Battles rock Gaza City after mass evacuation order
US President Joe Biden said that US diplomats were making "progress" with international mediators towards a ceasefire and stressed that...Geostrategy
‘Enough’: Israeli protesters demand Gaza truce
Large protests, also demanding elections, have taken place across Israel's commercial hub every Saturday night, with smaller ones throughout the...Geostrategy
MSF suspends ‘vital’ medical aid from Iraq’s Mosul
Mosul, Iraq -- Medical charity Doctors Without Borders announced Wednesday the suspension of "vital" medical activities in two hospitals in the...Doctors Without Borders blamed Iraq's bureaucracy of delaying the delivery of supplies to two health facilities.
The group's activities are crucial for the major city in northern Iraq, where the healthcare sector is struggling to recover from years of war and neglect.
All voices must be heard in transition, sustainability debates: OPEC
Secretary-General of OPEC Haitham Al Ghais, speaking at the 8th OPEC International Seminar in Vienna, reiterated the organization's keenness to...Ghaith said the concept of sustainability relates to how we fulfil the needs of current generations without compromising the needs of future generations.
He asserted the importance of oil in the global energy mix and the industry's primary role in reducing carbon emissions.
Israeli army calls off operation that killed 12 Palestinians in Jenin
The raid, Israel's biggest military operation in years in the West Bank, employed hundreds of troops as well as drone...The Israeli military launched the raid on the Jenin refugee camp early on Monday under the orders of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right government
Israeli military said its forces had dismantled six explosives manufacturing facilities and three operational situation rooms in Jenin, and confiscated large quantities of weapons
Violence in Israel, West Bank ‘must stop’: UN rights chief
"The recent operation in the occupied West Bank and car ramming attack in Tel Aviv worryingly underscore an all too...Turk said some of the methods and weapons used in the Jenin raid "are more generally associated with the conduct of hostilities in armed conflict, rather than law enforcement"
Christian Lindmeier, spokesman for the UN's WHO, said that the destruction of infrastructure, including roads in Jenin, was restricting access for medical teams
Iraqi president presses for closer trade and energy ties with Iran
Baghdad, Iraq-- Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid has emphasized the need for reinforcing partnership with Iran in the fields of...Iraq's president highlighted the importance of forging closer ties with Iran in a meeting with an Iranian delegation visiting Baghdad
He applauded Iran for the restoration of ties with countries in the Middle East and the resumption of diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia
Libyan army commander warns of action over unequal oil revenue
Crude is the main revenue source for Libya, which has been torn by more than a decade of stop-start conflict,...Khalifa Haftar, military head of Libyan eastern command, said "a deadline at the end of August for this committee to complete its mission".
Haftar said a committee must be established "to put in place financial arrangements with a view to fair management of public funds" and oil revenues
France seeks answers as Macron declares riots ‘peak’ passed
At a meeting of more than 300 mayors, whose municipalities suffered damages, Macron said, "Is it a permanent return to..."I came to hear the president give us a vision, set a course. I didn't come for a group therapy session," complained Zartoshte Bakhtiari, mayor of Neuilly-sur-Marne east of Paris.
"It pays to kill a young Arab," tweeted Manon Aubry, a European Parliament deputy, reacting to online collection of $1.5m for the policeman who shot dead Nahel M.
Israeli assault: ICRC calls for protection of civilians in Jenin
Civilians and civilian objects must be respected and protected. The Israeli security forces must in particular ensure that the population...The spiral of violence seen in the first six months of 2023 has led to heightened tensions and a worrying deterioration in the humanitarian situation in the West Bank.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk said the Israeli forces in the West Bank needed to abide by international human rights standards on the use of force.
Egypt, Turkey appoint ambassadors after a decade
Egypt and Turkey said they had appointed ambassadors to each others' countries for the first time in a decade, in...Cairo and Ankara both issued statements announcing "the upgrading of diplomatic relations between them to the level of ambassadors".
Relations were severed a decade ago when Sisi, then Egypt's defense minister, ousted the Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, an ally of Turkey.
Urgent UN Human Rights Council session to discuss Quran burning
A Quran was burnt outside the Swedish capital's main mosque on Wednesday, triggering a diplomatic backlash across the Muslim world....The Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council, which is meeting in session until July 14, will change its agenda to stage an urgent debate, following a request from Pakistan.
There are 47 members of the Human Rights Council. The UN's top rights body is currently in the second of its three regular sessions per year.
