António Guterres was speaking during a wreath-laying ceremony at a memorial in Baghdad to honour the victims of the 19 August 2003 Canal Hotel bombing – the worst terrorist attack in UN history. Twenty-two people were killed, including the then UN Special Representative for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello. More than 100 others were injured, […]
António Guterres told leaders meeting in the Iraqi capital that “the region and the world face trials and tests on all fronts,” starting with the situation in Gaza. He reiterated that neither the atrocious 7 October 2023 terror attacks by Hamas nor the collective punishment of the Palestinian people can be justified. Permanent ceasefire now […]
Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old American-Israeli national and soldier with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), had been held by Hamas since the brutal 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel in which roughly 1,200 people were killed and another 250 taken hostage. He is believed to be the last living American held by militants in Gaza, according […]
The UN chief’s statement, released on Saturday, came shortly after news broke of a decision by the two countries to de-escalate a situation that has caused widespread alarm in recent days. Tensions had been steadily raising, after a group of gunmen fired on tourists visiting Jammu and Kashmir on 22 April, killing at least 26 […]
His Holiness Pope Leo XIV – born Robert Francis Prevost – is the first person from the United States to lead the Catholic Church, although he also holds Peruvian citizenship after working in the Latin American country for many years. He was selected by cardinals voting at the Vatican and later greeted thousands gathered in […]
“This will inevitably lead to countless more civilians killed and the further destruction of Gaza,” said UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq, responding to a journalist’s question during the regular media briefing in New York. “What’s imperative now is an end to the violence, not more civilian deaths and destruction. Gaza is, and must remain, an […]
Addressing journalists outside the Security Council at UN Headquarters in New York, Mr. Guterres expressed deep concern over deteriorating relations between the two South Asian neighbours, saying they had reached “their highest in years.” He reiterated his condemnation of the 22 April terror attack in the Pahalgam area of Jammu and Kashmir, which killed at […]
UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Friday that the Secretary-General “has been monitoring with alarm the reports of violence in the suburbs of Damascus and in the south of Syria, including reports of civilian casualties and assassination of local administration figures.” More than 100 people have reportedly been killed in recent days during clashes with […]
UN Secretary-General Guterres has spoken to leaders on both sides on India-Pakistan tensions. “This morning, he spoke separately by telephone with Muhammad Shebaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and he also spoke earlier in the day with Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, the Minister for External Affairs of the Republic of India,” said […]
UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, responding to inquiries, emphasised the Secretary-General’s condemnation of the attack. Media reports indicate that a gunman opened fire on a group of people near Pahalgam, in the region’s south, leaving more than two dozen dead. Mr. Guterres extends his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families, said Mr. Dujarric, underscoring “that attacks […]