UN plastic pollution treaty talks progress not 'sufficient': Chair
"Progress made has not been sufficient," Ecuadoran diplomat Luis Vayas Valdivieso told delegates in a blunt summary, adding: "We have arrived at a critical stage where a real push to achieve our common goal is needed", ahead of the Thursday deadline.
AFP
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Ya Libnan
2 hours ago
- Ya Libnan
Whose Side Is Tom Barrack Really On?
File photo of U.S. Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack and Syria's interim president Ahmed Al sharaa , aka( Abu Mohammad al Golani , the former leader of al Qaeda linked al Nusra front ) By : Ya Libnan Editorial Board U.S. Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack recently stated that 'the Syrian government has pledged to devote all resources to holding accountable the perpetrators of the Sweida atrocities,' adding that Syria will cooperate with the United Nations to investigate the crimes committed there. He further emphasized a commitment to humanitarian aid for southwestern Syria and to protecting 'all components' of Syrian society from forces that seek to tear it apart. But this raises an urgent question: Whose side is Mr. Barrack really on? The whole world knows that Syrian government forces themselves are responsible for the Sweida massacre last July. Eyewitness accounts and credible reports point directly to the regime's involvement — not only in the killings during the attack, but also in the brutal follow-up assault on Suweida's hospital, where patients and medical staff were targeted. It is no secret that Ahmed Sharaa, now posing in a civilian suit, is in fact the same man once known as Abu Mohammad al-Golani, the notorious leader of the the Al Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front. The change of wardrobe has not erased his Islamist extremism or his history of violence. Yet the Syrian regime — now under his influence — continues to present itself to the world as a legitimate authority, while minorities in Syria suffer under its oppression. If Mr. Barrack truly wants the truth, he should skip the photo opportunities in Damascus and visit Sweida itself. He would hear directly from the families of the victims, from the religious and community leaders living under constant threat, and from those who have endured the destruction of their homes, their hospitals, and their future. Only then will he understand the reality: that the so-called Syrian government is not protecting its people — it is preying on them. The United States must stop lending legitimacy to Sharaa's blood-stained regime. Standing with dictators in suits is still standing with dictators — and history will not forgive those who chose comfort in the palace over truth in the streets of Sweida.
L'Orient-Le Jour
6 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Kurdish and Syrian government officials meet after Paris talks canceled
Syria's foreign minister and a senior official in the country's Kurdish administration have met in Damascus, sources from both sides told AFP on Tuesday, days after the government boycotted talks in France. Damascus had said it would not participate in the Paris talks after the Kurds hosted a meeting last week involving Syria's Druze and Alawite minority communities, which have been subjected to sectarian violence in recent months. The event called for a decentralized state — a move repeatedly rejected by Syria's new authorities — and was effectively the first meeting to bring together representatives of several communities opposed to the approach and vision of governance of Syria's new authorities. Elham Ahmad, a senior official in the Kurdish administration in Syria's northeast, met Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani "on Monday evening upon the request of the Damascus government," a Kurdish official told AFP, requesting anonymity. A Syrian government source, also requesting anonymity, confirmed to AFP that the Damascus meeting took place, without providing further details. The Kurds and Damascus have been holding talks on the implementation of a March 10 deal between Mazloum Abdi, head of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and President Ahmed al-Sharaa on integrating the Kurds' semi-autonomous civil and military institutions into the state. Implementation has been held up by differences between the two parties. Monday's talks sought to affirm "the continuation of the negotiating process via intra-Syrian committees under international supervision," the Kurdish official said, adding that the sides agreed "there was no place for a military option." "Discussions focused on finding an appropriate formula for decentralisation, without specifying a timeframe," the Kurdish official added. Late last month, Syria, France and the United States said they agreed to convene talks in Paris "as soon as possible" on implementing the March 10 agreement. Abdi said in a televised interview in July that the Paris meeting was set to discuss the mechanism for integrating his forces, which he said numbered around 100,000 personnel, into the country's defence ministry. Several rounds of talks have been held but the process has largely stalled, with Kurdish officials criticising a constitutional declaration announced by the new authorities, saying it failed to reflect Syria's diversity.
Nahar Net
6 hours ago
- Nahar Net
Egypt says Gaza mediators 'working very hard' to revive truce plan
by Naharnet Newsdesk 12 August 2025, 19:52 Egypt said Tuesday it was working with fellow Gaza mediators Qatar and the United States to broker a 60-day truce, as part of a renewed push to end the Israel-Hamas war. Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty made the announcement at a press conference in Cairo, as two Palestinian sources told AFP that a senior Hamas delegation was due to meet Egyptian officials for talks on Wednesday. Diplomacy aimed at securing an elusive ceasefire and hostage release deal in the 22-month-old war has stalled for weeks, after the latest round of negotiations broke down in July. Abdelatty said that "we are working very hard now in full cooperation with the Qataris and Americans", aiming for "a ceasefire for 60 days, with the release of some hostages and some Palestinian detainees, and the flow of humanitarian and medical assistance to Gaza without restrictions, without conditions". One of the Palestinian sources earlier told AFP that the mediators were working "to formulate a new comprehensive ceasefire agreement proposal" that would include the release of all remaining hostages in Gaza "in one batch". Mediation efforts led by Qatar, Egypt and the United States have failed to secure a breakthrough since a short-lived truce earlier this year. The Hamas delegation expected in Cairo, led by the group's chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, is scheduled to meet Egyptian officials on Wednesday to "discuss the latest developments" in negotiations, said the second Palestinian source. News of the potential truce talks came as Gaza's civil defense agency said Israel has intensified its air strikes on Gaza City in recent days, following a government decision to expand the war there. - Intensified strikes - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has not provided an exact timetable on when forces may enter the area, but civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal said on Tuesday that air raids had already begun increasing over the past three days. Bassal said the neighborhoods of Zeitun and Sabra have been hit "with very heavy air strikes targeting civilian homes". "For the third consecutive day, the Israeli occupation is intensifying its bombardment" using "bombs, drones, and also highly explosive munitions that cause massive destruction", he said. Bassal said that Israeli strikes across the territory, including on Gaza City, killed at least 33 people on Tuesday. "The bombardment has been extremely intense for the past two days. With every strike, the ground shakes," said Majed al-Hosary, a resident of Gaza City's Zeitun. "There are martyrs under the rubble that no one can reach because the shelling hasn't stopped." An Israeli air strike on Sunday killed five Al Jazeera employees and a freelance reporter outside a Gaza City hospital, with Israel accusing one of the slain Al Jazeera correspondents of being a Hamas militant. Israel has faced mounting criticism over the war, which was triggered by Palestinian militant group Hamas's October 2023 attack. U.N.-backed experts have warned of widespread famine unfolding in the territory, where Israel has drastically curtailed the amount of humanitarian aid it allowed in. Netanyahu is under mounting pressure to secure the release of the remaining hostages -- 49 people including 27 the Israeli military says are dead -- as well as over his plans to expand the war. The Israeli premier has vowed to keep on with or without the backing of Israel's allies. Hamas's 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's offensive has killed at least 61,599 Palestinians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, whose toll the United Nations considers reliable.
