- Sweeping Vietnam internet law comes into force
- Thousands attend Christmas charity dinner in Buenos Aires
- Demand for Japanese content booms post 'Shogun'
- Mystery drones won't interfere with Santa's work: US tracker
- Global stocks mostly higher in thin pre-Christmas trade
- NASA probe makes closest ever pass by the Sun
- Global stocks mostly rise in thin pre-Christmas trade
- Global stocks mostly rise after US tech rally
- Investors swoop in to save German flying taxi startup
- Saving the mysterious African manatee at Cameroon hotspot
- The tsunami detection buoys safeguarding lives in Thailand
- Asian stocks mostly up after US tech rally
- US panel could not reach consensus on US-Japan steel deal: Nippon
- The real-life violence that inspired South Korea's 'Squid Game'
- El Salvador Congress votes to end ban on metal mining
- Five things to know about Panama Canal, in Trump's sights
- Mixed day for global stocks as market hopes for 'Santa Claus rally'
- Trump's TikTok love raises stakes in battle over app's fate
- European, US markets wobble awaiting Santa rally
- NASA solar probe to make its closest ever pass of Sun
- Volkswagen boss hails cost-cutting deal but shares fall
- Sweden says China blocked prosecutors' probe of ship linked to cut cables
- UK economy stagnant in third quarter in fresh setback
- Global stock markets edge higher as US inflation eases rate fears
- US probes China chip industry on 'anticompetitive' concerns
- Mobile cinema brings Tunisians big screen experience
- Honda and Nissan to launch merger talks
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate fears
- Honda and Nissan expected to begin merger talks
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate worries
- Trump vows to 'stop transgender lunacy' as a top priority
- Beyond Work Unveils Next-Generation Memory-Augmented AI Agent (MATRIX) for Enterprise Document Intelligence
- Sweet smell of success for niche perfumes
- 'Finally, we made it!': Ho Chi Minh City celebrates first metro
- Tunisia women herb harvesters struggle with drought and heat
- Trump threatens to take back control of Panama Canal
- Secretive game developer codes hit 'Balatro' in Canadian prairie province
- Stellantis backtracks on plan to lay off 1,100 at US Jeep plant
- Banned Russian skater Valieva stars at Moscow ice gala
- Biden signs funding bill to avert government shutdown
- Sorrow and fury in German town after Christmas market attack
- France's most powerful nuclear reactor finally comes on stream
- Sierra Leone student tackles toxic air pollution
- Amazon says US strike caused 'no disruptions'
- Qualcomm scores key win in licensing dispute with Arm
- Scientists observe 'negative time' in quantum experiments
- US approves first drug treatment for sleep apnea
- Amazon expects no disruptions as US strike goes into 2nd day
- US confirms billions in chips funds to Samsung, Texas Instruments
- Wall Street rebounds despite US inflation ticking higher
US First Lady says 'proud' of return to UNESCO
US First Lady Jill Biden said on Tuesday she and her husband Joe were proud that their country had rejoined UNESCO, the UN cultural agency Washington had quit during the Trump administration.
In a speech at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, Biden -- on her first official visit to France since Joe Biden became US president -- said that Washington's "fight for our values like democracy and equality and human rights" was made easier with America being part of the global community.
"The United States cannot do it alone, but we must help lead the way. That's why we're so proud to rejoin UNESCO," she said.
Former president Donald Trump announced in 2017 that he was pulling the United States out of UNESCO, accusing the body of bias against Israel. The decision took effect in 2018.
Audrey Azoulay, a former French culture minister who has headed UNESCO since 2017, made it a priority to bring the United States back.
Last month, an extraordinary session of the UN body's General Assembly voted overwhelmingly for the country's return, but there were dissenting voices, notably China and Russia.
The United States, a founding member of UNESCO, was a major contributor to its budget until 2011, when the body admitted Palestine as a member state.
That triggered an end to the contributions under US law, leading up to the formal withdrawal announcement six years later.
Until the suspension of its contributions in 2011, the United States paid about 22 percent of UNESCO's budget, or $75 million.
The US Congress, then fully controlled by the Democratic Party, in December paved the way for the United States to restore funding, setting aside $150 million in the budget.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in March that the US absence from UNESCO was letting China write rules on artificial intelligence.
The United States had already withdrawn from UNESCO in 1984 -- under president Ronald Reagan -- and rejoined the organisation after almost 20 years in October 2003.
Washington will make payments over coming years to UNESCO to cover its debt, the organisation said last month.
Paris-based UNESCO is the United Nations' educational, scientific and cultural organisation.
Its work includes compiling a list of world heritage sites, defending press freedom, promoting sustainable development and running education programmes.
Earlier Tuesday, Jill Biden met with French First Lady Brigitte Macron at the Elysee Palace.
She is on Wednesday to travel to an American Cemetery in northwestern France to pay tribute to US soldiers who died in World War II.
The final stage of Biden's trip is the Mont Saint-Michel, a world heritage site, in the northwestern Normandy region.
C.Smith--CPN