عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Round Eight on Syrian Talks Kick off in Geneva

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura (3rd L) shakes hands with head of the Syrian Negotiation Commission (SNC) Nasr al-Hariri (3rd R) next to opposition delegation members (from L-R) Khaled al-Mahamid, Hanadi Abu Arab, Jamal Suliman and Safwan Akash, on the opening of a new round of Syria's peace talks at the United Naitons Office in Geneva, Switzerland November 28, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrice Coffrini/Pool
UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura (3rd L) shakes hands with head of the Syrian Negotiation Commission (SNC) Nasr al-Hariri (3rd R) next to opposition delegation members (from L-R) Khaled al-Mahamid, Hanadi Abu Arab, Jamal Suliman and Safwan Akash, on the opening of a new round of Syria's peace talks at the United Naitons Office in Geneva, Switzerland November 28, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrice Coffrini/Pool
TT
TT

Round Eight on Syrian Talks Kick off in Geneva

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura (3rd L) shakes hands with head of the Syrian Negotiation Commission (SNC) Nasr al-Hariri (3rd R) next to opposition delegation members (from L-R) Khaled al-Mahamid, Hanadi Abu Arab, Jamal Suliman and Safwan Akash, on the opening of a new round of Syria's peace talks at the United Naitons Office in Geneva, Switzerland November 28, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrice Coffrini/Pool
UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura (3rd L) shakes hands with head of the Syrian Negotiation Commission (SNC) Nasr al-Hariri (3rd R) next to opposition delegation members (from L-R) Khaled al-Mahamid, Hanadi Abu Arab, Jamal Suliman and Safwan Akash, on the opening of a new round of Syria's peace talks at the United Naitons Office in Geneva, Switzerland November 28, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrice Coffrini/Pool

The eighth round of Syrian talks began on Tuesday in Geneva upon the Syrian opposition delegation's arrival.

A Syrian government delegation will arrive in Geneva on Wednesday, a day later than expected, to attend peace talks being held there this week, Syrian state news agency SANA said.

The opposition delegation preceded the meetings by issuing a press statement pointing out that the Syrian regime is still brutally targeting Syrians.

It also said that postponing and bringing up excuses, in order to lag behind the timetable of diplomatic efforts, set to take place in Geneva, does not serve the interest of the people.

According to the statement, the opposition started a series of coordinating meetings with the UN Secretary General Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura, to review the situation, especially following reports coming from within Syria attributed to the MSF (doctors without borders), showing that about 70 persons have died and as many as 500 have been injured, in Eastern Ghouta District, during the past two weeks.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

WHO Sends Over 1 Mln Polio Vaccines to Gaza to Protect Children 

Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, look out from a window as they take shelter, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, look out from a window as they take shelter, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
TT
TT

WHO Sends Over 1 Mln Polio Vaccines to Gaza to Protect Children 

Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, look out from a window as they take shelter, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, look out from a window as they take shelter, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)

The World Health Organization is sending more than one million polio vaccines to Gaza to be administered over the coming weeks to prevent children being infected after the virus was detected in sewage samples, its chief said on Friday.

"While no cases of polio have been recorded yet, without immediate action, it is just a matter of time before it reaches the thousands of children who have been left unprotected," Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in an opinion piece in Britain's The Guardian newspaper.

He wrote that children under five were most at risk from the viral disease, and especially infants under two since normal vaccination campaigns have been disrupted by more than nine months of conflict.

Poliomyelitis, which is spread mainly through the fecal-oral route, is a highly infectious virus that can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis. Cases of polio have declined by 99% worldwide since 1988 thanks to mass vaccination campaigns and efforts continue to eradicate it completely.

Israel's military said on Sunday it would start offering the polio vaccine to soldiers serving in the Gaza Strip after remnants of the virus were found in test samples in the enclave.

Besides polio, the UN reported last week a widespread increase in cases of Hepatitis A, dysentery and gastroenteritis as sanitary conditions deteriorate in Gaza, with sewage spilling into the streets near some camps for displaced people.