logo
Venezuelan lawmakers declare UN human rights official Turk persona non grata

Venezuelan lawmakers declare UN human rights official Turk persona non grata

The Star19 hours ago
CARACAS (Reuters) -Venezuela's government-allied National Assembly on Tuesday unanimously declared United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk persona non grata, after Turk publicly decried what he said were arbitrary detentions, forced disappearances and other human rights violations in the South American country.
The government of President Nicolas Maduro has rejected Turk's comments, made before the Human Rights Council in Geneva last week, and said Turk failed to defend the rights of Venezuelans deported to an El Salvador prison by the United States and to call for the return of Venezuelan minors separated from migrant parents in the U.S.
Turk's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Reuters)
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Laos makes global call for stronger domestic resource mobilisation
Laos makes global call for stronger domestic resource mobilisation

The Star

timean hour ago

  • The Star

Laos makes global call for stronger domestic resource mobilisation

Deputy Prime Minister Saleumxay Kommasith addresses the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville, Spain. VIENTIANE: The government has called for greater efforts to strengthen domestic resource mobilisation as a key step towards achieving sustainable development and reducing reliance on foreign aid. Speaking at the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville, Spain, taking place from June 30 to July 3, Deputy Prime Minister Saleumxay Kommasith said Laos is reforming its public finance system and increasing tax collection through digital technology, human resource development, and improved budget management. The government has set an ambitious target to raise tax revenue to 20 percent of gross domestic product by 2030. In the first six months of this year, tax collection rose by 4.3 percent and accounted for 11.7 percent of GDP, according to a report presented at the National Assembly's recent ordinary session. During the conference, Saleumxay addressed a high-level roundtable meeting on domestic resource mobilisation and allocation. He said that for least developed countries such as Laos, building effective tax systems is vital to meeting national development needs and reducing reliance on external loans and grants. He urged development partners and the international community to provide greater financial and technical support, including help to strengthen human resources and international tax cooperation, to enhance domestic financing capacity. The deputy prime minister also spoke during the conference's general debate, delivering remarks on behalf of Asean and Laos. He expressed strong support for the adoption of the Seville Commitment, the final outcome document of the conference, which lays out shared goals to close financing gaps, tackle inequality, and drive progress towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Saleumxay reaffirmed Asean's priorities in building future-ready economies through inclusive participation and sustainability, upholding multilateral trade under World Trade Organisation rules, and advancing regional industrial development and energy connectivity. He highlighted Laos' ongoing efforts to graduate from Least Developed Country status and pursue closer integration with the regional and global economy. Laos is aligning its national strategies with international development goals, he said, and called for continued support from global partners to ensure long-term progress. The conference brings together leaders and representatives from 179 countries. Previous meetings took place in Mexico in 2002, Qatar in 2008, and Ethiopia in 2015. The opening ceremony on June 30 was graced by His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain, who delivered an address. The meeting then continued under the co-chairmanship of Spain's Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The Seville Commitment was officially adopted and will serve as a roadmap for future international cooperation in financing sustainable development. - Vientiane Times/ANN

Military aid increasingly focuses on boosting Ukraine's defence industry
Military aid increasingly focuses on boosting Ukraine's defence industry

The Star

timean hour ago

  • The Star

Military aid increasingly focuses on boosting Ukraine's defence industry

WIESBADEN, Germany (Reuters) -Fenced off behind barbed wire, about 350 soldiers from 31 countries including Ukrainians work in a hangar and air-conditioned green tents at a U.S. military base in Germany. Their job at the Clay Barracks in Wiesbaden is to match Kyiv's needs in terms of weapons, equipment and training with offers received from donor countries in NATO and outside the Western alliance as Russia's war in Ukraine drags on. Six months after NATO set up a command centre at the base to coordinate military aid for Ukraine, military assistance for Kyiv is evolving, especially when it comes to drone production. After Russia's invasion in 2022, NATO states provided support for Kyiv's military effort largely by depleting their own inventories and Ukraine was heavily dependent on Western defence firms. Military aid today is increasingly shifting towards bolstering Kyiv's defence industry, Major General Maik Keller, deputy commander of NATO's Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU), told Reuters at the mission's headquarters in Wiesbaden. "Now, we need to change our focus," Keller said in an interview at Clay Barracks. He said Ukraine had shown creativity, and praised the speed of its innovation, production and certification processes. The manufacture of drones was an area where NATO states could learn and even eventually buy weapons from Kyiv, he said. "Defence procurement is not a one-way street. Looking at drones, there is certainly a lot that we might want to buy from Ukraine, though, for now, I believe they need their entire output themselves," Keller said. NATO's Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Admiral Keith Blount, also says Western allies may learn a lot from Ukraine, in particular on autonomous weapons such as drones. "We're learning about power of autonomy in a way that we always imagined was the future, but we are seeing it accelerated perhaps even faster than any of us could have imagined", Blount told Reuters while visiting NSATU's headquarters. He was referring to the use of drones on the sea, beneath the sea and on the ground as well as in the air. "That has been logarithmic, really, in the pace of adoption and actually the ability for Ukraine not just to learn how to use them, but learn how to make them, which has been fascinating," he said. PRESSING NEEDS Military assistance to Ukraine is evolving as European allies and Canada prepare to increase defence spending amid concerns over Russia's military ambitions and following demands by U.S. President Donald Trump. The companies that are producing arms for use by Ukraine will also be needed by NATO members to increase their own weapons stocks, Keller said. Keller said Ukraine's most pressing needs were air defence systems, ammunition and anti-tank mines to hold territory without tying down too many troops in the war with Russia. NSATU was established partly to make Western military aid less dependent on the United States, whose commitment to Ukraine under Trump has been called into question. A decision by Washington to halt some weapons shipments to Kyiv has underlined those concerns, prompting new concerns in Ukraine on Wednesday about its ability to defend itself. The United States, however, provides NSATU's commander and about 9% of its personnel in Wiesbaden. Most supplies are shipped to Ukraine through a NSATU hub in Poland, which NATO says sends in 18,000 tons each month, and a second hub is being established in Romania. Keller said he expected military aid channelled by NSATU to remain at least steady for now but that this depended on what political decisions were taken. Asked whether NSATU would be capable of sustaining Ukraine's resistance should the U.S. drop out, he said: "Yes." He also cautioned, however, that "Europe and Canada would be hard pressed" to replace some critical capabilities such as satellite surveillance although he made clear NSATU itself was not making use of satellite imagery. (Reporting by Sabine Siebold, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

Pope Leo tells Turkish first lady he might visit Turkey in November, presidency says
Pope Leo tells Turkish first lady he might visit Turkey in November, presidency says

The Star

timean hour ago

  • The Star

Pope Leo tells Turkish first lady he might visit Turkey in November, presidency says

Pope Leo XIV meets Emine Erdogan, wife of Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan, at the Vatican, July 2, 2025. Vatican Media/Mario Tomassetti/­Handout via REUTERS ISTANBUL and VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Pope Leo told Turkish First Lady Emine Erdogan that he aims to visit Turkey at the end of November, according to a readout of their meeting at the Vatican on Wednesday by the Turkish presidency. The pope, who held an official meeting with the wife of President Tayyip Erdogan at the Vatican's apostolic palace, told her that officials from Ankara and Vatican were working on the details of the visit, the presidency said in a statement. The Vatican did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the first lady's statement. Leo, elected on May 8 to replace the late Pope Francis, has not yet announced any foreign trips. Francis had been planning a trip to Turkey before his death to celebrate the 1,700th anniversary of an early Church council with Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Leo has been widely expected to take the trip in Francis' stead. Bartholomew previously told an Italian television station that he and Leo discussed the possibility of the new pope travelling to Turkey in late November. (Reporting by Jonathan Spicer and Joshua McElwee; editing by Mark Heinrich)

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store