Reappointing Denmark’s Inger Andersen to lead the organization’s environmental program could “politicize” global conservation efforts, Moscow claims
The UN's conservation efforts and climate change response may fall victim to pro-Western bias if current CEO Inger Andersen is reappointed to lead its environmental agency, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.
The statement came in response to allegations that Russia had sought to stifle Andersen’s candidacy in an attempt to undermine Western support for Kiev during its military conflict with Moscow.
The UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) is tasked with raising awareness and advocating for global solutions to combat climate change. Andersen, a Danish economist and conservation expert, currently serves as its executive director, but her term expires this year.
The Financial Times cited two UN sources last week as saying that Moscow was working to block Andersen’s reappointment. The report also cited unnamed diplomats as describing the move as “part of a broader effort by the country to exert influence on the world stage and undermine the objectives of Western nations that have condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”
Without specifying the publication, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman called the report “politically charged.”
Zakharova stated that prolonging Andersen’s tenure would “strengthen the discriminatory practice of almost exclusively appointing the representatives of Western countries to this high position.”
Such practice unavoidably leads to the dominance of Western staffers at UNEP and to the ignoring of rich national conservation experiences and priorities of developing countries.
Zakharova argued that Andersen’s reappointment could lead to the “politicization” of international environmental efforts. “We believe that the time has come to strengthen the geographical balance at UNEP and let a member from the non-Western world lead the organization,” she said.
UNEP’s leader is elected by the UN General Assembly after being nominated by the organization’s secretary general.
https://www.rt.com/russia/569865-russia-un-western-dominance/
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ (IRGC) Intelligence Unit says Iran will consider the Israeli regime’s shelters “legitimate targets” if residential areas in the country come under attack.
In a post published on social media platform X on Tuesday, the IRGC said that any strikes on residential areas in Iran would give Iran’s armed forces the right to attack Israeli shelters in the occupied lands.
The IRGC stated that it has intelligence on the blueprints and the exact locations of these shelters.
Iran began its Operation True Promise 4 after the US and Israel launched their joint military aggression against the Islamic Republic in late February by assassinating Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, and several senior Iranian officials.
In its latest wave of attacks, the IRGC said it rained down missiles on the Israeli regime’s “secure” intelligence facilities in Tel Aviv.
Iranian armed forces have also pounded American military bases and ...
In a fresh wave of retaliatory strikes, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) targeted the Israeli regime’s “secure” intelligence facilities in Tel Aviv.
The IRGC’s Public Relations Department said in a statement on Tuesday that it had carried out the 79th wave of its ongoing retaliatory Operation True Promise 4 against the Israeli and American targets.
Deploying powerful Kheybar Shekan, Emad, and Sejjil missiles alongside IRGC Aerospace Force kamikaze drones, the operation successfully breached the regime's multi-layered air defense systems, the statement said.
The missiles, it stated, targeted Israel’s intelligence facilities in northern and central Tel Aviv, as well as military commercial and support centers in Ramat Gan and the Negev.
The missiles also hit Israel’s southern military logistics and command headquarters in Beersheba.
The missile strikes triggered widespread panic across Israel and forced the suspension of a Knesset (parliament) session on Tuesday.
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The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announces staging the 78th wave of its underway retaliatory Operation True Promise 4, targeting such highly sensitive Israeli targets as Dimona, Tel Aviv, and Eilat as well as several US military bases in the region.
In a statement on Tuesday, the IRGC described the latest phase of the operation as a significant development featuring missiles raining down on enemy targets as the nation was leveling momentous support behind the Islamic Republic by attending millions-strong rallies with "clenched fists."
'A distinct record'
The latest phase, it noted, "has set a distinct record in the timeline of the war."
According to the statement, targets in the occupied port of Eilat, Dimona, a heavily fortified city that hosts the Israeli regime's notorious nuclear reactor in its vicinity, and northern Tel Aviv were struck using Emad and multi-warhead Qadr missile systems along with attack drones.
This was the second time the Corps was hitting Dimona, ...
