UN to convene as Ukraine, allies seek votes for ‘peace’ resolution

UN to convene as Ukraine, allies seek votes for 'peace' resolution (AFP)
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Updated 22 February 2023
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UN to convene as Ukraine, allies seek votes for ‘peace’ resolution

  • The draft resolution, sponsored by some 60 countries,to be voted on after a close debate between a host of ministers visiting New York

United Nations: The UN General Assembly meets Wednesday, two days ahead of the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Kyiv and its allies hoping to garner broad support for a resolution calling for a “just and lasting peace.”
The draft resolution, sponsored by some 60 countries, is to be voted on after the close of debate — not expected until at least Thursday.
The text “underscores the need to reach, as soon as possible, a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine in line with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.”
Like previous resolutions, it reaffirms the UN’s “commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine” and calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities.
The text, which unlike a Security Council resolution would not create a binding law, demands Russia “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine.”
Kyiv hopes to garner the support of at least as many nations as in October, when 143 countries voted for a resolution condemning the annexation of several Ukrainian territories by Russia.
To that end, Ukraine stopped pushing for the immediate inclusion of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s 10-point peace plan which he presented in November, according to diplomatic sources.
“I think we have come up with a text which really tries to gather the international community, tries to be as cohesive and as positive as possible,” said one European diplomat.
A year after the invasion of Ukraine, it will also be a message to Russia that “it cannot achieve its objectives through force,” the diplomat added, hoping that if Moscow “feels isolated, at a certain point the pressure will be too strong to be resisted.”
The days-long debate on the resolution, which will feature a host of ministers visiting New York, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, is set to begin Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. local time.
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to “systematically” continue his offensive in Ukraine, in an anti-Western speech reminiscent of the Cold War.
As some countries in the global South express weariness that the North is overly focused on the conflict, US ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield argued that supporting peace in Ukraine “is not somehow about choosing between the United States and Russia,” but “defending the charter” of the UN.
China is also growing worried that the conflict may spiral out of control, and has indicated that it wants to present a proposal soon to find a “political solution” to the war.
China and others, notably India, have abstained during the series of UN votes on Ukraine.
“If Kyiv won’t talk about peace, there is a risk that the BRICS countries will start to say Ukraine is the real obstacle to peace,” said International Crisis Group analyst Richard Gowan, referring to Brazil, India, China and South Africa.
“That is why the US and EU were keen to get references to a cessation of hostilities in this week’s text,” he told AFP.
That “cessation of hostiles” is accompanied by a stipulation that Russia withdraw its troops, since a simple cease-fire could be just a lull allowing Russia to regroup, diplomats noted.
If the resolution is mainly “symbolic,” Gowan said, it will have the merit of underlining Russia’s isolation, and “undermines Putin’s pretensions to be leading some grand anti-Western coalition.”
The General Assembly has voted on three resolutions voicing opposition to the Russian invasion over the past year, with each receiving between 140 and 143 votes in favor.
Five countries have systematically voting against — Russia, Belarus, Syria, North Korea and Eritrea, with fewer than 40 abstaining.
A fourth resolution in April sought to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council, and while successful, it received less support.
Only 93 votes were in favor, 24 against and 58 abstentions.


Pakistan, China and Afghanistan hold summit in Kabul to boost cooperation

Updated 56 min 28 sec ago
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Pakistan, China and Afghanistan hold summit in Kabul to boost cooperation

  • Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says the talks will cover a wide range of issues, including political and economic cooperation
  • Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs notes that Dar’s discussions will focus on trade, regional connectivity, and counter-terrorism efforts

ISLAMABAD: Top diplomats from Pakistan, China and Afghanistan are meeting on Wednesday in Kabul for a trilateral summit aimed at boosting political, regional and economic cooperation, officials said.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi were received by Taliban officials on arrival in the Afghan capital, according to separate statements issued by Islamabad and Beijing.
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement said the talks, hosted by Kabul, will include “comprehensive discussions” on a wide range of issues, including political, economic and regional cooperation.
According to Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dar’s discussions at the meeting would focus on expanding trade, improving regional connectivity and strengthening joint efforts against terrorism.
The last round of the dialogue took place in May in Beijing.
The latest development comes more than a month after Russia became the first country to formally recognize the Taliban’s government in Afghanistan. While no country, except from Russian, has offered formal recognition, the Taliban have engaged in high-level talks with many nations and established some diplomatic ties with countries including China and the United Arab Emirates.


Indonesia to make plastic recycling mandatory for producers

A volunteer from the Ecological Observation and Wetlands Conservation (ECOTON) collects plastic waste from a mangrove swamp.
Updated 16 min 25 sec ago
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Indonesia to make plastic recycling mandatory for producers

  • Indonesia started to ban imports of plastic waste from developed countries on Jan. 1
  • Indonesians are the top global consumers of microplastics, according to a 2024 study

JAKARTA: Indonesia, one of the world’s nations most affected by plastic pollution, will make recycling mandatory for producers, the government has announced in a new move to tackle the crisis, following a ban on shipments of plastic waste from developed countries.

Indonesia produces around 60 million tonnes of waste annually, government data shows, around 12 percent of which is plastic. Less than 10 percent of waste is recycled in the country, while more than half ends up in landfills.

Indonesians are also the top global consumers of microplastics, according to a 2024 study by Cornell University, which estimated that they ingest about 15 grams of plastic particles per month.

“Plastic is problematic for the environment, especially the single-use ones. It creates various problems, and contains hazardous toxic materials,” Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq told reporters earlier this week. Nurofiq was speaking after a UN summit in Geneva failed to produce the world’s first legally binding treaty to tackle plastic pollution.

“We are making an intervention through the Extended Producer Responsibility, or EPR, which is still voluntary at the moment, but we are working to make it mandatory.”

The rules of EPR are in place under a 2019 Ministerial Regulation, which requires producers in Indonesia to take full responsibility for the plastic waste generated by their products.

But the mechanism also encourages producers to design environmentally friendly products and packaging, said Muharram Atha Rasyadi, urban campaigner at Greenpeace Southeast Asia.

“EPR is not only about recycling, it’s also about prioritizing reduction schemes from the very start of the production process, including redesigning the products or transitioning to reuse alternatives,” he told Arab News on Wednesday. 

“The producer responsibility scheme should be made into an obligation that needs to be regulated in the management of plastic pollution and waste. If it’s voluntary in nature as we currently have with the 2019 Ministerial Regulation, implementation will be slow and less than ideal.”

As both a major producer and consumer of plastics, Indonesia has poor waste-management practices that has contributed to its plastic pollution problem over the years.

The country of more than 270 million people is the second-largest ocean plastic polluter, just behind China, according to a 2015 study published in the journal Science.

As the government seeks to tackle the crisis by 2029, it started to ban imports of plastic waste on Jan. 1. This comes after years of being among other Southeast Asian nations receiving this plastic scrap from developed countries including the US, UK and Australia.

Indonesia has also introduced measures to reduce single-use plastics, including Bali province’s 2019 ban on single-use plastic bags, straws, and Styrofoam, and a similar one enforced in the capital, Jakarta, in 2020.


Former US embassy guard in Norway on trial for spying for Russia, Iran

Updated 20 August 2025
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Former US embassy guard in Norway on trial for spying for Russia, Iran

  • The man, who is in his late 20s, is accused of having supplied information on embassy activities between March 2024 and November 20

OSLO: A Norwegian who worked as a security guard for the US embassy in Oslo went on trial Wednesday, accused of sharing information with Russian and Iranian intelligence, media reported.
The man, who is in his late 20s, is accused of having supplied information on embassy activities between March 2024 and November 20, the date of his arrest, according to the charge sheet.
In return, he was paid in euros and bitcoin.
He is accused of having supplied either the Russians or the Iranians — or both — with the contact details of diplomats, embassy staff and their families.
He is also accused of having supplied the diplomatic license-plate numbers of vehicles used by the embassy.
The charge sheet also alleges he handed over floor plans of the embassy, security routines and a list of couriers Norway’s intelligence service used.
On the first day of his trial, prosecutors presented evidence in the form of an email to the Russian embassy where the man wrote that he had “information that could be useful to you,” public broadcaster NRK reported.
The trial is scheduled to take eight days.
“He acknowledges the facts of the case but denies criminal liability. He is sorry for what he has done, but he is not a spy,” Inger Zadig, the defendant’s lawyer, told news agency NTB.
If convicted of the charges, he could spend up to 21 years in jail, the prosecution service told AFP in July.
Norway’s intelligence service has regularly accused Russia, Iran and China as being the greatest threats to the country so far as spying is concerned.
A member of NATO, Norway shares a land border with Russia in the Arctic.


Belarus seeks closer ties with Iran including on defense, Lukashenko says

Updated 20 August 2025
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Belarus seeks closer ties with Iran including on defense, Lukashenko says

  • Pezeshkian, on a visit to Belarus, said Iran was ready to help Belarus to “neutralize illegal Western sanctions“
  • Belarus and Iran — two countries that have backed Russia’s war in Ukraine — plan to deepen bilateral ties across all areas including defense

REUTERS: Belarus seeks to deepen ties with Iran in all areas including “military-technical cooperation,” state news agency Belta quoted President Alexander Lukashenko as telling his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday.
It said Pezeshkian, on a visit to Belarus, said Iran was ready to help Belarus to “neutralize illegal Western sanctions.”
Belarus and Iran — two countries that have backed Russia’s war in Ukraine — plan to deepen bilateral ties across all areas including defense, their presidents said at talks in Minsk on Wednesday.
Belarusian state news agency Belta said presidents Alexander Lukashenko and Masoud Pezeshkian agreed to work on a strategic partnership treaty.
“In conditions of geopolitical turbulence, Minsk and Tehran are undertaking consistent and balanced steps to further develop cooperation, and are working hard to turn each new challenge into a new opportunity,” it quoted Lukashenko as saying.
“We are ready to discuss any issues, we have no closed topics,” Lukashenko said, adding that the two countries could partner across a range of areas including “military-technical cooperation.”
Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, allowed Russia to use Belarusian territory as a launchpad for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and later assented to hosting Russian tactical nuclear missiles.
Iran has supplied drones to Russia for use in the war and Pezeshkian signed a strategic cooperation treaty with Putin in January, although it did not include a mutual defense clause.
Both Iran and Belarus are under what Pezeshkian described as “illegal Western sanctions.” Belta quoted him as saying Iran was ready to help Belarus “neutralize” such measures, noting that it had more than 40 years of experience in this area.
Pezeshkian said the two countries needed to build their economic and other ties to a level that matched the high level of trust between them.
“Of course, our common views should be implemented in the economic and cultural spheres, in the development of tourism between our countries, and also, as you noted, in the development of military-technical cooperation,” Belta quoted him as telling Lukashenko.


Pope calls for fasting and prayer for peace in Middle East and Ukraine as he returns to Vatican

Updated 20 August 2025
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Pope calls for fasting and prayer for peace in Middle East and Ukraine as he returns to Vatican

  • Pope Leo XIV has asked people to fast on Friday to pray for peace and justice in the Middle East and Ukraine
  • He issued the special appeal as he returned to the Vatican from summer vacation

VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo XIV asked people to fast on Friday to pray for peace and justice in the Middle East and Ukraine, issuing a special appeal as he returned to the Vatican from summer vacation.
At the end of his weekly general audience Wednesday, Leo recalled that Friday is a special feast day dedicated to the Virgin Mary. He urged Catholic faithful to spend the day fasting and “praying that the Lord grants peace and justice, and dries the tears of all those who are suffering as a result of the armed conflicts underway.”
Leo has called for ceasefires in Gaza and Ukraine and for dialogue to achieve peace.
Wednesday marked Leo’s first day back at the Vatican after a period of vacation at the papal summer retreat in Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome.
Going forward, the pope has some important appointments including special audiences for the Vatican’s 2025 Holy Year and the Sept. 7 canonization of the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint Carlo Acutis.
At the end of Wednesday’s audience, Leo received a special gift: A Ping-Pong table decorated with his papal coat of arms. Leo, an avid tennis player, gamely picked up a paddle and bounced a ball on it, but the ball rolled into the net.