Latest news with #UN-recognised
France 24
6 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
Gaza-bound activist convoy retreats to Misrata after being blocked in east Libya
Pro-Palestinian activists on a march aiming to break Israel's Gaza blockade have retreated to the Misrata region of western Libya after being blocked by the authorities in the country's east, organisers said Sunday. The "Soumoud" convoy – meaning steadfastness in Arabic – decided to fall back to near Misrata, about 200 kilometres (124 miles) east of Tripoli, after being stopped by the eastern authorities. Misrata is administered by the UN-recognised Government of National Unity based in Tripoli, while the east is controlled by military commander Khalifa Haftar. The convoy of more than 1,000 people from Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia had been under a "military blockade" since Friday at the entrance to Sirte, a Haftar-controlled area. 01:40 Organisers said they were subjected to a "systematic siege", with no access to food, water or medicine and communications severely disrupted. They also denounced the arrest of several convoy members, including at least three bloggers who had been documenting its journey since its departure from Tunisia on June 9. In a statement cited by Tunisia's La Presse newspaper, the Joint Action Coordination Committee for Palestine – the group behind the convoy – demanded the immediate release of 13 participants still held by eastern Libyan authorities. In an accompanying video, it reaffirmed its intention to continue the mission to Gaza's Rafah border crossing with Egypt, with the aim of "breaking the blockade and ending the genocide of the Palestinian people resisting in Gaza". In Egypt, a separate initiative – the Global March to Gaza, intended to bring together participants from 80 countries – was halted on Friday by authorities en route to the city of Ismailia, east of Cairo. Dozens of activists were intercepted, reportedly beaten, had passports confiscated, and were forcibly loaded onto buses by police at multiple checkpoints, according to videos shared on social media and with AFP.
The Journal
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Journal
Gaza marchers aiming to break Israel's blockade retreat to west Libya after being blocked
PRO-PALESTINIAN ACTIVISTS ON a march aiming to break Israel's Gaza blockade have retreated to the Misrata region of western Libya after being blocked by the authorities in the country's east, organisers said Sunday. The 'Soumoud' convoy – meaning steadfastness in Arabic – decided to fall back to near Misrata, about 200 kilometres east of Tripoli, after being stopped by the eastern authorities. Misrata is administered by the UN-recognised Government of National Unity based in Tripoli, while the east is controlled by military commander Khalifa Haftar. The convoy of more than 1,000 people from Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia had been under a 'military blockade' since Friday at the entrance to Sirte, a Haftar-controlled area. Organisers said they were subjected to a 'systematic siege', with no access to food, water or medicine and communications severely disrupted. They also denounced the arrest of several convoy members, including at least three bloggers who had been documenting its journey since its departure from Tunisia on 9 June. Advertisement In a statement cited by Tunisia's La Presse newspaper, the Joint Action Coordination Committee for Palestine – the group behind the convoy – demanded the immediate release of 13 participants still held by eastern Libyan authorities. In an accompanying video, it reaffirmed its intention to continue the mission to Gaza's Rafah border crossing with Egypt, with the aim of 'breaking the blockade and ending the genocide of the Palestinian people resisting in Gaza'. In Egypt, a separate initiative - the Global March to Gaza, intended to bring together participants from 80 countries – was halted on Friday by authorities en route to the city of Ismailia, east of Cairo. Dozens of activists were intercepted, reportedly beaten, had passports confiscated, and were forcibly loaded onto buses by police at multiple checkpoints. Irish TD Paul Murphy was detained by Egyptian authorities and had his passport ad phone confiscated alongside other activists. He was subsequently released and told The Journal yesterday evening that he and the group he is marching with have been discussing their options and intend to proceed with the march to whatever extent is possible. Includes reporting by Emma Hickey
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Iran poses an existential threat to Israel. Could Netanyahu be his country's Churchill?
Over the decades, it became a cliché that, after a terrorist attack, an Israeli spokesman would come on television and say, in the tone of someone who means business, 'Israel will know very well how to respond.' Usually, this was true. After the Hamas atrocities of October 7 2023, it was not true. The shock of the sheer evil of the massacres was compounded by the shock of Israel's failure to foresee them. That failure made it harder for Israel to react appropriately and fast. But the other effect of October 7 was to teach Israel no end of a lesson. Ever since its foundation in 1948, it had always said it faced existential threat; yet here was that threat proved in the most bestial way, and it had not been ready. Israel's repeated, wide-ranging and successful attacks on Iran in the small hours of yesterday morning and again last night follow the logic of the lesson Israel has re-learnt. In particular, the Israeli air force has displayed the greatest effectiveness since its heroic Operation Focus in the 1967 Six-Day War. Israel knew very well how to respond. The phrase 'existential threat' is bandied about. In a vague sense, the entire world faces existential threats, from nuclear weapons and, some say, from climate catastrophe. But targeted, active existential threat – an enemy trying to wipe you out – is much less universal. In the world just now, only two UN-recognised nations face it. They are Ukraine and Israel. Vladimir Putin denies that Ukraine is a nation at all. His imperial version of history proves this to his satisfaction, so he feels free to use any amount of violence to return Ukraine to 'the Russian world'. It is not racist: after all, he thinks Ukrainians are Russians. But it is ravenously tyrannical: obliterate the Ukrainian state and subjugate its people. The violent opponents of Israel go one better – or rather, worse. They want not only to destroy the state of Israel, but also to kill all the Jews who inhabit it. In living memory, Jews learnt about that. I was about to call it 'lived experience', but the phrase froze on my lips: most died. Here in Britain, when the militant Gaza marches, so indulged by our police, surge through our streets, opinions vary. A minority, chiefly Muslim, supports them. Most people find them irksome, disruptive, aggressive. For Jews, it is much more serious than that. When the marchers shout about a free Palestine, 'From the river to the sea', Jews know which river, and which sea. The slogan offers the people of the Jewish state no nation, no room, no life. Ever since its revolution of 1978-9, Iran has put this destruction at its heart. 'Death to Israel' is the constant cry from the ayatollahs' pulpit, and because Iran is a theocracy, that is not just the aspiration of perverted religion, but a policy. It is why Iran wants the nuclear bomb. So whereas Western powers undoubtedly do not want a nuclear Iran, seeing it as a menace to regional peace, they regard this as just one of the trickier questions of international relations. It is even, from a diplomatic view, rather exciting. Officials preen themselves on dealing with difficult people: how clever they felt when they concocted with Iran the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), now deceased. For them, the question is not existential. For Israel, it is. For a long time now, Iran has been the principal orchestrator of global and regional attacks on Israel. Even for Hamas, which is Sunni not Shia, it has been a key backer. With Hezbollah, it has been, in effect, the commander, as it is for the Houthis in Yemen and numerous militias in Iraq. For just as long, and especially under the premiership of Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel identified Iran as its greatest external threat, but the difficulty was to inspire in friends of Israel the necessary sense of urgency. Especially with the administrations of Barack Obama and Joe Biden, the United States could always find a reason to stall Israeli efforts to stop the Iranian nuclear programme dead. But the after-effects of October 7 changed everything. In April last year, by which time it had at last made progress against Hamas in Gaza, Israel decided to hit back at Hezbollah's attacks as well and killed two Iranian generals in their country's embassy in Damascus. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Council (IRGC) and Hezbollah then launched Iran's first ever direct attack on Israel. It was called Operation True Promise, but its results were feeble. Virtually all Iranian drones were interdicted and there were scarcely any casualties. A second Iranian attack in October was a bit more successful but still, overall, a failure. In July, Israel was able to kill the Hamas political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, when he was the honoured guest of the Iranian regime in Tehran. In September, with its famous blowing up of their pagers, Israeli killed dozens of Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon and Syria; shortly afterwards, it assassinated the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut. It was also helpful that, before Christmas, president Bashir Assad had fallen in Syria. The hits were the result not only of prodigious technological precision, but also of the most careful, long-term Mossad penetration of Iran, whose IRGC and wider regime have become more corrupt. The fact that Israel's attacks succeeded showed that Iran, far from being invincible, had become decadent. Why not leave it there, then? Why not let Iran stew in its own juice until its people finally muster the courage to overthrow it? Here again, the issue is existential threat. Israeli intelligence recently reported a new Iranian sprint to get the bomb while negotiations were in progress. The International Atomic Energy Authority, usually so reticent, this week announced that Iran had achieved new nuclear capacity in breach of its commitments. Iran itself boasted of its advances. The situation is a bit like Germany's development of V2 rockets in 1944: it was losing the war, but its power to attempt a desperate last throw made it deadly dangerous. Historians will debate – indeed they are already debating – how exactly we reached this point. Did Iran deduce that Donald Trump, under the influence of anti-Israel Maga types, was being less hawkish than it had expected? Did it therefore judge that he would block an Israeli attack, and conclude it could get away with proliferation? Did Netanyahu, with a similar worry the other way round, feel the need to force the hand of a hesitating White House? Or was Trump's recent show of reluctance a coordinated feint which gave Israel the advantage of surprise? It is not clear, though it is hard to believe the president was genuinely surprised by the Israeli raids. But what does seem clear is that Israel is winning by prosecuting its long-term existential aims rather than seeking an unavailable peace process. Coverage in the West is obsessed by the idea that Israeli behaviour is the product of Netanyahu's cynical selfishness in clinging to power. He is certainly intensely controversial within his own country, but not in relation to Iran. It is that existential point again. Most Israelis agree who their greatest enemy is. Who are we to say they are wrong? For decades, Iran has been their Goliath. Netanyahu, aged 75, is no David. But he must by now have some claims to be their Churchill. He has seized the moment to insist on national survival. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Straits Times
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Serbia's leader in Ukraine for first time since Russia invasion
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (right) welcoming Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to Odesa, for the Ukraine–Southeast Europe Summit, on June 11. PHOTO: REUTERS Serbia's leader in Ukraine for first time since Russia invasion ODESA, Ukraine - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who maintains strong ties with Moscow, made his first visit to Ukraine since Russia invaded in 2022 on June 11 and said he supported the country's 'territorial integrity'. The Balkan nation with close historical links to Russia has maintained an official policy of neutrality throughout Moscow's three-year war in Ukraine and has denied arming either side. But in recent days, Russia accused Serbian arms companies of 'trying to stab Russia in the back' by selling munitions to Ukraine. Mr Vucic took part in a summit hosted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Black Sea port of Odesa that gathered leaders from several countries across southeastern Europe. 'What I can say on behalf of my country is that Serbia will remain very firm and steadfast on observing the UN Charter, international public law, which includes protection of territorial integrity of UN-recognised countries as the most important principle,' Mr Vucic said. Moscow occupies large swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine. Just weeks earlier, Mr Vucic joined the 80th anniversary celebrations on Moscow's Red Square for Russia's victory over Nazi Germany. Serbia and Ukraine have neither confirmed nor denied that Kyiv uses Serbian munitions. Mr Vucic has attempted to walk a tightrope between traditional ally Russia and Serbia's desire to join the European Union, which is one of Ukraine's main backers in the war against invading Russian forces. Both Serbia and Russia share a dislike and distrust of Nato, particularly since the defence organisation carried out bombardments on Serbian troops in 1999 during the Kosovo War. Despite Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Serbia refuses to cut ties with Moscow, despite voting against its long-standing ally at the United Nations. Belgrade is highly dependent on cheap gas it buys from Russia. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Daily Mirror
10-06-2025
- General
- Daily Mirror
The 30 greatest playground games of all time - from hide and seek to tag
A study of 2,000 adults has uncovered the greatest ever playground games which are still enjoyed by children in school today. A survey of 2,000 adults has revealed which classic children's games have stood the test of time and are still considered the 'best playground games' today. Favourites such as marbles, British Bulldog, conkers and 'What's the Time, Mr Wolf?' all feature in the top 10. Meanwhile, the list also included other well-liked games such as football cards, yo-yos, 'Cat's Cradle' and hopscotch. The research has shown that over half of adults spent time outside playing games every single day when they were at school. The majority believe these social interactions were key when it came to making friends; nearly three quarters regarded these play sessions with friends as some of their fondest childhood memories. Gillian McMahon, executive director of the international charity Right To Play, said: "Play is a deep-rooted part of childhood in the UK; however, millions of children globally are unable to claim this basic right." Right to Play is an organisation which strives to transform the lives of millions of children every year through play. "Extreme challenges such as conflict, poverty, child labour and early marriage are depriving many vulnerable children of the childhood they deserve," Gillian added. The research was published to coincide with International Day of Play, on June 11. This annual UN-recognised day promotes awareness about the crucial role of play for children and underscores play as a fundamental right. The study indicated that the majority of adults were unaware that play is recognised as a basic right for children under international law. However, 67% believe every child should have a right to play, with physical exercise, making friends, and building social skills such as empathy and cooperation seen as key advantages of playing. Gillian McMahon added: "Many children are denied the chance to just be kids. We are working to change this situation. "Through our global programmes, we are reaching more than 4.7 million vulnerable children each year in some of the most difficult places on earth. "Using the power of play we are helping children to stay in school, resist exploitation, overcome prejudice and heal from the trauma of war and displacement." TOP 30 PLAYGROUND GAMES OF ALL TIME: Hide and Seek Tag/You're It Skipping ropes (solo and group games) Marbles Hopscotch Conkers British Bulldog What's the Time, Mr Wolf? Football stickers Football cards Hand clapping games (e.g. A Sailor Went to Sea, Miss Mary Mack) Cat's Cradle Yo-Yos Simon Says Sticker albums Stuck in the Mud Duck, Duck, Goose Top Trumps Swingball Ring-a-Ring o' Roses Elastics Paper fortune tellers (chatterboxes) 'The Floor is Lava' Pokemon cards Tamagotchis Pogs Grandma's Footsteps Sleeping Lions Double Dutch Loom bands
