year-old conflict in the Middle East, which the UN has described as “the world’s worst humanitarian disaster”. The disproportionate retaliation was a response to a […]
Middle East Nuclear-Weapons-Free Zone, Long Elusive, is Making Progress, say Experts
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — A longstanding proposal for a nuclear-weapons-free zone in the politically and militarily volatile Middle East remains elusive. Since 1967, five nuclear-weapon-free zones (NWFZ) have been established worldwide—in Latin America and the Caribbean, South Pacific, Southeast Asia, Africa and Central Asia. Speaking at the second “UN Conference on the […]
The Future of Iran Nuclear Deal Remains Uncertain
By Kelsey Davenport, Julia Masterson, and Sang-Min Kim While Kelsey Davenport is director for nonproliferation policy, Julia Masterson is research associate, and Sang-Min Kim is Scoville Fellow at the Arms Control Association. This article first appeared in Arms Control Now of the Association on August 11, 2021. WAHINGTON, DC (IDN) — Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi […]
Germany’s Public Prosecutor Files Charges Against A Syrian Doctor
Torture in Syrian military hospital By Rita Joshi BERLIN/KARLSRUHE (IDN) — The German Federal Prosecutor’s Office announced on July 28 that it has filed charges under the principle of universal jurisdiction against Alaa M, a Syrian doctor who fled to Germany. M is accused in 18 cases of torturing people and subsequently killing one of […]
UNRWA Chief Presents a Heart-Rending Account of the Palestinians’ Plight
By Radwan Jakeem NEW YORK (IDN) — The Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has informed the Security Council of the humanitarian plight of Palestine refugees as affected by the recent Israel-Hamas conflict.
DON’T QUOTE ME: Do US Politicians Run for Seats in The Israeli Knesset?
By Thalif Deen NEW YORK (IDN)— When I walked out of a polling booth after voting in one of the US Senatorial elections in New York city several years ago, I was accosted by a reporter and a cameraman for the Middle Eastern TV network Al Jazeera. The woman reporter, who was also a UN […]
Palestinian Refugees in a Critical Situation
By J Nastranis NEW YORK | GAZA (IDN) — The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has welcomed the ceasefire agreed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel on May 21 after more than ten days of rocket fire and airstrike exchanges between the warring parties that have killed more than 250 […]
DON’T QUOTE ME: Israel, Battling Palestinians, also Targets a Hostile Media
By Thalif Deen* NEW YORK (IDN) — The destruction of a 12-storeyed building in Gaza City on May 15—which was home to several news organizations including the Associated Press (AP) and Al-Jazeera—has triggered a loaded question: was it a deliberate Israeli airstrike to silence the media or was it an avoidable accident? Norman Solomon, Executive […]
Middle East Coordinator Calls for New and Timely Palestinian Election Date
By Radwan Jakeem NEW YORK (IDN) — A senior UN official in charge of the region has urged the Palestinian authorities to set a new date for heading to the polls, originally scheduled for May 22. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had announced the postponement of the planned parliamentary elections, amidst a dispute over voting rights in […]
Egyptian Feminist Writer, Activist and Physician Dies
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Over the course of a lifetime spent fighting for women’s rights and equality, Nawal El Saadawi inspired generations of women even while she faced threats against her life and imprisonment. Aged 89, she died on March 21 in a Cairo hospital after a long illness.