World leaders to gather at UN as crises grow and conflicts rage

US Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses the 78th United Nations General Assembly in New York City on September 19, 2023. (AFP/File)
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Updated 20 September 2024
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World leaders to gather at UN as crises grow and conflicts rage

  • Gaza war, soaring Mideast tensions, Sudan’s civil war and the grinding Russian-Ukraine war are among the rancorous issues on the agenda of UNGA 2024
  • UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says this week that the world would be able to “avoid moving to World War Three”

NEW YORK CITY: World leaders will descend on the United Nation’s New York HQ from Sunday for the organization’s annual signature gathering against an explosive backdrop of raging wars, growing populism and diplomatic deadlock.
The war in Gaza, soaring Middle East tensions, famine conditions in Sudan’s civil war and the grinding conflict in Ukraine are among the rancorous issues on the agenda of the presidents and prime ministers attending the General Assembly’s high-level week — the UN’s showpiece event.
But UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres insisted this week that the world would be able to “avoid moving to World War Three.”
“What we are witnessing is a multiplication of conflicts and the sense of impunity,” Guterres said at a briefing.
The gathering “could not come in a more critical and more challenging moment,” said Washington’s UN envoy Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
“The list of crises and conflicts that demand attention and action only seem to grow and grow... it’s easy to fall into cynicism.
“But we can’t afford to do that.”
It is unclear what if anything the grand gathering, the World Cup of diplomacy, can achieve for the millions mired in conflict and poverty globally.
With Israel’s leader Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and Iran’s new President Masoud Pezeshkian, due to attend, “Gaza will obviously be the most prominent of these conflicts in terms of what leaders are saying,” said Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group.
He suggested the set piece diplomatic speeches and posturing would “not actually make a great deal of difference to events on the ground.”
The war in Gaza began after Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, which ultimately resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
More than 41,272 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military campaign in Gaza since the war began, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. The UN has acknowledged these figures as reliable.
Fears are high that the conflict could boil over into Lebanon, where a series of deadly explosions apparently targeted Hezbollah’s communications this week. Israel has yet to comment.
The action in New York begins Sunday with a “Summit of the Future,” Guterres’ flagship attempt to get ahead of challenges that will face the world in coming years.

World leaders, expected to include India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will attend to adopt a pact on how to confront the most pressing issues going forward.
Despite intense negotiations and Guterres calling on leaders to show “courage,” the draft text has been panned by observers as badly lacking in ambition.
“One of the risks, and it’s more than a risk, (is) that the Summit of the Future may look like the summit of the past, and in the best-case scenario, the summit of the present,” said another diplomat.”
Guterres insists the summit has value, saying that “international challenges are moving faster than our ability to solve them.”
“We see out of control, geopolitical divisions and runaway conflicts, not least in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan and beyond, runaway climate change, runaway inequalities... and our institutions simply can’t keep up,” he said.
The ICRC’s UN representative Laetitia Courtois said it was vital that conflict was tackled “right now,” not as “an objective for the next generation.”
The summit will be followed by the high-level week at which the UN’s 193 members will address each other, kicking off with Brazil.
That will be followed by the United States, with President Joe Biden due to speak — likely on ceasefire talks in Gaza, among other issues.
The leaders of China and Russia will be absent as in past years, but Britain’s Keir Starmer, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, and Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will be present.
Zelensky was the star attraction in 2023, but one diplomat said he would struggle to stay in the spotlight this year as he presents his “plan for victory.”
Ahead of the gala events, a security ring of steel was being erected around the UN’s riverfront HQ and local people and businesses braced for traffic paralysis caused by the endless VIP motorcades and street closures.
 


Bangladesh prepares to send trained nurses to Saudi Arabia in 2025

Updated 24 November 2024
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Bangladesh prepares to send trained nurses to Saudi Arabia in 2025

  • Authorities are preparing to fulfill a Saudi request for 150 Bangladeshi nurses
  • Migration of skilled Bangladeshi workers has been on the rise this year, government data shows

DHAKA: Bangladesh is preparing to send the first batch of trained nurses to Saudi Arabia by early next year, the country’s state-owned recruiting agency told Arab News on Sunday.

Bangladeshi nationals make up the largest group of expatriates in Saudi Arabia, with nearly 3 million working and residing in the Kingdom. But only a few dozen clinicians are among the group, according to Bangladesh Medical Association data.

In 2022, the two countries signed an agreement on the recruitment of health workers, targeting the large numbers of certified doctors, nurses and medics from Bangladesh’s more than 100 medical colleges.

Bangladeshi authorities are now preparing a batch of over 100 nurses to send to Saudi Arabia, said the Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Ltd., a recruitment agency under the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment.

“We got a request to send 150 nurses to the Kingdom … If everything goes alright, we can expect the first batch to (fly out) to the Kingdom early next year,” BOESL Executive Director Shawkat Ali said.

In Saudi Arabia, nurses must undergo the Saudi Prometric Exam in order to practice in the Kingdom. Though Bangladesh has many nursing school graduates, most do not have the required Prometric certifications, he added.

“Our nurses are very skilled and industrious … We have received huge queries for the nurses. But here they need to have the Prometric certification. If we can prepare them in line with the Saudi requirements, it will open new opportunities for our nurses.”

Only around 2 percent of Bangladeshi workers in the Kingdom are skilled professionals, but the number has been on the rise since the beginning of the year, according to data from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training.

Though most Bangladeshi migrant workers are seeking employment in Saudi Arabia’s giga-projects under its Vision 2030 transformation plan, there has also been a growing demand for health workers from the South Asian nation.

“For our economy, exporting trained nurses to the Kingdom is a big opportunity. We are mostly an import-dependent country, so we need huge amounts of dollars to meet the import bills,” Ali said.

“If we can export a significant number of trained medical staffers, they would be able to send back more remittances.”


Ukraine shows fragments of new Russian missile after ‘Oreshnik’ strike

Updated 24 November 2024
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Ukraine shows fragments of new Russian missile after ‘Oreshnik’ strike

  • Russia on Thursday carried out a strike on the city of Dnipro last week
  • Use of IRBM in response to Ukraine’s firing US ATACMS and UK Storm Shadow missiles
UNDISCLOSED, Ukraine: Ukraine on Sunday showed journalists fragments of the Russian missile used to strike the city of Dnipro last week, after Moscow said it had tested its new Oreshnik ballistic missile.
Russia on Thursday carried out a strike on the city which President Vladimir Putin said was a test of its new Oreshnik hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM).
Ukraine’s SBU security service displayed metal fragments, ranging from bulky to tiny, on fake grass in front of camouflage netting at an undisclosed location Sunday, AFP journalists saw.
The SBU did not name the missile used but said it was a type they had not seen before.
Oleg, one of its investigators, told journalists that “this is the first time the debris of such a missile has been found on the territory of Ukraine.
“This item had not been documented by security investigators before,” he added.
Oleg said that investigators are examining the fragments and will later “provide answers” on the characteristics of the missile.
He said that the missile was ballistic and had caused damage to civilian and “other infrastructure” in Dnipro.
In a televised address Thursday, Putin said Russia used the IRBM in response to Ukraine’s firing US ATACMS and UK Storm Shadow missiles into Russian territory, after the Kyiv allies lifted a ban on it using long-range weaponry to fire into Russia.
Putin said the missile flies at 10 times the speed of sound and cannot be intercepted by air defenses.
The president said it hit a defense industry production facility in Dnipro “which still produces missile equipment and other weapons.”
A Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman was heard answering a phone call about a strike on Yuzhmash during a press briefing. Yuzhmash is the Russian name of an aerospace manufacturer in Dnipro now called Pivdenmash.
Neither Kyiv nor Moscow has confirmed whether this was the target.
Putin has promised more combat testing of the Oreshnik missile and said it will go into serial production.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called the strike “the latest bout of Russian madness” and appealed for updated air-defense systems to meet the new threat.
The head of Ukraine’s military intelligence has said Kyiv knew several prototypes of the missile had been produced before it was fired.

Indonesia’s Prabowo seeks UAE cooperation in industrialization efforts

Updated 24 November 2024
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Indonesia’s Prabowo seeks UAE cooperation in industrialization efforts

  • Indonesia’s new leader also visited Abu Dhabi in May as president-elect
  • Indonesia, UAE signed new agreements covering energy, tech, healthcare

Jakarta: Indonesia’s new leader, President Prabowo Subianto, is seeking closer cooperation with the UAE on Jakarta’s industrialization efforts as he made his first official trip to Abu Dhabi since taking office last month. 

Indonesia’s relations with the UAE grew under former President Joko Widodo, who in 2021 secured a more than $46 billion investment commitment from the Gulf state. The two countries signed a free trade deal a year later, which came into force last September.

The UAE was Prabowo’s last stop in his first foreign trip since becoming Indonesia’s new leader in October. 

“Now that I have earned the trust from my people to lead Indonesia, I want to continue our good relations,” Prabowo told UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan during their first official meeting in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. 

Jakarta’s priorities are focused on defense, food security and energy security, he said, adding that the government also wants to implement a downstream policy that includes domestic processing of raw materials. 

“This means we want to perform a massive industrialization,” Prabowo said. “In this context, we see that the UAE and Indonesia have similar priorities. We can work together across different sectors and we want to invite the UAE to actively participate in our economy.”

The two leaders also presided over the signing of several agreements as part of their meeting, covering areas such as technology, renewable energy, infrastructure and health. 

“They agreed to increase trade between the two countries, specifically by optimizing the utilization of Indonesia-UAE CEPA,” Indonesian foreign ministry spokesperson Roy Soemirat told Arab News on Sunday. 

“President Prabowo welcomed the UAE president’s invitation to strengthen cooperation in infrastructure and collaboration in international forums to resolve global issues, including peaceful conflict resolution.” 

Prabowo’s visit to Abu Dhabi was his second this year, following a trip in May as president-elect. 

He was concluding his first overseas trip as president, which also included stops in China, the US, and the UK. 

 


Trumps names two Arab Americans for his Cabinet

Updated 24 November 2024
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Trumps names two Arab Americans for his Cabinet

  • President-elect Donald Trump nominated Dr. Janette Nesheiwat to be US surgeon general
  • He also nominated Dr. Marty Makary as head of the US Food and Drug Administration

CHICAGO: President-elect Donald Trump has named two Arab Americans to serve in his Cabinet once he is sworn into office in January.

Trump nominated Dr. Janette Nesheiwat to be US surgeon general and Dr. Marty Makary as head of the US Food and Drug Administration.

The appointments were applauded by Dr. Bishara Bahbah, chairman of Arab Americans for Trump, who helped the former president to win nearly half of the Arab American vote in the Nov. 5 election against US Vice President Kamala Harris.

“We are delighted with President Trump’s nomination of the first two Arab Americans to be part of his administration,” Bahbah said in a message to Arab News on Saturday.

“This is a testament to the hard work of Arab Americans for Trump and recognition of President Donald J. Trump of the role Arab Americans played in his election as the 47th president of the United States. AAFT looks forward to additional Arab American appointments in President Trump’s administration, particularly in the political field.”

Dr. Makary is a British American surgeon of Lebanese background. He is a public policy researcher at Johns Hopkins University serving as a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and a professor, by courtesy, at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School.

His current research focuses on the underlying causes of disease, public policy, health care costs, and relationship-based medicine. Dr. Makary previously served in leadership at the World Health Organization patient safety program and has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine.

Clinically, Dr. Makary is the chief of Islet Transplant Surgery at Johns Hopkins. He is the recipient of the Nobility in Science Award from the National Pancreas Foundation and has been a visiting professor at more than 25 medical schools. He has published more than 250 peer-reviewed scientific articles and has served on several editorial boards. He is the author of two New York Times bestselling books, “Unaccountable” and “The Price We Pay.”

Dr. Makary is also an anti-vaxxer who refused vaccination for COVID-19, a view shared by many of President-elect Trump’s conservative and Republican supporters.

Dr. Nesheiwat is a double board-certified medical doctor described on her website as “bringing a refreshingly no-nonsense attitude to the latest medical news, breaking down everything you need to know to keep you — and your family — healthy at all times.” She is also the author of “Beyond the Stethoscope: Miracles in Medicine.”

A graduate of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, UAMS, Dr. Nesheiwat has been “shaped by her faith and her upbringing.”

Born in Carmel, New York, she is the daughter of Christian Jordanian immigrants and one of five children raised by her widowed mother, Hayat Nesheiwat. Her siblings are Julia Nesheiwat, Jaclyn Stapp, Dina Nesheiwat and Daniel Nesheiwat.


Wounded Bangladesh protesters receive robotic helping hand

Updated 24 November 2024
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Wounded Bangladesh protesters receive robotic helping hand

  • Robolife Technologies says the prosthetic limbs use sensors connected to the nerves to move
  • The company says it allows users to grasp objects, to type and use a phone

DHAKA: Squeezing rubber-covered robotic prosthetic hands, Bangladesh protesters wounded during the deadly revolution to topple autocratic leader Sheikh Hasina test out replacement arms for their lost limbs.
“I’ll be able to do some everyday tasks with this artificial hand,” said student Hafeez Mohammad Hossain, 19, whose right hand was ripped off in gunfire on August 5.
It was the same day protesters stormed Hasina’s palace as she fled to India by helicopter.
In the middle of the chaos, Hossain said a police officer levelled a shotgun at him and fired. He described searing pain as gun pellets lacerated his back and leg.
Surgeons picked out the gunshot, but were unable to save his hand.
“I can’t write anymore,” Hossain said. “I’m struggling to learn how to write with my left hand.”
On Thursday he was fitted with a prosthetic limb, alongside four other students who also lost their hands during the months-long protests in which at least 700 people were killed during a police crackdown.
Robolife Technologies, a Bangladeshi organization manufacturing artificial hands, said the prosthetic limbs use sensors connected to the nerves to move.
The company says it allows users to grasp objects, to type and use a phone.
“If you ask me whether they work like organic hands, I’d say no,” said Antu Karim, who is working on the government-backed project to fit the limbs.
“But these hands allow the boys to hold a glass if thirsty, or a spoon to eat,” he added. “At least, they won’t be looked down upon for not having hands.”
Hasina’s 15-year tenure saw widespread human rights abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killings of her political opponents.
Limbless protesters held a rally earlier this month demanding the interim government who took over after Hasina’s fall support those injured in the protests.
Many say they have not received the aid they need.
The four other former protesters who had arms fitted on Thursday included Mohammad Mamun Mia, 32, a father of two, whose hand was hacked off by a gang he said was loyal to Hasina’s Awami League party.
The new arm is far from perfect, but it has made a huge difference.
“I’ll be able to do some regular tasks with this hand,” he said, saying that while he cannot work driving a tractor in the fields again, he hopes now to open a small business.
Arif Hossain Sagar, 19, had his hand amputated after it failed to heal from an injury he sustained during the protests, and doctors worried about gangrene.
“I can’t do any regular activities now,” Sagar said. “I rely on others for eating or bathing.”
The new hand will return a degree of normality to his life, he said.
Nayeem Hasan, wounded when attackers pounced on him as he went to donate blood to help those injured after a fire, broke into tears.
The new arm would help him fulfil his simple dream.
“I have a one-year-old daughter who wants me to hold her,” Hasan said.