US clashes with China and Russia over North Korea sanctions
UNITED NATIONS — (AP) — The United States clashed with China and Russia on Wednesday over their strong opposition to the U.S. push for new U.N. sanctions on North Korea over its missile and nuclear programs. China and Russia both have veto power and say they want to see new talks and not more punishment for the North. In the sanctions resolution adopted in December 2017, the Security Council committed to further restricting petroleum exports to North Korea if it conducted a ballistic missile launch capable of reaching intercontinental ranges, Thomas-Greenfield said. This year, North Korea has launched at least three ICBMs, and the council has remained silent, she said. “Unfortunately, so far the council has only tightened restrictions ignoring the positive signals from North Korea,” she said.
wftv.comUS to spotlight war-caused food insecurity at 2 UN events – WFTV
Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told a news conference that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will chair a ministerial meeting on food insecurity across the globe on May 18 to review current and future humanitarian needs. It will include foreign ministers from many regionally diverse donor nations and countries most affected by the increasing difficulty to provide adequate food to their people, she said. Russia and Ukraine together produce 30% of the world’s wheat supply, 20% of its corn, and export about three-quarters of the world’s sunflower seed oil. The U.N. food chief said in mid-April that some 30 million metric tons of grain bound for export are unable to be shipped because of the war. Beasley said WFP was feeding 125 million people around the world before the Russian invasion and has had to start cutting rations because of rising food, fuel and shipping costs.
wftv.comHuman 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.comUN Assembly to vote on suspending Russia from rights council
“Russia’s participation on the Human Rights Council is a farce.”General Assembly spokeswoman Paulina Kubiak said the assembly’s emergency special session on Ukraine would resume Thursday morning, when the resolution “to suspend the rights of membership in the Human Rights Council of the Russian Federation” will be put to a vote. While the Human Rights Council is based in Geneva, its members are elected by the 193-nation General Assembly for three-year terms. Thomas-Greenfield urged the 140 members who voted in favor of those two resolutions to support Russia’s suspension from the Human Rights Council. Those nations want to continue “the politics of neo-colonialism of human rights” in international relations, it said, saying that Russia's priority is to promote and defend human rights, including multilaterally in the Human Rights Council. Russia and the other four veto-wielding permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — Britain, China, France, and the United States — all currently have seats on the Human Rights Council, which the U.S. rejoined this year.
wftv.comUN to vote Thursday on suspending Russia from rights council
UNITED NATIONS — (AP) — The U.N. General Assembly will vote Thursday on whether to suspend Russia from the U.N.’s premiere human rights body. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield made the call for Russia to be stripped of its seat on the 47-member Human Rights Council in the wake of videos and photos of streets in the town of Bucha strewn with corpses of what appeared to be civilians. “Russia’s participation on the Human Rights Council is a farce.”General Assembly spokeswoman Paulina Kubiak said Wednesday the assembly’s emergency special session on Ukraine will resume at 10am EDT on Thursday when the resolution “to suspend the rights of membership in the Human Rights Council of the Russian Federation” will be put to a vote. While the Human Rights Council is based in Geneva, its members are elected by the 193-nation General Assembly for three-year terms. Russia and the other four veto-wielding permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — Britain, China, France, and the United States — all currently have seats on the Human Rights Council, which the U.S. rejoined this year.
wftv.comUS to seek Russia's suspension from Human Rights Council
(Alex Micsik /Pool Photo via AP) (Alex Micsik)BUCHAREST, Romania — (AP) — The United States plans to seek a suspension of Russia from its seat on the U.N.’s top human rights body amid increasing signs that Russian forces may have committed war crimes in Ukraine, U.S. Thomas-Greenfield made the call for Russia to be stripped of its seat in the Human Rights Council in the wake of reports over the weekend about violence against civilians in the town of Bucha, near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, after Russian forces pulled out. The U.S. official called Russia’s participation in the Human Rights Council a “farce” and said it hurts the body's credibility. Russia and the other four permanent members of the U.N. Security Council – Britain, China, France, and the United States – all currently have seats on the 47-member state rights council, which is based in Geneva. More than 600,000 refugees have fled to safety in Romania since Russia launched its attacks.
wftv.comUS seeks tighter UN sanctions after N. Korea missile test
DPRK is an acronym for the country’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea. North Korea didn't speak at the council meeting. North Korea revealed the missile in a military parade in October 2020 and Thursday’s launch was its first full-range test. It said it confirmed readiness to execute precision strikes against North Korea’s missile launch points as well as command and support facilities. Thursday’s test was North Korea’s 12th round of launches this year and the most provocative since President Joe Biden took office.
wftv.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.
US accuses Russia of using UN council for 'disinformation'
United Nations Russia Ukraine The United Nations Security Council listens to comments during a meeting, Friday, March 11, 2022, at UN headquarters. The Russian request for the Security Council meeting followed a U.S. rejection of Russian accusations that Ukraine is operating chemical and biological labs with U.S. support. (UNTV via AP) (Uncredited)UNITED NATIONS — (AP) — The United States accused Russia of using a U.N. Security Council meeting Friday for "lying and spreading disinformation” as part of a potential false-flag operation by Moscow for the use of chemical or biological agents in Ukraine. “We’re not going to let Russia get away with lying to the world or staining the integrity of the Security Council by using it as a venue for legitimizing Putin’s violence,” she said. “Russia has a well-documented history of using chemical weapons and has long maintained a biological weapons program in violation of international law,” said Olivia Dalton, spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations.
wftv.comUS accuses Russia of using UN council for 'disinformation'
United Nations Russia Ukraine The United Nations Security Council listens to comments during a meeting, Friday, March 11, 2022, at UN headquarters. The Russian request for the Security Council meeting followed a U.S. rejection of Russian accusations that Ukraine is operating chemical and biological labs with U.S. support. (UNTV via AP) (Uncredited)UNITED NATIONS — (AP) — The United States accused Russia of using a U.N. Security Council meeting Friday for "lying and spreading disinformation” as part of a potential false-flag operation by Moscow for the use of chemical or biological agents in Ukraine. “We’re not going to let Russia get away with lying to the world or staining the integrity of the Security Council by using it as a venue for legitimizing Putin’s violence,” she said. Russia also supports the Syrian government, which has used chemical weapons against its people in an 11-year civil war.
wftv.comUS and 10 countries condemn North Korean missile launch
Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield read a statement from the 11 countries after a closed Security Council briefing on North Korea’s 11th ballistic missile launch since the beginning of the year on Saturday, which was detected by its neighbors. Experts say the launches are an attempt to add new weapons systems to the North’s arsenal and pressure the United States into making concessions amid stalled diplomacy. They said the United States and others have repeatedly offered dialogue without preconditions. The Security Council initially imposed sanctions on North Korea after its first nuclear test in 2006 and toughened them after further nuclear tests and launches from its increasingly sophisticated ballistic missile program. In November, the North’s most important allies, China and Russia revived their 2019 effort to ease sanctions against North Korea.
wftv.comWest says Russia attacked nuke plant, Russia blames Ukraine
UN Russia-Ukraine-War IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, on screen, addresses the UN Security Council, Friday, March 4, 2022. The U.N. Security Council has scheduled an emergency open meeting on the attack on Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant. He said the IAEA was informed a few days ago by Russia that its forces were moving to take control of the plant. And he again blamed “Ukrainian nationalists” for the incident at the plant and accused the West of attempting “to blow it into a global scandal.”Ukraine’s U.N. He said the Russian ambassador may not be properly informed by his government.
wftv.comU.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.
Ukraine-Russia live updates: Ukraine says Russia has begun invasion, explosions heard
President Vladimir Putin announced early Thursday that Russia will conduct a military operation in eastern Ukraine, The Associated Press reported. “In my remarks tonight, I said that we predicted Russia’s false flag attacks. The misinformation, the theatrical emergency meetings and cyberattacks,” Thomas-Greenfield said during an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council. “But one piece had not come to pass. Unfortunately, while we’ve been meeting in the Security Council tonight, it appears that President Putin has ordered that last step.”©2022 Cox Media Group
wftv.comPutin: 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.comPutin gets no support from UN Security Council over Ukraine
Ukraine Tensions In this image provided by the United Nations, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield speaks during an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting on Ukraine, at the U.N. headquarters, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022. He called the Security Council “sick” for its past inaction, and urged members to defend Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Ukraine’s military said two Ukrainian soldiers were killed over the weekend, and another serviceman was wounded Monday. Ukrainian military spokesman Pavlo Kovalchyuk insisted that Ukrainian forces weren’t returning fire.
wftv.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.comRussia responds to US proposal to deescalate Ukraine crisis
(AP Photo/Richard Drew) (Richard Drew)UNITED NATIONS — (AP) — The Russian government has sent a written response to a U.S. proposal aimed at deescalating the Ukraine crisis, according to three Biden administration officials. The Russian response comes as the Biden administration continues to press the Kremlin to deescalate a growing crisis on the Ukraine border, where some 100,000 Russian troops have massed. It was the first open session where all protagonists in the Ukraine crisis spoke publicly, even though the U.N.'s most powerful body took no action. The sanctions under consideration would apparently be significantly stronger than those imposed after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. ___Follow AP stories on the crisis in Ukraine at: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraineCopyright 2022 The Associated Press.
wftv.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.comRussia, US exchange harsh words over Ukraine at UN
Ambassador to the United Nations, addresses the United Nations Security Council, before a vote, Monday, Jan. 31, 2022. The harsh exchanges in the Security Council came as Moscow lost an attempt to block the meeting and reflected the gulf between the two nuclear powers. The vote on holding an open meeting passed 10-2, with Russia and China opposed, and India, Gabon and Kenya abstaining. “Russia has said clearly they have no intention to have a war” and the Security Council should “help to deescalate the situation instead of adding fuel to the fire,” Zhang said. The sanctions under consideration would apparently be significantly stronger than those imposed after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
wftv.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.
With 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.