The recent sound of explosions over Venezuela, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Yemen, and Nigeria are not merely the spasms by a declining U.S. empire. They are something much more terrifying...

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Election-related violence and its impact on the enabling environment: what role for civil society?. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email...

As the world prepares for the next COP30 summit, a quieter battle is raging in courtrooms. Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) are the fossil-fuel industry’s new favourite weapon,...

Trump’s ‘peace plan’ will never be meaningfully realised – and was never intended to be. It is simply a way to justify prolonging Gaza’s living hell 

Women across the Global South are paying the real costs of the climate crisis; not governments, and not the corporations most responsible for emissions.

EPD works to support civil society and improve its ability to detect and respond to changes in the enabling environment for civic space. We do so mainly through the EU SEE project.

We have gathered critical insights into the evolving nature of threats faced by SRHR advocates and the mechanisms needed to effectively respond.

<article data-history-node-id="430808" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/save-children-condemns-excruciating-toll-gazas-children" class="live-blog-update default clearfix"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/save-children-condemns-excruciating-toll-gazas-children" rel="bookmark"> <span class="field field-title">Save the Children condemns ‘excruciating’ toll on Gaza’s children</span> </a> </h2> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-field-text"><p data-end="119" data-start="0">Save the Children has condemned the soaring child casualties from Israel’s renewed assaults on Gaza, calling the situation “excruciating” and demanding that the ceasefire be upheld.</p> <p data-end="561" data-start="306">“After some weeks of cautious optimism and hopes of rebuilding Gaza, children and families are once again reliving scenes of fear and loss,” said Ahmad Alhendawi, the organisation’s regional director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe.</p> <p data-end="912" data-is-last-node data-is-only-node data-start="563">“This cannot become the new normal under a ceasefire. A lasting ceasefire must mean safety, relief and recovery for children, not continued suffering. It must be fully respected and upheld. We are pleading: stop this now. Protect the ceasefire, protect children, and give Gaza’s families a step towards the genuine peace they have been waiting for,” he added.</p> </div> </div> </article>

Financing for Feminist Futures: we must rethink now how to finance feminist work before the political tide turns even further to the right.

<article data-history-node-id="429193" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/microsoft-blocks-israeli-spy-agencys-access-over-mass-surveillance" class="live-blog-update default clearfix"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/microsoft-blocks-israeli-spy-agencys-access-over-mass-surveillance" rel="bookmark"> <span class="field field-title">Microsoft blocks Israeli spy agency's access over mass surveillance: Report</span> </a> </h2> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-field-text"><p>Microsoft has cut off the Israeli military's Unit 8200 over reports that the elite spy agency had violated the company’s terms of service&nbsp;by storing mass surveillance data of Palestinians in its Azure cloud platform, The Guardian has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/25/microsoft-blocks-israels-use-of-its-technology-in-mass-surveillance-of-palestinians">reported</a>.&nbsp;</p> <p>The report said that Israeli military’s used the technology to operate a powerful surveillance system that collected data of millions of Palestinian civilian phone calls made each day in Gaza and the West Bank.</p> <p>Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president and Vice Chair, said the company opened the review after an investigation by the Guardian newspaper alleged activity by a unit of the Israeli military.</p> <p>“We do not provide technology to facilitate mass surveillance of civilians. We have applied this principle in every country around the world, and we have insisted on it repeatedly for more than two decades,” Smith said in an email to staff.</p> <p>Microsoft has informed the Israeli defence ministry of its “decision to cease and disable specified IMOD subscriptions and their services, including their use of specific cloud storage and AI services and technologies.”</p> </div> </div> </article>

Nepal is in the grip of its worst political crisis in years, as youth-led protests over corruption and digital freedoms have been met with lethal state violence, deepening a nationwide crisis of gover...

Funding will be used to invest in SMEs in developing countries

Most authoritative report by the UN on genocide paves way for ICJ ruling, authors say

<article data-history-node-id="427978" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/no-heartbeat-gazas-pregnant-and-elderly-bear-brunt-israels-starvation" class="live-blog-update default clearfix"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/no-heartbeat-gazas-pregnant-and-elderly-bear-brunt-israels-starvation" rel="bookmark"> <span class="field field-title">‘No heartbeat’: Gaza’s pregnant and elderly bear brunt of Israel’s starvation </span> </a> </h2> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-field-text"><p>Habib Qeshta and his wife Nour were overjoyed recently to learn they were expecting a baby boy.</p> <p>Already parents to a daughter born before the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/israel" target="_blank">Israeli</a>&nbsp;genocide in Gaza, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/palestine" target="_blank">Palestinian</a>&nbsp;couple had hoped a son might bring some light to their dark days under relentless bombardment.</p> <p>“We were overjoyed to learn it was a boy,” said Qeshta, 27, speaking to Middle East Eye.</p> <p>But their joy was shortlived.</p> <p>“A week later, my wife began experiencing unusual pain. She sensed something was wrong, so we went for another check-up,” he recalled.</p> <p>“That’s when the doctor told us the foetus had died due to malnutrition.”</p> <p>Nour had carried the pregnancy for four months under heavy Israeli air strikes near their home.&nbsp;</p> <p>For months, she barely ate any nutritious meals, due to the ongoing Israeli-imposed famine in Gaza.</p> <p>“All we have are canned beans,&nbsp;<em>duqqa</em>&nbsp;(local spices usually eaten with bread), and thyme. Sometimes we don’t even have bread,” Qeshta said.&nbsp;</p> <p>“For a pregnant woman, this can’t be considered nutrition.”</p> <p>Since Israel imposed a total closure of Gaza’s borders on 2 March, nearly two million people in the besieged enclave have entered a new and devastating phase of the war. Wheat flour has become a luxury item, and hundreds have died from hunger and malnutrition.</p> <p>Although the borders were partially reopened for some goods and international aid, most residents remain unable to access food, either due to soaring prices, looting of aid trucks and the dangers of reaching hazardous aid distribution points.</p> <h3>Read more: <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/no-heartbeat-gazas-pregnant-and-elderly-bear-brunt-israels-starvation">Gaza’s pregnant and elderly bear brunt of Israel’s starvation&nbsp;</a></h3> <figure role="group" class="media-block"> <div class="group-inner"> <div alt="Internally displaced elderly Palestinian man Salim Asfour enters his family's tent in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, 4 August 2025 (Imago/APAimages via Reuters Connect/Moaz Abu Taha)" data-embed-button="file_browser" data-entity-embed-display="image:image" data-entity-embed-display-settings="{" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="81a58c4e-f857-494a-965e-91c835c12d0d" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"> <img src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/images-story/2025-08-03T000000Z_80220149_MT1IMGOST000Z82V93_RTRMADP_3_IMAGO-IMAGES%20%281%29.jpg" width="2000" height="1125" alt="Internally displaced elderly Palestinian man Salim Asfour enters his family's tent in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, 4 August 2025 (Imago/APAimages via Reuters Connect/Moaz Abu Taha)" typeof="foaf:Image" fetchpriority="high"> </div> <figcaption>Internally displaced elderly Palestinian man Salim Asfour enters his family's tent in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, 4 August 2025 (Imago/APAimages via Reuters Connect/Moaz Abu Taha)</figcaption> </div> </figure> <p><span style="background: url(&quot;https://www.middleeasteye.net/modules/contrib/ckeditor/vendor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png&quot;) rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); top: -15px; left: 0px;"><img height="15" role="presentation" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" loading="lazy"></span></p> </div> </div> </article>

Afro-Colombian and Indigenous voices cannot simply be heard: they must be protagonists in building a just, secure, and pluralistic future.