Syria: UN investigators call for protecting evidence amid worsening humanitarian crisis
In parallel, the International, Impartial, and Independent Mechanism for Syria (IIIM) concluded a historic visit to Damascus, emphasizing the urgency of preserving evidence related to the most serious international crimes before it is irretrievably lost. Fuel shortages, disrupted roads Essential…
Yemen bears world’s highest cholera burden, deepening humanitarian crisis
November saw a sharp increase in cholera cases and deaths compared to the same period in 2023, with suspected cases rising by 37 per cent and deaths by 27 per cent. Yemen’s cholera crisis comes on top of more than…
Pope Francis calls for ceasefire on all fronts in his prayer ahead of Christmas
Vatican City — Pope Francis called for a ceasefire on all war fronts in his Sunday Angelus prayer ahead of Christmas, condemning the “cruelty” of bombing schools and hospitals in Ukraine and Gaza. “Let the weapons fall silent and let…
What Assad’s fall has revealed about Syria’s trade in stimulant drug Captagon
BEIRUT — Since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, industrial-scale manufacturing facilities of the amphetamine-like stimulant Captagon have been uncovered around the country, which experts say fed a $10 billion annual global trade in the highly addictive drug….
Gaza is now a graveyard and there’s no escape, say UN aid teams
“The world is not seeing what’s going on with these people, it’s impossible for families to shelter in these conditions,” said Louise Wateridge, from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). Speaking from Nuseirat in central Gaza after heavy winter rains…
Syria: Rights investigators call for protection of evidence, including mass grave sites
A team from the Independent International Commission of Inquiry (CoI) on Syria visited former prisons and detention centres, including the notorious Sednaya and the Military Intelligence Branch 235 prisons. It is the first time the team has been able to…
Syria transition may fail if support lifeline is delayed, says IOM chief
“We are not promoting large-scale returns; the communities frankly are just not ready to absorb the people who are displaced and would come home…it will overwhelm the country,” said Amy Pope, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM)….
Reconstruction and vital repairs underway in Syria, as ‘security conditions’ permit
UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters at the daily briefing on Thursday that bakeries in Aleppo are at near full capacity – “but partners report that they have seen long queues and crowding.” The UN aid coordination office, OCHA, reports that the rehabilitation…
‘Dying hungry and in pain’: An increasingly likely outcome in Gaza
Speaking to correspondents via video link on Thursday, the senior OCHA official underscored the grim reality facing over two million people trapped in Gaza, where basic necessities like food, shelter, and safety have become scarce. “Dying hungry and in pain”…
Syria’s new ‘flame of hope’ must not be extinguished: Guterres
That’s the warning from UN Secretary-General António Guterres speaking to reporters in New York on Thursday morning. He said there is “a real risk that progress could unravel,” without an “inclusive, credible and peaceful” political transition that is Syrian led, on…