Maria Angela Holguin, the Personal Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Cyprus, noted that the level of accumulated disappointment following various negotiation attempts is “highly understandable.” She stated that after assuming her role appointed by the Secretary-General, she laid out the cards for the parties following her visits to Cyprus, Türkiye, and Greece. Highlighting that the level of accumulated disappointment after various negotiation attempts is “highly understandable,” Holguin pointed out that rebuilding trust, a fundamental condition for building a future, is “seriously lacking” and emphasized the importance of rebuilding trust. Holguin stated in a written statement released by the…
Author: CYPRUS EYE
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The party of jailed former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday claimed it won 177 seats of the lower house of parliament in the Feb. 8 general elections, accusing the election commission of tampering with the results. Over 100 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed independent candidates gathered in Islamabad and accused officers of the election body of “snatching” public mandate by turning their win into a defeat. They were led by lawyer Salman Akram Raja, who also contested the elections but lost. “I won the National Assembly seat of NA-128 from Lahore with a lead of over 100,000 votes, but the…
Without elaborating, Japan on Friday briefly responded to an olive branch gesture by North Korea. Tokyo is “paying attention,” said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, referring to the statement by Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. In a rare move, Kim said Thursday that the two countries can open up “a new future together. Hayashi did not elaborate, citing a “possible negative impact on negotiations about the past abductions of Japanese nationals by Pyongyang,” Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported. Kim earlier said Pyongyang would be open to improving ties with Tokyo, even hinting at a possible future…
The West’s pro-Israel stance during its ongoing war on Gaza has undergone a visible shift in recent weeks, with leaders pushing more for a cease-fire, addressing the humanitarian crisis and raising concerns over a potential ground assault in Rafah. The change in position, which brings them closer to what other countries like Türkiye have been saying, comes as civilian casualties continue to mount in Gaza, where Israel’s relentless bombing has killed nearly 29,000 Palestinians, an overwhelming majority of them women and children. The war has displaced 85% of Gaza’s population and led to severe shortages of food, clean water and…
Two years since the Russia-Ukraine war started, the human cost is insurmountable, with no end in sight, and millions of Ukrainians are struggling under increasing debt, the International Red Cross said Friday. After two years of fighting, it is “unbelievable” that it has not stopped, and many people still need a roof over their heads, Birgitte Bischoff Ebbesen, the regional director of Europe at the International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), told a UN press conference. “While people are not amassed on the borders of Ukraine as they were two years ago, their urgent needs are growing…
Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has died at the Arctic prison colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence, Russia’s federal penitentiary service says in a statement. Kremlin says President Vladimir Putin has been informed of Navalny’s death. AL JAZEERA
On a visit to the city of Surakarta, also known as Solo, it might appear that Indonesian President Joko Widodo has many friends. Almost everyone in Solo, it seems, has met the president, popularly known as Jokowi. It was here that Jokowi embarked on his career in politics, becoming the city’s mayor in 2005 and staying in the job for seven years before becoming governor of Jakarta and, eventually, in 2014, president of Indonesia. Many Solo residents describe the president as a “personal friend” and are quick to show pictures of the times he visited their homes or neighbourhoods. Jokowi’s…
Bangkok’s Chinatown, lit up by red-lanterns and decorative banners to celebrate the Lunar New Year holidays, is bustling. As the region welcomed the Year of the Dragon last weekend, ethnic Chinese Thais thronged temples to light candles and pray for good fortune. Inside the glowing red interior of Wat Mangkon Kamalawat – the largest Chinese temple in Bangkok – women wore traditional cheongsam dresses and took photos with their loved ones. Outside, in the hustle and bustle of Yaowarat Road, lion dancers performed as visitors – Thais and legions of tourists – crowded the street, sampling the food and shopping…
The United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan and Brazil, former and future hosts of UN climate summits, are joining forces to push for an international agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). On Tuesday, the UAE’s Conference of the Parties (COP28) presidency said that it would form a “troika” to focus on ensuring that more ambitious CO2-cutting pledges are made ahead of a deadline at the COP30 summit to be held in 2025 in Belem, Brazil. Azerbaijan will host this year’s United Nations climate event in November. “We cannot afford to lose momentum, we must do everything…
Venezuela has ordered the local office of the United Nations human rights body to suspend operations and given its staff 72 hours to leave, accusing it of promoting opposition to the South American country. Foreign Affairs Minister Yvan Gil announced the decision at a news conference in the capital Caracas on Thursday. He said the office – the local technical advisory office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights – had been used by the international community “to maintain a discourse” against Venezuela. The move came two days after the UN agency expressed “deep concern” over the detention of…