Reaffirming India's stand against terrorism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged leaders of the G7 to galvanise global action against terrorism and underscored the need for strict action against those who 'promote and support' it.
The former UN refugee chief takes over from Ban Ki-moon on January 1.
"Intermittent pauses in hostilities are not enough to address the scale of humanitarian challenges confronting the people, who grapple daily with acute shortages of food and fuel, inadequate medical services and lack of access to education," Harish said at the open debate on the 'Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question'.
The 15-member Council held a formal vote here to elect Guterres, the former UN High Commissioner for refugees had emerged as the "clear favourite" to succeed Ban Ki-moon, 72, as the 9th Secretary General.
India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish said that the Indian sub-continent offers a "stark contrast" in terms of progress, prosperity and development models.
'I am pleased to announce the Governments of India and Pakistan have agreed to an immediate ceasefire and to start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site.'
By proposing the addition of six permanent members this year, it may appear that it was a major concession, but in actual fact, it will make no difference to the privilege of the permanent five as the new six will have no veto, ever! points out Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, urging that those responsible be held accountable and brought to justice. The Council issued a press statement expressing its deepest sympathy to the victims' families and calling for all states to cooperate in combating terrorism. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also expressed concern about the situation, urging India and Pakistan to exercise restraint.
India abstained on two UN General Assembly resolutions calling for a de-escalation, an early cessation of hostilities and a peaceful resolution of the war against Ukraine. The resolutions were adopted on the third anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with the UN Secretary General stressing that the war in Ukraine stands as a grave threat to the peace and security of Europe and the core principles of the United Nations.
Earlier this week, Guterres had written to Putin and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to receive him in Moscow and Kyiv 'to discuss urgent steps to bring about peace in Ukraine'.
The United Nations Security Council held closed-door consultations on rising tensions between India and Pakistan, with envoys calling for restraint and dialogue. The consultations, requested by Pakistan, lasted for about an hour and a half. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern over the tensions, urging both countries to avoid a military confrontation. India's former Permanent Representative to the UN, Syed Akbaruddin, said that no consequential outcome could be expected from the discussion.
UN chief Antonio Guterres, US President Donald Trump, his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney were among scores of world leaders who offered condolences to the people of India in wake of the tragic plane crash in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
Unlike US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken and US Secretary of Defense General Lloyd J Austin III, who traveled to Kyiv earlier this week, but did not tour war-torn areas in Ukraine, Guterres visited several towns around Kyiv heavily damaged by Russian forces in their failed bid to take the Ukrainian capital.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres had also made an impassioned plea for the UN to reflect today's world.
Several Hindu temples, households and businesses have been vandalised, and at least two Hindu leaders affiliated with former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League party have been killed in the violence since Monday, when Hasina resigned and fled to India.
World leaders, including US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, condemned the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 people, expressing solidarity with India. The attack was claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist group. The attack came during US Vice President J D Vance's maiden visit to India. Prime Minister Modi, who had arrived in Saudi Arabia on a two-day visit earlier in the day, cut short his visit and departed for New Delhi on Tuesday night following the attack.
Qaouk was a commander of Hezbollah's preventative security unit and a member of their executive council.
Amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan, the US has called on both countries "not to escalate" the conflict. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to speak with the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India as early as today or tomorrow. The US State Department said Washington is reaching out to both India and Pakistan "regarding the Kashmir situation" and telling them "not to escalate the situation."
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's comment to the Security Council that attacks by Hamas 'did not happen in a vacuum' angered Israel, which called for the UN chief's resignation and apology.
"Before I leave Secretary General, I have one last small request and that is in the Indian tradition, when we leave or when we meet, we don't stay hello or shake hand but we say Namaste. So before I end I want to say Namaste to you and I hope if you can reciprocate," Akbaruddin said during his video conversation with Guterres, adding that 'I bow out with a Namaste to you'.
With the backdrop of the famous wheel from the Konark Sun temple in Odisha, Prime Minister Narendra D Modi welcomed G20 leaders at the Bharat Mandapam, venue of the G20 Summit in New Delhi, on Saturday, September 9, 2023.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the US from the UN Human Rights Council and prohibiting any future funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. Trump also directed the US to review its participation in UNESCO, citing concerns about anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment within the organizations. The executive order argues that the UNHRC, UNESCO, and UNRWA have drifted from their missions and act contrary to US interests. Trump previously halted funds for UNRWA during his first term, and President Joe Biden put a block on US funds for UNRWA in January 2024 over allegations that staff for the agency participated in Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack against Israel.
"The responsibilities of member states must be assumed by member states and let's not make the UN the scapegoat of the failures or of the negative actions that are committed by member states," he said.
The UN Security Council could meet soon to discuss the situation between India and Pakistan, with the UNSC President expressing concern over rising tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors. The President, Ambassador Evangelos Sekeris of Greece, said a meeting would provide an opportunity to express views and help diffuse tensions. Sekeris also condemned terrorism in all its forms, including the recent attack in Pahalgam, and called for de-escalation and dialogue between India and Pakistan.
Guterres urged members of the Security Council to press to avert a humanitarian catastrophe and appealed for a humanitarian ceasefire to be declared.
The vice president was in Doha to attend the inauguration of the FIFA World Cup.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres seems startled by the Pradhan Mantri's proximity-propinquity as he arrives at the Scottish Exhibition Centre to attend the World Leaders Summit, COP26, in Glasgow, Scotland, November 1, 2021.
World leaders, including the UN Secretary-General and US President Donald Trump, have urged India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and seek peaceful solutions to the ongoing tensions. The calls for calm come after India conducted airstrikes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in response to a recent terrorist attack. Leaders from the US, Russia, UK, China, UAE, Qatar, and Japan have expressed concern over the escalating situation and emphasized the need for dialogue and de-escalation.
Bhutto, who served as the Foreign Minister earlier, addressed a briefing at the UN Headquarters in New York and sought reconciliation with India, making a plea for talks and Intel sharing between the two neighbours.
The race for the UN secretary-general for 2022-2027 is already over and another term for Antonio Guterres is a foregone conclusion, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The agreement has ended a wartime standoff that had threatened food security in several countries and cleared the way for exporting tons of Ukrainian grains.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not address the annual debate at the United Nations General Assembly session later this month, according to a revised provisional list of speakers issued by the UN.
Member-States must ensure that measures taken to counter terrorism comply with their obligations under international law, a spokesperson for the UN secretary general has said, asserting that the global body had "no information" about the whereabouts of Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri killed by a US drone strike in Kabul.
Angelina met injured children affected by the war and later visited NGOs helping the injured and displaced.
India abstained in the United Nations General Assembly on a resolution that demanded Israel end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory within 12 months, with Delhi underlining that it is a strong advocate of 'dialogue and diplomacy' and efforts should be made towards 'building bridges', 'not furthering divides'.
In remarks that angered Israel, Guterres had told the Security Council ministerial meeting on Tuesday on the Israel-Hamas conflict that it is "important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum."
The year 2024 was the hottest year on record, with the global average temperature exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels for the first time, according to the European climate agency Copernicus. Every month from January to June was the warmest ever recorded, and from July to December (except August), each month was the second warmest on record. Scientists are warning that the world is entering a new climate reality, with extreme heatwaves, floods, and storms becoming more frequent and severe. The report also highlights the failure of developed nations to meet their climate finance commitments to developing countries, despite the urgency of the situation.
This will be the first time the UN is sending a fact-finding mission to Bangladesh since its independence in 1971 to investigate widespread human rights abuses in the country, according to a UN official.
G20 leaders, including United States President Joe Biden, United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at his memorial Rajghat in New Delhi on Sunday.
Jaishankar, who met Guterres at the UN headquarters in New York, also discussed other issues, including India's presidency of the G20 and the Ukraine conflict, with the UN chief.
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