Latest in Highlight
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Who supports terrorist forces in the ongoing wars?
There is a war, or rather wars, taking place in the Middle East between political Islam and ruling regimes, and most observers note that on one side of these wars stands a group of states and governments while the other includes religious, extremist, and militant groups and organisations. The current scene may bring to mind …
Egypt renews support for Libya’s ‘legitimate institutions’
Announcement comes days after top Libyan court orders dissolution of Libya’s parliament
Egypt and Israel admit goods to Gaza
Egypt transferred food supplies, while Israel transferred construction material
An inconvenient war
By Ahmed El-Ashram I look around and I see an unprecedented level of despair in the eyes of many friends; an overt level of frustration of how their lives have unluckily coincided with the mishappenings of recent years. Many wish they were not there to witness the toxic politics, the economic misfortune and the precarious …
Norwegian foreign minister in Cairo for Gaza talks
Visit comes after date for the conference on Gaza reconstruction, to be co-hosted by Norway and Egypt, has been set
“The Ice Bucket Challenge” inspires a solidarity campaign with Gaza
Instead of ice water, a stand-up comedian used sand and dust to raise awareness about the Gaza situation
Egypt considers ties with Ethiopia ‘key component’ of foreign policy
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry visits Ethiopia, after concluding European tour in Rome
‘Out of Place’: The Palestinian definition of home
Violent experiences of losing home leave Palestinian families with “contradicting emotions” and almost no unity between definitions of home by each family
Egypt does not support the Syrian regime or opposition: Al-Sisi
Egypt is a member of the Friends of Syria group, which is made up of countries that oppose Syrian president Al-Assad
Rafah border open to aid Gaza: Foreign ministry
Humanitarian aid pours in as ceasefire reaches second day
When poetry mirrors war
By Cesar Chelala I am returning home from a memorial to an old and dear friend, Marijke Velzeboer Salcedo. Marijke was a remarkable woman on many counts: a wonderful mother, wife and friend. She was a talented and energetic woman whose work on behalf of women for United Nations agencies contributed to the improvement in …
UK foreign secretary urges Hamas to accept ceasefire without preconditions
Hammond meets Al-Sisi and Egyptian counterpart in Cairo to discuss Israeli offensive in Gaza, other regional issues
UN Human Rights Council investigates human rights violations in Palestine
Council strongly condemns violence resulting from Israeli offensive in Gaza; welcomes Egypt’s ceasefire initiative
Egypt opens Rafah border crossing, Amnesty calls for investigation into violations
Death toll from the ongoing violence leaves 121 dead in Gaza; no deaths reported from Israel
The special court for Sierra Leone rests – for good
The court, ruling in April 2012, found Mr Taylor guilty of five counts of crimes against humanity, five counts of war crimes and one count of other serious violations of international humanitarian law perpetrated by Sierra Leone’s Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels, who he supported.
In answer to Pope Tawadros, now is the time to talk about human rights
By Wael Eskandar Last week Pope Tawadros issued the latest in a long list of fiery statements, when, in a visit to Norway, he remarked: “We can pray in a nation without a church but we can’t pray in a church without a nation. The statement is an attempt at nationalism to support Egypt. Yet …
More than 50 million driven from homes by war, crisis: UN
The UNHCR said there were 51.2 million forcibly displaced people at the end of 2013, a full six million higher than the previous year
Syria prisoner releases begin after amnesty: Lawyer
The releases came a day after Syrian state television reported that Assad had declared an unprecedented amnesty, extending for the first time to those accused under the country’s anti-terrorism legislation.
Syrian babies ‘born refugees’ in Lebanon
Lebanon is home to more than a million refugees from Syria’s devastating war. Half of them are children, the United Nations says, warning they risk becoming a “lost generation”.
Lebanon rapped for blocking Palestinians fleeing Syria
AFP – Human Rights Watch and a UN refugee agency expressed concern on Tuesday that Lebanon was blocking Palestinians fleeing Syria from entering the country. UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said it was “concerned about the increased restrictions on Palestine refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria from entering Lebanon”. “We are monitoring the …
14 die in Damascus shelling, new presidential hopefuls named
AFP- At least 14 people were killed on Monday in a rebel mortar attack on Syria’s capital Damascus, as four new candidates registered to run in next month’s presidential vote. The new candidates bring the number of people hoping to compete in the 3 June election to 11, including incumbent President Bashar Al-Assad. Shortly before …
A world free of wartime rape is within our reach
By Zainab Hawa Bangura Conflict-related sexual violence is a war crime mired in myths and shrouded in secrecy and stigma. Perhaps the greatest misperception is that it is an atrocity of a bygone era, and that in today’s age of high tech warfare, rape is no longer used as a weapon of mass destruction. Nothing …
Syrians arrested while attempting to illegally emigrate
Arrested group include 2 underage Egyptians, 18 Syrians
120 sent to prison for 6 October clashes
The court acquitted six defendants taking part in violence on October War’s 40th anniversary
More than 150,000 killed in Syria conflict: NGO
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it had documented the deaths of 150,344 people, 51,212 of them civilians, including nearly 7,985 children.
Syria army advances in rebel town as war enters 4th year
A military source said “13 rebel chiefs leading operations are dead”, adding there were “many deaths among the insurgents”.
Syrian children bear the brunt of brutal war
By Dr Cesar Chelala One of the saddest things in the world today, ravaged by brutal wars, is a child, looking nowhere, as if asking the viewer, “Why are you doing this to us? We are only children.” This thought came to my mind as I read a report of the effects of the Syrian …
Ukraine seeks US help after Putin talks tough on Crimea
The pro-European team in Kiev that rode the wave of three months of deadly protests to topple a Kremlin-backed regime is running against the clock to preserve the territorial integrity of the culturally splintered nation of 46 million.
Ukraine mobilises army as west warns Russia
Russia’s parliament voted Saturday to allow President Vladimir Putin to send troops into its western neighbour – a decision US President Barack Obama swiftly branded a “violation of Ukrainian sovereignty”.
Aleppo’s tears
By Dr Cesar Chelala “Aleppo was a large and terrifying town,” wrote the American writer Frederic Prokosch in his famed novel “The Asiatics”. This has been never truer than now, as I read about the barrel bomb attacks that have killed dozens of civilians just in a few days. I look at an October 2013 photograph of a …