- Muslim women break taboos navigating east London's waterways
- Nepal dam-building spree powers electric vehicle boom
- More than 60 dead from storm Helene as rescue, cleanup efforts grow
- Dozens missing, 9 dead in migrant boat wreck off Spanish Canaries
- Death toll from Hurricane John hits eight in Mexico
- Storm Helene's toll rises as rescue and cleanup efforts gain pace
- SpaceX launches mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding as cleanup begins
- SpaceX set to launch mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
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- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
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- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
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- On remote Greek island, migratory birds offer climate clues
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- China cuts amount banks hold in reserve to boost lending
- Hong Kong, Shanghai extend surge as China optimism boosts markets
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- Drought reduces Amazon River in Colombia by as much as 90%: report
- Stay or go? Pacific Islanders face climate's grim choice
- Florida bracing for 'unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene
- Poverty rises to over 52 percent in Milei's Argentina
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala Harris
- Champagne houses abuzz over English sparkling wine
- Macron, Trudeau pledge to work for 'decarbonized' economies
- Hurricanes, storms, typhoons... Is September wetter than usual?
- China stimulus, tech optimism boost stock markets
- 'Unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene races towards Florida
- Macron meets Trudeau in Canada as both face political setbacks
- South Korea surges in UN innovation index
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala
- Floods threaten Niger's historic 'gateway to the desert'
Blinken seeks US funds for UN culture agency to counter China
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Wednesday on Congress to agree to $150 million to rejoin the UN culture agency UNESCO, saying the US absence was letting China write rules on artificial intelligence.
Congress, then fully controlled by Blinken's Democratic Party, in December paved the way for the United States to restore funding to the Paris-based agency that was suspended in 2011 over its inclusion of a Palestinian state.
President Joe Biden in his new budget has proposed $150 million in funding as part of a return to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
"I very much believe we should be back in UNESCO -- again, not as a gift to UNESCO, but because things that are happening at UNESCO actually matter," Blinken told a Senate committee as he presented the budget.
"They are working on rules, norms and standards for artificial intelligence. We want to be there," he said.
"China right now is the single largest contributor to UNESCO. That carries a lot of weight. We're not even at the table."
The United States paid about 22 percent or $80 million of UNESCO's budget until 2011 when its admission of a Palestinian state triggered an end to the contributions under US law.
Then president Donald Trump went further in 2019 by withdrawing the United States from UNESCO alongside Israel, accusing the body of bias against the Jewish state.
As part of the giant omnibus spending bill approved at the end of 2022, Congress gave the president the power to waive the previous law and fund UNESCO if he determines that the move would counter Chinese influence.
The United States has described China as the biggest global adversary to the United States including through its rapid progress in emerging technologies.
A.Samuel--CPN