Ephrem Kossaify
Arab News
New York, NY, United States
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Past articles by Ephrem:
UK accuses Syrian president of rebuilding chemical weapon stockpile
NEW YORK CITY: The UK on Tuesday accused Syrian President Bashar Assad of restocking his regime’s arsenal of chemical weapons for at least the past five years. Barbara Woodward, Britain’s permanent representative to the UN, told the Security Council that her country is “gravely concerned that the Assad regime has been working actively to rebuild its chemical weapons stockpile → Read More
Violence against women and girls in Libya must end: UN expert
NEW YORK: A Jordanian human rights expert working for the United Nations has called on Libyan authorities to take urgent action to protect women and girls in the country from what she called a “continuous cycle of rampant violence and mistreatment,” compounded by “complete impunity” for those responsible. The UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, Reem Alsalem, said → Read More
Syrians braced for their worst winter since the war began, UN says
NEW YORK CITY: Members of the UN Security Council on Tuesday expressed dismay at the ongoing hostilities in northwestern Syria that in the past two months alone have caused the deaths of more than 90 civilians, including 35 children. This, a cholera outbreak across all of the country’s governorates, and rising fuel prices that are forcing families “to choose between keeping → Read More
Saudi envoy urges UN Security Council to designate Houthis as terrorists
NEW YORK CITY: Saudi Arabia on Thursday called for the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen to be officially designated as a terrorist group, for it to face an international boycott, and for its funding sources to be blocked. While reiterating its commitment to the international efforts to end the war in Yemen, the Kingdom also said it reserves the right to defend itself should → Read More
UN chief calls on Lebanon to respect Hague court’s verdict on Hariri killing
NEW YORK: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on authorities in Beirut to respect the decision of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which on Thursday imposed life sentences on two members of Hezbollah for involvement in the 2005 bombing that claimed the life of former prime minister Rafik Hariri. Hariri was killed on Feb. 14, 2005, by a suicide bomber who targeted → Read More
UN monitoring of Yemen ports for war activity hampered by Houthis, top official says
NEW YORK: The head of the UN mission at Hodeidah in Yemen, which is monitoring the ceasefire there, has called for its mandate to be extended. Maj. Gen. Michael Beary emphasized the strategic and humanitarian significance of the coastal city to the future of Yemen, and said there is no “easy substitute” for its ports. “The ports serve as a lifeline for Yemen,” he told Arab → Read More
UN launches online campaign to bridge funding gap for Safer salvage work
NEW YORK: The UN on Monday launched a social media campaign to raise money to bridge the gap in funding for a salvage operation to prevent a potentially devastating oil spill in the Red Sea from the decaying tanker FSO Safer. The vessel, which contains 48 million gallons of oil, has been moored off the west cost of Yemen since the start of the war in the country seven years → Read More
Zelensky calls on UN Security Council to expel Russia, or disband
NEW YORK: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has demanded that Russia be expelled from the UN Security Council. If the body fails to do this, he said that it should be dissolved. Had the council taken action to deliver effective responses to the conflicts in Syria, Afghanistan, Libya and Yemen, he added, “tyranny would have ceased to exist and peace would have prevailed.” → Read More
Russia and US trade accusations of complicity in war in Syria
NEW YORK: Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, told his fellow members of the Security Council on Thursday that the root causes of the volatility in Syria lie in Western countries’ continuing policy of “pandering to terrorists” and their attempt to use the activities of those terrorists for their own gain. “Despite the fact the Washington → Read More
US denounces Russian claims of Ukrainian biological weapons as a 'false flag'
NEW YORK: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken cautioned last month that Russia would manufacture a pretext for invading Ukraine. He also warned that Moscow would fabricate allegations about chemical or biological weapons to justify violent attacks against the Ukrainian people. “The world is watching Russia do exactly what we warned it would,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US → Read More
UAE calls for women to be given key roles in post-conflict recovery efforts
NEW YORK: The UAE on Tuesday called on the international community to take action to ensure that women and girls have more prominent roles at the heart of post-conflict recovery efforts. It also urged the private sector to do its part to encourage and develop peaceful societies, a key pillar of which is ensuring gender equality and female empowerment. → Read More
Plight of Ukrainian children is a “moral outrage,” UN Security Council told
NEW YORK: UNICEF, the UN Children’s Fund, warned on Monday that child casualties are expected to rise in Ukraine, as fighting following the Russian invasion has reached densely populated areas across the country. The constraints humanitarian workers are facing and the rapidly shifting front lines are making the delivery of life-saving aid much more difficult, said UNICEF’s → Read More
Civilians must not pay the price for Ukraine crisis, Gulf nations tell UN
NEW YORK: During a meeting at the UN on Wednesday, Gulf nations expressed great concern about the deteriorating situation in Ukraine and urged all participants to work to resolve the crisis through dialogue and diplomacy. Speaking on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Abdulaziz Alateek, Saudi Arabia’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, expressed the council’s → Read More
Funding shortfall will deprive vulnerable Yemenis of lifesaving aid, UN warns
NEW YORK: The UN has warned that a critical funding shortfall is threatening the future of the humanitarian assistance that provide a vital lifeline for millions of vulnerable people Yemen. The lack of funds resulted in the reduction or closure of about two-thirds of the organization’s major aid programs in January, with further cuts expected in the coming months unless → Read More
UN calls on Libyan authorities to honor millions who registered to vote
NEW YORK: The UN on Thursday reminded the Libyan authorities that presidential and parliamentary elections, conducted “in the appropriate conditions, on a level playing field among all candidates” are indispensable for a peaceful solution to Libya’s political crises. “The current challenges in the electoral process should in no way be instrumentalized to undermine the → Read More
UN ‘cautiously welcomes’ Sudan accord amid post-coup erosion of trust
The UN “cautiously” welcomed the agreement reached on Nov. 21 in Sudan between Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and the leaders of October’s military coup. During a meeting on Friday to discuss the latest UN report on the situation in the country, Volker Perthes, the UN’s special representative for Sudan, told the Security Council that the agreement is “far from perfect” but → Read More
Israeli military complicit as settler violence hits record-high, UN experts say
NEW YORK: UN human rights experts on Wednesday condemned the record-high levels of violence carried out by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the Occupied Territories this year. They also criticized the Israeli government for its lack of action to curb the attacks and protect Palestinians. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, Israel, as an occupying power, has an → Read More
UN Security Council sanctions three leading Houthis
NEW YORK: The UN Security Council imposed sanctions on three leading members of the Houthi militia on Tuesday. The individuals were targeted for “directly threatening the peace, security and stability of Yemen” through their roles in the offensive against Marib, attacks against Saudi Arabia, and violations of international law by appropriating public assets to arm the militia. → Read More
UN experts denounce Israeli branding of Palestinian rights groups as terrorists
NEW YORK: UN human rights experts on Monday “strongly and unequivocally” condemned the decision by Israeli authorities to designate six Palestinian human rights groups as terrorist organizations. “This designation is a frontal attack on the Palestinian human rights movement and on human rights everywhere,” the special rapporteurs said. → Read More
Biden says counterterrorism cooperation with Iraq will continue
US President Joe Biden says administration is committed to strengthen partnership with Iraq. Biden says us will send vaccines to Iraq quickly. Biden added counterterrorism cooperation with Iraq will continue. Developing... → Read More