The United Nations, The Hague, ICC, ICJ and Interpol

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🌐 A new UN-backed commission will gather top tech executives and heads of state to forge global AI solutions. The AI for Good Global Commission will hold its first meeting on July 8 in Geneva, Axios' Ashley Gold first reported.

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ICC chief prosecutor removed from post over sexual misconduct allegations

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court was removed from office on Friday, nearly two years after sexual misconduct allegations against him first emerged.

https://apnews.com/article/icc-court-prosecutor-karim-khan-united-nations-5a9490e98b74f3bf13f5eae26fb3c3d7?

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UN human rights chief says Israel must end occupation and house demolitions in Lebanon

The United Nations' human rights chief said Monday that Israel must end its occupation of large areas of southern Lebanon and halt the demolition of homes, days before Lebanese and Israeli officials are set to hold another round of direct talks. Read More.

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Turkey wants to join a new Lebanon security initiative after UN mission ends

Turkey is interested in participating in a new security initiative for Lebanon when the 7,500-member U.N. peacekeeping mission in the south of the country expires at the end of the year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a joint press statement with his Lebanese counterpart on Thursday. Read More.

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2.4 million Afghan girls shut out of secondary school 5 years after Taliban takeover, UN says

An estimated 2.4 million Afghan girls remain excluded from secondary education five years after the Taliban took over the country, a U.N. agency said Tuesday, renewing a call for an immediate restoration of their right to education. Read More.

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UN rights chief is concerned about arrest of opposition figures in Zambia's election

The United Nations human rights chief said Wednesday he is concerned over the arrest of opposition officials in connection with last week's troubled election in Zambia. Read More.

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US plans to pay $850 million of the $5 billion it owes the United Nations

The U.S. government has notified Congress of its plans to pay $850 million of the several billion it owes to the United Nations, the largest payment the Trump administration would make to the world body since it demanded sweeping reforms in exchange for continued support as its largest donor. Read More.

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A Hague court convicts Kosovo’s former President Thaci of war crimes and sentences him to 25 years

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Kosovo’s former President Hashim Thaci was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Wednesday after being found guilty of war crimes committed during the war for independence from Serbia in 1998-99.

https://apnews.com/article/thaci-kosovo-serbia-war-crimes-0b24b81d6e1ca8f01d8b8b54bb465ee9?

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UN-backed experts cite possible US war crimes in Iran strikes

GENEVA (AP) — Experts commissioned by the U.N.’s top human rights body say they have found “reasonable grounds” to believe the United States committed war crimes in two strikes in Iran, including on a school in the southern city of Minab. They also accuse Iran’s theocratic government of carrying out crimes against humanity against its own people, in a report published Thursday.

https://apnews.com/article/un-human-rights-us-iran-99e690efd1e818e835d4f5a00e0d261b?

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Interpol has a new tool to track down loot that criminals are stashing away around the world

LYON, France (AP) — Interpol is rolling out a new tool to help police track down hidden criminal assets and an Italian crime boss was one of the first to feel its effects.

https://apnews.com/article/interpol-france-italy-brazil-crime-police-b2f7e1c985b737461b814fa7c5d8ac21?

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UN General Assembly

The United Nations opens the high-level General Debate of its 81st General Assembly in New York City today, with speeches from Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and President Donald Trump. Artificial intelligence headlines the agenda for the first time, with the Security Council holding a high-level meeting on the issue tomorrow.  The conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, and Iran will also be focal points. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will speak tomorrow, seeking support as Russia's invasion enters its fifth year; Russian President Vladimir Putin is absent for the 11th straight year. On Thursday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will speak via prerecorded video after the US denied him a visa for the second consecutive year. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak later that day, with his remarks expected to address Israel's actions in Gaza and Iran. See full speaker schedule here. The gathering is Guterres’ last as secretary-general. Costa Rican diplomat Rebeca Grynspan has a narrow lead after three informal polls to succeed him and would become the UN’s first female secretary-general if selected.   Photos of world leaders confronting global crises at the UN General Assembly World leaders gather at the U.N. General Assembly to address wars in Iran, Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Congo and Myanmar, along with climate change, inequality, economic turmoil and questions about the U.N.’s future. Read More.

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Zelenskyy, at UN, urges leaders to keep choking Russia’s revenues and impede its war efforts

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told world leaders Wednesday that Vladimir Putin is the only obstacle to ending “the ridiculous and never-ending war,” and he urged nations large and small to pressure the Russian president for peace by choking the country’s revenues and impeding its war efforts.

https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-russia-war-finances-zelenskyy-eae6556129152914081b48774236d397?

Heads of AI firms tell UN Security Council that it could be a risk to all humanity

The heads of major artificial intelligence firms pleaded with the United Nations on Wednesday to save the world or at least its people — in the form of somehow regulating the burgeoning technology that they have been designing. Read More.   ICC convicts former Central African Republic militia commander of torture Judges at the International Criminal Court convicted rebel commander Mahamat Said Abdel Kani on Wednesday of crimes against humanity for abusing and torturing prisoners at a detention facility in the Central African Republic. Read More.

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Delegates walk out as Netanyahu addresses UN, and other Mideast developments

Israel's increasingly isolated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took center stage at the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, defending his decision to attack Iran as an easy one. Read More.   An isolated Netanyahu takes UN stage as he seeks reelection at home Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began the year declaring that he stood “shoulder to shoulder” with U.S. President Donald Trump as the two countries launched a war against Iran. But this week, as world leaders gather in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, there are no plans for the two men to be in the same room, or even in the same city. Read More. Small bites from the UN: Defiance, fiery language and a cold building Competing speeches from Benjamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas commanded attention at the United Nations on Thursday, even though the Palestinian leader wasn't there in person: The United States denied him a visa. Read More.

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From Gaza to Sudan to Nepal, more than 500 million children are in desperate need of education

In a stifling sixth grade classroom in war-torn Sudan, a very motivated teacher was giving a lesson to 120 very committed children. Among them: an 18-year-old girl uprooted three years ago by fighting, forced into marriage and motherhood too soon, but determined to finish her education. Read More.