“The very nature of the technology itself – transboundary in structure and application – necessitates a global approach,” the final report from the UN Secretary-General appointed panel concludes. Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming our world, from opening new areas of scientific inquiry and optimizing energy grids, to improving public health and agriculture and promoting progress on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, while there is tremendous potential for good, left ungoverned, the benefits of AI could be limited to only a handful of pioneering States, companies and individuals, widening the digital divide and inequality. In an effort to mitigate…
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“The series of explosions across Lebanon and rockets fired toward Israel in recent days adds to the volatility,” said Tor Wennesland, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process. He urged all sides “to refrain from steps that will further exacerbate the situation and take immediate steps to de-escalate.” Settlement activity continues Mr. Wennesland made the appeal prior to updating ambassadors on the implementation of Security Council resolution 2334 (2016), which demands that Israel end all settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. “Settlement activity has, nevertheless, continued,” he said, speaking via videoconference from Washington, DC, where…
Scores of people were reportedly killed in the capital, Bamako, on Tuesday when Islamic militants attacked several locations, including a military police academy, according to international media reports. The violence forced the authorities to temporarily close the international airport. The militant group JNIM, which is linked to Al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility. Call for justice The Secretary-General strongly condemned the terrorist attack. He called on the Malian transitional Government “to ensure that those responsible for this despicable attack are held to account.” Mr. Guterres also extended his sincere condolences to the families of the victims as well as to the transitional Government and the…
The report details how this debt crisis is jeopardising progress aimed at ending AIDS in Sub-Saharan African countries, which account for a significant majority of people living with HIV globally – 25.9 million people of the nearly 40 million total. If debt payments and stifled budgets are unaddressed in the next three to five years, countries will be “under-resourced to fund their HIV responses,” according to the UN agency’s report. Further data reveals that “the region’s success in having reduced new HIV infections by 56 per cent since 2010 will not be sustained if fiscal space is constrained.” Paying back…
Tupperware briefly experimented with retail sales. Oleksiichik/Shutterstock Tupperware is one of the few iconic brands with which nearly every Australian has come into contact at some stage. Some, like me, will have grown up watching their mums host “Tupperware parties” for their friends on the weekend. Others used the unmistakably colourful containers to carry their lunches to work or produce microwave meals of marvel. So what could have gone so badly wrong that the company has now filed for bankruptcy in the United States? Tupperware is one of the world’s most famous proponents of a business model called “multi-level marketing”.…
Acting Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Lee Satterfield will travel to Naples, Italy, from September 19-21, where she will serve as the U.S. Head of Delegation to the 2024 G7 Ministers’ Meeting on Culture. While in Naples, she will engage with officials from G7 member countries and other key stakeholders to discuss global issues of shared importance, including the conflict in Ukraine, the protection and preservation of cultural heritage and property under threat of war, illicit trafficking, climate change, and the role of artificial intelligence in the creative economy. The G7 Summit is a critical platform for the…
Today, the Commission and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), with the support from the Horizon Europe programme, launched the Research and Innovation Careers Observatory (ReICO). This initiative will provide reliable data on research and innovation careers in EU and OECD countries. Providing researchers and innovators with attractive and sustainable careers is key to boosting European competitiveness and retaining talent. A better understanding of career paths is key in designing policies, improving their careers, while bringing economic benefits to the EU economy. The signing ceremony for the official start of the project took place in Brussels at the…
DALLAS – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $227,834 in back wages from the owner and operator of a Happy Lamb Hot Pot franchise in Grand Prairie that denied 47 restaurant workers required minimum and overtime wages and illegally allowed a manager to keep a portion of servers’ tips.The recovery follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division of Xfy Time Square LLC that found the employer violated federal regulations when it did the following:Paid the affected workers for scheduled hours but did not calculate actual hours worked, which led to overtime and, in some cases, minimum wage violations. Incorrectly paid…
Today, Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose W. Fernandez and Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Đurić signed an agreement on U.S.-Serbia strategic cooperation in the field of energy in Serbia. This agreement will expand opportunities for U.S. companies to invest in Serbia’s energy sector, including promoting U.S. investments that will strengthen the U.S.-Serbia strategic partnership. The United States strongly endorses the high standards of openness and transparency in public procurement that are set out by multilateral organizations, including the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), the World Bank, and…
NEW ORLEANS –Renowned for its food and restaurant options, New Orleans’ economy depends on the city’s service workers, including 359 people employed by five restaurants that, U.S. Department of Labor investigators found, made illegal wage deductions and paid them less than minimum wage. The department’s Wage and Hour Division determined Bobby Hebert’s Cajun Cannon, the Hideout Bar, Mambo’s, Oceana Grill, and the Olde NOLA Cookery deducted the cost of uniforms, order errors, liquor shortages, customer walk-outs and customer credit card disputes from employees’ wages in violation of federal regulations. The investigation recovered $109,154, including $54,577 in back wages and an equal amount in damages – for…