UN chief calls for immediate de-escalation as Israel-Iran conflict intensifies
New York: UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged an immediate de-escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran, calling for a ceasefire amid growing fears of regional instability.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Guterres expressed grave concern over the escalating military conflict. “I remain profoundly alarmed by the ongoing military escalation in the Middle East between Israel and Iran. I reiterate my call for immediate de-escalation leading to a ceasefire,” he said.
Quoting the Xinhua news agency, the statement highlighted concerns about the potential for the conflict to expand beyond the two nations. “I strongly appeal to all to avoid any further internationalisation of the conflict. Any additional military interventions could have enormous consequences, not only for those involved but for the whole region and for international peace and security at large,” Guterres warned.
He condemned the recent airstrikes for causing civilian casualties and damaging critical infrastructure. The Secretary-General stressed that diplomacy remains the only viable solution to address concerns surrounding Iran's nuclear programme and broader regional security issues.
“The UN Charter remains our shared framework to save people from the scourge of war. I urge all member states to comply fully with the Charter and international law, including international humanitarian law,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military has intensified its operations. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Effie Defrin confirmed that Israeli jets carried out further airstrikes in western Iran on Wednesday evening, targeting missile launch and storage facilities.
According to Defrin, the latest wave of strikes aimed at operatives attempting to retrieve munitions from previously bombed locations, marking the third major Israeli assault within 24 hours. Earlier overnight attacks involved over 50 fighter jets striking nearly 40 sites near Tehran, including a centrifuge production facility used for uranium enrichment and an anti-tank missile production site linked to Hezbollah.
A second wave of airstrikes on Wednesday afternoon targeted over 20 additional locations in and around the Iranian capital.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
