World

Myanmar condemns UN move to deny envoy a seat

Myanmar’s junta on Thursday slammed a UN decision to deny its chosen representative a seat at the world body and keep in place an envoy appointed by Aung San Suu Kyi’s ousted government.

The committee responsible for approving nominations of ambassadors to the New York body met Wednesday but deferred a decision over the rival claims to Myanmar and Afghanistan's seats, diplomats said.

The deferral keeps in place envoys appointed to the body by both governments before they were toppled — by a coup in Myanmar in February and the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan in August.

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‟This decision does not reflect the reality on the ground and existence of our country,” Myanmar junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told AFP.

‟We will continue submitting (to the UN) as usual according to diplomatic procedure and the right to representation in accordance with international and local laws,” he added.

The deferral leaves Kyaw Moe Tun, appointed by Suu Kyi's government, in place as Myanmar’s envoy.

He made headlines shortly after the putsch by flashing the three-finger salute of democracy protesters from his UN chair, brazenly defying the junta's insistence that he no longer represents the country.

In August US prosecutors said they had charged two Myanmar citizens in a plot to attack him.

The junta has denied any involvement and chosen former soldier Aung Thurein as its envoy to the body.

The Taliban in September asked the UN to accept its former Doha-based spokesperson Suhail Shaheen to succeed Ghulam Isaczai, a cabinet member of ousted President Ashraf Ghani.

Isaczai continues to occupy Afghanistan's offices at the UN headquarters and even participated in a recent Security Council meeting in which he openly criticized the Taliban.

There was "consensus" within the credentials committee to delay the decision, two diplomats told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"China, Russia and the United States were in the same position," one of them said.

The nine-member committee is due to submit its report next week to the General Assembly, which will be left to decide via a possible vote if its 200 members fail to reach a consensus, diplomats said.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy government, sparking huge democracy protests which have triggered a bloody crackdown from the junta.

NLD lawmakers make up the majority of a shadow "National Unity Government" which is working to overturn the military regime, which the junta has branded "terrorists".

Suu Kyi has been detained since the coup, and faces a catalogue of charges that could see her jailed for decades.

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World

Israel has not met requirements to join Visa Waiver Program: US

Israel has not met eligibility requirements to join the US Visa Waiver Program (VWP), the US State Department said on Wednesday, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he expected his country to join soon.

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Israel is yet to grant free passage for Palestinian-Americans at its airports and into the occupied West Bank, which Washington says is required for Israel to meet the condition of reciprocity to join the program, which would allow Israelis visa-free access to the United States.

Israel “still has significant work to complete on a short timeline to meet all program requirements” by the end of the fiscal year on September 30, deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said by email.

The apparent discord came as tensions spiked between the allies over a contested Israeli judicial overhaul plan.

Netanyahu said earlier on Wednesday that new legislation meant Israel would join in September, and that Israel would in the coming months address outstanding requirements, which it did not detail.
It was unclear if Israel planned to change its approach to Palestinian-Americans.

“Participation in the VWP requires that Israel provide equal treatment and entry rights to all US citizens and nationals, at Israel’s ports of entries and checkpoints, just as the United States would grant such visa-free travel privileges to Israeli citizens,” said the State Department's Patel.

“This includes Palestinian-Americans, including those on the Palestinian Authority population registry.”

Before Netanyahu's announcement, his national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, said on Twitter that parliament was due to ratify the last of four bills “that will advance us toward getting the US visa waiver for the citizens of Israel.”

That appeared to refer to the Knesset plenum’s approval in final readings on Wednesday of a law setting up a new national immigration database linked with airline passenger manifests.

Washington had previously called for greater access to databases in Israel about its travelers to the United States.

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World

Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan appointed as UAE VP

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has appointed Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan as the country’s vice president and Minister of Presidential Court, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported on Wednesday.

Sheikh Mansour was appointed alongside current VP Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is also the Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, according to WAM.

World

Top US general warns of high ammo use in event of major war

America’s top military officer warned Wednesday that war between the United States and another major power would see “off the charts” munitions consumption and said there is work to be done to ensure the country is prepared.

Ukraine and Russia have fired huge amounts of artillery ammunition since Moscow invaded its neighbor in February 2022, sparking concerns about the amount the United States — which has supplied large amounts of shells to Kyiv — has on hand.

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A “big lesson learned comes out of Ukraine, which is the incredible consumption rates of conventional munitions in what really is a limited regional war,” General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the House Armed Services Committee.

“If there was a war on the Korean peninsula or a great power war between United States and Russia, United States and China, those consumption rates would be off the charts,” he said.

“We’ve got a ways to go to make sure our… stockpiles are prepared for the real contingencies.”

Milley’s remarks came a day after Undersecretary of the Army Gabe Camarillo said the United States aims to greatly expand the production of artillery shells.

“We’re… investing in production capacity — $1.45 billion to expand the 155 mm artillery production from 14,000 a month to over 24,000 later this year, which includes a sixfold increase in production capacity by FY28 to over 85,000 units per month,” he said at an Association of the United States Army symposium.

The country is also seeking to increase production of Javelin launchers and missiles as well as ammunition for HIMARS precision rocket launchers — equipment that has played a key role in Ukraine’s fight against Russian troops, Camarillo said.