International

Famine spreads in Gaza, UN to host two-state solution conference

Published

1 year ago

July 28, 2025

Famine spreads in Gaza, UN to host two-state solution conference

NEW YORK: As the international community braces for the two-state solution conference in New York on July 28-29, co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France, expectations are high for renewed political will to end decades of conflict and push forward a viable peace. The conference arrives amid worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza and a historic diplomatic shift: France’s decision to formally recognize Palestine as a state.

The event — officially titled the High-Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution — is being described as both urgent and historic.

The backdrop is grim: since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks that killed approximately 1,200 Israelis, including 50 French nationals, the war in Gaza has taken an unimaginable toll. More than 56,000 Palestinians have died, and the Gaza Strip’s infrastructure and social fabric are in ruins.

From the outset, Saudi Arabia has underscored that recognizing the State of Palestine is not merely symbolic but a “strategic necessity” for regional peace. Ahead of the conference, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan issued a statement saying that the kingdom “spares no effort in supporting all endeavors aimed at achieving just peace in the region and globally. It consistently stresses the importance of implementing the two-state solution through political, diplomatic, and international efforts, as it is a strategic choice that ensures regional and global peace and security.

“From this standpoint came the Kingdom’s presidency — together with the French Republic — of the international conference at the ministerial level to settle the Palestinian issue peacefully.”

He stressed that the conference is aimed at pushing toward the implementation of international legitimacy resolutions that call for the establishment of a two-state solution “where the Palestinian people can exercise their right to self-determination. This will bring peace and stability to the region and support sustainable development and prosperity.”

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Riyadh had intensified efforts to galvanize international consensus ahead of the summit. Manal Radwan, counselor at the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that a just resolution to the Palestinian question is “the cornerstone of a new regional order based on mutual recognition and coexistence.”

Slovenia’s permanent representative to the UN, Samuel Zbogar, told Arab News: “The main goal of the conference is to mobilize concrete political, security, and economic support for the implementation of the two-state solution. This should result in an independent, sovereign, and democratic Palestinian state that will coexist in peace and security with Israel.”

Slovenia was one of 10 countries that during Israel’s continuing war on Gaza has formally recognized Palestine, alongside Ireland, Spain and Norway.

UK Ambassador to the UN Barbara Woodward also underlined the importance of the summit. She told Arab News: “The United Kingdom is resolute in our commitment to a two-state solution and my foreign secretary has been clear that we are prepared to take further action to prevent the forcible erosion of the only viable path to lasting peace. Next week’s conference, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, is a vital opportunity to demonstrate the strength of international resolve to secure a better future for Israelis, Palestinians and the region.”

One of the most consequential developments ahead of the summit is President Emmanuel Macron’s July 24 announcement that France will formally recognize Palestine, with the official declaration to be made at the UN General Assembly in September.

“There is no alternative,” Macron said on X. “We must immediately secure a ceasefire, release all hostages, and provide massive humanitarian aid to Gaza. But above all, we must build the State of Palestine … demilitarized, viable, and coexisting with Israel in full recognition and peace.”

Reactions were swift. The Palestinian Authority welcomed the decision, calling it a step toward justice and international legitimacy. Hussein Al Sheikh, vice president of the PLO, praised France’s “commitment to international law and Palestinian rights.”

Israel condemned the move. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it “rewards terrorism” and accused France of helping to legitimize what could become “an Iranian proxy state.” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz called the decision “a disgrace.”

The United States also criticized France’s stance. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it would embolden Hamas and complicate peace efforts.

Despite the pushback, analysts say France’s move could tip the balance internationally. Already, 147 of 193 UN member states — nearly 75 percent — recognize Palestine, including nearly all of Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. France would be the first G7 country to join that group. The US, Canada, Australia, Germany, and the UK still do not, citing the need for direct negotiations with Israel.

A French diplomatic official briefing journalists ahead of the summit described it as the start of a broader process, not a one-off event. The goal: revive the political momentum for a two-state outcome, even as that vision faces historic setbacks.

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The conference will center around four key thematic areas, or “baskets,” intended to remove obstacles to implementing a Palestinian state:

The first basket will focus on recognition of Palestine. France, Saudi Arabia, and their partners will seek to rally additional countries to formally recognize Palestinian statehood. Recognition, the organizers argue, will strengthen moderate voices, most notably the Palestinian Authority, and help push back against radical and extremist factions such as Hamas.

The second area involves normalization and regional integration. While no new normalization agreements are expected, Arab and Muslim states will be encouraged to reaffirm their readiness to normalize relations with Israel — but only if credible progress is made toward Palestinian statehood. The message is that full diplomatic, economic, and security integration in the region is within reach — if peace is pursued.

The third pillar is the reform of Palestinian governance. President Mahmoud Abbas has reportedly pledged a series of major reforms in a letter to the conference organizers. These include a public condemnation of the Octo. 7 attacks, support for the unconditional release of hostages, and a commitment to disarm Hamas. Abbas has also vowed to end the controversial “pay-for-slay” program, under which stipends are paid to families of convicted attackers, and to reform Palestinian educational materials, including textbooks. Most significantly, Abbas has pledged to hold elections within a year, and to ensure that any future Palestinian state would be fully demilitarized — a long-standing Israeli demand.

The fourth and final basket centers on the disarmament and exclusion of Hamas. Conference organizers underline that Hamas must have no role in the future Palestinian state — a stance shared by Israel, France, and many others. Disarmament is being framed as essential to any secure and lasting peace.

The conference will convene foreign ministers and diplomats from dozens of countries and will build upon the work of eight working groups, each focusing on areas such as security, humanitarian aid, and post-war reconstruction.

In parallel, widespread international criticism of Israel’s conduct in Gaza is mounting. On July 21, the foreign ministers of 26 countries, including Canada, the UK, France, Japan, and most of the EU, jointly declared:

“The war in Gaza must end now … The suffering of civilians has reached new depths. The Israeli government’s aid delivery model is dangerous and deprives Gazans of human dignity … Permanent forced displacement is a violation of international law.”

They urged an immediate ceasefire, humanitarian access, and rejected Israel’s settlement expansion plans, including the E1 project, which would bisect any future Palestinian state.

A follow-up summit is planned in September at the UN General Assembly, to be co-chaired by President Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. For now, all eyes are on New York, where the July conference may offer the last best hope to revive a solution that once seemed within reach — but now hangs by a thread.

Famine spreads in Gaza, UN to host two-state solution conference

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Health

Fiji Declares National HIV Emergency as Diagnoses Surge Sixteenfold

Published

2 hours ago

September 17, 2026

Hamdalat Bisiriyu

Fiji Declares National HIV Emergency as Diagnoses Surge Sixteenfold

Authorities launch a multi-agency public health campaign to expand free testing, treatment, and harm-reduction services

Fiji has announced a nationwide health response to address a significant rise in HIV cases and ensure that all residents can access essential medical care.

On Wednesday, Health Minister Dr. Atonio Lalabalavu shared the emergency declaration, explaining that national agencies are joining forces to provide rapid medical support, expand testing, and protect community well-being across the islands.

Official reports indicate that about one in every 60 adults in Fiji currently lives with HIV, following an increase in new infections over recent years. Health specialists explain that the virus spreads primarily through intimate sexual contact and shared needles among individuals using illicit substances.

Additionally, routine screenings revealed that two out of every 100 expecting mothers carry the virus, highlighting an urgent need for early maternal healthcare to protect newborns from infection.

To safeguard public health, authorities are delivering free daily treatments, distributing protective preventive medications, and setting up clean needle programs to stop infections before they start.

Furthermore, global partners, including Australia, New Zealand, India, and United Nations health bodies are providing financial resources and medical supplies to back the local effort.

By encouraging open community conversations and delivering accessible healthcare without judgment, health workers aim to ensure that everyone receives the care and dignity they deserve.

Fiji Declares National HIV Emergency as Diagnoses Surge Sixteenfold

International

Kim Yo-jong: Only ‘Idiots’ Think North Korea Will Give Up Nuclear Weapons

Published

2 hours ago

September 17, 2026

Trends Admin

Kim Yo-jong: Only ‘Idiots’ Think North Korea Will Give Up Nuclear Weapons

Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has declared that her country’s status as a nuclear weapons state is “absolute” and can never be reversed — dismissing international hopes for denuclearisation as the delusions of “idiots.”

In a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Thursday, Kim rejected the recent International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference’s demand for North Korea’s “complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation” (CVID) as “familiar nonsense” . “The DPRK’s position as a nuclear weapons state is absolute, which cannot be reversed by anything,” she said, using the acronym for the country’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea .

Kim, who serves as Director of the General Affairs Department of the Workers’ Party of Korea, compared the international community’s repeated calls for denuclearisation to “noise that is neither surprising nor new, heard constantly around this time every year like a sound ringing day and night from an answering machine” . She went on to assert that no amount of diplomatic pressure could alter Pyongyang’s position. “No matter how desperately the IAEA and the West may hold periodic meetings and talk about denuclearisation according to the fixed scenario, they can have no effect on the will and ability of the DPRK to take all necessary measures to defend the supreme interests of the state” . She added: “Those humans sitting together and chattering to try and change our state’s current status must clearly realise what a pathetic delusion and futile waste of effort it is” .

Kim’s statement came during the 70th IAEA General Conference in Vienna, where South Korea and European nations urged North Korea to fulfil its international obligations and abandon its nuclear programme . A South Korean Unification Ministry official said the ministry was “taking note” of Kim’s remarks, assessing them as an attempt to make clear to Washington that denuclearisation is off the table for any potential summit . The timing is particularly noteworthy given recent signals from US President Donald Trump about resuming dialogue with Kim Jong Un. In August 2026, Trump told reporters he expected to meet the North Korean leader later in the year, saying: “Yeah, I will be. I get along with him very well” . Trump also stated that Pyongyang possesses 57 “very powerful” nuclear weapons, marking the first time he had publicly cited a specific figure for North Korea’s arsenal .

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The disclosure sparked a rare public discussion of intelligence assessments. South Korean Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back told lawmakers that Seoul typically estimates North Korea has 80 to 120 nuclear weapons — a figure higher than Trump’s claim . Ahn noted that the estimates held by South Korea and the United States “appear to be slightly different,” though he later clarified that he was citing a private research institute’s assessment rather than an official military figure . Both Seoul and Washington have maintained they do not recognise North Korea as a nuclear-armed state. “We can never officially acknowledge that,” Ahn said when asked whether Seoul accepts Pyongyang’s nuclear possession . Independent estimates vary. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has estimated that North Korea possessed approximately 60 nuclear warheads as of January 2026, with sufficient fissile material for roughly 30 more .

Ahead of the General Conference, the IAEA released its annual report detailing North Korea’s expanding nuclear capabilities. The agency observed that a new uranium enrichment facility at Yongbyon — identified as the site’s second enrichment facility — could accommodate up to 28 centrifuge cascades, the largest scale among North Korea’s known enrichment sites . The IAEA identified the facility by comparing satellite imagery with photographs of Kim Jong Un’s June 2026 visit to a “newly inaugurated nuclear materials production factory,” which state media reported at the time. The photographs indicated gas centrifuge cascades installed on both the upper and lower floors of the two-storey building . The report also noted indications that operations began in January 2026 at a uranium enrichment facility in Kangson, near Pyongyang, within an annex constructed in 2024 . IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said the developments were a “cause for serious concern,” adding: “The continuation and further development of the DPRK’s nuclear programme are clear violations of relevant UN Security Council resolutions and are deeply regrettable” . The European Union, in a statement to the IAEA Board of Governors, condemned North Korea’s “unlawful and destabilising actions” and urged it to abandon all nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes in a “complete, verifiable and irreversible manner” .

Kim’s remarks are consistent with North Korea’s long-standing position. Pyongyang has legally enshrined its status as a nuclear weapons state, declaring its arsenal permanent and irreversible. The country has repeatedly rejected denuclearisation as a precondition for dialogue . North Korea’s mission to the United Nations in Vienna said last September that the country’s status as a nuclear weapons state had become irreversible and the IAEA had “no legal right … to interfere in the internal affairs of a nuclear weapons state which exists outside the NPT” . Analysts note that North Korea has set high barriers for any renewed summit with Washington, including major changes to US policy and acceptance of its nuclear status — conditions the Trump administration has shown no sign of meeting . The US State Department has maintained that Washington “remains committed to the complete denuclearisation of North Korea” . For now, Kim’s message was unambiguous: “No one and nothing can ever reverse the crucial changes in the strength and position of the DPRK and prevent them in the future, too” .

Kim Yo-jong: Only ‘Idiots’ Think North Korea Will Give Up Nuclear Weapons

International

Gaza Building Collapse Kills 21, Including Eight Children

Published

4 hours ago

September 17, 2026

Trends Admin

Gaza Building Collapse Kills 21, Including Eight Children

At least 21 people have been killed, including eight children, after a war-damaged building collapsed in Gaza City overnight, rescuers and medics say. The tragedy has renewed concerns about the collapse risk facing hundreds of bomb-damaged structures across the Gaza Strip as winter approaches.

The six-storey residential building in Gaza City’s Tal al-Hawa area collapsed in the early hours of Wednesday. According to the United Nations humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territories, Ramiz Alakbarov, an estimated 100 people, including 50 children, were living in the building when it came down. The Gaza Civil Defence agency confirmed that rescuers extracted 21 bodies and rescued 20 unharmed individuals from the rubble on al-Sinaa Street in Tal al-Hawa. Dozens remain missing or injured underneath the debris.

Witnesses told the BBC that the building had been left tilting dangerously to one side after an Israeli strike more than a year ago. Displaced families had moved inside because they were desperate, with nowhere else to go. The building had been hit multiple times in 2024 and March 2025, leading to warnings for Gazans not to return, according to Civil Defence spokesman Mahmoud Basal. More than 10 families, totalling around 80 people, lived in the building, according to residents, with dozens of them being children. Sherif, whose sister was killed, said: “They couldn’t find a tent or somewhere to live. This was the last place they could turn to, despite the danger. They were aware that it would likely end in tragedy. A lack of resources drove them towards certain death.“

A woman living in a tent nearby, Umm Mohammed Bakrun, said she had been talking to her son when the building collapsed suddenly. “It felt like an earthquake. There was a loud sound and I couldn’t stand up. Stones rained down on us and when I looked outside I saw a lot of dust,” she told the BBC. “Within minutes, there were screams everywhere.” Another witness, Mansour Abu Mohammed, said the building collapsed “in a few seconds”. “Every day, a stone or a few stones would fall from it, but the people inside couldn’t find anywhere else to live. I used to live next door to it and you could see that it was tilting to one side.”

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UN and Egyptian teams joined the search for survivors, which was slow due to a lack of heavy machinery. Initially, rescuers from the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency had to use their bare hands. Egypt provided heavy machinery for the rescue operation, while the United Arab Emirates and Qatar were set to deliver relief items. The Palestinian Civil Defence said rescue teams had been working continuously since the collapse, but lacked even the most basic tools. “In the first moments after the collapse, we had to ask neighbours and displaced people nearby to bring hammers, shovels and other tools because of the severe shortage of equipment,” said Abdullah al-Majdalawi, director of public relations at Gaza’s Civil Defence. The head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Gaza office, Alessandro Mrakic, told reporters at the scene that “the situation… is tragic because we don’t have the equipment and machinery that is needed”.

Mrakic warned that approximately 400 other war-damaged buildings across Gaza were at imminent risk of collapse, particularly as winter approaches. The Civil Defence agency has identified around 2,000 buildings across the territory at risk of collapse. “We need support, most importantly with machinery, equipment, among others. Our colleagues here don’t have [engine] oil and spare parts to continue to work with all the equipment that is still in Gaza.” The UN’s humanitarian relief coordinator, Ramiz Alakbarov, said he was “devastated” by the reports. “No-one should have to risk their life simply to find a safe place to shelter,” he said. He also urged Israeli authorities to approve deliveries to Gaza of heavy machinery for rescue operations, as well as tents, tarpaulins and other non-food items for displaced people ahead of the winter rains. Israel says its restrictions are meant to keep equipment out of the hands of Palestinian armed groups that could also have military uses.

An estimated 80% of all structures in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged during the war between Israel and Hamas, according to the UN. More than 1.9 million people — about 90% of the territory’s population — have been displaced, many of them multiple times, and 1.2 million of them are currently living in tents or makeshift shelters. The UN has warned that the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire despite the ceasefire agreed last October, as Israeli air strikes and other attacks continue to hit populated areas, causing casualties and property damage and driving further displacement. According to Gaza’s health ministry, 1,369 Palestinians have been killed and 4,627 wounded since the fragile ceasefire took effect on 11 October 2025. The total death toll since the war began has reached 73,783, with 174,738 injured.

On Tuesday, Israeli air strikes killed at least five Palestinians, including two children and a Hamas commander, according to health officials and Hamas sources. The Israeli military said it killed a Hamas commander in southern Gaza and another fighter in the north. In both cases, a child was also reportedly killed. Separately, the British charity Medical Aid for Palestinians said that a patient was killed by an Israeli drone at a health centre it supports in Jabalia in northern Gaza. A spokesperson for the Israeli military told the BBC it was not aware of such an incident.

The Gaza war was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, when about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. Since then, more than 73,790 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the UN. In a statement, the Gaza government media office under Hamas said it held “the Israeli occupation and the international community fully and directly responsible for this catastrophe befalling our Palestinian people“.