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UN Security Council Fails to Agree on Statement Calling for Ceasefire in Ethiopia

The UN Security Council meets at the UN headquarters in New York, US. Reuters file photo
The UN Security Council meets at the UN headquarters in New York, US. Reuters file photo
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UN Security Council Fails to Agree on Statement Calling for Ceasefire in Ethiopia

The UN Security Council meets at the UN headquarters in New York, US. Reuters file photo
The UN Security Council meets at the UN headquarters in New York, US. Reuters file photo

The 15-member United Nations Security Council failed to agree on adopting a statement calling for a ceasefire in Tigray, Ethiopia, and expressing concern about alleged arrests based on ethnic identity.

The draft text submitted by Ireland, a non-permanent member of the Council, was rejected by China and Russia and was “abandoned” on Friday night, a diplomatic source affirmed.

Several other diplomatic sources said that “there is no agreement” and some believed that the draft was rushed.

The Russian diplomatic mission acknowledged the existence of a dispute over the text, while it was not possible to obtain an immediate comment from the Chinese mission.

According to the draft text obtained by AFP, the Council called for “unimpeded humanitarian access, an end to hostilities and the launch of a comprehensive national dialogue” in Ethiopia.

The draft stresses the council members’ concerns about “reports of large-scale arrests in Ethiopia on the basis of ethnic identity and without due process.” It also denounces “hate speech.”

Last week, Ethiopia declared a nationwide six-month state of emergency amid growing fears that the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) fighters and their allies would advance towards the capital, Addis Ababa.

Several countries have called on their nationals to leave Ethiopia while the conflict between the rebels and government forces north of the country escalates.

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Arab World

UN Rights Chief Demands Houthis Return Body of Yemeni Staff Member

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk delivers a statement at the United Nations Offices in Geneva, on September 16, 2025. (AFP)
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk delivers a statement at the United Nations Offices in Geneva, on September 16, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Rights Chief Demands Houthis Return Body of Yemeni Staff Member

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk delivers a statement at the United Nations Offices in Geneva, on September 16, 2025. (AFP)
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk delivers a statement at the United Nations Offices in Geneva, on September 16, 2025. (AFP)

The UN's ‌human rights chief on Friday demanded the return of the body of a Yemeni staff member of his office who died of unknown causes weeks ago after being held in Houthi custody for more than two years.

Mohammad el-Shami's family learned of his death on October 30, more than a month after it occurred, but ‌they have received no ‌explanation of the cause ‌or ⁠circumstances. El-Shami ⁠had been held by the Houthi militia since June 6, 2024.

"Our colleague must be laid to rest in a dignified manner, in accordance with the wishes of his family – which was denied contact with him ⁠for two years while he ‌was in detention," ‌said United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker ‌Turk.

His family said the Houthis had ‌agreed in principle to an investigation in a statement earlier this week. "Do not allow Mohamed to die twice: once when he was taken from ‌his family and disappeared, and again when the truth about his ⁠fate ⁠is allowed to disappear from the world."

There was no immediate comment from the Houthis, who have previously alleged those detained were part of a spy network working for the United States and Israel.

More than 70 UN employees and dozens of humanitarian workers remain in detention in Yemen. A video circulating this week appeared to show one of them "confessing", Turk's office said, voicing fears that the group may be subject to torture or ill-treatment.

Arab World

Palestinian Teen Reunites with Family After Month in Israeli Jail

The mother of Ezzedine al-Lahalia, a 15-year-old Palestinian teenager, kisses him as they reunite in the village of Al-Jib in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, late on November 12, 2026, after his release from an Israeli prison where he had spent a month in detention. (AFP)
The mother of Ezzedine al-Lahalia, a 15-year-old Palestinian teenager, kisses him as they reunite in the village of Al-Jib in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, late on November 12, 2026, after his release from an Israeli prison where he had spent a month in detention. (AFP)
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Palestinian Teen Reunites with Family After Month in Israeli Jail

The mother of Ezzedine al-Lahalia, a 15-year-old Palestinian teenager, kisses him as they reunite in the village of Al-Jib in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, late on November 12, 2026, after his release from an Israeli prison where he had spent a month in detention. (AFP)
The mother of Ezzedine al-Lahalia, a 15-year-old Palestinian teenager, kisses him as they reunite in the village of Al-Jib in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, late on November 12, 2026, after his release from an Israeli prison where he had spent a month in detention. (AFP)

Looking tiny in his adult-size grey prison jumpsuit, 15-year-old Palestinian Ezzedine al-Lahalia appeared stunned as his mother embraced him after a month in an Israeli jail.

His first request was a child's wish for his favorite food: stuffed cabbage and shawarma.

The teenager, who had been charged with throwing stones, was reunited with his family Thursday night in an emotional scene witnessed by an AFP photographer.

Ezzedine's mother held back tears as she kissed his cheeks, while the older men released alongside him greeted their wives and children.

Then Israeli troops fired tear gas, interrupting the families' reunions.

Lahalia, from the West Bank city of Sair, reunited with his family in the village of Al-Jib near Jerusalem, where Israeli authorities typically release Palestinian prisoners on Thursdays.

"After the Israelis brought the prisoners out, after we had received them, they fired tear gas," Ezzedine's mother, Rania Jaradat told AFP, adding that the scene was reminiscent of when soldiers took the boy from the family home on October 14, 2026.

"They were afraid that the families would assemble near the gate and celebrate," she said.

After Lahalia's release, she said, "the first thing he asked for was stuffed cabbage and shawarma". She happily complied.

He was released after the family paid 5,000-shekels (around $1,500) in bail.

As the eldest of five, his absence was particularly felt by his younger siblings.

"They're happy that I've returned, but they were very distressed while I wasn't with them," Ezzedine told AFP.

According to the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, 9,300 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli jails, including 350 minors.

Earlier this week, the military said it had shot a 14-year-old in a group of boys it suspected of throwing stones at a passing car in the north of the West Bank.

The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem noted an increase in deaths of Palestinians after the easing of open-fire rules in 2022 for stone throwers.

Arab World

Lebanon Hands Over Al-Alwani’s Body to Iraq without Autopsy

The building where former Iraqi MP Ahmed al-Alwani was found strangled to death in Beirut, Lebanon, November 11, 2026. (Reuters)
The building where former Iraqi MP Ahmed al-Alwani was found strangled to death in Beirut, Lebanon, November 11, 2026. (Reuters)
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Lebanon Hands Over Al-Alwani’s Body to Iraq without Autopsy

The building where former Iraqi MP Ahmed al-Alwani was found strangled to death in Beirut, Lebanon, November 11, 2026. (Reuters)
The building where former Iraqi MP Ahmed al-Alwani was found strangled to death in Beirut, Lebanon, November 11, 2026. (Reuters)

Lebanon's Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation Judge Ahmad Rami al-Hajj ordered the handover of the body of former Iraqi MP Ahmed al-Alwani to the Iraqi Embassy in Beirut for transfer to Baghdad, at the request of his family.

A judicial source explained that X-rays conducted Thursday on al-Alwani’s body revealed a quantity of fluid in the victim's lower abdomen and pelvis.

It said the judiciary had ordered an autopsy to determine the nature of the fluid and whether it was blood, which could indicate that he had been beaten and suffered internal bleeding.

However, the Iraqi Embassy asked the judiciary to forego the autopsy and transfer the body to Baghdad so that those procedures could be carried out there. The request was granted.

The judicial source said that determining the causes of death can be accomplished once the suspects or those accused in the crime are arrested and through their confessions.

The source also revealed that two individuals who sold phone lines to the perpetrators in the Tariq al-Jdideh area in Beirut have been placed under investigation, with no decision made yet on whether to detain or release them.

The judicial source further noted that Lebanon has so far received no response from Damascus about the arrest and extradition of the two Syrian suspects who fled into Syrian territory.