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Israeli FM Reiterates UN Chief Guterres is Persona Non Grata Over Iran Stance

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York, US, September 24, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York, US, September 24, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo
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Israeli FM Reiterates UN Chief Guterres is Persona Non Grata Over Iran Stance

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York, US, September 24, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York, US, September 24, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz reiterated on Sunday that the country considers UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres persona non grata due to his failure to condemn Iran's missile attack and what Katz described as antisemitic and anti-Israel conduct.
Katz had said on Oct. 2 that he was barring UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres from entering the country because he had not "unequivocally" condemned the missile attack.
Iran fired more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel on Oct. 1 amid an escalation in fighting between Israel and its proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah. Many were intercepted in flight but some penetrated missile defenses.

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Vietnam, China Hold Talks on Calming South China Sea Tensions

Chinese Premier Li Qiang, left, and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh shake hands before a meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (Duong Van Giang/VNA via AP)
Chinese Premier Li Qiang, left, and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh shake hands before a meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (Duong Van Giang/VNA via AP)
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Vietnam, China Hold Talks on Calming South China Sea Tensions

Chinese Premier Li Qiang, left, and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh shake hands before a meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (Duong Van Giang/VNA via AP)
Chinese Premier Li Qiang, left, and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh shake hands before a meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (Duong Van Giang/VNA via AP)

Vietnam and China agreed to calm tensions in their South China Sea dispute, Vietnamese state media reported on Sunday, days after Hanoi accused Beijing of a "brutal" attack on its fishermen.

China is Vietnam's biggest trade partner, but the two countries share historic tensions including in the South China Sea, a waterway through which trillions of dollars of trade pass each year.

Beijing has for years sought to expand its presence in contested areas of the sea, brushing aside an international ruling that its claim to most of the waterway has no legal basis.

Last week Hanoi protested a "brutal" attack by Chinese vessels, in which it said 10 Vietnamese fishermen were beaten with iron bars and robbed of thousands of dollars' worth of fish and equipment.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and visiting Chinese Premier Li Qiang "exchanged sincere and frank opinions on maritime issues" at a meeting in Hanoi, Vietnamese state media said.

"They committed to adequately controlling differences... avoiding actions that complicate the situation, and jointly maintaining stability at sea," the Bao Chinh Phu newspaper said.

The two countries also signed 10 agreements on Sunday, including on expanding cross-border railway links, payments and economic cooperation.

They agreed to work on a technical plan for a rail link between Lao Cai in northern Vietnam and Hekou in China's Yunnan province.

They also signed a memorandum of understanding on the implementation of cross-border payment services via QR codes and an agreement to study a model for an "economic cooperation zone" across their border.

Vietnam's top leader To Lam and Li agreed on Saturday to boost defense and economic cooperation, Vietnamese state media reported.

Hanoi would facilitate more high-tech Chinese investment in Vietnam and Beijing would strengthen market access for Vietnamese agricultural products, the Nhan Dan newspaper said.

At Saturday's meeting, Lam "urged both parties to... better manage and resolve differences" in maritime issues, the newspaper said.

Lam took office in early August as general secretary following the death of his predecessor, Nguyen Phu Trong.

He later met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing during his first overseas trip.