US to Focus on Ending War When World Leaders Gather at UN

A handout still image taken from handout video provided on 17 September 2024 by the Russian Defense Ministry shows a Russian BM-21 Grad, a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher, firing towards Ukrainian positions at an undisclosed location in Russia. EPA/Russian Defense Ministry Press Service/Handout
A handout still image taken from handout video provided on 17 September 2024 by the Russian Defense Ministry shows a Russian BM-21 Grad, a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher, firing towards Ukrainian positions at an undisclosed location in Russia. EPA/Russian Defense Ministry Press Service/Handout
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US to Focus on Ending War When World Leaders Gather at UN

A handout still image taken from handout video provided on 17 September 2024 by the Russian Defense Ministry shows a Russian BM-21 Grad, a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher, firing towards Ukrainian positions at an undisclosed location in Russia. EPA/Russian Defense Ministry Press Service/Handout
A handout still image taken from handout video provided on 17 September 2024 by the Russian Defense Ministry shows a Russian BM-21 Grad, a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher, firing towards Ukrainian positions at an undisclosed location in Russia. EPA/Russian Defense Ministry Press Service/Handout

The US focus at next week's annual UN gathering of world leaders will include ending the scourge of war and revitalizing an overstretched aid system, US envoy Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Tuesday.

She specifically mentioned Russia's war in Ukraine, the conflict in Sudan, instability in Haiti, the war between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas in the Gaza Strip and violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Myanmar.

"As we work to silence the guns, we must also redouble our efforts to address humanitarian crises," Thomas-Greenfield told reporters ahead of the high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly.

"Aid workers put their own lives at risk to save the lives of others. But what we hear time and time again is that humanitarians don't have the resources, they don't have the protection, they don't have the access they need to do their jobs," she said.

More than 130 heads of state or government are due to travel to New York to address the 193-member General Assembly, a week after a second assassination attempt on US presidential candidate Donald Trump.

"The situation that happened with President Trump is unacceptable," Thomas-Greenfield said. "We have a responsibility to do everything possible to protect the heads of state who are coming here, but also protect their own political leaders."

"New York City has police everywhere, diplomatic security is supporting Secret Service to also provide security for all the heads of state who will be here," she said, adding that there had never been a security incident related to a head of state at the UN.



Israel Business Leaders Urge Netanyahu to Keep Defense Chief Gallant 

 Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is received by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (not pictured) at the Pentagon in Washington, US, June 25, 2024. (Reuters)
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is received by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (not pictured) at the Pentagon in Washington, US, June 25, 2024. (Reuters)
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Israel Business Leaders Urge Netanyahu to Keep Defense Chief Gallant 

 Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is received by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (not pictured) at the Pentagon in Washington, US, June 25, 2024. (Reuters)
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is received by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (not pictured) at the Pentagon in Washington, US, June 25, 2024. (Reuters)

Israel's Business Forum on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to not fire his defense minister, saying it would create more division and weaken the country after reports of an imminent political shake-up rattled the country.

Israel's leading television channels and news websites have reported that Netanyahu, under pressure from far-right coalition partners, was contemplating firing Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and replacing him with a former ally turned rival, Gideon Saar, who is currently a member of the opposition.

The forum, which consists of 200 heads of Israel's largest companies that employ many private sector workers, said Netanyahu should stop "messing around with petty politics" during a war.

"Immediately stop the process of replacing (Gallant)," the forum said in a statement. "The firing of the minister weakens Israel in the eyes of her enemies, and will further deepen the division in the people of Israel."

Such a move would be a shock to the political and security landscape, especially as the war with Hamas in Gaza rages on and with the looming threat of all-out war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Netanyahu denied that he was in negotiations with Saar, though he did not refer to his plans for Gallant. Saar denied that he was negotiating with some members of the coalition.

"The prime minister knows better than anyone that all the economic indicators also prove that Israel is deteriorating into an economic abyss and sinking into a deep recession," the forum said. "The last thing Israel needs at this time is the firing of a defense minister - which will continue to shock the country."

On Monday, official data showed the economy grew an annualized 0.7% in the second quarter, revised down from a prior estimate of 1.2%. On a per capita basis, the economy contracted 0.9% in the quarter.

In March 2023, Netanyahu fired Gallant after he broke ranks with the government and urged a halt to a highly contested plan to overhaul the judicial system. That triggered mass protests and Netanyahu backtracked.