Tag Archives: Egypt

Netanyahu is unlikely to listen to the West’s growing unease

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The Israeli leader is emboldened by a hard-right coalition and frustrated with calls for humanitarian pause in Gaza

By Paul Rogers. Published 10-30-2023 by openDemocracy

Photo: UN Human Rights/X

Within a week of the 7 October atrocities, numerous Israeli Defence Force (IDF) units had converged on southern Israel close to Gaza. A major ground offensive was expected to start within days but the actual deployments into Gaza have not so far been substantial.

Possible factors in the delays included US president Joe Biden’s unexpected visit to Israel, negotiations with Hamas on hostage releases, and an announcement from the Pentagon that additional US air defence systems will be sent to the region. These are not specifically for Israel’s use but are primarily to offer additional protection to US personnel in bases in Iraq, Syria, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere. Drone and rocket attacks against some US bases have increased in the past two weeks, especially in Iraq, and many more are expected when the IDF starts a ground assault.

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Hundreds of Thousands March in London Demanding ‘End to War on Gaza’

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The large-scale demonstration in the U.K. occurred as paltry levels of humanitarian aide were finally allowed through the southern border of Gaza, but nowhere near enough given the scale of death and destruction.

By Jon Queally. Published 10-21-2023 by Common Dreams

People take part in a ‘March For Palestine,’ in London on October 21, 2023, to “demand an end to the war on Gaza.” Photo: Hope Worsdale/X

Organizers and participants said hundreds of thousands of people were in the streets of central London on Saturday to demand an immediate cease-fire in Gaza as the Israeli military continued its bombardment of the besieged enclave a full two weeks after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.

Organized by a coalition that includes the Solidarity Campaign, Friends of Al-Aqsa, Stop the War Coalition, Muslim Association of Britain, Palestinian Forum in Britain, and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, the march also called for Israel to “end its occupation of Palestinian land and apartheid rule over the Palestinian people.”

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Egypt Announces Regional Summit as UN Warns of ‘Full-Scale Civil War’ in Sudan

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News of the upcoming meeting in Cairo followed U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres’ warning that an ongoing armed conflict in Sudan could destabilize “the entire region.”

By Kenny Stancil. Published 7-9-2023 by Common Dreams

Internally displaced people in South Sudanese province of Upper Nile. Photo: UNMISS

Egypt announced Sunday that it plans to host a summit of Sudan’s neighbors on July 13 to discuss how they might help broker an end to the 12-week battle between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF)—an ongoing conflict that has exacerbated humanitarian crises in North Africa.

News of Thursday’s meeting in Cairo came after United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned—in a Saturday statement issued by his deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq—that intensified fighting between the two factions “has pushed Sudan to the brink of a full-scale civil war, potentially destabilizing the entire region.”

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Years Behind Schedule, US Destroys Last Chemical Weapons Stockpile

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“Honestly, I never thought this day would come,” said the head of the citizens advisory commission overseeing the destruction.

By Brett Wilkins. Published 7-7-2023 by Common Dreams

U.S. Army troops in protective gear destroy 155mm projectile shells containing deadly VX nerve agent at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant in Kentucky in May 2021. (Photo: U.S. Army)

The White House announced Friday that the United States has destroyed what remains of its once-massive military chemical weapons arsenal, while vowing to “prevent the stockpiling, production, and use” of the internationally banned weapons of mass destruction.

“For more than 30 years, the United States has worked tirelessly to eliminate our chemical weapons stockpile. Today, I am proud to announce that the United States has safely destroyed the final munition in that stockpile—bringing us one step closer to a world free from the horrors of chemical weapons,” President Joe Biden said in a statement.

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‘Utterly Absurd’: Rich Nations Spending Climate Dollars on Coal Projects and Chocolate Shops

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“Essentially, whatever they call climate finance is climate finance,” said one developing nation’s lead climate negotiator.

By Brett Wilkins. Published 6-2-2023 by Common Dreams

Activists including members of frontline communities protest Japanese financing of international fossil fuel projects including coal plants in Matarbari, Bangladesh and Indramayu, Indonesia on October 4, 2021 in Tokyo. (Photo: @market_forces/Twitter)

Wealthy nations are spending money under the guise of “climate finance” to fund projects that have little or nothing to do with tackling the climate crisis and—as in the case of three Japanese-backed coal plants—are sometimes fueling the planetary emergency, according to a Reuters investigation published Thursday.

While media outlets including Reuters have recently reported that rich countries are on track—albeit long overdue—to finally meet their 2009 pledge to invest $100 billion annually in climate financing by 2020, the new Reuters investigation shows that governments are funding climate-harming projects and counting the expenditures toward their giving total.

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