UN Expects New Palestinian State Request
A speech by Palestinian National Authority (PNA) President Mahmoud Abbas at the UN General Assembly’s plenary session focused today the expectations of the third day of the presidential debate.
The Palestinian leader will speak today to the heads of State and Government at the United Nations headquarters, and will announce the PNA decision to shortly request for an observer status category.
In diplomatic circles, he said that aspiration has the support of over 150 of 193 UN member countries.
Meanwhile, Palestinian sources stated that the vote will be postponed for November 29, when the UN marks the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
Abbas asked a year ago the PNA entry as a full member of the UN, a claim that was not discussed by the Security Council “due to lack of consensus among its members,” according to a committee that examined the issue.
This body is comprised of 15 members, five of them for life and veto privilege: the United States, France, Great Britain, Russia and China.
Sudan – South Sudan Deal Reached
Delegations from Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan on Thursday closed talks by signing agreements on cooperation in several areas, including security, oil production, trade, and rights.
Speaking after the signing ceremony, President of Sudan Omar al-Bashir said “today’s signing represents an historic moment in building peace between our two countries.” He added that this amounted to “a real example of the ability of the Sudanese people, of Africans, to achieve compromise.”
The document signed makes provision for the creation of a buffer zone between the two countries – Sudan’s condition for the normalization of relations with its neighbor.
In November South Sudan is expected to re-start oil extraction work that was halted due to disagreements over oil transit tariffs.
However, the two countries were unable to reach final agreement on border demarcation and the hotly disputed oil-rich Abyei region.
Greek Disabled, Policemen Hold Protest Against Austerity
Greek disabled people and police unionists continued anti-austerity protests in Athens on Thursday, as leaders of the three-party coalition government resumed talks to seal a fresh package of painful budget cuts for 2013-2014 to counter the debt crisis.
Chanting slogans against the anticipated new round of cuts on salaries, pensions, welfare benefits and tax increases, Greeks with vision problems and kinetic disabilities marched in the center of the Greek capital, calling on the government to protect the most vulnerable groups of society.
In the meantime, police unionists were protesting outside the headquarters of the conservative New Democracy party of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and his centre-Left PASOK and Democratic Left partners.
At the prime minister’s office, a new meeting of the leaders — the third in two weeks — was underway to finalize the 11.5-billion-euro (14.8 billion U.S. dollars) austerity package requested by international creditors to unlock fresh rescue loans in coming weeks in order to stave off a catastrophic Greek default and potential exit from the eurozone.
The meeting comes after a general nationwide and mass anti-austerity rallies paralyzed the country on Wednesday.
According to the latest local media reports and government sources, coalition partners have agreed on a major part of the package, but talks might drag on to the weekend to seal final details.
The government aims to present the bulk of the measures to the Euro Working group on Friday and reach a final agreement with auditors of EU and International Monetary Fund lenders early next week to secure the green light for the release of the next tranche of loans at the Oct. 18 EU summit.
Debt-crippled Greece is kept afloat with multi-billion-euro loans under bailout agreements since 2010 in return of a tough austerity and structural reform program.
However, Athens has missed initial targets and time tables due to delays in the implementation of structural reforms in particular and is now forced to introduce additional austerity which has fuelled recession and public anger over the past two years.
The pro-bailout government coalition, which took over after June’s national elections, pledged to seek a two-year extension of the fiscal adjustment from lenders to ease the burden on poor Greeks after the ratification of the new package.