Jaishankar at UNGA: India backs peace, warns against weaponisation of trade, technology and finance

By Deepak Arora

UNITED NATIONS: India on Saturday called for a stronger and more predictable international order, warning that conflicts, terrorism and the growing weaponisation of finance, technology, trade and supply chains are deepening instability across the world. Addressing the high-level debate of the 81st UN General Assembly, India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said the United Nations was entering its ninth decade at a time when conflicts and confrontations had become the world's primary concern. He said the consequences were being felt far beyond the countries directly involved in wars....more

Trump rejects Iran’s 7-day peace proposal, plans to resume bombing after midterms: Report

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and halt fighting across the region for seven days, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed US officials. Trump has also told aides that he expects the United States to resume bombing Iranian territory after the November congressional elections, according to the report published on Friday.....more

Guterres Backs Permanent African Seat on UN Security Council

By Deepak Arora

UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday made a direct call for permanent African representation on the Security Council, saying the body must be reformed to reflect the realities of the 21st century. Addressing the opening of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, Guterres said the Security Council was created in the aftermath of World War II, but the world has changed fundamentally since then....more

Trump rechristens artificial intelligence as ‘super intelligence’, dismisses AI risk concerns

UNITED NATIONS: United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday rechristened “artificial intelligence” to “super intelligence” during his address at the United Nations General Assembly and said that the US government documents would use the new term going forward. "From this point forward, all of United States documents, and hopefully the world's will be changed to use the much more accurate term 'super' as opposed to artificial. So it's super intelligence," Trump said said while strongly advocating for AI....more

Xi Jinping says US, China have ‘responsibility to ensure AI development under human control’

WASHINGTON: China and the United States have the “responsibility” to ensure that the development of artificial intelligence remains under human control, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday. Jinping is in Washington for his second state visit to the United States. “We have both the capability and responsibility to develop and manage AI for good and ensure that the development of AI is always under human control,” the Chinese President said at the White House....more

Guterres Warns World’s Power Faultlines Are Turning Into ‘Canyons’

By Deepak Arora

UNITED NATIONS: The world is drifting toward deeper division, widening inequality and conflicts that are increasingly escaping the restraints of international law, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned Tuesday, opening the General Assembly’s 81st session with an urgent call to reshape global institutions for a rapidly changing world. “The faultlines in our world are widening. Cracks have become canyons,” Guterres told world leaders gathered in the General Assembly Hall....more

‘Make a deal or annihilate Iran?’ Trump lays out his options in UNGA speech

UNITED NATIONS: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he is deciding between making a deal with Iran or "annihilating" the Islamic Republic. But, Trump also suggested that the US will make a deal right after the November midterm elections. Trump has often taken pride in having allegedly mediated several wars. In his address at the UN General Assembly in New York, he referred to two key conflicts in the world at the moment -- one, his own country's war with Iran, and the second, the Russia-Ukraine conflict....more

India, other G4 nations express 'strong concern' at lack of progress on UNSC reform

UNITED NATIONS: The G4 nations of Brazil, Germany, India and Japan have expressed strong concern over the lack of progress on UN Security Council reform during the previous Inter-Governmental Negotiations session. Foreign Minister of Brazil Mauro Vieira, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany Johann David Wadephul, Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan Motegi Toshimitsu met Tuesday on the margins of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly....more

Jaishankar meets Rubio, Raises concern over Russia sanctions act

NEW YORK: External affairs minister S. Jaishankar met US secretary of state Marco Rubio on Wednesday and reiterated India’s “interests and concerns” over Washington’s new law paving the way for tariffs of up to 100% against Russia’s biggest oil and gas customers – a list that includes India....more

Benjamin Netanyahu rejects Gaza genocide allegations in UNGA speech

UNITED NATIONS: Allegations of Israeli genocide in Gaza are not only false but “the biggest lie of the century,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told world leaders Thursday in a defiant speech that asserted his nation’s right to wage war against Iran — and was not heard by scores of delegates who trooped out before he started speaking....more

'Pakistan's duplicity will neither benefit it nor the world': India slams Shehbaz Sharif's UN speech

UNITED NATIONS: India on Saturday hit out at Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's address to the United Nations General Assembly, accusing Islamabad of terrorism, deceit and duplicity and warning that its support for cross-border terrorism will have consequences....more

CEC Gyanesh Kumar must resign, turn approver: Rahul Gandhi

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday called for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, while reiterating his earlier claims of “vote-chori”. The leader of opposition in Lok Sabha cited states like Haryana, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, questioning how the anti-incumbency in these states had “disappeared.”...more

Zelensky says Russia tricking Indians, 46 other nationals into joining war

UNITED NATIONS: Russia is luring Indians into its war against Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky has said. The Ukrainian President alleged that Moscow was recruiting nationals from 47 countries through “deception and tricks”. At the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Wednesday, Zelensky asked the other countries to prevent their citizens from being drawn into the Russia-Ukraine war....more

India, Liberia Launch Safety Group To Protect Seafarers Amid Attacks On Ships

UNITED NATIONS: India and Liberia on Friday announced establishing a "group of friends" on the safety and security of shipping and seafarers, a landmark maritime initiative launched amid continued attacks on commercial shipping. The initiative was launched at the ministerial-level meeting of the group of 'Friends on Safety and Security of Shipping and Seafarers' on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly....more