
-
Kenya's economy faces climate change risks: World Bank
-
'I don't have a voice in my head': Life with no inner monologue
-
Lula admits 'still a lot to do' for Indigenous Brazilians
-
California to defy Trump's tariffs to allay global trade fears
-
Sean 'Diddy' Combs faces more charges ahead of criminal trial
-
Intercommunal violence kills dozens in central Nigeria
-
Trump goads China as global trade war escalates
-
How can the EU respond to Trump tariffs?
-
Canada loses jobs for first time in 3 years as US tariffs bite
-
Nations divided ahead of decisive week for shipping emissions
-
US job growth strong in March but Trump tariff impact still to come
-
Stocks, oil slump as China retaliates and Trump digs in heels
-
US hiring beats expectations in March as tariff uncertainty brews
-
Where things stand in the US-China trade war
-
UK spy agency MI5 reveals fruity secrets in new show
-
Taiwan earmarks $2.7 bn to help industries hit by US tariffs
-
Greece nixes Acropolis shoot for 'Poor Things' director
-
Trump unveils first $5 million 'gold card' visa
-
BP chairman to step down after energy strategy reset
-
Indian patriotic movie 'icon' Manoj Kumar dies aged 87
-
Pacific nations perplexed, worried by Trump tariffs
-
Prominent US academic facing royal insult charge in Thailand
-
Yana, a 130,000-year-old baby mammoth, goes under the scalpel
-
Crops under threat as surprise March heatwave hits Central Asia: study
-
Japan PM says Trump tariffs a 'national crisis'
-
'It's gone': conservation science in Thailand's burning forest
-
EU leaders push for influence at Central Asia summit
-
Asian stocks extend global rout after Trump's shock tariff blitz
-
German industry grapples with AI at trade fair
-
Where Trump's tariffs could hurt Americans' wallets
-
Trump tariffs on Mexico: the good, the bad, the unknown
-
With tariff war, Trump also reshapes how US treats allies
-
Penguin memes take flight after Trump tariffs remote island
-
Tom Cruise pays tribute to Val Kilmer
-
'Everyone worried' by Trump tariffs in France's champagne region
-
UK avoids worst US tariffs post-Brexit, but no celebrations
-
Canada imposing 25% tariff on some US auto imports
-
Lesotho, Africa's 'kingdom in the sky' jolted by Trump
-
Trump's trade math baffles economists
-
Macron calls for suspension of investment in US until tariffs clarified
-
Trump tariffs hammer global stocks, dollar and oil
-
Mexico president welcomes being left off Trump's new tariffs list
-
Lesotho hardest hit as new US tariffs rattle Africa
-
Stellantis pausing some Canada, Mexico production over Trump auto tariffs
-
Rising odds asteroid that briefly threatened Earth will hit Moon
-
Is the Switch 2 worth the price? Reviews are mixed
-
Countries eye trade talks as Trump tariff blitz roils markets
-
AI could impact 40 percent of jobs worldwide: UN
-
US trade partners eye talks after Trump tariff blitz
-
Dollar, stocks sink as gold hits high on Trump tariffs
RBGPF | 100% | 69.02 | $ | |
AZN | -7.98% | 68.46 | $ | |
VOD | -10.24% | 8.5 | $ | |
GSK | -6.79% | 36.53 | $ | |
RELX | -6.81% | 48.16 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.13% | 22.29 | $ | |
RYCEF | -18.79% | 8.25 | $ | |
NGG | -5.25% | 65.93 | $ | |
SCS | -0.56% | 10.68 | $ | |
RIO | -6.88% | 54.67 | $ | |
BTI | -5.17% | 39.86 | $ | |
BCC | 0.85% | 95.44 | $ | |
JRI | -7.19% | 11.96 | $ | |
BCE | 0.22% | 22.71 | $ | |
CMSD | 0.7% | 22.83 | $ | |
BP | -10.43% | 28.38 | $ |

UN adopts pact promising to build 'brighter future' for humanity
The United Nations on Sunday adopted a "Pact for the Future" aimed at addressing sprawling 21st-century challenges ranging from conflict to climate change and human rights, despite last-minute objections from a group of countries led by Russia.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who organized the "Summit of the Future," had billed it as a "once-in-a-generation opportunity" to reshape human history by rekindling international cooperation.
As an opening act for the annual high-level week of the UN General Assembly, which begins Tuesday, dozens of heads of state and government gathered for the signing of the text.
In the adopted version, leaders pledged to bolster the multilateral system to "keep pace with a changing world" and to "protect the needs and interests of current and future generations" facing "persistent crisis."
"We believe there is a path to a brighter future for all of humanity," the document says.
The pact outlines 56 "actions," including commitments to multilateralism, upholding the UN Charter and peacekeeping.
It also calls for reforms to international financial institutions and the UN Security Council, along with renewed efforts to combat climate change, promote disarmament, and guide the development of artificial intelligence.
The adoption of the text faced a brief delay when Russia's deputy minister of foreign affairs, Sergey Vershinin, introduced an amendment emphasizing the "principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of states" and urging the UN to avoid duplicating efforts.
Russia's objections were backed by allies Belarus, North Korea, Iran, Nicaragua and Syria, but its amendment was overwhelmingly dismissed in a motion to take no action.
- Words to action -
During the negotiations phase, Guterres had urged nations to show "vision" and "courage," calling for "maximum ambition" to strengthen international institutions that struggle to respond effectively to today's threats.
But while there are some "good ideas," the text "is not the sort of revolutionary document reforming the whole of multilateralism that Antonio Guterres had originally called for," Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group told AFP.
That sentiment was widely shared among diplomats, many of whom expressed frustration when discussing the ambition and impact of the text, describing it as "lukewarm," "the lowest common denominator," and "disappointing."
"Ideally, you would hope for new ideas, fresh ideas," said one diplomat.
The fight against global warming was one of the sticking points in the negotiations, with references to the "transition" away from fossil fuels having disappeared from the draft text weeks ago, before being re-inserted.
Despite the criticism, it is still "an opportunity to affirm our collective commitment to multilateralism, even in the difficult current geopolitical context," one Western diplomat said, emphasizing the need to rebuild trust between the Global North and South.
Developing countries have been particularly vocal in demanding concrete commitments on the reform of international financial institutions, aiming to secure easier access to preferential financing, especially considering the impacts of climate change.
The text does indeed include "important commitments on economic justice and reforming the international financial architecture," Human Rights Watch (HRW) commented, while also praising "the centrality of human rights."
However, world leaders "still need to demonstrate that they are willing to act to uphold human rights," said Louis Charbonneau, HRW's UN director.
Regardless of its content, the pact and its annexes -- a Global Digital Compact and a Declaration on Future Generations -- are non-binding, raising concerns about implementation, especially as some principles -- such as the protection of civilians in conflict -- are violated daily.
"Our next task is to breathe life into them, to turn words into action," Guterres urged on Saturday.
Ng.A.Adebayo--CPN