- 'Happy' Mbappe strikes on Madrid Champions League debut win over Stuttgart
- Man Utd hit Barnsley for seven in League Cup rout
- Dolphins quarterback Tagovailoa facing concussion layoff
- Stylish Liverpool strut past Milan in confident Champions league opener
- Kane scores four as Bayern put nine past Zagreb in the Champions League
- Mbappe strikes on Madrid Champions League debut win over Stuttgart
- More than 3,600 food packaging chemicals found in human bodies
- Harris calls Trump as assassination scare sparks tensions
- Dow edges down from record as some eye a smaller Fed rate cut
- Sommer vows Inter will 'defend with all we have' to stop Haaland
- Report links meatpacking companies to 'war on nature' in Brazil
- Bolivian ex-leader Morales, backers set out on weeklong protest march
- Smith grateful to McCullum for launching his England career
- Arizona to ask court to rule on voting rights
- Villa make perfect start on Champions League return after 41-year absence
- Israeli supply chain infiltration likely behind Hezbollah pager blasts: analysts
- Rodgers backs Celtic to be 'really competitive' in Champions League
- Spacewalk an 'emotional experience' for private astronauts
- Storm Boris toll rises to 22 in central Europe
- Nine dead, 2,800 wounded as Lebanon's Hezbollah hit by pager blasts
- Boeing, union resume talks as strike empties Seattle plants
- Over 3,600 food packaging chemicals found in human bodies
- Australia's Zampa accepts Ashes chances remote as 100th ODI looms
- UN General Assembly debates call for end to Israeli occupation
- Marseille complete signing of French international Rabiot
- Easterby to fill in as Ireland coach while Farrell is with the Lions
- Hezbollah in Lebanon hit by wave of deadly pager blasts
- Postecoglou taken aback by criticism of his second season success claim
- US, European stocks rise on retail sales, rate cut expectations
- Fendi sees Roaring 20s at Milan Fashion Week in challenging times
- Ronaldo's Al Nassr part ways with coach Castro
- Scottish government backs Glasgow to stage troubled 2026 Commonwealth Games
- Storm Boris toll rises to 21 in central Europe
- Instagram, under pressure, tightens protection for teens
- Inflation slows again in Canada to 2%
- US, European stocks rise on eve of Fed rate decision
- EU bans Algerian spread toasted on social media
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs charged with racketeering, sex trafficking
- Trump returns to campaign trail after assassination scare
- Activist urges repatriation of Native Americans dead in Paris 'human zoo'
- US retail sales see slight rise, beating expectations
- US Fed begins two-day meeting set to end with rate cut
- Exploding Hezbollah pagers wound hundreds across Lebanon
- Runners-up Yokohama thrashed 7-3 in AFC Champions League goal fest
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs to plead not guilty to racketeering, sex trafficking
- Jihadist group claims rare attack on Mali capital
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UN chief calls for 'courage' ahead of Summit of the Future
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Thursday for world leaders to show greater "vision" and "courage" in their approach to the future, as a crunch summit on the threats and opportunities of the coming years nears.
In 2021, Guterres conceived the Summit of the Future, which on September 22 will see all 193 UN member nations seek to adopt a pact on what lays ahead, as a prelude to the annual General Assembly, which brings together world leaders.
Despite intense negotiations, the last version of the draft text published in August has been panned by observers as badly lacking in ambition.
"My appeal is for you to push hard for the deepest reforms and most meaningful actions possible. We need maximum ambition during these final days of negotiation," Guterres said Thursday in a video statement issued to coincide with a virtual event 10 days ahead of the summit.
"We have no effective global response to new and even existential threats," he said highlighting the challenges posed by climate change, as well as artificial intelligence being developed in an "ethical and legal vacuum."
He flagged nuclear threats, the perils of populism, raging conflict and geopolitical divisions.
"Our institutions cannot keep up, because they were designed for another era and another world. The Security Council is stuck in a time warp -- the international financial architecture is outdated and ineffective -- and we are simply not equipped to take on a wide range of emerging issues," he said.
"I call on Member States to act swiftly, with vision, courage, solidarity and a spirit of compromise" to get the three draft agreements over the finish line.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, which along with Namibia is facilitating the negotiations, said there was at least some good news.
"An overwhelming majority of countries in the world agree on the goals that humanity should be striving for: We want a world that is safe, peaceful, just, equal, inclusive, sustainable and prosperous," he said.
"The Pact offers us the chance to change the narrative of division, polarization and uncertainty. It offers us the chance to show the world that cooperation still yields results. That multilateralism is alive," he added, while acknowledging the hurdles to reaching agreement.
The text under discussion contains around 60 "actions" on everything from the importance of multilateralism to respect for the UN Charter and peacekeeping.
It also emphasizes the need for reform of international financial institutions and the UN Security Council, as well as the fight against climate change, the importance of disarmament and the development of artificial intelligence.
L.Davis--AMWN