International
UN chief slams Israel for dooming prospects for two-state solution
UN chief slams Israel for dooming prospects for two-state solution
Israel’s policy toward the occupied West Bank is dooming any prospect of a two-state solution with the Palestinians, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said.
Through administrative and legal steps, Israel is changing the geography of the West Bank, Guterres said in a statement read by his chief of staff, Courtenay Rattray, during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Wednesday.
Settlement expansion is expected to speed up due to big land seizures in strategic areas and changes to planning, land management and governance, Guterres added.
“Recent developments are driving a stake through the heart of any prospect for a two-state solution,” said the UN chief.
Israeli military raids, arrests of Palestinians and settler violence have soared in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October.
Guterres noted that Israel has taken punitive steps against the Palestinian Authority and legalised five Israeli outposts in the West Bank.
Israel has built such outposts as part of its occupation of the West Bank since 1967.
“We must change course. All settlement activity must cease immediately,” Guterres said.
The UN chief also repeated his call for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza war and the release of all hostages.
At least 38,794 people have been killed and 89,364 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 is estimated at 1,139, with dozens of people still held captive in Gaza.
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“The humanitarian situation in Gaza is a moral stain on us all,” Guterres said.
Meeting disrupted by protest
At the UNSC quarterly session on the Middle East on Wednesday, Israel’s war on Gaza and the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip dominated the agenda.
“What is happening in Gaza is going down as the most documented genocide in history,” Riyad Mansour, Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, told the session. “When will the world denounce the crimes and stop tolerating their reoccurrence?”
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan accused Hamas of crimes against humanity and said the Israeli captives were being held by “Iranian-supported and inspired terrorist organisations”.
The UNSC meeting was briefly interrupted after Erdan’s speech by two women dressed in black, who stood with signs and yelled for the release of Israeli hostages held by Palestinian groups in Gaza.
UN security asked the women to leave the chamber and they did so, a UN official said.
The demonstration came as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov began to address the 15-member body.
Lavrov, who was chairing the meeting because Russia is the UNSC president for July, responded: “I don’t understand, speak more clearly. One of you can speak clearly to say what you want to say. I see you don’t wish to do so, very well.”
Protests inside the UN headquarters in New York City are rare.
UN chief slams Israel for dooming prospects for two-state solution
International
Canada denies 13,000 Nigerians refugee status
Canada denies 13,000 Nigerians refugee status
Over 13,000 Nigerians who applied for refugee protection in Canada from January 2013 to December 2024 were rejected.
According to data from the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, this figure includes 811 Nigerians whose applications were turned down in 2024.
The board placed Nigeria among the top five countries with the most rejected claims.
Mexico tops the list with 2,954 rejections, followed by India and Haiti, which have 1,688 and 982 rejected claims, respectively.
Colombia is in fourth place with 723 rejected claims, while Nigeria is in fifth place with 13,171 rejections.
In Canada, asylum seekers get refugee protection if the RPD satisfactorily confirms that their claims meet the United Nations definition of a Convention refugee.
In its definition of the Status of Refugee, the 1951 UN Convention states refugees are persons who have a substantiated fear of persecution because of their race, nationality, religion, political ideology or membership in a particular social group, which can include sexual orientation, gender identity, being a woman and persons living with HIV/AIDS.
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However, in Canada, asylum seekers are expected to show evidence that they are in danger of torture, risk to their life or risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment if they return to their country of nationality.
According to the Refugee Board’s application guideline, if an applicant’s “claim is eligible, it is sent to the RPD to start the claim for refugee protection process.”
The breakdown of the rejections showed that 127 Nigerian claims were rejected in 2013, 241 in 2014 and 248 in 2015.
Canada denies 13,000 Nigerians refugee status
International
Nurse punished in UK for addressing convicted transgender paedophile as ‘Mr’
Nurse punished in UK for addressing convicted transgender paedophile as ‘Mr’
A senior nurse in the UK is battling to save her career after facing disciplinary action for refusing to refer to a convicted child sex offender as a woman.
Jennifer Melle, 40, from Croydon, was working at Epsom and St Helier University Hospital Trust when she declined to use female pronouns for a paedophile known as ‘Mr X,’ per report from the London Standard.
The offender, currently serving time in a high-security male prison, was jailed for grooming boys online while posing as a teenage girl.
Following her refusal, Melle claims she was subjected to racial abuse and physical threats.
She was, reportedly, then issued a final written warning and referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for allegedly breaching professional standards.
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NHS lawyers argued that Melle’s Christian belief—that people are born male or female—was “not worthy of respect in a democratic society.”
An internal investigation found she had violated the NMC Code of Conduct by failing to respect the patient’s “preferred identity” and uphold the Trust’s core value of “Respect.”
As a result, Melle has been moved to another ward, which she says is a demotion, and has had her name removed from internal hospital systems, preventing her from applying for additional shifts.
Now, with the backing of the Christian Legal Centre, she has launched legal action against the Trust, alleging harassment, discrimination, and breaches of her human rights.
The case comes amid growing controversy over gender policies in public institutions.
A recent report, the Sullivan Review, revealed that UK police forces have been allowing criminals to self-identify their gender on official records, sparking nationwide debate.
Nurse punished in UK for addressing convicted transgender paedophile as ‘Mr’
International
Gaza: Iran begins talks with S’Arabia, Egypt as Israel renews attacks
Gaza: Iran begins talks with S’Arabia, Egypt as Israel renews attacks
Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Saturday exchanged views with his Saudi Arabian and Egyptian counterparts on Israel’s renewed attacks on Gaza.
In a phone conversation with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Araghchi strongly condemned Israel’s attacks in Gaza, and urged other countries in the region to take collective action, said the Iranian Foreign Ministry in a statement.
For his part, Faisal reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s condemnation of Israeli aggressions and emphasized regional coordination to prevent further escalation.
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In a separate phone call with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Araghchi condemned Israel’s renewed attacks on Gaza as well as obstruction of humanitarian aid delivery to the Palestinian coastal enclave “in flagrant violation” of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
The Egyptian foreign minister underscored the need for consultations and diplomatic efforts to prevent further escalation.
Both Egyptian and Iranian ministers agreed to maintain consultations on regional developments.
Gaza: Iran begins talks with S’Arabia, Egypt as Israel renews attacks
Xinhua
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