US

Trump signs security deal with Greenland, Denmark at UN

BY BEIYI SEOW WITH CAMILLE BAS-WOHLERT IN COPENHAGEN

  • Since returning to the presidency in January 2025, Trump repeatedly insisted that the United States needed control over Greenland for security reasons, alarming NATO ally Denmark and sparking fierce pushback from the alliance.
  • US President Donald Trump signed a security deal Tuesday with the leaders of Greenland and Denmark, cooling temperatures after his contentious calls to acquire the autonomous Danish territory.
  • Since returning to the presidency in January 2025, Trump repeatedly insisted that the United States needed control over Greenland for security reasons, alarming NATO ally Denmark and sparking fierce pushback from the alliance.
US President Donald Trump signed a security deal Tuesday with the leaders of Greenland and Denmark, cooling temperatures after his contentious calls to acquire the autonomous Danish territory.
"It's going to be a long-term, fantastic relationship," Trump said at a signing ceremony on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. 
"This is tremendous for Europe and for the United States and for everybody," he added.
Under the 10-page pact, the United States will build two military bases in southern and eastern Greenland.
These will be established in Narsarsuaq in the south of the island and Mestersvig in the east, in addition to the Pituffik base it already operates in the north.
The deal also reaffirmed "the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark" while recognizing Greenland's "right to self-determination."
Since returning to the presidency in January 2025, Trump repeatedly insisted that the United States needed control over Greenland for security reasons, alarming NATO ally Denmark and sparking fierce pushback from the alliance.
Greenland, which lies on the shortest route for missiles between Russia and the United States, represents a highly strategic location for Trump's desired "Golden Dome" defense shield.
It also has untapped rare earth deposits and could be a critical player as melting polar ice opens up new shipping routes.

'Peace of mind'

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said her country "stands in a better place than we did yesterday" with the agreement.
"As everyone knows, we live in uncertain times," she told reporters after signing the deal.
"I hope the agreement will bring more peace of mind in Greenland, because it has been a tough time," she said.
Earlier, she told Trump that his message has been clear: "You don't want adversaries to come too close."
"I fully agree, and with this deal, they are not," she added.
Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen added that Greenland matters for North American security and for transatlantic security.
"This agreement reflects that we understand our responsibility and act accordingly," he added.
He later said that while the pact is a step in a good direction, "back home we need to rebuild trust, and that will be a process for us."
In Copenhagen, 40-year-old barber Gavin Sharpe told AFP: "It's just the same situation."
He believes that Trump's messaging was meant to win over US voters, adding that "I think it is exactly the same deal they had before."
The agreement blocks non-NATO, non-EU countries from strategic sectors in Greenland, in an attempt to bar US adversaries China and Russia from gaining a foothold in the Arctic.
Such parties will generally not be allowed "control, significant influence, or access to non-public information that may constitute a threat to national security or public order" within sensitive sectors.
EU chief Antonio Costa welcomed the deal on Tuesday as a "positive step for transatlantic cooperation and Arctic security."
"The EU stands ready to continue working closely with Greenland, Denmark and our transatlantic partners for a peaceful, secure and prosperous Arctic," Costa posted on X.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz similarly expressed support for the deal.
The agreement also stipulates that Greenland, home to 57,000 inhabitants, must continue to abide by the agreement even if it obtains independence from Denmark.
It should also remain in or join NATO "if necessary."
Under a 1951 defense pact updated in 2004, Washington was already able to ramp up its military presence on the island provided it informed Denmark and Greenland in advance.
cbw-bys/des

US

Trump threatens Iran with 'hell' but reveals fresh talks

BY GREGORY WALTON WITH DANNY KEMP IN WASHINGTON

  • - Ukraine talks - It is believed to be the first face-to-face meeting between Iranian and US officials since US Vice President JD Vance met senior Tehran officials in Switzerland in June.
  • President Donald Trump revealed that US and Iranian officials held talks Tuesday for the first time in months, even as he told the United Nations he was still deciding whether to "annihilate" Iran.
  • - Ukraine talks - It is believed to be the first face-to-face meeting between Iranian and US officials since US Vice President JD Vance met senior Tehran officials in Switzerland in June.
President Donald Trump revealed that US and Iranian officials held talks Tuesday for the first time in months, even as he told the United Nations he was still deciding whether to "annihilate" Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Trump's roving envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Trump's carrot-and-stick approach began with a bombastic speech to the UN General Assembly in New York focused heavily on his stalled, unpopular war against the Islamic Republic.
"I have a big decision to make -- will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country?" the 80-year-old said in his speech, during which all but one member of the Iranian delegation walked out.
"Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again? Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival?"
Trump said he believed Iran would make a deal immediately after November's midterm elections -- in which Republicans face losing control of Congress due largely to the conflict's drag on the US economy.
But just after his speech, Trump revealed that Iranian and US representatives had met for three hours on the sidelines of the UN gathering.
"They had a very good meeting, a very productive meeting -- they have another one scheduled in the very near future," Trump told reporters as he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump later added while meeting Gulf leaders at the UN that "I think there's a lot of momentum for them to make a deal, that's what we're hearing from everybody."
Iranian media reported that Araghchi gave Witkoff conditions for reopening the crucial Strait of Hormuz waterway.
According to the state news agency IRIB, Araghchi said Tehran's demands included "the immediate lifting of the (US) naval blockade, the prompt payment of all Iranian assets that have been frozen, and an end to the war on all resistance fronts."
Witkoff told reporters that "I feel very good right now" about the Iranian meeting but would not give further details.

Ukraine talks

It is believed to be the first face-to-face meeting between Iranian and US officials since US Vice President JD Vance met senior Tehran officials in Switzerland in June.
Trump promised when the US and Israel launched the war on February 28 that it would be over in four or five weeks, but the conflict is now grinding on well into its sixth month.
A ceasefire agreed in April quickly broke down and negotiations have since stalled, with Iran refusing to cede control over the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump has sought to justify the economic pain of high fuel prices caused by the war amid mounting voting anger, saying that Iran cannot be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.
Despite the belligerent tone of much of his speech, Trump portrayed himself as a peacemaker who was acting in America's interests, declaring: "While others have ignored threats, I have confronted them."
Yet Trump's meeting with Zelensky underscored that he is still to secure a deal to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a war that he once claimed he could settle in 24 hours.
Trump insisted he was working with both sides to end the war, despite little evidence of Russian President Vladimir Putin being open to any settlement.
"It's going to happen, I think, more quickly than people understand," Trump said in his UN speech.
Zelensky later told journalists that Ukraine was ready to halt strikes on Russian energy sites if Moscow agrees to do likewise, after Trump called on him to stop hitting diesel refineries.
While at the UN, Trump also signed a security deal with Greenland and Denmark which has -- for now at least -- cooled his calls for seizing the autonomous Danish territory.
The pact will see the United States build two military bases in southern and eastern Greenland and bars non-NATO powers from establishing any military presence on the arctic island.
"It's going to be a long-term, fantastic relationship," said Trump, whose territorial claims to Greenland since his return to power have deeply alarmed traditional US allies.
dk/bgs

UN

US refusing to give Sudan's de facto leader visa for UN: diplomatic sources, UN

  • One diplomatic source said the United States withholding the visa was a "clear violation of the UN's agreement with the US".
  • Washington is refusing to give Sudan's de facto leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, a visa to travel to New York to address the UN General Assembly, two diplomatic sources told AFP Tuesday, a moved confirmed by the UN. Army chief Burhan, whose army has fought the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 2023, was scheduled to address the UN on Wednesday.
  • One diplomatic source said the United States withholding the visa was a "clear violation of the UN's agreement with the US".
Washington is refusing to give Sudan's de facto leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, a visa to travel to New York to address the UN General Assembly, two diplomatic sources told AFP Tuesday, a moved confirmed by the UN.
Army chief Burhan, whose army has fought the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 2023, was scheduled to address the UN on Wednesday. He has addressed the assembly before, twice since the war broke out. 
One diplomatic source said the United States withholding the visa was a "clear violation of the UN's agreement with the US".
Another said the United States, which has repeatedly pushed for Sudan truce talks, had "conditioned the visa on Burhan accepting a three-month truce", which the government says would only allow the RSF to regroup and attack. 
UN chief Antonio Guterres was "deeply concerned" that the visa had not been issued, his spokesman said.
"The secretary-general urges the host country to ensure that visas are issued in accordance with its obligations under the Headquarters Agreement, in time for the President to participate in person in the work of the General Assembly," said Stephane Dujarric. 
"The full participation of all delegations in the work of the Organization is essential to its proper functioning.  
"The (UN) Secretariat immediately raised the matter with the United States authorities and continues to engage with them."
The agreement establishing New York as the site of the UN headquarters says the United States should not impose any impediments on member state representatives' travel.
Sudan is presently being represented in New York by Foreign Minister Mohieldin Salem. 
The United States has tried, along with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, to bring Burhan and his former deputy RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo to the negotiating table. 
Burhan's internationally recognised government cemented power in a 2021 coup with Daglo's support as his right-hand man, but the pair fell out in a power struggle. 
Since 2023, their war has killed more than 200,000 people, aid workers estimate, and caused the world's largest hunger and displacement crises.
Washington has similarly refused visas to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, as well as some members of Iran's delegation to the gathering. 
bur/bha/gw/md

diplomacy

Macron urges world to choose UN over 'law of the jungle'

  • "The question put to us, in very simple terms, is whether we want to live in this state of nature, with a kind of return to the law of the jungle, or in a civilized international society," he said.
  • French President Emmanuel Macron called Tuesday for countries to recommit to international laws and the UN system over a resurgent "law of the jungle."
  • "The question put to us, in very simple terms, is whether we want to live in this state of nature, with a kind of return to the law of the jungle, or in a civilized international society," he said.
French President Emmanuel Macron called Tuesday for countries to recommit to international laws and the UN system over a resurgent "law of the jungle."
Macron, giving his last speech to the UN's signature annual diplomatic gathering as president, also railed against the humanitarian situation in Gaza while calling for a moratorium on strikes against civilian and energy targets in the Ukraine-Russia war.
"The question put to us, in very simple terms, is whether we want to live in this state of nature, with a kind of return to the law of the jungle, or in a civilized international society," he said.
"My message is to stand firm. Do not yield to the situation which is developing...The rhetoric of defeat that is giving way to abuse of power by empires, threatening the sovereignty of some nations," Macron said.
The French president, who has been a stalwart supporter of Ukraine and raised the country's case in a meeting with US President Donald Trump on Monday, called for Moscow and Kyiv to agree to a moratorium on striking civilian and energy targets.

'Barbaric acts'

"We've seen the destruction of civilian infrastructure, human rights violations. It's a new era of barbaric acts," he said.
"We must protect the civilian population, and this is why we'd like to express our support for a double moratorium, a moratorium on strikes on energy and civilian infrastructure," he added.
He also raised the plight of the Palestinian people in Gaza.
"What is our credibility worth if we remain inactive on Gaza? Some claim that peace has been achieved, but this has not opened up humanitarian deliveries. It is a spectacle that shames us all," he said.
Following several other leaders at the UN rostrum who had raised alarm about the risks posed by artificial intelligence, Macron proposed an alternative architecture for its development.
"I don't want anyone to become the vassal of one of the great powers. Rather, we must come together to build an open-source frontier model, a cutting-edge model," he told the UN General Assembly, apparently in reference to AI powerhouses China and the US.
"Our investment capabilities must be pooled to build a cutting-edge open-source AI model, which we will share. We should not depend on somebody else."
gw/bys/sla

conflict

Ukraine anger as EU lifts sanctions on Russian oligarchs Usmanov, Fridman

BY MAX DELANY

  • - Compromise ends wrangling - Usmanov and Fridman were added to the sanctions list after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 over allegations that their businesses provided significant revenues to the Kremlin.
  • EU countries on Tuesday took oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman off a renewed Russia sanctions list in a move condemned by Ukraine as "shameful".
  • - Compromise ends wrangling - Usmanov and Fridman were added to the sanctions list after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 over allegations that their businesses provided significant revenues to the Kremlin.
EU countries on Tuesday took oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman off a renewed Russia sanctions list in a move condemned by Ukraine as "shameful".
A deal to extend the sanctions against some 3,000 individuals and entities, including President Vladimir Putin, was agreed just ahead of a Tuesday deadline when Latvia agreed to drop its veto opposing French efforts to secure the exemptions, diplomats said.
Ukraine lashed out at the decision to remove the asset freezes and visa bans on the two billionaires.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga called the EU move "shameful and unjustifiable".
"Moscow is celebrating because it got what it wanted: a sense of impunity, the humiliation of the EU, and division among Europeans," Sybiga commented.
In between meetings at the UN General Assembly in New York, President Volodymyr Zelenksy called the move a "concession" to the Kremlin. 
"At a time when Russia is carrying out brutal attacks on our people –- and even now, during the UN General Assembly, air raid alerts are ongoing in many regions because of drones and ballistic missiles –- signals about lifting sanctions on individual Russian oligarchs are self-defeating and counterproductive," Zelensky said on social media.

Compromise ends wrangling

Usmanov and Fridman were added to the sanctions list after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 over allegations that their businesses provided significant revenues to the Kremlin.
A spokesman for Ireland, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, said the "compromise" would extend the sanctions regime until September 22, 2029.
"The decision was also taken to delist certain individuals under the regime," the spokesman added.
EU countries had been wrangling furiously after France joined Slovakia in demanding Russian-Uzbek billionaire Usmanov be removed from the blacklist.
Luxembourg then demanded that sanctions should also be lifted for Fridman as well.
Officials in Paris have cited "national security" concerns for their request on Usmanov, but refused publicly to give details.
A senior diplomat in Brussels told AFP that Paris explained the demand was linked to a potential prisoner release deal involving French nationals held in Azerbaijan. France has been seeking the release of a businessman jailed in Azerbaijan.
Luxembourg has pushed for Fridman to be removed as it battles his claim for 15 billion euros ($17 billion) in damages for freezing his assets under EU sanctions.
The demand from France in particular riled other EU member states who argue that removing people for political reasons sets a dangerous precedent. 
"It really sends the signal that you can blackmail your way to delisting," said one EU diplomat talking on condition of anonymity.
"It's shocking that France is the one blocking it all."
"It was not a choice between a good solution and a bad one, but between a bad one and a far worse one," Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs said of his country's opposition to the sanctions exemptions.
Shortly after the deal was announced, Kulbergs said that France had agreed to start talks on extending its nuclear deterrent to Latvia and on increasing its air force presence in the Baltic state.
The Kremlin seized on the EU standoff to say it backed taking Usmanov and Fridman off the blacklist, and that the bloc should lift sanctions on "all Russian businessmen".

'Need stability'

Without the agreement, the EU risked seeing the sanctions lapse. 
Now the agreement to prolong the sanctions for 36 months -- up from the previous six-month extensions -- means the EU should skip this particular headache for the forseeable future.  
EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas insisted that the bloc needed "stability" by settling the future of its sanctions. 
Metals tycoon Usmanov and banking magnate Fridman are among dozens of Russian businessmen suing the EU over the sanctions. 
del/ec/tw/ach 

bombings

Sri Lanka hands 220-year jail terms to 15 convicted of Easter bombings

BY AMAL JAYASINGHE

  • A 15th defendant was found guilty of only some of the charges, but all were each handed 220-year sentences.
  • Sri Lanka’s High Court on Tuesday handed 220-year jail terms to 15 men convicted of direct involvement in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, which killed 279 people.
  • A 15th defendant was found guilty of only some of the charges, but all were each handed 220-year sentences.
Sri Lanka’s High Court on Tuesday handed 220-year jail terms to 15 men convicted of direct involvement in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, which killed 279 people.
The three-judge bench found that 14 of the accused were guilty on all charges, including murder, conspiracy to commit terrorism and possessing firearms and explosives under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
A 15th defendant was found guilty of only some of the charges, but all were each handed 220-year sentences. Nine others were acquitted.
The court also ordered that all property and other assets of the convicts be confiscated. 
The men had been were accused of aiding and abetting the suicide bombers who struck three luxury hotels and three churches on April 21, 2019. It was the worst terror attack against civilians in the history of the South Asian nation.
Local media had speculated that the convicts could face the death penalty, although Sri Lanka has not carried out an execution since 1976 and capital punishment is typically commuted to life imprisonment.
Sri Lanka's Roman Catholic Church welcomed the convictions, which came at the end of the five-year trial.
"Finally, we have justice," Catholic priest Jude Fernando told AFP. "It has taken a long time to get to this point."
Teresa Fernando, a survivor who suffered head injuries, said no one should have to endure what she had gone through.
"We came here today as victims of this attack to receive justice," she said. "Whatever the court says... we will bow our heads and accept it."
It was the first criminal prosecution directly linked to the coordinated bombings, though a former police chief and an ex-security chief were sentenced to death in July for criminal negligence after failing to prevent the attacks despite prior intelligence warnings.
All of the accused are from Sri Lanka's minority Muslim community. Twenty-five men were originally charged, but one defendant died in custody.
Investigators blamed the attack on a homegrown Islamist extremist group.
The trial had already made Sri Lankan legal history, with prosecutors filing 23,270 charges, the most ever brought in a single case. The suspects were prosecuted under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
Among those convicted on all charges was Mohamed Naufar, whom prosecutors identified as the ringleader who provided support to the eight-member suicide squad that carried out the bombings.

'Mastermind' spy boss

Three of the defendants were also charged by US authorities with terrorism-related offences linked to the bombings in December 2020.
The dead included 45 foreigners, including citizens of Australia, Bangladesh, Britain, China, Denmark, India, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United States.
The trial has unfolded against the backdrop of a separate and highly sensitive investigation into allegations that elements within the Sri Lankan state may have had links to those responsible for the attacks.
Former intelligence chief Suresh Sallay is in custody facing accusations that he had been the mastermind who orchestrated the bombings -- allegations he denies.
Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala told parliament in June that investigators believed he had worked with Islamist extremists before the bombings were carried out.
Investigators said the network was cultivated to manufacture a security threat that would in turn bolster political support for the Rajapaksa family, which returned to power several months after the attack with Gotabaya Rajapaksa's election as president.
According to court filings, investigators believed the objective was to create chaos and present Rajapaksa, a former defence chief, as the leader best placed to restore security.
Rajapaksa was credited by supporters with crushing Tamil separatist rebels in 2009 after a decades-long civil war.
The Rajapaksa family has dominated Sri Lankan politics for nearly two decades, but its camp has rejected allegations of state involvement in the bombings.
aj/mjf

Global Edition

Trump beats 'America first' drum at UN as allies tread carefully

BY GREGORY WALTON AND RAPHAEL HERMANO WITH DANNY KEMP IN WASHINGTON

  • But Trump rejected international regulation of the technology calling such proposals a "globalist scheme." 
  • President Donald Trump laid out a vision on Tuesday of a militaristic US unbound by international rules in a UN speech contrasting starkly with pleas at the world body for cooperation and restraint.
  • But Trump rejected international regulation of the technology calling such proposals a "globalist scheme." 
President Donald Trump laid out a vision on Tuesday of a militaristic US unbound by international rules in a UN speech contrasting starkly with pleas at the world body for cooperation and restraint.
Trump insisted the United States will not join global regulation of AI and urged countries to abandon the International Criminal Court which was set up to prosecute war crimes.
He also boasted about US control over Venezuelan oil, following the toppling of the government there by US forces, saying "to the victor belong the spoils."
His most jarring statement, however, addressed the nearly seven-month war in Iran. Trump said he had a "big decision" on whether to make a deal or "annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly."
Trump's divisive turn at the UN lectern came after the organization's outgoing leader Antonio Guterres raised the alarm on AI and bluntly warned "killer robots must have no place in our future."
Meanwhile, several leaders including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani used speeches to warn that the future of the Palestinians was at a crossroads as Israel expands West Bank settlements.
Other countries whose leaders addressed the UN's flagship annual gathering sounded the alarm on widespread global unrest, while some criticized Washington's actions on the world scene.
Here are the main developments:

US and Denmark ink Greenland deal

Washington signed a security deal with the leaders of Greenland and Denmark after threatening to take Copenhagen's strategically important Arctic Circle territory by force.
One section of the deal, which will be widely seen as seeking to bar Russian influence, prohibits non-NATO and non-EU countries, from "strategic sectors."
The United States will also build two military bases in southern and eastern Greenland under the deal.

UN chief warns of W.Bank 'ethnic cleansing'

Outgoing UN chief Guterres kicked off the week of speeches by warning of the "specter of ethnic cleansing" in Israel's settlements expansion in the occupied West Bank.
"Violence, displacement and settlement expansion by Israel in the Occupied West Bank are bulldozing the path to peace," he said.
Turkish president Erdogan called for immediate reconstruction of Gaza, urging world leaders to "exert greater pressure on Israel". 

Future of AI and climate change

Guterres called for US-Chinese dialogue on the future of AI, akin to US-Soviet engagement at the height of the Cold War.
But Trump rejected international regulation of the technology calling such proposals a "globalist scheme." 
On another issue central to the future of the planet -- climate change -- Guterres singled out global energy companies for treating the atmosphere "as an open sewer."

Brazil no one's 'backyard'

Brazilian President Lula Inacio Lula da Silva, running for reelection, said that his country did not fit in anyone's "backyard" -- a pointed reference to Trump's claims to rule the roost across the Americas.
Lula also warned both foreign and domestic players against interfering in Brazil's elections next month.

Cuba slams 'falsehoods' after Trump claim

Cuba's foreign minister reacted furiously to "falsehoods" spread by Trump, who told the UN the island "will fall."
Cuban delegates left the room during Trump's speech at a moment of exceptionally strained Washington-Havana relations.
"We are a country of peace and we deserve peace," said Bruno Rodriguez, who is heading the Cuban delegation to New York.
burs-gw/sms/msp

AI

Trump renames AI "super intelligence," rejects international oversight

  • "The United States totally rejects any attempt to construct a globalist scheme to control... artificial intelligence," he said.
  • US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced that the US government would rename artificial intelligence "super intelligence" in official communications, as he firmly rejected calls for international supervision of AI, calling them a "globalist scheme" to control the new technology.
  • "The United States totally rejects any attempt to construct a globalist scheme to control... artificial intelligence," he said.
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced that the US government would rename artificial intelligence "super intelligence" in official communications, as he firmly rejected calls for international supervision of AI, calling them a "globalist scheme" to control the new technology.
Speaking to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump argued the word "artificial" undersold the technology and voiced hope the rest of the world would adopt the new term.
"It sounds much better. It is much better, and it's much more accurate," he said.
The rebrand is the latest in a series of renamings pursued by the Trump administration, which changed the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America" via executive order last year and, in August, renamed Lake Ontario "Lake America" amid a trade dispute with Canada.
Trump has also floated renaming the Atlantic or Pacific oceans.
In his speech, Trump dismissed warnings from AI safety advocates, comparing them to warnings about climate change, whose human causes are affirmed by the overwhelming consensus of the scientific community.
"The United States totally rejects any attempt to construct a globalist scheme to control... artificial intelligence," he said.
"Every major new technology brings challenges, and superintelligence is no exception," he added.
"The very same people who said we'll all be dead in 12 years because of global warming... are now saying that AI is going to kill us all, that robots are going to attack us, and that everything is going to be a total disaster."
Ahead of the week of meetings and speeches in New York, leaders of more than 20 mostly European countries urged binding safety measures for advanced artificial intelligence, warning that the technology's development could outpace the ability to control it.
AI superpowers China and the United States did not endorse the idea.
The AI companies themselves are increasingly asking for global coordination on AI safety, with OpenAI's Sam Altman set to address the UN Security Council on Wednesday.
Anthropic chief Dario Amodei and Hugging Face co-founder Clement Delangue will also participate remotely, a French official said Tuesday.
France, which holds the Security Council presidency this month, initiated the meeting and believes AI's threat to international peace and security has not been sufficiently discussed at the council level.
UN chief Antonio Guterres, meanwhile, called for the US and China to start a dialogue on the technology's future akin to US-Soviet engagement at the height of the Cold War.
"Governments with the greatest AI capabilities have the greatest responsibilities to humanity, to establish channels for dialogue, transparency, trust and cooperation," Guterres said in his address to the assembly.
"At a pivotal moment during the Cold War, strategic rivals came to recognize the need to manage shared existential risks."
China and the US are currently discussing creating a communication channel for AI concerns in anticipation of a Washington summit meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday.
Both powers confront rising fears that increasingly capable artificial intelligence systems could eventually escape human control, even as they race for technological supremacy.
bur-arp/md

drought

Moldova declares energy, water emergency

  • Parliament adopted the government proposal to declare a state of emergency with 54 votes in favour and 20 against, while 22 lawmakers did not vote.
  • Moldova's parliament on Tuesday voted to introduce a 60-day state of emergency in the energy and water sectors as the country faces rising fuel prices and a severe drought.
  • Parliament adopted the government proposal to declare a state of emergency with 54 votes in favour and 20 against, while 22 lawmakers did not vote.
Moldova's parliament on Tuesday voted to introduce a 60-day state of emergency in the energy and water sectors as the country faces rising fuel prices and a severe drought.
The emergency, to begin on Saturday, allows Moldovan authorities "to respond swiftly in the event of disruptions to the supply of energy, fuel and water", said a government press release.
Parliament adopted the government proposal to declare a state of emergency with 54 votes in favour and 20 against, while 22 lawmakers did not vote.
Global fuel prices risen since the beginning of the Middle East war, while an unprecedented drought has caused river levels to sink across Europe, also weighing on the energy supply.
Moldovan Prime Minister Vasile Tofan called the risks stemming from the Middle East and  Ukraine wars, combined with the drought, "a perfect storm", putting pressure on the small nation of 2.4 million people.
Moldova has sharply reduced its dependence on Russian energy following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, instead relying on imports from the European Union.
As gas prices are expected to rise, the government is looking into increasing the budget to help vulnerable families to pay their bills during the cold season. Half of the country's population currently benefits from the scheme.
Moldova is also facing "a severe water shortage" on the Dniester and Prut rivers that can affect the supply of drinking water, according to the government.
President Maia Sandu said on Monday that a state of emergency is necessary for authorities to act "if rapid decisions are needed to purchase fuel, if the water flow in the Dniester continues to decrease, or if fuel prices continue to rise".
Igor Dodon, leader of the pro-Russian opposition Socialist party, called on Telegram for the government to "take a pragmatic approach and urgently begin negotiations with Russia regarding gas supplies". 
str-ani/jza/tw

Congress

Republican senator seeks probe of Trump Jr Russian-funded wedding

  • His request follows a ProPublica investigation reporting that Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev paid hundreds of thousands of dollars toward Trump Jr.'s three-day wedding celebrations in the Bahamas in May, including the rental of a private island and a fireworks display.
  • A Republican US senator called Tuesday for Donald Trump Jr. to be subpoenaed over a Russian oligarch close to Vladimir Putin helping bankroll lavish celebrations for the president's son's wedding.
  • His request follows a ProPublica investigation reporting that Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev paid hundreds of thousands of dollars toward Trump Jr.'s three-day wedding celebrations in the Bahamas in May, including the rental of a private island and a fireworks display.
A Republican US senator called Tuesday for Donald Trump Jr. to be subpoenaed over a Russian oligarch close to Vladimir Putin helping bankroll lavish celebrations for the president's son's wedding.
Utah Senator John Curtis asked the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate whether members of presidential families have used their political connections for private financial gain, in a rare challenge from within President Donald Trump's own party.
His request follows a ProPublica investigation reporting that Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev paid hundreds of thousands of dollars toward Trump Jr.'s three-day wedding celebrations in the Bahamas in May, including the rental of a private island and a fireworks display.
Trump Jr. and his wife Bettina later confirmed Kremlev's involvement, describing him as a friend who had "very generously hosted" two nights of celebrations.
"A toaster is a wedding gift. A private-island party paid for by a Putin-connected oligarch is something else," Curtis posted on X.
Curtis also called for former president Joe Biden's son Hunter to be subpoenaed, arguing that Congress should apply the same standards to presidential families regardless of party.
"Republicans nearly wore out the subpoena machine investigating Hunter Biden's foreign relationships. We should not unplug it now," he said.
In a letter to Republican Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley and its top Democrat Dick Durbin, Curtis cited Trump Jr.'s cryptocurrency ventures, international real estate dealings, defense investments and ties to prediction markets.
The reports, he said, raised questions about whether foreign interests could gain access or expect favorable treatment through relationships with a president's family.
"The country should not have to accept one standard for the family of a Republican president and another for the family of a Democratic president," Curtis wrote.
Curtis, who succeeded anti-Trump Republican Mitt Romney in the Senate, has generally backed the president's agenda but last week described the wedding revelations as something that "just stinks."
"It's corruption," he said. "I don't like it."
The senator asked the committee to examine whether existing ethics and anti-corruption laws are adequate to prevent the presidency from becoming, in his words, "a vehicle for private enrichment by those closest to it."
Durbin called Curtis's letter a "good faith request" but added that while Hunter Biden had given a sworn deposition to Congress on addressing accusations of corruption, Donald Trump Jr. had not. 
"For the committee to ignore this matter is to run the risk of being complicit in a coverup," he said. "I will join in supporting Senator Curtis' request of the Senate Judiciary Committee."
ft/msp

Milan

Prada's skirts take centre stage as Milan Fashion Week begins

BY TAIMAZ SZIRNIKS

  • The hope is to pamper its wealthiest clients when they shop in Milan -- and provide a luxurious space to host events -- all while strengthening the brand's image. 
  • Prada kicked off Milan Fashion Week on Tuesday by returning to the fashion mainstay of skirts, bringing a decidedly feminine edge to the luxury brand's favourite garment.
  • The hope is to pamper its wealthiest clients when they shop in Milan -- and provide a luxurious space to host events -- all while strengthening the brand's image. 
Prada kicked off Milan Fashion Week on Tuesday by returning to the fashion mainstay of skirts, bringing a decidedly feminine edge to the luxury brand's favourite garment.
Grey and pleated or green and straight, with floral patterns on minis peeking out from under leather coats or worn simply paired with a bra: Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons reconstructed the skirt for their Spring-Summer 2027 runway show.
Sensual, modern and at times ironic, skirts encrusted with flowers clinked as the models sashayed down the runway, nearly all of them in high heels, as Naomi Watts, Michelle Williams and Uma Thurman looked on from the front row.
Tuesday's show capped a busy week for the Milan brand, which inaugurated its new flagship store within the opulent 19th-century Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, where the brand was born in 1913.
The brand has spread over eight floors, expanding beyond its boutiques, patisserie and contemporary art space to add a new underground gallery, a museum and vast private salons.
The hope is to pamper its wealthiest clients when they shop in Milan -- and provide a luxurious space to host events -- all while strengthening the brand's image. 
Even as the luxury sector is finding its footing after a rough patch due to macroeconomic tensions and the prolonged slowdown in the Chinese market, Prada posted in July better-than-expected results for the first half of 2026, despite shrinking margins linked to the integration of Versace.
On Monday, Versace's former artistic director turned brand ambassador, Donatella Versace, announced that she would launch a new beauty and fashion venture with the Los Angeles-based ready-to-wear platform Revolve.
Elsewhere in Milan this week, fashionistas are awaiting the debut show at Moschino by the duo of Frenchman Loris Messina and Italian Simone Rizzo, who won critical acclaim with their urban brand Sunnei.
At Gucci, the provocateur Demna was due to present his second collection, while Fendi's Maria Grazia Chiuri will also present for the second time. 
"2026 started with a fairly tough January. But fortunately we held up in the second quarter," Carlo Capasa, head of the Italian fashion chamber, said earlier this month, calling it a "miracle" that the sector continued to stay afloat amid myriad challenges. 
The chamber expects the sector's revenue to be down 1.6 percent for the year, with cosmetics on the rise and apparel picking up but footwear still struggling.
One hope is a change of faces, with "many houses having changed designers, which inevitably sparks interest in the fashion world," Toni Belloni, president of LVMH Italy, told AFP.

New boutiques

Steps from Prada's new flagship, Vogue magazine is staging a show Tuesday celebrating "Italian craftsmanship and creativity in the age of technology," featuring La Scala's star dancer Roberto Bolle and American model Alex Consani, among other celebrities. 
On the nearby Via Montenapoleone, Dior has also opened its new multi-storey boutique, complete with a restaurant headed by Michelin-starred chef Enrico Bartolini. 
Milan is of great importance to Dior's parent company, LVMH. The world's number one luxury group has already unveiled in recent months new stores for its Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co and Bulgari brands. 
The group has also invested in its cashmere specialist Loro Piana, inaugurating last week a new factory in Ghemme at the foot of the Alps, in Piedmont, where nearly 200 employees produce sweaters and other knitwear.
Frederic Arnault, the chief executive of Loro Piana and son of LVMHb boss Bernard Arnault, said at the inauguration that the new factory was part of the vertical integration of the company's knitwear production.
On the Milan runways, alongside staples such as Giorgio Armani and Roberto Cavalli, Portuguese brands Marques’Almeida and Miguel Vieira will stage their first shows, as will Ecuadorian designer Neithan Ruiz. 
There will also be a farewell: Glenn Martens is presenting his final collection at Diesel, a brand he successfully moved upmarket over the past five years. 
Marten's successor has not yet been named, but the Belgian deseigner will remain within the Diesel group, at Maison Martin Margiela.
tsz/ams/

shooting

11 hurt as teen opens fire outside school in western Turkey

BY ILKER ERAY WITH FULYA OZERKAN IN ISTANBUL

  • A day earlier, another teenager opened fire at his former high school in the southeastern province of Sanliurfa, wounding 16 people before taking his own life when confronted by police.
  • A teenager opened fire outside a high school in western Turkey on Tuesday, wounding 11 pupils, before being detained in the country's third such shooting in six months, officials said.
  • A day earlier, another teenager opened fire at his former high school in the southeastern province of Sanliurfa, wounding 16 people before taking his own life when confronted by police.
A teenager opened fire outside a high school in western Turkey on Tuesday, wounding 11 pupils, before being detained in the country's third such shooting in six months, officials said.
Three of the victims were in serious condition following the attack outside a school in Turgutlu near the western city of Izmir. 
"The treatment of 10 minors is ongoing, including three of whom are in intensive care," Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci told a news conference in the nearby town of Manisa, saying one victim had been discharged.
Although shootings are rare in Turkey, it comes five months after two back-to-back attacks by teenagers on consecutive days in April that shocked the nation and sparked public concerns about security in Turkish schools.
Justice Minister Akin Gurlek earlier confirmed that all of the victims were minors.
He said the suspect's parents and his grandfather had been detained for questioning over the attack, which saw police and rescuers rushing to the school with panicked parents. 
According to Ciftci, the attack involved a gun "registered in the name of the (suspect's) grandmother" which was kept at the grandparents' home.  
New security measures installed in response to the April attacks had been in place at the time of Tuesday's shooting, the interior minister added.
One resident told the IHA news agency that they saw the gunman moments after the attack, saying he appeared to be angry. 
"Gunshots rang out. I immediately went out onto the balcony. He was swearing as he walked towards the side street. He was shouting," the local said. 
"He fired at people here with the gun he was carrying. We could not intervene because he had a rifle," another eyewitness told IHA, which did not name either of the interviewees.

CCTV footage

The DHA news agency broadcast CCTV footage of the alleged attacker, a young man wearing black jeans, a jacket and a green top, holding what looked like a long-barrelled gun.
The NTV private television channel reported that the weapon was a shotgun. 
Footage from outside the school showed police wrestling a man to the ground before leading him away, as a woman screamed. 
Onlookers were pressed against the school fence, filming with their mobile phones. 
"How the weapon used in the attack ended up in the minor's hands, the conditions under which it was kept and supervised... and allegations of bullying prior to the incident are all being investigated," Gurlek, the justice minister, wrote on X.
The education ministry said all lessons were suspended for the day at the school.

School safety

The attack comes after a 14-year-old opened fire in April at a school in the southern province of Kahramanmaras, killing a teacher and nine students aged 10 and 11. The attacker died at the scene. 
A day earlier, another teenager opened fire at his former high school in the southeastern province of Sanliurfa, wounding 16 people before taking his own life when confronted by police.
Following the attacks, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged his government would introduce tighter gun controls and vowed school safety would be a top priority.
Tuesday's shooting took place a day after Ciftci and Education Minister Yusuf Tekin introduced a raft of new security measures for the academic year, which began last week. 
Ciftci said the ministry had deployed 31,000 school grounds supervisors and assigned police officers on permanent duty to first- and second-degree risk schools.
The interior minister said the school where the shooting occurred was "one of those classified as first-degree risk" -- a classification based on the numbers and types of crimes in the area. 
fo-hmw/sbk

Guterres

UN chief says 'Big Oil' treats atmosphere as open sewer

  • For decades, Big Oil has treated the atmosphere as an open sewer -- and cashed in on the consequences," Guterres said.
  • Major global oil companies are treating the atmosphere like an "open sewer," the outgoing United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said Tuesday in a withering attack on the energy industry at the UN's high-level meeting.
  • For decades, Big Oil has treated the atmosphere as an open sewer -- and cashed in on the consequences," Guterres said.
Major global oil companies are treating the atmosphere like an "open sewer," the outgoing United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said Tuesday in a withering attack on the energy industry at the UN's high-level meeting.
"We know that fossil fuel interests won't step aside on their own. For decades, Big Oil has treated the atmosphere as an open sewer -- and cashed in on the consequences," Guterres said.
He continued: "Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, five major Western oil companies have pocketed nearly half a trillion dollars in profits," comparing the amount with the just $34 billion in financing that has been mobilized to help developing countries adapt to a warming world.
"Meanwhile, everyday people are paying more for energy, food and insurance," he said, comparing the "abuse of power" by the fossil fuel industry to the actions of Big Tobacco.
"Those who polluted the most -- and profited the most -- must do far more to repair the damage they caused," he urged.
The former Portuguese prime minister's speech comes after records were smashed across the world for the northern hemisphere summer and Nepal suffered devastating flooding triggered by glacial collapse.
Meanwhile the UN has said the world will at least temporarily breach the Paris agreement goal of limiting warming to 1.5C relative to pre-industrial times.
"The dangers are real, but so is the hope," said Guterres, pointing to the global solar and wind energy boom, with renewables now the cheapest source of energy in most of the world. 
Climate change has long been a defining focus for Guterres, who will have a final crack at the issue on Wednesday when he hosts a climate summit in the run-up to the COP31 talks in Antalya in November.
Observers will watch for signs -- especially from co-hosts Turkey and Australia, both heavily dependent on fossil fuels -- of heightened ambition, that would indicate the talks can deliver.
ia/gw/bgs

Global Edition

Brazil's Flavio Bolsonaro turns scandal into poll gains

BY DAVID SALAZAR

  •   - 'Swamp of corruption' -   "Voting for Lula means voting for Moraes," Flavio Bolsonaro said last week.
  • Despite being caught up in an explosive financial scandal that has dominated Brazil's election campaign, candidate Flavio Bolsonaro has gained ground with less than two weeks to go before the vote.
  •   - 'Swamp of corruption' -   "Voting for Lula means voting for Moraes," Flavio Bolsonaro said last week.
Despite being caught up in an explosive financial scandal that has dominated Brazil's election campaign, candidate Flavio Bolsonaro has gained ground with less than two weeks to go before the vote.
After months trailing leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the polls, the 45-year-old senator is nipping at his heels in what is shaping up to be a knife-edge race.
A survey published Monday by the Quaest pollster showed the right-wing candidate would secure 42 percent of voter support in a hypothetical October 25 runoff vote, compared to 41 percent for Lula. 
This gap falls within the poll's margin of error.
Flavio Bolsonaro, son of jailed far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro, is under investigation for suspected corruption and money laundering over the financing of a film about his father.
The biopic was bankrolled by Daniel Vorcaro, a jailed banker who is accused of orchestrating one of Brazil's largest financial fraud cases.
However, it is another one of Vorcaro's many allegedly dubious relationships revealed by investigations that has eclipsed the accusations against Bolsonaro and hurt Lula's campaign.
A police report showed numerous conversations in which Vorcaro sought help in the fraud probe against him from a phone number which investigators linked to powerful Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
Moraes, who led the trial which saw Jair Bolsonaro convicted for an attempted coup after his election loss in 2022, is a hated figure among the right.
"Flavio comes out of this scandal in better shape than Lula," political analyst Andre Rosa told AFP. 
He said the Bolsonarists had managed to get "the somewhat undecided voter to end up associating Lula's image with that of Moraes. This gives Flavio Bolsonaro some breathing room right now."
 

'Swamp of corruption'

 
"Voting for Lula means voting for Moraes," Flavio Bolsonaro said last week.
Lula has repeatedly stated that if the justice is "guilty, he must pay." 
However, he maintains that "Alexandre de Moraes has done an extraordinary job safeguarding democracy."
A study by the data analytics firm Datrix showed that social media mentions regarding Moraes and the crisis in the Supreme Federal Court (STF) had overtaken those referring to Banco Master and Flavio Bolsonaro.
Senator Rogerio Marinho, Flavio Bolsonaro's campaign manager, branded Moraes a "pop star of the left." 
"Moraes and Lula are two sides of the same coin, and that is the Brazilian population's perception," he told a group of journalists.
Analysts say the crisis at the STF has reinforced distrust of institutions, which has hit Lula's campaign harder.
"The general image reaching the public is: politics is a swamp of corruption... nobody does anything," said Geraldo Monteiro, an expert at the State University of Rio de Janeiro.
In addition, he said Lula's campaign had been "a bit lackluster."
 

'Lackluster' Lula

 
"The STF crisis is not our crisis. They are trying to pin it on us," Marco Aurelio de Carvalho, one of Lula's campaign coordinators, told AFP.
Lula last week drew criticism for announcing an increase in benefits under the government's social welfare program so close to the October 4 first round of voting.
He also announced free GLP-1 weight-loss drugs under the public healthcare system, which one columnist on the UOL news site said was a bid to "fatten his popularity."
Laercio Barbosa, a 70-year-old chemistry teacher who plans to vote for Lula, is worried.
He told AFP at a campaign rally that the president "needs to realize that today, unfortunately, anti-establishment rhetoric is in the hands of the right."
das-ffb/fb/pnb

climate

Tunisia says 2026 summer hottest on record

  • Water cuts also became frequent, as much of Tunisia's water supply depends on electric pumps, which were disrupted during power outages.
  • Tunisia's summer this year was its hottest on record, the country's weather authority said Tuesday, following multiple heatwaves, water shortages and power cuts.
  • Water cuts also became frequent, as much of Tunisia's water supply depends on electric pumps, which were disrupted during power outages.
Tunisia's summer this year was its hottest on record, the country's weather authority said Tuesday, following multiple heatwaves, water shortages and power cuts.
"The summer of 2026 was ranked the hottest in Tunisia since 1950," the year temperature records began, the National Meteorological Institute said.
The average temperature was about 2.9 degrees Celsius higher than the previous record, it added.
Although accustomed to scorching heat, Tunisia experienced a particularly gruelling summer this year, with July and August marked by "intense and prolonged heatwaves", the authority said.
Scientists attribute these episodes to climate change.
This summer also saw persistently high nighttime temperatures, the agency added.
The highest temperature was recorded in the central city of Kairouan, which reached 49.7 degrees Celsius in mid-July.
Temperatures also reached 49.2 degrees Celsius in Beja in the northwest, and in the south they reached 48.4 degrees Celsius in Tozeur.
Authorities have yet to provide figures on the health impact of the heatwaves, but a group representing young Tunisian doctors reported numerous deaths it said were caused by the heat.
The Tunisian League for Human Rights (LTDH) documented 23 deaths in prisons, citing harsh conditions worsened by the high temperatures and overcrowding in cells.
President Kais Saied has said the outages, which sometimes lasted more than 10 hours, including in the capital, were "not simply temporary or isolated cases" and "did not result from ordinary breakdowns".
Instead, they were part of "criminal plans" and "attempts at provocation".
State-run electricity company STEG had said the power cuts were used for load shedding in order to ease pressure on its network.
Water cuts also became frequent, as much of Tunisia's water supply depends on electric pumps, which were disrupted during power outages.
The water cuts were compounded by a shortage of bottled water, also linked to the power outages.
ayj-iba/bou/ris

Global Edition

India cricketers win in style as Afghan savours 'special' Games silver

BY PETER STEBBINGS

  • - 'Really overwhelmed' - An Afghan cyclist who disguised herself as a man to pursue her sporting dreams hopes her silver will inspire women in a country where their freedoms have been sharply curtailed.
  • India's dominant women retained their Asian Games cricket crown in style on Tuesday as an Afghan cyclist who once disguised herself as a man won a "special" silver.
  • - 'Really overwhelmed' - An Afghan cyclist who disguised herself as a man to pursue her sporting dreams hopes her silver will inspire women in a country where their freedoms have been sharply curtailed.
India's dominant women retained their Asian Games cricket crown in style on Tuesday as an Afghan cyclist who once disguised herself as a man won a "special" silver.
China were streaking away in the medals table ahead of hosts Japan towards the end of the third full day of action in Aichi-Nagoya.
India won their first gold of this 20th edition of Asia's biggest sporting spectacle, with Smriti Mandhana the hero.
Her whirlwind 79 helped them crush Sri Lanka by 147 runs and win a second consecutive women's cricket title.
India smashed 216-3 off their 20 overs, the highest women's total in Games history, with 18 fours and 13 sixes.
Sri Lanka were never a threat as they were skittled for 69 in 15.4 overs and had to settle for silver.
"It's a good thing to win the first gold medal for India," opening batter Mandhana told AFP.
"It feels amazing. We've seen other athletes win gold on TV."
The men's cricket competition begins on Thursday, with India favourites to win that too.
China extended their dominance in swimming, which is taking place in Tokyo.
They have won 15 of the 20 golds in the pool so far.
But they did not have it all their own way on the night, as 17-year-old Yumeki Kojima won the 400m individual medley in an Asian Games record time of 4min 07.02sec for a Japan one-two.
Watched by Leon Marchand, the teenager now has the French superstar in his sights before the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
"Right now, Marchand is the highest target that I'm aiming for," said Kojima.
"I want to keep getting closer to him, even if it's little by little, and eventually surpass him."

'Really overwhelmed'

An Afghan cyclist who disguised herself as a man to pursue her sporting dreams hopes her silver will inspire women in a country where their freedoms have been sharply curtailed.
Fariba Hashimi powered home second in the women's road race, calling the triumph "something special".
"I can't explain my feelings now," said the 23-year-old, who fled Afghanistan after Taliban authorities returned to power in 2021.
She reflected on how she was attacked with stones and trained dressed as a man when she started out in the sport as a teenager along with sister Yulduz, who is also now a pro cyclist.
"I was born inside a country where the women who dream are getting attacked, and I'm really happy that I have fought against that," said Hashimi, who is now based in Italy.
Mixed martial arts, or MMA, is making its Asian Games debut as it makes an audacious play to one day be on the Olympic stage.
One of the first champions in Games history was Teo Hui Hoon as the Singaporean clinched gold in the women's traditional -60kg class.
"I was really overwhelmed when I knew that I had won the match. I've never cried before after a fight," she said.
China top the medals table with 31 golds, with Japan a distant second on 11 and South Korea and Kazakhstan joint third with six each towards the end of Tuesday.
Games organisers meanwhile came out fighting, blaming teams for "confusion" and delays in boarding the cruise ship housing thousands of athletes.
More than 4,000 people are staying on the Costa Serena in Nagoya's port, but some had complained of long delays to get on last week.
pst/mjw

diplomacy

Macron says talks with Trump on Red Sea, Ukraine 'constructive'

  • The French president said Trump was "very amenable and we were able to go into detail on these two conflicts, which are obviously important for peace in the world and for our security."
  • French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday he had "very constructive" talks with his US counterpart Donald Trump on the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.
  • The French president said Trump was "very amenable and we were able to go into detail on these two conflicts, which are obviously important for peace in the world and for our security."
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday he had "very constructive" talks with his US counterpart Donald Trump on the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.
Macron spoke with Trump after arriving in New York ahead of the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations.
"We had a very good discussion. It was very constructive," he told reporters after the meeting.
Macron said there was a "willingness to reopen (the Strait of) Hormuz," a vital shipping route for the world's oil and gas, which has been blockaded by Iran during the war in the Middle East.
"Several solutions were discussed... which would make it possible, without a comprehensive deal, to find ways and means of allowing more container ships and tankers to go through," Macron said without giving additional details.
"The other issue we talked about was the situation in the Red Sea... It's important for global prices," he said.
The Red Sea has become a key oil shipping route with the Strait of Hormuz blocked, but the takeover of a key strait by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis has complicated shipping operations there.
On Russia and Ukraine, Macron said he pressed Trump on the issue of supplying defensive weapons systems to Kyiv.
Macron and Trump discussed "the need to help our Ukrainian friends faster and more strongly in terms of (missile) interceptors, because that is... a defensive measure," the French leader said.
Macron said in a post on X that they also discussed "the prospect of an energy truce and a moratorium in the Black Sea."
He told reporters he would also discuss the topic with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
"It is clear that today we need to help Ukraine's energy system," he said.
Macron met Zelensky on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Monday.
Going into the high-stakes meeting with Trump, a French official briefed that Macron was prepared to face the US president with "total candor."
The French president said Trump was "very amenable and we were able to go into detail on these two conflicts, which are obviously important for peace in the world and for our security."
Macron traveled to New York from Saint Pierre and Miquelon, a small French territory off Canada's Atlantic coast, where he met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Carney has been embroiled in a war of words with Trump over a failed effort between the United States and Canada to strike a trade deal, resulting in tit-for-tat tariffs.
vl-gw/ia/ksb/lkd/ami

defense

Missing F-35 fighter parts 'not sensitive', says Australia minister

  • Marles confirmed the incident to reporters on Tuesday, saying Australia was working with the United States and its prime contractor for the F-35 programme, Lockheed Martin, in an investigation.
  • Missing F-35 fighter parts diverted from Australia to Hong Kong are not "sensitive", Defence Minister Richard Marles said Tuesday, confirming Canberra was helping to investigate the incident.
  • Marles confirmed the incident to reporters on Tuesday, saying Australia was working with the United States and its prime contractor for the F-35 programme, Lockheed Martin, in an investigation.
Missing F-35 fighter parts diverted from Australia to Hong Kong are not "sensitive", Defence Minister Richard Marles said Tuesday, confirming Canberra was helping to investigate the incident.
The United States operates more than 800 F-35 jets, its most costly weapons system, which is also flown by many of its defence allies, including Australia.
News outlet Politico said a shipment of F-35 parts, including a canopy with radar-resistant technology, had been unexpectedly diverted to Hong Kong after leaving Australia, raising the possibility that China had accessed the weapons system.
Marles confirmed the incident to reporters on Tuesday, saying Australia was working with the United States and its prime contractor for the F-35 programme, Lockheed Martin, in an investigation.
"We are examining very much everything that has occurred at the Australian end," Marles said, adding that Canberra was "confident about the way in which we've engaged with the programme", without elaborating.
"We're not talking about sensitive equipment here or sensitive parts. Ultimately, though, this is an issue which is going to be managed by the United States and by Lockheed in terms of what has occurred."
Lockheed Martin was responsible for managing the F-35 global supply chain, Marles said.
Australia has 72 F-35 jets, and is among seven countries outside the United States sharing a global pool of spare parts, including Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Britain.
Another 12 countries have purchased the fighter jet, including Japan, Singapore and South Korea.
Politico said Lockheed Martin had used a third company to ship the components, which were bound for the United States but ended up in Hong Kong instead.
The Politico report on Saturday said it was unclear why the equipment was rerouted or who now held it.
A warehouse in Williamtown, near the city of Newcastle north of Sydney, operates as an Asia-Pacific regional hub for F-35 spare parts.
Australia's parliament heard last year how F-35 parts were moved in and out of the warehouse by Lockheed Martin, destined for other parts of the world, and placed on commercial aircraft with stopovers in Asia.
Australia did not control or direct the export of the F-35 parts from the warehouse, defence officials said last year.
Two sources told AFP the programme was controlled by the US military.
The warehouse was designed to support F-35 jets in Singapore, Japan, and South Korea, as well as US and British aircraft carriers deployed in the region.
Lockheed Martin Australia said it could not discuss its shipping procedures for security reasons, but every shipment was handled with "utmost diligence" and followed "all US regulations established by the Department of War".
kln/ami

summit

Cambodia showcases scams crackdown with global conference

BY SUY SE WITH ALICE RITCHIE IN BANGKOK

  • A fake Singapore police station was used as a backdrop for scammers making videocalls posing as officers.
  • Cambodia showed off a shuttered scam compound complete with counterfeit cash and a fake police station this week ahead of a global conference intended to burnish its anti-fraud credentials.
  • A fake Singapore police station was used as a backdrop for scammers making videocalls posing as officers.
Cambodia showed off a shuttered scam compound complete with counterfeit cash and a fake police station this week ahead of a global conference intended to burnish its anti-fraud credentials.
Around 20 countries including the US and China will be represented at the meeting on Wednesday and Thursday, held amid international pressure on Phnom Penh do more to tackle the multi-billion-dollar online scam industry.
Southeast Asia has emerged as a hub for crime syndicates running centres filled with scammers -- some willing, some trafficked -- who defraud internet users through fake romantic relationships or cryptocurrency investment schemes.
Cambodia stands accused of having allowed scams to thrive, with some estimates suggesting it has generated the equivalent of as much as half the country's formal GDP in recent years.
Phnom Penh began a high-profile crackdown in 2025 under pressure from its key ally China -- where scams have caused widespread public anger -- as well as the United States, Britain and others.
But analysts say the industry has adapted, dispersing to smaller, lower-profile locations, while in many cases centres were given advance warning of raids, giving them time to evacuate.
A senior FBI official and China's vice minister of public security are listed on the agenda for the conference alongside junior ministers and law enforcement officials.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet is hosting the talks aimed at boosting "collective efforts" against scams.
But analysts expect few concrete outcomes -- and express scepticism about the lasting impact of Cambodia's crackdown despite hundreds of scam centres being shuttered.
"They could come back tomorrow," transnational crime analyst Jacob Sims told AFP.
He said it was "undeniable" the government had acted but warned: "The elite protection networks, the buildings themselves, the financial institutions, the corporate institutions are all completely in place."
Closing remarks at the conference are due to be delivered by Deputy Prime Minister Neth Savoeun, named by two US congressmen last week among individuals they want sanctioned over alleged connections to scam centres.

'Getting rich overnight'

Cambodian authorities on Monday showed off a sprawling scam centre on a 120-hectare (300-acre) site near the Vietnamese border they said had last year employed about 20,000 scammers.
In one room, AFP reporters saw rows of soundproofed phone booths and counterfeit $100 bills scattered on the floor.
On the walls were motivational slogans in Chinese, from "Give it your all" to "Getting rich overnight".
A fake Singapore police station was used as a backdrop for scammers making videocalls posing as officers.
Officials said the centre was jointly run by Prince Group's Chen Zhi and Huione Group's Li Xiong -- both of whom were extradited to China this year.
Hay Makara, an official from Cambodia's anti-scam commission, said authorities had so far closed 663 scam sites, including 86 large compounds, and frozen $300 million in scam-related accounts.
"As of now, there are no more scam compounds," he told reporters.
However, he conceded that "the criminals are adapting... working from rented homes, rented rooms, hotels, even in cars".

Bare minimum

The syndicates initially focused on Chinese speakers before broadening their targets to other languages.
The US estimates that in 2025 alone, transnational criminal organisations in Southeast Asia defrauded Americans out of at least $18.2 billion through cyber-enabled scams.
The industry is also concentrated in war-torn Myanmar, with other centres in Laos.
Cambodian authorities said last month they had arrested nearly 30,000 suspects, including 15 high-ranking officials and law enforcement officers.
But Lindsey Kennedy, an expert in organised crime, said there had been no effort to properly investigate the sites closed, nor interview those involved.
"They did the bare minimum," she told AFP.
"There's been no interest in gathering evidence in stopping these groups from moving abroad, from actually dismantling networks."
Several governments have sanctioned  individuals and organisations over alleged scamming.
The US on Monday announced new visa restrictions on 32 unnamed individuals, the majority affiliated with the Prince Group, a conglomerate sanctioned by the US, UK and South Korea.
Visiting Phnom Penh in July, FBI Director Kash Patel said online scams were a "top priority", urging "increased efforts to hold high-level scam bosses accountable", and more information sharing on "complicit officials".
China, meanwhile, "consistently keeps up pressure", but does it more quietly, Kennedy said.
"They don't put out sanctions. You only really hear about it when someone gets arrested."
suy-ar/slb/jm

sport

Six-year-old Chinese girl sets world record with Rubik's Cube

  • Young speedcuber Lian Yunzhi broke the women's 3x3 average world record twice this month at two World Cube Association certified competitions in Wuhan and Guangzhou, according to state broadcaster CCTV on Monday.
  • A six-year-old Chinese girl has set a new women's world record for solving a 3x3 Rubik's Cube in just over four seconds, state media reported.
  • Young speedcuber Lian Yunzhi broke the women's 3x3 average world record twice this month at two World Cube Association certified competitions in Wuhan and Guangzhou, according to state broadcaster CCTV on Monday.
A six-year-old Chinese girl has set a new women's world record for solving a 3x3 Rubik's Cube in just over four seconds, state media reported.
Young speedcuber Lian Yunzhi broke the women's 3x3 average world record twice this month at two World Cube Association certified competitions in Wuhan and Guangzhou, according to state broadcaster CCTV on Monday.
She posted averages of 4.52 and 4.27 seconds, after solving the Rubik's Cube five times. 
Lian, who is from Chengdu, is "the first female speedcuber to average under 4.5 seconds", CCTV added. 
A video CCTV posted showed the small girl wearing a red gingham bow on her head as she deftly turned and twisted a Rubik's Cube.
After solving the puzzle she places the cube on the table, claps her hands and pumps a fist into the air.
Nicknamed "Zhizhi", Lian was first introduced to the Rubik's Cube after being enrolled into a class as a child -- one of various extracurriculars alongside dance and music lessons, her mother Lin Yangxi, told local media outlets. 
Lin "gradually realised" that cubing was an "excellent activity for fostering a child's comprehensive abilities" and shifted her focus towards it, she told Chengdu's Red Star News.
Her daughter has now mastered over 1,300 Rubik's Cube solving algorithms, practising daily for two to three hours, Lin said.
Photos from Red Star News showed Lian's trophies displayed on a shelf in her home.
"Solving a Rubik's Cube improves focus, memory, logical thinking, spatial awareness, and helps develop a healthy mindset toward winning and losing," Lin said. 
"It's not just about blindly memorising formulas, but using logical reasoning to find optimal solutions," she added.
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