The UN system is standing in solidarity with landlocked developing countries, which lack access to vital trade links, and supporting them in their efforts to rebuild once the global coronavirus pandemic abates, Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday. Addressing a virtual meeting of foreign ministers from this group of countries, Mr. Guterres said that on…
UN Chief: Put People’s Lives Before Politics in Responding to Beirut Disaster
It’s time that leaders across Lebanon put “people before politics” following last month’s explosions in Beirut port, said the UN chief on Wednesday, which must serve as a wake-up call following a year of upheaval and clamour for reform on all fronts. António Guterres was speaking at a high level meeting of the International Support…
Venezuelan President Maduro Promotes Fund to Aid Nations Suffering from “Discrimination”
Venezuela has proposed creation of a “revolving public purchasing fund” within the United Nations system to guarantee access to food and health products, financed with public resources, to facilitate countries suffering “discrimination and economic blockade” acquire necessary goods and services. Addressing the General Assembly’s high-level general debate, via a pre-recorded video, President Nicolás Maduro Moros…
Saudi Arabian King Salman Promotes Cooperation, Denounces Terrorism at General Assembly
Saudi Arabia continues to promote global response efforts and help countries reeling under the devastating impact of COVID-19, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud told world leaders, gathered virtually at the United Nations General Assembly. In a pre-recorded message to the Assembly’s general debate, the Monarch highlighted his country’s role as the president of the G20,…
UN Rights Experts Calls for Release of Officials Detained in Coup
An independent UN human rights expert has called on Mali’s coup leaders to release former government officials, who have been detained for more than a month. According to a news release by the UN human rights office (OHCHR), at least 13 people, among the 18 arrested by coup leaders on August 18, are still being…
UN: Child Deaths in Myanmar Rakhine Refugee Camp Assaults Must End
The assaults by security forces in Myanmar on villages in Rakhine state “need to stop”, and a ceasefire should be declared immediately, said the UN independent rights expert on the situation across the country on Tuesday. Thomas Andrews decried the mounting toll of child casualties: “Serious questions have been raised about whether these children, and…
Emir of Qatar: Global Cooperation Key for Solving Global Issues
As the world enters the threshold of the century’s third decade, it continues to face “emerging and unprecedented challenges”, Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, told the opening session of the UN High-level General Debate on Tuesday. Amidst regional and international tensions, disarmament, environmental issues, sustainable development, terrorism and other global trials, he…
U.S. Army Looks at Ending Bias in Choosing Colonels for Command Assignments
Bias. Some of the Army’s top leaders visited Fort Knox Sept. 17 to hear how organizers of the new Colonels Command Assessment Program expect to remove as much of it as possible. The four-day program started assessing commissioned officers’ abilities Sept. 11 for strategic potential and readiness to take command of units and organizations throughout…
Army National Guardsmen Serving Nation, Around the World
Americans regard the National Guard as a United States-based force, but, in truth, it’s hard to go anywhere in the world and not see a soldier wearing an Army National Guard patch. Over the past few months, there were 77,000 Army Guardsmen and over 100,000 National Guardsmen on duty, Army Lt. Gen. Jon A. Jensen,…
Vice-President Mike Pence: Joe Biden Wants to Return to “Failed Liberal Policies” of the Past
Joe Biden has spent forty-seven years pushing failed liberal policies that have hollowed out U.S. manufacturing, undermined our nation’s military, and destroyed American values. For four years, President Trump has corrected the failed agenda of career politicians like Joe Biden by working to Make America Great Again. As Vice President Mike Pence discussed while in…
NASA Tests Precision Lunar Landing Technology
From the rim of Shackleton crater to permanently shadowed regions on the Moon, a NASA-developed sensor suite could allow robotic and crewed missions to land precisely on the lunar surface within half the distance of a football field. Technologies to enable exact and soft landings on the Moon and other worlds will fly on Blue…
Sri Lanka President Praises COVID-19 Response, Calls for End of Political Witch Hunts
The President of Sri Lanka has highlighted the success of his country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, underscoring the importance of a well-coordinated approach, underpinned by robust local health care system, to contain the disease. In a pre-recorded address to the United Nations General Assembly’s annual debate, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa explained that his Government’s “inclusive,…