Latest news with #internationalconflicts
Asharq Al-Awsat
21 minutes ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
UN Urges Peaceful Settlement of Disputes as UN Chief Points to ‘The Horror Show in Gaza'
The UN Security Council urged the 193 United Nations member nations on Tuesday to use all possible means to settle disputes peacefully. The UN chief said that is needed now more than ever as he pointed to 'the horror show in Gaza' and conflicts in Ukraine, Sudan, Haiti and Myanmar. The vote was unanimous on a Pakistan-drafted resolution in the 15-member council. In urging greater efforts to pursue global peace, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the council: 'Around the world, we see an utter disregard for — if not outright violations of — international law' as well as the UN Charter. It is happening at a time of widening geopolitical divides and numerous conflicts, starting with Gaza, where 'starvation is knocking on every door' as Israel denies the United Nations the space and safety to deliver aid and save Palestinian lives, Guterres said. Israel denies deliberately targeting civilians and aid staff as part of its war with Hamas and blames UN agencies for failing to deliver food it has allowed in. In conflicts worldwide, 'hunger and displacement are at record levels' and security is pushed further out of reach by terrorism, violent extremism and transnational crime, the secretary-general said. 'Diplomacy may not have always succeeded in preventing conflicts, violence and instability,' Guterres said. 'But it still holds the power to stop them.' The resolution urges all countries to use the methods in the UN Charter to peacefully settle disputes, including negotiation, inquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, referral to regional arrangements or other peaceful means. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who chaired the meeting, cited 'the ongoing tragedies' in Gaza and between Pakistan and India over Kashmir, one of the oldest disputes on the UN agenda, that need to be resolved peacefully. 'At the heart of almost all the conflicts across the globe is a crisis of multilateralism; a failure, not of principles but of will; a paralysis, not of institutions but of political courage,' he said. The Pakistani diplomat called for revitalizing trust in the UN system and ensuring 'equal treatment of all conflicts based on international law, not geopolitical expediency.' Acting US Ambassador Dorothy Shea said the Trump administration supports the United Nations' founding principles of saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war and working with parties to resolve disputes peacefully. Under President Donald Trump's leadership, she said, the US has delivered 'de-escalation' between Israel and Iran, India and Pakistan, and Congo and Rwanda. The US calls on countries involved in conflicts to follow these examples, Shea said, singling out the war in Ukraine and China's 'unlawful claims' in the South China Sea. The war in Ukraine must end, she said, and Russia must stop attacking civilians and fulfill its obligations under the UN Charter, which requires all member nations to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of every other country. 'We call on other UN member states to stop providing Russia with the means to continue its aggression,' Shea said.
BBC News
15-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
BBC's response to global news events drives audience growth
BBC News grew its global audience by 4 million people in 2024/25. The BBC's coverage of international conflicts, crises and elections has boosted its international audience year-on-year to reach 418m people on average every week. The total BBC audience, including content made and distributed by BBC Studios, grew by 3m to 453m. Audiences came to BBC News for the latest news and developments as elections, global conflicts and political unrest dominated the past year. The majority of the BBC's international audience came to the BBC World Service (World Service English, World Service Languages) with content reaching 313m people on average every week. In the Middle East, BBC News Arabic grew its weekly audience reach to 39.5m – up nearly 13% - with growth across Arabic TV and digital programming as well as 1.2m listeners tuning into the Gaza and Syrian lifeline radio services. The fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the Israel-Gaza conflict both contributed to significant boosts in audiences seeking trusted news and information. BBC News Persian saw audiences rise a staggering 38% to 24m as Persian-speakers in Iran and around the world sought out the latest news amid unrest in the region. Despite the challenges of reaching audiences across Iran, the service's TV channel – the largest international news channel in Iran – is viewed by a record audience of 14m. The BBC now reaches one in four people in Iran every week. In the United States, the November election and subsequent news around President Trump saw spikes in the number of people coming to BBC News. Audiences increased on digital platforms with the country accounting for 55% of growth on With BBC World Service language services BBC News Brasil and BBC News Mundo also both experiencing audience boosts, the BBC now reaches 83m people across the Americas every week. Other services which saw a spike in audiences include BBC News Bangla following the protests and unrest in Bangladesh, and BBC News Korean as the service reported on political upheaval in the country. The BBC remains the most trusted international news provider. Jonathan Munro, Global Director and Deputy CEO, BBC News, says: 'In the past year, the heightened global news agenda has seen audiences come to the BBC for news they can trust in times of instability and insecurity. Despite the decrease in press freedom and increased competition, the BBC has stepped up when audiences need our services the most – from elections and conflict, to the upheaval in Syria and unrest in Bangladesh. 'Alongside this, record numbers are coming to BBC News Persian despite the service being banned in Iran, and BBC News Arabic has once again demonstrated the importance of having an accurate and impartial news service in the region.' The BBC's news in English across World Service English, and the BBC News channel grew its audience to 198m people weekly, an increase of 7m year-on-year. The BBC News channel builds on its success last year to grow its audience in the UK and around the world to 102m. Press freedom continues on a downward trend globally, with 112 countries reporting a decline in press freedom in 2024. 74% of the BBC World Service audience is now in countries with the lowest press freedom (up 1% on last year). The BBC's biggest international market is India, followed by the United States, Nigeria, Iran, and Tanzania. RM3 Follow for more
Arab News
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
German court to rule on claim against Berlin over US strikes in Yemen
BERLIN: Germany's constitutional court will rule Tuesday in a years-long legal saga over whether Berlin can be held partly responsible for US drone attacks on Yemen due to signals sent through the Ramstein air base. The case is being brought by two Yemeni men, Ahmed and Khalid bin Ali Jaber, who lost members of their family in a US drone strike on the village of Khashamir in 2012. The survivors say they were there for a wedding of a male family member and eating dinner when they heard the buzz of a drone and then the boom of missile attacks that claimed multiple lives. A ruling in favor of the plaintiffs could have groundbreaking implications regarding Germany's responsibility toward third countries in international conflicts. The two men, supported by the Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), argue that Germany is partly responsible for the attack because the strike was aided by signals relayed from the Ramstein base in the west of the country. 'Without the data that flows through Ramstein, the US cannot fly its combat drones in Yemen,' according to the ECCHR. 'The German government must put an end to the use of this base — otherwise the government is making itself complicit in the deaths of innocent civilians,' said Andreas Schueller, program director for international crimes at the NGO. The plaintiffs first took their case to court in 2014, arguing that Germany had a responsibility to ensure the US military was respecting international law in using the Ramstein base. The case was initially thrown out, before the higher administrative court in Muenster ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in 2019. However, the government appealed and a higher court overturned the decision in 2020, arguing that German diplomatic efforts were enough to ensure Washington was adhering to international law. In a hearing scheduled for 0800 GMT, the constitutional court must now decide what conditions are necessary for those affected abroad to sue the German state for the protection of their right to life, according to the ECCHR. This includes whether data transmission alone is enough of a connection to German territory for Germany to be held responsible. Ahead of the latest proceedings, which opened in December 2024, the German defense ministry said Berlin was 'in an ongoing and trusting dialogue' with the United States about its activities at Ramstein. The government has repeatedly obtained assurances that drones are not launched, controlled or commanded from Germany and that US forces are acting lawfully, the ministry said.
