AI ‘moving at the speed of light’ warns Guterres, unveiling recommendations for UN expert panel

“AI is moving at the speed of light,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres, underscoring the urgency of regulating the breakthrough technology. “We need shared understandings to build effective guardrails, unlock innovation for the common good, and foster cooperation. The Panel will help the world separate fact from fakes, and science from slop.” The roots of […]

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‘We are dying’: Gaza’s cancer patients plead for a way out

“We are dying. Every day, between two and three patients die inside this hospital,” says Munther Abu Foul, a cancer patient lying on his bed in Gaza’s largest hospital. “I can’t get out of bed because of the pain. We want a solution – open the crossings.” His words capture the reality facing thousands of […]

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Intensifying ISIL threat highlights need to step up counter-terrorism measures

Alexandre Zouev, Acting Under-Secretary-General at the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), presented its latest report which highlights the group’s intensifying presence in Africa, the Middle East and beyond.  He said the threat posed by ISIL, also known by its Arabic acronym, Da’esh, has “increased steadily” since the previous report issued in August, “remaining multipolar and increasingly complex.”  Instability in West Africa   ISIL and its affiliates have continued to recruit foreign fighters, enhance their use of new […]

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UN Police ‘indispensable’ to fulfilling peacekeeping mandates, Security Council hears

Jean-Pierre Lacroix was speaking in the UN Security Council during the annual briefing by heads of police components of UN peace operations.  “Despite severe constraints, our police personnel continue to serve with dedication, professionalism and courage,” he said.  “They operate in environments of persistent insecurity, political volatility and growing operational risks.”  Key to peacekeeping   Peace operations depend on UN Police […]

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Cuba: UN warns of possible humanitarian ‘collapse’, as oil supplies dwindle

The United States has threatened to impose tariffs on any country providing oil to Cuba, increasing pressure on the island nation following a decades-long trade embargo and the US seizure of Venezuela’s leader Nicolás Maduro last month. Venezuela had been the main supplier of oil to Havana but Washington has been ratcheting up pressure on […]

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UK and US sign Memorandum of Understanding on critical minerals

Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland For Securing of Supply in the Mining and Processing of Critical Minerals and Rare Earths Whereas, critical minerals are essential for the production of advanced technologies; Whereas, the Government of […]

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International Outcry Follows Jimmy Lai Landmark 20 Years Jail Sentence

HONG KONG — The sentencing of pro-democracy advocate Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison has ignited a firestorm of international disapproval, with world leaders and human rights advocates labeling the verdict a definitive blow to judicial independence. The 78-year-old founder of Apple Daily was convicted under the National Security Law, a move critics maintain […]

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From rural margins to media trailblazers: India’s women journalists are rewriting the news

Khabar Lahariya, literally “news waves”, is an all-women media organisation run since 2002 by rural reporters, many of them Dalit, Adivasi and Muslim, dispatching fresh stories from some of the most marginalised regions. “We faced challenges at every level,” founder Kavita Devi told UN News. “People would say women can’t be journalists, but we went […]

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New UK-US partnership to drive investment and bolster critical minerals supply chains

New UK-US partnership will help secure supply chains of critical minerals, driving investment into UK projects. Partnership backs the UK’s Critical Minerals Strategy, helping to shore up supplies of everyday products like smartphones, laptops and fridges. Foreign Office Minister Seema Malhotra signed partnership with US Under Secretary of State Jacob Helberg at meeting of over 50 countries in Washington DC yesterday.   UK […]

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World News in Brief: UN condemns attack on civilians in Nigeria, updates from Gaza and West Bank, relief flights to resume in Yemen

In a statement issued by his spokesperson, António Guterres conveyed his “heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and to the people and Government of Nigeria,” and wished a speedy recovery to those injured. “The Secretary-General reiterates the solidarity of the United Nations with the Government and people of Nigeria in their efforts to […]

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