UN Council to Vote Thursday on Tougher N.Korea Sanctionshttps://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3666636/un-council-vote-thursday-tougher-nkorea-sanctions
UN Council to Vote Thursday on Tougher N.Korea Sanctions
FILE PHOTO: Members of the United Nations Security Council gather during a meeting about the situation in Venezuela, in New York, US, February 26, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
UN Council to Vote Thursday on Tougher N.Korea Sanctions
FILE PHOTO: Members of the United Nations Security Council gather during a meeting about the situation in Venezuela, in New York, US, February 26, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
The United Nations Security Council will vote Thursday, at the request of the United States, on a resolution aimed at toughening sanctions on North Korea after it fired an intercontinental ballistic missile, diplomats said Wednesday.
The United States, which holds the rotating Security Council presidency for May, has scheduled the vote for the late afternoon, two diplomats told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Earlier, a senior US official said the resolution would notably look at curbing oil imports, although diplomats say Russia and China could exercise their veto power.
The official noted that Security Council Resolution 2397, adopted unanimously in 2017, called for further consequences in the event of another ICBM launch.
"That was a provision of that resolution. That's precisely what happened and so we feel it's now time to take action," the official said on condition of anonymity.
The official declined to comment on whether Russia and China would veto the text but said, "We think that this resolution will have strong support because this is an issue that's of profound importance to us, obviously, (and) of profound importance to our allies Japan and South Korea."
According to a diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity, Beijing could be willing to adopt new sanctions in the event of nuclear testing, but not over missile launches.
A spokesperson for the Chinese mission meanwhile told AFP that "We don't think a resolution as proposed by the US can solve any problem."
Beijing said it had proposed its own statement on North Korea but it "fell on deaf ears of the US."
The US draft resolution up for vote Thursday calls for a reduction in the amount of oil that North Korea can legally import each year for civilian purposes from four million to three million barrels (525,000 to 393,750 tons).
It would similarly cut imports of refined petroleum from 500,000 to 375,000 barrels.
The resolution would also impose further sanctions on North Korean exports including of clocks, watches and mineral fuels.
The United States and South Korea say that North Korea fired three missiles, including possibly its largest ICBM, hours after President Joe Biden closed a visit to the region.
One UN envoy whose country is on the Security Council, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity, acknowledged the "huge threat" posed by North Korea's actions, but indicated the US decision to push for a quick vote could still backfire.
"A division of the Security Council on this crisis would be bad," the envoy said, noting the high stakes on the nuclear proliferation issue.
"If the draft is rejected, I'm afraid it will just be good news for the young leader of the DPRK," the ambassador said, adding that such a rift on the council would make it more difficult to "increase the pressure" on Pyongyang.
UK Warns against Israel Removing it from Gaza Ceasefire Centerhttps://english.aawsat.com/world/5312087-uk-warns-against-israel-removing-it-gaza-ceasefire-center
Palestinians walk past a food-aid warehouse damaged in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a nearby house in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
UK Warns against Israel Removing it from Gaza Ceasefire Center
Palestinians walk past a food-aid warehouse damaged in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a nearby house in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
The United Kingdom warned against any attempt by Israel to remove British officials from the Gaza ceasefire coordination center on Friday, after reports that Israel was considering expelling UK officials.
The UK government said on Thursday that it remains committed to implementing the 20-point Gaza peace plan, and any move to remove its officials would “undermine shared efforts.”
The comments came in response to reports that Israel is considering expelling officials from Britain and other European nations from the monitoring center. The UK remains committed to “playing our part in improving the situation on the ground,” the British government told The Associated Press.
Also, the Dutch Foreign Ministry on Thursday said Israel was removing two Dutch diplomats from the ceasefire center. Israel's Foreign Ministry said the decision was in response to a Dutch ban on the trade of Israeli products from the occupied West Bank and other “ anti-Israel measures.”
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Death Toll Rises in Nepal-China Border Disaster as a Lake Poses New Flood Threathttps://english.aawsat.com/world/5312040-death-toll-rises-nepal-china-border-disaster-lake-poses-new-flood-threat
A general view shows houses lying deluged in sludge after flash floods at Trishuli in Nepal's Nuwakot district on August 27, 2026. (AFP)
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Death Toll Rises in Nepal-China Border Disaster as a Lake Poses New Flood Threat
A general view shows houses lying deluged in sludge after flash floods at Trishuli in Nepal's Nuwakot district on August 27, 2026. (AFP)
Rescuers pulled out survivors caked in dark brown mud and helicopters lifted stranded people to safety Friday as Nepal and China raced to respond to catastrophic flash floods that killed more than 500 people and left more than 1,500 missing.
Nepal's disaster management authority said the death toll there rose to 538, and that more than 3,700 people have been rescued. Nepali police later put the number of deaths higher at 547.
Meanwhile there was little information on survivors on the Chinese side, where the death toll rose to five Friday as state media showed evacuations of villages and leaders' efforts to direct the relief response.
China's state media previously said 558 people were missing. Across the border, Nepal’s disaster management authority said Friday that 977 people were still unaccounted for. Hundreds of them were foreigners in the area to work, trek or make a pilgrimage to a sacred peak.
Authorities warn of further flooding from a new lake Nepali police issued a fresh alert Friday after receiving information that a dam on the Tibet side has burst. Security personnel and rescue and relief workers were told to stay on high alert and immediately move to a safe location if necessary.
It is unclear if the dam bursting is related to flooding concerns over a barrier lake that formed after the initial flash floods, high up in the Chinese side of the Himalayan mountains. Chinese broadcaster CCTV said the lake was at an elevation of 2,950 meters (9,680 feet.)
Nepali and Chinese authorities earlier warned of further flooding from the barrier lake, which was already overflowing. They urged people in potentially affected areas to move to safer ground.
Nepal police spokesperson Abi Narayan Kafle told The Associated Press that the rescue operation was continuing but with high alert. “It hasn’t stopped," he said.
Although the new lake is located more than 10 kilometers (6 miles) from Gyirong Port, the hard-hit border crossing with Nepal, rescue workers heading to the disaster zone were ordered to stop temporarily Friday morning owing to concern the lake would overflow.
Stranded supply trucks wait at the Kalanki checkpoint for road clearance, following deadly flash floods and a mudslide in Nepal, in Kathmandu, Nepal, August 28, 2026. (Reuters)
Some 680 rescuers eventually reached the hardest-hit area at Gyirong by foot and via rafts after much effort. Some were dropped down from drones flown to the area, CCTV footage showed.
Thousands of people have been evacuated, others await rescue Nepali Army rescuers were working to help people trapped in a hydropower tunnel in Rasuwa, part of the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project.
Video from the scene show rescuers helping the man, covered in dark brown mud, out of the tunnel by pulling and pushing. He was one of likely dozens trapped in the tunnel.
Army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet told the AP the focus was on survivors.
“It is complicated to find the entry and exit points of the tunnel because everything has been covered by mud,” Basnet said. “Our first priority is rescuing the stranded people.”
Nepal’s disaster management authority said 3,253 people had been airlifted by helicopter from the disaster area. Survivors, including injured people, were taken to Kathmandu and other locations.
Some felt the ground shake, then saw a ‘black storm’
Scientists who’ve studied satellite images said bedrock underneath a glacier high in the Himalayan region had collapsed, taking part of the glacier with it. The rockfall was so extreme that it reached a magnitude 5.2 seismic measurement.
The rocks and melted water then swelled the rivers in the valleys below, causing a torrent of water that swept buildings, bridges and earth downstream in Tibet and Nepal.
Customs officer Karbir Gaire was among some of the survivors in Timure, the closest Nepalese village to the border with China, where some 1,500 people had lived.
Gaire reached his office around 8 a.m. Wednesday and was working on his computer when he first felt the ground shake.
“Right after the shake, I noticed a black storm coming towards us," he recalled from Kathmandu, where he is back with family. "We all immediately started running out, and within a few seconds, we were climbing uphill on the opposite side of our office building. I think those 10 or so seconds saved some of us.”
Gaire doesn’t remember exactly how many people were in the office when the disaster struck, but 15 colleagues have gone missing. “It was like a Hollywood movie scene. I don’t call it a flood, it was a tsunami.”
Volunteers use bulldozers to clear mud and debris along a road after flash floods at Trishuli in Nepal's Nuwakot district on August 27, 2026. (AFP)
Families around the world hope for news of loved ones
Nepal’s tourism board has said that among the missing are more than 500 foreigners.
About 90 Americans were unaccounted for. US President Donald Trump said the flooding was terrible to see, and he told reporters in the Oval Office he offered to provide Nepalese leaders “anything they want.”
Rajan Tamang, a restaurant owner in New York City, said he learned from family in Kathmandu that his mother and sister were among those who died, while many other relatives and friends remained missing.
“My family was just waking up, and they didn’t even get any information, and suddenly this flood came. Some of them are missing, some of them lost their life and only a few is alive,” he told the AP after a vigil in New York.
Some of the missing may have been on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, a sacred site for Hindus, Buddhists and others.
Vishnuram Ramaswamy, who works at a private company in the southern Indian city of Puducherry, said that he last spoke to his mother and two sisters who were on that pilgrimage Wednesday morning. It was a highly anticipated trip, something his mother had always wanted to do, he said.
“My mother said they were on their way towards the border area and said they’ll reach their hotel and call us,” he said. While he's in touch with government officials, and the travel agency, there's been no news.
“This was the last we spoke to them. They have been unreachable since.”
Iran Presses Other Countries to Refrain from Implementing US Sanctionshttps://english.aawsat.com/world/5312034-iran-presses-other-countries-refrain-implementing-us-sanctions
Iran Presses Other Countries to Refrain from Implementing US Sanctions
A pro-government demonstrator waves an Iranian flag during a gathering in a square in Tehran, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP)
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said all countries were obliged to refrain from implementing US sanctions against Tehran, adding that participation in them amounted to complicity in imposing one state’s unlawful will on independent states.
In a statement published on its X account on Friday, the ministry described new US economic measures as illegal and reprehensible "state terrorism" and a crime against humanity, saying they put the health and livelihoods of millions of civilians at serious risk.
It called on the international community to uphold the rule of law and said Tehran would use all its capabilities to defend itself against what it called a combined US-Israeli military and economic assault.
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