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Sudan women facing ‘epidemic of sexual violence’: UN

The risk of gender-based violence is especially high when women and girls are on the move seeking safer locations. (Reuters/File Photo)
The risk of gender-based violence is especially high when women and girls are on the move seeking safer locations. (Reuters/File Photo)
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Updated 25 November 2024

Sudan women facing ‘epidemic of sexual violence’: UN

Sudan women facing ‘epidemic of sexual violence’: UN

PORT SUDAN: The United Nations humanitarian chief raised the alarm on Monday over an “epidemic of sexual violence” against women in war-torn Sudan, saying the world “must do better.”
“I feel ashamed that we have not been able to protect you, and I feel ashamed for my fellow men for what they have done,” Tom Fletcher, who heads the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said on his first visit to Port Sudan.
The Red Sea city has become Sudan’s de facto capital since April 2023, when Khartoum was engulfed by war between the regular military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
The war has claimed tens of thousands of lives, displaced more than 11 million people and created what the UN says is the worst humanitarian crisis in recent memory.
Nearly 26 million people — around half the population — face the threat of mass starvation, as both warring sides have been accused of using hunger as a weapon of war.
During his visit, Fletcher met army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and discussed efforts to “increase the delivery of aid across borders and across conflict lines.”
Aid workers and humanitarian agencies say Burhan’s army-aligned government has enforced severe bureaucratic hurdles to their work.
At an event in a Port Sudan school to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Fletcher said the world “must do better” by the women of Sudan, who have been exposed to systematic sexual violence.
The UN’s independent international fact-finding mission for Sudan last month documented escalating sexual violence, including “rape, sexual exploitation and abduction for sexual purposes as well as allegations of enforced marriages and human trafficking.”
“The sheer scale of sexual violence we have documented in Sudan is staggering,” said Mohamed Chande Othman, chair of the fact-finding mission.
“The situation faced by vulnerable civilians, in particular women and girls of all ages, is deeply alarming and needs urgent address,” he added.


Sultan of Oman, Iranian president discuss Israeli strikes, diplomatic solutions

Sultan of Oman, Iranian president discuss Israeli strikes, diplomatic solutions
Updated 16 June 2025

Sultan of Oman, Iranian president discuss Israeli strikes, diplomatic solutions

Sultan of Oman, Iranian president discuss Israeli strikes, diplomatic solutions
  • President Masoud Pezeshkian says while Iran faces Israeli aggression, it supports diplomatic solutions
  • Sultan Haitham bin Tarik condemns damage caused by Israeli strikes on Iranian infrastructure and facilities

LONDON: Sultan Haitham bin Tariq of Oman held a phone call on Monday with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to offer condolences for the Iranian victims of Israeli airstrikes and discuss the latest developments.

Sultan Haitham condemned the damage caused by Israeli strikes to infrastructure and facilities, wishing a speedy recovery to the injured Iranian citizens. He stressed the need for de-escalation from both sides and called for negotiations and dialogue to prevent the ongoing conflict from deteriorating, the Oman News Agency reported.

He reaffirmed the Omani government’s commitment to activate diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis, prevent its escalation, and establish fair and just settlements that restore normalcy.

Pezeshkian said that while his country is facing Israeli aggression, it supports diplomatic solutions through dialogue and negotiation, emphasizing the importance of adhering to international law and respecting Iran’s sovereignty, the ONA added.


38 Palestinians killed in new shootings near food distribution centers, medics say

38 Palestinians killed in new shootings near food distribution centers, medics say
Updated 16 June 2025

38 Palestinians killed in new shootings near food distribution centers, medics say

38 Palestinians killed in new shootings near food distribution centers, medics say

KHAN YOUNIS: Gaza’s Health Ministry says 38 Palestinians have been killed in new shootings in areas of food distribution centers in the south of the territory.
The toll Monday was the deadliest yet in the near-daily shootings that have taken place as thousands of Palestinians move through Israeli military-controlled areas to reach the food centers. Witnesses say Israeli troops open fire in an attempt to control the crowds.
There was no immediate comment by the Israeli military on Monday’s deaths. It has said in previous instances that troops fired warning shots at what it calls suspects approaching their positions.


Erdogan tells Putin that Israel threatens regional security

Erdogan tells Putin that Israel threatens regional security
Updated 16 June 2025

Erdogan tells Putin that Israel threatens regional security

Erdogan tells Putin that Israel threatens regional security

ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of threatening security in the Middle East, which he said cannot tolerate another war, in a phone call with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday, his office said.
Erdogan was quoted saying: “The spiral of violence that began with Israel’s attacks on Iran has put the security of the entire region at risk, (and) that the lawless attitude of the (Israeli premier Benjamin) Netanyahu government poses a clear threat to the international system, and that the region cannot tolerate a new war.”


UN rights chief decries ‘horrifying’ suffering in Gaza and urges leaders to pressure Israel, Hamas

UN rights chief decries ‘horrifying’ suffering in Gaza and urges leaders to pressure Israel, Hamas
Updated 16 June 2025

UN rights chief decries ‘horrifying’ suffering in Gaza and urges leaders to pressure Israel, Hamas

UN rights chief decries ‘horrifying’ suffering in Gaza and urges leaders to pressure Israel, Hamas
  • The UN human rights chief says Israel’s warfare in Gaza is inflicting “horrifying, unconscionable suffering” on Palestinians
  • olker Türk made the comments at the opening of the latest Human Rights Council session on Monday

GENEVA: The UN human rights chief said Israel’s warfare in Gaza is inflicting “horrifying, unconscionable suffering” on Palestinians and urged government leaders on Monday to exert pressure on Israel’s government and the militant group Hamas to end it.
Volker Türk made the comments at the opening of the latest Human Rights Council session on Monday, in a broad address that also raised concerns about escalating conflict between Iran and Israel, the fallout from US tariffs, and China’s human rights record — alongside wars and conflict in places like Sudan and Ukraine.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, who has regularly spoken out about bloodshed in Gaza and called for the release of Israeli hostages held by armed Palestinian militants, used some of his most forceful words yet to highlight the Mideast violence.
“Israel’s means and methods of warfare are inflicting horrifying, unconscionable suffering on Palestinians in Gaza,” Türk told the 47-member-country body, which Israeli authorities have regularly accused of anti-Israel bias. The Trump administration has kept the United States, Israel’s top ally, out of the council proceedings.
Israel’s military campaign has killed over 55,300 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It says that women and children make up most of the dead but it does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
“The facts speak for themselves. Everyone in government needs to wake up to what is happening in Gaza,” Türk said. “All those with influence must exert maximum pressure on Israel and Hamas, to put an end to this unbearable suffering.”
The rights chief noted an increase in civilian casualties in Ukraine, nearly 3 1/2 years after Russia’s full-scale invasion. He also denounced executions without a fair trial and “wide-scale sexual violence, including against children” in Sudan.
Without mentioning President Donald Trump by name, Türk likened the US tariffs he imposed in April to “a high-stakes poker game, with the global economy as the bank.”
“But the shockwaves of a trade war will hit Least Developed Countries with the force of a tsunami,” he said, warning of a potentially “devastating” impact on exporters in Asia, and the prospect of higher costs for food, health care and education in places.
Türk expressed concerns about US deportations of non-nationals, including to third countries, and called on authorities to respect the right to peaceful assembly.
The council session, which has been shortened by 2 1/2 days because of funding issues at the UN, is set to run through July 9. The Geneva-based council is the UN’s top human rights body.


Iran says parliament is preparing bill to leave nuclear non-proliferation treaty

Iran says parliament is preparing bill to leave nuclear non-proliferation treaty
Updated 16 June 2025

Iran says parliament is preparing bill to leave nuclear non-proliferation treaty

Iran says parliament is preparing bill to leave nuclear non-proliferation treaty

DUBAI: Iranian parliamentarians are preparing a bill that could push Tehran toward exiting the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty the foreign ministry said on Monday, while reiterating Tehran’s official stance against developing nuclear weapons.
“In light of recent developments, we will take an appropriate decision. Government has to enforce parliament bills but such a proposal is just being prepared and we will coordinate in the later stages with parliament,” the ministry’s spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said, when asked at a press conference about Tehran potentially leaving the NPT.
The NPT, which Iran ratified in 1970, guarantees countries the right to pursue civilian nuclear power in return for requiring them to forego atomic weapons and cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA.

Israel began bombing Iran last week, saying Tehran was on the verge of building a nuclear bomb. Iran has always said its nuclear program is peaceful, although the IAEA declared last week that Tehran was in violation of its NPT obligations.
President Masoud Pezeshkian reiterated on Monday that nuclear weapons were against a religious edict by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran’s state media said that no decision on quitting the NPT had yet been made by parliament, while a parliamentarian said that the proposal was at the initial stages of the legal process.
Baghaei said that developments such as Israel’s attack “naturally affect the strategic decisions of the state,” noting that Israel’s attack had followed the IAEA resolution, which he suggested was to blame.
“Those voting for the resolution prepared the ground for the attack,” Baghaei said.
Israel, which never joined the NPT, is widely assumed by regional governments to possess nuclear weapons, although it does not confirm or deny this.
“The Zionist regime is the only possessor of weapons of mass destruction in the region,” Baghaei said.