BEIRUT: The outbreak of cholera in Syria presents a serious threat to people in the war-torn country and the region, a UN official said Tuesday, adding that urgent action is needed to prevent further cases and deaths.
The statement by the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria, Imran Riza, came after health officials in the country reported at least five deaths and more than two dozen cases in different provinces.
Syria’s infrastructure has suffered severe damage since the country’s conflict began in March 2011 where residents of some areas have no access to clean water. The conflict has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, many of them living in tent settlements around the country.
Riza said that based on a rapid assessment conducted by health authorities and partners, the source of infection is believed to be linked to people drinking unsafe water from the Euphrates River and using contaminated water to irrigate crops, resulting in food contamination.
“Cholera remains a global threat to public health and an indicator of inequity,” Riza said, adding that the outbreak is an indicator of severe water shortages in Syria.
The statement said chlorination activities to disinfect water are being scaled up and dosing rates are being increased in fragile and highly vulnerable communities to curb the spread of the disease.
On Monday, health officials said hospitals in the Syrian capital have been put on alert after more than two dozen cases of cholera and at least five deaths were reported.
The cases were reported in several provinces including Aleppo in the north, Latakia on the Mediterranean coast and Deir Ezzor along the border with Iraq.
The outbreak was the first since the country’s conflict began 11 years ago.
Riza said the UN in Syria calls on donor countries for urgent additional funding to contain the outbreak and prevent it from spreading.
UN warns cholera outbreak in Syria is a threat to the region
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UN warns cholera outbreak in Syria is a threat to the region
- UN comments came after health official reported at least five deaths and more than two dozen cases in Syria
British Royal Navy shoots down missile for first time since Gulf War in 1991 amid Houthi attacks on shipping
- Iran-backed group said its missiles targeted US ship Maersk Yorktown, an American destroyer in the Gulf of Aden and Israeli ship MSC Veracruz
LONDON: A British Royal Navy destroyer shot down a ballistic missile on Wednesday for the first time since the first Gulf War in 1991, the UK’s defense secretary told The Times newspaper.
In a report published Thursday, Grant Shapps told the newspaper that HMS Diamond used its “Sea Viper” missile system to target the weapon, which Yemen’s Houthi militia said they used to target two American ships in the Gulf of Aden and an Israeli vessel in the Indian Ocean.
The Iran-backed group said its missiles targeted US ship Maersk Yorktown, an American destroyer in the Gulf of Aden and Israeli ship MSC Veracruz in the Indian Ocean, its military spokesman Yahya Sarea confirmed.
It is the first such attack from the Yemeni militia in two weeks in the region, where Royal Navy Type 45 destroyers have been deployed to protect commercial ships since the Houthis initiated strikes on global shipping in November last year in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
“The Yemeni armed forces confirm they will continue to prevent Israeli navigation or any navigation heading to the ports of occupied Palestine in the Red and Arabian Seas, as well as in the Indian Ocean,” Sarea said on Wednesday.
Shapps said the latest Houthi attack was an example of how dangerous the world was becoming and how “non-state actors were now being supplied with very sophisticated weapons” from states such as Iran.
His comments came after UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak this week pledged to increase spending on British defense to 2.5 percent of national income, something Shapps said was “so vital” given continued tensions in the Middle East.
Al-Azhar Al-Sharif condemns terrorist crimes against civilians in Gaza
- Al-Azhar Al-Sharif reiterated the need for the international community to assume its responsibilities and put a stop to the ‘frenzied aggression against the people of Gaza’
- Al-Azhar said that the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians, including patients, had been uncovered in mass graves at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis
CAIRO: Al-Azhar Al-Sharif — Sunni Islam’s oldest and foremost seat of learning — has strongly condemned “the terrorist crimes being committed against civilians in the Gaza Strip.”
In a statement, Al-Azhar censured the attacks, “the hideousness of which was revealed through the widespread reports about mass graves of hundreds of bodies of children, women, the elderly, and medical personnel in the vicinity of the Nasser and Al-Shifa Medical Complexes.
“Also, dozens of bodies were found “scattered” in shelter and displacement centers and tents, and residential neighborhoods throughout the Strip.”
Al-Azhar said that it affirmed to the world that “these mass graves are the definitive proof that these hideous atrocities and horrors have become normal daily behavior for Israel.”
It said that the people of the world must unite to protest in a way that deterred the regimes supporting these crimes.
Al-Azhar demanded an urgent international trial against “the terrorist occupation government, which no longer knows the meaning of humanity or the right to life and is committing genocides every day.”
It reiterated the need for the international community to assume its responsibilities, stop the “frenzied aggression against the people of Gaza and the consequent suffering and unprecedented humanitarian disasters, and ensure the protection of civilians and the delivery of sufficient and sustainable humanitarian aid to all parts of the Gaza Strip.”
Al-Azhar expressed its “sincere condolences and sympathy to the Palestinian people and the families of the martyrs, calling on the Lord Almighty to shower them with His vast mercy and forgiveness, to reassure the hearts of their families and loved ones, and to speed up the recovery of the sick.”
Citing media reports, Al-Azhar said that the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians, including patients, had been uncovered in mass graves at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis since Saturday.
New UK sanctions target Iranian drone industry
- The measures, taken in co-ordination with the US and Canada, target four businesses and two directors at a network of drone companies
LONDON: Britain on Thursday announced new sanctions targeting Iran’s military drone industry, in response to Iran’s drone and missile attack on Israel earlier this month.
The measures, taken in co-ordination with the US and Canada, target four businesses and two directors at a network of drone companies with the aim of limiting Iran’s ability to launch drones.
“The Iranian regime’s dangerous attack on Israel risked thousands of civilian casualties and wider escalation in the region,” British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said in a statement.
“Today the UK and our partners have sent a clear message – we will hold those responsible for Iran’s destabilising behavior to account.”
Britain also said it would introduce new bans on the export of drone and missile components to Iran, seeking to limit its military capabilities.
Last week, Britain imposed sanctions on Iranian military figures and organizations, in another coordinated move with the United States, following Iran’s action against Israel.
Iran launched drones and fired missiles at Israel on April 13 as a retaliatory strike for the attack on its embassy compound in Damascus two weeks prior, raising the risk of further escalation in conflict in the Middle East.
Egypt, Dutch leaders discuss Gaza ceasefire efforts
- Rafah assault ‘will have catastrophic consequences on regional peace and security,’ El-Sisi warns
- Egypt’s president and the Dutch prime minister agreed on the urgency of working toward reaching a ceasefire
CAIRO: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has discussed efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza with Mark Rutte, prime minister of the Netherlands.
During a phone call from Rutte on Thursday, the Egyptian leader warned that any Israeli assault on Rafah will have “catastrophic consequences” for the humanitarian situation in the enclave.
The leaders discussed bilateral relations, and ways to enhance cooperation across various political and economic levels consistent with the current momentum in Egyptian-European relations.
Ahmed Fahmy, presidential spokesman, said the call also focused on the situation in Gaza, and Egypt’s efforts to restore regional stability by reaching a ceasefire and providing access to humanitarian aid.
El-Sisi reiterated the crucial importance of ending the war, warning against any military operations in the Palestinian city of Rafah, which will have catastrophic consequences on the humanitarian situation in the strip and on regional peace and security.
The Egyptian leader underscored the need for the international community to assume its responsibilities to implement the relevant UN resolutions.
Egypt’s president and the Dutch prime minister agreed on the urgency of working toward reaching a ceasefire, and ensuring the flow of adequate humanitarian aid to all areas of the Gaza Strip in order to protect it from a humanitarian catastrophe.
They also emphasized the need to move toward implementing the two-state solution, which would restore regional stability, and establish security and peace in the region.
In March, El-Sisi received Rutte to discuss bilateral relations, regional developments, and Egypt’s efforts to reach a ceasefire and offer humanitarian assistance in Gaza.
Lebanon postpones local elections again as violence rocks south
- Lebanon is supposed to hold municipal elections every six years
- Parliament approved “extending the existing municipal and elective councils’ mandate until a date no later than May 31, 2025,” despite objections from lawmakers opposed to Hezbollah
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s parliament on Thursday delayed municipal elections for a third time in two years, state media reported, as militants in the country’s south exchanged near-daily fire with Israel for over six months.
The powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah group has been trading fire with Israeli forces across the border since the day after its Palestinian ally Hamas carried out a deadly attack on Israel on October 7, triggering the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
Lebanon is supposed to hold municipal elections every six years, but cash-strapped authorities last held a local ballot in 2016.
Parliament approved “extending the existing municipal and elective councils’ mandate until a date no later than May 31, 2025,” despite objections from lawmakers opposed to Hezbollah, said the official National News Agency.
The bill cited “complex security, military and political circumstances following the Israeli aggression on Lebanon” and especially its south, near the border, as reasons for the delay.
Lawmakers did not set a new date for the elections, initially scheduled for 2022.
Local councils help provide basic services to residents, but their role has declined as state coffers ran dry after Lebanon’s economy collapsed in late 2019.
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri had previously said southern Lebanon could not be excluded from any upcoming ballot, after the Christian Lebanese Forces, the main party opposing Hezbollah, insisted on holding the polls on time.
More than 92,000 people have been displaced from their homes in Lebanon due to the violence, as have tens of thousands of residents of Israeli communities across the border.
Since violence began along the Israeli border on October 8, at least 380 people have been killed in Lebanon, including 72 civilians, according to an AFP tally.
Israel says 11 soldiers and eight civilians have been killed on its side of the border.
In April 2023, the Lebanese parliament had already postponed municipal elections as the deputy speaker warned holding them was “almost impossible” for the cash-strapped country after years of economic meltdown.
Lebanon has faced the prolonged financial crisis and months of border clashes essentially leaderless, without a president and headed by a caretaker government with limited powers amid deadlock between entrenched political barons.
