The UN and Secretary-General Kofi Annan won the centenary Nobel Peace Prize yesterday for working for "a better organized and more peaceful world" in tackling challenges from poverty to terrorism.
"The Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes in its centenary year to proclaim that the only negotiable route to global peace and cooperation goes by way of the United Nations," committee leader Gunnar Berge said. The first Nobel Prize was awarded in 1901.
The prize citation said that Annan, a 63-year-old Ghanaian, had been "pre-eminent in bringing new life to the UN" since becoming the world's top diplomat in 1997.
"He has risen to new challenges such as HIV/AIDS and international terrorism," it said.
Alluding to US-led strikes on Afghanistan after last month's suicide hijacker attacks in the US during which more than 5,400 people died, Berger said the events of recent weeks had "further underpinned" the UN award.
He did not elaborate and stopped short of urging Washington to consult the UN more in its "war on terrorism."
The committee said it was awarding the prize to the UN and Annan for "their work for a better organized and more peaceful world."
Annan said it was a great recognition for the world body, which was established in 1945 and has 50,000 employees.
"It's a wonderful feeling and a great encouragement for us and the organization, for the work we have done until now," he said. "It's a great recognition for the staff."
But, referring to the Sept. 11 attacks on the US, he said: "At the same time it is a great responsibility at such a difficult moment but reinforces us in pursuing the search for peace."
The prize, named after Alfred Nobel, a Swedish philanthropist and the inventor of dynamite, is worth 10 million Swedish krona (US$946,200). Annan said he would attend the prize ceremony in Oslo on Dec. 10.
Several UN agencies have won the peace prize, including the UN peacekeeping forces in 1988, the UN refugee agency in 1954 and 1981 and UNICEF in 1965.
But the UN as a whole has never won it. The only other secretary-general to win was Sweden's Dag Hammarskjold, awarded the prize posthumously in 1961.
Nobel watchers had said that the committee, which has often favoured the UN above major powers, seems to want to avoid too much controversy in its centenary award.
FIREPOWER: On top of the torpedoes, the military would procure Kestrel II anti-tank weapons systems to replace aging license-produced M72 LAW launchers Taiwan is to receive US-made Mark 48 torpedoes and training simulators over the next three years, following delays that hampered the navy’s operational readiness, the Ministry of National Defense’s latest budget proposal showed. The navy next year would acquire four training simulator systems for the torpedoes and take receipt of 14 torpedoes in 2027 and 10 torpedoes in 2028, the ministry said in its budget for the next fiscal year. The torpedoes would almost certainly be utilized in the navy’s two upgraded Chien Lung-class submarines and the indigenously developed Hai Kun, should the attack sub successfully reach operational status. US President Donald Trump
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to start construction of its 1.4-nanometer chip manufacturing facilities at the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP, 中部科學園區) as early as October, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday, citing the park administration. TSMC acquired land for the second phase of the park’s expansion in Taichung in June. Large cement, construction and facility engineering companies in central Taiwan have reportedly been receiving bids for TSMC-related projects, the report said. Supply-chain firms estimated that the business opportunities for engineering, equipment and materials supply, and back-end packaging and testing could reach as high as
ALL QUIET: The Philippine foreign secretary told senators she would not respond to questions about whether Lin Chia-lung was in the country The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday confirmed that a business delegation is visiting the Philippines, but declined to say whether Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) is part of the group, as Philippine lawmakers raised questions over Lin’s reported visit. The group is being led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Huang Chao-chin (黃昭欽), Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association (CIECA) chairman Joseph Lyu (呂桔誠) and US-Taiwan Business Council (USTBC) vice president Lotta Danielsson, the ministry said in a statement. However, sources speaking on condition of anonymity said that Lin is leading the delegation of 70 people. Filinvest New Clark City Innovation Park
DEFENSIVE EDGE: The liaison officer would work with Taiwan on drones and military applications for other civilian-developed technologies, a source said A Pentagon unit tasked with facilitating the US military’s adoption of new technology is soon to deploy officials to dozens of friendly nations, including Taiwan, the Financial Times reported yesterday. The US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is to send a representative to collaborate with Taiwan on drones and military applications from the semiconductor industry by the end of the year, the British daily reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “Drones will certainly be a focus, but they will also be looking at connecting to the broader civilian and dual-use ecosystem, including the tech sector,” one source was
RSS