Author: Hibbaan Baccus

The Vatican has blocked discussions over women’s rights at the UN climate summit following a row over gay and transgender issues, sources have told BBC News. Pope Francis’ representatives have aligned with Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran, and Egypt to obstruct a deal which would have provided more support, including financial help, for women at the forefront of climate change, Colombia’s environment minister told the BBC. Charities including ActionAid said it is crucial a deal is reached as the UN estimates women and girls currently make up 80% of those displaced by climate change. A Vatican spokesperson said the Holy See…

By Elijah J. Magnier The Israeli strikes, both security and military-related, must be critically examined, particularly in light of their success in various regions and against multiple targets. These strikes eventually led to the assassination of Hezbollah’s Secretary-General, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, despite the stringent security measures in place to protect him. Since becoming a declared target for Israel, Nasrallah’s security detail has implemented extraordinary precautions. Individuals in his immediate surroundings were prohibited from using mobile phones or the Internet. Moreover, Nasrallah adopted a highly secretive lifestyle, frequently relocating between different apartments and never staying in one location for an extended…

On the 75th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, President Xi Jinping awarded Bayika Kalidibek, a 72-year-old veteran border guard, the national honorary title of “People’s Guard.” Bayika, an ethnic Tajik from the Pamir Plateau in Xinjiang, has spent 37 years patrolling China’s remote borders with Tajikistan’s Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region and Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor. His recognition by Xi has raised questions about whether the award signals a broader message of solidarity to the Pamiri peoples living in Tajikistan and Afghanistan, who have faced significant repression and human rights violations in recent years. A Lifelong Guardian of China’s Border Bayika…

Brussels/Dushanbe (10/8- 75) Once more Tajikistan comes on the radar screen. Who will be the next president of Tajikistan? How is the ban on the hijab helping the deradicalization of Tajik society? What is the role of the Chinese and Russian influence? And how is the relationship with the European Union coming along? Every year we face a plethora of Tajik issues, for example corruption and drug usage involving officials, now the ban on face veils, or the newest version a ban on black clothes. The desecration of the grave of one of leaders and the promotions of killer squad…

Pope Francis renewed his call for peace in the Middle East and Ukraine on Sunday. “I renew my appeal not to give in to the logic of claiming war,” Francis told a gathered audience in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican City. “I pray every day for peace in Palestine and Israel and I hope that these two peoples can soon stop suffering and let us not forget the martyred Ukraine that suffers so much because of the war,” he added. Regional tensions have increased since the start of the latest Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, when Hamas and Islamic…

Most dismissed retired IDF general Yitzhak Brick’s warning earlier this year of a Hamas invasion. Now Netanyahu wants his advice on how to win. Yitzhak Brick might be the only Israeli military official to see what was coming. And he’s been warning of it for some time. He also does not see a ground invasion of Gaza as the only option. And Israel must prepare for a multi-front war given the situation in the north. Brick cautioned, among other things, of problems with the competence of ground forces and made it clear that the ground invasion does not have to be…

Two cargo ships in the Red Sea have been attacked by missiles fired from territory in Yemen, the US says. One was hit with a drone and another by missiles, both launched from a part of Yemen controlled by the Houthis – a rebel movement backed by Iran. The Houthis did not confirm the drone strike, but said they did fire missiles at the second boat – and a third one. It is the latest attack on foreign ships in the area since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. The Houthis – who seized power nine years ago – have…

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair viewed Northern Ireland as “similar to the Middle East” with people focusing on “the bad without taking the gains into account”. He made the comments during a meeting in January 2002 with Northern Ireland church leaders. Confidential minutes of the talks have been released by the National Archive. During the meeting Mr Blair was also told that Protestant churches “had lost touch with working class communities”. The National Archive’s documents include briefing notes prepared by officials for the prime minister and subsequent minutes of the meeting, which took place on 24 January 2002. That month…

Gaza is a “dystopian nightmare”, renowned UK doctor Ghassan Abu-Sitta told a press conference in London today organised by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP). After 43 days volunteering amidst the Israeli bombardment of the besieged enclave, Abu-Sitta described the horror and devastation unfolding there. The award-winning plastic and reconstructive surgeon offered chilling first-hand testimony about the dead and injured civilians across three Gaza hospitals: Al-Shifa, Al-Ahli and Al-Awda. The three hospitals are no longer in operation due to Israel’s bombardment, said Abu-Sitta, and northern Gaza has been left without a single medical facility. Recounting the first days of his…

Iraq sees a risk of regional conflict if the current truce in Gaza is not turned into a permanent ceasefire, the Iraqi Prime Minister’s Foreign Affairs adviser said, as mediators sought an extension of the temporary four-day Israel-Hamas truce, Reuters reports. Israel’s devastating bombardment of Gaza in response to Hamas’s 7 October attack on Israel has drawn in Iran-aligned armed groups in the region, including Lebanese Hezbollah and several Iraqi factions, who have mounted near daily attacks on Israeli and US forces. But there have been no reports of attacks on US forces in Iraq or Syria since Israel and Hamas began a four-day truce last…