Posts

Things to know about the UN special rapporteur sanctioned by the US

  A U.N. special rapporteur has been   sanctioned by the United States   over her work as an independent investigator scrutinizing human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories, with Washington decrying what it called a “campaign of political and economic warfare” against the U.S. and Israel. Francesca Albanese is a high-profile member of a group of experts chosen by the 47-member U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva. They report to the body as a means of monitoring human rights records in various countries and the global observance of specific rights. Special rapporteurs don’t represent the U.N. and have no formal authority. Still, their reports can step up pressure on countries, while their findings inform prosecutors at the International Criminal Court and other venues working on transnational justice cases. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement announcing sanctions against Albanese on Wednesday that she “has spewed unabashed antisemitism, express...
Post a Comment
Read more

Gaza's largest functioning hospital facing disaster, medics warn, as Israel widens offensive

Image
  Doctors have warned of an imminent disaster at Gaza's largest functioning hospital because of critical shortage of fuel and a widening Israeli ground offensive in the southern city of Khan Younis. Nasser Medical Complex was forced to stop admitting patients on Thursday, when witnesses said Israeli troops and tanks advanced into a cemetery 200m (660ft) away and fired towards nearby camps for displaced families. The forces reportedly withdrew on Friday after digging up several areas. Medical staff and dozens of patients in intensive care remain inside the hospital, where the fuel shortage threatens to shut down life-saving services. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. However, it said on Friday morning that an armoured brigade was operating in Khan Younis to dismantle "terrorist infrastructure sites" and confiscate weapons> It has previously issued evacuation orders for the areas around the hospital. A witness told the BBC that Israeli tanks accom...
Post a Comment
Read more

Children queuing for supplements killed in Israeli strike in Gaza, hospital says

Image
  At least 15 Palestinians, including eight children and two women, have been killed in an Israeli strike while queuing for nutritional supplements in front of a clinic in central Gaza, a hospital says. Video from al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah showed the bodies of several children and others lying on the floor as medics treated their wounds. US-based aid group Project Hope, which runs the clinic, said the attack was a blatant violation of international law. The Israeli military said it struck a "Hamas terrorist" and regretted any harm to civilians. They were among 66 people reportedly killed in Israeli strikes on Thursday, as Israel and Hamas continued talks on a ceasefire deal. Despite optimism expressed by the US, which is acting as a mediator along with Qatar and Egypt, they do not so far seem to be close to a breakthrough. Project Hope said Thursday morning's strike in front of its Altayara health clinic in Deir al-Balah happened as patients had gathered o...
Post a Comment
Read more

Kurdish PKK burns guns in big step towards ending Turkey conflict

Image
  After four decades of armed struggle against the Turkish state, the outlawed Kurdish PKK has held a ceremony to mark a symbolic first step in laying down its arms. About 30 fighters, men and women, placed their weapons in a cauldron, starting a disarmament process expected to last all summer. The Turkish government has hailed the ceremony as crossing a "critical threshold" towards achieving a "terror-free Turkey". Some 40,000 people have been killed since the conflict began, and the PKK is listed as a terror group in Turkey, the US, EU and UK. Its disarmament will be felt not just in Turkey but in Iraq, Syria and Iran. How did the disarmament begin? A convoy of reporters and politicians, including members of Turkey's pro-Kurdish opposition Dem party, were taken to a well known tourist spot to witness the ceremony - at Jasana cave 50km (30 miles) north-west of the city of Suleymaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan. The PKK fighters, including four high-ranking officials, ...
Post a Comment
Read more