Politics
Majority of UN members back recognition of Palestinian statehood

Nearly three-quarters of UN member states have either recognised or announced plans to recognise Palestinian statehood, with Australia becoming the latest on Monday to pledge support ahead of the UN General Assembly session in September.
The ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza triggered by the Palestinian militant group’s October 7, 2023 attack has reignited global momentum for granting Palestinians an independent state.
This marks a departure from the long-standing position that Palestinian statehood should come only through a negotiated peace settlement with Israel.
An AFP count shows that at least 145 of the UN’s 193 members now recognise or intend to recognise a Palestinian state, among them France, Canada, and Britain.
A brief timeline of the Palestinian statehood bid:
1988 – Arafat’s declaration:
On November 15, 1988, during the first Palestinian intifada against Israeli rule, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat unilaterally declared an independent Palestinian state, naming Jerusalem as its capital.
He made the announcement in Algiers at a meeting of the exiled Palestinian National Council, which adopted the two-state solution as a goal, with independent Israeli and Palestinian states existing side-by-side.
Minutes later, Algeria became the first country to officially recognise an independent Palestinian state.
Within a week, dozens of other countries, including much of the Arab world, India, Turkey, most of Africa and several central and eastern European countries followed suit.
The next wave of recognitions came in late 2010 and early 2011, at a time of crisis for the Middle East peace process.
South American countries, including Argentina, Brazil and Chile, answered calls by the Palestinians to endorse their statehood claims.
This came in response to Israel’s decision to end a temporary ban on Jewish settlement-building in the occupied West Bank.
2011-2012: UN recognition
In 2011, with peace talks at a standstill, the Palestinians pushed ahead with a campaign for full UN membership.
The quest failed, but in a groundbreaking move on October 31 of that year, the UN cultural agency UNESCO voted to accept the Palestinians as a full member, much to the dismay of Israel and the United States.
In November 2012, the Palestinian flag was raised for the first time at the United Nations in New York after the General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to upgrade the status of the Palestinians to “non-member observer state”.
Three years later, the International Criminal Court also accepted the Palestinians as a state party.
2024-2025 new push
Israel’s offensive in Gaza after the October 7, 2023 attack has boosted support for Palestinian statehood.
Four Caribbean countries (Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and the Bahamas) and Armenia took the diplomatic step in 2024.
So did four European countries: Norway, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia, the latter three EU members.
Within the European Union, this was a first in 10 years since Sweden’s move in 2014, which resulted in years of strained relations with Israel.
Other member states, such as Poland, Bulgaria and Romania, had already done so in 1988, long before joining the EU.
On the other hand, some former Eastern bloc countries, such as Hungary and the Czech Republic, do not or no longer recognise a state of Palestine.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Monday that “Australia will recognise the right of the Palestinian people to a state of their own” at the UN General Assembly.
France said last month it intends to recognise a Palestinian state come September, while Britain said it would do the same unless Israel takes “substantive steps”, including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza.
Canada also plans to recognise a Palestinian state in September, Prime Minister Mark Carney said, marking a dramatic policy shift that was immediately rejected by Israel.
Among other countries that could also formally express recognition, Malta, Finland and Portugal have raised the possibility.
Politics
French teen faces jail in Singapore for licking vending machine straw

A French teenager has been charged with mischief and public nuisance in Singapore for licking a straw and putting it back in an orange juice vending machine, court documents showed Monday.
Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien, 18, allegedly filmed himself “licking a straw and placing it back at the vending machine”, uploaded the video on Instagram knowing that it “would or would probably cause annoyance to the public”, according to the documents.
The teenager is studying in Singapore, according to court records.
The public nuisance offence carries a jail term of up to three months and a fine.
A second charge of committing mischief said Maximilien knew that he was “likely to cause wrongful loss or damage” to iJooz, the company operating the vending machine which had to replace all 500 straws in the dispenser.
The mischief offence carries a punishment of up to two years in jail on conviction and a fine, according to the charge sheet.
Both offences were allegedly committed on March 12.
The charges were lodged before a district court last Friday, and the next hearing will be on May 22.
The Straits Times newspaper said the video “quickly went viral, sparking shock and concern among netizens”.
Politics
Araghchi arrives in Russia for close consultations on regional, international issues

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has arrived in Russia to continue close consultations between Tehran and Moscow on regional and international issues, and to enhance bilateral relations.
Speaking upon arrival at Pulkovo International Airport in St. Petersburg on Monday, Araghchi noted that due to the recent US-Israeli aggression against the country, there had been a gap in meetings with Russian counterparts.
“We have tried to use the available opportunity, following our trips to Pakistan and Oman, to travel to Russia,” he said.
Araghchi added that Monday’s meeting would be a good opportunity to discuss developments in the war and review the latest situation, expressing confidence that consultations and coordination between the two countries would be of particular importance.
Constructive consultations held in Pakistan
Regarding his trips to Islamabad and Oman over the past three days, the foreign minister emphasized the bilateral nature of the visits.
Pointing to Pakistan’s role as a mediator in Iran-US negotiations, Araghchi said it was necessary to review the latest situation with Pakistani officials.
“Previous negotiations, despite some progress, did not achieve their goals due to American approaches, their excessive demands, and their wrong policies. Therefore, we needed to hold consultations with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest developments,” Araghchi explained.
He stressed that Iran’s position in the negotiations is very important.
“We must secure the rights of the Iranian people after 40 days of resistance and protect the country’s interests,” he added.
Iran-Oman expert-level consultations on Strait of Hormuz to continue
Referring to his meetings with senior Omani officials, Araghchi noted that Iran and Oman are both littoral states of the Strait of Hormuz, and it is necessary for them to consult each other, especially as safe passage through the strait has become a globally significant issue.
“It is natural that as two coastal countries of this strait, we must talk to each other to secure our common interests and coordinate any action taken in this regard, because the interests of Iran and Oman are directly involved in this matter,” Araghchi said.
He confirmed that there is a broad consensus between Iran and Oman, and it was agreed during the visit that consultations would continue at the expert level.
Iran closed the waterway to the enemies and their allies following the launch of the US-Israeli aggression against Iran on February 28, with the assassination of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, and several top military commanders.
On April 8, forty days into the war, a temporary Pakistan-brokered ceasefire took effect. Talks ensued in Islamabad but stopped short of an agreement amid the United States’ maximalist demands and insistence on unreasonable positions.
Iran announced the reopening of the chokehold to commercial traffic following the announcement of a ceasefire by US President Donald Trump on April 7.
The country, however, imposed a total closure on the waterway on April 18 after Trump said the US was continuing an unlawful blockade it had imposed on Iran in continuation of unlawful aggression towards the country.
Politics
India names Modi party colleague envoy to Bangladesh as ties thaw

India named veteran politician Dinesh Trivedi as its next high commissioner to Bangladesh on Monday, in a rare appointment of a non–foreign service officer as New Delhi seeks to reset ties with its eastern neighbour.
Ties between the countries soured after a popular uprising forced Bangladesh’s long‑serving Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to flee to New Delhi in 2024, where she remains. Trivedi’s appointment highlights India’s push to rebuild trust with Bangladesh as it faces stiff competition from China for influence and business.
Trivedi, 75, a former railways and health minister, joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party in 2021 from a regional party in West Bengal, a border state that plays a key role in India’s ties with Bangladesh and where Modi has been seeking to expand his party’s influence in ongoing local elections.
“He is expected to take up the assignment shortly,” India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement about Trivedi.
Relations between the two countries began improving only after an election in February brought Tarique Rahman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party to power, replacing an interim government that had veered strongly towards China.
Bangladesh’s foreign minister visited Delhi this month seeking increased fuel and fertiliser supplies, closer energy cooperation and eased travel restrictions, but one of the biggest sticking points remains India’s refusal so far to extradite Hasina.
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