In early November, a small group of senior U.S. human rights diplomats met with a top official in President Joe Biden’s State Department to make one final, emphatic plea: We must keep our word….
Archiv: Weltöffentlichkeit / World Public Opinion
Report Says Biden‘s ‚Empty Threats‘ on Gaza Fed Israeli Impunity
New reporting published Wednesday details the impotence and insincerity of President Joe Biden‘s „multiple threats, warnings, and admonishments“ to Israel as it annihilated the Gaza Strip, killing tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians while receiving tens of billions of dollars in U.S. arms and unwavering diplomatic support.
Writing for ProPublica, Brett Murphy showed how multiple „red lines“ issued by Biden administration officials were ignored by Israel with impunity.
Israel kills 81 more Gazans as death toll nears 46,800
Medical sources told Anadolu that most of the victims were killed in intensified Israeli attacks across Gaza following the announcement of a cease-fire deal Wednesday evening.
At least 81 Palestinians killed in the past 24 hours: health ministry
At least 81 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in the past 24 hours, the health ministry announced on Thursday.
Netanyahu delays cabinet vote on Israel-Gaza ceasefire deal and hostage release
An Israeli cabinet meeting to approve a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas was delayed Thursday morning after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the militant group of “reneging” on parts of the agreement.
Authorities Take Custody of Yoon in Martial Law Probe
Before his departure, the president released a three-minute recorded video message saying he was cooperating only to prevent bloodshed between the secret service and law enforcement.
[Sound bite: President Yoon Suk Yeol (Korean-English)]
“I have agreed to appear before the CIO, despite the investigation being illegal, to prevent bloodshed.
South Korean president arrested by anti-corruption investigators after weekslong showdown
The embattled president had been holed up in his fortified residence for weeks surrounded by his Presidential Security Service team, evading arrest as he faces several probes and an impeachment trial.
The Corruption Investigation Office (CIO), which is working with police and the defense ministry to investigate Yoon, first attempted to detain him earlier this month, but it failed after an hours-long showdown in which soldiers and members of the presidential security detail blocked some 80 police and investigators from approaching the presidential compound.
Erstmals in Südkoreas Geschichte amtierender Präsident verhaftet
Südkoreas Ermittlungsbehörden haben am Mittwoch Präsident Yoon Suk Yeol verhaftet.
Er steht im Zusammenhang mit der Ausrufung des Kriegsrechts am 3. Dezember im Verdacht des Hochverrats.
Israel gov‘t expected to vote on Gaza deal by Thursday, according to FM statement
Israel‘s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said he was cutting his visit to Europe short on Wednesday so that he could take part in security cabinet and government votes on a Gaza hostage release and ceasefire deal.
Officials tout a Gaza ceasefire deal and plan to free hostages. Israel says details still in flux
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said final details were being ironed out, saying in a statement that it hoped “details will be finalized tonight.”
Gaza death toll tops 46,700 as Israeli attacks continue unabated
(7 hours ago)
At least 62 more Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours, bringing the overall death toll since October 2023 to 46,707, the Health Ministry in the enclave said on Wednesday.
A ministry statement added that some 110,265 others were injured in the ongoing assault.
Gaza ceasefire deal reached
The ceasefire will go into effect on Sunday.
Protests Erupt in Washington: Blinken Dubbed ‚Secretary of Genocide‘ by Activists!
On January 14, 2025, during a speech at the Atlantic Council in Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was interrupted by activists:
„you will forever be known as bloody blinken, secretary of genocide.“
Gaza death toll reaches 46,645
Since the Israeli onslaught began on 7 October 2023, the death toll has risen to 46,645, with 110,012 people wounded, according to the ministry‘s latest figures.
32 Palestinians killed in Israeli air strikes on Gaza since dawn
(14 January 2025 12:25 GMT)
Medical sources reported to Al Jazeera Arabic that Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip have killed 32 Palestinians since dawn today, with 24 of the victims located in the central and southern regions of Gaza.
Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel) – Cuba files a declaration of intervention in the proceedings under Article 63 of the Statute
THE HAGUE, 13 January 2025. On Friday 10 January 2025, Cuba, invoking Article 63 of the Statute of the Court, filed in the Registry of the Court a declaration of intervention in the case concerning Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel).
Pursuant to Article 63 of the Statute, whenever the construction of a convention to which States other than those concerned in the case are parties is in question, each of these States has the right to intervene in the proceedings. In this case, the construction given by the judgment of the Court will be equally binding upon them.
Cuba files to join South Africa’s genocide case at ICJ against Israel
Cuba has filed a declaration that it will join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, the court announced on Monday.
Lebanon: ICJ president Nawaf Salam chosen as prime minister
Nawaf Salam, president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), was nominated as Lebanon’s prime minister on Monday.
Yemen launches missile attack on Israel‘s Tel Aviv
„We carried out a military operation targeting a vital target of the Israeli enemy in Tel Aviv, using a hypersonic ballistic missile,“ Yemeni spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a statement aired by al-Masirah TV.
„The operation achieved its goal successfully,“ he said, adding that his group also carried out an attack using four drones and targeted „vital targets“ in Tel Aviv.
Kamal Adwan’s Hussam Abu Safia held in Ofer Prison, rights group says
An Israeli rights group says Hussam Abu Safia, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital who was detained by Israeli forces during their raid on the facility in Beit Lahiya last month, is being held in a notorious Israeli military prison in the occupied West Bank.
Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHRI), said the Israeli military confirmed in an email that Abu Safia was at Ofer Prison. A lawyer for Abu Safia’s family was told that he would not be allowed to see him until January 29, said a spokesman for PHRI, Ran Yaron, according to The Associated Press.
Es ist an der Zeit: Ami go home!
Deshalb wollen wir einen Schlussstrich ziehen – gegen die Stationierung von US-Angriffswaffen auf deutschem Boden.
Wir wollen keinen Krieg gegen Russland vom deutschen Boden aus. Wir wollen Frieden mit Russland!
Und wir wollen auch nicht an der Seite der USA Waffen in alle Kriegsgebiete dieser Welt liefern. Deshalb sagen wir: Keinen Cent, keine Waffen und erst recht keine Soldaten für die Ukraine.
Und wir sagen auch: Keine deutschen Waffen für den Tod von Palästinensern und die Zerstörung im Gazastreifen. Stoppt die Waffenlieferungen an Israel.
Und lasst mich eines noch sagen – gerade jetzt, wo der designierte US-Präsident Donald Trump droht, wenn nötig auch mit Waffengewalt Grönland und den Panama-Kanal zu übernehmen: Wir können uns die 37.000 US-Soldaten in Deutschland schlicht nicht mehr leisten.
Wir sagen: „Ami go home.“ Es ist Zeit.
Und wenn wir sagen „Ami go home“, dann meinen wir natürlich auch, dass der US-Präsident natürlich nicht nur seine Soldaten, sondern auch die US-Atomwaffen endlich aus Deutschland mitnehmen kann, so wie der Bundestag schon 2010 mehrheitlich den Abzug der Waffen beschlossen hat.
Die Vasallentreue deutscher Regierungen gegenüber den USA muss endlich ein Ende finden in der deutschen Politik.
Deshalb sagen wir auch: Es ist an der Zeit, Deutschland, unser Land, verdient Souveränität.
In diesem Sinne, für ein soziales, ein demokratisches und ein souveränes Deutschland.
Glück auf.
Gaza death toll reaches 46,584
The Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that the death toll from Israel’s ongoing military onslaught has climbed to 46,584, with 109,731 people wounded since Israel‘s war on Gaza began on 7 October 2023.
What a second Trump administration may mean for the Saudi nuclear program
(January 6, 2ß25)
Riyadh has been very clear on the kind of nuclear partnership it expects, and it is no secret that its favored option is cooperation with South Korea, similar under a 123 agreement (a nuclear cooperation document that establishes the legal basis and prerequisites for nuclear deals with the United States) allowing it to enrich uranium domestically. The problem, however, lies in the last bit of the sentence. The United States currently insists on an agreement that requires the Saudis forgo enrichment and reprocessing capabilities—two pathways to building a bomb. The reelection of Trump might be the Saudis’ chance to tip the balance in their favor.
CIA Director Reiterates There’s No Evidence Iran Has Decided To Build a Nuclear Bomb
(January 12, 2025)
The hype about Iran’s nuclear program is focused on the enrichment of some uranium at 60% purity, which is still below the 90% needed for weapons-grade. Iran took the step to enrich at 60% in response to an Israeli covert attack on its Natanz nuclear facility in 2021.
Iran is also a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, unlike Israel, which never signed the NPT and has a covert nuclear stockpile that’s not officially acknowledged by the US.
Transcript: NPR‘s full conversation with CIA Director William Burns
(January 10, 2025)
Kelly: Iran, which had a pretty lousy 2024, weakened internally, mounting pressures externally. We interviewed Jake Sullivan, the national security, the national security adviser at the White House the other day. He told me the big question on his mind is, given the losses Iran has sustained, will it make it more likely, more likely that Iran tries to go for a nuclear weapon? Director Burns, will it?
Burns: It‘s something we watch very intently, because you‘re right, Iran has it‘s strategic position has suffered considerably over the course of the last six or seven months. You know, two failed efforts to launch significant ballistic missile strikes against Israel, the collapse of its leading proxy, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the severe degradation of Hamas in Gaza, and then the fall of the Assad regime in Syria. All of that, I think, strategically puts the Iranian regime in a much weaker position. And so Jake Sullivan was right to express the concern that, you know, the Iranian regime could decide in the face of that weakness that it needs to restore its deterrence as it sees it and, you know, reverse the decision made at the end of 2003 to suspend their weaponization program. We do not see any sign today that any such decision has been made, but we obviously watch it intently.
Israeli airstrikes target Baalbek region in Lebanon, violating ceasefire agreement
In addition to the Baalbek strikes, Israeli aircraft executed six intense airstrikes across various locations in southern Lebanon, as reported by NNA.
The ceasefire, facilitated by the United States and France, was intended to conclude nearly 14 months of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
Iran Update, January 12, 2025
The Artesh exercises tested the manned and unmanned aircraft as well as the following air defense systems, according to Iranian state media:[3]
– Rad missile. An Iranian-made, short-range, anti-tank missile designed for T-72 tanks, fired from a 125 millimeters (mm) caliber barrel, and with a target distance of four kilometers (km).[4]
– Majid missile. An Iranian-made, short-range, shoulder-fired, electro-optical-guided missile with a maximum target range of 15 km.[5]
– Talash missile. An Iranian-made, long-range, mobile surface-to-air air defense missile system, capable of hitting all altitude targets with a a maximum range of 200km.[6]
– Misagh-3 missile. An Iranian-made, short-range, shoulder-fired system with a laser fuse and a maximum range of five km and flight altitude of 3,500 meters (m).[7]
– Khordad-15 system. An Iranian-made, long-range air defense system with a detection range of 85 km and target range of 45 km.[8]
– Shahid Jalilvand radar system. An Iranian-made, medium-range, phased array radar system able to detect small flying targets with low cross-sections in three dimensions and a 24-hour operational continuity.[9]
– Samavat radar-controlled artillery system. A short-range Iranian version of the Swiss low-altitude Skyguard radar system with a range of 4 km and uses an anti-aircraft 35mm Oerlikon caliber barrel gun.[10]
– Seraj radar-controlled air defense artillery system. Iranian-made artillery system with a 35mm caliber barrel gun, radar, and a new optical system.[11]
Is Iran Next?
(January 10, 2025)
Israeli military sources claim that its strikes inside Iran (precipitated by an Iranian missile assault on Israel) dismantled much of its air defense systems. These security officials note that this was a key mission: to eliminate Iran’s air defenses in preparation for a future all-out assault on its nuclear program. The sources estimate it will take a year or more for Iran to repair the current damage and restore its capabilities.
Is Biden Teeing Up an Iran War for Trump?
(January 3, 2025)
President Joe Biden has less than a month in office, but that might be enough time to leave a very big mess on President-elect Donald Trump‘s desk. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan presented Biden with plans to bomb Iranian nuclear sites before the end of his term „in a meeting several weeks ago,“ Axios reported on Thursday. A source told Axios that Biden‘s inner circle believes that he has both „an imperative and an opportunity to strike“ now.
Israel kills 13 Palestinians in northern Gaza Strip since dawn
(13 January 2025 07:49 GMT)
At least 13 Palestinians were killed in a series of Israeli air strikes on the northern Gaza Strip since the early hours of today, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.
Biden and Netanyahu discusses ceasefire deal
(12 January 2025 17:39 GMT)
US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke over the phone on Sunday, according to several reports.
Trump‘s incoming national security advisor urges ceasefire before 20 January
(12 January 2025 16:15 GMT)
Donald Trump‘s incoming national security adviser, Mike Waltz, spoke with ABC News on Sunday, where he called for a ceasefire deal in Gaza to happen before Trump‘s inauguration on 20 January.
„Hamas has nowhere else to go but enter some type of agreement. Let‘s have a ceasefire, let‘s allow our hostages to be set free. I want to see them walking across a tarmac. At a minimum, some type of agreement before inauguration,“ he said.
Gaza Death Toll Reaches 46,565, 70 Children Killed in the Last 5 Days Alone
The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip reported on Sunday that two separate massacres committed by Israeli forces over the past 24 hours resulted in the deaths of 28 Palestinians, with 89 others injured.
The Civil Defense in Gaza further revealed that in the past five days, nearly 70 children have been killed due to relentless Israeli bombing across the strip.
Sullivan calls Yoon‘s martial law bid ‚shocking,‘ ‚wrong,‘ says alliance still set for success despite turmoil
(January 10,2025)
North Korea has so far been largely silent on the domestic turmoil that took hold of South Korea after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law last year. However, the US is of the view that Pyongyang could exploit this internal chaos
South Korea’s political crisis and Uncle Sam’s silence
(January 7, 2025)
Secretary of State Antony Blinken — who was in Seoul this week for meetings as though nothing unusual had happened — released a readout that made no mention of South Korea’s political situation. His response to a direct question about the U.S. position on Yoon’s actions vaguely referenced private intergovernmental discussions before pivoting to boilerplate about democratic resilience. Despite a shocking breach of liberal democracy, Seoul has faced the bare minimum of consequences from its supposed “democratic values-based partner.” Why?
Impeachment in South Korea Has Cost Washington a Staunch Ally
(December 16, 2024)
President Yoon Suk Yeol has changed the course of South Korea’s diplomacy like no leader before him. He put his country in lock step with the United States by countering North Korea with sanctions and joint military drills. He won Washington’s plaudits when he overcame a century of historical grievances Koreans held against Japan and helped lay the ground for trilateral cooperation to deter China.
He sang the praises of Western values such as freedom.
How the South Korean president‘s martial law declaration unfolded
(December 3, 2024)
After South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in the country, thousands of protesters took to the streets alongside the leading opposition Democratic party, urging MPs to head to the national assembly and vote it down.
Following a dramatic night in which soldiers attempted to block MPs from entering parliament, lawmakers unanimously adopted a bill rejecting the martial law declaration, prompting the president to backtrack. Here is how the night unfolded in Seoul
No more ‘cannon fodder’: Parents of troops, slain hostages demand Gaza deal
“The IDF has no reason to stay in Gaza, besides fulfilling messianic wishes of settling there,” the letter alleged, pushing back against Netanyahu’s stance that continued military action would free the 98 hostages believed to remain in Gaza, almost all of them kidnapped on October 7.
They charged the fighting in Gaza was “a war without a horizon, unlike anything in our history, solely in the interest of your own political survival.”
850 Parents of Soldiers Accuse Netanyahu: Our Children are Cannon Fodder
n a letter addressed to the premier, the relatives accuse him of leading “a war without a horizon, unlike anything in our history, solely in the interest of your own political survival.” “Our sons and daughters set out on a necessary war brought upon us by your actions. Our children are cannon fodder”, they claim. “They lost many friends and are continuing to die and get injured, mentally and physically.
Now, after more than a year of war, they assert the only way for the returning of the hostages is as part of a deal with Hamas, alleging that the war is being extended aimlessly and that the Israeli army “has no reason to stay in Gaza, besides fulfilling messianic wishes of settling there.” “We accuse you of abandoning the hostages and the soldiers,” the parents write, threatening to launch an “all-out struggle,” beginning in dozens of cities next Saturday.
Syria: Mayor accused of Assad association executed
A photo was circulated of what was said to be Kneneh’s body tied to a tree trunk with what appeared to be a gunshot wound on his forehead and blood on the ground.
A video was circulated showing children beating him with a stick and kicking him in the head while he was tied to the tree trunk.
United States support for Saudi Arabian–led operations in Yemen
During the presidency of Barack Obama, the United States began providing Saudi Arabia with critical support to „sustain“ the Saudi Arabian–led intervention in the Yemeni Civil War,[1] later expanded during the presidency of Donald Trump.[2] This support included logistical and intelligence aid. Trump vetoed a bipartisan bill in 2019 aimed at stopping U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. In 2021, Joe Biden vowed to halt U.S. support for the war, though U.S. arms sales to the coalition have continued.[3][4]
From 2015 to 2019, Saudi Arabia was reportedly the largest importer of U.S. arms.[2]
Yemeni civil war (2014–present)
The Yemeni civil war (Arabic: الحرب الأهلية اليمنية, romanized: al-ḥarb al-ʾahlīyah al-yamanīyah) is an ongoing multilateral civil war that began in late 2014 mainly between the Rashad al-Alimi-led Presidential Leadership Council and the Mahdi al-Mashat-led Supreme Political Council, along with their supporters and allies.
Over 20 warplanes bomb Yemen in three-way attack by Israel, US, UK
Eleven air raids hit the Yemeni capital Sanaa, including the vicinity of Al-Sabeen Square, where around one million people were taking part in a weekly pro-Palestine march.
The Harf Sufyan District was hit by 12 airstrikes in the Amran Governorate of northern Yemen, while six hit the Hodeidah port west of the country. One strike also targeted the Ras Issa port north of Hodeidah.
The main power station in Haziz, south of Sanaa, was struck as well.
Israeli airstrike on Tayr Debba kills five, injures four, health ministry reports
An Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese town of Tayr Debba has resulted in five fatalities and four injuries, according to the Ministry of Public Health‘s Emergency Operations Center.