Latest news with #WorldWarOne
BBC News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Rare postcard from Edith Cavell sells at auction for €1k
An "extremely rare" postcard written by World War One heroine and nurse Edith Cavell has sold at auction for €1,000 (about £880).The postcard is thought to have been sent around the time of the outbreak of the conflict and is addressed to Mrs Cavell at 24 College Road, postcard, which has the words "Mundesley much changed & much grown" written in pencil, has sold at an auction in Spain. Auctioneers, International Autograph Europe S.L Malaga, said the postcard had "some extremely minor, light age wear" and was of the chapel on Mundesley High Street. The opening bid was set at €1,000 and was expected to reach up to €1,200 (about £1,045).Francisco Piñero, chief executive of the company, said autographs of Ms Cavell were "extremely rare" and it was one of only a small handful he has handled during his career. Cavell was born in Swardeston, near Norwich, where her father was the local vicar, and was inspired to become a nurse after she nursed him back to health. In 1907, she travelled to Brussels to help run a new nursing school. She helped hundreds of soldiers escape as part of the Belgian underground was executed by a German firing squad for treason on 12 October 1915 at the age of 49, and her body was later returned to her home in the autograph letters, manuscripts and historical documents auction, it featured alongside autographs by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Also featured at the auction were two letters written by Norfolk's famous son Lord Admiral Nelson, including a document removed from a naval order book outlining a number of instructions and was signed by Nelson's niece Catherine Bolton. The letter is believed to have been written during his blockade of the French fleet at Toulon, fetching €6,000 (about £2,490) at the auction. The other document has been written by Nelson's personal chaplain Alexander Scott and was sold for €1,900 (about £1,655). Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Armenian PM set for rare bilateral visit to Turkey to meet Erdogan
FILE PHOTO: Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan arrives for a meeting with international investors in IA at the Elysee Palace as part of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit in Paris, France, February 10, 2025. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/ File Photo ISTANBUL/TBILISI - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said he will visit Turkey for talks with President Tayyip Erdogan on Friday, a rare bilateral visit that Armenia hopes will reset fraught ties and reopen their shared land border after decades of enmity. The two neighbours have no formal diplomatic relations amid a legacy of deep historical hostility stemming from the World War One mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman forces, considered a genocide by Armenia and many other countries. Turkey has also taken the side of close-ally Azerbaijan in its longstanding conflict with Armenia. Armenpress state news agency cited Pashinyan on Wednesday as confirming the visit with Erdogan, Turkey's leader of 22 years. Armenian parliamentary speaker Alen Simonyan on Tuesday said the visit would be "historic", and partly aimed at eliminating the risk of fresh fighting with Azerbaijan. Pashinyan, who has presided over several defeats to Azerbaijan, has pushed hard to normalise relations with Ankara and Baku. He frames normalisation with Turkey as a way for Armenia, whose relations with traditional ally Russia have soured, to build closer ties with Western countries. Earlier this year he said Armenia would no longer lobby for international recognition of the destruction of Anatolia's Armenian population as a genocide, a concession to Turkey that is deeply controversial among many Armenians. A senior Armenian diplomat said the two sides would discuss the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process, and could also discuss the Israeli-Iranian conflict and evacuating foreign citizens from Iran, which neighbours both states. Ankara closed its border with Armenia in 1993, in support of Azerbaijan in the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azerbaijani region that at the time had a mostly Armenian population. Turkey has said it wants to reopen the eastern frontier, but only if Armenia signs a peace treaty with Azerbaijan, with which Turkey has cultural and linguistic ties. Armenia has repeatedly said it wants to reopen the Turkish border, and last year refurbished a crossing point. "We are ready for a new era in our region," the diplomat said. A day before the visit, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev will also visit Erdogan in Turkey, Erdogan's office said. Azerbaijan in 2023 restored full control over Karabakh, prompting the region's 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee to Armenia. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan have backed a peace treaty, but progress has been slow, and ceasefire violations have risen along their heavily militarised border in recent months. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Business Recorder
3 days ago
- Politics
- Business Recorder
Historic UN building in Geneva could be abandoned as Trump cuts loom
GENEVA: The UN building that was once the headquarters of the first modern global organisation dedicated to peace and international cooperation could soon be abandoned by the United Nations due to a funding crisis triggered partly by the Trump administration. Named after former US President Woodrow Wilson, the opulent 225-room Palais Wilson in Geneva was the first headquarters of the forerunner of the UN, the League of Nations, and today is home to the UN human rights arm. Now, with the Trump administration making cuts to foreign aid, hitting UN agencies, and also owing the UN nearly $1.5 billion in arrears and for this year, the body is trying to cut its budget by up to 20%, according to a memo. The UN Geneva office last week made a formal proposal to vacate Palais Wilson from mid-2026, according to two sources familiar with the situation and confirmed by the United Nations. That the UN is considering abandoning one of the most historic buildings in the annals of international cooperation underlines how the US retreat from multilateralism has shaken the body to its foundations. In all, about 75 agencies and departments faced a June 13 deadline to propose budget cuts. Member states have the final say on the budget. Many have been supportive of financial retrenchment. Wilson, who died in 1924, was one of the architects of the League of Nations after World War One though the United States never formally joined. The UN in Geneva (UNOG) leases the 19th century Palais on behalf of the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights from a Swiss foundation under a nearly 30-year lease worth around 36 million Swiss francs ($44.25 million), UN documents show. 'As part of UNOG's revised budget submission for 2026, and in line with guidance from headquarters to reduce the costs of lease payments, UNOG is indeed proposing in its submission for revised budget estimates that the end of the lease of Palais Wilson be brought forward,' Alessandra Vellucci, director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said. The lease had been due to expire in 2027. OHCHR spokesperson Jeremy Laurence said: 'The UN is looking at all options to decrease costs, including a proposal to rehouse our headquarters in Geneva away from Palais Wilson, the symbolic home of human rights.' He added that the impact of the financial crisis went far beyond this one proposal and that funding cuts by the United States and others were already affecting its work. The Trump administration has repeatedly defended the foreign aid cuts, saying they are focused on wasted funds. Trump said in February that the United Nations had 'great potential and ... we'll continue to go along with it, but they got to get their act together'. The UN cuts are part of a major review called 'UN80' that the body launched in March to make it more efficient. The UN Controller will analyse proposed cuts and submit recommendations to Secretary General Antonio Guterres by early July, officials said.
The Star
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Exclusive-Historic UN building in Geneva could be abandoned as Trump cuts loom
View of the Palais Wilson, base of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the former headquarters of the League of Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland, June 17, 2025. REUTERS/Emma Farge GENEVA (Reuters) -The U.N. building that was once the headquarters of the first modern global organisation dedicated to peace and international cooperation could soon be abandoned by the United Nations due to a funding crisis triggered partly by the Trump administration. Named after former U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, the opulent 225-room Palais Wilson in Geneva was the first headquarters of the forerunner of the U.N., the League of Nations, and today is home to the U.N. human rights arm. Now, with the Trump administration making cuts to foreign aid, hitting U.N. agencies, and also owing the U.N. nearly $1.5 billion in arrears and for this year, the body is trying to cut its budget by up to 20%, according to a memo. The U.N. Geneva office last week made a formal proposal to vacate Palais Wilson from mid-2026, according to two sources familiar with the situation and confirmed by the United Nations. That the U.N. is considering abandoning one of the most historic buildings in the annals of international cooperation underlines how the U.S. retreat from multilateralism has shaken the body to its foundations. In all, about 75 agencies and departments faced a June 13 deadline to propose budget cuts. Member states have the final say on the budget. Many have been supportive of financial retrenchment. Wilson, who died in 1924, was one of the architects of the League of Nations after World War One though the United States never formally joined. The U.N. in Geneva (UNOG) leases the 19th century Palais on behalf of the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights from a Swiss foundation under a nearly 30-year lease worth around 36 million Swiss francs ($44.25 million), U.N. documents show. "As part of UNOG's revised budget submission for 2026, and in line with guidance from headquarters to reduce the costs of lease payments, UNOG is indeed proposing in its submission for revised budget estimates that the end of the lease of Palais Wilson be brought forward," Alessandra Vellucci, director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said. The lease had been due to expire in 2027. OHCHR spokesperson Jeremy Laurence said: "The U.N. is looking at all options to decrease costs, including a proposal to rehouse our headquarters in Geneva away from Palais Wilson, the symbolic home of human rights." He added that the impact of the financial crisis went far beyond this one proposal and that funding cuts by the United States and others were already affecting its work. The Trump administration has repeatedly defended the foreign aid cuts, saying they are focused on wasted funds. Trump said in February that the United Nations had "great potential and ... we'll continue to go along with it, but they got to get their act together". The U.N. cuts are part of a major review called "UN80" that the body launched in March to make it more efficient. The U.N. Controller will analyse proposed cuts and submit recommendations to Secretary General Antonio Guterres by early July, officials said. ($1 = 0.8135 Swiss francs) (Reporting by Emma Farge in Geneva; Additional reporting by John Shiffman in New York; Editing by Dave Graham and Alison Williams)
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Historic UN building in Geneva could be abandoned as Trump cuts loom
People walk past the Palais Wilson, base of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the former headquarters of the League of Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland, June 17, 2025. REUTERS/Emma Farge View of the Palais Wilson, base of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the former headquarters of the League of Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland, June 17, 2025. REUTERS/Emma Farge GENEVA - The U.N. building that was once the headquarters of the first modern global organisation dedicated to peace and international cooperation could soon be abandoned by the United Nations due to a funding crisis triggered partly by the Trump administration. Named after former U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, the opulent 225-room Palais Wilson in Geneva was the first headquarters of the forerunner of the U.N., the League of Nations, and today is home to the U.N. human rights arm. Now, with the Trump administration making cuts to foreign aid, hitting U.N. agencies, and also owing the U.N. nearly $1.5 billion in arrears and for this year, the body is trying to cut its budget by up to 20%, according to a memo. The U.N. Geneva office last week made a formal proposal to vacate Palais Wilson from mid-2026, according to two sources familiar with the situation and confirmed by the United Nations. That the U.N. is considering abandoning one of the most historic buildings in the annals of international cooperation underlines how the U.S. retreat from multilateralism has shaken the body to its foundations. In all, about 75 agencies and departments faced a June 13 deadline to propose budget cuts. Member states have the final say on the budget. Many have been supportive of financial retrenchment. Wilson, who died in 1924, was one of the architects of the League of Nations after World War One though the United States never formally joined. The U.N. in Geneva (UNOG) leases the 19th century Palais on behalf of the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights from a Swiss foundation under a nearly 30-year lease worth around 36 million Swiss francs ($44.25 million), U.N. documents show. "As part of UNOG's revised budget submission for 2026, and in line with guidance from headquarters to reduce the costs of lease payments, UNOG is indeed proposing in its submission for revised budget estimates that the end of the lease of Palais Wilson be brought forward," Alessandra Vellucci, director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said. The lease had been due to expire in 2027. OHCHR spokesperson Jeremy Laurence said: "The U.N. is looking at all options to decrease costs, including a proposal to rehouse our headquarters in Geneva away from Palais Wilson, the symbolic home of human rights." He added that the impact of the financial crisis went far beyond this one proposal and that funding cuts by the United States and others were already affecting its work. The Trump administration has repeatedly defended the foreign aid cuts, saying they are focused on wasted funds. Trump said in February that the United Nations had "great potential and ... we'll continue to go along with it, but they got to get their act together". The U.N. cuts are part of a major review called "UN80" that the body launched in March to make it more efficient. The U.N. Controller will analyse proposed cuts and submit recommendations to Secretary General Antonio Guterres by early July, officials said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
