News

Casualties are increasing as Turkey presses on with its cross-border offensive on Kurdish-held areas of northern Syria. At least eleven civilians have died and dozens of fighters from the Kurdish-led SDF and pro-Turkish factions have been killed. Tens of thousands of civilians have been forced to flee from the northern areas amid growing international criticism of the offensive. “Hundreds of thousands of civilians in northern Syria are now in harm’s … Read more →

The latest wave of unrest, which has reportedly left over 100 people dead and an estimated 6,000 more injured in the last six days. The United Nations has pleaded for an end to the, “senseless loss of life” on the streets. Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, called for those responsible for deaths to be held accountable, saying: “Five days of … Read more →

During an official visit to Greece with EU officials, Germany’s interior minister warned on 6 October that the region could soon face a refugee influx bigger than the one it dealt with in 2015, as he sought support for his plans for an EU quota system for rescued migrants. Traveling with incoming European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Horst Seehofer, the German interior minister, also said the EU had … Read more →

Half the athletes participating in the women’s marathon in the IAAF World Athletics pulled out of the race due to soaring heat On 29 September, a couple of days after the opening of the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha, the women’s marathon took place, yet nearly half the athletes participating pulled out of the race in what the Telegraph described as, “shocking scenes of multiple athletes collapsing in distress.” … Read more →

The Trump administration has today announced it will expand the collection of DNA from migrants crossing US borders. The information gathered will be provided to the FBI and added to a vast criminal database. In August 2019 63,989 migrants had been apprehended and detained at the US-Mexico border of which nearly 40% were minors. DNA samples will be taken from hundreds of thousands of people booked into federal immigration custody … Read more →

The families of imprisoned and formerly imprisoned dual and foreign nationals called for international action to free their family members last week. The family members gathered close to the 74th U.N General Assembly as it took place in New York last week and announced via press conference the launch of the Alliance of Families Against State Hostage Taking. Family members of prisoners Iranian-American Siamak Namazi, Iranian-British Nazanin Ratcliffe and American … Read more →