United Nations officials alleged that Syria‘s and Russia‘s forces may be deliberately targeting hospitals and schools in the rebel-held northwest of Syria as a tactic aimed at “terrorising” civilians.

Both Syria and Russia denied the accusations on Tuesday.

UN aid chief Mark Lowcock told the UN Security Council since late April the World Health Organization had confirmed 26 incidents affecting healthcare facilities in the Idlib region.

Civilian facilities often provide their exact coordinates to military officials involved in conflict zones to help protect them from inadvertent artillery or air strikes.

Lowcock said some hospitals in northwestern Syria were now not sharing their locations with warring parties because it “paints a target on their back”.

“Hitting a facility whose coordinates were shared as part of the UN’s deconfliction system is simply intolerable,” said Lowcock. “A number of partners  … have drawn the conclusion that hospital bombings are a deliberate tactic aimed at terrorising people.”

He said the United Nations was reconsidering its de-confliction system and would inform the UN Security Council next week of its conclusions.

Lowcock told the Security Council since Syrian troops began pushing into Idlib on April 30 an estimated 330,000 people have been forced to flee their homes and more than 230 civilians have died.

‘Decisively reject’

Russia and Syria questioned the sources of the UN information on the attacks on civilian infrastructure.

“We decisively reject any accusation of indiscriminate strikes. We’re not carrying out attacks on civilians,” Russian UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzia said.

Syrian UN Ambassador Bashar al-Jaafari added: “Syrians and allies do not target schools or hospitals.”

But other ambassadors suggested the practice was indeed taking place.

“Many of those in the civilian infrastructure have stopped giving coordinates because they are concerned giving the coordinate means maybe those people who shouldn’t get the coordinates receive them and use them,” said the German Ambassador to the UN Christoph Heusgen.

Marc Pecsteen, Belgian’s ambassador to the UN, also supported the accusations.

“There is no justification whatsoever [for attacks on civilian facilities]. Even in the fight against terrorism, there is no reason to target a school or a hospital,” said Pecsteen.

Crumbling ‘de-escalation’

Idlib is the last remaining bastion of anti-government rebels after eight bloody years of civil war.

Russia, which supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, and Turkey, long a backer of rebel groups, cosponsored the de-escalation pact for the area that has been in place since last year.

But the deal has faltered in recent months, forcing hundreds of thousands of civilians to flee.

“I am deeply concerned about the escalation of the fighting in Idlib, and the situation is especially dangerous given the involvement of an increased number of actors,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters, appealing to Russia and Turkey “to stabilise the situation without delay”.

“Let me underscore, even in the fight against terrorism, there needs to be full compliance with international human rights and international law,” he added.

UN political chief Rosemary DiCarlo told the council for Syria’s close ally Russia, the presence in Idlib of the former al-Qaeda affiliate Hay’et Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) “is not tolerable”, and “for Turkey, time is required to effectively isolate and address HTS’ most hardline fighters”.

‘Not a humanitarian catastrophe’

Nebenzia said the de-escalation deal with Turkey ” was being fully implemented” telling Security Council members it “doesn’t ban but rather encourages the fight against terrorism”.

He added all military activities were in response “to provocations from terrorists” saying HTS controls 99 percent of the Idlib de-escalation zone.

“We think that the issue is not that it’s a humanitarian catastrophe,” Nebenzia said.

“It’s clear that the issue is the desire to keep the territories that are not under Damascus’ control for as long as possible regardless of who prevails in them.”

Syria’s war has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions since it started in 2011 with the repression of anti-government protests.

The conflict has become a geopolitical battleground with Russia, the United States, Iran, Turkey and several Gulf nations all involved and backing various forces. 

London, United Kingdom – The frontrunner to become Britain’s next prime minister edged precariously one step closer to Downing Street last night after an at times messy television debate largely spared him from detailed scrutiny of his Brexit policy.

However, Boris Johnson – who has pledged to take the UK out of the European Union on October 31 without a withdrawal deal – came under pressure in the BBC discussion over tax cut pledges and comments that have earned him a reputation as reckless.

Upstart rival Rory Stewart – who has pledged to avoid a “no deal” Brexit at all costs – was unable to capitalise on unexpected momentum he had gained earlier in the day during a second poll among Conservative MPs, who are whittling down the field of candidates.

“My colleagues and I all came to the same conclusion – we felt it was a bit of a rabble really,” said Dr Anthony Ridge-Newman, a senior lecturer at Liverpool Hope University and the head of conservatism studies in the UK.

“There is no clear narrative coming out because all the candidates are trying to compete with each other.”

Dr David Jeffery, a lecturer in British politics at the University of Liverpool who has studied the Conservative Party, described the debate as “a bit of a farce” in which members of the public posing questions to the candidates clearly came away dissatisfied.

“Nobody moved away from their pre-prepared scripts. At some points Boris Johnson looked a bit uncomfortable – but there was nothing there that changed the status quo.”

All eyes on Johnson

The debate was the first in which the Brexit approach proposed by Johnson – who was “empty chaired” in a similar programme on Sunday by broadcaster Channel 4 for refusing to turn up – could be dissected in public.

Although his bid to become Conservative leader and, as a result, Britain’s prime minister, now appears unstoppable – in a vote earlier in the day Johnson secured the support of 126 out of 313 Conservative MPs – but critics say he remains vulnerable.

His campaign strategy has been to keep a low profile and avoid journalists, despite being a highly paid newspaper columnist himself whose florid language often gets him into trouble – once comparing Muslim women in burqas to “letterboxes”.

Jeffery said: “Boris Johnson was definitely muted – he wasn’t forcing himself into the spotlight because he doesn’t need to. His first choice would have been to not be there today. His second choice is to say as little as possible, and avoid making a gaffe.”

Staying below the parapet put Johnson at particular risk from attack by Stewart – who has openly denounced his Brexit strategy as bogus, and is the only candidate to rule out ‘no deal’.

In the debate the frontrunner’s pledge to cut taxes for high earners was also heavily criticised by other candidates.

Johnson told viewers: “We must come out on the October 31 because otherwise I am afraid we face a catastrophic loss of confidence in politics. The British people are getting thoroughly fed up. They were asked a question, they returned a verdict, the politicians said they were going to honour that verdict, and three years later we have still failed to leave.

“Unless we get out on October 31, I think we will all start to pay a really serious price.”

According to Ridge-Newman, by keeping his head down Johnson has enhanced his strategic position in the contest, which will eventually go to a final vote in July among 160,000 Conservative Party members.

“He has clearly been schooled in the last couple of weeks in terms of a very clear strategy to essentially make him come across as a lot more boring than we have ever seen Boris before.

“I actually think it is absolutely the right strategy for him, because although he didn’t really engage much in the debate or offer anything new or particularly interesting, it was absolutely his to lose.”

Stewart fires a blank

Stewart, who has scored well with television audiences but is not the favourite of Conservative Party members, failed to live up to the momentum he had gained in recent days.

Insisting that the way to unify a divided country was to be “honest and realistic”, he said: “If I were lucky enough to be your prime minister I am committed that there would never be ‘no deal’ – it is unnecessary, it is damaging, and it is so unnecessary and damaging that it is not even a credible threat.”

Jeffery said that despite Stewart’s leap in Tuesday’s ballot – in which he doubled his support – he had not come across well.

“He is saying basically the only thing we have got is Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement, which is still hideously unpopular with Conservative Party members. So nothing has changed.”

Ridge-Newman added: “Stewart has been talked up a lot in the last couple of days and I think it is possibly even going to his head, because he was very awkward in the debate.”

Hunt, Gove and Javid

The race now appears to be on for second place to secure a slot in July’s final runoff among Conservative members, with foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt vying with environment secretary Michael Gove as the two most likely runners up.

Hunt told the BBC debate: “We have to resolve Brexit and we have to resolve this quickly because this is about the trust of the British people in people like us, the politicians, and whether we actually do what we are told or whether we impose our will – and we mustn’t let them down.”

Gove, an architect of the victory secured by the “Leave” campaign in the 2016 Brexit referendum but damaged by an admission that he snorted cocaine, described Stewart’s approach as “cooled porridge”.

However, he admitted that a short delay after the October 31 Brexit deadline might be necessary to achieve the UK’s aims.

“You sometimes have extra time in football matches in order to slot home the winner,” he said. “My view is that the most important thing is to win for Britain and that means getting out, honouring the vote.”

Home secretary Sajid Javid – currently polling last among the five candidates – said: “One of the fundamental mistakes we have made so far is that we didn’t prepare well enough for ‘no deal’ – and that’s why we are in this mess today.”

President Donald Trump officially launched his reelection campaign Tuesday, and few things got the assembled crowd going like a modified slogan.

Speaking in Orlando, Fla., Trump issued a common refrain for his rallies and asked the audience of supporters which slogan it preferred: the classic “Make America Great Again” or the more recent “Keep America Great.”

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When he announced the latter, the audience exploded in screams, prompting the president to cover his ears, before the arena burst into chants of “USA! USA! USA!”

“Wow, I’m sorry, MAGA country,” Trump said. “That wasn’t too close.”

Trump has tested out the new slogan in past appearances, and Keep America Great posters have already become a fixture at Trump rallies. But as the president officially announced the start of his reelection efforts, his comments offered a subtle nod that he was ready to move on from his old slogan.

“How do you give up the greatest theme of all time with a new theme?” Trump said. “If I lose, people are going to say what a mistake that was. But we’re not going to lose, so it’s not going to matter.”

Few things defined Trump’s meteoric rise in the lead-up to 2016 as his MAGA slogan and merchandise did. Make America Great Again hats have maintained a steady presence in the president’s public life, appearing in visits abroad and outings to disaster-stricken areas of the country.

Regardless of the rising popularity of a new theme, Trump returned to his classics at the end of the Orlando rally, bellowing to the crowd: “We will make America strong again, we will make America safe again, and we will make America great again,” before heading off the stage to the sound of the Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”

The UN has called for a “thorough and transparent investigation” into the death of Mohamed Morsi in court, as thousands of people across the Middle East paid their respects to Egypt’s former president.

The UN human rights office on Tuesday said the investigation should encompass all aspects of his treatment during nearly six years of his incarceration.

Egypt’s first democratically president was buried in a small family ceremony early on Tuesday a day after he suffered a fatal heart attack in a Cairo court, his sons said.

“Concerns have been raised regarding the conditions of Mr Morsi’s detention, including access to adequate medical care, as well as sufficient access to his lawyers and family…,” UN human rights spokesman Rupert Colville said in a statement.

“The investigation should be carried out by a judicial or other competent authority that is independent of the detaining authority and mandated to conduct prompt, impartial and effective investigations into the circumstances and causes of his death,” he said.

Morsi was overthrown on July 3, 2013 after barely in power for a year in a coup staged by current President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and placed under house arrest before being moved to prison.

Erdogan attends prayer

Morsi’s death has brought an outpouring of condolences from around the Middle East.

“I mourn, for myself and all the free people of the world, the death of a great striver on the path of freedom,” said Tawakkol Karman, joint recipient of Nobel Peace Prize.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended a prayer service in Istanbul for the former Egyptian president.

At Istanbul’s Fatih mosque, where thousands joined in prayers, Erdogan called Morsi a “martyr” and blamed Egypt’s “tyrants” for his death, adding that he doesn’t believe that Morsi died of natural causes.

“I don’t believe that this was a normal death,” Erdogan, a key supporter of Morsi, said.

The Turkish president also denounced the Egyptian authorities for burying Morsi discreetly, with only a small number of family members and confidants present.

Exiled Egyptian opposition politician Ayman Nour called Morsi “a martyr who was killed deliberately”.

Amr Darrag, senior member of Brotherhood’s political party who also lives in exile, said “Sisi is the murderer and there must be a transparent and independent international investigation.”

Rights bodies, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have also called for credible investigation into Morsi’s death.

“The government of Egypt today bears responsibility for his death, given their failure to provide him with adequate medical care or basic prisoner rights,” HRW said in a statement to Al Jazeera.

“He’s been in prison and treated worse than the already terrible conditions for Egypt’s prisoners,” Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of the HRW’s Middle East and North Africa division, told Al Jazeera, decrying Morsi’s “terrible but entirely predictable” death.

“The Egyptian government has known very clearly about his declining medical state. He had lost a great deal of weight, he had fainted in court a number of times and was being kept in almost around-the-clock solitary confinement.”

A leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood group, Morsi won Egypt’s first free presidential election in 2012, a year after an uprising that toppled longtime leader Hosni Mubarak.

Turkey’s ruling AK Party supported Morsi’s government and many Brotherhood members and supporters have fled to Turkey since its activities were banned in Egypt in 2013.

“There are Arab dissidents and journalists who have been residing in Turkey since the Arab Spring began and people are here to give support for Morsi’s cause,” Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu, reporting from Istanbul’s Fatih Mosque, said. 

At the time of his death, Morsi, 67, faced a host of legal charges, which he, along with many human rights groups and independent observers, said were politically motivated.

Thousands of members of now outlawed Muslim Brotherhood organisation, who were arrested in the crackdown following the 2012 coup, are still languishing in jails.

Egypt’s government has dismissed accusations that the former president was badly treated.