East Timor finally looks set to join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this year. The country’s accession to the bloc has been a long time coming. More than a decade ago when I first moved to Dili, the Timorese capital, government officials and ordinary people regularly touted the opportunities ASEAN membership presents. The … Read more
On Sunday night amid the spectacle of the Super Bowl halftime show, a performer raised the flags of Sudan and Palestine. In an event as meticulously controlled as the Super Bowl, his interruption was brief, quickly handled by security, and not shown on the live broadcast. But the moment itself, fleeting as it was, was … Read more
The exceptional immunity that Israel has enjoyed for decades has placed international law and its institutions at a knife’s edge. Israel has killed UN workers, banned UNRWA, barred UN representatives from entry, and repeatedly insulted the UN and its officials. Successive Israeli governments and their allies have also used all means possible to exert pressure on the International Criminal Court (ICC) not … Read more
United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order that seeks to repurpose Guantanamo Bay, a US prison in Cuba, into a detention centre for unauthorised immigrants. About 11 million such immigrants live in the US, where the total population is 341 million, according to estimates by the Pew Research Center. Debates about … Read more
I was held in Guantanamo detention centre for 14 years without ever being charged with a crime. I was sent there when I was 19. I didn’t know why I was being held, what I had done to be imprisoned, or when I would be released. Like many of the other men at Guantanamo, I … Read more
This is the season of renewal. One year ends. Another begins. At the turn of the calendar, it is customary for columnists like me to make predictions about what may or may not be in the offing or, alternatively, to offer dispirited readers reasons for hope amid all the hurt and heartache. I have to … Read more
When I started studying nursing at Al Azhar University, I knew I wanted to work at al-Shifa Hospital. It was my dream. It was the biggest, most prestigious hospital in the Gaza Strip. Some of the best doctors and nurses in Palestine worked there. Various foreign medical missions would come and provide training and care … Read more
The Church of England is facing a long overdue reckoning in Africa. Its leader, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, announced his resignation in November after an independent review brought attention to his failure to report to the authorities the barrister John Smyth, a prolific abuser of children. Smyth is found to have physically, sexually and … Read more
Since Donald Trump’s re-election as United States president, there has been growing discussion about what his incoming administration’s policies towards Afghanistan might look like. Many anticipate a tougher stance against the Taliban, but a closer look at Trump’s track record and statements on the issue indicates he is unlikely to make any drastic changes to … Read more
My grandfather, Hamdi, was just eight when his family fled Bir al-Sabaa, a town in southern Palestine once known for its fertile land and agricultural life. His father, Abdelraouf, was a farmer who owned nearly 1,000 dunams of land and cultivated wheat, selling the harvest to merchants in Gaza. The family had a happy and … Read more