Latest news with #Spoljaric

Straits Times
22-06-2025
- Health
- Straits Times
US strikes on Iran risk ‘war with irreversible consequences': Red Cross chief
ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric called for civilians and medical personnel to be spared after the US military hit three Iranian nuclear sites. PHOTO: ICRC US strikes on Iran risk 'war with irreversible consequences': Red Cross chief Follow our live coverage here. GENEVA - The military escalation in the Middle East risks sparking warfare with irreversible consequences, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross said on June 22 , following US strikes on Iran. ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric called for civilians and medical personnel to be spared after the US military hit three Iranian nuclear sites, joining its ally Israel's bombing campaign. 'The intensification and spread of major military operations in the Middle East risk engulfing the region – and the world – in a war with irreversible consequences,' Ms Spoljaric said in a statement. 'The world cannot absorb limitless war. Upholding international humanitarian law is not a choice – it is an obligation. Civilians must be spared from the conduct of hostilities.' She said medical personnel and first responders must be allowed to carry out their life-saving work safely, including colleagues at the Iranian Red Crescent Society and at Israel's Magen David Adom. Ms Spoljaric said the ICRC had delegations in both Iran and Israel and was mobilising teams and supplies to scale up to increasing needs. However, 'no humanitarian response can substitute for political will to prioritise peace, stability and human life', she said. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

Los Angeles Times
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Finland's lawmakers vote to leave land mine treaty as Nordic country boosts defenses against Russia
HELSINKI — Finland's parliament voted overwhelmingly to pull out of a major international treaty on antipersonnel land mines Thursday as the Nordic country seeks to boost its defenses against an increasingly assertive Russia next door. Finland shares a 830-mile land border with Russia and joined NATO in 2023. Finland says land mines could be used to defend its vast and rugged terrain in the event of an attack. Finnish lawmakers voted 157-18 to move forward on a government proposal to leave the Ottawa Convention. The Nordics and Baltics have been sounding the alarm on a potential Russian incursion since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Analysts say Ukraine is among the countries that are the most affected by land mines and discarded explosives, as a result of Russia's ongoing war. The Ottawa Convention was signed in 1997, and went into force in 1999. Nearly three dozen countries have not acceded to it, including some key current and past producers and users of land mines such as the United States, China, India, Pakistan, South Korea and Russia. In a report released last year by Landmine Monitor, the international watchdog said land mines were still actively being used in 2023 and 2024 by Russia, Myanmar, Iran and North Korea. In the Baltics, lawmakers in Latvia and Lithuania earlier this year voted to exit the treaty. Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said civilians will pay the price if more countries leave the treaty. 'The global consensus that once made anti-personnel mines a symbol of inhumanity is starting to fracture,' Spoljaric said in a news release earlier this week. 'This is not just a legal retreat on paper—it risks endangering countless lives and reversing decades of hard-fought humanitarian progress.'

19-06-2025
- Politics
Finland votes to leave land mine treaty as Nordic country boosts defenses
HELSINKI -- Finland's parliament voted overwhelmingly to pull out of a major international treaty on antipersonnel land mines Thursday as the Nordic country seeks to boost its defenses against an increasingly assertive Russia next door. Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) land border with Russia and joined NATO in 2023. Finland says land mines could be used to defend its vast and rugged terrain in the event of an attack. Finnish lawmakers voted 157-18 to move forward on a government proposal to leave the Ottawa Convention. The Nordics and Baltics have been sounding the alarm on a potential Russian incursion since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Analysts say Ukraine is among the countries that are the most affected by land mines and discarded explosives, as a result of Russia's ongoing war. The Ottawa Convention was signed in 1997, and went into force in 1999. Nearly three dozen countries have not acceded to it, including some key current and past producers and users of land mines such as the United States, China, India, Pakistan, South Korea and Russia. In a report released last year by Landmine Monitor, the international watchdog said land mines were still actively being used in 2023 and 2024 by Russia, Myanmar, Iran and North Korea. In the Baltics, lawmakers in Latvia and Lithuania earlier this year voted to exit the treaty. Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said civilians will pay the price if more countries leave the treaty. 'The global consensus that once made anti-personnel mines a symbol of inhumanity is starting to fracture,' Spoljaric said in a news release earlier this week. 'This is not just a legal retreat on paper—it risks endangering countless lives and reversing decades of hard-fought humanitarian progress.'


Time of India
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Finland's lawmakers vote to leave land mine treaty as Nordic country boosts defenses against Russia
AP image HELSINKI: Finland's parliament voted overwhelmingly to pull out of a major international treaty on antipersonnel land mines Thursday as the Nordic country seeks to boost its defences against an increasingly assertive Russia next door. Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) land border with Russia and joined Nato in 2023. Finland says land mines could be used to defend its vast and rugged terrain in the event of an attack. Finnish lawmakers voted 157-18 to move forward on a government proposal to leave the Ottawa convention. The Nordics and Baltics have been sounding the alarm on a potential Russian incursion since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Analysts say Ukraine is among the countries that are the most affected by land mines and discarded explosives, as a result of Russia's ongoing war. The Ottawa convention was signed in 1997, and went into force in 1999. Nearly three dozen countries have not acceded to it, including some key current and past producers and users of land mines such as the United States, China, India, South Korea and Russia. In a report released last year by Landmine Monitor, the international watchdog said land mines were still actively being used in 2023 and 2024 by Russia, Myanmar, Iran and North Korea. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Cardiologists: 1 Teaspoon of This Before Bed Melts Belly Fat Like Crazy Hollywood News | USA Click Here Undo In the Baltics, lawmakers in Latvia and Lithuania earlier this year voted to exit the treaty. Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the international committee of the red cross, said civilians will pay the price if more countries leave the treaty. "The global consensus that once made anti-personnel mines a symbol of inhumanity is starting to fracture," Spoljaric said in a news release earlier this week. "This is not just a legal retreat on paper-it risks endangering countless lives and reversing decades of hard-fought humanitarian progress."


San Francisco Chronicle
19-06-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Finland's lawmakers vote to leave land mine treaty as Nordic country boosts defenses against Russia
HELSINKI (AP) — Finland's parliament voted overwhelmingly to pull out of a major international treaty on antipersonnel land mines Thursday as the Nordic country seeks to boost its defenses against an increasingly assertive Russia next door. Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) land border with Russia and joined NATO in 2023. Finland says land mines could be used to defend its vast and rugged terrain in the event of an attack. Finnish lawmakers voted 157-18 to move forward on a government proposal to leave the Ottawa Convention. The Nordics and Baltics have been sounding the alarm on a potential Russian incursion since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Analysts say Ukraine is among the countries that are the most affected by land mines and discarded explosives, as a result of Russia's ongoing war. The Ottawa Convention was signed in 1997, and went into force in 1999. Nearly three dozen countries have not acceded to it, including some key current and past producers and users of land mines such as the United States, China, India, Pakistan, South Korea and Russia. In a report released last year by Landmine Monitor, the international watchdog said land mines were still actively being used in 2023 and 2024 by Russia, Myanmar, Iran and North Korea. In the Baltics, lawmakers in Latvia and Lithuania earlier this year voted to exit the treaty. Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said civilians will pay the price if more countries leave the treaty. 'The global consensus that once made anti-personnel mines a symbol of inhumanity is starting to fracture,' Spoljaric said in a news release earlier this week. 'This is not just a legal retreat on paper—it risks endangering countless lives and reversing decades of hard-fought humanitarian progress.'