The UN Security Council voted to admit Palestine as the 194th member state. The United States, as a permanent member of the Security Council, objected, and the resolution was vetoed by one vote. Of the 15 members of the Security Council, 12 voted in favour, 2 abstained (Great Britain and Switzerland) and 1 voted against the United States.
Currently, 138 of the 193 Members of the United Nations recognize the State of Palestine. But for a draft resolution to be adopted, it must be endorsed by at least nine members of the Council, and no veto can be used by any of the five permanent members: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Robert Wood, deputy permanent representative of the United States to the United Nations, said Council members have a special responsibility to ensure that their actions advance the cause of international peace and security and are consistent with the requirements of the UN Charter.
He said that the report of the Committee on the Admission of New Members reflected that there was no agreement among the members of the Security Council as to whether the applicant State met the criteria for membership under Article 4 of the Charter of the United Nations.
"We have long called on the Palestinian Authority to carry out the necessary reforms to help build a state-ready identity, noting that the terrorist organization Hamas is currently exercising power and influence in Gaza, which is an integral part of the State envisaged in this resolution," he said. ”
It was for these reasons, he explained, that the United States voted against.
The United States continues to strongly support the two-state solution, Wood said.
"This vote does not reflect opposition to Palestinian statehood, but rather acknowledges that Palestinian statehood can only be achieved through direct negotiations between the two sides," he said. ”
Before the vote, Vedant Patel, deputy spokesman for the U.S. State Department, said the U.S. "has been very clear that the premature actions of New York [the United Nations], even with the best of intentions, will not achieve statehood for the Palestinian people."
This is the second time Palestine has tried to become a full member of the United Nations, and in its last attempt in 2011, it failed to even enter the voting process. Even if it could go to the vote, the United States, which has the right of veto, promised to block the decision.
As a formal membership process, it first needs to be approved by the Security Council and then handed over to the UN General Assembly, where a two-thirds majority vote is required for final approval.
Palestine strongly condemns it
The Palestinian presidential palace issued a statement on the night of April 18 local time, strongly condemning the United States for exercising its veto power to prevent Palestine from becoming a full member of the United Nations.
The statement said that this act of the United States is "unjust, immoral and unjustifiable" and is "unjust, immoral and unjustifiable" in flagrant violation of the strong will of the international community to support Palestine as a full member of the United Nations.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, told the Security Council emotionally after the vote: "The failure of the resolution will not break our will or frustrate our resolve." Our efforts will not stop. ”
Hamas, a Palestinian Islamic organization, also issued a statement strongly condemning the use of the veto by the United States.
Israel expressed its appreciation
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz applauded the U.S. veto.
Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, told the members of the Security Council who voted yes: "This is very sad, because your vote only emboldens Palestinian rejectionism and makes peace almost impossible." ”
Experts are concerned that Australia's natural birth rate has reached a new low
In 2004, then-Treasurer Peter Costello introduced the "baby bonus" to encourage Australians to have more children.
他当年有句名言：“人们应该为父亲生个孩子，为母亲生个孩子，再为国家生个孩子。 ”（have one for Mum, one for Dad, and one for the country）
However, after the "Costello" generation of babies came to adulthood, Australia experienced a near-record low fertility rate.
The latest data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reveals the likely future trend of Australia's birth rate.
Phil Browning, head of demographic statistics at the Bureau of Statistics, said that looking at the data, Australia's birth rate is lower than the international average, which means that by 2034, the number of children will be less than the number of people over 65 years old.
Demographers say Australia is likely to face two main challenges: an ageing population and a lack of labour resources.
Dr Canudos Romo, a demographer at the Australian National University (ANU), said Australia's demographic makeup could change over the next five years even if fertility rates remained at current levels, with migrants becoming a key component of the workforce.
墨尔本大学（ University of Melbourne）的彼得·麦克唐纳（Peter McDonald）也赞同这一观点。
"Without immigration, Australia's population will start to decline in about a decade," he said.
"As long as the fertility rate remains at 1.6 and continues to absorb migrants as it has done over the past decade, Australia will not have serious demographic problems. ”