By Adel Zaanoun with Blaise Gauquelin in Jerusalem GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Dec 21, 2023 (AFP) – Israel has ordered more evacuations in southern Gaza’s main city as diplomats pressed on with efforts to secure a pause in the war that Hamas says has claimed 20,000 lives. The United Nations said Israel had issued evacuation orders on Wednesday for large areas of Khan Yunis, where more than 140,000 displaced people were sheltering. Israel told civilians […]
Tag: conflict
UN Security Council due to vote on delayed Gaza resolution
By Gregory WALTON, Amelie BOTTOLLIER-DEPOIS UNITED NATIONS, United States, Dec 20, 2023 (AFP) – The United Nations Security Council was due to vote Wednesday on a much-delayed resolution calling for a pause to the Israel-Hamas war after members wrangled over wording while aid efforts in the Gaza Strip neared collapse. The humanitarian situation in Gaza was rapidly deteriorating, with a senior UN official saying Israel’s steps to allow in aid were “far short” of mounting […]
Zelensky says ‘no one knows’ when war in Ukraine will end
By Victoria LUKOVENKO with Anna MALPAS KYIV, Ukraine, Dec 20, 2023 (AFP) – President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that there was no end in sight to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as fatigue builds among Kyiv’s allies nearly two years into the war and the Kremlin voices growing confidence of victory. Zelensky said he had turned down a request from the military — for now — to mobilise as many as 500,000 Ukrainians for the army, […]
US Senate leaders say no Ukraine aid before year’s end
By Camille CAMDESSUS WASHINGTON, Dec 20, 2023 (AFP) – The Democratic and Republican leaders of the US Senate said Tuesday that Washington will not be able to approve new aid for Ukraine before year’s end, as the two sides continue to seek a compromise. “As negotiators work through remaining issues, it is our hope that their efforts will allow the Senate to take swift action… early in the new year,” Democrat Chuck Schumer and Republican […]
Challenges facing a Red Sea anti-rebel naval task force
By Didier LAURAS PARIS, Dec 19, 2023 (AFP) – A multinational naval task force to protect a key global shipping lane from Yemen’s Huthi rebels would face severe challenges in a difficult strategic and military context, experts say. The United States has been pushing for such a force after Huthis pledged to continue attacking cargo ships in the Red Sea in support of Palestinians in the Gaza war raging between Israel and militant group Hamas. […]
Bab al-Mandeb Strait: key shipping route under attack
PARIS, Dec 19, 2023 (AFP) – Following a surge in attacks claimed by Yemen’s Huthi rebels targeting cargo vessels in the Red Sea, major shipping companies have halted traffic through the crucial Bab al-Mandeb strait. As the United States works to form a multinational naval task force to safeguard the lane, AFP looks at the importance of the route, referred to as the “Gate of Tears” in Arabic. – Where is it ? – The […]
US pushes naval coalition as Yemen rebels vow to attack more ships
By Hashem Osseiran DUBAI, Dec 19, 2023 (AFP) – The United States pushed Tuesday to build up a multinational naval task force to protect a key global shipping lane from Yemen’s Huthi rebels, who pledged to keep up their attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea. The Iran-backed Huthis say their missile and drone strikes on passing container ships are in support of Palestinians in the Gaza war raging between Israel and militant group […]
Meta accused of mishandling Israel-Hamas war posts
NEW YORK, Dec 19, 2023 (AFP) – Meta’s independent oversight board on Tuesday criticized the social media titan of removing posts that showed human suffering in the Middle East conflict. The board, set up by Meta in 2020 as a supreme court of sorts for the social media titan, overturned two post removal decisions, and urged the company to respond more quickly to changing circumstances in the war between Hamas and Israel. One case involved […]
Ukraine army short of new recruits for the front
By Emmanuel PEUCHOT NEAR BAKHMUT, Ukraine, Dec 19, 2023 (AFP) – After 22 months of war with a horrific human cost, the Ukrainian army is struggling to find recruits to battle Russian forces that are once again on the offensive. Some Ukrainians who joined the fighting at the February 2022 start are still in combat and exhausted, while volunteers to replace those killed or wounded are becoming rarer. “Our units are understaffed. We need young, […]
French sports retailer Decathlon secretly supplying Russia: report
PARIS, Dec 19, 2023 (AFP) – French sports retail giant Decathlon has secretly continued selling clothes in Russia despite officially pulling out in protest at Russia’s war in Ukraine, a media report published Tuesday said. The multinational retailer, which posted sales of 15.4 billion euros ($16.9 billion) last year, announced within weeks of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that it would withdraw from the Russian market. In October of this year, it sold its 60 […]
Yemen rebels vow to keep up Red Sea attacks despite new task force
DUBAI, Dec 19, 2023 (AFP) – The United States condemned “unprecedented” attacks by Yemeni rebels on Red Sea shipping as the Huthis pledged Tuesday to continue military operations despite the announcement of a new maritime protection force. The flurry of drone and missile attacks by the rebels, the latest of which targeted two vessels on Monday, threaten to upend global trade flows, with major shipping firms halting traffic through the Bab al-Mandeb strait. Pentagon chief […]
President Putin vows to make Russia ‘self-sufficent’ in fifth Kremlin term
MOSCOW, Dec 17, 2023 (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday vowed to make Russia “sovereign and self-sufficient” in the face of the West, in his first campaign speech before a March vote to extend his long rule until at least 2030. Putin will stand for a fifth Kremlin term in an election with no real opposition that will come just over two years since he launched the seismic Ukraine offensive. The 71-year-old came […]





