UN Secretary General António Guterres Banned from Israel Over Response to Iran’s Missile Strikes
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has been barred from entering Israel following his response to Iran’s recent ballistic missile attacks. Israel's Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, labeled Guterres as an "anti Israel secretary general who lends support to terrorists."
After Iran launched approximately 180 missiles into Israel, Guterres took to the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), condemning the escalating Middle East conflict and calling for an immediate ceasefire. However, his statement did not directly address Iran’s missile strike on Israel, prompting backlash from Israeli officials.
In a statement, Foreign Minister Katz declared Guterres persona non grata, stating that anyone who fails to "unequivocally condemn Iran's heinous attack on Israel" should not be allowed to enter the country. He further criticized the UN chief for what he described as an anti-Israel stance since the conflict began.
Tuesday’s missile attack by Iran is part of a broader escalation that started nearly a year ago with Hamas attacks on Israel. The conflict has recently intensified, involving increased clashes between Hezbollah, backed by Iran, and Israeli forces. Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led assault on southern Israel on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of around 1,200 people and the taking of 251 hostages.
The ongoing war has caused tensions between Israel and the United Nations, particularly regarding the situation in Gaza and the West Bank. The UN’s role, particularly through its agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), has been another source of friction. Earlier this year, Israel accused several UNRWA staff members of involvement in the October 7 attacks, leading to investigations and the dismissal of nine staff members in August.
Throughout the conflict, UNRWA has also criticized Israel for airstrikes in Gaza that have resulted in the deaths of its staff.
Adv. M. Bansal is an Advocate and a Jadetimes News Reporter covering legal news
Image Source : (Express File)
The Japanese National Diet today passed a new version of a divorce law that for the first time provides joint custody of children after divorce, further enhancing the country's family law system. This legislative reform has been the prime need of parents' rights movements that were fighting hard for the proper sharing of parenting responsibilities between both parents after separation.
It was one of the few developed countries which did not allow joint custody. It normally was conferred on one parent, most often the mother, alone. Consequently, it posed a hard challenge to non-custodial parents, mostly fathers who quite often were unable to take proper care of children. The new law now allows both divorced parents to share custodial rights as well as make joint decisions in areas including education, healthcare, and upbringing.
A Step Towards Child Rights
This legislation moves Japan closer to complying with the world's view on the issue of child rights. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child ensures that these children have the right to their personal lives with each parent, regardless of marriage. Many countries of Europe, North American states, and large portions of Asia have ventured into more advanced and progressive custody arrangements as it respects children's need to develop emotionally and psychologically within the aftermath of divorce.
Advocates for child rights in Japan welcome the law as the first stride toward it. It respects the value of both parents to a child and is a precedence for future reforms in the family law, said the top child rights activist Takashi Yamada. It is quite important that children continue to be attached to both their parents after their divorce for the soundness of their emotional well-being.
Child Rights around the World: Custody Laws
The trend in custody cases worldwide is towards the joint arrangements. In most of the Western world, joint custody is automatically established with legislative structures that support the need of cooperating parents after separation. This is brought about by research evidence that children function better emotionally and psychologically when they retain close relationships with both parents.
Still, however, the problems continue to exist worldwide. Many countries still hold a more traditional ideology; in numerous countries, the legal system is configured to award sole custody not necessarily for the best interest of the child but based on one parent's desires over the other. Mothers are awarded custody automatically in many courts, and fathers have to work twice as hard to prove themselves as fit.
The landscape is slowly changing, with many nations reviewing their custody laws in light of new information from child welfare research and advocacy. Examples abound where Sweden and Canada agreed to more comprehensive policies based on the understanding that it is beneficial for children to have both parents involved.
Japan is at the crossroads in changing its approach to family law through the joint custody law. The success of the reform will depend on the effectiveness of its implementation and the willingness of the parents to embrace cooperative parenting after divorce.
It not only makes the rights of children inside Japan better but also contributes in creating a global debate on child rights while indicating an increasing realization that children's welfare must be at the heart of family law reform.
N. Chakrapani is a Jadetimes news reporter covering science and geopolitics.
Image Source : REUTERS/Jason Lee Reuters Images
The global geopolitics landscape is in a process of drastic change, where new alliances and economic powerhouses are being redefined with military developments changing the power balance. These changes shape everything from global trade dynamics to security dynamics.
1. Rise of China
China has risen as a global superpower and tested the world order led by the United States. As the world's second-largest economy and the largest trading partner for over 120 countries, China has strategically used its BRI to build influence throughout Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The trillion-dollar infrastructure plan known as the BRI allows China to exercise soft power by using hard-won economic dependencies; it underscored its intent when it solidified its rapidly expanded military presence in the South China Sea. The World Bank suggests, China's economy is set to grow at roughly 5.2% by 2024 that would then position China over the United States as the world's largest economy by 2030(World Economic Forum).
2. America's Response
Although China has emerged in the recent past, the United States are still the strong leader when it comes to military and technological advance. The budget of the U.S. military for 2023 was a mind-boggling $842 billion, which is the largest military budget any country in the world has ever had. However, the United States still has its weak areas in terms of further consolidation in global influence. The country remains focused more and more on internal issues with this state of recovery of the COVID pandemic and forces America to question whether it could handle truly global issues, such as climate change or tensions in the Middle East(World Economic Forum)(TrendHunter).
Washington increasingly relies on alliances like NATO and the Quad that includes India, Australia, Japan, and the U.S. as a balance to the influence of China; Washington is pivoting towards containing China's assertiveness to its territorial claims in the South China Sea and its actions related to Taiwan (World Economic Forum).
3. Putin's Geopolitics Game
Traditionally a major actor in international power politics, Russia has dramatically been isolated since the invasion of Ukraine 2022. Despite severe economic sanctions by the West, Russia has continued to exercise huge influence through control over its energy resources, especially with Europe, and closer relations with non-Western countries, particularly China and Iran. The war in Ukraine continues to reshape the European security policy: NATO expansion into Sweden and Finland, increasing military spending among European nations to counter Russian aggression. World Economic Forum TrendHunter.com.
Russia is certainly not a world power in the same way as the United States or, even farther back, Britain, but its capability to disrupt and interfere with regional politics is still significant, especially around energy markets and cybersecurity. Moscow's engagement with China in an aligned relationship against Western hegemony is the most key axis of geopolitical power.
4. New Frontiers: India and BRICS
Its expanding economy, with growth of 7.2% in 2023, puts India at the top of the list of the fastest-growing major economies. At the same time, India's importance within the BRICS alliance (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) illuminates the de facto shift of centres of global power toward the Global South. In 2023, BRICS added Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, and Saudi Arabia, its membership significantly strengthening the group's influence on global trade and politics(TrendHunter.com)
India will increasingly walk a tightrope between the US and Russia, but will still be independent in foreign policy. Its growing population and market size place it at the centre of any future shift in the new world order, especially in Asia's rise to prominence.
5. European Integration and Schizophrenia
The internal conflict with a stay-long aftereffect of Brexit on the European Union and political fragmentation in the instance of France and Italy. However, the EU is still an important economic and political block, and this green energy initiative with their framework for digital regulation may become world standards. The Europe response to Russia's war in Ukraine has surprised expectations, whereby countries have increased defense spending and promise to move towards renewable energy independence, which will free them from Russian oil and gas consumption (World Economic Forum).
The global shifts in power taking place today comprise economic realignments, emerging alliances, and increased competition between established powers like the United States and China. As states begin adapting to this new world, their strategies will define the national, international, global, and regional implications of trade, security, and diplomatic relations that will develop an
