Latest news with #AntónioGuterres
Emirates 24/7
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Emirates 24/7
World Day Against Trafficking in Persons: UN calls for standing with victms, holding criminals to account
On this World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, the UN called for acting together to stand with victims, hold perpetrators to account and build a world where no one is bought, sold, or exploited. ''Human trafficking is a horrific crime and a gross violation of human rights. It is one of the fastest-growing forms of organised crime – run by ruthless networks that prey on vulnerability and profit from pain. This is a brutal, highly organised enterprise built on deception, coercion and exploitation. And it is evolving rapidly,'' said UN Secretary-General António Guterres in a message on the Day, which is marked on 30th July every year. ''Criminal groups are operating across borders with alarming speed and sophistication. They exploit legal loopholes, infiltrate legitimate industries and supply chains, take advantage of migration flows, and use technology to recruit, control and abuse – including through online sexual exploitation or forcing victims into cyber-scams.'' ''We must respond with unity and urgency. We can do so by breaking the business model that sustains human trafficking – ending impunity, cutting off illicit profits, and strengthening law enforcement and justice systems. Perpetrators must be held accountable,'' he affirmed. ''We must also forge strong alliances -- with civil society, and the private sector including technology companies – to raise awareness and promote reporting channels to prevent exploitation and protect the vulnerable. And we must strive to ensure justice for survivors, support the displaced, and tackle root causes – from poverty and inequality to conflict and climate disruption,'' he concluded.
Politico
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Politico
Trump says Canada's Palestinian move is new trade deal stumbling block
'Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine. That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them. Oh' Canada!!!' the president wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday night. With a Friday deadline looming to strike a deal or face steep U.S. tariffs, negotiations between Canada and the U.S. have stalled, and no deal framework has been set. POLITICO reported this week that U.S. officials have been recycling grievances at trade talks without offering a path forward, according to Canadian officials. In June, the White House pushed Canada into rescinding its planned digital services tax to unfreeze the talks. Israel has been losing its international support over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which is 'on the brink of famine,' U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said Tuesday. Hamas-led militants killed more than 1,000 people and abducted 251 in their Oct. 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war. Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas has killed around 60,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Canada, as well as France and the U.K., cited the suffering of civilians in Gaza as one of the reasons for recognizing Palestinian statehood now. All three countries also argued that Hamas must disarm and can play no role in any Palestinian state. Since Trump returned to office, he has frequently trolled Ottawa by calling Canada the 51st state, threatening to annex it and referring to the former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as 'Governor Trudeau.'
Canada News.Net
a day ago
- Health
- Canada News.Net
‘Catastrophic' Famine" unfolding as Gazan death toll tops 60,000
GAZA – The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported on Tuesday that the death toll in Gaza has surpassed 60,000 since the outbreak of war following the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks in Israel, which resulted in 1,138 fatalities and the abduction of 252 people. In addition to the death toll, between 100,000 and 200,000 people have been injured, many with severe, life-altering wounds, including amputations, traumatic brain injuries, and loss of vision or hearing. The current death toll is comparable to lower estimates of fatalities from the U.S. atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9, 1945. Historical reports vary, with the 1946 Manhattan Project estimating 39,000 deaths, while later reassessments by Japanese and international researchers place the figure between 60,000 and 80,000 by the end of that year, according to the Radiation Effects Research Foundation. The Gaza Health Ministry documented 60,034 fatalities in Gaza as of Tuesday, with 81 deaths reported that day—19 of whom were said to be civilians seeking aid. These casualties occurred despite announced military and humanitarian pauses in fighting. Local sources described Tuesday as one of the deadliest days in recent weeks, with reports of Israeli forces deploying drones, tanks, and remotely operated devices in ongoing operations. The conflict has devastated the enclave, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 2.73 percent of Gaza's 2.2 million population. Some analysts, including contributors to The Lancet, suggest the actual toll may be significantly higher due to unrecorded deaths and destruction of medical infrastructure. The mounting casualties coincide with an official declaration of famine in parts of Gaza by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). In a report released Tuesday. "Latest data indicates that famine thresholds have been reached for food consumption in most of the Gaza Strip and for acute malnutrition in Gaza City," the report said. "Amid relentless conflict, mass displacement, severely restricted humanitarian access, and the collapse of essential services, including healthcare, the crisis has reached an alarming and deadly turning point." The report added that one in three individuals in Gaza are enduring prolonged periods without food. Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have repeatedly denied claims of starvation in Gaza, asserting that sufficient aid is available. However, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the humanitarian crisis in a statement Tuesday, calling it "a reality unfolding before our eyes." "The facts are in—and they are undeniable," Guterres said. "Palestinians in Gaza are enduring a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions. The trickle of aid must become an ocean. Food, water, medicine, and fuel must flow in waves and without obstruction." He reiterated calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the unconditional release of all captives, and full humanitarian access.
Economic Times
a day ago
- Business
- Economic Times
AI should run on 100% renewable energy by 2030, UN Chief says
Synopsis UN Secretary-General António Guterres urges major tech firms to power data centers with renewable energy by 2030, highlighting the immense energy consumption of AI. The UN report reveals that while renewable energy is advancing, its adoption is unequal, with developing nations lagging. AP United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a speech on climate action "A Moment of Opportunity: Supercharging the New Energy Era" at the United Nations headquarters on Tuesday, July 22, 2025, in New York. Major tech firms should commit to fully powering data centers with renewable energy by 2030, said United Nations Secretary-General António tech also must be responsible in its use of water for cooling, Guterres said Tuesday in New York City as he presented the UN's new report on the energy transition, Seizing the Moment of Opportunity, together with the International Renewable Energy Agency. 'AI can boost efficiency, innovation and resilience in energy systems, but it is also energy hungry,' Guterres said. 'This is not sustainable — unless we make it so.'A typical AI data center consumes as much power as 100,000 homes, according to the UN, and the largest centers now being built will use 20 times that. By 2030, data centers could consume as much electricity as all of Japan today, the report renewable energy is advancing exponentially across the world as costs fall, the transition away from fossil fuels is highly concentrated in advanced economies like the US and Europe, as well as China, the UN says. Much of the developing world is falling behind. That means clean energy is not replacing fossil energy at the pace and scale needed. Emerging geopolitical risks — including tariffs — could raise clean-energy costs in the short term, the report says. Adding vast amounts of renewable capacity will also make grids more volatile, and addressing that could bump up costs for a long-term, the cost of clean power will continue to decline, the report predicts, as technology evolves and the supply chain matures. The energy transition has reached a point of no return, Guterres said in his speech. 'The clean energy future is no longer a promise, it's a fact,' he said. 'No government, no industry, no special interest can stop it.' Over 90% of new renewable projects produce electricity for less than the cheapest fossil-fuel alternative, according to new data from the International Renewable Energy Agency. Some $2 trillion was invested in clean energy in 2024, the UN says — about $800 billion more than went into fossil clean power adoption remains deeply unequal. Africa made up just 1.5% of global investment in renewables last year, despite accounting for 85% of the world's population without access to electricity. Less than one in every five dollars invested in clean power has gone to emerging markets outside China since the Paris Agreement came into force in leaders committed to try to limit global warming to 1.5C when they signed the Paris accord. A decade later, with that goal in grave peril, nations are due to present their new emissions plans ahead of the COP30 climate summit in Brazil in in the Group of 20 produce the bulk of emissions so must lead in ambition, Guterres said.'The race for the new must not be a race for the few,' he said. 'It must be a relay — shared, inclusive and resilient.'
Observer
2 days ago
- Politics
- Observer
UN says Palestinian state is ‘a right, not a reward'
The Sultanate of Oman is participating in the High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution. The conference, held at the United Nations headquarters in New York, will continue until Wednesday. Oman's delegation to the conference is led by Shaikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah al Hinai, Ambassador-at-Large at the Foreign Ministry. The plenary session, held at the General Assembly hall, included statements from participating delegations. During the session, António Guterres, the United Nations Secretary-General, delivered a speech emphasising that the establishment of a Palestinian state is 'a right, not a reward.' He reiterated that the two-state solution is the only realistic, just and sustainable solution. The conference commenced with a high-level ministerial meeting of the working groups accompanying the conference proceedings. Discussions at the meeting focused on several topics aimed at providing a platform for unifying key visions, highlighting international consensus in support of the two-state solution through political, legal, economic and humanitarian tracks. Meanwhile, a hunger monitor warned on Tuesday that a worst-case scenario of famine is unfolding in Gaza and immediate action is needed to avoid widespread death, as the number of Palestinians reported killed in the conflict crossed the 60,000 threshold. The alert by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) raised the prospect that the man-made starvation crisis could be formally classified as a famine, in the hope that this might raise the pressure on Israel to let in far more food. Facing mounting international criticism over conditions in Gaza, Israel announced steps over the weekend to ease aid access. But the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday it was not getting the permissions it needed to deliver enough aid since Israel began humanitarian pauses on Sunday. It said it would quickly carry out the formal analysis that could allow it to classify Gaza as 'in famine'. For famine to be declared, at least 20 per cent of the population must be suffering extreme food shortages, with one in three children acutely malnourished and two people out of every 10,000 dying daily. — Agencies
