US blocks UN Security Council demand for Gaza ceasefire

December 9, 2023

The United States kept up pressure on Israel to do more to protect Palestinian civilians during a fierce offensive against Hamas militants across Gaza, even as Washington vetoed a UN Security Council demand for an immediate ceasefire, Reuters reports. Fighting escalated and the Palestinian death toll rose on Friday, with Israel pounding the enclave from […]Continue Reading

President Abbas: Peace conference a must to end Israel Gaza war

December 9, 2023

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Friday an international peace conference is a necessity to end the war in Gaza and to work out a lasting political solution that would lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state, Reuters reports. In an interview with Reuters at his office in Ramallah, Abbas, 87, said the conflict […]Continue Reading

Thailand, Myanmar to form aid task force as border unrest intensifies

December 9, 2023

Thailand and conflict-torn Myanmar will create a task force to boost humanitarian assistance to people displaced by fighting and could expand that to include other aid agencies, Thailand’s foreign ministry said on Friday, Reuters reports. Thailand hopes the plan will lead to constructive engagement between military-ruled Myanmar, the Association of Southeast Asian Continue Reading

Bodies of Myanmar resistance fighters slain near India border town show signs of torture

December 9, 2023

A column of junta troops preparing to retake Sagaing Region’s Khampat Town arrested and stabbed dead four resistance fighters who were guarding one of its entrances on Tuesday, The Irrawaddy reports. Photos of the deceased showed knife wounds as well as signs of torture. The strategic town on the border with India is on the […]Continue Reading

Myanmar junta asks China to pressure Brotherhood Alliance to end offensive

December 8, 2023

When junta foreign minister Than Swe met his Chinese counterpart in Beijing on Wednesday, he asked China to use its influence over the Three Brotherhood Alliance to encourage it to stop fighting and enter peace talks with the regime, sources said, The Irrawaddy reports. Than Swe held direct talks with Wang Yi on Wednesday after […]Continue Reading

Indonesians protest against Rohingya refugees, clash with police

December 8, 2023

More than one hundred Indonesians protested Wednesday against Rohingya refugees who arrived on a western island by boat last week, calling for them to be relocated and clashing with police, AFP reports. The mostly Muslim Rohingya are heavily persecuted in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, and thousands risk their lives each year on sea journeys to try and […]Continue Reading

Many wars, but nothing like this: Gaza man describes hunger and rage

December 8, 2023

People so hungry they break into UN warehouses to take whatever they can find. Children terrified of the noise of air strikes. Families using sea water to wash. Men cutting down trees in cemeteries to use as fuel to bake bread, Reuters reports. And in the morning, on days when the phones work, calls to […]Continue Reading

US criticises Israel on Gaza civilian toll as UN to hear ceasefire demand

December 8, 2023

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in his strongest public criticism of Israel’s conduct of the war on Hamas in south Gaza, said there was a gap between the government’s declared intentions to protect civilians and the casualties, Reuters reports. “As we stand here almost a week into this campaign into the south … it […]Continue Reading

Thailand, Myanmar to form aid task force as border unrest intensifies

December 8, 2023

Thailand and conflict-torn Myanmar will create a task force to boost humanitarian assistance to people displaced by fighting and could expand that to include other aid agencies, Thailand’s foreign ministry said on Friday, Reuters reports. Thailand hopes the plan will lead to constructive engagement between military-ruled Myanmar, the Association of Southeast Asian Continue Reading

US announces visa bans after warning Israel over West Bank violence

December 7, 2023

The US on Tuesday began imposing visa bans on people involved in violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Washington officials said, after several appeals for Israel to do more prevent violence by Jewish settlers, Reuters reports. A new State Department visa restriction policy targets “individuals believed to have been involved in undermining peace, security, or Continue Reading