United States: The head of the United Nations, Mr. Antonio Guterres, has warned that further escalation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict could mean the world is heading towards a “wider war.”

Mr. Guterres decried the Russian invasion of Ukraine in a speech to the 193-member UN General Assembly presenting his 2023 priorities, stating that the war was “inflicting untold suffering on the Ukrainian people with profound global implications.”

The Secretary General’s priorities were focused on Russia’s invasion, the climate crisis, and extreme poverty.

“We have started 2023 staring down the barrel of a confluence of challenges unlike any in our lifetimes,” Mr. Guterres told diplomats in New York.

“The prospects for peace keep diminishing. The chances of further escalation and bloodshed keep growing. I fear the world is not sleepwalking into a wider war. I fear it is doing so with its eyes wide open,” the UN chief shared.

In recent weeks, the nearly year-long conflict has intensified with fierce battles between Russia and Ukraine for control of towns in eastern Ukraine.

Mr. Guterres further referred to other threats to peace, from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to Afghanistan, Myanmar, the Sahel, and Haiti.

“If every country fulfilled its obligations under the [UN] charter, the right to peace would be guaranteed. It is time to transform our approach to peace by recommitting to the charter, putting human rights and dignity first, with prevention at the heart,” the Secretary General commented.

Emphasizing the need to act with future generations in mind, the UN chief repeated his call for a “radical transformation” of global finance.

“Something is fundamentally wrong with our economic and financial system,” Mr. Guterres remarked while criticising the systems for the increase in poverty and hunger, the growing gap between rich and poor, and the debt burden of developing countries.

“Without fundamental reforms, the richest countries and individuals will continue to pile up wealth, leaving crumbs for the communities and countries of the global south,” the secretary general added.

WORLD ROUNDUP: Cohabiting adults have lower level of Type 2 diabetes; Study