Tag: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres

Climate talks must be rescued, warns UN chief

by Marlowe HOOD Agence France-Presse KATOWICE, Poland (AFP) — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sought to rescue deeply troubled climate talks in Poland on Wednesday, warning the battle against global warming is a “matter of life and death today.” The two-week talks are tasked with breathing life into the 2015 Paris Agreement, which vows to cap global warming at “well under” two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), and 1.5C if possible. But efforts to elaborate a […]

Maldives opposition urges global community to help end crisis

MALÉ, Maldives (AFP) – Opposition leaders in the Maldives urged the international community Monday to pressure President Abdulla Yameen into obeying a court order to free political prisoners and “restore democracy” to the troubled honeymoon islands. Yameen’s regime has so far refused to release nine jailed dissidents and reinstate opposition lawmakers as ordered by the Maldives’ top court in a shock ruling last week that has deepened turmoil in the atoll nation. The Supreme Court on Sunday […]

UN hits out at surge in extra-judicial ‘executions’ in DR Congo

KINSHASA, DR Congo (AFP) – The UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday reported a surge in summary “executions” in the country, notably in the southern Kasai region. In 2017, “state agents” carried out 1,176 extra-judicial killings, “including at least 89 women and 213 children,” the United Nations Mission in Congo (MONUSCO) said in an annual report on human rights violations in the DRC. Such killings have tripled over the past two years, […]

UN rights chief refuses to ‘bend knee’ after US clash, won’t seek second term

by Carole Landry Agence France-Presse UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) – The United Nations’ top human rights official, a sharp critic of US President Donald Trump, declared Wednesday, December 20, that he will not tone down his message to seek re-election in his post. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, told staff in an email he would not bargain away his agency’s integrity when his job comes up for renewal in August. […]

Front row for N. Korea, beef for lunch: a look at the UN gathering

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) – It’s been dubbed the Super Bowl of diplomacy, the Oscars of world statesmanship: the UN General Assembly kicks off on Tuesday with US President Donald Trump in the spotlight as he makes his first address to the 193-nation body. Here are a few fun facts about this year’s gathering: Who’s coming There are 90 heads of state, five vice presidents, 39 heads of government, three deputy prime ministers and 52 ministers. At […]

Chinese President Xi chairs roundtable summit at Belt and Road forum

BEIJING, China (Reuters)– Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday chaired the Leaders’ Roundtable Summit at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing. The summit was attended by 29 heads of state and government, and United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, President of the World Bank Jim Yong Kim, and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde. “I welcome all of you to the Yanqi Lake for the Roundtable Summit of the […]