Un secretary general antonio guterres

By Prisca Chaoui GENEVA: Two years have passed since the introduction of the illegal pay cuts imposed on staff in the Professional Category — and above — working for the United Nations (UN) in Geneva, following a cost-of-living survey conducted by the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) in 2016. For this second anniversary, the UN Dispute Tribunal (UNDT), whose jurisdiction covers staff working in the UN secretariat, issued its judgment declaring the cuts legal. This was contrary to the Administrative Tribunal of the International Labor Organization (Iloat) judgment of 2019 that led to the restoration of the salaries that were prevailing before the introduction of the cuts for staff working in the agencies, namely World Intellectual Property Organization, International Labor Organization, World Health Organization, International Telecommunication Union and International Organization for Migration. This means that for a work of equal value, staff working for the ... » Learn More about UN chief remains focused on reelection while Geneva staff feel abandoned

AND THEN THERE ARE 28 Philippine military officials say only 28 of the more than 200 Chinese fishing vessels—here seen up close in a satellite image—remained anchored at Julian Felipe Reef, which China calls Whitsun Reef, as of Sunday. —REUTERS MANILA, Philippines — Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and his US counterpart Lloyd Austin III discussed on Sunday the fleet of Chinese ships still anchored at Julian Felipe Reef in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone since early March when they were first spotted there. The two officials made their phone call ahead of Monday’s resumption of the Balikatan joint exercises between the American and Philippine military, which was canceled last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But even before the pandemic, President Duterte, who had been critical of Washington’s stand against his drug war policy, had been ambivalent about the conduct of joint military exercises under the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), which provides the legal ... » Learn More about Lorenzana, Austin discuss Felipe Reef situation in phone conversation

Souvenir crosses will be blessed by Papal Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Charles Brown during the commemoration of the country’s first baptism 500 years ago. (DALE ISRAEL/INQUIRER VISAYAS) CEBU CITY—It’s all systems go for the 500th anniversary of the first Catholic baptism in the Philippines on Wednesday (April 14). Fr. Mhar Balili, secretary general of the 500 Years of Christianity campaign, said Pope Francis is sending Archbishop Charles Brown, who would lead the eucharistic celebration at 4 p.m. at Plaza Sugbo, site of the Magellan’s Cross kiosk. At least 10 bishops were expected to attend the event. Before Mass, a reenactment of the first baptism on Philippine soil will be held in the same venue. The Plaza Sugbo can accommodate 3,000 people but only 700 guests will be allowed to ensure physical distancing. Among the guests are Rene Escalante, National Historical Commission of the Philippines chair, and Lloyd Dino, presidential assistant for the Visayas who would ... » Learn More about Rites for 500th anniversary of PH’s first Catholic baptism all set

WASHINGTON/MOSCOW (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden called on Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday to reduce tensions stirred by a Russian military build-up on Ukraine's border and proposed a summit of the estranged leaders to tackle a raft of disputes. The White House and the Kremlin reported only the second conversation between the two since Biden took office in January, after Western officials urged Moscow to end the build-up and Russia, in words recalling the Cold War, said its "adversary" should keep U.S. warships well away from the Crimea region. Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and fighting has increased in recent weeks in eastern Ukraine, where government forces have battled Russian-backed separatists in a seven-year conflict that Kyiv says has killed 14,000 people. In a sign of concern about tensions spinning out of control in the Ukraine crisis, Biden phoned Putin to propose they meet in a third country while underlining U.S. commitment to Ukraine's ... » Learn More about Biden proposes summit with Putin after Russia calls U.S. ‘adversary’ over Ukraine

The secretary-general of the Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC), Amnat Wichayanuwat, says plans to introduce a bilingual school curriculum at all grade levels have thrown up an obstacle for meeting funding requirements. The bilingual curriculum plans were announced by the Education Minister last week in an effort to improve English proficiency among the Thai population. It’s hoped to have the curriculum in place from kindergarten level at more than 2,000 district schools from the beginning of the 2020 academic year. However, the OBEC secretary-general says one of the conditions under which schools can qualify for Mini English Programme (MEP) funding, is by showing that Ordinary National Educational Test (O-NET) scores have consistently improved for at least three years. Amnat says it’s simply not possible for schools to meet this requirement. “This is impossible because these schools haven’t even started with the new lessons. To launch the MEP classrooms ... » Learn More about School funding challenge for bilingual curriculum

BERLIN (Reuters) - The United States will ramp up its forces in Germany amid the latest tensions with Russia over Ukraine, abandoning former President Donald Trump's plans to withdraw around 12,000 of the 36,000 troops from the fellow NATO country. "I briefed the minister on our intention to permanently stage an approximately 500 additional U.S. personnel in the Wiesbaden area as early as this fall," U.S. Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin told at press conference after meeting his German counterpart, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, in Berlin. Last June, Trump had announced his intention to cut the U.S. troop contingent in Germany by about a third, saying Berlin had been taking advantage of the United States while not meeting financial obligations to NATO. Austin, who as a young lieutenant served in Germany and said he had fond memories of the time, struck a completely different tone, thanking Berlin for its contribution to NATO missions as in Afghanistan and taking steps to ... » Learn More about U.S. to base additional troops in Germany in reversal of Trump policy

Ukraine is seeking 'practical' support from Western powers. BRUSSELS: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday told Russia to end its "unjustified" military build-up around Ukraine as Kiev and Washington's top diplomats gathered for talks in Brussels. Concern is mounting that the long-simmering conflict in east Ukraine could spiral back into wider fighting after reports of major Russian troop movements and an intensification of clashes with Moscow-backed separatists. "Russia's considerable military build-up is unjustified, unexplained and deeply concerning," Stoltenberg said. "Russia must end this military build-up in and around Ukraine, stop its provocations and de-escalate immediately." "In recent weeks, Russia has moved thousands of combat-ready troops to Ukraine's borders, the largest massing of Russian troops since the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014," Stoltenberg said. Ukraine -- which applied to join the US-backed alliance in 2008 -- is pressing ... » Learn More about NATO tells Russia to end Ukraine military build-up

PETALING JAYA: Parents want more transparency when it comes to standard operating procedures (SOP) practised in schools when teachers or students are found to be infected with Covid-19. This comes as more confirmed cases were recorded, with the latest from SJK (C) Puay Chai 2 here which was ordered to close after six pupils tested positive for the disease and 11 teachers were placed under home quarantine. The school's parent-teacher association chairman Loh Tian Hong said parents were not told what to do if their child's classmate was positive for Covid-19. "There is no black-and-white SOP or guidance given to us. "We do not know if it is safe to send our children to school as the pupils come into close contact with each other, including going to the same daycare centre or using the same transporters," he told The Star . He said that parents also wanted to know how long they should be quarantined and if their child would be allowed back to school if the first test was ... » Learn More about Covid-19: Parents want clearer school SOP should pupils, staff get infected

Tensions continue to simmer along the disputed border between India and China after the latest round of talks ended with no sign of progress. The latest negotiations between the two militaries took place at the Mordor/Chushule meeting point on the Indian side on Saturday and, unlike previous rounds of talks, ended without a joint statement playing up the prospect of disengagement. Chinese diplomatic observers said this is an indication that the latest talks did not make much progress, and both sides appeared unwilling to compromise. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge , our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. The two sides agreed to disengage their troops around Pangong Tso two months ago, but points of friction remain, including Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang in eastern Ladakh. Zhu Yongbiao, a professor ... » Learn More about China-India border dispute: latest round of talks fail to ease tensions

Desperate French farmers counted the cost last Friday of several nights' of frost which threaten to decimate grape harvests in some of the country's best-known and prestigious wine-producing regions. The government is readying an emergency rescue package after the unusual freezing temperatures which could be some of the most damaging in decades for crops and vines across the country. From the Bordeaux region in the southwest to the Burgundy and Rhone valley in the east, winemakers were back out in their fields on Friday inspecting the destruction. "It breaks like glass because there's no water inside," Dominique Guignard, a wine maker in the Graves area near Bordeaux, told AFP as he rubbed the first shoots on his vines. "It's completely dried out, there's no life inside," said Guignard, who heads a group of producers in Graves, which is known for its robust red wine. Many industry experts say the frost damage may be the worst since the 1990s. "It's a national phenomenon," ... » Learn More about French winemakers count cost of ‘worst freezing in decades’