UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - Antonio Guterres was sworn in Monday as the ninth secretary-general of the United Nations, saying the world body must change to better confront global crises such as the war in Syria.

During a solemn ceremony at the General Assembly, the former prime minister of Portugal placed a hand on the UN charter and took the oath of office administered by the president of the General Assembly, Peter Thomson.

The first former head of government at the UN helm, Guterres takes over from Ban Ki-moon on January 1 amid ongoing bloodshed in Syria and questions over how the US role in the world chould shift under President-elect Donald Trump.

"This organization is the cornerstone of multilateralism, and has contributed to decades of relative peace, but the challenges are now surpassing our ability to respond," Guterres said in an address.

"The UN must be ready to change."

The 67-year-old socialist politician said the United Nations must "recognize its shortcomings and reform the way it works," singling out the failure to prevent crisis as a serious weakness.

The UN’s refugee chief for a decade, Guterres was sworn in as Syrian forces were on the verge of retaking the entire city of Aleppo -- a potential turning point in the nearly six-year war.

"This is a war in which everybody is losing. This became a threat for everybody around the world," Guterres later told journalists. "It is high time to put an end to this nonsense."

Guterres vowed to "engage personally" in conflict resolution, signalling a more pro-active approach to the role of secretary-general than under the 72-year-old Ban, the South Korean who led the world body for two five-year terms.

The election of Guterres has energized UN diplomats who see him as a skilled politician, able to overcome divisions that have crippled the United Nations, notably over Syria.

But Trump’s shock election has raised questions over Washington’s future role in the world and its relationship with the United Nations -- as the world body’s biggest financial backer.

The new UN chief will begin work just weeks before Trump takes office on January 20.

"Fear is driving the decisions of many people around the world," Guterres said, in a reference to the surge of populism that propelled Trump to the White House.

Citizens worldwide are losing confidence in their governments and in global institutions, he said, adding that it was "time to reconstruct relations between people and leaders."

He pledged to show the new US administration a "clear will to cooperate in relation to the enormous challenges we will be facing together."

Guterres laid out three priorities for change during his five-year term: work for peace, support sustainable development and improve internal UN management.

The 71-year-old United Nations has been criticized for its clunky bureaucracy, which has at times slowed down the response to global emergencies.

Guterres vowed to press ahead with gender parity at the United Nations, saying it was a priority to appoint more women to senior posts.

Among the appointments expected soon, Nigeria’s Environment Minister Amina Mohammed is tipped to become UN deputy secretary-general, diplomats say.

An engineer by training and a practicing Catholic, Guterres fought for migrants’ rights as UN High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015.

He served as prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002, anchoring his country to the European Union and working to raise living standards.

US Ambassador Samantha Power praised Guterres as "the man for the job in such challenging times."

WASHINGTON (Web Desk) - The World Bank Group today (Tuesday) announced a pause in the separate processes initiated by India and Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty to allow the two countries to consider alternative ways to resolve their disagreements.

The announcement temporarily halts the appointment of a Neutral Expert, as requested by India, and the Chairman of the Court of Arbitration, as requested by Pakistan, to resolve issues regarding two hydroelectric power plants under construction by India along the Indus rivers system. Both processes initiated by the respective countries were advancing at the same time, creating a risk of contradictory outcomes that could potentially endanger the Treaty, the World Bank stated in a press release.

“We are announcing this pause to protect the Indus Waters Treaty and to help India and Pakistan consider alternative approaches to resolving conflicting interests under the Treaty and its application to two hydroelectric power plants,” said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim, "This is an opportunity for the two countries to begin to resolve the issue in an amicable manner and in line with the spirit of the treaty rather than pursuing concurrent processes that could make the treaty unworkable over time. I would hope that the two countries will come to an agreement by the end of January."

The pause was announced by Kim in letters to the finance ministers of India and Pakistan and emphasized that the Bank was acting to safeguard the Treaty. Pausing the process for now, the Bank would hold off from appointing the Chairman for the Court of Arbitration or the Neutral Expert – appointments that had been expected on December 12 as earlier communicated by the Bank.

The current processes under the treaty concern the Kishenganga (330 megawatts) and Ratle (850 megawatts) hydroelectric power plants. 

The power plants are being built by India on, respectively, the Kishenganga and Chenab Rivers. Neither of the two plants are being financed by the World Bank Group.

The Indus Waters Treaty 1960 is seen as one of the most successful international treaties and has withstood frequent tensions between India and Pakistan, including conflict.

The Treaty sets out a mechanism for cooperation and information exchange between the two countries regarding their use of the rivers, known as the Permanent Indus Commission which includes a commissioner from each of the two countries. It also sets out a process for resolving so-called “questions”, “differences” and “disputes” that may arise between the parties. 

ABBOTTABAD (Awesome News) – A team of foreigners comprising three French and three Canadian experts have arrived at PK-661 crash site in Havelian today (Tuesday).

Canadian experts include Mare Gratton, Stephen Vane Dudka and Jean Mare Ledoux while French officials include Pfeiffer Jerome, Pascal Epaule and Fablen Darsonval.

The officials of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) are accompanying them to collect different samples from the location.

Earlier on Monday, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Monday grounded its 10 ATR turboprop planes after a crash last week killed 47 people and a second aircraft reported technical issues shortly before it was supposed to take off overnight.

PIA flight 661 smashed into a hillside in the country’s north while travelling from the city of Chitral to the capital Islamabad last Wednesday. The airline has said one of the plane’s two turboprop engines failed.

THAR (Dunya News) - Private Infrastructure Board on Tuesday has permitted Hub Power Company to start a coal power project of 330 megawatts in Thar.

As per company release, this project will start producing electricity by the end of 2018.

According to experts, it seems that the government’s announcement of eradicating load shedding by 2018 will be proven right due to its good economic policy and efforts to overcome energy crisis.

GENEVA (Web Desk) - Ambassador Tehmina Janjua, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva, was elected today (12 December 2016) to preside over the Fifth Review Conference of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). The unanimous decision was taken at the start of the Review Conference, being held in Geneva from 12-16 December 2016.

The Convention and its five Protocols deal with prohibitions and restrictions of certain conventional weapons, balancing humanitarian concerns with their military utility. The Fifth Review Conference of the Convention was preceded by a Preparatory Committee meeting in September 2016 that was also chaired by Ambassador Janjua.

Review Conferences of the CCW are held every five years to review the implementation of the Convention and its five Protocols, as well as to explore the possibility of developing new Protocols to address specific conventional weapons of concern.

The election of Pakistan as the President of this important Conference is an endorsement of the country’s strong credentials in multilateral diplomacy. It reflects, in particular, the international community’s confidence in, and recognition of Pakistan’s contribution to international security and arms control related issues.

The one remaining ship still looking for missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 has begun what is likely to be its final search. Dutch-owned Fugro Equator left the Australian port of Fremantle on Monday.

Several ships have combed the seabed of a vast search area in the Indian Ocean since the plane disappeared in 2014. The Fugro Equator is expected to finish scouring the final portion of the search area by early 2017.

Officials say they will suspend the search if the plane is not found by then. Not a single piece of wreckage or any clues to the whereabouts of the plane have been found so far by the operation.

"It has been an heroic undertaking but we have to prepare ourselves for the prospect that we may not find MH370 in the coming weeks, although we remain hopeful," Australian Transport Minister Darren Chester told the West Australian newspaper.

Several countries including Australia and China have taken part in the underwater search. Earlier this month the Chinese vessel Dong Hai Jiu 101 completed its mission and is returning to Shanghai, leaving the Fugro Equator as the last ship scouring the vast 120,000 sq km (46,332 sq miles) search area.

Whether the Fugro Equator's voyage is the ship's final month-long deployment would depend on the weather, the office of Mr Chester told AP news agency.

MH370 was carrying 239 people when it disappeared en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur. Many of the passengers were Chinese.

Last week family members of some passengers journeyed to Madagascar to look for clues on the ship's whereabouts.

A few aeroplane fragments confirmed to be from MH370 had been found by members of the public on the East African and Madagascan coasts in recent months.

The location of the debris is in line with drift modelling patterns based on the theory that MH370 went down in a part of the Indian Ocean near Australia.

The families have expressed frustration at the lack of concrete evidence turned up by the official search, and have called for a coordinated effort to search beaches for debris.

A British backpacker who says she was held against her will during a car trip in Australia was rescued after texting her location to her father in England. Mary Kate Heys, 20, had agreed to ride with a man from their hostel in south-east Queensland to Brisbane.

But when he drove in the opposite direction and refused to allow her out, she told her father to call police. Police intercepted the pair at Gympie, 90km (55 miles) from the hostel, after her father contacted them.

The 22-year-old driver, from Sweden, was arrested and taken to hospital for medical treatment. He will not face charges as Ms Heys withdrew her complaint against him, police said.

'I was so scared'

Ms Heys, from Manchester, told local media that the man woke her at 04:30 local time on Monday (18:30 GMT on Sunday) at the Mooloolaba hostel, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.

She said she initially agreed to go on a road trip with him out of concern for his wellbeing.

But she said she began to feel unsafe when he changed the plan and said they should drive to Far North Queensland.

"I was so scared and I thought I was going to die," Ms Heys told the Courier-Mail newspaper.

She repeatedly sent her father her location, as well as messages reading: "I need you to call Australian Police" and "I've been taken by a man… please hurry".

Schools and businesses were shut and airport services suspended, as the cyclone made landfall with heavy rain and winds of up to 140km/h (85mph). Teams from the army and National Disaster Relief Force, along with two naval ships, are on standby.

Fishermen in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have been warned not to go to sea.

Police said disaster management teams had evacuated more than 15,000 people from low-lying areas.

Schools and businesses were shut and airport services suspended, as the cyclone made landfall with heavy rain and winds of up to 140km/h (85mph).

Teams from the army and National Disaster Relief Force, along with two naval ships, are on standby.

Fishermen in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have been warned not to go to sea.

Police said disaster management teams had evacuated more than 15,000 people from low-lying areas.

China says it is "seriously concerned" after US President-elect Donald Trump expressed doubts about continuing to abide by the "One China" policy.

Under the policy, the US has formal ties with China rather than the island of Taiwan, which China sees as a breakaway province. In a TV interview on Sunday, Mr Trump said he saw no reason why this should continue without key concessions.

China urged Mr Trump to understand the sensitivity of the Taiwan issue. Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters that the "One China" policy was the basis for relations with Washington.

China's hawkish Global Times tabloid dubbed Mr Trump "ignorant as a child"

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo beat rival Lionel Messi to win the prestigious Ballon d'Or award for a fourth time.

The 31-year-old is now one behind Barcelona's Messi, who took the honour for a fifth time last year.

Atletico Madrid's French forward Antoine Griezmann finished third in the vote.

Ronaldo helped Real Madrid win last season's Champions League and scored three goals as Portugal won Euro 2016.

He has now won the Ballon d'Or in 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2016, with Messi the only other recipient of the award since winning it for the first time in 2009.

"I never thought in my mind that I would win the Golden Ball four times. I am pleased. I feel so proud and happy," said Ronaldo.

"I have the opportunity to thank all of my team-mates, the national team, Real Madrid, all of the people and players who helped me to win this individual award."

The former Manchester United forward has scored 19 goals in 20 games for club and country this term, to add to the 54 he got last season.

Ballon d'Or winners

2016: Cristiano Ronaldo 2009: Lionel Messi

2015: Lionel Messi 2008: Cristiano Ronaldo

2014: Cristiano Ronaldo 2007: Kaka

2013: Cristiano Ronaldo 2006: Fabio Cannavaro

2012: Lionel Messi 2005: Ronaldinho

2011: Lionel Messi 2004: Andriy Shevchenko

2010: Lionel Messi 2003: Pavel Nedved

Ronaldo's Real Madrid team-mate Gareth Bale finished sixth in the vote, while Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy - the only Englishman included on the 30-player shortlist - was eighth.

The Ballon d'Or is voted for by 173 journalists from around the world.

It has been awarded by France Football every year since 1956, but for the past six years it became the Fifa Ballon d'Or in association with world football's governing body and was awarded to the world's best player.

However, Fifa ended its association with the award in September.

Fifa will hand out its own prize for the world's best men's player, along with the best women's player and team of the year, at the Best Fifa Football Awards ceremony in Zurich on 9 January.