Author: Gulf News Week

E3 countries accuse Iran of failing to meet its 2015 nuclear pact commitments but say they are still open to diplomacy.France, Germany and the United Kingdom have triggered a mechanism to reimpose sanctions on Iran after a series of meetings failed to reach an agreement on the Iranian nuclear programme.The three European countries, known as the E3, have been warning Tehran for weeks that United Nations sanctions could be reimposed by October when a 2015 nuclear agreement between Tehran and major powers expires.The decision on Thursday opens a 30-day window before the sanctions are reimposed. It comes after a spokesman…

France, the United Kingdom and Germany are demanding Iran make tough concessions to avoid coming under more sanctions.Three European powers have triggered a process that would reimpose punishing United Nations sanctions on Iran for ostensibly not engaging with the international community to reach a deal on its nuclear programme.Known as the E3, France, Germany and the United Kingdom told Iran on Thursday that the ‘snapback’ mechanism had been triggered, and that Iran now had 30 days to negotiate a nuclear agreement.European officials have sought to emphasise that triggering the snapback mechanism does not mean an end to the road for…

Sudan Doctors Network says 24 killed, 55 wounded in attack on densely populated areas in North Darfur capital city.At least 24 people have been killed and dozens of others were wounded in a paramilitary attack on the besieged city of el-Fasher in Sudan’s western Darfur region, according to a medical group.The Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group fighting against Sudan’s military, shelled the densely populated areas of the central market and Awlad al-Reef neighbourhood in el-Fasher, the Sudan Doctors Network, which tracks the country’s civil war, said on Thursday.The attack wounded 55 people, including five women, it said.There was no…

Advocacy groups, lawmakers and family members urge the Trump administration to push Israel to free the 16-year-old Floridian.Washington, DC – Mohammed Ibrahim is just a normal kid who loves his family and likes photography, his relatives say.But the Palestinian American teenager spent his 16th birthday this past March in an Israeli jail, despite protests pleading for his release.His father, Zaher Ibrahim, believes the United States government can free Mohammed and end his ordeal with a single phone call, given the billions of dollars in military aid it sends Israel each year.“But we’re nothing to them,” Zaher told media on Wednesday.Zaher…

Local sources report an Israeli operation in Kiswa, where six soldiers were killed by Israeli drones strikes a day before.Israeli forces have conducted a series of strikes on a former army barracks in Kiswa, southwest of the Syrian capital of Damascus, according to Syria’s state-run al-Ekhbariya TV.Video verified by media’s Sanad fact-checking agency showed Israeli aircraft attacking sites in the village on Wednesday.Meanwhile, a Syrian military source told media that the Israeli army carried out a landing operation in the barracks with the use of four helicopters.According to the source, the Israeli army brought in dozens of soldiers and an…

Judge denies lawyer’s claim that Israeli official could skip arraignment for child sex crime charges in Nevada.A senior Israeli official accused of child sex crimes in the United States has failed to appear for a scheduled court hearing in his case, weeks after he returned to Israel, prompting concerns that he may have fled to avoid facing trial.Tom Artiom Alexandrovich’s lawyer, David Chesnoff, told the court in Nevada on Wednesday that he told his client not to attend the hearing.“He was instructed by me that he didn’t have to be here,” Chesnoff said.However, Judge Barbara Schifalacqua was quick to shut…

Aid experts tell UN Security Council Gaza famine is ‘manmade’ as Israel seeks retraction from hunger monitoring system.UN officials and aid agencies have warned that famine in Gaza is now a reality, with children increasingly dying of hunger as Israel’s siege and bombardment continue to block essential, life-saving aid.In a stark address to the UN Security Council on Wednesday, officials said famine and widespread hunger in the besieged enclave are “engineered” and “man-made” catastrophes.Joyce Msuya, the UN’s deputy humanitarian chief, told the council that famine has been confirmed in the north-central Gaza governorate, where Gaza City is located, and is…

Protesters decry Tom Barrack visit amid Hezbollah disarmament push, warning to journalists not to act ‘animalistic’.US envoy Tom Barrack has cut his visit to southern Lebanon short, according to the Lebanese government’s official news agency.The altered trip on Wednesday came amid protests against Washington’s push to disarm Hezbollah, as well as continued outrage over Barrack’s recent derision of journalists in the country.The National News Agency reported that Barrack was flown by helicopter to a Lebanese army barracks in Marjayoun, near the Israeli border, where troops were deployed in advance of his arrival on Wednesday.However, scheduled visits to nearby Khiam, a…

Using spatial analysis and open-source research, Forensic Architecture unpacks the architecture of Israel’s genocidal starvation of Gaza.A new investigation (PDF) by research group Forensic Architecture (FA) has found that the Israeli military has pursued a deliberate strategy of starvation that has pushed Gaza towards famine. The report details how Israel has weaponised aid, forcing Palestinians to travel long distances to reach military-run distribution centres in the south of the Strip, while opening fire on those same civilians as they seek aid.Researchers documented attacks on civilians, the destruction of infrastructure such as food warehouses, and looting by Israeli-backed gangs.Between March 18…

UN agency warns children in North Darfur city remain cut off from aid and protection as fighting continues to rage.The city of el-Fasher in Sudan’s North Darfur has become an “epicentre of child suffering”, with starvation, mass displacement, and relentless violence taking a catastrophic toll following nearly 17 months under siege, the United Nations children’s agency (UNICEF) has warned.At least 600,000 people – half of them children – have been forced to flee el-Fasher and surrounding camps in recent months amid the ongoing siege by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), according to the agency. The RSF has been fighting…