People pass through clouds of dust as the rebuilding operation continues in Gaza city. (AP Photo / John Minchillo)

❓What’s next for Israel and Palestine? Prompted by the 11-day war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza this month, the United Nations Human Rights Council voted on Thursday to launch an investigation into possible war crimes and alleged abuses committed in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. A ceasefire agreed on 21 May has brought an end to the fighting which claimed the lives of over 200 people, but there are concerns the peace could be short lived – and the world is watching to see if there might finally be progress towards a lasting solution to the decades-old conflict.

Members of the Belarusian community in Ireland protest outside the GOP building in Dublin in support of political prisoners in Belarus. (Niall Carson / PA via AP)

Global solidarity protests for Belarus. Protests took place in cities across Europe this weekend to show support for the opposition in Belarus following the arrest of a blogger and his girlfriend when their flight was diverted to Minsk on 23 May. The forced landing of the passenger flight sparked condemnation from Western countries, with the US and EU imposing sanctions against Belarus. Meanwhile, the Kremlin has doubled down on its support for President Alexander Lukashenko, with Vladimir Putin agreeing to release $500m in credit to the country and increase the number of flights between the two.

Image: A UN convoy returns after being turned away from an Ethiopian military checkpoint. (AP Photo / Ben Curtis)

Hundreds detained in Tigray. The UN refugee agency voiced deep concern on Friday following reports that Eritrean and Ethiopian soldiers had forcibly detained more than 500 young men and women from displacement camps in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch told reporters in Geneva that it was “crucial that all parties to the conflict recognise the civilian and humanitarian character of the displacement sites.”

📍June 8-9 | Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy. The annual summit assembles hundreds of courageous dissidents and human rights activists, diplomats, journalists and student leaders to shine a spotlight on urgent human rights situations that require global attention. Speakers at this year’s virtual event include exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and Australian-British academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert.

📍June 15 | Afghanistan’s elusive negotiation process: from peacebuilding back to peacemaking. Following the attacks of September 11 2001, a coalition led by the United States has intervened in Afghanistan. After 20 years, American soldiers are expected to have withdrawn by this autumn. Will the current negotiation between the Afghan government and the Taliban succeed in bringing peace and security?