NEW YORK CITY: The very foundations of the international legal order, strategic stability and the UN-centric system of global politics are being put to the test, Russia’s minister of foreign affairs said on Tuesday.
It will be “impossible” to resolve the conflicts that are multiplying around the world without getting to their root causes and restoring faith in the ability of nations to join forces in pursuit of the common good and justice for all, he added.
Sergey Lavrov accused the US and its allies of impeding international cooperation and efforts to build “a more just world.”
He added: “They’re taking entire countries and regions as hostages (and) distracting from the necessary joint efforts to regulate conflicts in the Middle East, Africa and other regions, in reducing global inequality, eliminating terrorism, drug trafficking and famine.”
As he chaired a signature meeting of the Security Council, of which Russia holds the rotating presidency this month, Lavrov said: “Not all states represented in this room recognize the key principle of the UN charter of the sovereign equality of all states.
“The United States has long, through the words of its presidents, declared its own exceptionalism. This also ties to Washington’s attitude toward its allies, from whom it demands unquestioning obedience, even to the detriment of their national interests.
“Rule America: That is the essence of the notorious rule-based order, which is a direct threat to multilateralism and international law.”
The high-level open debate, attended by more than 50 states including Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait, was titled “Multilateral cooperation in the interest of a more just, democratic and sustainable world order.”
Lavrov accused Western countries of interpreting the UN Charter in a “perverse and selective manner depending on what instructions are handed down from the White House.”
He added: “The sabotage of resolutions on the Middle East can be discussed endlessly. Everyone remembers the statement of the US permanent representative regarding the fact that Resolution 2728 of March 25, demanding an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, was not legally binding.
“In other words, these American rules are more important than Article 25 of the UN Charter.”
Quoting George Orwell’s allegorical novel “Animal Farm,” Lavrov said: “‘All animals are equal but some are more equal than others.’ If you fulfill and obey the will of the hegemon, you’re permitted to do anything you wish. But if you dare defend your national interests, you will be declared a pariah and sanctioned.
“Washington’s hegemonic policy has not changed for decades. Every Euro-Atlantic security arrangement, without exception, has been based on ensuring US dominance. This has included the subjugation of Europe and the containment of Russia.”
Lavrov accused NATO of subjugating the EU, and blamed the crisis in Ukraine — and what he described as the “coup d’etat” of 2014, referencing the protests in the country a decade ago that
culminated in the ousting of President Viktor Yanukovych after he rejected closer integration with the EU — on the “reckless expansion” of the military alliance.
He urged “all those genuinely interested in overcoming the Ukrainian crisis to take into account in their proposals the key issue of the rights of Russians and other national minorities. Silencing it devalues peace initiatives.”
Lavrov said that the West’s “illegal sanctions, multiple protection measures (and) restrictions in access to leading technologies are contrary to true multilateralism, and create serious obstacles to achieving the (UN’s) 2030 agenda” for sustainable development.
He accused Washington of “jettisoning” developing countries, the attributes of a free market economy, fair competition, the inviolability of the practice of private property, the presumption of innocence, and the free movement of people, goods and capital.
“Geopolitics have buried the once-sacred laws of the market for the West,” Lavrov added.
He called for reform of the multilateral system, including changes to the structure of the Security Council, in which he said “there’s a clear overrepresentation of the countries of the collective West,” to eliminate geographic imbalances and enhance the representation of Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Lavrov also advocated changes to the staffing policy of the UN Secretariat, the organization’s executive branch, “to eliminate the overrepresentation of nationals of the West.” The UN secretary-general’s “staff must adhere strictly to the principles of impartiality and neutrality,” he added.
The US representative to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, responded by saying she thought she was “in the wrong room, because this seemed to be a session whining about the United States and the West and I hardly heard the word multilateralism mentioned.”
She accused Russia of eroding confidence in global institutions, and violating the core tenets of the UN Charter, including territorial integrity, respect for human rights, and international cooperation.
She criticized Moscow for hosting a meeting to discuss the ideals of the UN while “actively engaged in a war of aggression against its neighbor. A war that has weaponized food, worsening food insecurity not only for Ukrainians but for tens of millions of hungry people around the world.
“A war that has killed thousands of innocent people, including dozens just last week at a pediatric hospital in Kyiv. A war that has facilitated the unlawful transfer of thousands upon thousands of people from their homes, including children. And a war that has caused Moscow to resort to nuclear brinkmanship and to violate international sanctions obligations.”
Thomas-Greenfield conceded that the UN is not perfect, as it “reflects a deeply imperfect world, one filled with conflict and contradiction. We need an effective United Nations to tackle the kind of borderless challenges that affect us all.”
She said her country is committed to “modernizing and strengthening” the UN to better reflect the priorities of all member states, including developing countries. This commitment, she added, includes working with multilateral development banks to address the economic barriers to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and the championing of efforts to reform the Security Council itself, to ensure it incorporates geographically diverse perspectives, including permanent representation of the Global South.
She pledged US commitment to international treaties and conventions, including international humanitarian law and World Trade Organization rules “not, as my Russian counterpart might argue, to keep other nations down but rather to help them build up to ensure that everyone plays
by the rules, and that the rules are fair to everyone, including the developing nations that have for far too long been used and abused by Russia.”
Russia, US accuse each other at UN Security Council meeting of sabotaging world order
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Russia, US accuse each other at UN Security Council meeting of sabotaging world order
- Russian foreign minister says US ‘has long, through the words of its presidents, declared its own exceptionalism’ and ‘demands unquestioning obedience’ from allies
- US condemns Russia for hosting a meeting to discuss the ideals of the UN while ‘actively engaged in a war of aggression against its neighbor’
Macron to host Syrian leader’s first European visit
- French President Emmanuel Macron will welcome Syrian leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa to Paris on Wednesday for his first visit to Europe
PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron will welcome Syrian leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa to Paris on Wednesday for his first visit to Europe, despite growing doubts about Syria’s ruling Islamist coalition and protests from France’s far right.
Since the fall of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar Assad in December following fourteen years of devastating war, the international community has been pressing the new authorities, who have roots in the Al-Qaeda jihadist network, to respect personal freedoms, protect minorities and include all components of society in the country’s transition.
Many countries say they will monitor the new authorities’ conduct before fully lifting Assad-era sanctions.
“This meeting is part of France’s historic commitment to the Syrian people who aspire to peace and democracy,” the Elysee Palace said on Tuesday.
Macron will “reiterate France’s support for the construction of a new Syria, a free, stable, sovereign Syria that respects all components of Syrian society,” the presidency said.
Macron will also emphasize “his demands on the Syrian government, primarily the stabilization of the region, including Lebanon, and the fight against terrorism,” it said.
President Sharaa is still subject to a UN travel ban. France most likely had to request an exemption from the United Nations, as was the case for his recent trips to Turkiye and Saudi Arabia, according to a source familiar with the matter.
France, a former colonial ruler of Syria, is eyeing an opportunity to increase its influence in the country after years of Russian presence.
In February, France organized a conference in Paris on the reconstruction of Syria, in the hope of steering the fragile transition. Syria has been devastated by years of civil war, with over 90 percent of the population living below the poverty line.
Macron had first invited Syria’s new leader to visit France in February.
In March, he repeated the invitation but made it conditional on the formation of an inclusive Syrian government representing “all components of civil society,” describing his initial negotiations with the interim leaders as “positive.”
Syria’s new Islamist authorities have vowed inclusive rule in the multi-confessional, multi-ethnic country.
But sectarian clashes in March in which more than 1,700 people were killed, mostly from Assad’s Alawite minority, sparked widespread condemnation.
More recent clashes involving fighters from the Druze community, as well as reports of abuses from NGOs, have also raised doubts about the interim government’s ability to control extremists in its ranks.
Adding to pressure on the new Syrian government, Israel has also launched hundreds of strikes on the country since Assad’s overthrow, including one near the presidential palace in Damascus on Friday.
Israel has said its forces stand ready to protect the Druze minority and said the strike near the presidential palace was intended to send a “clear message” to Syria’s new rulers.
But the interim government described the strike as a “dangerous escalation,” while the United Nations urged Israel to halt its attacks on Syria “at once.”
The French far right criticized the upcoming talks.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen accused Macron of hosting talks with “a jihadist” who has been involved with the Daesh group and Al-Qaeda, adding such a meeting would be “provocative and irresponsible.”
“Shock and dismay,” Le Pen said on X.
“Once again, Emmanuel Macron is damaging France’s image and discrediting its commitment, particularly among its allies, in the fight against Islamism.”
Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who met with the Syrian leader on a visit to Damascus in January, defended the talks.
“The safety of French people is at stake in Syria,” Barrot told broadcaster RTL, adding it was important to fight terrorism and drug trafficking in the conflict-riven country as well as control migration.
Not engaging the leaders of Syria and Lebanon would amount to “rolling out the red carpet for Daesh,” he said, referring to the Daesh terrorists.
French companies are meanwhile eyeing a role in Syria’s reconstruction.
Last week, French logistics giant CMA CGM signed a 30-year contract to develop and operate the port of Latakia, at an event attended by Sharaa.
UK may restrict students from countries most likely to claim asylum
- High levels of legal migration have long dominated Britain’s political conversation
- Out of the 108,000 people who claimed asylum in Britain last year, 16,000 had student visas
LONDON: The British government may restrict visa applications from students living in countries that are considered most likely to claim asylum in a move designed to bring down annual net migration, a government official said.
The move comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party was punished in local elections in England last week by voters angry over issues, including illegal immigration.
The government is expected next week to publish a policy document, known as a white paper, which will set out how the government plans to reduce net migration, which reached 728,000 people in the year to June last year.
“Our upcoming Immigration White Paper will set out a comprehensive plan to restore order to our broken immigration system,” the Home Office said in a statement.
High levels of legal migration have long dominated Britain’s political conversation and were one of the major drivers for the Brexit referendum in 2016.
Out of the 108,000 people who claimed asylum in Britain last year, 16,000 had student visas, government data shows. The government does not provide a breakdown of the nationalities of those who had student visas, who went on to claim asylum.
But the government said people from Pakistan, Nigeria and Sri Lanka were the most likely to claim asylum in Britain after arriving on a work, student, or a visitor visa.
In the aftermath of the party’s poor local election results last week, some Labour members of parliament urged the government to do more to take a more decisive approach on issues such as bringing down net migration.
Jo White, who represents a group of lawmakers in previously Labour heartlands known as the “Red Wall,” said the government should stop “pussyfooting around.”
Michigan drops charges against pro-Palestinian campus protesters
- “Baseless and absurd allegations of bias have only furthered this divide,” said Nessel, a Democrat, who added that “distractions and ongoing delays have created a circus-like atmosphere”
- She noted that a judge still hadn’t decided whether to send the cases to a trial court despite multiple hearings
ANN ARBOR: State prosecutors dropped felony charges Monday against seven people accused of trespassing and resisting police a year ago during the break-up of a pro-Palestinian camp at the University of Michigan.
Attorney General Dana Nessel said she believed the cases were strong but suggested her office was worn down by criticism and other factors. She noted that a judge in Washtenaw County still hadn’t decided whether to send the cases to a trial court despite multiple hearings.
“Baseless and absurd allegations of bias have only furthered this divide,” said Nessel, a Democrat, who added that “distractions and ongoing delays have created a circus-like atmosphere.”
The camp on the Diag, a traditional site for campus protests, was cleared by police in May 2024 after a month. The university said the camp had become a threat to safety, with overloaded power sources and open flames.
Defense attorney Amir Makled said Nessel was trying to turn free speech into a crime.
“We sent a clear message to both Lansing and to Washington, that the people still rule, and that public pressure compels the rule of law to be upheld,” Makled said Monday.
Protesters had demanded that the school’s endowment stop investing in companies with ties to Israel. The university insisted it has no direct investments and less than $15 million placed with funds that might include companies in Israel.
Loyalists cheer as ex-PM Zia returns home to Bangladesh
- The 79-year-old was released from house arrest after a student-led mass uprising ousted Hasina in August 2024
- ia’s rival Hasina remains in self-imposed exile in India and has defied an arrest warrant from Dhaka
DHAKA: Bangladesh’s ex-prime minister Khaleda Zia, chair of the powerful Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), returned home to cheering crowds on Tuesday after months abroad for medical treatment.
Zia, led the South Asian nation twice but was jailed for corruption in 2018 during the tenure of Sheikh Hasina, her successor and lifelong rival who barred her from traveling abroad for medical care.
The 79-year-old was released from house arrest after a student-led mass uprising ousted Hasina in August 2024.
She flew to Britain in January and returned on Tuesday, BNP spokesperson Shairul Kabir said.
Thousands of party activists welcomed her, gathering on either side of the road leading to the airport, carrying photographs of Zia and waving party flags and placards with welcome messages.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, 84, who has led an interim government since Hasina fled into exile as crowds stormed her palace, has said elections will be held as early as December, and by June 2026 at the latest.
“This is a significant day for the country and the people of Bangladesh,” Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the BNP’s secretary general, told reporters.
“The celebration we are witnessing is not only an outpouring of emotion but also a demonstration of our strength.”
Zia’s rival Hasina remains in self-imposed exile in India and has defied an arrest warrant from Dhaka over charges of crimes against humanity.
What name the new pope chooses can signal what’s ahead
ROME: The first clue of the next pope’s direction will be the name the winner chooses.
The announcement “Habemus Papam” — “We have a pope” — from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica is followed first by the revelation of the new pontiff’s baptismal name, in Latin, followed by his papal name, wrought with meaning.
A Pope Francis II would signify continuity with the late pontiff’s pastoral legacy and his prioritizing of the marginalized. Francis himself quipped that his successor would be John XXIV, after the progressive Vatican II-era pope. The most popular papal name of the 20th century, Pius, would be a clear signal that a traditionalist is taking back the throne of St. Peter.
“In the deepest recesses of their mind, when they start the conclave, everyone will walk in there with a name in their head,” said Natalia Imperatori-Lee, chair of religious studies at Manhattan University.
History of papal names
For most of the Catholic Church’s first millennium, popes used their given names. The first exception was the 6th century Roman Mercurius, who had been named for a pagan god and chose the more appropriate name of John II.
The practice of adopting a new name became ingrained during the 11th century, a period of German popes who chose names of early church bishops out of “a desire to signify continuity,” said the Rev. Roberto Regoli, a historian at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University.
For many centuries, new popes tended to choose the name of the pope who had elevated them to cardinal. John was the most popular, chosen by 23 popes, followed by Benedict and Gregory, each with 16.
Only starting in the mid-20th century did new popes begin to choose names signaling the aim of their papacy, Regoli said.
“Even now, as we are waiting for the new pope, the name with which he will present himself will help us to understand the horizon toward which he wants to proceed,” Regoli said.
Some names have been out of use for centuries, like Urban or Innocent.
“I don’t think anyone will pick Innocent,″ Imperatori-Lee said, given the abuse and other scandals that have rocked the church. ”I don’t think that would be the right choice.”
Recent names
FRANCIS: Pope Francis, elected in 2013, took the name of St. Francis of Assisi, known for his humility, life of poverty and love of all creatures. With it, Francis signaled a papacy focused on those who are often seen as outsiders, including the poor, prisoners and the LGBTQ+ community, while promoting peace, brotherhood and care of the environment.
BENEDICT: Last chosen by German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, elected in 2005. Pope Benedict XVI said he wanted to pay homage to Benedict XV, who led the church during World War I and dedicated himself to healing the rifts of war, and to the 6th century St. Benedict, founder of Western monasticism, who helped spread Christianity throughout Europe. One of Benedict XVI’s priorities was trying to revive the faith in Europe. “If we get a Benedict, then we will know that the cardinals chose to see Francis as an anomaly,” Imperatori-Lee said.
JOHN PAUL: The papacy’s first composite name was chosen by Cardinal Albino Luciani in 1978 to honor Pope John XXIII, who opened the Vatican Council II process that reformed the Catholic Church, and Paul VI, who closed it. The name signaled a commitment to reforms, including sidelining the Latin Mass in favor of local languages and opening to other faiths, most significantly Judaism. John Paul I’s papacy lasted just 33 days. Polish Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, who succeeded him, chose the name John Paul II.
JOHN: Chosen 23 times by popes, most recently in 1958 by Pope John XXIII. John can refer to St. John the Apostle, one of Jesus’ 12 apostles and the author of one of the Gospels, or St. John the Baptist, the prophet who baptized Jesus. “John the XXIII was a pope that no one expected a lot from, but had a colossal impact on the church,” Imperatori-Lee said. ”So that could be a sign of what they want their pontificate to be like.”
PAUL: Chosen six times, most recently in 1963 by Paul VI. St. Paul the Apostle spread the teachings of Jesus in the 1st century.
PIUS: It is associated with popes known for their traditionalist, anti-reform bent. Pius IX ordered the kidnapping of the Jewish boy Edgardo Mortara in 1858 and raised him Catholic in the Vatican after learning he had been secretly baptized by a housekeeper; Pius X was the early 20th century anti-modernizt who inspired the anti-Vatican II schismatic group, the Society of St. Pius X; Pius XII was the World War II-era pope criticized for not speaking out sufficiently about the Holocaust. “It is now a name that is hostage to some Catholic groups that can be considered traditionalists,” Regoli said.
New directions
A new pope is free to choose a name never used before, as Francis did.
“This would open a new season and could mean that his program is not in line with any of his predecessors, so an even more personalized program,” Regoli said.
Imperatori-Lee suggested another name that might signal a continuation of Francis’ legacy: Ignatius, for the founder of Francis’ Jesuit order.
“It would be interesting,” she said. “We’ve never had one of those.”
