- AI research uncovers 300 ancient etchings in Peru's Nazca desert
- Brazil's Lula calls Security Council makeup 'unacceptable'
- Carey blasts Australia to 304-7 against England in 3rd ODI
- Biden warns against clinging to power in UN farewell
- Alarm grows as Israel launches new strikes on Lebanon
- Biden warns at UN against 'full-scale war' over Lebanon
- 'Monumental step' as Thai king signs same-sex marriage into law
- French lake still riddled with bombs 80 years after World War II
- Alberta Ferretti quits as creative director at brand she founded
- Two killed in Mexico as Hurricane John weakens to tropical storm
- Multiple arrests after US woman uses machine-assisted suicide in Switzerland
- Dubois will next fight Joshua or Usyk, 'whoever pays me the most'
- Lopetegui ready to learn from mistakes as Liverpool loom in League Cup
- US Fed dissenter warns inflation risks remain 'prominent'
- UN chief warns Lebanon on 'brink' as world leaders gather
- Surprise start for Libbok as Etzebeth set for Springboks record
- Ten Hag says expanded schedules make injuries 'almost unavoidable'
- Liverpool boss Slot praises Alexander-Arnold's defensive work
- Barca coach backs Pena but will debate new goalkeeper signing
- UN says tens of thousands flee Lebanon strikes
- Arteta stands by defensive tactics in fiery Man City clash
- UK town catches Subbuteo fever
- France facing 'one of worst deficits' in its history: minister
- China's Olympic champ Zheng embraces big home expectations
- All Blacks seek to end Wellington jinx, with Cane poised for 100th cap
- Postbank (Постбанк) анулює рахунки українців у Німеччині
- Postbank (Постбанк) анулює рахунки українців у Німеччині
- Meryl Streep says a 'squirrel has more rights' than an Afghan girl
- Postbank terminates accounts of Ukrainians in Germany
- Dutch paint giant Akzonobel slashes 2,000 jobs worldwide
- Sri Lanka's new leader to call snap parliamentary polls
- In Ukraine's Pokrovsk, some quietly waiting for Russian troops
- Fishy business caught by fraying India-Bangladesh ties
- US Open champion Sabalenka chases year-end number one ranking
- New Zealand scientists discover ghostly 'spookfish'
- Trump slams early voting, even while urging Pennsylvanians to do so
- Major Hurricane John hits Mexico's Pacific coast
- IMF says ready for talks with Sri Lanka's new leftist government
- Phillies clinch division title, eye top seed
- Bills trample Jaguars, Commanders claw Bengals
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally on China stimulus on mixed day for markets
- Back to death row? Retrial verdict due in Japan murder saga
- Rare corruption trial of Singapore ex-minister begins
- Ghana a long way off from gender equality despite new law
- China unveils fresh stimulus to boost economy
- Hamas weakened, not crushed a year into war with Israel
- Israeli economy struggles under weight of Gaza war
- Israelis united in trauma, divided by war after October 7
- New York Liberty riding WNBA boom into playoffs
- Environmental groups urge EU 'high risk' label for Sarawak
CMSC | -0.08% | 25.05 | $ | |
RBGPF | 5.16% | 60.1 | $ | |
SCS | 0.08% | 13.02 | $ | |
BCC | -0.49% | 140.965 | $ | |
BTI | 0.49% | 38.085 | $ | |
AZN | -0.14% | 77.03 | $ | |
NGG | -0.11% | 70.4 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.22% | 24.95 | $ | |
GSK | 0.26% | 40.965 | $ | |
RIO | 4.35% | 67.52 | $ | |
RYCEF | -0.86% | 7 | $ | |
JRI | 0.31% | 13.342 | $ | |
BCE | -0.33% | 34.985 | $ | |
RELX | -0.87% | 48.44 | $ | |
VOD | -0.25% | 10.085 | $ | |
BP | -0.15% | 32.81 | $ |
UN chief warns Lebanon on 'brink' as world leaders gather
The UN chief warned world leaders on Tuesday that Lebanon was on "the brink" as clashes escalated between Israel and Hezbollah ahead of US President Joe Biden's final appearance at the global body's signature annual event.
The gathering of dozens of world leaders, the high point of the diplomatic calendar, comes as Lebanese authorities say Israeli strikes killed 558 people -- 50 of them children.
"We should all be alarmed by the escalation. Lebanon is at the brink," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
As world leaders gathered in Manhattan for the annual flurry of speeches and face-to-face diplomacy, UN Security Council member France called Monday for an emergency meeting on the crisis engulfing the Middle East.
As the toll in Lebanon climbed, focus shifted away from the situation in Gaza, and the EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell warned "we are almost in a full-fledged war."
The United States, Israel's closest ally, again warned against a full-blown ground invasion of Lebanon, with a senior US official promising to bring "concrete" ideas for de-escalation to the UN this week.
It is unclear what progress can be made to defuse the situation in Lebanon as efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza, which Israel has relentlessly pounded since October 2023, have come to nothing.
Guterres cautioned against "the possibility of transforming Lebanon (into) another Gaza."
Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group think tank said he expected many leaders to "warn that the UN will become irrelevant globally if it cannot help make peace."
More than 100 heads of state and government are scheduled to speak during the UN's centerpiece event, which will run until Monday.
- 'Out-of-control' -
Since last year's annual gathering, when Sudan's civil war and Russia's Ukraine invasion dominated, the world has faced an explosion of crises.
"International challenges are moving faster than our ability to solve them," Guterres warned ahead of the gathering.
The October 7 attack by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Israel and the ensuing violence in the Middle East has exposed deep divisions in the global body.
With Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas expected to address the General Assembly this week, there could be combustible moments.
On Tuesday, representatives of Turkey, Jordan, Qatar, Iran and Algeria are slated to take the podium to press for a Gaza ceasefire after nearly one year of war.
Ukraine will also be on the agenda Tuesday when President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses a UN Security Council meeting on Russia's war on Ukraine.
"I invite all leaders and nations to continue supporting our joint efforts for a just and peaceful future," Zelensky told the UN on Monday.
"Putin has stolen much already, but he will never steal the world's future."
- 'Behind the scenes' -
It is unclear if the grand diplomatic gathering can achieve anything for the millions mired in conflict and poverty globally.
"Any real diplomacy to reduce tensions will take place behind the scenes," Gowan said.
"This may be an opportunity for Western and Arab diplomats to have some quiet conversations with the Iranians about the need to stop the regional situation spinning out of control."
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has called for an urgent meeting of Arab leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly over the crisis in Lebanon.
Guterres cautioned against "the possibility of transforming Lebanon (into) another Gaza."
P.Mira--PC