Latest news with #AntonioGuterres
Arab News
an hour ago
- Politics
- Arab News
UN chief calls Cyprus peace talks ‘constructive'
UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Thursday that meetings between Cyprus's rival leaders at the organization's New York headquarters were 'constructive,' even as questions remained about crossing points on the divided island. Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar have been holding talks and had reached a breakthrough on forming a committee on youth and three other topics, Guterres said. The opening of four crossing points, and the exploitation of solar energy in the buffer zone between the two sides of the island remained unresolved, he said. 'It is critical to implement these initiatives, all of them, as soon as possible, and for the benefit of all Cypriots,' Guterres said. The meeting follows one in Geneva in March, which marked the first meaningful progress in years. At that gathering, both sides agreed on a set of confidence-building measures, including opening more crossing points across the divide, cooperating on solar energy, and removing land mines. Guterres said there were specific technical issues still to be resolved on the issues of crossing points, but did not give details. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when a Turkish invasion followed a coup in Nicosia backed by Greece's then-military junta. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, declared in 1983, is recognized only by Ankara. The internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus, a member of the European Union, controls the island's majority Greek Cypriot south. The last major round of peace talks collapsed in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, in July 2017. 'I think we are building, step-by-step, confidence and creating conditions to do concrete things to benefit the Cypriot people,' Guterres said in remarks to reporters.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Cyprus leaders to continue discussions on confidence building, says UN
July 17 (Reuters) - Leaders of ethnically split Cyprus have agreed to continue discussions towards confidence building, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday, in a dispute which has kept NATO partners Greece and Turkey at odds for decades. The Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities will press ahead with attempts to open new crossing points between the two sides and cooperating on solar energy initiatives, Guterres said after hosting the Cypriot leaders at U.N. headquarters in New York. "It is critical to implement all these initiatives as soon as possible, for the benefit of all Cypriots," Guterres said. The two sides had agreed in an encounter with Guterres earlier this year to open four additional crossing points, demine, establish a youth affairs committee, and launch environmental and solar energy projects. There are presently nine crossing points along a 180-km-long (116-mile-long) ceasefire line splitting the two sides. Guterres said there was a "question of itinerary" in relation to one of the new checkpoints opening but that there had been important progress on the issue. Cyprus was split more than 50 years ago in a Turkish invasion after a brief Greek-inspired coup, following years of sporadic violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. Reunification talks collapsed in mid-2017 and have been in a stalemate since. The Cyprus conflict is a key source of disagreement between NATO allies Greece and Turkey, fiercely defensive of their respective kin on the island.
The Star
7 hours ago
- Politics
- The Star
UN: Violence against children in conflict zones at 'unprecedented levels'
From Gaza to the Democratic Republic of Congo, violence against children in conflict zones reached 'unprecedented levels' in 2024, a United Nations annual report said last month. 'In 2024, violence against children in armed conflict reached unprecedented levels, with a staggering 25% surge in the number of grave violations in comparison with 2023,' according to the report from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The report verified 41,370 grave violations against children in 2024 – including 36,221 committed in 2024 and 5,149 committed previously but confirmed in 2024 – the highest number since the monitoring tool was established nearly 30 years ago. The new high beats 2023, another record year, which itself represented a 21% increase over the preceding year. With more than 4,500 killed and 7,000 injured, children continue to bear 'the brunt of relentless hostilities and indiscriminate attacks,' the report said. There was also a marked increase in the number of child victims of multiple violations to 22,495. 'The cries of 22,495 innocent children who should be learning to read or play ball – but instead have been forced to learn how to survive gunfire and bombings – should keep all of us awake at night,' said Virginia Gamba, special representative of the UN secretary-general for children and armed conflict. 'This must serve as a wake-up call. We are at the point of no return.' In its annual report, the UN compiles violations of the rights of children, those aged under 18, in some 20 conflict zones around the world. In its appendix, a 'list of shame' calls out those responsible for these violations which include child killings and mutilations, recruitment to violence, kidnappings, denial of humanitarian aid and sexual violence. Conflict casualties The Palestinian territories occupy the top spot in the dismal rankings, with more than 8,500 serious violations, the vast majority attributed to Israeli forces, including more than 4,800 in the Gaza Strip. This figure includes confirmation of 1,259 Palestinian children killed in Gaza, and the UN notes it is currently verifying information on an additional 4,470 children killed in 2024 in the war-torn territory. The report also calls out Israel's military operations in Lebanon, where more than 500 children were killed or injured last year. Following the Palestinian territories, the countries where the UN recorded the most violence against children in 2024 are: the Democratic Republic of the Congo (more than 4,000 grave violations), Somalia (more than 2,500), Nigeria (nearly 2,500), and Haiti (more than 2,200). The list also includes Haitian gang coalition Viv Ansanm, blamed for a 490% increase in violations, including child recruitment, murders and gang rapes. Another addition to the list is Colombian drug cartel Clan del Golfo, which is accused of child recruitment. Colombia in general recorded a significant increase in cases of forced recruitment, with 450 children in 2024 compared to 262 the previous year. Remaining on the list are the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which have been fighting in Sudan for more than two years. Also listed is the Russian army for its actions in Ukraine, where the report records a 105% increase in serious violations between 2023 and 2024. – AFP
India.com
11 hours ago
- Politics
- India.com
Why is Israeli army 'stealing' hundreds of donkeys from Gaza? Reason will shock you, France and Belgium are...
Israeli PM Netanyahu Israeli army 'stealing' donkeys from Gaza: In a shocking turn of events that has shocked the world, Israeli forces allegedly took hundreds of donkeys from Palestinians and sent them to animal shelters in France and Belgium. Claiming that the movement of Donkeys is a rescue operation, Israel has allegedly moved hundreds of donkeys from Gaza without taking consent from their owners. Here are all the details you need to know about the recent development between Israel and Gaza. Why is Israeli army 'stealing' donkeys from Gaza? Various media reports have indicated that donkeys have been taken away from Gaza as a strategy to worsens the humanitarian crisis in Gaza as Donkeys were being used for carrying goods and even as makeshift ambulances due to the lack of infrastructure. As per a report by Israeli media Kan, Israeli organizations and European institutions are also involved in this robbery of donkeys from Gaza. Moreover, reports have also alleged that the Israeli army ignored the Palestinian owners of these donkeys while taking them away. Why has UN chief calls Gaza situation 'horrific' UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the situation in Gaza as 'horrific.' 'What we are witnessing in Gaza is a level of death and destruction that has no parallel in recent times,' he told reporters. There were reports of more civilian casualties over the weekend, including children, during attacks that felled people seeking aid, Xinhua news agency reported. As per a report carried by news agency IANS, Guterres said the violence undermines the most basic conditions of human dignity for the population of Gaza, 'independently of the enormous suffering that they are having.' The UN chief reiterated his plea for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. What have UN agencies warned about? UN agencies warned that the fuel shortage in Gaza has reached critical levels and that without adequate fuel, they will likely be forced to stop their operations entirely, directly impacting all essential services in Gaza, putting more people closer to death, with no health services, no clean water and no capacity to deliver aid. (With inputs from agencies)
Al Arabiya
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
UN council authorizes vigilance of attacks by Yemen's Houthis on Red Sea shipping
The UN Security Council on Tuesday authorized continued reporting on attacks on ships in the Red Sea by Yemen's Houthi militia who have defied its previous demands to immediately halt all such attacks. The vote in the 15-member council was 12-0 with Russia, China and Algeria abstaining because of attacks against Yemen in violation of its sovereignty—a clear reference to US airstrikes against the Houthis who control most of northern Yemen. The Trump administration has carried out the strikes because of the group's attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, a crucial global trade route, and on close ally Israel. The resolution cosponsored by the United States and Greece extends the requirement that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres provide monthly reports to the Security Council about Houthi attacks in the Red Sea until Jan. 15, 2026. Acting US Ambassador Dorothy Shea said the resolution recognizes the need for continued vigilance against the Iran-backed Houthi terrorist threat. She cited the two latest attacks by Houthis against civilian cargo vessels, the MV Magic Seas and the MV Eternity C, which caused both vessels to sink and led to the loss of innocent seafarers and saw crew members taken hostage. 'The United States strongly condemns these unprovoked terrorist attacks, which demonstrate the threat that the Houthis pose to freedom of navigation and to regional economic and maritime security,' Shea said, reiterating the council's demand for an immediate halt to Houthi attacks and the release of all crew members kidnapped from the Eternity C. The assaults represent the latest chapter of the militia's campaign against shipping over the war in Gaza that began with Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 surprise attack in southern Israel. They also come as Yemen's nearly decade-long war drags on in the Arab world's poorest country without any sign of stopping. Greece's UN Ambassador Evangelos Sekeris said the Houthi attacks have continued to fuel mistrust in the international maritime community, stressing that security and freedom of navigation are essential for the stability of global supply chains and economic development. 'If the Red Sea region–a critical international maritime route–becomes even more degraded, it will expose the international community to more acute security risks and economic uncertainty,' he warned. Russia's deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyansky said Moscow abstained because language in the previous resolution demanding a halt to Houthi attacks was arbitrarily interpreted to justify the use of force affecting the territory of the sovereign state of Yemen. 'We stand convinced that any steps aimed at stabilizing the situation in Yemen and around Yemen should be taken in political and diplomatic ways,' he said. China's deputy UN ambassador Geng Shuang said his country abstained because certain countries took military action against Yemen which seriously impacted the Yemeni peace process and exacerbated tensions in the Red Sea. The Houthis have been launching missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region in what the group's leadership has described as an effort to end Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza. Shuang called tensions in the Red Sea a major manifestation of the spillover from the Gaza conflict. Russia's Polyansky also stressed the link between normalizing the situation in the Red Sea and the need for a ceasefire in Gaza and release of all hostages. Algeria's deputy UN ambassador Toufik Koudri, whose country is the Arab representative on the Security Council, expressed regret the Yemen resolution demanding an immediate halt to Houthi attacks made no mention of the Gaza war which he called one of the catalytic factors. 'The Security Council cannot disregard the clear nexus between the attacks in the Red Sea and the aggression against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the deep feelings that resulted from the brutal massacres committed against innocent civilians,' he said.
