DOHA / WASHINGTON DC, Jan 24 (IPS) – On December 22, 2021, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to allow for more humanitarian assistance to reach vulnerable Afghans, while preventing the abuse of these funds by their Taliban rulers.
Citing a “continued threat of Russian military action,” the U.S. State Department ordered eligible family members of personnel at its embassy in Kyiv to leave the country.
(Image credit: Alex Brandon/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
South Korea used Tehran’s own frozen assets to pay off its debt to the global organization
Majid Takht Ravanchi, Iran’s ambassador and permanent representative to the UN, confirmed on Sunday that Iran has earned back its voting rights after its membership fees were paid.
The suspended voting rights should be back in place on Monday. The $18 million that was paid for by South Korea with Iranian assets, frozen due to US sanctions. There is currently over $7 billion in Iranian oil shipment payments frozen in two South Korean banks, according to AFP.
Seoul’s finance ministry also announced the payment had been in a Sunday statement following Tehran requesting last week that the frozen funds be used to cover the membership costs.
Iran’s voting rights had been suspended earlier this month, along with multiple other countries, over unpaid membership dues. Iran has cited US sanctions as making it difficult to keep up with UN payments, even having their voting rights suspended last year. Iran has said the money in South Korea is being held “hostage,” while Seoul would not confirm how much of the $7 billion remains after this week’s UN payment.
A new way to recycle large amounts of coffee grounds; a platform connecting young African activists; technology to produce electricity from ocean waves or recycle plastic. A new energy-efficient construction method – an innovative carpooling app.
Millions of hectares of farmland are lost to the desert each year in Africa’s Sahel region, but the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is showing that traditional knowledge, combined with the latest technology, can turn arid ground back into fertile soil.
