South Syria faces uncertain calm after deadly clashes that killed over 1,100
21/07/2025
Japan PM Ishiba vows to stay on after bruising election defeat
21/07/2025
Ecuador's biggest drug lord 'Fito' extradited to US
21/07/2025
D-Day veteran and TikTok star 'Papa Jake' Larson dies at 102
21/07/2025
Storms hit southern China mainland in wake of Typhoon Wipha
21/07/2025
Gaza civil defence says Israeli fire kills 93 aid seekers
21/07/2025
A million people sign French petition against bringing back bee-killing pesticide
20/07/2025
Astronomer CEO announces resignation after viral kiss cam video at Coldplay concert
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20/07/2025
Zelensky offers to hold new talks for ceasefire
Europe
20/07/2025
Japan's government loses upper house majority
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France 24
3 hours ago
- France 24
Urgent need for 'global approach' on AI regulation: UN tech chief
Doreen Bogdan-Martin, head of the UN's International Telecommunications Union (ITU) agency, told AFP she hoped that AI "can actually benefit humanity". But as concerns mount over the risks posed by the fast-moving technology -- including fears of mass job losses, the spread of deepfakes and disinformation, and society's fabric fraying -- she insisted that regulation was key. "There's an urgency to try to get... the right framework in place," she said, stressing the need for "a global approach". Her comments came after US President Donald Trump this week unveiled an aggressive, low-regulation strategy aimed at ensuring the United States stays ahead of China on AI. Among more than 90 proposals, Trump's plan calls for sweeping deregulation, with the administration promising to "remove red tape and onerous regulation" that could hinder private sector AI development. Asked if she had concerns about an approach that urges less, not more, regulation of AI technologies, Bogdan-Martin refrained from commenting, saying she was "still trying to digest" the US plan. 'Critical' "I think there are different approaches," she said. "We have the EU approach. We have the Chinese approach. Now we're seeing the US approach. I think what's needed is for those approaches to dialogue," she said. At the same time, she highlighted that "85 percent of countries don't yet have AI policies or strategies". A consistent theme among those strategies that do exist is the focus on innovation, capacity building and infrastructure investments, Bogdan-Martin said. "But where I think the debate still needs to happen at a global level is trying to figure out how much regulation, how little regulation, is needed," she said. Bogdan-Martin, who grew up in New Jersey and has spent most of her more than three-decade career at the ITU, insisted the Geneva-based telecoms agency that sets standards for new technologies was well-placed to help facilitate much-needed dialogue on the issue. "The need for a global approach I think is critical," she said, cautioning that "fragmented approaches will not help serve and reach all". As countries and companies sprint to cement their dominance in the booming sector, there are concerns that precautions could be thrown to the wind -- and that those who lose the race or do not have the capacity to participate will be left behind. 'Huge gap' The ITU chief hailed "mind-blowing" advances within artificial intelligence, with the potential to improve everything from education to agriculture to health care -- but insisted the benefits must be shared. Without a concerted effort, there is a risk that AI will end up standing for "advancing inequalities", she warned, cautioning against deepening an already dire digital divide worldwide. "We have 2.6 billion people that have no access to the internet, which means they have no access to artificial intelligence", Bogdan-Martin pointed out. "We have to tackle those divides if we're actually going to have something that is beneficial to all of humanity." Bogdan-Martin, the first woman to serve as ITU secretary-general in the organisation's nearly 160-year history, also stressed the need to get more women into the digital space. "We have a huge gap," she said. "We definitely don't have enough women... in artificial intelligence." The 59-year-old mother of four said it was "a big honour" to be the first woman in her position, to be "breaking the glass ceiling (and) paving the path for future generations". But she acknowledged there was a lot of pressure, "not just to achieve, but to almost overachieve". Bogdan-Martin, who is being backed by the Trump administration to stand for re-election when her four-year mandate ends next year, said she was eager to stay on for a second term. "There is a lot to do." © 2025 AFP
France 24
12 hours ago
- France 24
Britain leads calls for airdrops as Gaza hunger crisis deepens
The UK decision to support the plans of regional partners Jordan and the United Arab Emirates came as pro-Palestinian activists piloted a symbolic aid vessel towards the shores of Gaza in defiance of an Israeli naval blockade. On the ground, the territory's civil defence agency said at least 40 more Palestinians had been killed in Israeli military strikes and shootings. Humanitarian chiefs are deeply sceptical that airdrops can deliver enough food to tackle the deepening hunger crisis facing Gaza's more than two million inhabitants and are instead demanding that Israel allow more overland convoys. But British Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed the idea, vowing to work with Jordan to restart airdrops -- and with France and Germany to develop a plan for a lasting ceasefire. An Israeli official told AFP on Friday that airdrops in Gaza would resume soon, adding they would be conducted by the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. Starmer's office said that in a call with his French and German counterparts, the "prime minister set out how the UK will also be taking forward plans to work with partners such as Jordan to airdrop aid and evacuate children requiring medical assistance". The United Arab Emirates said it would resume airdrops "immediately". "The humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached a critical and unprecedented level," Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said in a post on X. "Air drops are resuming once more, immediately." 'Starving civilians' A number of Western and Arab governments carried out air drops in Gaza in 2024, at a time when aid deliveries by land also faced Israeli restrictions, but many in the humanitarian community consider them ineffective. "Airdrops will not reverse the deepening starvation. They are expensive, inefficient and can even kill starving civilians," said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. Israel imposed a total blockade on the entry of aid into Gaza on March 2 after talks to extend a ceasefire in the now 21-month-old conflict broke down. In late May, it began to allow a trickle of aid to enter. Israel's military insists it does not limit the number of trucks going into the Gaza Strip, and alleges that UN agencies and relief groups are not collecting the aid once it is inside the territory. But humanitarian organisations accuse the Israeli army of imposing excessive restrictions, while tightly controlling road access within Gaza. A separate aid operation is under way through the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, but has faced fierce international criticism after Israeli fire killed hundreds of Palestinians near distribution points. Naval blockade On Saturday, pro-Palestinian activist group Freedom Flotilla said its latest aid boat, the Handala, was approaching Gaza and had already got closer than its previous vessel, the Madleen, which was intercepted and boarded by Israeli forces last month. The Israeli military said it was monitoring the situation and was prepared to enforce what it called its "legal maritime security blockade". Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli fire killed 40 people on Saturday, including 14 killed in separate incidents near aid distribution centres. One of the 14 was killed "after Israeli forces opened fire on people waiting for humanitarian aid" northwest of Gaza City, the agency said. Witnesses told AFP that several thousand people had gathered in the area. Abu Samir Hamoudeh, 42, said the Israeli military opened fire while people were waiting to approach a distribution point near an Israeli military post in the Zikim area, northwest of Sudaniyah. The Israeli military told AFP that its troops fired "warning shots to distance the crowd" after identifying an "immediate threat". It added that it was not aware of any casualties as a result of the fire. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency and other parties. Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza after Hamas's October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. The Israeli campaign has killed 59,733 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. © 2025 AFP
France 24
17 hours ago
- France 24
Gaza civil defence says Israeli fire kills 25
Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP the dead included nine people killed in three separate air strikes in Gaza City. Eleven people were killed in four separate strikes near the southern city of Khan Yunis, while two were killed in a drone strike in Nuseirat refugee camp, he added. Bassal said three people were killed by Israeli gunfire while waiting for aid in three separate incidents in northern, central and southern Gaza. One of the three was killed "after Israeli forces opened fire on people waiting for humanitarian aid" northwest of Gaza City, the agency said. Witnesses told AFP that several thousand people had gathered in the area. One of them, Abu Samir Hamoudeh, 42, said the Israeli military opened fire "while the people were waiting to approach the distribution point", located near an Israeli military post in the Zikim area, northwest of Sudaniyah. The Israeli military told AFP that its troops fired "warning shots to distance the crowd" after identifying an "immediate threat". The civil defence agency said another man was killed by a drone strike near Khan Yunis, while one was killed by artillery fire in the Al-Bureij camp in central Gaza. The Israeli military said it was continuing its operations in Gaza, adding that it killed members of a "terrorist cell" which it accused of planting an explosive device. It said the air force had "struck over 100 terror targets" across Gaza over the previous 24 hours. Bassal said civil defence teams also recovered the bodies of 12 people following Israeli bombardment north of Rafah the previous night. The recovery operation was conducted in coordination with the UN humanitarian office (OCHA), he said, adding that the bodies were taken to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency and other parties. Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza after a deadly attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7, 2023. The Israeli campaign has killed 59,676 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. Hamas's October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
