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Afrasianet - The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution requiring the US administration to refrain from imposing restrictions on foreign diplomats with the world body operating on US soil.

On Wednesday, the General Assembly unanimously approved the resolution submitted by Cyprus on behalf of Bulgaria, Canada, Costa Rica and Ivory Coast, and calls on the United States, as the host country of the organization's headquarters, to grant visas quickly to representatives of all member states of the organization, so that those who have been chosen to work In the permanent representations of their countries to the United Nations and its General Secretariat, they shall begin to perform their duties as quickly as possible.

The resolution urged the United States to cancel all remaining restrictions on the movements of representatives of "some countries" working in United Nations organizations, expressing the General Assembly's deep concern about Washington's refusal to issue visas to diplomats from some member states.

The resolution emphasized that the United Nations "takes" seriously "US travel restrictions and complaints submitted by two missions that insist that the United States authorities are impeding their work, and called on the Secretary-General of the Organization, Antonio Guterres, to deal actively with all matters relating to relations between the world organization and the host country.

The decision warned that, if these problems are not resolved in the "reasonable and specific" period, then the United Nations will consider the possibility of taking the measures stipulated under Section 21 of the "headquarters agreement", which is related to settling differences between them and the United States by resorting to arbitration. .

The decision did not mention the names of the two missions that filed complaints with the US restrictions, but it is clear that there is talk of Russia and Iran.

Russia has repeatedly protested the United States from preventing visas to 18 of its diplomats during the last session of the General Assembly last September, including members of the Moscow delegations to the meetings of the First and Sixth Committees on disarmament and legal affairs.

As for Iran, its diplomats since last summer are subject to restrictions on their movements in American soil, and they are largely obligated to stay in the area surrounding the United Nations headquarters in New York or the headquarters of their country’s mission or the residence of its ambassador.
 

Afrasianet - The US House of Representatives has voted to impeach President Donald Trump for “abuse of power” and “obstruction of Congress.” The Republican-majority Senate will now take up the president’s trial.

The outcome of Wednesday’s vote came as little surprise, with the Democrat-controlled House voting along party lines in what their GOP opponents perceive as a partisan attack on a sitting US leader.

Trump thus becomes the third-ever US president to be impeached by the House, after Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998. Both were acquitted in the Senate, and remained in office till the end of their terms. This is shaping up to be the scenario for Trump as well, as the Senate is under Republican control. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) has already said that he intends to simply hold a vote to dismiss the charges, rather than dignify them with a debate.

Ahead of the vote, Trump tweeted a quote from Mark Meadows (R-NC), who said that “this is all about convicting a president based on innuendo, not on the facts. Even the Ukrainian president said there was no pressure!” He then proceeded to fly to Michigan, where he addressed a campaign rally as the vote in the House got underway.

On Tuesday, the president sent a scorching six-page letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, saying the vote was “invalid,” and that the Democrats were “violating your oaths of office,”“breaking your allegiance to the Constitution,” and “declaring open war on American democracy.”

 

Afrasianet - Gunmen fatally shot the mayor of Libya’s third-largest city, Misrata, late on Sunday, ambushing his car inside the city, security officials said.

The North African oil producer has been in chaos since the 2011 uprising that unseated Muammar Gaddafi, but Misrata, Libya’s biggest port, had been relative peaceful until now.

Gunmen chased the car of Mayor Mohamed Eshtewi after he left Misrata airport following his arrival on a plane from Turkey, a security official said, adding it was unclear who was behind it.

In October, a bomb exploded at the city’s court, killing about four people and wounding 40 others in an attack claimed by ISIS.

Misrata, almost 200 km east of Tripoli, is the gateway for food and other imports into Libya and the country’s only tax-free zone. It is one of the few places still frequented by foreign business people fearing poor security elsewhere.

Afrasianet - A rocket was launched from the northern Gaza Strip early Sunday morning, according to the Israeli Defense Force (IDF).

The rocket “exploded mid-air,” according to the IDF announcement posted on Twitter.

No one was injured in the alleged attack, the Israeli military said, without immediately providing any further details.

The alleged projectile was reportedly headed to the Ahskelon coastal region in southern Israel, the Times of Israel reported.

No rocket alert signal was activated as the explosion happened “relatively early” in its flight, Israeli media reported citing officials.

The incident comes amid escalating tensions in the region, with Israel beefing up its military presence in the West Bank.

At least three Israelis were killed and one other injured in a stabbing attack by a 20-year-old Palestinian in the West Bank settlement of Halamish Friday night.

Israel upped its security alert level and dispatched thousands of additional troops to the area following the deadly knife assault, local media reported citing an IDF official.

Late Friday, the president of the Palestinian Authority (PA), Mahmoud Abbas, announced that the PA was freezing all contacts with Israel over the Jerusalem holy site dispute and the violence over the past days.

Clashes have been raging for several days following Tel Aviv’s decision to install metal detectors at the Temple Mount (referred to by Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif ) in the Old City in Jerusalem. The site is sacred to both Jews and Muslims, with Abbas having called for the removal of unilaterally installed barriers for people to be able to “pray with dignity.”