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UN chief Guterres appointed for second term
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was appointed for a second-five year-term on Friday by the 193-member U.N. General Assembly.
“I will give it my all to ensure the blossoming of trust between and among nations large and small, to build bridges, and to engage relentlessly in confidence building,” Guterres told the General Assembly after taking the oath of office.
The 15-member Security Council earlier this month recommended the General Assembly re-appoint Guterres. His second term starts on beginning on Jan. 1, 2022.
Guterres succeeded Ban Ki-moon in January 2017, just weeks before Donald Trump became U.S. president. Much of Guterres‘ first term was focused on placating Trump, who questioned the value of the United Nations and multilateralism.
The United States is the largest U.N. financial contributor, responsible for 22% of the regular budget and around a quarter of the peacekeeping budget. President Joe Biden, who took office in January, has started restoring funding cuts made by Trump to U.N. agencies and re-engaged with the world body.
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the United Nations faced historic challenges, but she hoped that with Guterres at the helm “the next five years will see more peace, more security, and more prosperity than the last.”
“It will require hard work, political will, and accountability from all U.N. member states,” she said in a statement, adding every member states should have “an impassioned commitment” to human rights.
Guterres, 72, was prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and head of the U.N. refugee agency from 2005 to 2015. As secretary-general, he has been a cheerleader for climate action, COVID-19 vaccines for all and digital cooperation.
When he took the reins as U.N. chief, the world body was struggling to end wars and deal with humanitarian crises in Syria and Yemen. Those conflicts are still unresolved, and Guterres is also now faced with emergencies in Myanmar and the Tigray region of Ethiopia.
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Trade between Iran and Afghanistan continues uninterrupted: Bikdeli
Alireza Bikdeli, Iran’s acting ambassador in Kabul, said Saturday that trade between Iran and Afghanistan is continuing without interruption.
According to a statement from the Iranian Embassy in Kabul, Bikdeli noted that the Iranian government has introduced special facilities at the borders to facilitate imports and exports.
He also emphasized that cooperation between the two countries over the past 48 years has not been affected by any war or foreign intervention, and that Iran’s diplomatic missions are operating at full capacity to support traders from both nations.
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IEA envoy in Oman attends meeting on regional and global developments
Hafiz Omar, the acting head of the Embassy of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in Oman, attended a meeting on recent regional and global developments at the official invitation of Oman’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi.
According to a statement issued by the Afghan Embassy in Oman, Omar shared information about Afghanistan’s position and the overall situation in the country. He also referred to certain “malicious efforts” aimed at destabilizing the region.
The statement added that participants in the meeting emphasized the importance of dialogue and diplomacy in addressing challenges and ensuring stability in the region and the wider world.
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Iran to suspend strikes on neighbours unless attacks come from them
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday that its temporary leadership council had approved the suspension of attacks against neighboring countries unless an attack on Iran came from those countries.
The announcement came as Iran continued to launch attacks in the region in response to U.S.-Israeli strikes on the Islamic Republic, Reuters reported.
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