Human rights vote at U.N. highlights stark divisions over Russia
The U.N. General Assembly voted to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council, but the total of 95 in favor with 24 no votes and 58 abstentions was a significant reduction from the 141 that voted in favor of last month’s nonbinding General Assembly measure condemning Russia’s “aggression” in Ukraine.
washingtonpost.comChina, Russia cool to US aim for more N. Korea sanctions
North Korea's test of a big new intercontinental ballistic missile prompted the United States to press Friday for stiffer U.N. sanctions, but China and Russia showed little appetite for tightening restrictions that they have been trying to ease. A day after North Korea's first long-range test since 2017, U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield urged the council to condemn the launch and encourage North Korea to return to negotiations. “It was an egregious and unprovoked escalation” that threatens the world, said Thomas-Greenfield, whose country joined Albania, France, Ireland, Norway and the United Kingdom in calling for the meeting.
news.yahoo.com'She became our voice': Albright hailed by world leaders
As she pressed the Clinton administration into action against Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic over war crimes in the Balkans, Madeleine Albright would harken back to her own childhood as a refugee from Czechoslovakia who fled the Nazis in war-torn Europe.
U.S., Canada and EU nations announce removal of "select Russian banks" from SWIFT
The United States, U.K. and the European Union are placing new economic sanctions on Russia, further crippling its economy, which has seen one of the lowest stock market plunges on record. Jill Schlesinger explains the global economic impact of these new sanctions.
news.yahoo.comRussian army says Ukraine civilians being used as 'human shields' can 'freely leave' Kyiv
Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov says in televised remarks that Ukrainian civilians can "freely leave" the capital Kyiv and insists that the "Kyiv regime" is using civillians as a "human shield" by asking them to remain at home, as Moscow's assault goes into its fifth day.
news.yahoo.comAs business booms, brothers donate some proceeds from candle business to Maryland homeless shelters
CBS News’ Eroll Barnett catches up with Austin, Colin and Ryan Gill, founders of the Frère Branchiaux candle brand. Three years after first meeting them, the operation has moved from a garage to a warehouse, with the products available in outlets like Target and Macy’s.
news.yahoo.comU.S. protests Israel's refusal to back UN resolution condemning Russia
U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield protested to her Israeli counterpart over Israel's refusal to join 87 countries in backing a U.S.-led resolution to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine at the UN Security Council on Friday, Israeli officials tell Axios.Why it matters: Israel has attempted to maintain good relations with both Russia and Ukraine during the crisis, and has even offered to serve as a mediator. But that fence-sitting has resulted in criticism from both sides and now
news.yahoo.comRussia vetoes UN demand that Russia stop attacking Ukraine
Russia has vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding that Moscow immediately stop its attack on Ukraine and withdraw all troops, a defeat the United States and its supporters knew was inevitable but sought to highlight Russia’s global isolation.
Putin: Countries that interfere with Russia will face 'consequences you have never seen'
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a speech announcing a military operation in Ukraine that countries that interfere with Russian actions will face "consequences you have never seen," The Associated Press reported. Russia almost immediately launched an invasion into the country.Putin says the operation is to protect citizens from Ukraine aggression and to demilitarize the country, a continuation of the disinformation about which western...
news.yahoo.comUS and Russia clash over use and impact of UN sanctions
The United States and its allies clashed with Russia and China in the U.N. Security Council over the usefulness and impact of U.N. sanctions, currently imposed on countries from North Korea to Yemen and Congo as well the al-Qaida and Islamic State extremist groups and their affiliates and supporters.
Russia delivers written response to US over Ukraine-related proposal
Russia has delivered a written response to the U.S.'s proposal for deescalating tensions at the Ukrainian border."We can confirm we received a written follow-up from Russia," a State Department spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill on Monday."It would be unproductive to negotiate in public, so we'll leave it up to Russia if they want to discuss their response. We remain fully committed to dialogue to address these issues and will continue...
news.yahoo.comU.S. calls Russian actions on Ukraine border ‘provocative’
At a U.N. Security Council meeting on Monday, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield called Russian threats of aggression on the border of Ukraine "provocative.” Thomas-Greenfield added that she hoped Russia would proceed with diplomacy.
news.yahoo.comReparations draw UN scrutiny, but those who'd pay say little
More than a year after Black Lives Matter protests launched a worldwide reckoning about the centuries of racism that Black people continue to face, reparations emerged — unevenly — as a high-profile issue at this year’s largest gathering of world leaders.
Biden looks to turn page on 20 years of war in UN address
President Joe Biden begins his first visit to the U.N. General Assembly ready to make the case to world leaders that after closing the chapter on 20 years of war, the U.S. aims to rally allies and adversaries to work together on a slew of crises including the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and trade and economics.
Women’s groups call for UN peacekeeping force in Afghanistan
Women’s rights supporters and faith leaders are calling for a U.N. peacekeeping force for Afghanistan to protect hard-won gains for women over the last two decades as American and NATO forces complete their pullout from the war-torn country and a Taliban offensive gains control over more territory.
China wants cross-border aid and sanctions relief for Syria
China said Tuesday it wants the U.N. Security Council to not only extend humanitarian aid deliveries to Syria from neighboring countries but to tackle the impact of Western sanctions and the need to expand deliveries across conflict lines. Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jun told reporters after closed briefings to the council and a discussion among members on a draft resolution to continue cross-border deliveries that he hopes “with more diplomatic efforts we can find a solution” -- not just on cross-border aid.
news.yahoo.comUN official warns digital technologies open areas for attack
The U.N. disarmament chief warned Tuesday that digital technologies are lowering barriers to malicious intrusions and opening potential areas for governments, armed groups, terrorists and criminals to carry out attacks, including across international borders. Izumi Nakamitsu told a U.N. Security Council meeting on cybersecurity that there has been “a dramatic increase in the frequency of malicious incidents in recent years” ranging from disinformation to the disruption of computer networks which are contributing to “a diminishing trust and confidence” among nations. The political and technical difficulty of determining responsibility for cyber attacks “could result in significant consequences, including in unintended armed responses and escalation,” she warned.
news.yahoo.comUS envoy: Children in conflict taught to commit war crimes
Children caught in conflict are being taught to commit war crimes before they can count, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said Monday, pointing to the deadliest attack in Burkina Faso in years, with more than 130 civilians killed by an armed group comprising “mostly 12- to 14-year-olds.” Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the U.N. Security Council that many of those killed in the attack in early June were children, and the horrifying raid on the village of Solhan in the West African nation's Sahel’s Yagha province saw “children killing children -- children killing children.”
news.yahoo.comWith ambassador picks, Biden faces donor vs. diversity test
President Joe Biden is facing a fresh challenge to his oft-repeated commitment to diversity in his administration: assembling a diplomatic corps that gives a nod to key political allies and donors while staying true to a campaign pledge to appoint ambassadors who look like America.
U.N. special envoy warns "a bloodbath is imminent" in Myanmar if Security Council does not act
A U.N. special envoy warned the 15-nation Security Council on Wednesday that "a bloodbath is imminent" in Myanmar if it does not act to curb the violent military crackdown against protesters, according to a copy of her remarks obtained by CBS News. Special Envoy of the Secretary-General Christine Schraner Burgener asked the diplomats. A bloodbath is imminent," Schraner Burgener added. The Security Council issued a unanimous statement condemning the violence on March 10. "The military's cruelty is too severe and many [Ethnic Armed Organizations] EAOs are taking clear stances of opposition, increasing the possibility of civil war at an unprecedented scale," Schraner Burgener said.
cbsnews.comU.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield gives powerful speech at U.N.: "I know the ugly face of racism"
Thomas-Greenfield, speaking to the U.N. General Assembly on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, told the assembled leaders: "I know the ugly face of racism. Let us expose the racism and racial discrimination endemic to every society around the globe. "Diplomats aren't used to hearing personal stories in official settings and Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield gave a moving speech that was all the more powerful because it drew on her personal experience," Jamaica's U.N. Turning to the world, Thomas-Greenfield said, "For millions, it's more than a challenge. She ended with a plea: "Let us expose the racism and racial discrimination endemic to every society, around the globe.
cbsnews.comWith China's treatment of Muslim Uighurs determined to be genocide, Biden administration under pressure to act
Newly confirmed Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not hesitate to express his agreement with a determination made on the last day of the Trump administration that China's treatment of its Uighur and Muslim minority populations is genocide. "My judgment remains that genocide is committed against the Uighurs, and that hasn't changed," Blinken said Wednesday in his first remarks as secretary from the State Department podium. My heartfelt gratitude to the U.S. government, particularly the State Department, for determining the atrocities against my people to be genocide, after all the pain and suffering we have gone through." While the Pentagon first referred to China's camps in its Xinjiang province as "concentration camps" in 2019, the State Department used the less harsh term "internment camps" to describe them. But he also said the Trump administration bears a share of the blame, too.
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