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Gulf Today
04-08-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Today
September could be a decisive moment for Palestine
Next month could be a major turning point for Palestine as France, Britain, Canada and six other countries are set to extend recognition of a virtual Palestinian state. While enjoying three of the four attributes that define statehood — a permanent population, a government and relations with other states — Palestine does not exercise control over sovereign territory. Recognition is to take place at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly which opens on September 9th with addresses from world leaders. The Trump administration has criticised these countries and tried to punish the Palestinians by imposing sanctions on so-far unnamed Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) officials who could be denied visas to attend the General Assembly. Washington has justified its stand by claiming 'the 'the two Palestinian organisations have 'taken actions to internationalise' their conflict 'with Israel, including through the International Criminal Court, and said both had continued 'to support terrorism.'' On the latter charge, neither the Authority nor the PLO supported Hamas' October 7th, 2023, raid into southern Israel during which 1,139 Israelis and visitors were killed and 250 abducted. The US previously excluded Palestinian leaders from the opening of the annual Assembly session. Although he had addressed the General Assembly in 1974, the US refused PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat a visa for the 1988 opening. A special session was held in Geneva in mid-December to enable Arafat to speak. After this debacle, his successor, Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas, has addressed the opening session of the Assembly for nearly two decades. Palestine has been recognised by 147 of the UN's 193 members, 75 per cent, but the US has vetoed its full membership. Consequently, Palestine has observer status which permits it to attend and participate in General Assembly and Security Council sessions but not to vote. Palestine also has gained membership in UN-related institutions despite US objections. Palestine has sought recognition as a state since November 15th, 1988, when the Palestine National Council, the parliament-in-exile, issued the declaration of independence in Algiers. Written by Palestinian national poet Mahmoud Darwish, the declaration called for a mini state in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza occupied by Israelis in 1967 instead of the whole of Palestine. This amounted to a strategic shift in policy by the PLO which had demanded a Palestinian state in the whole of Palestine. The shift was in line with UN Security Council resolution 242 of November 1967 which called for Israel to withdraw from territories seized that June. Following its independence declaration, Palestine was instantly recognised by Algeria, Malaysia, Morocco, Turkey, Yemen, and Somalia. On December 15th, 1988, the General Assembly acknowledged the declaration of independence and recognised Palestine rather than the PLO as representing Palestinians within the UN system. Palestine subsequently gained recognition from states in Asia, Africa, the non-aligned group, and Eastern Europe and by the end of 1989, 94 states had recognised Palestine. EU members Ireland and Spain and Norway recognised Palestine last year. In addition to France, Britain, and Canada, Andora, Finland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Portugal, San Marino, and Malta are set to recognise Palestine this year. Australia has refused to fix a time while Germany and Italy do not intend to offer recognition. The addition of France and Britain will mean that four of the five permanent UN Security Council members (including Russia and China) will have recognised Palestine. The US is the sole hold-out. The Trump administration has criticised the process of recognition and has threatened to impose high tariffs on Canada for taking this action. Donald Trump has fully backed Israel in its war on Gaza and blockade of the strip which has starved 2.3 million Gazans and has been branded genocide by prominent Israeli human rights groups B'Tselem and Israeli Doctors for Human Rights as well as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Israeli experts on genocide. B'Tselem dubbed the terrible and tragic situation in Gaza 'Our Genocide' and stated: 'For nearly two years, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza, acting in a systematic, deliberate way to destroy Palestinian society there through mass killing, causing serious bodily and mental harm and creating catastrophic conditions that prevent its continued existence in Gaza. Israel is openly promoting ethnic cleansing and the destruction of life-sustaining infrastructure for individuals and the group, with 2 million people starved, displaced, bombed, and left by the world to die. The genocide must be stopped.' Israeli Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) presented a position paper entitled 'Destruction of Conditions Of Life: A Health Analysis of the Gaza Genocide.' PHR stated, ' Over the past 22 months, Israel has systematically targeted medical infrastructure across the Gaza Strip, attacking 33 of 36 of Gaza's hospitals and clinics depriving them of fuel and water. More than 1800 of Gaza's medical staff have been killed or detained.' PHR argued that this assault is 'a deliberate, cumulative dismantling of Gaza's health system, and with it, its people's ability to survive. This amounts to genocide.' Haaretz reported in a podcast that the 'mass starvation and death in Gaza seems to have finally cut through the layers of denial and media self-censorship in Israel – and in both Arab and mixed cities – demonstrations against the horrifying humanitarian situation are drawing thousands of protesters.' Haaretz said three out of four Israelis want to end the war which Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu prosecutes to maintain his fragile coalition. It is now a minority government since two ultra-Orthodox religious parties have exited because he did not pass a law granting military exemption to their youths. Israel's war on Gaza propelled France and Saudi Arabia to hold a conference in New York last week to urge countries round the world to recognise the Palestinian state and press for the two-state solution. The conference, attended by 125 countries, issued a call for a ceasefire in Gaza, Hamas' handover to a new administration, and a roadmap for the step-by-step establishment of a Palestinian state.
Irish Examiner
09-05-2025
- General
- Irish Examiner
Letters to the Editor: A positive thought ahead of Darkness into Light
It's heartening to see another Darkness into Light walk coming up on Saturday. It's said that almost everyone thinks of suicide as an option at some point. A seemingly overwhelming and irresistible despair forms, like a cloud blocking the light, you might say. But there's always a way out. It's at least worth asking for a second opinion because, as we know too well from how the world works, nothing is ever exactly how it seems. How many times has a problem seemed beyond the power of any force on Earth to resolve… and begun to look or sound a lot less daunting after just a chat with someone you trust, who is prepared to listen? A chink of light — a tiny flicker maybe — enters the darkness and, before too long, you find that whatever it was that cast the cruel shadow could be tackled after all. A favourite reason of my own for not quitting this life is the curious finding that a big majority of people who attempt suicide, and who report near-death experiences, are relieved they did not end their lives. Regardless of whether near-death experiences are visions of an afterlife or something else entirely, it's interesting that those fortunate people reckoned that life was, after all, better than a self-inflicted exit from this world. Apart from giving one's own life a chance, there's another reason not to 'end it all' and that's the way so many loved ones, and other people we don't even know, will be affected. To avoid hurting those people, it's better by far to talk to a friend, work colleague, or counsellor. It could be the best decision or the best day's work ever. Life is short enough as it is, I believe, and there's enough grieving. How much better just to talk to someone: Call a helpline if you don't want to share with someone you know. I don't mean to judge anyone who died by suicide, but just to say: If the choice is between leaving this world abruptly in a way that will bring nothing but heartache, and giving life another chance, then it's better to stay. You deserve to live. John Fitzgerald Callan, Co Kilkenny More work needed to transpose EU equality directives Since the adoption of the EU Race Equality Directive in 2000, all EU states have been required to designate a body or bodies for the promotion of equal treatment. The Irish designated body was initially the Equality Authority, which was later replaced by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC). It is a year this month since the EU adopted two new directives which provide a much stronger legal framework for the work of national equality bodies. These have to be transposed by June 2026, and so far we have seen little indication of what is planned in Ireland. The IHREC has recently said that it supports a full and ambitious transposition, which is very welcome. However, in writing to the Taoiseach and other ministers on the adoption of the directives, IHREC's main message was that they buttressed its case for extra resources for a range of other — mainly UN-related — human rights functions. This suggests a worrying lack of appreciation of the purpose of the new directives, which is to strengthen the application of equal treatment as defined in EU equality law. The underlying problem here has been noted many times since the Equality Authority and the Human Rights Commission were merged into IHREC in 2014. While the IHREC was supposed to carry forward and amplify the work of both bodies, the Equality Authority's central focus on implementing equality legislation was not adequately reflected in the new organisation's founding legislation, nor in its activities since. Addressing this problem will require legislative and organisational changes which can and should be addressed by Government and the Oireachtas in the transposition of the new directives. Laurence Bond Former director, IHREC, Raheny, Dublin Offshore wind In energy minister Darragh O'Brien's article (Offshore acceleration plan will be a game-changer for Ireland and our future economy, Irish Examiner, May 1), the push to do nearshore renewables with the evangelical zeal of a one-way ticket to energy heaven is worrying. In a side dig to anybody not agreeing to this plan as an obstructionist minority is a swipe at citizens who might care for the environment or even the methods of the Government and companies seeking to push through their goals without due consideration or care for the sensitive areas proposed in their plans. The Sustainable Windfarm Environmental Group SWEG has engaged with the NISA North Irish Sea Array Offshore Wind Farm project to seek better locations for their scheme — 22km offshore not 12km, and still in the Maritime Area Consent area and still within depths of 65m to 70m, suitable for fixed-bottom turbines. The special protection areas (SPAs), still not fully legislated for, provide the areas to protect wildlife in highly-sensitive breeding colonies such as Rockabill, Lambay, and the Skerries islands. The feeling is that the Government wishes to drag its heels on the enacting of SPAs whilst driving through windfarms in and close to existing SPAs, damaging foraging areas for terns, puffins, kittiwakes, brent geese, red-throated divers, cormorants, and species at risk of having devastating results of birdkill and displacement from their breeding areas. The powerful sonars operating over 200db will continue to hurt the hearing of harbour porpoises during surveying and pile-driving, thus causing an inability to forage and feed, thus causing death. The Government is pushing ill-conceived developer-led project areas close to shore for maximum profit without concern for biodiversity and wildlife. Shane Holland Skerries, Co Dublin Irish-US bonds Ireland's bond with the US is strong because of its Irish-American population. Few Irish families remain untouched by enforced emigration, due to war, famine, and unemployment or voluntary emigration in search of adventure and career advancement. My paternal great-grandfather, a Fenian, was hounded out of Ireland after the 1867 Fenian Rising and was welcomed in Boston by the large Irish community. Some of his children were born there. One of my aunts emigrated to New York in her teens, where she raised her family in the city she loved. One of my wife's sisters runs a business in the Big Apple and her uncle followed his sweetheart to San Francisco, where they settled. So my family has many relatives in the USA. Modern travel has allowed cousins on both sides of the Atlantic to regularly come and go. American presidents Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and especially John Fitzgerald Kennedy came to thank us for our relatives' contributions to American society. That's why we spent student summers in the USA, why we go back to visit, why we pray at the grave of JFK in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia. Trump's protectionism can't be allowed to undermine the special bond between our countries. In the immortal words of JFK in the Dáil on June 28, 1963: 'Our two nations, divided by distance, have been united by history. No people ever believed more deeply in the cause of Irish freedom than the people of the USA. And no country contributed more to building my own than your sons and daughters.' God bless Irish Americans, and God save America. Billy Ryle Tralee, Co Kerry Provincial football championships The provincial football championships are far from dead. GAA president Jarlath Burns and the rest of the GAA hierarchy would do well to keep their hands off the great product we have in the West, up North, and hopefully here in the East as well. The 27,137 people who packed into Castlebar recently were treated to an exhibition of football and everything that makes our games special. The day was a credit to the GAA in Connacht. At half time, the jubilee team was honoured — a tradition that Croke Park could learn from in showing proper respect to our heroes of the past. A pipe band added colour and atmosphere, there was a dignified moment's silence for stalwarts of the game, the sun shone, and not a single dirty belt was thrown. It was an exemplar of what sport should be. That it was the biggest crowd at a ball sport in the West since 2014 only underscores the appetite that exists for live Gaelic football. People around me spoke of how there's now too much sport on television and how 'you can't beat the real thing'. I couldn't agree more. So, congratulations to Galway, commiserations to Mayo, and long may the JJ Nestor Cup be fought for with passion and pride. Seán Loftus Iona Road, Dublin 9 Read More Letters to the Editor: The State must stop being complacent on Gaza
Euronews
06-05-2025
- Health
- Euronews
UNAIDS to slash workforce as funding by United States and other donors disappears
ADVERTISEMENT The UN agency that fights HIV plans to slash its workforce by more than half and move many posts to cheaper locations as a result of drastic funding cuts from long-time donors in the United States, Asia and Europe, the agency and staffers have said. UNAIDS said "the overall global AIDS response is facing a severe shock and many of the gains made in the past few decades are at risk of being reversed." It said the restructuring follows an independent panel's recommendations calling for "downsizing" its secretariat in Geneva while continuing to "prioritise the most essential functions." It said it would maintain its presence in 36 countries. The headquarters of the World Health Organization and UNAIDS in Geneva, 8 April, 2019 AP Photo Drastic US cuts in assistance under the Trump administration, part of wider cuts for global health, strike perhaps the biggest blow ever to the world's efforts to fight HIV. UNAIDS had previously warned that unless support to its HIV efforts are restored soon, more than six million people could die in the next four years and an additional 2,000 people per day could become infected with the virus that causes AIDS. Employees were told at an internal town hall on Tuesday that staff will be reduced to around 280-300 from about 600 currently, participants said. UNAIDS officials were considering plans to move many posts to lower-cost locations where it already has offices: in Bonn, Germany; Nairobi, Kenya; or Johannesburg, South Africa, the country with the world's highest number of AIDS cases, agency spokesperson Charlotte Sector said. Related UNAIDS chief urges Donald Trump to make an 'amazing deal' to end HIV 'People are going to die': HIV infections could surge if US support is dropped, UNAIDS chief says UN agencies slash jobs, warn of impact to services amid US funding cuts, officials say UNAIDS was created in 1996, largely to address shortcomings in global HIV policy by another UN health agency, the World Health Organisation (WHO), which continues to partially fund it. The United States, under the second Trump administration, has sharply reduced or paused international funding and support for many UN-related agencies. In an in February in response to the US cuts, UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said HIV infections could jump more than six times by 2029 if US support of the biggest AIDS programme is dropped. She warned that more resistant strains of the disease could emerge. Byanyima acknowledged some valid criticism regarding how HIV aid has been delivered and called it "an opportunity to rethink and develop more efficient ways of delivering life-saving support." Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS, speaks during a press conference in Geneva, 24 March, 2025 AP Photo According to its website, support from the United States contributed more than 40% of the UNAIDS core program and non-core activities that totalled about $214 million (€188 million) in 2023, the most recent year listed. Other top contributors included the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. ADVERTISEMENT In April, the World Food Programme (WFP) and other UN agencies said they would have to slash jobs because of funding cuts, mainly from the United States, warning the reductions would severely affect aid programmes worldwide. Other bodies like UNICEF, the UN children's agency, and OCHA, the humanitarian agency, also announced cuts that would impact around 20% of staff and overall budgets. The cuts to the UN agencies underscore the impact of President Donald Trump's decision to pull the US back from its position as the world's single largest aid donor.
Time of India
06-05-2025
- Health
- Time of India
UNAIDS to slash workforce by more than half as funding by US and other big donors disappears
UNAIDS to slash workforce by more than half as funding by US and other big donors disappears (Photo: AP) The UN agency that fights HIV plans to slash its workforce by more than half and move many posts to cheaper locations as a result of drastic funding cuts from longtime donors in the United States, Asia and Europe, the agency and staffers told The Associated Press on said "the overall global AIDS response is facing a severe shock and many of the gains made in the past few decades are at risk of being reversed." It said the restructuring follows an independent panel's recommendations calling for "downsizing" its secretariat in Geneva while continuing to "prioritize the most essential functions." It said it would maintain its presence in 36 US cuts in assistance under the current Trump administration, part of wider cuts for global health, strike perhaps the biggest blow ever to the world's efforts to fight had previously warned that unless support to its HIV efforts are restored soon, more than 6 million additional people could die in the next four years and an additional 2,000 people per day could become infected with the virus that causes were told at an internal town hall Tuesday that staff will be reduced to about 280 to 300 from about 600 currently, participants officials were considering plans to move many posts to lower-cost locations where it already has offices: in Bonn, Germany; Nairobi, Kenya; or Johannesburg, South Africa - the country with the world's highest number of AIDS cases, agency spokesperson Charlotte Sector told the agency was created in 1996, largely to address shortcomings in global HIV policy by another UN health agency, the World Health Organization, which continues to partially fund United States, under the second Trump administration, has sharply reduced or paused international funding and support for many UN-related an interview with the AP in February in response to the US cuts, UNAIDS executive director Winnie Byanyima said HIV infections could jump more than six times by 2029 if American support of the biggest AIDS program is dropped. She warned that more resistant strains of the disease could acknowledged some valid criticism regarding how HIV aid has been delivered and called it "an opportunity to rethink and develop more efficient ways of delivering life-saving support."According to its website, support from the United States contributed more than 40% of the UNAIDS core program and non-core activities that totaled about $214 million in 2023, the most recent year listed. Other top contributors included the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.
Zawya
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
Director-General of the Department of International Organizations had a discussion with Ambassador of the Arab republic of Egypt to Thailand
On 17 March 2025, Ms. Pinsuda Jayanama, Director-General of the Department of International Organizations, had a discussion with H.E. Mrs. Hala Youssef Ragab, Ambassador of the Arab republic of Egypt to Thailand. Both sides welcomed close bilateral relations between Thailand and Egypt and discussed cooperation areas of mutual benefits, including relations in multilateral and UN-related areas. They also exchanged views on current global issues of mutual interest. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand.
