Iran activated its air defense system this Friday and suspended flights after explosions in the city of Isfahan. American media, citing official sources from the Joe Biden Administration and the Israeli Government, have attributed the alert to an attack by Israel. Over the weekend, Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles in an attack in retaliation for a bombing of its embassy in Syria. This Friday's explosions occurred hours after the US veto on Thursday thwarted a vast diplomatic offensive at the UN to grant Palestine full member status. Despite the clear majority of support among the 15 members of the Security Council, the vote against the United States was enough to derail the Palestinian request. As the number two in the US mission to the United Nations, Robert Wood, had announced, Washington does not think it pertinent to grant membership without a prior agreement between the Palestinians and Israelis. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz welcomed the US decision. “This shameful proposal has been rejected. Terrorism will not be rewarded,” Katz said. For its part, the Palestinian Presidency has stated that the veto is “unfair, unethical and unjustified.” A few hours before the vote, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain, José Manuel Albares, spoke in favor of Palestine's membership. During his intervention in the Security Council, Albares stated that “the best way to ensure the two-state solution is to accept Palestine as a member.” The Secretary General of the UN, António Guterres, has agreed with Albares that the final objective “continues to be a two-state solution.”
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EFE
Iranian nuclear facilities are safe, according to the country's media
Iranian nuclear facilities are "completely safe", the country's media reported this Friday, citing "reliable sources", following reports that strong explosions have been heard in central Iran.
"The nuclear facilities in the province of Isfahan are completely safe," indicated the Tasnim agency, linked to the Revolutionary Guard, the body in charge of the security of the country's atomic centers.
ACT.19 APR 2024 - 05:37
EFE
Iran activates air defenses in several provinces against possible Israeli attacks
Iran activated its air defenses in "several provinces" this Friday after "loud explosions" were heard in the center of the country, the state agency IRNA reported.
ACT.19 APR 2024 - 05:02
Reuters
An attack attributed to Israel hits the Iranian city of Isfahan, according to ABC News, CBS and NPR
An attack attributed to Israel has reached Iranian territory early this Friday, as reported by the American media ABC News, CBS and NPR, citing official sources from the Joe Biden Administration. Over the weekend, Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles in an attack in retaliation for a bombing of its embassy in Syria. Most of the drones and missiles were shot down before reaching Israeli territory.
The Iranian Fars news agency states that explosions were heard in the city center and at the airport in Isfahan, which is 406 kilometers south of Tehran, the country's capital, but that the source is still unknown. The same agency also assures that flights have been suspended in some cities, including Isfahan.
ACT.19 APR 2024 - 05:03
Reuters
More than 100 pro-Palestinian protesters arrested on the campus of Columbia University in New York
More than 100 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested this Wednesday on the campus of Columbia University, in New York, after the rector, Nemat Minouche Shafik, authorized the city police to evict a camp set up by students against the Israel's actions in Gaza.
Shafik, who a day earlier received criticism from Republicans at the hearing on campus anti-Semitism in the House of Representatives, said he had authorized the police intervention. The congressional committee accused Shafik of failing to protect Jewish students on campus, echoing accusations made against three other elite university leaders in a hearing last year that had repercussions on higher education in the United States.
Shakik claimed that the protesters violated the university's policy against holding unauthorized protests and were unwilling to engage in dialogue with the Columbia administration. Eric Adams, mayor of New York, announced that the Police made more than 108 arrests without violence or harm to the detainees.
ACT.19 APR 2024 - 03:38
EFE
The United States has vetoed more than 40 UN resolutions in support of Israel since 1948.
The United States has vetoed resolutions of the United Nations (UN) Security Council on more than 40 occasions to support its ally, Israel, since the creation of the Jewish state and its entry as a member of the organization in 1948.
In fact, the so-called 'Palestinian question' has led to the majority of US vetoes at the UN, and especially since 2000: in the 25 years since then, the United States has vetoed 17 Council resolutions, of which 15 have been relating to the Palestinian conflict.
There are five countries with the right of veto, which are the permanent members of the Security Council - the US, China, Russia, France and the United Kingdom -; Of them, Russia (or its predecessor, the Soviet Union) has been the one that has exercised the veto the most, 128 times, compared to 85 times for the United States.
Unlike the Russian or Soviet vetoes, which refer to diverse topics such as Ukraine, Syria, North Korea, the former Yugoslavia or Venezuela, the United States vetoes in recent years have almost a single topic, which is the defense of outrage of its partner, Israel.
This has become more starkly evident since the outbreak of the Gaza war on October 7: since then, the United States has vetoed three resolutions (October 18, December 8 and February 20) to call for "a halt to the immediate fire", to which we must add this Thursday's veto. The veto power in the Security Council is increasingly questioned internationally, but any change in the functioning of the UN requires a vote in the Council, and therefore faces the possibility of the veto, a privilege that the five countries permanent members do not want to lose.
ACT.19 APR 2024 - 03:06
The country
Israel celebrates the US veto of Palestine's incorporation into the UN
The Israeli Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, has celebrated that the United States has vetoed the incorporation of Palestine into the organization in the UN Security Council. “This shameful proposal has been rejected. Terrorism will not be rewarded,” Katz said.
Shortly before, members of the UN Security Council voted for full membership of Palestine. Despite the clear majority of support among the 15 members of the Council – 12 voted in favor and two, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, abstained – the US vote against was enough to derail the Palestinian request. (Reuters)
ACT.18 APR 2024 - 23:57
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