Month: February 2022
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Syria: Use of chemical weapons ‘blight’ on international community’s conscience
Impunity for the use of chemical weapons is “intolerable,” the UN disarmament chief told the Security Council meeting on Syria, held on Monday morning. UN News
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Ukraine invasion: Would Putin press the nuclear button?
“In that TV address, Putin wasn’t acting like the master of the Kremlin, but the master of the planet; in the same way the owner of a flash car shows off by twirling his keyring round his finger, Putin was twirling the nuclear button. He’s said many times: if there is no Russia, why do […]
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Ukraine conflict: Thousands of people try to force their way onto a train to Poland
Thousands of people packed on a crowded platform at a train station in the city of Lviv near the Polish border have tried to force their way onto a train bound for Poland. The BBC’s Fergal Keane describes the scenes, as a mother and her child were caught in the crush to escape Ukraine.
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Ukraine conflict: Refugees rush to borders to flee Russia’s war
At the Vysne Nemecke border crossing, about 2km from the Ukrainian city of Uzhhorod, a trickle of refugees made their way across the border. The same scene repeated itself every five minutes or so, usually a youngish woman pulling a child by the hand, a Slovak soldier or border guard helping to pull her suitcase.
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‘Hot conflict’ pushes 12 million Syrians into food insecurity
As the Syrian war has driven poverty and hunger to levels higher than at any previous point, UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen told the Security Council on Friday that he would continue to focus on engaging the parties to bring an end to the protracted conflict. UN News
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Ukraine conflict: Kyiv braces for Russian assault
French President Emmanuel Macron held a telephone call with his Russian counterpart, in what was Mr Putin’s first conversation with a Western leader in days, demanding an “immediate halt” to the offensive. The Kremlin, however, simply said the pair had a “serious and frank exchange of views”.
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‘Political impasse’ hampering change and reform in Iraq
Political leaders in Iraq must urgently overcome their divisions and work for the good of the people, the top UN official in the country told the Security Council on Thursday. UN News
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BBC Ukraine editor: There is no safe place any more
The roads out of the city are blocked with traffic, but it’s a perilous journey – sitting in long, slow-moving queues of traffic you could easily run out of fuel far from home. Trains are operating, but there are big crowds of people trying to get a seat. Ukrainian airspace is closed, under the martial […]
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Israel-Palestine: No substitute for legitimate political process, UN envoy tells Security Council
The destabilizing deterioration of the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory continues in the absence of political solutions that would “reset the trajectory”, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process said on Wednesday. UN News
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Ukraine conflict: Putin tells Russians security is non-negotiable
Meanwhile, in the rebel-held areas, separatist leader Denis Pushilin said military mobilisation was gathering pace to counter what he described as Ukrainian aggression, adding that he could also ask Russia for help. Appearing alongside him, a senior official from Russia’s ruling United Russia party said 93,000 people had been evacuated to Russia.