“Will the big money interests and well-paid consultants who control the Democratic Party learn any real lessons from this disastrous campaign? Will they understand the pain and political alienation that tens of millions of Americans are experiencing? Do they have any ideas as to how we can take on the increasingly powerful Oligarchy, which has so much economic power?” Sanders asked.
“Probably not,” he said in response to his own question.
Sanders, 83, highlighted several issues he believes the nation has failed to address under the Biden-Harris Administration, from wealth inequality and a worsening standard of living to high prescription drug prices and the lack of guaranteed medical leave.
Though he is an Independent, Sanders caucuses with the Democratic Party, and has long championed policies like Medicare for All and a higher federal minimum wage.
How has the UN reacted to the adoption of the legislation?
The reaction from the UN system to the bills has been swift and unequivocal. As the news broke on Monday, several of the most senior UN officials, up to and including Secretary-General António Guterres, condemned the decision.
Mr. Guterres stressed…
The acting head of the UN aid coordination office, Joyce Msuya, called the decision…
UNRWA’s Mr. Lazzarini said that…
OHCHR spokesperson Jeremy Laurence declaring that…
World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus calling the development…
UNICEF chief Catherine Russell also reminded that…
while James Elder, a UNICEF staffer in the region, denounced the decision, saying…
What happens next?
(…)
Mr. Guterres informed the President of the General Assembly that he had written a letter to the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, calling on his government …
A Steering Committee for the Lebanon Response Plan (LRP) was formed today following the endorsement of the humanitarian and stabilization response plan for Lebanon for 2024. The meeting was co-chaired by the Prime Minister and the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator of the UN. It was attended by the Deputy Prime Minister and Ministers of Education and Higher Education, Public Health, Social Affairs, Energy and Water, Labor, Agriculture and Environment; alongside the Ambassadors to Lebanon of Canada, France, the EU, Germany and the charge d‘affaires for the US; as well as Representatives of UN Agencies and national and international NGOs.
Below are the opening remarks as delivered by the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in the LRP Steering Committee meeting:
Your Excellency, Prime Minister Mikati, esteemed ministers, honorable ambassadors, distinguished guests, dear colleagues, good morning.
We gather here today at a truly unprecedented time for Lebanon. This country has already faced many years of multi-layered crises. Over the past year, the escalation of hostilities has inflicted severe damage on communities in the South. In the last weeks, the violence has intensified, causing widespread civilian casualties, mass displacement, and extensive destruction across the country.
Healthcare and frontline workers have come under attack, as have civil defense centers and water supply systems, pushing essential services to the brink of collapse. This must stop.
The UN mission which patrols the Blue Line separting Lebanon and Israel, UNIFIL, expressed „grave concern for the safety of civilians“, amid what has been the deadliest day of violence and bombing by Israel since the October terror attacks sparked the regional crisis.
Lt. Gen. Aroldo Lázaro, Head of Mission and Force Commander of UNIFIL, has contacted both Lebanese and Israeli parties, emphasizing the urgent need for de-escalation. „Efforts are ongoing to reduce tensions and halt the shelling“, the mission added.
Any further escalation of this dangerous situation could have far-reaching and devastating consequences, not only for those living on both sides of the Blue Line but also for the broader region.
Attacks on civilians are not only violations of international law but could amount to war crimes, UNIFIL reminded.
Despite presiding over numerous failures – including Iran, the economy, the cost of living and October 7 – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is still worshipped by over a quarter of Israelis. The gap between his failings and his support has all the attributes of a cult
Israel is in violation of a White House directive requiring recipients of American military assistance to comply with international humanitarian law and permit the unimpeded delivery of U.S.-funded humanitarian support, USAID officials concluded in a confidential United States paper reviewed by Devex.
The findings earlier this month follow the Feb. 8 issuance of a national security memo from the White House instructing U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to “obtain credible and reliable written assurances” from U.S. weapons recipients that they will abide by international humanitarian law, and report those findings to the White House and Congress. In Israel’s case, it would only apply to offensive weapons.
(09.04.2024)
Israel must destroy Hamas as a military and political force in the territory while minimizing harm to civilians. It must do what it can to rescue its hostages without jeopardizing the overriding goal of destroying Hamas. It must, by diplomacy or force, push Hezbollah back from Lebanon’s southern border, so that 60,000 Israelis can return safely to their homes in the north. It must take the battle directly, as it did last week in Damascus, to Hamas’s and Hezbollah’s patrons, whether in Syria, Qatar or Iran.
And for all of that to happen effectively, Benjamin Netanyahu must go.
(26.03.2024)
Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president in 2024, sat down for an interview with Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom about the ongoing military invasion — and warned that the world was growing tired of the conflict.
„You have to finish up your war. You have to finish it up. You’ve got to get it done,“ he told the newspaper.
He continued, „We’ve got to get to peace. You can’t have this going on, and I will say Israel has to be very careful because you are losing a lot of the world. You are losing a lot of support.“
(25.03.2024)
In a testy exchange earlier this month, a senior U.S. official warned Israeli counterparts of the reputational “damage” as a result of the ongoing war in Gaza. The internal memo of the exchange involving Assistant Secretary of State Bill Russo, obtained by NPR correspondent Daniel Estrin, offered yet another illustration of the rift between the Biden administration and Israel, driven largely by growing American horror at the humanitarian toll of the conflict and Israel’s role in making it worse — even as the United States shields Israel in international forums and helps replenish its war machine.
(22.03.2024)
„The Israelis seemed oblivious to the fact that they are facing major, possibly generational damage to their reputation not just in the region but elsewhere in the world,“ the memo says. „We are concerned that the Israelis are missing the forest for the trees and are making a major strategic error in writing off their reputation damage.“
The State Department memo recommended pressing Israeli officials on the matter „at the highest levels.“
The UN Security Council met again on Friday to discuss …
That‘s it from this latest UN Security Council meeting on the Israel-Palestine crisis, where consensus among the body‘s 15 members remains elusive.