United Nations, July 6 (IANS) The United Nations has expressed grave concerns about intensified clashes along the Lebanon-Israel frontier, known as the Blue Line.

The world body on Friday highlighted the mounting tensions following an increase in exchanges of fire between Lebanese and Israeli forces, Xinhua news agency reported.

This recent surge in hostilities, which occurred on Thursday, “heightens the risk of a full-scale war”, according to a note from the office of the spokesperson for the UN secretary-general.

The note underscored the necessity of restraint, noting, “Escalation can and must be avoided. We reiterate that the danger of miscalculation leading to a sudden and wider conflagration is real,” and emphasised that “a political and diplomatic solution is the only viable way forward”.

On the same day, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, engaged with key Lebanese officials including Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Najib Mikati to discuss the urgency of de-escalation along the Blue Line.

The UN note also reiterated calls from the UN Interim Force in Lebanon for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a renewed commitment to Security Council resolution 1701, which was adopted in August 2006 to seek a full cessation of hostilities shortly after a month of deadly warfare between Israel and Hezbollah ended with a fragile truce.

–IANS

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United Nations, July 6 (IANS) Over 1 million people in the Caribbean have been affected by Hurricane Beryl, UN humanitarians have said.

Some 40,000 people have been affected in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, more than 110,000 people in Grenada, and 920,000 people in Jamaica, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Friday, citing current estimates.

As a category 4 hurricane that has claimed at least 11 lives so far, Beryl left a trail of destruction in Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on Monday, then impacting Jamaica on Wednesday. The hurricane is currently affecting Belize and Mexico, Xinhua news agency reported.

The International Organization for Migration reported that in Grenada, the hurricane caused extreme damage to the islands of Carriacou and Petit Martinique, where 70 per cent and 97 per cent of buildings were damaged, respectively. In Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, 90 per cent of homes on Union Island were affected, while on the island of Canouan, nearly all buildings sustained damage.

OCHA said it has deployed teams to Caribbean nations to support their response efforts, and $4 million has been made available from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund to kickstart humanitarian operations in Grenada, Jamaica, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

“We continue to support and work closely with the authorities, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Agency, and our partners to assess and respond to the devastation caused by Hurricane Beryl,” the office said.

–IANS

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Bratislava, July 6 (IANS) Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has made his first appearance at a public event after being attacked by a gunman in mid-May.

He presented a speech on Friday at the Devin Castle in Bratislava, in celebrating a national holiday, Xinhua news agency reported.

“Europe and Slovakia have never been so divided as they are today,” Fico said.

He praised Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for visiting Kiev and Moscow. “I would have loved to join him, had my health condition enabled me to do so,” he said.

According to him, there are never enough peace talks and initiatives in this regard.

He also called for forming a bulwark against “senseless progressive and liberal ideologies that damage Slovakia”.

Fico sustained four gunshot wounds in an attack on May 15 when he greeted supporters after chairing a government meeting in the central Slovak town of Handlova.

–IANS

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London, July 6 (IANS) New UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has appointed his cabinet, making Angela Rayner the Deputy Prime Minister and Rachel Reeves the country’s first female Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Starmer’s cabinet included a record 11 women in the team of 25.

Meanwhile, Yvette Cooper was appointed Home Secretary, David Lammy was named Foreign Secretary and John Healey was appointed Defence Secretary.

Other appointments include Shabana Mahmood as Justice Secretary, Wes Streeting as Health Secretary, Bridget Phillipson as Education Secretary, and Ed Miliband as Energy Secretary.

In his first speech as Prime Minister at Downing Street on Friday, Starmer pledged to get the country’s “struggling” healthcare system back on track, secure British borders, and attend to the need for schools and affordable homes.

“Our country has voted decisively for change and a return of politics to public service,” he said.

However, “changing a country is not like flicking a switch”, said Starmer, noting that the world has become “more volatile”.

He said the work for change will begin immediately but will time.

The new Prime Minister highlighted his focus on things that “working-class families like mine can build their lives around”.

“If I asked you now whether you believed that Britain will be better for your children, I know too many of you will say no — and so my government will fight until you believe again,” he said.

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Tehran, July 6 (IANS) Voting for Iran’s presidential runoff came to an end at midnight Friday after 16 straight hours, said Spokesman of Iran’s Election Headquarters Mohsen Eslami.

He made the remarks in a live interview with Iran’s state-run IRIB TV, stressing that although the polling stations’ doors were closed, those responsible had to let all the voters who had come before the end of the voting process and were waiting for their turns cast their ballots, Xinhua news agency reported.

The counting process would start at the stations immediately after the voting ended, Eslami added.

In an address to reporters in the Iranian capital Tehran earlier in the day, Iran’s Interim President Mohammad Mokhber said the results would be announced by Saturday morning.

The voting began at 8:00 a.m. Friday local time at nearly 59,000 polling stations across the country and abroad, with two candidates, former health minister Masoud Pezeshkian and Saeed Jalili, the former chief negotiator in the nuclear talks between Tehran and world powers, vying for the top position at the country’s executive branch.

Pezeshkian and Jalili secured over 42 per cent and 38 per cent of the votes, respectively, in the first round on June 28.

The voting was initially scheduled to end at 6:00 p.m. local time but was extended three times, with each extension lasting for two hours.

The candidate with the highest number of votes at the end of the runoff will be the next Iranian president.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei cast his ballot at a polling station in Tehran immediately after the voting began and made a brief speech.

“Today is a good day; the day of our beloved people’s presence, participation, and becoming active in the election, which is an important political affair of the country,” said Khamenei.

Field estimates showed that the turnout in the runoff surpassed the figure in the first round, which stood at 40 per cent, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency.

Over 61 million people were eligible to vote in the election, according to Iranian authorities. More than 24 million participated in the first round.

Iran’s 14th presidential election, initially set for 2025, was rescheduled following the unexpected death of President Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage in a helicopter crash on May 19.

–IANS

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