Ecuador's Espinosa Garces elected UNGA president
United Nations, June 6: Ecuador's Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces has been elected president of the UN General Assembly. She is only the fourth woman to achieve the position in its 73-year history.
With her election on Tuesday, she follows in the pioneering footsteps of India's Vijayalakshmi Pandit, the first woman to hold the position in 1953, in an organisation struggling to achieve gender parity.
In keeping with its symbolism, Espinosa declared that she dedicates her election to all the women in the world.
Espinosa received 128 votes to defeat another woman, Honduras Permanent Representative Mary Elizabeth Flores Flake, who got 62 votes.
The Assembly presidency rotates among various groups at the UN and this year it was the turn of the Latin American and Caribbean bloc.
In a rare departure from tradition of unanimity, two candidates from the region contested the election.
Speaking to reporters after her election, Espinosa said that she will assess the work done for the Security Council reform process and the situation it is in. The reform process has been going for about 25 years and "this is very much a pending issue of the organisation," she said.
"Of course, the depth and the pace of the reform process is going to depend entirely on the political will of the member states," she added.
Speaking at the Assembly after her election, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres drew attention to the poor record of the Assembly in electing women as president with only four in its 73-year history.
After Pandit, it took 16 year before another woman, Angie Brooks of Liberia was elected in 1969 and another 37 years for Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa of Bahrain to be be elected in 2006.
"No woman from my continent, east or west, has ever held the post," Guterres said. All four women presidents are from developing countries.
In 2016, it was widely expected that a woman would be elected secretary-general with several strong women candidates in the field, but it went to a man for the ninth time.
Espinosa said that with her election she hoped the UN will make progress and men and women will have the same opportunities.
Dedicating her election, she said it was for "all the women in the world who participate in politics today and who face media and political attacks marked by machismo and discrimination" and for "women who struggle everyday to access jobs on equal terms."
There was a political undercurrent in the election with Espinosa receiving greater support from developing countries. Left-leaning Ecuador has had a tumultuous relationship with the US, while Honduras is close to Washington.
Honduras was one of only nine countries to vote with it in the Assembly in 2017 against a resolution opposing the US decision to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and this cost it a lot of the votes of developing countries.
Although its relations with the US have been improving since President Lenin Moreno's election in 2017, Ecuador continues to give refuge in its London embassy to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, whom Washington wants extradited.
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Blow for India as Shubman Gill fractures left thumb, all but out of Perth Test
New Delhi/Perth, Nov 16: India were dealt a telling blow on Saturday after star top-order batter Shubman Gill sustained a left thumb fracture which is likely to rule him out of the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Optus Stadium in Perth, starting November 22.
Gill, one of the young heroes of India's last Border-Gavaskar Trophy triumph, is a batting mainstay and in case skipper Rohit Sharma opts out of the first Test, India's top-order could look very thin.
Gill got hurt while fielding on the second day of the intra-squad match simulation. He was seen in considerable pain and immediately left the field for further scans.
According to a BCCI source privy to the development, Gill has indeed fractured his left thumb and with less than a week left for the Test to start, it will be near impossible for the stylish right-hander to get fit in time for the opening match.
A thumb fracture generally takes around 14 days to heal after which one is expected to start his regular net sessions. Since the second Test in Adelaide starts from December 6, there remains a possibility that he will get fit in time for that match.
Gill's absence could be massive for the national team as he is not only a stable number three batter but in case of Rohit's absence, he could be considered for opening the innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal.
The other man in contention, Lokesh Rahul, has a bruised elbow after getting hit by a Prasidh Krishna short ball on the opening day of the intra-squad match and was forced to leave the field.
Rahul's bruised area needed icing and he didn't take the field on the second day of the match simulation on Saturday although it is being seen more as a precautionary measure.
In case Gill is absent, Abhimanyu Easwaran could be in line for his Test debut as India do not have too many options left.
However, if skipper Rohit, who was blessed with a baby boy, decides to join forces with three days of training, then it would be a different story.
Mohammed Shami, who has bowled more than 43.2 overs, took seven wickets and scored 37 runs in Ranji Trophy, is certainly going to join the team before the second Test.
The last day of the match simulation will happen at the WACA on Sunday after which India A squad, barring reserve players, will be back to India and join their respective state teams for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
The main squad will then move to Optus Stadium in Perth where they will have three net sessions from Tuesday to Thursday before going into the Test starting Friday.
