Actress Dia Mirza, Alibaba chief among 17 new 'SDG Advocates' of UN
United Nations: Indian actress Dia Mirza and Alibaba chief Jack Ma are among the 17 global public figures appointed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as the new advocates to drive action and solidify global political will for the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The new class of SDG Advocates' are 17 influential public figures "committed to raising awareness, inspiring greater ambition and pushing for faster action on the SDGs, which were adopted by world leaders on September 25, 2015, according to a statement issued by the UN Spokesperson's office.
We have the tools to answer the questions posed by climate change, environmental pressure, poverty and inequality. They lie in the great agreements of 2015 - the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change," Guterres said.
"But tools are no use if you don't use them. So, today, and every day, my appeal is clear and simple. We need action, ambition and political will. More action, more ambition and more political will, said the Secretary-General.
Co-Chairs of the Secretary-General's SDG Advocates are President of Ghana Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg.
It is an honour and privilege to be appointed the UN Secretary General's Advocate of Sustainable Development Goals. I will strive to convey the importance of achieving sustainable development for Peace, Planet Prosperity," Mirza, 38, a film producer and the UN Environment Program Goodwill Ambassador for India, tweeted in her reaction.
Founder and Executive Chairman of Chinese multinational conglomerate Alibaba Group Jack Ma has been an SDG Advocate since 2016.
The other newly-appointed SDG Advocates include Queen Mathilde of the Belgians, Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Founder, Education Above All Foundation (State of Qatar), British screenwriter, producer and film director Richard Curtis, Nobel Laureate Nadia Murad, Director of Center for Sustainable Development, Columbia University Jeffrey Sachs, Brazilian footballer and UN Women Goodwill Ambassador and Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative, Forest Whitaker.
The UN said that peace, prosperity, people, planet, and partnerships are the principles at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals, which Member States agreed must be achieved by 2030, and they are also what drive the new class of SDG Advocates.
To build the momentum for transformative, inclusive development by 2030, the Secretary-General's SDG Advocates will use their unique platforms and leadership to inspire cross-cutting mobilization of the global community, it said.
The Secretary-General has tasked the Advocates with driving that action, building that ambition, and solidifying global political will and they will leverage and build bridges between their audiences and work together to drive progress on achieving the SDGs.
The Advocates represent the universal character of the SDGs, hailing from governments, entertainment, academia, sport, business and activist organizations around the world.
By joining forces to achieve our goals, we can turn hope into reality leaving no one behind, Solberg said.
The Secretary-General has appointed some members of the previous class of SDG Advocates as SDG Advocate Alumni. These include Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Nobel Laureate Leymah Gbowee of Liberia and Nobel Laureate and Founder of Grameen Bank Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
