Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) – North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said he saw no reason to stick to his commitment to suspend long-range nuclear and missile tests and that soon Pyongyang will showcase a “new strategic weapon”.

State media reported yesterday that Kim also argued that talks with the United States are stalled because of Washington’s political interests.  Despite the latest threats, U.S. President Donald J. Trump believes that the North Korean leader will respect the denuclearization agreements.  While Trump has remained silent, United Nations (UN) secretary-general Antonio Guterres says he is “deeply concerned” by Kim’s statements.

The latter, however, seems to leave room for negotiations, since during the last meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party it argued that how much the North will strengthen its “nuclear deterrent” will depend on the future attitude of the United States.  The leader explained that suspending tests on nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) was part of his efforts to build confidence with Washington, which however responded with joint military exercises with South Korea and other sanctions against Pyongyang.

According to Kim, “the real intent of the US is to pursue its political and diplomatic interests while wasting time under the banner of dialogue and negotiations;  at the same time, keep sanctions ”to weaken North Korea.  The dictator also accused the United States of taking a “brigand attitude” in the negotiations, through demands that damage “the fundamental interests of our state”.  Although the lifting of sanctions is necessary for economic development, the North “will never be able to sell its dignity,” said Kim.

The North Korean leader Kim concluded that “there will never be denuclearization on the Korean peninsula” and that the North will continue to develop strategic weapons “until the United States resumes its hostile policy towards North Korea and a mechanism is built.  for the maintenance of lasting peace “.

Source: http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Kim-breaks-agreements-with-the-US-and-announces-a-%27new-strategic-weapon%27-48927.html

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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with Antonio Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General in New York, on Monday, during which he briefed him on the latest developments in the Palestinian issue, including the recent Israeli escalations in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The post Abbas, Guterres discuss recent Israeli escalations first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The General Assembly on Sunday approved the regular budget of USD 5.397 billion for 2018-2019, the UN said in a statement on Tuesday.

The amount sets the budget level around USD 286 million (or five per cent) below the final approved level for 2016- 2017, and USD 193 million below the initially proposed budget level for 2018-2019, including all “add-ons”.

The additional reductions come mainly from across-the- board cuts in non-post resources for most Departments and Offices, including the Special Political Missions, the UN said in a statement.

Taking credit for the budget cut, America’s Indian-origin Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said that she negotiated a reduction of over USD 285 million off the 2016-2017 final budget.

“In addition to these significant cost savings, we reduced the UN’s bloated management and support functions, bolstered support for key US priorities throughout the world, and instilled more discipline and accountability throughout the UN system,” she said in a statement.

“The inefficiency and overspending of the United Nations are well known. We will no longer let the generosity of the American people be taken advantage of or remain unchecked.

“This historic reduction in spending, in addition to many other moves toward a more efficient and accountable UN, is a big step in the right direction,” Haley said.

She said that while “we are pleased with the results of this year’s budget negotiations, you can be sure we will continue to look at ways to increase the UN’s efficiency while protecting our interests”.

According to the UN statement, the General Assembly approved resources in the amount of USD 88 million for the establishment and maintenance of the United Nations Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH) for the period from October 16, 2017 to June 30, 2018.

It approved resources in the amount of USD 911 million for the maintenance of the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) for the period from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018.

This brings the total overall approved resources for peacekeeping operations for the 2017/18 period to USD 7.316 billion, which compares to approved resources for the 2016/17 period of USD 7.909 billion, a reduction of USD 593 million or 7.5 per cent.

The General Assembly granted a one-year commitment authority for the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, it said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the General Assembly’s support to his management reform proposal aimed at enhancing delivery of all mandates and the performance of the Secretariat.

The General Assembly also provided guidance on the comprehensive proposals, including on the restructuring of the Departments of Field Support and of Management to be submitted by mid-2018.

In particular, the General Assembly endorsed the proposal to move from a biennial planning and budgeting period to annual programme budget on a trial basis, as of 2020.

This signals one of the most significant shifts in the programme planning and budgeting process of the Organisation since the 1970s, the UN said.

The General Assembly also requested the Secretary-General to undertake an assessment of the mechanisms and levels of discretionary managerial authorities that may be required in order to address unanticipated programmatic needs and to report in the 73rd Session, the UN statement added. — PTI.

Source: http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/world/united-nations-cuts-budget-by-usd-286-mn-us-claims-credit/519630.html

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In an interview with French daily Le Monde, which was published on Friday, Hariri said Israel “knows very well there are no missile factories in Lebanon.”

During a meeting with United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres in Jerusalem al-Quds earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had claimed that Iran was “building sites to produce precision-guided missiles… in both Syria and in Lebanon.”

Israel’s minister of military affairs, Avigdor Lieberman, also echoed Netanyahu’s accusations against the Islamic Republic in a meeting with the UN chief, saying Iran was “working to set up factories to manufacture accurate weapons within Lebanon itself.”

Later, Israeli media claimed that Hariri had raised “objections” and was acting to stop the alleged factory construction.

In the Le Monde interview, however, the Lebanese prime minister rejected the allegation altogether.

“The Israelis are used to conducting campaigns of deception,” he said.

As another case in point, Hariri referred to and dismissed Israeli claims about the Hezbollah resistance movement.

“They (the Israelis) say Hezbollah controls Lebanon, and that is not true. Hezbollah is present. It’s in the government and it has support in the country. But this doesn’t mean Hezbollah controls all of Lebanon,” he said.

Last month, in a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia, Netanyahu accused Iran of trying “to establish a foothold in Syria.”

According to a Russia Today report back then, Netanyahu was told that Moscow, “which views Iran as key to resolving the [Syrian] crisis,” would “note Israeli interests,” in what likely amounts to a diplomatic dismissal of the Israeli claims.

Russia and Iran have been in close coordination to assist the Syrian government’s anti-terror fight.

Source: http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2017/09/02/533740/Lebanon-Hariri-Israel-claims-Iran-missile-factories

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“Iran is busy turning Syria into a base of military entrenchment,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a news conference with Mr. Guterres on Monday, “and it wants to use Syria and Lebanon as war fronts against its declared goal to eradicate Israel.”

Mr. Netanyahu asserted that Iran “is building sites to produce precision-guided missiles toward that end in both Syria and in Lebanon.”

He added: “This is something Israel cannot accept. This is something the U.N. should not accept.”

Israel’s defense minister, Avidgor Lieberman, also spoke in his meeting with Mr. Guterres about Israel’s concerns about factories for precision weapons and what he called Iran’s repeated attempts to smuggle arms into Lebanon.

The assertions are not new, but Israel now appears to want to put them on the international agenda.

Israel’s chief of military intelligence, Maj. Gen. Herzl Halevi, told an audience at a policy conference in Herzliya, Israel, in June that Iran had been working over the past year to set up independent production facilities in Lebanon to manufacture precise weapons, which use advanced technology to guide them to specific targets.

The beneficiary, he said, would be Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite organization, with which Israel fought an inconclusive, monthlong war in 2006. Adding that Iran was setting up similar facilities in Yemen, General Halevi warned, “We cannot remain indifferent to this and we don’t.”

Israeli leaders also pressed Mr. Guterres to prod the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, into fulfilling its mandate to prevent Hezbollah’s weapons buildup.

“I will do everything in my capacity to make sure that UNIFIL fully meets its mandate,” said Mr. Guterres, visiting Israel and the Palestinian territories for the first time since taking up the top United Nations post in January. He added that “the idea or the intention or the will to destroy the state of Israel is something totally unacceptable from my perspective.”

Israel has carried out several airstrikes in Syria in recent years against convoys or stores of advanced weapons said to be destined for Hezbollah in Lebanon. Acting under the cover of the Syrian civil war, the Israeli strikes have prompted little retaliation from Hezbollah, which is fighting in Syria to prop up the government of President Bashar al-Assad, an Iranian ally.

Through Hezbollah and other proxies, Iran has been extending its influence and its reach in the region and, according to Israeli officials, is working to provide Hezbollah with more precise weapons to hit valuable targets in its next war against Israel.

But while Israel has acted with relative impunity in the chaotic environment of Syria, any pre-emptive strike on Lebanese soil could spiral into a broader conflict over Israel’s northern border.

Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported this week that in the face of the Israeli warnings, Prime Minister Saad Hariri of Lebanon has been working to stop Iran’s construction of the missile factory in his country.

More generally, Israel has been voicing concern that arrangements for cease-fires and de-escalation zones in southern Syria will help Iran and its loyalists consolidate their presence across Israel’s frontiers.

Last week Mr. Netanyahu traveled to Sochi, Russia, on the Black Sea to confer with President Vladimir Putin. “The victory over ISIS is welcome,” Mr. Netanyahu told Mr. Putin, referring to the Islamic State, which has been battling Mr. Assad’s forces. “Iran’s entry is unwelcome, endangering us, and in my opinion, endangering the region and the world,” Mr. Netanyahu said, according to his office.

Israeli officials have also raised these concerns with American officials.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/29/world/middleeast/iran-missiles-lebanon-israel-.html

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Very little has been said in several months about this issue, since Israel’s UN envoy Danny Danon suggested last April that US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley is likely to support Israel’s becoming one of the five members to join the Security Council in 2019.

Haley has spoken of the need to alter the UN’s treatment of Israel, and Dannon stressed that “it is clear that we will get the support of the US, and I think that we can even expect active support for this important bid.”

But that was more than three months ago, with zero updates on the issue from anyone in Israel or the US State Dept. So why the sudden crisis mode over in Ramallah?

WAFA quoted Majdalani as saying there are efforts now to allow Israel to fill one of the vacant seats of the Security Council’s non-permanent member states, but if it does happen, “it will be a political farce and scandal,” particularly since Israel had not honored any of the Security Council resolutions, nor the UN charter and principles.

“Sanctions should be imposed on Israel and it should be prosecuted for its crimes, not chosen as member of the Security Council,” Majdalani said.

The sudden wake-up call may have to do with the coming visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority later this month by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, his first visit since taking his new job. Ambassador Danon said the visit would allow Guterres to “build a relationship” with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and also meet Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman.

“It’s a great opportunity for the Secretary General to experience Israel, to meet the leaders of Israel and to understand the challenges that Israel faces day-in and day-out,” Danon told AFP.

The PA Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour told Ma’an on Saturday that the Palestinian leadership is engaged in a detailed plan of action seeking to thwart Israeli efforts to obtain membership in the Security Council. To that end, Mansour said that Guterres’ visit to Ramallah, with President Mahmoud Abbas and the PLO gang, would be a long one, starting early in the morning and ending at 6 PM.

So they’ll have lots of time to explain why Israel, which has never been honored with a UN Security Council Membership but has been cited by the same body more than any country on the planet, should not get this upgrade.

Source: https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/92786/pa-hysterical-possibility-israeli-seat-un-security-council/

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