Trump making decision on Middle East war 'in two weeks'
Israel has accused Iran of using a cluster bomb with the aim of increasing civilian casualties, as the seven day old war between the two countries continues to escalate.
"Today, the Iranian Armed Forces fired a missile that contained cluster submunitions at a densely populated civilian area," Israel's embassy in Washington said in an email to Reuters that did not identify the area.
"Cluster weapons are designed to disperse over a large area and maximise the chances of a harmful strike," the email continued. "Iran unlawfully fired deliberately at civilian population centres, and seeks to maximise the damage to civilians in them by using wide-dispersal munitions."
Israeli news reports quoted the Israeli military as saying the missile's warhead split open at an altitude of about 7 km and released around 20 submunitions in a radius of around 8 km over central Israel.
There were no reports of casualties from the bomb.
Iran and Israel declined to join a 2008 international ban on the production, stockpiling, transfer and use of cluster bombs that has been signed by 111 countries and 12 other entities.
There's still no sign of an exit strategy from the conflict for either side after Israel bombed nuclear targets in Iran and and Iranian missile hit an Israeli hospital.
US President Donald Trump, who has kept the world guessing about whether the United States might join the war on Israel's side, said he would make a decision within the next two weeks.
"Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks," press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, quoting a message from the president.
As president, Trump has commonly used "two weeks" as a timeframe for making decisions, meaning it may not be a firm deadline.
Israel launched a sweeping aerial campaign against Iran a week ago, calling it a pre-emptive strike to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Iran has denied plans to develop such weapons and retaliated by launching counterstrikes on Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tehran's "tyrants" would pay the "full price" for a strike that damaged the Soroka medical centre in Israel's southern city of Beersheba
"Are we targeting the downfall of the regime? That may be a result, but it's up to the Iranian people to rise for their freedom," Netanyahu said.
Israeli military spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin accused Iran of deliberately targeting civilians in the hospital attack.
"That is state-sponsored terror and a blatant violation of international law," Defrin told a press briefing.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted Israeli military and intelligence headquarters near the hospital. An Israeli military official denied there were military targets nearby.
Israel attacked the special forces headquarters of the internal security apparatus in Tehran in the last 24 hours, Defrin said. Earlier, Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military had been instructed to intensify strikes on strategic-related targets in Tehran in order to eliminate the threat to Israel and destabilise the "regime" of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Netanyahu wants Iran weakened enough to be forced into fundamental concessions on permanently abandoning its nuclear enrichment, its ballistic missile program and its support for militant groups across the region.
Earlier, Israel said it had struck Iran's Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites. It also targeted the partially built Arak heavy-water research reactor that can produce plutonium, also used to make the core of an atom bomb.
A week of Israeli air and missile strikes has wiped out the top echelon of Iran's military command and killed hundreds of people. Iranian retaliatory strikes have killed at least two dozen civilians in Israel.
On Thursday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said it had launched combined missile and drone attacks at military and industrial sites linked to Israel's defence industry in Haifa and Tel Aviv.
Israel, which has the most advanced military in the Middle East, has been fighting on several fronts since the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas triggered the Gaza war.
It has severely weakened Iran's regional allies, Hamas in Gaza and Lebanon's Hezbollah, and has bombed Yemen's Houthis.
Israel has accused Iran of using a cluster bomb with the aim of increasing civilian casualties, as the seven day old war between the two countries continues to escalate.
"Today, the Iranian Armed Forces fired a missile that contained cluster submunitions at a densely populated civilian area," Israel's embassy in Washington said in an email to Reuters that did not identify the area.
"Cluster weapons are designed to disperse over a large area and maximise the chances of a harmful strike," the email continued. "Iran unlawfully fired deliberately at civilian population centres, and seeks to maximise the damage to civilians in them by using wide-dispersal munitions."
Israeli news reports quoted the Israeli military as saying the missile's warhead split open at an altitude of about 7 km and released around 20 submunitions in a radius of around 8 km over central Israel.
There were no reports of casualties from the bomb.
Iran and Israel declined to join a 2008 international ban on the production, stockpiling, transfer and use of cluster bombs that has been signed by 111 countries and 12 other entities.
There's still no sign of an exit strategy from the conflict for either side after Israel bombed nuclear targets in Iran and and Iranian missile hit an Israeli hospital.
US President Donald Trump, who has kept the world guessing about whether the United States might join the war on Israel's side, said he would make a decision within the next two weeks.
"Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks," press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, quoting a message from the president.
As president, Trump has commonly used "two weeks" as a timeframe for making decisions, meaning it may not be a firm deadline.
Israel launched a sweeping aerial campaign against Iran a week ago, calling it a pre-emptive strike to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Iran has denied plans to develop such weapons and retaliated by launching counterstrikes on Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tehran's "tyrants" would pay the "full price" for a strike that damaged the Soroka medical centre in Israel's southern city of Beersheba
"Are we targeting the downfall of the regime? That may be a result, but it's up to the Iranian people to rise for their freedom," Netanyahu said.
Israeli military spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin accused Iran of deliberately targeting civilians in the hospital attack.
"That is state-sponsored terror and a blatant violation of international law," Defrin told a press briefing.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted Israeli military and intelligence headquarters near the hospital. An Israeli military official denied there were military targets nearby.
Israel attacked the special forces headquarters of the internal security apparatus in Tehran in the last 24 hours, Defrin said. Earlier, Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military had been instructed to intensify strikes on strategic-related targets in Tehran in order to eliminate the threat to Israel and destabilise the "regime" of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Netanyahu wants Iran weakened enough to be forced into fundamental concessions on permanently abandoning its nuclear enrichment, its ballistic missile program and its support for militant groups across the region.
Earlier, Israel said it had struck Iran's Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites. It also targeted the partially built Arak heavy-water research reactor that can produce plutonium, also used to make the core of an atom bomb.
A week of Israeli air and missile strikes has wiped out the top echelon of Iran's military command and killed hundreds of people. Iranian retaliatory strikes have killed at least two dozen civilians in Israel.
On Thursday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said it had launched combined missile and drone attacks at military and industrial sites linked to Israel's defence industry in Haifa and Tel Aviv.
Israel, which has the most advanced military in the Middle East, has been fighting on several fronts since the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas triggered the Gaza war.
It has severely weakened Iran's regional allies, Hamas in Gaza and Lebanon's Hezbollah, and has bombed Yemen's Houthis.
Israel has accused Iran of using a cluster bomb with the aim of increasing civilian casualties, as the seven day old war between the two countries continues to escalate.
"Today, the Iranian Armed Forces fired a missile that contained cluster submunitions at a densely populated civilian area," Israel's embassy in Washington said in an email to Reuters that did not identify the area.
"Cluster weapons are designed to disperse over a large area and maximise the chances of a harmful strike," the email continued. "Iran unlawfully fired deliberately at civilian population centres, and seeks to maximise the damage to civilians in them by using wide-dispersal munitions."
Israeli news reports quoted the Israeli military as saying the missile's warhead split open at an altitude of about 7 km and released around 20 submunitions in a radius of around 8 km over central Israel.
There were no reports of casualties from the bomb.
Iran and Israel declined to join a 2008 international ban on the production, stockpiling, transfer and use of cluster bombs that has been signed by 111 countries and 12 other entities.
There's still no sign of an exit strategy from the conflict for either side after Israel bombed nuclear targets in Iran and and Iranian missile hit an Israeli hospital.
US President Donald Trump, who has kept the world guessing about whether the United States might join the war on Israel's side, said he would make a decision within the next two weeks.
"Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks," press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, quoting a message from the president.
As president, Trump has commonly used "two weeks" as a timeframe for making decisions, meaning it may not be a firm deadline.
Israel launched a sweeping aerial campaign against Iran a week ago, calling it a pre-emptive strike to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Iran has denied plans to develop such weapons and retaliated by launching counterstrikes on Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tehran's "tyrants" would pay the "full price" for a strike that damaged the Soroka medical centre in Israel's southern city of Beersheba
"Are we targeting the downfall of the regime? That may be a result, but it's up to the Iranian people to rise for their freedom," Netanyahu said.
Israeli military spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin accused Iran of deliberately targeting civilians in the hospital attack.
"That is state-sponsored terror and a blatant violation of international law," Defrin told a press briefing.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted Israeli military and intelligence headquarters near the hospital. An Israeli military official denied there were military targets nearby.
Israel attacked the special forces headquarters of the internal security apparatus in Tehran in the last 24 hours, Defrin said. Earlier, Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military had been instructed to intensify strikes on strategic-related targets in Tehran in order to eliminate the threat to Israel and destabilise the "regime" of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Netanyahu wants Iran weakened enough to be forced into fundamental concessions on permanently abandoning its nuclear enrichment, its ballistic missile program and its support for militant groups across the region.
Earlier, Israel said it had struck Iran's Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites. It also targeted the partially built Arak heavy-water research reactor that can produce plutonium, also used to make the core of an atom bomb.
A week of Israeli air and missile strikes has wiped out the top echelon of Iran's military command and killed hundreds of people. Iranian retaliatory strikes have killed at least two dozen civilians in Israel.
On Thursday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said it had launched combined missile and drone attacks at military and industrial sites linked to Israel's defence industry in Haifa and Tel Aviv.
Israel, which has the most advanced military in the Middle East, has been fighting on several fronts since the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas triggered the Gaza war.
It has severely weakened Iran's regional allies, Hamas in Gaza and Lebanon's Hezbollah, and has bombed Yemen's Houthis.
Israel has accused Iran of using a cluster bomb with the aim of increasing civilian casualties, as the seven day old war between the two countries continues to escalate.
"Today, the Iranian Armed Forces fired a missile that contained cluster submunitions at a densely populated civilian area," Israel's embassy in Washington said in an email to Reuters that did not identify the area.
"Cluster weapons are designed to disperse over a large area and maximise the chances of a harmful strike," the email continued. "Iran unlawfully fired deliberately at civilian population centres, and seeks to maximise the damage to civilians in them by using wide-dispersal munitions."
Israeli news reports quoted the Israeli military as saying the missile's warhead split open at an altitude of about 7 km and released around 20 submunitions in a radius of around 8 km over central Israel.
There were no reports of casualties from the bomb.
Iran and Israel declined to join a 2008 international ban on the production, stockpiling, transfer and use of cluster bombs that has been signed by 111 countries and 12 other entities.
There's still no sign of an exit strategy from the conflict for either side after Israel bombed nuclear targets in Iran and and Iranian missile hit an Israeli hospital.
US President Donald Trump, who has kept the world guessing about whether the United States might join the war on Israel's side, said he would make a decision within the next two weeks.
"Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks," press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, quoting a message from the president.
As president, Trump has commonly used "two weeks" as a timeframe for making decisions, meaning it may not be a firm deadline.
Israel launched a sweeping aerial campaign against Iran a week ago, calling it a pre-emptive strike to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Iran has denied plans to develop such weapons and retaliated by launching counterstrikes on Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tehran's "tyrants" would pay the "full price" for a strike that damaged the Soroka medical centre in Israel's southern city of Beersheba
"Are we targeting the downfall of the regime? That may be a result, but it's up to the Iranian people to rise for their freedom," Netanyahu said.
Israeli military spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin accused Iran of deliberately targeting civilians in the hospital attack.
"That is state-sponsored terror and a blatant violation of international law," Defrin told a press briefing.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted Israeli military and intelligence headquarters near the hospital. An Israeli military official denied there were military targets nearby.
Israel attacked the special forces headquarters of the internal security apparatus in Tehran in the last 24 hours, Defrin said. Earlier, Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military had been instructed to intensify strikes on strategic-related targets in Tehran in order to eliminate the threat to Israel and destabilise the "regime" of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Netanyahu wants Iran weakened enough to be forced into fundamental concessions on permanently abandoning its nuclear enrichment, its ballistic missile program and its support for militant groups across the region.
Earlier, Israel said it had struck Iran's Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites. It also targeted the partially built Arak heavy-water research reactor that can produce plutonium, also used to make the core of an atom bomb.
A week of Israeli air and missile strikes has wiped out the top echelon of Iran's military command and killed hundreds of people. Iranian retaliatory strikes have killed at least two dozen civilians in Israel.
On Thursday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said it had launched combined missile and drone attacks at military and industrial sites linked to Israel's defence industry in Haifa and Tel Aviv.
Israel, which has the most advanced military in the Middle East, has been fighting on several fronts since the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas triggered the Gaza war.
It has severely weakened Iran's regional allies, Hamas in Gaza and Lebanon's Hezbollah, and has bombed Yemen's Houthis.
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The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Oil set to rise again amid Israel-Iran conflict
Oil prices were on track to rise for the third straight week, with investors on edge as the week-old war between Israel and Iran showed no signs of either side backing down. Brent crude futures fell $1.57 cents, or 2 per cent, to $77.28 a barrel. On a weekly basis, it was up 3.9 per cent. The US West Texas Intermediate crude for July - which did not settle on Thursday as it was a US holiday and expires on Friday - was up 86 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to $76. The more liquid WTI for August rose 0.7 per cent, or 50 cents to $74. Prices jumped almost 3 per cent on Thursday as Israel bombed nuclear targets in Iran, and Iran fired missiles and drones at Israel after hitting an Israeli hospital overnight. "Oil prices remain high due to doubled tanker rates and ships avoiding the Strait of Hormuz," said Phil Flynn, analyst at The Price Futures Group. "The risk to supply is keeping them on edge while there have been no major disruptions of Iranian exports," Flynn said. Iran is the third-largest producer among members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, extracting about 3.3 million barrels per day (bpd)of crude oil. About 18 million to 21 million bpd of oil and oil products move through the Strait of Hormuz along Iran's southern coast, and there is widespread concern the fighting could disrupt trade flows in a blow to supplies. There was no sign of an exit strategy from either side, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tehran's "tyrants" would pay the "full price" and Iran warned against a "third party" joining the attacks. The White House said on Thursday that President Donald Trump will decide whether the US will get involved in the Israel-Iran conflict in the next two weeks. "The "two-week deadline" is a tactic Trump has used in other key decisions. Often these deadlines expire without concrete action,.. which would see the crude oil price remain elevated and potentially build on recent gains," said Tony Sycamore, analyst at IG. Oil prices were on track to rise for the third straight week, with investors on edge as the week-old war between Israel and Iran showed no signs of either side backing down. Brent crude futures fell $1.57 cents, or 2 per cent, to $77.28 a barrel. On a weekly basis, it was up 3.9 per cent. The US West Texas Intermediate crude for July - which did not settle on Thursday as it was a US holiday and expires on Friday - was up 86 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to $76. The more liquid WTI for August rose 0.7 per cent, or 50 cents to $74. Prices jumped almost 3 per cent on Thursday as Israel bombed nuclear targets in Iran, and Iran fired missiles and drones at Israel after hitting an Israeli hospital overnight. "Oil prices remain high due to doubled tanker rates and ships avoiding the Strait of Hormuz," said Phil Flynn, analyst at The Price Futures Group. "The risk to supply is keeping them on edge while there have been no major disruptions of Iranian exports," Flynn said. Iran is the third-largest producer among members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, extracting about 3.3 million barrels per day (bpd)of crude oil. About 18 million to 21 million bpd of oil and oil products move through the Strait of Hormuz along Iran's southern coast, and there is widespread concern the fighting could disrupt trade flows in a blow to supplies. There was no sign of an exit strategy from either side, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tehran's "tyrants" would pay the "full price" and Iran warned against a "third party" joining the attacks. The White House said on Thursday that President Donald Trump will decide whether the US will get involved in the Israel-Iran conflict in the next two weeks. "The "two-week deadline" is a tactic Trump has used in other key decisions. Often these deadlines expire without concrete action,.. which would see the crude oil price remain elevated and potentially build on recent gains," said Tony Sycamore, analyst at IG. Oil prices were on track to rise for the third straight week, with investors on edge as the week-old war between Israel and Iran showed no signs of either side backing down. Brent crude futures fell $1.57 cents, or 2 per cent, to $77.28 a barrel. On a weekly basis, it was up 3.9 per cent. The US West Texas Intermediate crude for July - which did not settle on Thursday as it was a US holiday and expires on Friday - was up 86 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to $76. The more liquid WTI for August rose 0.7 per cent, or 50 cents to $74. Prices jumped almost 3 per cent on Thursday as Israel bombed nuclear targets in Iran, and Iran fired missiles and drones at Israel after hitting an Israeli hospital overnight. "Oil prices remain high due to doubled tanker rates and ships avoiding the Strait of Hormuz," said Phil Flynn, analyst at The Price Futures Group. "The risk to supply is keeping them on edge while there have been no major disruptions of Iranian exports," Flynn said. Iran is the third-largest producer among members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, extracting about 3.3 million barrels per day (bpd)of crude oil. About 18 million to 21 million bpd of oil and oil products move through the Strait of Hormuz along Iran's southern coast, and there is widespread concern the fighting could disrupt trade flows in a blow to supplies. There was no sign of an exit strategy from either side, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tehran's "tyrants" would pay the "full price" and Iran warned against a "third party" joining the attacks. The White House said on Thursday that President Donald Trump will decide whether the US will get involved in the Israel-Iran conflict in the next two weeks. "The "two-week deadline" is a tactic Trump has used in other key decisions. Often these deadlines expire without concrete action,.. which would see the crude oil price remain elevated and potentially build on recent gains," said Tony Sycamore, analyst at IG. Oil prices were on track to rise for the third straight week, with investors on edge as the week-old war between Israel and Iran showed no signs of either side backing down. Brent crude futures fell $1.57 cents, or 2 per cent, to $77.28 a barrel. On a weekly basis, it was up 3.9 per cent. The US West Texas Intermediate crude for July - which did not settle on Thursday as it was a US holiday and expires on Friday - was up 86 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to $76. The more liquid WTI for August rose 0.7 per cent, or 50 cents to $74. Prices jumped almost 3 per cent on Thursday as Israel bombed nuclear targets in Iran, and Iran fired missiles and drones at Israel after hitting an Israeli hospital overnight. "Oil prices remain high due to doubled tanker rates and ships avoiding the Strait of Hormuz," said Phil Flynn, analyst at The Price Futures Group. "The risk to supply is keeping them on edge while there have been no major disruptions of Iranian exports," Flynn said. Iran is the third-largest producer among members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, extracting about 3.3 million barrels per day (bpd)of crude oil. About 18 million to 21 million bpd of oil and oil products move through the Strait of Hormuz along Iran's southern coast, and there is widespread concern the fighting could disrupt trade flows in a blow to supplies. There was no sign of an exit strategy from either side, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tehran's "tyrants" would pay the "full price" and Iran warned against a "third party" joining the attacks. The White House said on Thursday that President Donald Trump will decide whether the US will get involved in the Israel-Iran conflict in the next two weeks. "The "two-week deadline" is a tactic Trump has used in other key decisions. Often these deadlines expire without concrete action,.. which would see the crude oil price remain elevated and potentially build on recent gains," said Tony Sycamore, analyst at IG.
The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Breaking up is hard to do but there comes a time
This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to The wedding, only weeks away, is off. Dreams have dissolved in a swirling fog of bitterness, betrayal and resentment. But it's a gut-wrenching sadness that will linger, not only for the couple involved but for friends and family grieving a future that will never arrive. When something you believe in falls apart, anger eventually turns to sorrow for all that is lost. These friends of ours spent a year planning their celebration. An apartment was bought. Rings and outfits purchased. Guests had paid for flights and accommodation. How to make sense of something when love abruptly turns to cold silence? You sift through the rubble looking for those tell-tale signs of cold feet and gnawing doubts that only the aftermath reveals; how one partner clung to the dream more than the other; how others saw worrying signs but looked the other way, choosing fantasy over reality. Then the hardest thing: moving on. Australia faces a similar dilemma over its alliance with the US. We now have a sullen and aloof partner who wants different things. Donald Trump is swinging a wrecking ball through a century's worth of carefully-crafted international diplomacy, treating historic loyalties as nothing more than leverage and Australia as a second-class ally whose phone calls are no longer returned. Trump's administration is actively reviewing AUKUS - the security pact promised to be the cornerstone of our future defence. He questions the value of NATO, blithely undermines long-standing commitments to the Pacific region and is openly cynical about the old world order. He not only flirts with dictators but courts them. The US is an old lover grown contemptuous of traditional values. Australia is the still-believing partner, too quick to forgive, desperately believing the relationship can still be retrieved. It's time to move on. The Australian public certainly thinks so. The latest annual survey by the US-based Pew Research Centre shows we rank behind only Sweden when it comes to anti-Trump sentiment, viewing him as dangerous and a threat to peace and the global economy. To alienate so many old friends in a few months is no mean achievement. Or an accident. Enter Anthony Albanese, his historic election victory all but forgotten in a world punch drunk from endless economic and military crises. His task - almost certainly the legacy-defining mission of his prime ministership - is to ease Australia from an increasingly unreliable relationship with the US and steer a new path for our nation. There is a blueprint of sorts for him to follow. Paul Keating saw this moment coming years ago. After decades of burying our dead in America's wars because we believed it would do the same for us, Keating said it was time for us to end our US dependency and embrace Asia, the dynamic, complex and rapidly emerging region in which we live. The former PM was ridiculed for saying we needed to grow up and stop acting like a deputy sheriff. At the time China was still a rising power. It has now risen. India is on the same path. Nations like Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan and South Korea are our neighbours, trading partners and should be our strategic peers. Yet we continue treating them like brief stopovers on our way to the glamour of old London and Washington. But nostalgia is not a strategy. Growing up and moving on means investing in regional alliances, not relying on a nation teetering on the brink of civil breakdown. Trust can only be established in southeast Asia by making decisions in the best interests of us and our region, not parroting US policy that these days is increasingly erratic and unhinged. No one says we should completely walk away from America. We've long had a close and co-dependent relationship - culturally and militarily. Completely severing ties would be foolish. But like the sudden relationship implosion and hastily cancelled wedding of my friends, Australia faces two choices: to wallow in the loss of an alliance growing increasingly distant, or accept that a once strong and mutually beneficial partnership has become too one-sided. The healthy alternative? Get out into the world and make some new friends. We stopped clinging to England's skirts a long time ago. Surely we are a nation with enough ingenuity, resilience and self-belief to walk away from another damaged relationship and preserve our sense of self-worth. It might be Donald Trump's lasting contribution to international diplomacy: follow America's lead and put yourself first. HAVE YOUR SAY: Should Australia distance itself from the US and forge greater military and economic partnerships in Asia? Do you still trust the US to support Australia in the event of a conflict? Do you find Trump's disdain for the old world order refreshing or a calamity causing greater instability? Have you or someone you know been left at the altar? Email us: echidna@ SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - An election promise to implement a 2030 greenhouse gas emissions target has been abandoned by the Northern Territory as it vigorously pushes for more mining and energy projects. - New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in budget funding to the Cook Islands, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the island group's deepening ties with China. - Up to 105 cases of land clearing, mainly for farming, could soon be under investigation by authorities after a citizen science project uncovered 90,000 hectares of bush bulldozed over the past five years. THEY SAID IT: "The view here (in Australia) is that the US will rescue us if we ever really have a problem. And I don't think that's true ... I think you're unwise for believing it's true." - Tucker Carlson YOU SAID IT: There's nothing like curling your toes in front of a roaring fire. But if you can smell the smoke it's most likely doing you harm. David thinks wood heaters should be banned: "I've had a gutful and a lung full of the smoke seeping into my house on winter evenings and filling my lungs in the backyard, not to mention polluting my freshly hung washing. I have several friends who are 'green' in many respects, but will not give up their beloved wood-fired heaters. The science is uber clear; in the ACT these heaters contribute to between 11 and 63 deaths each year. The ACT government needs to step up and fulfil its duty of care obligation to Canberrans." "I live in Hadspen near Launceston and both towns are surrounded by hills which trap smoke in still conditions," writes Rowan. "Launceston has the worst air quality of any city in Australia - beating Sydney. The love of wood fires in Tasmania is immutable. Despite new housing being built with reverse-cycle heating (called heat-pumps down here) and electricity at 15c per kWh, people still install these stink-heaters. I feel sorry for the wildlife that cannot escape and for their habitat which is often illegally logged to feed these heaters." Murray writes: "I have a bit of lung disease caused by smoking, back in the day when everyone smoked. So when we bought our cottage in the country the first thing we did was pull out the log burner. It was out of the ark anyway. When I go out on a still, cold morning and smoke is in the air, my breathing is awful. Does that mean our neighbours must get rid of their fires? Of course not." "I loved my wood fire back in the day, but I've bowed to the knowledge it was bad for me, my neighbours and the environment," writes Keith. "However, I can't wean myself off the comfort of the bouncing flame in the living room so I've installed an electric fire. It's not quite the same but it can still generate a feeling of wellbeing on a cold morning or evening." This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to The wedding, only weeks away, is off. Dreams have dissolved in a swirling fog of bitterness, betrayal and resentment. But it's a gut-wrenching sadness that will linger, not only for the couple involved but for friends and family grieving a future that will never arrive. When something you believe in falls apart, anger eventually turns to sorrow for all that is lost. These friends of ours spent a year planning their celebration. An apartment was bought. Rings and outfits purchased. Guests had paid for flights and accommodation. How to make sense of something when love abruptly turns to cold silence? You sift through the rubble looking for those tell-tale signs of cold feet and gnawing doubts that only the aftermath reveals; how one partner clung to the dream more than the other; how others saw worrying signs but looked the other way, choosing fantasy over reality. Then the hardest thing: moving on. Australia faces a similar dilemma over its alliance with the US. We now have a sullen and aloof partner who wants different things. Donald Trump is swinging a wrecking ball through a century's worth of carefully-crafted international diplomacy, treating historic loyalties as nothing more than leverage and Australia as a second-class ally whose phone calls are no longer returned. Trump's administration is actively reviewing AUKUS - the security pact promised to be the cornerstone of our future defence. He questions the value of NATO, blithely undermines long-standing commitments to the Pacific region and is openly cynical about the old world order. He not only flirts with dictators but courts them. The US is an old lover grown contemptuous of traditional values. Australia is the still-believing partner, too quick to forgive, desperately believing the relationship can still be retrieved. It's time to move on. The Australian public certainly thinks so. The latest annual survey by the US-based Pew Research Centre shows we rank behind only Sweden when it comes to anti-Trump sentiment, viewing him as dangerous and a threat to peace and the global economy. To alienate so many old friends in a few months is no mean achievement. Or an accident. Enter Anthony Albanese, his historic election victory all but forgotten in a world punch drunk from endless economic and military crises. His task - almost certainly the legacy-defining mission of his prime ministership - is to ease Australia from an increasingly unreliable relationship with the US and steer a new path for our nation. There is a blueprint of sorts for him to follow. Paul Keating saw this moment coming years ago. After decades of burying our dead in America's wars because we believed it would do the same for us, Keating said it was time for us to end our US dependency and embrace Asia, the dynamic, complex and rapidly emerging region in which we live. The former PM was ridiculed for saying we needed to grow up and stop acting like a deputy sheriff. At the time China was still a rising power. It has now risen. India is on the same path. Nations like Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan and South Korea are our neighbours, trading partners and should be our strategic peers. Yet we continue treating them like brief stopovers on our way to the glamour of old London and Washington. But nostalgia is not a strategy. Growing up and moving on means investing in regional alliances, not relying on a nation teetering on the brink of civil breakdown. Trust can only be established in southeast Asia by making decisions in the best interests of us and our region, not parroting US policy that these days is increasingly erratic and unhinged. No one says we should completely walk away from America. We've long had a close and co-dependent relationship - culturally and militarily. Completely severing ties would be foolish. But like the sudden relationship implosion and hastily cancelled wedding of my friends, Australia faces two choices: to wallow in the loss of an alliance growing increasingly distant, or accept that a once strong and mutually beneficial partnership has become too one-sided. The healthy alternative? Get out into the world and make some new friends. We stopped clinging to England's skirts a long time ago. Surely we are a nation with enough ingenuity, resilience and self-belief to walk away from another damaged relationship and preserve our sense of self-worth. It might be Donald Trump's lasting contribution to international diplomacy: follow America's lead and put yourself first. HAVE YOUR SAY: Should Australia distance itself from the US and forge greater military and economic partnerships in Asia? Do you still trust the US to support Australia in the event of a conflict? Do you find Trump's disdain for the old world order refreshing or a calamity causing greater instability? Have you or someone you know been left at the altar? Email us: echidna@ SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - An election promise to implement a 2030 greenhouse gas emissions target has been abandoned by the Northern Territory as it vigorously pushes for more mining and energy projects. - New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in budget funding to the Cook Islands, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the island group's deepening ties with China. - Up to 105 cases of land clearing, mainly for farming, could soon be under investigation by authorities after a citizen science project uncovered 90,000 hectares of bush bulldozed over the past five years. THEY SAID IT: "The view here (in Australia) is that the US will rescue us if we ever really have a problem. And I don't think that's true ... I think you're unwise for believing it's true." - Tucker Carlson YOU SAID IT: There's nothing like curling your toes in front of a roaring fire. But if you can smell the smoke it's most likely doing you harm. David thinks wood heaters should be banned: "I've had a gutful and a lung full of the smoke seeping into my house on winter evenings and filling my lungs in the backyard, not to mention polluting my freshly hung washing. I have several friends who are 'green' in many respects, but will not give up their beloved wood-fired heaters. The science is uber clear; in the ACT these heaters contribute to between 11 and 63 deaths each year. The ACT government needs to step up and fulfil its duty of care obligation to Canberrans." "I live in Hadspen near Launceston and both towns are surrounded by hills which trap smoke in still conditions," writes Rowan. "Launceston has the worst air quality of any city in Australia - beating Sydney. The love of wood fires in Tasmania is immutable. Despite new housing being built with reverse-cycle heating (called heat-pumps down here) and electricity at 15c per kWh, people still install these stink-heaters. I feel sorry for the wildlife that cannot escape and for their habitat which is often illegally logged to feed these heaters." Murray writes: "I have a bit of lung disease caused by smoking, back in the day when everyone smoked. So when we bought our cottage in the country the first thing we did was pull out the log burner. It was out of the ark anyway. When I go out on a still, cold morning and smoke is in the air, my breathing is awful. Does that mean our neighbours must get rid of their fires? Of course not." "I loved my wood fire back in the day, but I've bowed to the knowledge it was bad for me, my neighbours and the environment," writes Keith. "However, I can't wean myself off the comfort of the bouncing flame in the living room so I've installed an electric fire. It's not quite the same but it can still generate a feeling of wellbeing on a cold morning or evening." This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to The wedding, only weeks away, is off. Dreams have dissolved in a swirling fog of bitterness, betrayal and resentment. But it's a gut-wrenching sadness that will linger, not only for the couple involved but for friends and family grieving a future that will never arrive. When something you believe in falls apart, anger eventually turns to sorrow for all that is lost. These friends of ours spent a year planning their celebration. An apartment was bought. Rings and outfits purchased. Guests had paid for flights and accommodation. How to make sense of something when love abruptly turns to cold silence? You sift through the rubble looking for those tell-tale signs of cold feet and gnawing doubts that only the aftermath reveals; how one partner clung to the dream more than the other; how others saw worrying signs but looked the other way, choosing fantasy over reality. Then the hardest thing: moving on. Australia faces a similar dilemma over its alliance with the US. We now have a sullen and aloof partner who wants different things. Donald Trump is swinging a wrecking ball through a century's worth of carefully-crafted international diplomacy, treating historic loyalties as nothing more than leverage and Australia as a second-class ally whose phone calls are no longer returned. Trump's administration is actively reviewing AUKUS - the security pact promised to be the cornerstone of our future defence. He questions the value of NATO, blithely undermines long-standing commitments to the Pacific region and is openly cynical about the old world order. He not only flirts with dictators but courts them. The US is an old lover grown contemptuous of traditional values. Australia is the still-believing partner, too quick to forgive, desperately believing the relationship can still be retrieved. It's time to move on. The Australian public certainly thinks so. The latest annual survey by the US-based Pew Research Centre shows we rank behind only Sweden when it comes to anti-Trump sentiment, viewing him as dangerous and a threat to peace and the global economy. To alienate so many old friends in a few months is no mean achievement. Or an accident. Enter Anthony Albanese, his historic election victory all but forgotten in a world punch drunk from endless economic and military crises. His task - almost certainly the legacy-defining mission of his prime ministership - is to ease Australia from an increasingly unreliable relationship with the US and steer a new path for our nation. There is a blueprint of sorts for him to follow. Paul Keating saw this moment coming years ago. After decades of burying our dead in America's wars because we believed it would do the same for us, Keating said it was time for us to end our US dependency and embrace Asia, the dynamic, complex and rapidly emerging region in which we live. The former PM was ridiculed for saying we needed to grow up and stop acting like a deputy sheriff. At the time China was still a rising power. It has now risen. India is on the same path. Nations like Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan and South Korea are our neighbours, trading partners and should be our strategic peers. Yet we continue treating them like brief stopovers on our way to the glamour of old London and Washington. But nostalgia is not a strategy. Growing up and moving on means investing in regional alliances, not relying on a nation teetering on the brink of civil breakdown. Trust can only be established in southeast Asia by making decisions in the best interests of us and our region, not parroting US policy that these days is increasingly erratic and unhinged. No one says we should completely walk away from America. We've long had a close and co-dependent relationship - culturally and militarily. Completely severing ties would be foolish. But like the sudden relationship implosion and hastily cancelled wedding of my friends, Australia faces two choices: to wallow in the loss of an alliance growing increasingly distant, or accept that a once strong and mutually beneficial partnership has become too one-sided. The healthy alternative? Get out into the world and make some new friends. We stopped clinging to England's skirts a long time ago. Surely we are a nation with enough ingenuity, resilience and self-belief to walk away from another damaged relationship and preserve our sense of self-worth. It might be Donald Trump's lasting contribution to international diplomacy: follow America's lead and put yourself first. HAVE YOUR SAY: Should Australia distance itself from the US and forge greater military and economic partnerships in Asia? Do you still trust the US to support Australia in the event of a conflict? Do you find Trump's disdain for the old world order refreshing or a calamity causing greater instability? Have you or someone you know been left at the altar? Email us: echidna@ SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - An election promise to implement a 2030 greenhouse gas emissions target has been abandoned by the Northern Territory as it vigorously pushes for more mining and energy projects. - New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in budget funding to the Cook Islands, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the island group's deepening ties with China. - Up to 105 cases of land clearing, mainly for farming, could soon be under investigation by authorities after a citizen science project uncovered 90,000 hectares of bush bulldozed over the past five years. THEY SAID IT: "The view here (in Australia) is that the US will rescue us if we ever really have a problem. And I don't think that's true ... I think you're unwise for believing it's true." - Tucker Carlson YOU SAID IT: There's nothing like curling your toes in front of a roaring fire. But if you can smell the smoke it's most likely doing you harm. David thinks wood heaters should be banned: "I've had a gutful and a lung full of the smoke seeping into my house on winter evenings and filling my lungs in the backyard, not to mention polluting my freshly hung washing. I have several friends who are 'green' in many respects, but will not give up their beloved wood-fired heaters. The science is uber clear; in the ACT these heaters contribute to between 11 and 63 deaths each year. The ACT government needs to step up and fulfil its duty of care obligation to Canberrans." "I live in Hadspen near Launceston and both towns are surrounded by hills which trap smoke in still conditions," writes Rowan. "Launceston has the worst air quality of any city in Australia - beating Sydney. The love of wood fires in Tasmania is immutable. Despite new housing being built with reverse-cycle heating (called heat-pumps down here) and electricity at 15c per kWh, people still install these stink-heaters. I feel sorry for the wildlife that cannot escape and for their habitat which is often illegally logged to feed these heaters." Murray writes: "I have a bit of lung disease caused by smoking, back in the day when everyone smoked. So when we bought our cottage in the country the first thing we did was pull out the log burner. It was out of the ark anyway. When I go out on a still, cold morning and smoke is in the air, my breathing is awful. Does that mean our neighbours must get rid of their fires? Of course not." "I loved my wood fire back in the day, but I've bowed to the knowledge it was bad for me, my neighbours and the environment," writes Keith. "However, I can't wean myself off the comfort of the bouncing flame in the living room so I've installed an electric fire. It's not quite the same but it can still generate a feeling of wellbeing on a cold morning or evening." This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to The wedding, only weeks away, is off. Dreams have dissolved in a swirling fog of bitterness, betrayal and resentment. But it's a gut-wrenching sadness that will linger, not only for the couple involved but for friends and family grieving a future that will never arrive. When something you believe in falls apart, anger eventually turns to sorrow for all that is lost. These friends of ours spent a year planning their celebration. An apartment was bought. Rings and outfits purchased. Guests had paid for flights and accommodation. How to make sense of something when love abruptly turns to cold silence? You sift through the rubble looking for those tell-tale signs of cold feet and gnawing doubts that only the aftermath reveals; how one partner clung to the dream more than the other; how others saw worrying signs but looked the other way, choosing fantasy over reality. Then the hardest thing: moving on. Australia faces a similar dilemma over its alliance with the US. We now have a sullen and aloof partner who wants different things. Donald Trump is swinging a wrecking ball through a century's worth of carefully-crafted international diplomacy, treating historic loyalties as nothing more than leverage and Australia as a second-class ally whose phone calls are no longer returned. Trump's administration is actively reviewing AUKUS - the security pact promised to be the cornerstone of our future defence. He questions the value of NATO, blithely undermines long-standing commitments to the Pacific region and is openly cynical about the old world order. He not only flirts with dictators but courts them. The US is an old lover grown contemptuous of traditional values. Australia is the still-believing partner, too quick to forgive, desperately believing the relationship can still be retrieved. It's time to move on. The Australian public certainly thinks so. The latest annual survey by the US-based Pew Research Centre shows we rank behind only Sweden when it comes to anti-Trump sentiment, viewing him as dangerous and a threat to peace and the global economy. To alienate so many old friends in a few months is no mean achievement. Or an accident. Enter Anthony Albanese, his historic election victory all but forgotten in a world punch drunk from endless economic and military crises. His task - almost certainly the legacy-defining mission of his prime ministership - is to ease Australia from an increasingly unreliable relationship with the US and steer a new path for our nation. There is a blueprint of sorts for him to follow. Paul Keating saw this moment coming years ago. After decades of burying our dead in America's wars because we believed it would do the same for us, Keating said it was time for us to end our US dependency and embrace Asia, the dynamic, complex and rapidly emerging region in which we live. The former PM was ridiculed for saying we needed to grow up and stop acting like a deputy sheriff. At the time China was still a rising power. It has now risen. India is on the same path. Nations like Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan and South Korea are our neighbours, trading partners and should be our strategic peers. Yet we continue treating them like brief stopovers on our way to the glamour of old London and Washington. But nostalgia is not a strategy. Growing up and moving on means investing in regional alliances, not relying on a nation teetering on the brink of civil breakdown. Trust can only be established in southeast Asia by making decisions in the best interests of us and our region, not parroting US policy that these days is increasingly erratic and unhinged. No one says we should completely walk away from America. We've long had a close and co-dependent relationship - culturally and militarily. Completely severing ties would be foolish. But like the sudden relationship implosion and hastily cancelled wedding of my friends, Australia faces two choices: to wallow in the loss of an alliance growing increasingly distant, or accept that a once strong and mutually beneficial partnership has become too one-sided. The healthy alternative? Get out into the world and make some new friends. We stopped clinging to England's skirts a long time ago. Surely we are a nation with enough ingenuity, resilience and self-belief to walk away from another damaged relationship and preserve our sense of self-worth. It might be Donald Trump's lasting contribution to international diplomacy: follow America's lead and put yourself first. HAVE YOUR SAY: Should Australia distance itself from the US and forge greater military and economic partnerships in Asia? Do you still trust the US to support Australia in the event of a conflict? Do you find Trump's disdain for the old world order refreshing or a calamity causing greater instability? Have you or someone you know been left at the altar? Email us: echidna@ SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - An election promise to implement a 2030 greenhouse gas emissions target has been abandoned by the Northern Territory as it vigorously pushes for more mining and energy projects. - New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in budget funding to the Cook Islands, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the island group's deepening ties with China. - Up to 105 cases of land clearing, mainly for farming, could soon be under investigation by authorities after a citizen science project uncovered 90,000 hectares of bush bulldozed over the past five years. THEY SAID IT: "The view here (in Australia) is that the US will rescue us if we ever really have a problem. And I don't think that's true ... I think you're unwise for believing it's true." - Tucker Carlson YOU SAID IT: There's nothing like curling your toes in front of a roaring fire. But if you can smell the smoke it's most likely doing you harm. David thinks wood heaters should be banned: "I've had a gutful and a lung full of the smoke seeping into my house on winter evenings and filling my lungs in the backyard, not to mention polluting my freshly hung washing. I have several friends who are 'green' in many respects, but will not give up their beloved wood-fired heaters. The science is uber clear; in the ACT these heaters contribute to between 11 and 63 deaths each year. The ACT government needs to step up and fulfil its duty of care obligation to Canberrans." "I live in Hadspen near Launceston and both towns are surrounded by hills which trap smoke in still conditions," writes Rowan. "Launceston has the worst air quality of any city in Australia - beating Sydney. The love of wood fires in Tasmania is immutable. Despite new housing being built with reverse-cycle heating (called heat-pumps down here) and electricity at 15c per kWh, people still install these stink-heaters. I feel sorry for the wildlife that cannot escape and for their habitat which is often illegally logged to feed these heaters." Murray writes: "I have a bit of lung disease caused by smoking, back in the day when everyone smoked. So when we bought our cottage in the country the first thing we did was pull out the log burner. It was out of the ark anyway. When I go out on a still, cold morning and smoke is in the air, my breathing is awful. Does that mean our neighbours must get rid of their fires? Of course not." "I loved my wood fire back in the day, but I've bowed to the knowledge it was bad for me, my neighbours and the environment," writes Keith. "However, I can't wean myself off the comfort of the bouncing flame in the living room so I've installed an electric fire. It's not quite the same but it can still generate a feeling of wellbeing on a cold morning or evening."
The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Gaza war pushes violence against children to new levels
Violence against children caught up in multiple and escalating conflicts reached "unprecedented levels" last year, with the highest number of violations in Gaza and the West Bank, Congo, Somalia, Nigeria and Haiti. The United Nations annual report on Children in Armed Conflict detailed "a staggering 25 per cent surge in grave violations" against children under the age of 18 from 2023, when the number of such violations rose by 21 per cent. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, "Children bore the brunt of relentless hostilities and indiscriminate attacks, and were affected by the disregard for ceasefires and peace agreements and by deepening humanitarian crises." He cited warfare strategies that included attacks on children, the deployment of increasingly destructive and explosive weapons in populated areas, and "the systematic exploitation of children for combat." Guterres said the United Nations verified 41,370 grave violations against children — 36,221 committed in 2024 and 5,149 committed earlier but verified last year. The violations include killing, maiming, recruiting and abducting children, sexual violence against them, attacking schools and hospitals and denying youngsters access to humanitarian aid. The UN kept Israeli forces on its blacklist of countries that violate children's rights for a second year, citing 7,188 verified grave violations by its military, including the killing of 1,259 Palestinian children and injury to 941 others in Gaza. The Gaza Health Ministry has reported much higher figures, but the UN has strict criteria and said its process of verification is ongoing. Guterres said he is "appalled by the intensity of grave violations against children in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel," and "deeply alarmed" by the increase in violations, especially the high number of children killed by Israeli forces. He reiterated his calls on Israel to abide by international law requiring special protections for children, protection for schools and hospitals, and compliance with the requirement that attacks distinguish between combatants and civilians and avoid excessive harm to civilians. The UN also kept Hamas, whose October 7, 2023, attack in southern Israel sparked the ongoing war in Gaza, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad on the blacklist. In Congo, the UN reported 4,043 verified grave violations last year and 2,568 violations in Somalia. In Nigeria, 2,436 grave violations were reported. And in Haiti, the UN reported 2,269 verified grave violations. In the ongoing war following Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations kept the Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups on its blacklist for a third year. The secretary-general expressed deep concern at "the sharp increase in grave violations against children in Ukraine" — 1,914 against 673 children. He expressed alarm at the violations by Russian forces and their affiliates, singling out their verified killing of 94 Ukrainian children, injury to 577 others, and 559 attacks on schools and 303 on hospitals. In Haiti, the UN put a gang, the Viv Ansanm coalition, on the blacklist for the first time. Secretary-General Guterres expressed deep "alarm" at the surge in violations, especially incidents of gang recruitment and use, sexual violence, abduction and denial of humanitarian aid. The report said sexual violence jumped by 35 per cent in 2024, including a dramatic increase in the number of gang rapes, but stressed that the numbers are vastly underreported. "Girls were abducted for the purpose of recruitment and use, and for sexual slavery," the UN chief said. In Congo, the UN reported 358 acts of sexual violence against girls — 311 by armed groups and 47 by Congo's armed forces. And in Somalia, 267 children were victims of sexual violence, 120 of them carried out by Al-Shabab extremists. According to the report, armed groups were responsible for almost 50 per cent of the violations of children and government forces the main perpetrator of the killing and maiming of children, school attacks and denial of humanitarian access. "The cries of 22,495 innocent children who should be learning to read or play ball — but instead have been forced to learn how to survive gunfire and bombings — should keep all of us awake at night," said Virginia Gamba, the UN special representative for children and armed conflict. Violence against children caught up in multiple and escalating conflicts reached "unprecedented levels" last year, with the highest number of violations in Gaza and the West Bank, Congo, Somalia, Nigeria and Haiti. The United Nations annual report on Children in Armed Conflict detailed "a staggering 25 per cent surge in grave violations" against children under the age of 18 from 2023, when the number of such violations rose by 21 per cent. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, "Children bore the brunt of relentless hostilities and indiscriminate attacks, and were affected by the disregard for ceasefires and peace agreements and by deepening humanitarian crises." He cited warfare strategies that included attacks on children, the deployment of increasingly destructive and explosive weapons in populated areas, and "the systematic exploitation of children for combat." Guterres said the United Nations verified 41,370 grave violations against children — 36,221 committed in 2024 and 5,149 committed earlier but verified last year. The violations include killing, maiming, recruiting and abducting children, sexual violence against them, attacking schools and hospitals and denying youngsters access to humanitarian aid. The UN kept Israeli forces on its blacklist of countries that violate children's rights for a second year, citing 7,188 verified grave violations by its military, including the killing of 1,259 Palestinian children and injury to 941 others in Gaza. The Gaza Health Ministry has reported much higher figures, but the UN has strict criteria and said its process of verification is ongoing. Guterres said he is "appalled by the intensity of grave violations against children in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel," and "deeply alarmed" by the increase in violations, especially the high number of children killed by Israeli forces. He reiterated his calls on Israel to abide by international law requiring special protections for children, protection for schools and hospitals, and compliance with the requirement that attacks distinguish between combatants and civilians and avoid excessive harm to civilians. The UN also kept Hamas, whose October 7, 2023, attack in southern Israel sparked the ongoing war in Gaza, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad on the blacklist. In Congo, the UN reported 4,043 verified grave violations last year and 2,568 violations in Somalia. In Nigeria, 2,436 grave violations were reported. And in Haiti, the UN reported 2,269 verified grave violations. In the ongoing war following Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations kept the Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups on its blacklist for a third year. The secretary-general expressed deep concern at "the sharp increase in grave violations against children in Ukraine" — 1,914 against 673 children. He expressed alarm at the violations by Russian forces and their affiliates, singling out their verified killing of 94 Ukrainian children, injury to 577 others, and 559 attacks on schools and 303 on hospitals. In Haiti, the UN put a gang, the Viv Ansanm coalition, on the blacklist for the first time. Secretary-General Guterres expressed deep "alarm" at the surge in violations, especially incidents of gang recruitment and use, sexual violence, abduction and denial of humanitarian aid. The report said sexual violence jumped by 35 per cent in 2024, including a dramatic increase in the number of gang rapes, but stressed that the numbers are vastly underreported. "Girls were abducted for the purpose of recruitment and use, and for sexual slavery," the UN chief said. In Congo, the UN reported 358 acts of sexual violence against girls — 311 by armed groups and 47 by Congo's armed forces. And in Somalia, 267 children were victims of sexual violence, 120 of them carried out by Al-Shabab extremists. According to the report, armed groups were responsible for almost 50 per cent of the violations of children and government forces the main perpetrator of the killing and maiming of children, school attacks and denial of humanitarian access. "The cries of 22,495 innocent children who should be learning to read or play ball — but instead have been forced to learn how to survive gunfire and bombings — should keep all of us awake at night," said Virginia Gamba, the UN special representative for children and armed conflict. Violence against children caught up in multiple and escalating conflicts reached "unprecedented levels" last year, with the highest number of violations in Gaza and the West Bank, Congo, Somalia, Nigeria and Haiti. The United Nations annual report on Children in Armed Conflict detailed "a staggering 25 per cent surge in grave violations" against children under the age of 18 from 2023, when the number of such violations rose by 21 per cent. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, "Children bore the brunt of relentless hostilities and indiscriminate attacks, and were affected by the disregard for ceasefires and peace agreements and by deepening humanitarian crises." He cited warfare strategies that included attacks on children, the deployment of increasingly destructive and explosive weapons in populated areas, and "the systematic exploitation of children for combat." Guterres said the United Nations verified 41,370 grave violations against children — 36,221 committed in 2024 and 5,149 committed earlier but verified last year. The violations include killing, maiming, recruiting and abducting children, sexual violence against them, attacking schools and hospitals and denying youngsters access to humanitarian aid. The UN kept Israeli forces on its blacklist of countries that violate children's rights for a second year, citing 7,188 verified grave violations by its military, including the killing of 1,259 Palestinian children and injury to 941 others in Gaza. The Gaza Health Ministry has reported much higher figures, but the UN has strict criteria and said its process of verification is ongoing. Guterres said he is "appalled by the intensity of grave violations against children in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel," and "deeply alarmed" by the increase in violations, especially the high number of children killed by Israeli forces. He reiterated his calls on Israel to abide by international law requiring special protections for children, protection for schools and hospitals, and compliance with the requirement that attacks distinguish between combatants and civilians and avoid excessive harm to civilians. The UN also kept Hamas, whose October 7, 2023, attack in southern Israel sparked the ongoing war in Gaza, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad on the blacklist. In Congo, the UN reported 4,043 verified grave violations last year and 2,568 violations in Somalia. In Nigeria, 2,436 grave violations were reported. And in Haiti, the UN reported 2,269 verified grave violations. In the ongoing war following Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations kept the Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups on its blacklist for a third year. The secretary-general expressed deep concern at "the sharp increase in grave violations against children in Ukraine" — 1,914 against 673 children. He expressed alarm at the violations by Russian forces and their affiliates, singling out their verified killing of 94 Ukrainian children, injury to 577 others, and 559 attacks on schools and 303 on hospitals. In Haiti, the UN put a gang, the Viv Ansanm coalition, on the blacklist for the first time. Secretary-General Guterres expressed deep "alarm" at the surge in violations, especially incidents of gang recruitment and use, sexual violence, abduction and denial of humanitarian aid. The report said sexual violence jumped by 35 per cent in 2024, including a dramatic increase in the number of gang rapes, but stressed that the numbers are vastly underreported. "Girls were abducted for the purpose of recruitment and use, and for sexual slavery," the UN chief said. In Congo, the UN reported 358 acts of sexual violence against girls — 311 by armed groups and 47 by Congo's armed forces. And in Somalia, 267 children were victims of sexual violence, 120 of them carried out by Al-Shabab extremists. According to the report, armed groups were responsible for almost 50 per cent of the violations of children and government forces the main perpetrator of the killing and maiming of children, school attacks and denial of humanitarian access. "The cries of 22,495 innocent children who should be learning to read or play ball — but instead have been forced to learn how to survive gunfire and bombings — should keep all of us awake at night," said Virginia Gamba, the UN special representative for children and armed conflict. Violence against children caught up in multiple and escalating conflicts reached "unprecedented levels" last year, with the highest number of violations in Gaza and the West Bank, Congo, Somalia, Nigeria and Haiti. The United Nations annual report on Children in Armed Conflict detailed "a staggering 25 per cent surge in grave violations" against children under the age of 18 from 2023, when the number of such violations rose by 21 per cent. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, "Children bore the brunt of relentless hostilities and indiscriminate attacks, and were affected by the disregard for ceasefires and peace agreements and by deepening humanitarian crises." He cited warfare strategies that included attacks on children, the deployment of increasingly destructive and explosive weapons in populated areas, and "the systematic exploitation of children for combat." Guterres said the United Nations verified 41,370 grave violations against children — 36,221 committed in 2024 and 5,149 committed earlier but verified last year. The violations include killing, maiming, recruiting and abducting children, sexual violence against them, attacking schools and hospitals and denying youngsters access to humanitarian aid. The UN kept Israeli forces on its blacklist of countries that violate children's rights for a second year, citing 7,188 verified grave violations by its military, including the killing of 1,259 Palestinian children and injury to 941 others in Gaza. The Gaza Health Ministry has reported much higher figures, but the UN has strict criteria and said its process of verification is ongoing. Guterres said he is "appalled by the intensity of grave violations against children in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel," and "deeply alarmed" by the increase in violations, especially the high number of children killed by Israeli forces. He reiterated his calls on Israel to abide by international law requiring special protections for children, protection for schools and hospitals, and compliance with the requirement that attacks distinguish between combatants and civilians and avoid excessive harm to civilians. The UN also kept Hamas, whose October 7, 2023, attack in southern Israel sparked the ongoing war in Gaza, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad on the blacklist. In Congo, the UN reported 4,043 verified grave violations last year and 2,568 violations in Somalia. In Nigeria, 2,436 grave violations were reported. And in Haiti, the UN reported 2,269 verified grave violations. In the ongoing war following Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations kept the Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups on its blacklist for a third year. The secretary-general expressed deep concern at "the sharp increase in grave violations against children in Ukraine" — 1,914 against 673 children. He expressed alarm at the violations by Russian forces and their affiliates, singling out their verified killing of 94 Ukrainian children, injury to 577 others, and 559 attacks on schools and 303 on hospitals. In Haiti, the UN put a gang, the Viv Ansanm coalition, on the blacklist for the first time. Secretary-General Guterres expressed deep "alarm" at the surge in violations, especially incidents of gang recruitment and use, sexual violence, abduction and denial of humanitarian aid. The report said sexual violence jumped by 35 per cent in 2024, including a dramatic increase in the number of gang rapes, but stressed that the numbers are vastly underreported. "Girls were abducted for the purpose of recruitment and use, and for sexual slavery," the UN chief said. In Congo, the UN reported 358 acts of sexual violence against girls — 311 by armed groups and 47 by Congo's armed forces. And in Somalia, 267 children were victims of sexual violence, 120 of them carried out by Al-Shabab extremists. According to the report, armed groups were responsible for almost 50 per cent of the violations of children and government forces the main perpetrator of the killing and maiming of children, school attacks and denial of humanitarian access. "The cries of 22,495 innocent children who should be learning to read or play ball — but instead have been forced to learn how to survive gunfire and bombings — should keep all of us awake at night," said Virginia Gamba, the UN special representative for children and armed conflict.
