UNITED NATIONS: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday pushed countries to “take irreversible action toward implementing a two-state solution” between Israel and the Palestinians ahead of an international conference in June.
“I encourage Member States to go beyond affirmations, and to think creatively about the concrete steps they will take to support a viable two-state solution before it is too late,” Guterres told a Security Council meeting on the Middle East.
France and Saudi Arabia will co-host the conference at the United Nations in June.
“Our objective is clear: to make progress on the recognition of Palestine and the normalization of relations with Israel at the same time,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told the Security Council.
“This is how we will be able to guarantee Israel’s security and its regional integration, whilst responding to the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians to have their own state,” he said.
He said the road map for the effective implementation of the two-state solution also required the disarming of Palestinian militants Hamas, defining a credible government structure in the Gaza Strip that will exclude Hamas and reform of the Palestinian Authority.
The United Nations has long endorsed a vision of two states living side by side within secure and recognized borders. Palestinians want a state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, all territory captured by Israel in a 1967 war with neighboring Arab states.
UN chief urges ‘irreversible action’ on Israel, Palestinian two-state solution
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UN chief urges ‘irreversible action’ on Israel, Palestinian two-state solution
- The United Nations has long endorsed a vision of two states living side by side within secure and recognized borders
France tightens infant milk rules after recalls
PARIS: France has lowered the safety limit for cereulide toxin in infant formula, aiming to strengthen protections after several major groups ordered worldwide recalls over contamination concerns, the farm ministry said on Saturday.
Cereulide, which can cause nausea and vomiting, has been detected in ingredients from a factory in China supplying a large number of baby formula makers including Nestle, Danone and Lactalis, triggering recalls in dozens of countries and raising concerns among parents.
The new threshold will be of 0.014 micrograms of cereulide per kg of body mass, compared to 0.03 micrograms per kg currently, the ministry said in a statement.
France’s move follows a European Union meeting on January 28 and is in line with an updated guidance from the European Food Safety Authority that will be released on Monday, it said.
The lower threshold is likely to lead to further withdrawals in France in the coming days, it added.
The recalls illustrate how a single compromised ingredient can spread through the infant nutrition supply chain, despite tight regulation, and cause rapid market jitters.
French investigators said on January 23 they are looking into whether there is a link between the death of two infants and recalled formula products.
On Thursday, consumer group foodwatch said it had filed a criminal complaint in Paris on behalf of eight families whose babies it says fell ill after consuming contaminated infant formula, claiming companies waited too long to warn the public.
