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UN Chief: We Must Spare No Effort to End War in Ukraine 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a speech at the opening of the 58th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, on February 24, 2025. (AFP)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a speech at the opening of the 58th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, on February 24, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Chief: We Must Spare No Effort to End War in Ukraine 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a speech at the opening of the 58th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, on February 24, 2025. (AFP)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a speech at the opening of the 58th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, on February 24, 2025. (AFP)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday that countries must work to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, calling for a just and lasting peace on the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

"We must spare no effort to bring an end to this conflict, and achieve a just and lasting peace in line with the UN Charter, international law and General Assembly resolutions," he told a high-level meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, repeating that Russia's actions in February 2022 violated the global body's founding document, the UN Charter. 

His remarks come ahead of a UN showdown on Ukraine later on Monday in New York, with the United States urging states to back its resolution which it says is focused on ending the war and pits it against a rival text by Ukraine and European allies. 

That motion repeats the UN demand that Russia withdraw its troops and halt hostilities, which has received overwhelming support in the past. 

The UN split illustrates the position Ukraine finds itself in as it enters the fourth year of all-out war with Russia, with the backing of its staunchest ally the United States fraying amid growing pressure from Washington for a deal to end the war. 

In an address to the same meeting, UN rights chief Volker Turk said that any sustainable peace "must be anchored in the rights, needs and aspirations of the Ukrainian people, in accountability, and in the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law." 

Washington left its seat at the Human Rights Council empty, in line with US President Donald Trump's decision to disengage from the body which is the only intergovernmental organization that protects human rights. 

Russia, which says it had no choice but to launch what it calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine due to the NATO alliance's eastwards expansion, will address the meeting on Wednesday. 

In the same speech, Guterres said that human rights around the world are being "suffocated" and referred to intolerable levels of death and destruction in Gaza, as well as horrifying human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

Turk, an Austrian lawyer, warned that the system of global protections built in the decades after World War Two has never before been under so much strain. 

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World

Helplines Buzz with Alerts from Seafarers Trapped in War

Seafarers operate the cargo ships and tankers on which global trade relies. CN-STR/AFP
Seafarers operate the cargo ships and tankers on which global trade relies. CN-STR/AFP
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Helplines Buzz with Alerts from Seafarers Trapped in War

Seafarers operate the cargo ships and tankers on which global trade relies. CN-STR/AFP
Seafarers operate the cargo ships and tankers on which global trade relies. CN-STR/AFP

Seafarers' helplines say they are overwhelmed with messages from crews stuck in the Gulf by the Middle East war, desperately seeking repatriation, compensation and onboard supplies.

"Writing to urgently inform you that our vessel is currently facing a critical situation regarding provisions and one crew health conditions," read an email from one seafarer on March 24 to the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF)'s Seafarer Support team.

"Immediate supply of food, drinking water, basic necessities is required to sustain the crew," said the message to the team's helpline.

The ITF said it had received more than 1,000 emails and messages from seafarers stuck around the Strait of Hormuz and the wider region since the war erupted with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.

- Bomb strikes -

Some sought to clarify what their rights are while navigating a war zone, while others sent videos of bombings striking next to their ship and asked the federation for help to get off board, according to ITF documents seen by AFP.

"It is an extraordinary situation, there is a lot of panic," Mohamed Arrachedi, ITF's Network Coordinator for the Arab World and Iran, in charge of handling requests from seafarers in the region, told AFP, describing the situation as "really shocking".

"I get calls from seafarers at two o'clock, three o'clock in the morning. They call me the minute they have access to the internet," Arrachedi said on Wednesday by telephone from Spain.

"One seafarer called in a panic, saying: 'We are here bombed. We don't want to die. Please help me, sir. Please get us from here."

About 20,000 seafarers are currently stuck in the Gulf, according to the UN's maritime body, known as the IMO, and at least eight seafarers or dock workers have died in incidents in the region since February 28.

All correspondence was shared with AFP on condition of anonymity, as the helpline guarantees confidentiality to seafarers.

- War zone rights -

The International Bargaining Forum (IBF), a global maritime labor body, has declared the area a war zone.

This normally gives seafarers exceptional rights, including repatriation at the company's cost and double pay for those working on ships covered by IBF agreements -- around 15,000 vessels worldwide, according to the ITF.

Despite this, many seafarers -- especially on ships without such labor agreements -- are reporting difficulties with getting repatriated.

In one email sent to the ITF on March 18, a seafarer said the ship's operator was ignoring crews' requests to leave, arguing that there were no flights from Iraq and refusing alternative routes.

"They are forcing us to continue to do cargo operations and STS (ship-to-ship operations) even (when) we raise our concerns about our safety and we are in war like area. They are keeping us in a position with no options," read the email seen by AFP.

The International Seafarers' Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN), another organization operating a helpline, told AFP on Wednesday that it had seen "a 15-20 percent increase in calls and messages" since the start of the war, with a third relating to repatriation difficulties.

- $16 a day -

Another major concern is compensation.

"About 50 percent of emails we receive concern pay," Lucian Craciun, one of five members of ITF's support team processing requests at the organization's headquarters in London, told AFP.

He said many seafarers choose to stay on board despite the dangerous conditions because they cannot afford to leave.

One email seen by AFP came from a seafarer asking to confirm whether his salary would go from $16 a day to $32 because he was in a designated war zone.

The ITF says such low salaries indicate that the shipowners do not have labor agreements in place to ensure decent pay.

Seafarers working under such arrangements are particularly at risk because their contracts often do not cover operations in war zones, and owners tend not to respond to requests from organizations such as the ITF, according to the support team.

When that happens, the ITF reaches out to the flag states and, if that does not work, to the state port authority where the vessel is located.

Arrachedi said that many such cases in the Gulf are still unresolved, with seafarers desperately awaiting responses from operators.

World

North Korea Conducts Engine Test for Missile Capable of Targeting US Mainland

This undated picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on March 29, 2026 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspecting a combustion test of a solid-fuel rocket engine at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (KCNA via KNS / AFP)
This undated picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on March 29, 2026 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspecting a combustion test of a solid-fuel rocket engine at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (KCNA via KNS / AFP)
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North Korea Conducts Engine Test for Missile Capable of Targeting US Mainland

This undated picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on March 29, 2026 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspecting a combustion test of a solid-fuel rocket engine at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (KCNA via KNS / AFP)
This undated picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on March 29, 2026 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspecting a combustion test of a solid-fuel rocket engine at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (KCNA via KNS / AFP)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed a test of a high-thrust, solid-fuel engine for weapons and hailed it as a development to boost the country’s strategic military capability, state media reported Sunday.

The test likely indicates Kim is intent on enlarging and modernizing an arsenal of missiles capable of reaching the United States mainland.

The report on Sunday from Korean Central News Agency came days after Kim delivered a speech at North Korea's Parliament pledging to irreversibly cement his country’s status as a nuclear power and accusing the US of global “state terrorism and aggression,” in an apparent reference to the war in the Middle East.

Kim watched the ground jet test of the newly upgraded engine using a composite carbon fiber material, according to KCNA, which reported the engine's maximum trust is 2,500 kilotons, up from about 1,971 kilotons reported in a similar solid fuel engine test in September.

A push to increase the engine power is likely associated with efforts to place multiple warheads on a single missile to increase chances of defeating US defenses, observers say.

KCNA did not report exactly when or where the test occurred.

The test was conducted as part of the country's five-year military escalation program. The plan's objectives include upgrading “strategic strike means,” KCNA reported.

The reference is understood to mean nuclear-capable, intercontinental ballistic missiles targeting the continental US.

Kim said the latest engine test had “great significance in putting the country’s strategic military muscle on the highest level,” KCNA reported.

In recent years, North Korea has test-fired a variety of ICBMs demonstrating the potential range to reach the US mainland, including missiles with solid propellants that make detection prior to liftoff more difficult. The country's older liquid-fuel missiles must be fueled before liftoffs and cannot last long.

Some foreign experts say North Korea still faces technological hurdles before it has a functioning ICBM, such as ensuring its warheads survive the harsh conditions of atmospheric reentry. But others dispute that assessment given the number of years the country has spent on its nuclear and missile programs.

North Korea has pushed hard to expand its nuclear arsenal since Kim's high-stakes diplomacy with US President Donald Trump collapsed in 2019. In a ruling Workers' Party congress in February, Kim left open the door for dialogue with Trump but urged Washington to drop demands for the North’s nuclear disarmament as a precondition for talks.

World

Venezuela’s Maduro Thanks Supporters in First Online Post from US Prison

A supporter of ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores reacts while gathering with others in support of Maduro and Flores on the day they attend a hearing in a Manhattan federal court, more than two months after US military forces captured them in a surprise raid on Caracas and ferried them to New York, in Caracas, Venezuela, March 26, 2026. (Reuters)
A supporter of ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores reacts while gathering with others in support of Maduro and Flores on the day they attend a hearing in a Manhattan federal court, more than two months after US military forces captured them in a surprise raid on Caracas and ferried them to New York, in Caracas, Venezuela, March 26, 2026. (Reuters)
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Venezuela’s Maduro Thanks Supporters in First Online Post from US Prison

A supporter of ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores reacts while gathering with others in support of Maduro and Flores on the day they attend a hearing in a Manhattan federal court, more than two months after US military forces captured them in a surprise raid on Caracas and ferried them to New York, in Caracas, Venezuela, March 26, 2026. (Reuters)
A supporter of ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores reacts while gathering with others in support of Maduro and Flores on the day they attend a hearing in a Manhattan federal court, more than two months after US military forces captured them in a surprise raid on Caracas and ferried them to New York, in Caracas, Venezuela, March 26, 2026. (Reuters)

Ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife, captured by US forces in a nighttime raid in January, said Saturday that they feel "steadfast" and "serene" in their first social media post from prison.

Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores have been held in a Brooklyn jail for almost three months, after American commandos snatched the pair from their compound in Caracas, and they have reportedly been without access to the internet or newspapers.

"We are well, steadfast, serene and in constant prayer," the pair said in a message shared on Maduro's X account, though it was unclear who made the post on their behalf.

"We have received your communications, your messages, your emails, your letters and your prayers. Every word of love, every gesture of affection, every expression of support fills our souls and strengthens us spiritually."

A source close to the Venezuelan government told AFP that Maduro reads the Bible and is referred to as "president" by some of his fellow detainees in Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, a federal prison known for unsanitary conditions.

He is only allowed to communicate by phone with his family and lawyers for a maximum of 15 minutes per call, the source added.

His son, Nicolas Maduro Guerra, known as "Nicolasito," has said in public appearances that his father is well, calm, and even exercising in prison.

Maduro, who has declared himself a "prisoner of war," had not spoken since being arraigned in New York on January 5.

"We feel a deep admiration for our people's ability to remain united in difficult times, to express love, awareness, and solidarity, within Venezuela and beyond our borders," the couple added in Saturday's post.

During a one-hour hearing on Thursday, the judge rejected a defense motion over Maduro and his wife's apparent inability to afford their legal bill without aid from the Venezuelan government. Neither spoke during the court appearance.

Maduro has pleaded not guilty to charges of "narco-terrorism" conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.

The January operation deposed Maduro, who had led Venezuela since 2013, forcing the oil-rich country to largely bend to US President Donald Trump's will.

Delcy Rodriguez, who had been Maduro's vice president since 2018, is now at the helm and grappling with leading a country saddled with the world's largest proven oil reserves but an economy in shambles.

Since Maduro's ouster, Rodriguez has enacted a historic amnesty law to free political prisoners jailed during his tenure and reformed oil and mining regulations in line with US demands for access to her country's vast natural wealth.

This month, the State Department said it was restoring diplomatic ties with Venezuela in a sign of thawing relations.