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WORLD NEWS Saturday 3 OctOber 2020
UN chief: World is living in `shadow of nuclear catastrophe'

By EDITH M. LEDERER place 75 years after the
Associated Press United States dropped nu-
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — clear bombs on Hiroshima
U.N. Secretary-General An- and Nagasaki, which killed
tonio Guterres warned Fri- 210,000 people and sped
day that the world is living the end of World War II.
"in the shadow of nuclear Iran's Foreign Minister Mo-
catastrophe," fueled by hammad Javad Zarif,
growing distrust and ten- whose country is still part of
sions between the nuclear a 2015 agreement with Rus-
powers. sia, China, Britain, France
The U.N. chief told a high- and Germany aimed at
level meeting to commem- preventing the Islamic
orate the recent Interna- Republic from obtaining
tional Day for Total Elimina- nuclear weapon, said the
tion of Nuclear Weapons meeting "provides a unique
that strains between coun- opportunity to mobilize the
tries that possess nuclear world to liberate human-
weapons "have increased ity from the nuclear night-
nuclear risks." mare."
As examples, Guterres has In brief prerecorded re-
expressed deep concern marks, Zarif accused the
at the escalating disputes United States of "develop-
between the Trump admin- In this photo provided by the United Nations, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres briefs reporters ing new nuclear weapons
istration and China. Rela- during the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020, at U.N. and recklessly lowering
headquarters in New York.
tions between the U.S. and Associated Press the threshold of their de-
Russia are at a low point. ployment." He said the U.S.
Nuclear-armed India and Reduction Treaty between weapons. The five-year re- sia's ratification on Sept. 30 has also caused "immense
Pakistan are feuding over the United States and Rus- view of its implementation it now has 46. damage to the NPT by un-
Kashmir, and India just had sia -- which is set to expire was postponed because At Friday's high-level meet- lawfully withdrawing from
a border skirmish with Chi- next year. of the COVID-19 pandemic ing, 103 of the 193 U.N. the 2015 nuclear deal with
na. And North Korea boasts "It is imperative" that the until next year and Guterres member nations were Iran and the 1987 interme-
about its nuclear weapons. two countries extend it with- urged its 191 parties to use scheduled to speak. diate-range Nuclear Forces
Without naming any coun- out delay for the maximum the extra time to strength- Of the major nuclear pow- Treaty with Russia on missile.
tries, Guterres said pro- five years, he said, waring en the treaty, including ers, Russia and China are Zarif also lashed out at U.S.
grams to modernize nu- that without a treaty there making "tangible progress on the speakers list but support for Israel, "the sole
clear arsenals "threaten a is an "alarming possibility of towards the elimination of the United States Britain possessor of nuclear arse-
qualitative nuclear arms a return to unconstrained nuclear weapons." and France are skipping nal in our region." He de-
race," not to increase the strategic competition." Guterres said he also looks the meeting. So are North manded that the interna-
number of weapons but to The secretary-general said forward to the entry into Korea and Israel, which is tional community "compel
make them "faster, stealthi- the nuclear non-prolifer- force of the first-ever treaty widely reported to have Israel -- which has aggres-
er and more accurate." ation treaty or NPT, which to ban nuclear weapons, a nuclear arsenal but has sion in its very DNA -- to
Guterres also pointed to marks its 50th anniversary which was adopted in never admitted it public- promptly accede to the
the only treaty constrain- this year, remains the cor- July 2017 by 122 countries. ly. India and Pakistan are NPT and destroy its nuclear
ing the size of the world's nerstone of nuclear disar- Once it has 50 ratifications, scheduled to speak. arsenal" and submit to "the
largest nuclear arsenals mament and efforts to pre- the treaty will enter force in Many speakers recalled most intrusive inspection
-- the New Strategic Arms vent the spread of nuclear 90 days, and with Malay- that the meeting is taking regime."q

OPCW probes couldn’t prove chemical use in 2 Syria attacks

By MIKE CORDER ib attack said that open allow the FFM to establish
Associated Press source reports suggested whether or not chemicals
THE HAGUE, Netherlands around 30 people, mainly were used as a weapon,"
(AP) — The global chemi- women and children ex- according to the report is-
cal weapons watchdog perienced breathing dif- sued Friday.
said Friday that two inves- ficulties. The reports also The alleged chlorine attack
tigations into alleged at- "indicated the presence of in Aleppo was blamed on
tacks in Syria in 2016 and a substance with an odor rebel forces."Social media
2018 couldn't establish similar to that of chlorine," reported that armed op-
that chemicals were used the OPCW report said. position groups dismissed
as weapons in either case. The Fact-Finding Mission accusations that they had
The Organization for the wasn't able to visit the site used poisonous gases to
Prohibition of Chemical of the alleged incident or attack areas controlled by
Weapons issued two re- the hospital where injured the government in the city
ports by its Fact-Finding victims were treated. It of Aleppo," the OPCW re- This Wednesday, March 21, 2018 file photo shows the
Mission into attacks in had to rely on data includ- port said. headquarters of the Organization for the Prohibition of
Saraqib in the Idlib region ing interviews, hospital Despite visiting hospitals to Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague, Netherlands.
on Aug. 1, 2016, and in records and videos and collect medical records Associated Press
Aleppo on Nov. 24, 2018. photographs. Its investiga- and analyzing samples, also didn't establish wheth- as a weapon, the report
The report on the Saraq- tions and analysis "did not the Aleppo investigation er chemicals were used said.q