By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 9 December 2024 (IDN) — The overnight ouster of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, who fought a relentless battle against home-grown rebels, has generated a positive but cautious response from the highest echelons of the United Nations. In a statement immediately following Assad’s ouster on December 8, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres […]
Syria: UN Relocates Non-critical Staff — Report Unveils Torture in Detention Centres
By J Nastranis NEW YORK | 8 December 2024 (IDN) — More than 300,000 people have been displaced in northwest Syria in recent days following the sudden and massive offensive into Government-controlled areas led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is sanctioned by the UN Security Council as a terrorist group. According to the United […]
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Right to Statehood or Recipe for Next Inferno
By Dr Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK | 7 December 2024 (IDN) — Trump, who wants an end to the Israeli-Hamas war even before he reassumes the Presidency, must know that denying the Palestinian right to statehood and conceding further Palestinian land in the West Bank and Gaza to Israel is a recipe for the next […]
UNHCR Hits a Record USD 1.5 Billion in Early Funding to Support Refugees
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 4 December 2024 (IDN) — As humanitarian emergencies in the Middle East and Africa keep escalating—including in Gaza, Lebanon, Sudan and most recently in Syria—there was a glimmer of hope to millions starved of food and deprived of shelter and medication in war zones. According to the Office of […]
Lebanon: Can Diplomacy Rise from the Ruins?
By Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies* NEW YORK | 4 December 2024 (IDN) — On 26 November, Israel and Lebanon signed an agreement for a 60-day truce, during which Israel and Hezbollah are both supposed to withdraw from the area of Lebanon south of the Litani River. The agreement is based on the […]
Relief Deliveries to Gaza and Syria Halted — Yet Another Summit Seeks to Combat Desertification
NEW YORK | 3 December 2024 (IDN) — While organized looting has constrained UNRWA to pause relief deliveries to Palestinian refugees, the sudden escalation of fighting in Syria’s northwest is continuing to impact aid deliveries there. Meanwhile, UN summit has got underway in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to combat desertification, drought and promote land restoration, writes […]
Criminal Court Arrest Warrant for Netanyahu Implies Indicment of US Complicity
By Jeffrey D. Sachs* This article was published in Common Dreams and is being republished with the author’s permission. NEW YORK | 21 November 2024 (IDN) — It’s official now. America’s closest ally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the one accorded more than 50 standing ovations in Congress just months ago, is under indictment by […]
US, Under Fire, for Vetoing Resolutions Demanding Ceasefire in Gaza
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 20 November 2024 (IDN) — The US veto on a Security Council (UNSC) resolution—demanding an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza—was highly predictable. The resolution, which was vetoed November 20, also called for the release of all hostages and full humanitarian access for civilians. Since 1945, a total […]
A New Report Finds Israel’s Warfare Methods in Gaza Consistent with Genocide
By J Nastranis NEW YORK |14 November 2024 (IDN) — A UN Special Committee has found that Israel’s warfare in Gaza is consistent with the characteristics of genocide, with mass civilian casualties and life-threatening conditions intentionally imposed on Palestinians there. The report of The United Nations Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human […]
A Chabad House in Arugam Bay: Bringing Gaza Home?
By Tisaranee Gunasekara* “Gaza was the first time I held a baby’s brains in my hand. The first of many.” — Dr Mark Perlmutter, orthopaedic and hand surgeon (Open letter from American medical professionals who served in Gaza https://www.gazahealthcareletters.org/usa-letter-oct-2-2024) COLOMBO, Sri Lanka | 10 November 2024 (IDN) — Last December, a group of ultra-religious Israeli soldiers […]