United Nations

Iran to Meet UK, France and Germany for Nuclear Talks

Iran is set to meet on Friday with France, Germany and the United Kingdom for talks on its nuclear programme after the three governments joined with the United States to have Tehran censured by the UN atomic watchdog. Last week's chiding prompted a defiant response from Tehran, but its officials have since signalled willingness to engage with ...

Le Drian's Mission: Swift Presidential Election or Negative Consequences

A French diplomatic source disclosed that the visit of French presidential envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian, following the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, is aimed at pushing for the swift election of a president. Any delays in this process would reflect poorly on Lebanon in the eyes of the international community, which is closely monitoring the ...

Lebanese Army Reinforces its Presence South of the Litani River

The Lebanese Army began reinforcing its presence South of the Litani River on Wednesday, as part of its bid to extend state authority in coordination with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). This move is in line with Lebanon's commitment to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which stipulates bolstering the Lebanese ...

Local Responses on the Announcement of the Ceasefire

Hours after US President Joe Biden announced a proposal to end the “devastating” conflict, which has killed thousands of people over the course of nearly 14 months of cross-border fighting, the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect. Many local positions were issued after the truce, which started at 4 AM on ...

Editorial-Comprehensive and Strengthened Ceasefire Under Resolution 1701

A keen observer, closely following the Middle Eastern conflict, once noted during the Lebanese war that Arab regimes were always “a truce behind.” In other words, at every critical turn in the regional crisis, they often accepted conditions or succumbed to situations they had rejected just a few years earlier. This unfortunate reality applies ...

UN Chief Slams US Decision to Supply Ukraine with Landmine

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres slammed on Monday the "renewed threat" of anti-personnel landmines, days after the United States said it would supply the weapons to Ukrainian forces battling Russia's invasion. In remarks sent to a conference in Cambodia to review progress on the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty, Guterres hailed the work of ...

UN Envoy for Syria Urges Ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon

The UN special envoy for Syria said on Sunday that it was “extremely critical” to end the fighting in Lebanon and Gaza to avoid the country being pulled into a regional war. “We need now to make sure that we have immediately a ceasefire in Gaza, that we have a ceasefire in Lebanon, and that we avoid Syria being dragged even ...

Flames of War Devastate 65,000 Olive Trees

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reports that 70% of the Lebanese agricultural sector has been affected, both directly and indirectly. Thousands of hectares have been completely or nearly destroyed, and 65,000 olive trees have been fully burned due to white phosphorus bombings, which are prohibited under ...

COP29 Scramble for New Deal After Poor Nations Reject Offer

Fierce bargaining at UN climate talks in Azerbaijan dragged into Saturday after a $250 billion a year offer from rich nations was flatly refused by developing countries hardest hit by Earth's rapid warming. Negotiators from nearly 200 nations spent another harried and sleepless night in a sports stadium trying to land a compromise figure for ...

Deadlocked COP29 Awaits Fresh Draft Deal on Final Day

Representatives from nearly 200 nations awaited a fresh proposal Friday for a potential compromise in marathon climate finance talks on the last day of a hard-fought COP29 summit in Azerbaijan. The gruelling two-week conference in the Caspian Sea city Baku is almost certain to go into overtime, with key details for a deal yet to be released, let ...

Russia Gave N. Korea Oil, Anti-air Missiles in Exchange for Troops

Russia provided North Korea with oil, anti-air missiles and economic help in exchange for troops to support Moscow's war on Ukraine, government officials and a research group said Friday. The United States and South Korea have accused the nuclear-armed North of sending more than 10,000 soldiers to help Russia fight Ukraine, with experts saying ...