Japan Government Bond Rout Deepens as Election Spending Fears Shake Markets 
Trump Declines G7 Paris Meeting Amid Rising Tensions With European Allies Over Greenland Remarks 
Trump Signals Potential Role for Maria Corina Machado in Venezuela as U.S. Policy Tone Shifts 
Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ Proposal Sparks Global Debate Over U.N. Role 
Syria Announces Ceasefire With Kurdish Forces as U.S. Pushes Integration Deal 
U.S. Plans NATO Staff Reductions, Raising Fresh Concerns Over Alliance Commitment 
Guatemala Declares State of Siege After Deadly Gang Violence and Prison Hostage Crisis 
Trump’s Greenland Ambition Sparks NATO Tensions, Trade War Fears, and Global Market Turmoil 
Russia Says Ukraine Peace Talks With U.S. Show Progress 
Syrian Government Consolidates Control as Kurdish Forces Withdraw from Key Regions 
Trump Revives Greenland Ownership Push Ahead of World Economic Forum in Davos 
Supreme Court Tests Federal Reserve Independence Amid Trump’s Bid to Fire Lisa Cook 
France Nears 2026 Budget Deal as Government Offers Concessions to Avoid No-Confidence Vote 
Trump Signs Executive Order to Limit Wall Street Investment in Single-Family Homes 
Trump Criticizes NYSE Texas Expansion, Calls Dallas Exchange a Blow to New York 
Trump Threatens 200% Tariff on French Wine Over Macron’s Refusal to Join Peace Board 
The United Nations General Assembly conducted a rare emergency session this week in the midst of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. The majority of the countries voted in support of the resolution demanding that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin immediately withdraw all military forces from Ukraine.
141 out of 193 of the world’s nations voted in favor of a United Nations resolution demanding Russia “immediately, completely, and unconditionally” withdraw all its military forces out of Ukraine. The resolution was taken up Wednesday in a rare emergency session of the UN General Assembly, marking another rebuke towards Moscow.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the resolution to condemn Russia was “loud and clear.”
“End hostilities in Ukraine – now. Silence the guns – now,” said Guterres in a statement. “As bad as the situation is for the people in Ukraine right now, it threatens to get much, much worse. The ticking clock is a time bomb.”
Among the 35 countries that abstained from voting were China, India, and South Africa. Only five countries including Russia – Eritrea, North Korea, Syria, and Belarus, opposed. Russia’s ally Serbia was also among the countries that supported the resolution.
The resolution “deplores” Russia’s offensive on Ukraine, and condemns the decision made by Putin to put his nuclear forces on alert. While the resolutions by the UNGA are non-binding, there is political weight, with the latest resolution further isolating Russia from the rest of the world.
Nearly all the speakers at the General Assembly condemned the conflict. Ukraine’s ambassador to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya said the resolution is “one of the building blocks to build a wall” to stop Russia’s offensive and urged countries to support the resolution ahead of the vote.
The West and many other countries have also moved to impose sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion and aggression on Ukraine. The US recently announced another set of sanctions that now target several Russian oligarchs and their families and individuals in Putin’s inner circle. This also includes Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
The sanctions include visa restrictions and seizure of assets, targeting 19 “oligarchs” and 47 of their family members, said the Biden administration.
