Renewed fighting in Syria leaves thousands internally displaced
NewsFeed Thousands of people are displaced in Syria after intense fighting between opposition groups and government forces. Published On 2 Dec 20242 Dec 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Negotiators fail to agree on UN treaty to curb global plastic pollution
As the threat from plastic pollution mounts, countries could only agree to postpone negotiations to a later date. Countries negotiating a global treaty to curb plastic pollution have failed to reach an agreement, with more than 100 nations advocating for a cap on plastic production and a handful of oil-producing countries only willing to target plastic waste. The fifth United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) meeting in Busan, South Korea was intended to be the final session. It was hoped the meeting would produce a legally binding global treaty. If successful, it would have marked the most significant global climate pledge since the Paris Climate Accords in 2015, but the group of nations could only agree on Sunday to postpone negotiations to a later date. Saudi Arabia, in particular, was accused of standing in the way. The country strongly opposed efforts to reduce plastic production and used procedural tactics to delay progress. “It is clear that there is still persistent divergence,” Inger Andersen, executive director of the UN Environment Programme, told the Reuters news agency. One plan that received significant international support was proposed by Panama on Thursday. If adopted, it would have established a pathway for a global production reduction target, but it did not specify what that target would look like. Another proposal did not mention production caps at all. Panama’s delegation head, Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez, lambasted the postponement of negotiations. “Every day of delay is a day against humanity,” he said. “Postponing negotiations does not postpone the crisis.” Based on current trends, plastic production is on track to triple by 2050. “Every day that governments allow polluters to continue flooding the world with plastic, we all pay the price. This delay comes with dire consequences for people and the planet, ruthlessly sacrificing those on the front lines of this crisis,” Graham Forbes, Greenpeace’s delegation head to the global plastics treaty, said in a statement. “This week, over 100 member states, representing billions of people, rejected a toothless deal that would have accomplished nothing and stood before the world committing to an ambitious treaty. Now, it’s time they stand by this promise and deliver.” The environmental group GAIA told Reuters that “there is little assurance that the next INC will succeed where INC-5 did not”. The postponement comes just days after the turbulent conclusion of the 29th UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan. At COP29, countries pledged $300bn annually to address climate change. However, this plan fell far short of the $1.3 trillion requested by developing nations, which are disproportionately affected by the climate crisis. Adblock test (Why?)
Georgia protests spread as prime minister dismisses call for new elections
Demonstrators in Georgia have taken to the streets for a fourth night in growing protests against the government’s decision to suspend talks on joining the European Union. The protests on Sunday topped months of tensions fuelled by critics of the ruling Georgian Dream party, which some charge has moved the country away from its path towards greater integration with Europe and instead towards Russia. The unrest kicked into overdrive after the government last week announced it would freeze EU talks for four years. Protesters have further condemned the police response – which has included the use of tear gas and water cannon – as excessive. On Sunday, the outrage was further stoked by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s rejection of appeals to hold new parliamentary elections. When asked if the vote would be held again, he told reporters: “Of course not.” He added that “the formation of the new government based on the October 26 parliamentary elections has been completed.” Still, the opposition continues to condemn the vote. President Salome Zurabishvili, who supports joining the EU, has asked the Constitutional Court to annul the election results and declared the new legislature and government “illegitimate”. Speaking to the AFP news agency on Saturday, Zurabishvili, whose term ends this month, said she would not step aside until the elections are rerun. Georgian Dream has nominated far-right former football international Mikheil Kavelashvili for the presidential post, which is largely ceremonial. Protests spread On Sunday, protesters again gathered in the capital, Tbilisi, predominantly on the central Rustaveli Avenue, with many waving EU and Georgian flags. Some wore diving masks to protect themselves against tear gas. But the demonstrations appeared to be spreading as Georgian media reported protests in at least eight cities and towns. In the Black Sea city of Poti, protesters blocked an access road to the country’s main commercial port, according to the Interpress news agency. Opposition TV channel Formula also showed footage of people in Khashuri, a town of 20,000 in central Georgia, throwing eggs at the local Georgian Dream office and tearing down the party’s flag. At least 150 protesters have been arrested across the country. Both the United States and EU – which have been vocal about concerns over the apparent lurch towards Russia – have voiced support for the protesters. On Saturday, the US said it was suspending a strategic partnership Washington maintains with Tbilisi, condemning the “excessive force used against Georgians exercising their freedom to protest”. Kobakhidze dismissed the move as a “temporary event” and said he would instead focus on the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office in January. The EU’s new foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, on Sunday also warned Georgian authorities over violence against demonstrators with France, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Poland, Sweden and Lithuania also voicing concern. Georgia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in turn, has accused the countries of seeking to “interfere in the functioning of the institutions of a sovereign state”. But from within the country, hundreds of public servants in government ministries have also issued joint statements protesting against Kobakhidze’s decision to suspend EU talks. More than 200 Georgian diplomats also criticised the suspension, saying it contradicted the constitution and would lead the country “into international isolation”. For its part, the Kremlin – which has long accused the West of fomenting revolution in former Soviet countries – has not directly commented on the protests. However, security official Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president, has claimed an attempted revolution was taking place. He wrote on Telegram that Georgia was “moving rapidly along the Ukrainian path, into the dark abyss. Usually this sort of thing ends very badly.” Georgia has leaned strongly towards Europe and the West since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Its move away from Moscow was hastened by a brief war with Russia in 2008. Last year, it became an official candidate for EU membership and has been promised eventual NATO membership. Adblock test (Why?)
US President Joe Biden pardons son Hunter despite pledging not to
BREAKINGBREAKING, Outgoing US president says his son was ‘selectively’ and ‘unfairly’ prosecuted due to his family name. United States President Joe Biden has pardoned his son Hunter ahead of his sentencing on gun and tax convictions despite a previous pledge not to use his presidential powers to grant him a reprieve. Biden said on Sunday that his son had been “singled out” and “selectively, and unfairly” prosecuted due to his family name. “There has been an effort to break Hunter – who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House. “In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough.” Biden’s decision comes weeks before Hunter Biden was set to face sentencing for a string of felonies related to making a false statement about his drug use during a gun background check and failing to pay at least $1.4m in taxes. The younger Biden had faced a maximum of 25 years in prison in the tax case and 17 years in the firearms case, though he would have almost certainly received much less severe punishment under sentencing guidelines. In justifying his decision, Biden said that people are “almost never” brought to trial for wrongly filling out a gun purchase form and that those who pay their taxes late usually receive “non-criminal resolutions”. “For my entire career I have followed a simple principle: just tell the American people the truth. They’ll be fair-minded. Here’s the truth: I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice – and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further,” Biden said. “I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision.” In June, Biden had flatly ruled out the possibility of granting his son a pardon or commuting his sentence. “I said I will abide by the jury decision. I will do that and I will not pardon him,” Biden had said. The White House had reiterated Biden’s intention not to pardon his son as recently as November 8, when press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters: “Our answer stands, which is no.” Adblock test (Why?)
Ding, Dommaraju tied after six games at World Chess Championship
Teen challenger Gukesh Dommaraju of India holds reigning champ Ding Liren after first week of competition. The 2024 World Chess Championship is finely poised after defending champion Ding Liren and teenage challenger Gukesh Dommaraju played out a thrilling 46-move draw in Singapore. The score is tied at three points each after six games, rounding off the first week of the 14-game series. Monday will be a rest day, and play resumes on Tuesday. Ding, a Chinese grandmaster, started strongly on Sunday, putting his 18-year-old Indian challenger on the defensive. But Dommaraju recovered to send the match down into a dramatic double-rook endgame with pawns strewn across the board. A threefold repetition after 46 moves from both players ended the game in a draw after more than four hours. The Indian rejected a chance to end the game in a draw earlier despite being worse off on the board and nearly paid for it. “I just thought there was still a lot of play left in the position, and I didn’t really see much danger for me,” Dommaraju told reporters after the match. “I wanted to play a longer game than just finishing at that point.” Ding, 32, who played with the white pieces, admitted he had let his advantage slip at critical moments. “That’s what I should improve in the next couple of games,” he said after the match. Ding defeated Dommaraju in game one on Monday before their second encounter ended in a draw. Dommaraju hit back by winning game three on Wednesday followed by draws in games four and five. There are 14 match days, and the first player to get 7.5 points is declared the winner. Tie-breaks will take place if the players are tied on seven points after 14 games. Dommaraju is the youngest player in history to compete in the World Chess Championship, and he is looking to surpass Garry Kasparov as the youngest undisputed world chess champion. He said on Sunday that he was happy to have rebounded from his first-game loss but added there is still a long way to the finish. “We are not even halfway through the event,” he said. Adblock test (Why?)
Death toll from sectarian violence in northwest Pakistan rises to 130
Violence has been ongoing in the region after gunmen opened fire on convoys carrying Shia pilgrims on November 21. Sectarian violence continued in Pakistan’s northwest over the weekend, killing at least 14 people and wounding 27 in the past 24 hours in the Kurram district, located in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the border with Afghanistan. This brings the death toll from fighting over the last 10 days to at least 130, with 200 people wounded, according to officials on Sunday. Violence has escalated in the region since November 21, when gunmen opened fire on convoys carrying Shia pilgrims. The attack killed 52 people, including women and children. No group has claimed responsibility for the assault. Kurram is the only district in Pakistan where Shia make up the majority of the population, in contrast to the rest of the country, where Sunnis are the majority. Waves of violence have been unfolding since July, when tensions between Shia and Sunni tribes flared over a land dispute. The Pakistani government has made efforts to ease tensions. On November 24, government officials brokered a seven-day ceasefire, but it failed to hold. This week’s death toll marks a significant escalation. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reported that 79 people were killed between July and October due to sectarian violence. Javed Ullah Mehsud, Kurram’s deputy commissioner, said talks are under way with tribal elders to negotiate a new ceasefire, and that security personnel have been deployed to enforce peace. The closure of the main highway connecting the city of Parachinar with the provincial capital Peshawar has resulted in shortages of basic necessities like food, fuel, and medicine. Despite the violence, Mehsud said authorities have restored internet and mobile services in the area. The fighting comes amid an already tense period in Pakistan, as violence surges across the country. In addition to the Shia-Sunni clashes in Kurram, at least 245 people have been killed in attacks and clashes nationwide in November, according to data released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), an Islamabad-based think tank. The report found that 127 of the victims were members of armed groups, 68 were security personnel, and 50 were civilians. Adblock test (Why?)
Syrian rebels push towards Hama as government forces launch counterattacks
Rebel groups in northwestern Syria say they are pushing towards the city of Hama after taking control of nearby Aleppo in a lightning offensive that started last week. The attempted southern advance on Sunday comes on the fifth day of the surprise rebel offensive as Syrian and Russian forces have launched counterattacks, reportedly pounding opposition-controlled Idlib province and Aleppo with air attacks since Saturday. Government forces under the control of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have also been fortifying the northern province of Hama, according to the Syrian state news agency, SANA. It reported the army overnight pushed back opposition fighters in its northern countryside. Forces there were being resupplied with heavy equipment and rocket launchers, according to SANA. On Sunday, United Nations special envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, appealed for all stakeholders in the conflict to immediately seek a political resolution. “The latest developments pose severe risks to civilians and have serious implications for regional and international peace and security,” he said. The fighting marks the most significant turn in years in the Syrian war, which began with popular uprisings across the country in 2011. Since 2020, the front lines had largely been stagnant with an array of rebel groups largely contained to a small portion of Idlib province. But on Friday, opposition fighters led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) entered Aleppo, prompting government forces to withdraw from the strategically significant city of more than 2 million people. The rebels have since claimed several strategic victories, including taking control of the supply-line town of Khansir, Aleppo Industrial City, Aleppo’s military academy and the field artillery college. Formerly known as al-Nusra Front, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, HTS has distanced itself from the group while becoming the strongest opposition movement in northwestern Syria. It is still considered a “terrorist” organisation by the United States, Syria and Russia. Push towards Hama In his first public comments since the start of the offensive, released late on Saturday, al-Assad said his forces will continue to defend the government’s “stability and territorial integrity against terrorists and their supporters”. He said Syria is able to defeat the rebel groups no matter how much their attacks intensify. But reporting from the Turkish-Syrian border, Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu said rebel forces remained on the outskirts of Hama and are “trying to counter the Syrian government forces there”. “The villages, towns that have been taken by the opposition, sometimes the Syrian government forces take them back,” she said. “So there is an exchange of [control]. Still, it’s very dynamic, very volatile on the ground.” The government said air strikes on opposition-controlled areas were targeting weapon depots and rebel strongholds. However, the United Kingdom-based war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said Russian strikes hit camps for displaced people on Sunday, killing eight civilians and wounding 50. The Syrian Civil Defence, which operates in opposition-held areas, also reported a series of attacks on Aleppo, including the Aleppo University Hospital in the centre of the city. It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties. Years of war in Syria have created one of the world’s largest displacement crises with thousands more people reported displaced in the latest fighting. Fears of ‘scorched earth’ Speaking to Al Jazeera, Razan Saffour, a British-Syrian human rights activist with family in Aleppo, said that while there is relative stability in Aleppo, there is fear over the response from government and Russian forces. Russia’s military intervention in the country starting in 2015 as well as Iran’s two years earlier helped to turn the tide of the war in favour of al-Assad. Russia’s aerial bombardments of Aleppo then helped government forces take full control of the city in 2016. “We’re speaking about rebel groups who are gaining Syrian territory at a very, very fast pace, but at the same time, they don’t have air defences,” she said. “And when we’ve seen this happen [previously], … the al-Assad regime, Russia and their ally Iran responded with a scorched earth policy.” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was to travel to Damascus on Sunday, telling reporters Tehran would back al-Assad. Jordan’s King Abdullah II and United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan also expressed solidarity with al-Assad in recent calls with him. Still, Saffour said that beyond the confusion and fear, there is also a sense of anticipation among some residents of Aleppo who had lived for years under government control. “We’re very apprehensive, but we’re also very excited and very hopeful to see what’s going to come next,” she said. Adblock test (Why?)
US surgeon breaks down reading stories from Gaza doctors
[unable to retrieve full-text content] US paediatric surgeon Dr Tanya Haj-Hassan broke down in tears at a UN hearing as she recounted stories from Gaza.
Loving it: Populist on populist violence
I don’t know about you, but, recently, I have enjoyed watching an entertaining spasm of populist-on-populist violence. Perhaps “violence” is too strong a word. Populist-on-populist “animus” may be a more accurate way to describe how Canada’s two leading populist charlatans have been responding to the threat made by their populist hero – American President-elect Donald Trump – to impose 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods and services exported to the United States. The glorious spectacle began when Ontario’s semi-coherent premier, Doug Ford, and the slightly more articulate Conservative Party leader, self-styled tough guy and would-be prime minister, Pierre Poilievre, recognised that the inevitable meaning of Trump’s xenophobic-drenched “America First” vow translated into “Canada Last”. So the pair of pedestrian “firebrands” were suddenly obliged to hold hastily arranged press conferences to extinguish the fire from their brands while they chastised and “distanced” themselves from an irrational felon they adore and who, if he imposes the threatened tariffs come his return to the Oval Office early next year, would reportedly devastate the Ontario and Canadian economies. The premier was the first out of the harried rhetorical gate earlier this week, delivering a 15-minute-long anguished reaction to Trump’s proposed tariffs. Ford’s meandering address was resounding proof not only of his flimsy command of the English language, but of a spurned lover’s gooey affection for a raging populist who appears poised to “stab” America’s dearest friend, Canada. As if to convey the gravity of what he was about to say, a pale, shaken-looking Ford took hold of a lectern with both hands to steady himself before delivering his panic-tinged remarks. “Last night,” Ford said, “we received the biggest threat we have ever received from our closest friend and ally [and] from President-elect Trump.” Wow. The “biggest threat … ever”, eh? That grade A hyperbole is sure to register with the undisputed champion of unhinged hyperbole – Donald Trump. After that bit of nonsense, Ford launched into an unhinged diatribe of his own, saying that he was insulted that Trump had “compared” Canada to Mexico. Ford complained that Trump’s indictment of Canada was “unfair” without, of course, explaining why it was unfair. “I can tell you, Canada is no Mexico,” Ford said with all the faux outrage he could muster. Gone, apparently, were the happy days when Canada, Mexico, and the US were considered the “three amigos” who applauded each other’s democratic values and commitment to unhindered trade, culminating in the much-celebrated North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) renegotiated by the aforementioned “three amigos” in 2020. Ford and much of Canada’s amnesiac establishment press – who once giddily extolled the wonderful benefits and virtues of NAFTA – have ditched one of the “amigos” to assuage a thug turned president – again. Oh, how fleeting supposedly cherished friendships and alliances can be. Then, Ford got to the “heart” of the matter, so to speak. “It’s like a family member stabbing you right in the heart,” he said. A curious aside: One has to wonder about the psychological roots of the premier’s halting choice of imagery here. Ford could have opted for the more palpable platitude, that Trump had “stabbed Canada in the back”. Instead, he imagined that America’s soon-to-be commander-in-chief was plunging a knife into Canada’s beating heart – metaphorically speaking. My goodness. Ford said he has travelled frequently to the US and no one he has encountered has ever had an issue with Canada – a country most Americans know little or nothing about other than that we share the same continent. Take that, President-elect Trump! Ford threw Mexico under the bus – I’m sorry, given the premier’s grating lead, I couldn’t resist the cliché – insisting that the “threat” its porous border posed to Canada and the US was “serious”. He urged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “to do better on our borders”. Showing his mastery of the file, the premier suggested, incorrectly, that 197 million – yes, 197 million – undocumented “foreign nationals” were crossing from Canada into the US. Well done, sir. Predictably and painfully, Ford reminded Trump that – cliché alert – “there is no closer ally, there is no other country in the world that has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with our American … family”. “I am proud to stand in front of our flags, of Canada and the US,” Ford added, almost misty-eyed. It went on like that for another 10 grovelling minutes, with the Ontario premier repeating like a metronome that while he was “insulted” by Trump’s disparaging comments and “unfair” ultimatums, Canada and the US were conjoined twins who needed one another to survive – economically speaking. Finally, Ford agreed that despite those deep and shared patriotic ties, Canada would be obliged to retaliate if Trump makes good on his tariff gambit. One apparently blind, easily impressed columnist praised Ford’s embarrassing performance this way: “Donald Trump’s threat of a 25-per-cent tariff … [was] an opportunity for the Ontario premier to show leadership and he’s making the most of it. Ford’s quick response to the tariff threat ‘struck the right balance between emotion and action’.” That’s not “leadership”, it’s pandering of the most blatant and cringe-worthy order. Speaking of cringe-worthy pandering, Canada’s prime minister in impatient waiting, Poilievre, was more muted in his criticism of his populist-stunt mentor, Trump. An uncharacteristically subdued Poilievre droned on for more than 20 minutes in French and English about how the brewing trade dispute between Canada and the US was Trudeau’s irresponsible fault. All Poilievre could summon from his brimming bag of school-yard epithets was that Trump’s potentially ruinous tariff hike was “unjustified”. Boy, that’s telling him, tough guy. Like the lifelong, calculating politician that he is, Poilievre pivoted instantly to condemn Trudeau for being caught unaware since “President Trump had been talking about it for years on the campaign trail”. According to Poilievre, the villain in this trade drama is not Trump – a convicted villain – but Canada’s prime minister who visited Trump at his Florida Mar-a-Lago resort on Friday to mend, pardon me, fences. Trump should have appointed Poilievre the next US ambassador to Canada given
Israel to be “more forceful” with any Hezbollah “skirmishes”
[unable to retrieve full-text content] Drew Mikhael on why Israel may consider ratcheting up its military response to any ceasefire violations by Hezbollah.