Syria deploys troops as clashes heat up between Druze and Bedouin clans
Israel has intervened and says it agreed to the move after launching air strikes in support of the Druze, targeting Syrian government forces and military sites in Damascus.
The US is influencing the Israeli government by trying to prevent Israel from any further dramatic strikes on Syria.
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Herald Sun
7 hours ago
- Herald Sun
US to leave UN cultural body, citing 'national interest'
Don't miss out on the headlines from Breaking News. Followed categories will be added to My News. The United States said Tuesday it would quit UNESCO, saying the UN cultural and education agency, best known for establishing world heritage sites, is biased against Israel and promotes "divisive" causes. "Continued involvement in UNESCO is not in the national interest of the United States," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said. UNESCO called the US departure -- which it said will take effect in December 2026 -- regrettable, but unsurprising, and said its financial impact would be limited. President Donald Trump had already ordered withdrawal from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation once before, in 2017 during his first term. President Joe Biden then reestablished US membership. "I deeply regret President Donald Trump's decision to once again withdraw the United States of America from UNESCO," Director-General Audrey Azoulay said, adding the move contradicted fundamental principles of multilateralism. "However regrettable, this announcement was expected, and UNESCO has prepared for it". In recent years, Azoulay said, UNESCO had "undertaken major structural reforms and diversified our funding sources", including with private and voluntary governmental contributions. The US share of UNESCO's total budget currently stands at eight percent, she said. This compares to an estimate of nearly 20 percent a decade ago, according to a UNESCO source who asked not to be named. No staff redundancies were planned, Azoulay said. Bruce described UNESCO as working "to advance divisive social and cultural causes" and being overly focused on UN sustainability goals, which she described as a "globalist, ideological agenda." - 'Same as seven years ago' - Bruce also highlighted what she said was the body's anti-Israeli position in admitting Palestine as a state. "UNESCO's decision to admit the 'State of Palestine' as a member state is highly problematic, contrary to US policy, and contributed to the proliferation of anti-Israel rhetoric within the organisation," Bruce said. The administration has also objected to UNESCO's recognition of heritage sites in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem as Palestinian. Azoulay said the reasons put forward by the US "are the same as seven years ago" although, she said, "the situation has changed profoundly, political tensions have receded, and UNESCO today constitutes a rare forum for consensus on concrete and action-oriented multilateralism". Washington's claims "contradict the reality of UNESCO's efforts", she added, "especially in the field of Holocaust education and the fight against antisemitism". The source at UNESCO described the US move as "purely political, without any real factual base". The organisation had already been "forced" to do without US money for several years after the 2017 departure, the source told AFP. UNESCO adapted but new sources of funding would still need to be found, the source said. - 'Always welcome' - Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said he welcomed the US decision. "This is a necessary step, designed to promote justice and Israel's right for fair treatment in the UN system," he said on X. French President Emmanuel Macron meanwhile said, also on X, that UNESCO had his "unwavering support" that would not weaken after the US departure. The UN organisation describes its mission as promoting education, scientific cooperation and cultural understanding. It oversees a list of heritage sites aimed at preserving unique environmental and architectural gems, ranging from Australia's Great Barrier Reef and the Serengeti in Tanzania to the Athens Acropolis and Pyramids of Egypt. The UNESCO source said that the US will continue to be represented on the world heritage committee even after leaving the organisation formally, just as it had in 2017. Trump was not the first to pull the United States out of UNESCO. President Ronald Reagan ended US membership in the 1980s, saying the agency was corrupt and pro-Soviet. The United States reentered under the presidency of George W. Bush. The American return under Biden was a major success for Azoulay, who became UNESCO chief in 2017, also because it included a pledge to pay back the US's contribution arrears to the tune of $619 million. On Tuesday, Azoulay said the US could always return to the fold in the future. "The United States of America is and always will be welcome," she said. burs-jh/as/dc Originally published as US to leave UN cultural body, citing 'national interest'
The Age
8 hours ago
- The Age
Penny Wong: Israel condemnation channels Australians' ‘distress' over Gaza
Asked about Huckabee's criticism of the statement, Wong told Sky News: 'President Trump has been a very strong advocate for a ceasefire and hostage deal, and so are we.' She noted that several other US allies had signed the statement. A group of about 15 pro-Palestine protesters were detained inside Parliament House on Tuesday afternoon following a larger protest where hundreds gathered on the lawns of Federation Mall outside the building. Police collected details from the protesters, who were shouting chants as Governor-General Sam Mostyn addressed the Senate, before removing them from the building. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke described Israel's behaviour in Gaza as 'indefensible' and called for 'the slaughter to end' in a stark escalation of the government's language on the conflict. 'We're all hoping that there'll be something that'll break this. We've seen too many images of children being killed, of horrific slaughter, of churches being bombed. The images that we've seen have been pretty clear that so much of this is indefensible,' Burke said on ABC News Breakfast on Tuesday. Loading 'None of this changes the fact that the hostages need to be released.' Israel's ambassador to Australia, Amir Maimon, attacked the joint statement, arguing it is 'disconnected from reality and sends the wrong message to Hamas'. Opposition leader Sussan Ley said the return of hostages still held by Hamas was a priority. 'There are still hostages hidden in tunnels, and a way to end the situation is for those hostages to be released by the terrorists, Hamas, who control so much of the activity there,' Ley said. Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Michaelia Cash called the statement 'disappointing', and said the 'Albanese government's decision to blame Israel for Hamas's disruption of the flow of aid is appalling'. Greens leader Larissa Waters called for the government to sanction the Netanyahu government. 'The Israel regime isn't listening to stern words,' she said. Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler said ending the war unilaterally would fail to achieve the return of the remaining Israeli hostages or the surrender of Hamas. 'The Australian government, and international community, must come together to put maximum pressure on Hamas to surrender, and to ensure aid deliveries are not misused to embolden Hamas' grip on Gaza,' he said. Australia Palestine Advocacy Network president Nasser Mashni called for extensive sanctions on Israel and an end to any military co-operation. 'The time for these statements has long passed,' he said. 'People are starving to death because Israel refuses to allow aid into the hellscape it has created in Gaza. Families are being bombed and gunned down while trying to access water.' The international community has criticised the replacement of established NGOs with the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. According to UN Human Rights Council figures published last week, almost 900 people were killed in Gaza while trying to get food, including 674 near aid delivery sites. Earlier on Monday, Israeli tanks pushed into southern and eastern districts of the Gazan city of Deir al-Balah, an area of Gaza that had been largely untouched by the conflict and where tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians had sought refuge. The incursion has led to speculation that Hamas is holding large numbers of hostages there. The statement from the 28 nations also called out soaring settler violence against Palestinians on the West Bank, and hit out against the Israeli proposal to build a 'humanitarian city' in Gaza, which former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert recently condemned as a 'concentration camp'. Loading 'Permanent forced displacement is a violation of international humanitarian law,' the joint statement said. In a fiery response posted on X, Israel's foreign ministry rejected the joint statement, saying it 'fails to focus the pressure on Hamas and fails to recognise Hamas' role and responsibility for the situation'. The joint international statement reaffirmed the nations' support for those involved in brokering a ceasefire deal, including the US and Qatar.
The Age
12 hours ago
- The Age
The rise in international pressure over Gaza should be welcomed
On Tuesday, Australia joined with 27 countries including Canada, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK to condemn Israel for the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians seeking aid. The countries also demanded an end to restrictions on food and medical supplies. A ceasefire was needed now. 'The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths. The Israeli government's aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity,' the nations said. Australia's Home Affairs Minister, Tony Burke, went further. Many of Israel's actions were 'indefensible'. Burke said on ABC radio: 'We're all hoping that there'll be something that'll break this. We've seen too many images of children being killed, of horrific slaughter, of churches being bombed.' The statement also called for the release of Israeli hostages 'cruelly held captive by Hamas since 7 October 2023 [who] continue to suffer terribly'. Hamas must release the hostages and Israel must heed the international message and pull back its military actions. The statement followed the deaths of at least 79 people on Sunday near a UN food aid convoy at the Israel border. They were seeking flour. On Saturday, more than 30 died near two aid centres in southern Gaza. It is in Gaza that mothers, fathers and children are starving to death, that tens of thousands are in various stages of malnutrition leading to starvation, that people are dying from gunshots and missile fire while trying to reach humanitarian aid. It is there that tens of thousands have died following the indiscriminate massacre of 1200 Israelis across the border. A ceasefire, of course, is not the end of a war. It is impossible to know what Israel's endgame is. Will the war be over when Israel has built a 'humanitarian city' – critics call it a 'concentration camp', including former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert – for Palestinians, initially 600,000 on the ruins of Rafah, then expanding to take in 2.2 million? The 28 nations hit out against the Israeli proposal. 'Permanent forced displacement is a violation of international humanitarian law,' the joint statement said. In the past few days, the military has pushed into the southern and eastern districts of the Gazan city of Deir al-Balah, which had been removed from the conflict. Thousands of Palestinians had sought refuge there.
