Guterres urged members of the Security Council to press to avert a humanitarian catastrophe and appealed for a humanitarian ceasefire to be declared.
Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian student at Columbia University, has left the United States after her student visa was revoked over allegations of supporting Hamas. Srinivasan, a PhD student in Urban Planning, claims her visa was revoked for engaging in protected political speech. The Trump administration has been accused of targeting pro-Palestinian demonstrators through the use of federal immigration powers, and this case has drawn attention to the potential for free speech suppression in the United States.
'The intensity and frequency of heatwaves will be much higher than in previous years over Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.'
'The touchstone is reciprocity which will be applied to friends and foes alike.' 'It will be a bitter pill to swallow.'
'Putin dreams about his legacy. He wants to forcibly restore the Russian empire.' 'Unfortunately, after three years of large-scale war with massive human losses, Putin will not budge from his goal because human life is the cheapest resource in the Russian State.'
Putin is keen on establishing a good personal rapport with Trump and anchor a meaningful US-Russia partnership, realistic enough to accept that Trump is as good an American president as Russia would ever get, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Dharma Guardian 2025 will primarily focus on urban warfare tactics and counter-terrorism operations and underscores the growing strategic partnership between India and Japan.
Climate scientists warn that climate change is intensifying heatwaves in India, with the cooling effects of La Nia potentially becoming less effective in a warmer future. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicts an early summer with above-normal temperatures and intense heatwave spells, following an unusually dry winter and the warmest February since 1901. Experts emphasize the role of human-caused climate change, along with natural climate drivers like El Nio and La Nia, in shaping weather patterns. While La Nia typically brings cooler temperatures, scientists suggest that under climate change, its ability to mitigate heatwaves may be diminished.
'The message that India has conveyed since the start of this conflict is clear and consistent. It is important to prevent escalation to ensure continued delivery of humanitarian aid and to work towards an early restoration of peace and stability. A peaceful resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy is the only way forward'
Trump's sweeping tariffs and penalties on China-built ships have turned global shipping into the front line of economic war, observes Shyam G Menon.
'A country that hosts and even celebrates UNSC-sanctioned terrorists, commenting on India whose pluralistic ethos and democratic credentials are exemplars for the world, is a contrast for everyone to see'
The Taliban have announced they will close all national and foreign nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) employing women in Afghanistan.
'We give them problems so that they can come up with solutions using the technological skills they have learnt.' 'In fact, changemaking and problem solving are interchangeable, in a way.'
Taliban's spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid announced the decree that aims to solve "obscene acts".
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."
According to IDF, "Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists who belonged to the Nukhba Forces were operating in the compound."
Voicing his deep concern, the UN chief said that the "hospitals in the south of Gaza are already at capacity and will not be able to accept thousands of new patients from the north."
After more than four hours of talks in Saudi Arabia, the US and Russia agreed on four key principles, Rubio said on Tuesday. These include appointing a high-level team to help "negotiate and work through the end of the conflict in Ukraine" in a way that's "acceptable to all the parties engaged."
'Reena stayed in the next building. We fell in love but had to meet secretly because her parents didn't approve of me.' 'I would always be afraid that her parents would get her married off to somebody else.'
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said his country wants to resolve all issues, including Kashmir, with India through talks. He reiterated his "unwavering " support for the Kashmiri people during a speech in Muzaffarabad on the occasion of "Kashmir Solidarity Day. "
Last month, the Security Council Committee enacted amendments to certain entries in its ISIL (Da'esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions List of individuals and entities subject to the assets freeze, travel ban, and arms embargo.
When asked the reason for India's abstention from a resolution in the UN General Assembly on October 27, 2023, regarding the protection of civilians and upholding legal and humanitarian obligations, Jaishankar said there were many resolutions in the UN General Assembly and in some India abstained and in some, it voted in favour.
The band women are drawn from different parts of India and have been practicing along with their male counterpart in New Delhi for the past few days.
After the 1962 War with China, there was a demand to forge greater defence cooperation between India and the West. One such voice was that of Sudhir Ghosh, a distinguished MP, to tie up strategic cooperation with the USA immediately after the Chinese attack on India, recalls Rup Narayan Das.
New Delhi said if the reports of Azhar's location are correct, then Pakistan's "duplicity" has been exposed as it has been maintaining that the JeM chief is not in that country.
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.
'He may respect others, but he is unlikely to admire them'
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited the Korean People's Army's naval command, accompanied by his daughter.
The resolution, sponsored among others by Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Palestine, demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and reiterated its demand that all parties comply with their obligations under international law, "notably with regard to the protection of civilians."
United Nations leaders and agencies have welcomed the entry of a humanitarian aid convoy into Gaza via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt but noted that it is only a small beginning, still far from enough and reiterated their appeal for an immediate ceasefire.
The United Nations, its top leaders and agencies have expressed horror and strong condemnation over the killing of hundreds of civilians in a strike on a hospital in Gaza, underscoring that attack on hospitals or civilian infrastructure is against international humanitarian law and called for holding those responsible to account.
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has been awarded the highest number of police gallantry medals, 21, including two Shaurya Chakras, on the eve of Republic Day. A total of 95 bravery medals were awarded to personnel from state and central police forces, fire service, home guard, civil defence, and correctional services. The CRPF's medals included 11 for operations in Jammu and Kashmir, seven for anti-Maoist operations, and one for an operation in the northeast. The second-highest number of medals went to Uttar Pradesh (17), followed by Jammu and Kashmir (15), Chhattisgarh (11), and the Border Security Force (5).
The balance was so perfect in that moment, the irony so rich. Those who cheered on Elia Kazan were cheering on the one quality that made him such a singular artist: He was his own man and not susceptible to groupthink. Those who protested Kazan's presence were protesting that very quality: They were saying that he was too much of an outlier, a wolf in a radical's clothing. Sreehari Nair captures his Kodak moment at the Oscars.
"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 15-nation Council met on Friday to vote on the resolution tabled by the United Arab Emirates and backed by over 90 member states. The resolution got the backing of 13 Council members who voted in its favour while the United Kingdom abstained.
The yoga celebration led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the UN headquarters on Wednesday has created a Guinness World Record for the participation of people of most nationalities.
More than 2,80,000 people have been uprooted in northwest Syria following the sudden and massive offensive into government-controlled areas led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is sanctioned by the Security Council as a terrorist group, the United Nations said on Friday.
Talks on global climate finance virtually ground to a halt last week at COP29, the annual United Nations (UN) Climate Change event in Baku, Azerbaijan, as the developed world, led by the European Union (EU), and developing countries including India, Brazil, South Africa, and a clutch of island nations and African countries faced a wide chasm between their expectations. This has raised doubts about whether an agreement can be reached this week or whether talks will spill over to COP30, to be held next year in Benem, Brazil.
The situation in Syria remains a focal point for all the neighbouring nations after Syrian rebels on Sunday entered the capital Damascus, forcing Assad to flee, ending his over two-decade rule in the country.
rediffGURU Vipul Bhavsar answers readers' personal income tax queries.
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