The United Nations Security Council on Monday backed a high-stakes mission by a UN envoy to avert an attack by the Saudi-led coalition on a key port in Yemen that provides a lifeline for humanitarian aid. The council met behind closed doors to hear UN envoy Martin Griffiths report on his diplomatic efforts to keep the rebel-held port of Hodeidah open to shipments of aid and commercial goods. Britain requested […]
The United Nations Security Council will meet on Monday following rival requests by Russia and the United States after a deadly chemical attack in Syria and a warning by US President Donald Trump that there would be a “big price to pay.” Russia called for a meeting of the 15-member council on “international threats to peace and security,” though the precise topic of discussion was not immediately clear, diplomats said […]
With Russia's backing, the UN Security Council on Saturday unanimously backed a 30-day ceasefire in Syria to allow for humanitarian aid deliveries and medical evacuations as the death toll topped 500 people in the seven day bombing campaign. The resolution demanding the ceasefire "without delay" was adopted as Syrian government forces pounded the rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said warplanes struck Eastern Ghouta on […]
The mothers soothe their children as they huddle together in a dark, airless hole in the ground below the streets of Eastern Ghouta while the blast, shrapnel and fire of incessant bombing rips apart their homes only metres above. Staying alive in the rebel-held suburbs of the Syrian capital means getting as deep as possible, be it a basement, a sewer or a hole dug during the years of siege […]
After two weeks of negotiations, Russia on Thursday told the UN Security Council that there was still no agreement on a 30-day ceasefire in Syria, dimming hopes of international action to halt the carnage in Eastern Ghouta. Moscow has repeatedly used its veto power at the Security Council to block measures on the Syrian war that it opposes, including condemnations of the government in Damascus. During a council meeting called […]
The UN Security Council is expected to vote on Monday on a draft resolution regarding the status of Jerusalem, less than two weeks afterdeclared the city Israel's capital. Trump made the announcement on December 6, saying at the time that the US would be moving its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The leaked Egyptian-drafted resolution obtained by Al Jazeera, however, does not mention the United States by […]
The UN Security Council will hold an urgent meeting on Myanmar's Rohingya crisis, following warnings by the organisation's human rights chief that "ethnic cleansing" is taking place. Britain and Sweden requested Wednesday's meeting against the backdrop of a growing humanitarian crisis. Around 370,000 of Myanmar's minority Rohingya population have fled the country's western state of Rakhine into neighbouring Bangladesh in recent weeks, according to the UN, since disruption began on […]
The UK on Tuesday urged the UN Security Council to convene to discuss reports of mass civilian casualties after raids by Myanmar security forces against Rohingya fighters. "UK requests #UNSC meeting on situation in Burma tomorrow. Need to address long-term issues in #Rakhine, urge restraint by all parties," Matthew Rycroft, UK ambassador to the UN, wrote on Twitter. The meeting is expected to take place on Wednesday. UN Secretary-General Antonio […]
Benjamin Netanyahu has boasted his government has done more than any to boost illegal Jewish settlements, as he laid the foundation stone for a new district in the 50,000-population illegal West Bank settlement of Beitar Illit. In a speech on Thursday, the Israeli prime minister said: "No other government has done as much for settlement in the land of Israel as the government which I lead." Settlements in the occupied […]
VOC became the first Muslim radio station in South Africa when a special events license was granted to the station in Ramadan/January 1995. Subsequent temporary broadcast licenses were granted, permitting the station to broadcast for 24 hours.
