Category World News

Israeli forces have raided the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in occupied East Jerusalem, seizing items and replacing the UN flag with Israel’s flag.

In a statement on X, the agency’s commissioner-general, Philippe Lazzarini, said Israeli police, accompanied by municipal officials, forcibly entered its compound in Sheikh Jarrah early on Monday morning.

“Police motorcycles, as well as trucks and forklifts, were brought in and all communications were cut. Furniture, IT equipment and other property was seized,” he said. “The UN flag was pulled down and replaced with an Israeli flag.”

UNRWA has not used the building since the beginning of the year after Israeli authorities ordered the agency to vacate all of its premises and halt operations inside Israel.

Lazzarini said this follows “months of harassment that included arson attacks in 2024, hateful demonstrations and intimidation, supported by a large-scale disinformation campaign, as well as anti-UNRWA legislation passed by the Israeli parliament in breach of its international obligations”.

Israel barred UNRWA from operating on its soil after claiming some employees had participated in the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. UNRWA denied the allegations, while in October the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found that Israel’s allegations against UNRWA were unsubstantiated.

Still, Israel’s claims prompted the United States, historically UNRWA’s largest donor, to suspend funding.

UNRWA was forced to repatriate its international staff from Gaza and the occupied West Bank, severely limiting aid distribution at a time when Palestinians are facing extreme shortages of food and shelter amid Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

In October, the ICJ issued an advisory opinion reaffirming Israel’s legal obligation to support UN relief efforts in Gaza, including those carried out by UNRWA, and to cooperate with UN agencies operating in the occupied territories.

‘A dangerous precedent’

Lazzarini condemned the latest attack on UNRWA as a direct violation of international law, saying it showed “a blatant disregard of Israel’s obligation as a United Nations Member State to protect & respect the inviolability of UN premises”.

While Israel has attempted to strip the compound of its UN status, Lazzarini said its actions have no legal effect.

“However, whatever action taken domestically, the compound retains its status as a UN premises, immune from any form of interference,” he said, adding that Israel is a signatory to the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the UN.

UNRWA is the largest humanitarian organisation operating in Gaza and the West Bank, and also provides schooling, healthcare, social services and shelter to millions of Palestinian refugees across the Middle East.

For Palestinians, the agency’s existence is tied to their internationally recognised right of return to homes from which they or their families were expelled during the creation of Israel in 1948.

Damascus, Syria – In 2013, Mohamad Yamen, then nine years old, fled from the Damascus suburb of Jobar with his family.

The Assad regime flattened Jobar, making it uninhabitable. Yamen and his parents moved to the Abbasiyyin neighbourhood of Damascus, where he continued his studies and dreamed of moving to Spain.

At around midnight on December 8, 2024, the 20-year-old Yamen was on his phone as news poured in that the regime might be on its last legs. A rebel operation from the north of Syria had overtaken Aleppo, Hama and Homs, and word was that they were on their way to Syria’s capital city.

Yamen told a few friends and joined them in the streets of Damascus. His house was between two police stations, Abbasiyyin and Jobar, staffed with police who he said were corrupt and would regularly harass people.

But that evening, they were nowhere to be found. Instead, they found the uniforms of defected soldiers lying on the ground.

His phone died while he was out on the streets, so the news did not come in by phone, but the sound of gunfire echoed through the night sky.

“There was a lot of gunfire from jubilant people,” he said on Monday, a day before the first anniversary, seated in a hotel courtyard.

He looked out over the courtyard and played with a ring on his left hand as he spoke.

He described the scene that day as a kind of joy-filled chaos, until rebel forces arrived from Deraa, in southern Syria, and later fighters, led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, poured into the capital from the north.

“This was an indescribable joy, honestly,” he said. But his first thoughts were for other people suffering oppression.

“At that moment, I thought that God willing, it will happen soon for the people of Palestine, and we will celebrate in Palestine, at Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

Soon after, Yamen saw on television that al-Sharaa was entering the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus’s Old City. He jumped on his scooter and made a beeline for the mosque. When he arrived, he saw Syria’s future president emerging from the historic mosque.

‘Because of this liberation, I have hope’

Al Jazeera first met Yamen a few days later, outside that same mosque on the first Friday after the liberation of Damascus.

“Because of this liberation, I have hope,” he said at the time.

On December 7, 2025, Yamen was still filled with positivity on the eve of the anniversary of the liberation of Damascus. At 21 years old, his face was fuller than a year ago, and he spoke calmly with an intellectual air.

He listed a number of things that he felt had been improved by the new government, led by al-Sharaa.

The streets had been upgraded, infrastructure had been repaired, the exchange rate had improved, the health sector was getting better, and employees’ salaries had been raised, he said.

“What I have mentioned is just the tip of the iceberg, so there’s still more to improve, God willing, much more.”

He also pointed to the issue of freedom of expression. Under al-Assad, any criticism of the regime could end in imprisonment.

Many Syrians told Al Jazeera that having dollars or even speaking the word aloud on a mobile phone could result in punishment or imprisonment.

“The issue of freedom of expression is one of the issues that has made the most difference,” he said.

He pointed out recent antigovernment protests in Homs and the Syrian coast, where troops affiliated with the new government contributed to widespread sectarian violence in March.

“Right now, we are sitting here. For example, you might disagree with me on a political opinion. But under the old regime, you were careful with every word,” Yamen said.

On the actual anniversary, the next day, Yamen headed down to Umayyad Square to take part in the celebrations and the collective euphoria and joy.

Tens of thousands were expected to attend. By 3pm (12:00 GMT), fireworks burst overhead as helicopters and powered paragliders flew through the sky, while below the square was already full of people waving the green, black and white Syrian flag.

People continued to pour in for the processions, which the government said would start at 8pm (17:00 GMT).

‘I can help this country’

Jobar is still destroyed, and rebuilding will take years. Yamen compared the destruction of the area with the destruction Israel has unleashed on Gaza.

Under the Assad regime, dozens of areas were obliterated through barrel bombs, air raids, and siege. The World Bank has estimated the reconstruction costs in Syria will require between $140bn and $345bn.

“I will never forget the time of our forced displacement,” he said. “Our region, our people, our families in Ghouta and Jobar were displaced.”

Still, Yamen no longer dreams of Spain.

“There are things that make me want to challenge everything and stay, I mean, this is something that’s not about me,” he said. He is in his final year studying law and hopes to find work upon his graduation.

“I am ultimately a member of society. Before, corruption in the legal field filled me with doubt about working here,” Yamen said.

Who: Inter Milan vs Liverpool
What: UEFA Champions League – League phase, match day 6
Where: San Siro Stadium, Milan, Italy
When: Tuesday at 9pm (20:00 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 17:00 GMT in advance of our live text commentary stream.

In-form Inter Milan host struggling Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) on Tuesday with the Reds underwhelming defence of their Premier League crown turning from bad to worse with superstar player Mohamed Salah hinting at an exit from the club.

Liverpool currently sits ninth on the domestic league ladder – 10 points behind leaders Arsenal – and their morale was weakened further when Salah accused the club of “throwing him under the bus” in comments made to the media after a 3-3 draw at lowly Leeds United on the weekend.

Inter have recovered from a slow start to the Serie A football season – where they lost two of their first three fixtures – to storm back into title contention. The Nerazzurri now sit second on the table – just a point behind reigning champions Napoli after 14 rounds.

For Inter coach Cristian Chivu, a win against Liverpool at the San Siro could secure direct qualification for the Italian mega club in the last-16 of the Champions League.

Where do Inter and Liverpool sit on the Champions League ladder?

After five of the eight match days so far, Inter sits fourth on the ladder with a record of four wins and one loss. They were undefeated in the competition until a tough 2-1 loss in their last fixture at Atletico Madrid on November 26.

Liverpool is currently 13th with three wins and two losses, and is situated outside the top-eight placing required for automatic qualification into the next phase of the tournament. The Reds defeated 15-time UCL champions Real Madrid 1-0 on November 4 – but were then humiliated 4-1 at Anfield by Dutch side PSV in their last match on November 26.

Will Mo Salah play against Inter?

It is unclear at this stage if Salah will be included in the Liverpool squad for the Reds’ trip to Inter Milan.

Salah trained with the club at the AXA Training Centre in Liverpool on Monday ahead of their flight to Italy, but it remains to be seen whether manager Arne Slot chooses to leave him out of the squad. He did not speak to the media.

On Saturday, the 33-year-old said he had been “thrown under the bus” as he tore into the club over his treatment and signalled a potential exit, after watching from the bench for the third straight match in the draw at Leeds.

In his incendiary post-match comments, the Egyptian international lashed out at the club and coach Slot, telling journalists he felt he had been scapegoated for their poor start to the season and suggesting that he may not have long left at Anfield.

“I’m very, very disappointed, to be fair. I have done so much for this club. Everybody can see that during the years, and especially last season,” Salah told reporters in the post-match mixed zone, before taking aim at the club’s leadership.

“I don’t know, it seems like the club is throwing me under the bus. That’s how I felt it, how I feel it.

“I think it’s very clear that someone wants me to get all the blame. The club promised me in the summer … a lot of promises and nothing so far.”

Salah, who is going to the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with Egypt on December 15, added: “I don’t know what’s going to happen now, so I’m just going to be in Anfield, say goodbye to the fans [before] going to Africa Cup, because I don’t know what’s going to happen when I’m there.”

When did Inter and Liverpool last play each other?

The teams’ last match was on March 8, 2022. They met in the second leg of their last-16 Champions League matchup, with Liverpool losing 1-0 at Anfield, but still progressing to the quarterfinals of the tournament (2-1 on aggregate) after winning the first leg 2-0 at the San Siro on February 16.

When did Inter and Liverpool last win the Champions League?

Liverpool defeated fellow English club Tottenham Hotspur 2–0 to secure the 2019 title.

Inter last won in 2010, overcoming Bayern Munich 2–0 in the final to complete the treble, a feat never before achieved by any team from either Italy or Germany.

Head-to-head

The two storied clubs have played six times in history.

Liverpool holds a 4-2 edge over the Nerazzurri in the all-time head-to-head record.

Inter Milan’s team news

Ex-Manchester United and Arsenal star Henrikh Mkhitaryan is expected to make his long-awaited return to the starting lineup after a month-long absence with a thigh injury, replacing Piotr Zielinski in the central midfield role.

Talented Brazilian Luis Henrique, who plays as a right wingback in Chivu’s 3-5-2 formation, is likely to retain his spot in the lineup after starting against Como on Saturday.

Matteo Darmian, Tomas Palacios and goalkeeper Raffaele Di Gennaro are all unavailable due to injury.

Lautaro Martinez and strike partner Marcus Thuram both scored against Como and will again start up front against Liverpool.

Inter Milan’s predicted starting lineup (3-5-2):

Sommer (goalkeeper); Akanji, Bisseck, Bastoni; Henrique, Zielinski, Barella, Calhanoglu, Dimarco; Thuram, Martinez

Liverpool’s team news

No official team statement has been made on whether Salah will travel with the team to Italy. Slot will address the issue in his pre-match press conference in Milan on Tuesday.

Jeremie Frimpong and Giovanni Leoni remain out with injuries.

The big question for the Liverpool coach remains who to play up front in the lone striker role: Alexander Isak or Hugo Ekitike.

Ekitike had a bounce-back game against Leeds on Saturday, scoring two goals. Record signing Isak scored his first Premier League goal for Liverpool on November 30 against West Ham and – now healthy – is keen to add to that tally.

Liverpool’s predicted starting lineup (4-2-3-1):

Alisson (goalkeeper); Bradley, Gomez, van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Jones; Szoboszlai, Wirtz, Chiesa; Isak

Last five matches

Inter Milan: W-W-L-W-W (most recent result last, Serie A matches only)

Liverpool: L-L-W-D-D (most recent result last, Premier League matches only)

Thousands of flights operated by India’s largest airline, IndiGo, have been cancelled in the past week, disrupting air travel during peak travel season in the world’s most populous nation.

The chaos started last week due to a pilot shortage after the private carrier failed to adapt to a new government guideline on the rest and duty hours of pilots.

The crisis has brought into the spotlight the working conditions of pilots in India and how airlines pushed policies that negatively affected their pay scale.

What do we know about flight disruptions?

IndiGo, which operates 2,200 flights daily, has been forced to cancel about 3,400 flights since December 2 in the worst crisis in the carrier’s 20-year operation.

There were flight disruptions in several big cities, including New Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at airports across the country.

The airline says its operations will be back to normal by December 15.

Given that IndiGo controls 65 percent market share, the impact on travel and ticket prices was severe, forcing the government to intervene and even issue a cap on domestic fares.

Together, Air India and IndiGo control 92 percent of the market share. IndiGo is the only airline that connects many smaller cities and towns in India, such as Shillong, Kolhapur, Prayagraj, Agra and Deogarh, giving it a monopoly on those sectors.

On Friday, about 1,600 flights were cancelled. A day later, more than 700 flights were cancelled, followed by some 650 flights on Sunday. More than 400 flights have been cancelled so far on Monday.

The disruptions have caused a huge outcry.

What are the new guidelines on pilot rest and duty hours?

Early in 2024, the Indian government introduced new Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) regulations to improve pilots’ working hours, rest periods, and fatigue management across Indian airlines. These rules reduced the maximum daily duty hours and tightened rest requirements, aligning more closely with international fatigue‑risk norms.

The new rules, which came into effect on November 1, asked airlines to:

• Increase pilots’ mandatory weekly rest period from 36 to 48 hours. A pilot’s personal leave request, however, cannot be included under the mandatory rest period.
• Cap pilots’ flying hours that continue into the night to 10 hours.
• Cap the weekly number of landings a pilot can make between midnight and early morning to two.
• Submit pilots’ fatigue reports every quarter to India’s aviation regulator – the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Aviation experts and pilot unions have blamed IndiGo for poor preparation and negligence in adapting to the new rules. Former AirAsia CFO Vijay Gopalan attributed the crisis to IndiGo’s “very, very lackadaisical, nonchalant attitude” towards adapting to the latest regulations.

“Despite the two-year preparatory window before full FDTL implementation, the airline inexplicably adopted a hiring freeze, entered non-poaching arrangements, maintained a pilot pay freeze through cartel-like behaviour, and demonstrated other short-sighted planning practices,” the Federation of Indian Pilots told the Press Trust of India news agency on December 4.

Why did India introduce Flight Duty Time Limitations?

The Indian civil aviation authorities introduced the FDTL regulations to address pilot fatigue and safety concerns, bringing them closer to international standards.

These international standards are set by bodies such as the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a United Nations agency which sets global aviation standards and coordinates international air transport, and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

The new regulations were introduced after years of lobbying by pilot unions and associations in India, including the Airline Pilots’ Association of India (ALPA), for updated fatigue rules. They raised concerns about operational safety risks and health impacts from long, irregular hours.

What is it like to be a pilot in India?

Pawan*, a commercial pilot with an Indian airline, told Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity, “You need to have completed about 200 hours of flight time through a training institution before working with an airline.”

As a child, Pawan lived in a housing society with pilots, engineers and airport managers because his father was also a pilot. These factors inspired him to become a pilot.

He added that, unlike many industries with annual inflation‑linked raises, pilot salaries rarely increase, and benefits are mostly standard – staff flight tickets for family, limited medical insurance and compensation if a licence is lost due to medical reasons or death.

“From a lot of people that I’ve interacted with in the industry who’ve been here now 15 years close to the company, they are saying things like, ‘I feel like I’m earning the same thing I earned 10 years back, or maybe even less,’” Pawan, who has been a pilot in India for almost a decade, said.

Different websites have different estimates for the average salary earned by pilots in India.

The New Delhi-based FMS Aviation Academy estimates that the annual salary of new Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) holders starts from 400,000 rupees ($4,400), as of 2025.

According to the academy, the annual salary of senior captains for commercial airlines can exceed 10 million rupees ($120,000). Another New Delhi-based aviation school, We One Aviation, cites the same figure for the salary of senior captains.

The entry-level job is a junior first officer or cadet. After sufficient flying hours, one is promoted to become a senior. After more than 3,000 hours of flying, pilots take the Airline Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL) theoretical test to become a captain, a position that allows them to take full responsibility for the flight.

How does India compare with the rest of the world?

International bodies like the ICAO do not prescribe specific limits to the number of hours or number of flights pilots can safely operate to avoid fatigue. Different countries have different regulations.

For example, the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) says pilots should get a minimum 48-hour break in any consecutive seven‑day period. Night duty is capped at nine to 10 hours. It does not state an explicit landing cap. In Australia, pilots can earn approximately 200,000 Australian dollars ($134,000) a year, and captains can earn up to 400,000 Australian dollars ($268,000) a year, according to the Melbourne-based Holmes Aviation Institute.

According to Canadian Aviation Regulations, pilots must get at least 36 consecutive hours off during any seven‑day period when they are operating from their normal home base. The night duty is limited to eight to 10 hours. There is no formal cap on night landings. In Canada, pilots can make between 38,000 Canadian dollars ($27,740) and 250,000 Canadian dollars ($182,500) a year, according to the Ontario-based institute, Flight Trainers.

The EASA sets the weekly rest to a minimum of 36 hours, which can be reduced to 24 hours with compensation. The average annual salaries for airline pilots across 17 European countries range from 32,299 euros ($35,000) in Romania to 113,672 euros ($122,776) in Switzerland as of 2025, according to the ERI Economic Research Institute.

In the United States, flight crew members get 30 consecutive hours free from all duty during a consecutive seven-day period of work. It caps the night duty to nine to 10 hours. There is no formal cap on night landings. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median pay for commercial pilots in 2024 was $198,100 per year.