On 4 November, the Israeli Foreign Ministry cancelled the agreement the country signed with UNRWA in 1967. A week earlier, the Knesset had passed legislation banning UNRWA from operating in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.
Sacks of flour at a UNRWA distribution center in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, November 2024. Photo: Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Why is Israel doing this, and what could the consequences be?Read More
The Kremlin had confidently expected confusion and turmoil following the US presidential election.
Instead, a definite outcome and the commitment to a smooth transition of power are set to shape the US political environment for the next couple of months.
Trump and Putin meet in Helsinki in 2018. Photo: Chris McGrath/Getty Images
The US presidential election, which has been dominating the global news, will come to its natural culmination on November 5, even if the outcome remains uncertain for many more days.
Pyongyang, North Korea June 19, 2024. Vladimir Putin is in North Korea for a two-day diplomatic visit. Photo: Contributor/Getty Images
Even in Russia, where war and inflation are major concerns, official sources report that more than 60 percent of adults are following the US elections. Independent polls show that only about 19 percent are following closely, however (TASS, October 31).Read More
The world is suffering from escalating levels of conflict. The Civil war in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the bombing of Gaza have all significantly contributed to dramatic increase in battle deaths in recent years.
Children in displacement camp in Somalia. Photo: Save the Children
Moreover, 2023 witnessed the highest number of state-based conflicts – 59 – since 1946. While armed conflicts affect people of all ages, children are especially vulnerable to the devastating consequences of war.Read More
The BRICS summit on October 22–24, held in Kazan, Russia, was met with great fanfare in Russian propaganda, which hailed it for its “epochal” significance.
Vladimir Putin at a press conference at the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia in October 2024. Photo: Sefa Karacan/Anadolu via Getty Images
As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine approaches its 33rd month, no drastic changes are expected on the battlefield.
The Kremlin has instructed its propagandists to wax poetic about the unique significance of the BRICS summit 2024 in Kazan, Russia. Photo: Stanislav Krasilnikov /Photohost Ag/Anadolu via Getty Images
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is in trouble.
A brief ‘revitalization’ of the ICC due to its swift reaction to Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine: The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) visiting Kyiv Region, Ukraine. Photo: Pavlo_Bagmut/ Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images
To commentators and observers of the Court, one crisis seems to lead on to the next, so that the field of international criminal justice has been described as being in ‘perpetual crisis’.Read More
Is the Ukrainian president weakened?
Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump 27 September 2024 in New York City. Photo: Alex Kent/Getty Images
Sir Michael Howard, one of the most renowned war historians of all time, often pointed out that wars were lost or won as a result of events that took place far from the front lines. The past weeks have powerfully reminded us of the truth in Howard’s observation.Read More
The announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize on October 11 coincided with a dangerous phase in two long wars — Israel’s war against Hamas and Hezbollah and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine — that are both poised for escalation.
Hiroshima after Atomic Bomb strike in 1945. Photo: Prisma Bildagentur/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
On Friday 11 October, we will find out the winner of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. The announcement will take place against the background of full-scale wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as a record number of other conflicts around the world.
At noon on the day of the announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize, a peace dove flies from the windows of the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, carrying the news of the new Nobel laureate. Photo: Johannes Granseth / Nobel Peace Center
Could the Nobel Committee decide that the situation is so bad that no one is worthy of the Peace Prize this year?Read More