UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Monday that the world is one miscalculation away from “nuclear annihilation”.
Mr Guterres issued the warning during the opening of the UN's 10th Review Conference of the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The review typically takes place every five years, but the current meeting was pushed back two years because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The UN chief said the meeting comes “at a critical juncture for our collective peace and security” and “at a time of nuclear danger not seen since the height of the Cold War”, pointing to Russia's invasion of Ukraine as well as the threat of nuclear weapons in the Middle East and Asia.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that North Korea, Russia and Iran are all undermining the Non-Proliferation Treaty's effectiveness.
“Pyongyang is preparing to conduct its seventh nuclear test. Iran remains on a path of nuclear escalation,” he said in remarks at the conference.
Countries without nuclear weapons that joined the NPT, in effect since 1970, pledged not to acquire them, while most nuclear-armed countries pledged to work to gradually eliminate their stockpiles. While the US and China are among the nuclear powers to have joined the pact, North Korea, India and Pakistan have not.
The number of nuclear weapons around the world has shrunk by more than three quarters since the 1980s, but 13,000 nuclear warheads still exist today, with more than 90 per cent belonging to the US and Russia, an Arms Control Association estimation showed.
“All this at a time when the risks of proliferation are growing and guardrails to prevent escalation are weakening … And when crises — with nuclear undertones — are festering from the Middle East and the Korean Peninsula to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” he said.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pressed nuclear states to conduct themselves “responsibly”.
“The world is worried that the threat of the catastrophe of use of nuclear weapons has emerged once again,” he said.
Before the conference, US President Joe Biden urged Russia and China to enter talks on nuclear arms control and said Moscow in particular must demonstrate it is ready to show responsibility.
Mr Biden said Washington is ready to negotiate a replacement to the Start agreement once the treaty capping nuclear forces in the US and Russia expires in 2026.
“But negotiation requires a willing partner operating in good faith,” Mr Biden said in a statement.
“And Russia’s brutal and unprovoked aggression in Ukraine has shattered peace in Europe and constitutes an attack on fundamental tenets of international order.”
China, Mr Biden said, has a responsibility as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and as a nuclear state to engage in talks that would “reduce the risk of miscalculation and address destabilising military dynamics”.
“There is no benefit to any of our nations, or for the world, to resist substantive engagement on arms control and nuclear non-proliferation,” he said.
Leaders of the five nuclear-armed states in January affirmed their commitment to non-proliferation and disarmament, but Russia's war in Ukraine cast fresh doubts.
“In this moment of uncertainty and upheaval on the global stage, reaffirming our shared commitment to the grounding principles of the global non-proliferation regime has never been more crucial,” Mr Biden said.
Mr Blinken said the US would work with China and other countries towards a risk reduction package.
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE squad to face Ireland
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Price, base / as tested: Dh276,675 / Dh346,800
Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged in-line six-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 354hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 1,550rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.0L / 100km
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The Travel Diaries of Albert Einstein The Far East, Palestine, and Spain, 1922 – 1923
Editor Ze’ev Rosenkranz
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
