🔎 Israel, Ukraine, Climate Change - Major takeaways from the United Nations General Assembly
🔎 Israel, Ukraine, Climate Change - Major takeaways from the United Nations General Assembly
Also: NYC Mayor's charges, Chappell Roan's clarification and Jojo Siwa's bedazzled bulge
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World leaders gathered this past week at the United Nations General Assembly, the annual equivalent of diplomatic speed dating to discuss global challenges and hot button issues.
Middle East conflict overshadows war in Ukraine
This year Ukraine's concerns about its war with Russia were overshadowed by the Israel-Hamas conflict. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged global leaders to reject ceasefire proposals that compromise Ukraine's sovereignty, emphasizing that half-hearted solutions only give Russia more leeway to continue its aggression.
Meanwhile, discussions on the Israel-Lebanon situation are heating up, with French President Emmanuel Macron warning against the escalation of violence and calling for restraint on both sides. In a fiery address to the UNGA, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the world body as a “swamp of antisemitic bile” — as dozens of diplomats walked out in protest ahead of the speech.
Island Nations sound the alarm on climate change
During a climate week that grappled with geopolitical challenges, small island nations addressed the urgent issue of climate change, advocating for recognition and sovereignty despite rising sea levels threatening their existence. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed America's commitment to helping these nations adapt to climate challenges.
A new “Pact for the Future”
One of the significant outcomes of this year's UN General Assembly was the adoption of a Pact for the Future, which recognizes the context in which the United Nations is working is changing.
The pact introduces two key initiatives. One is the global digital Impact, which focuses on AI and the other is the Declaration on Future Generations, which is really aiming and attempting to account for the pressures that today's youth and tomorrow's youth are going to face in future years.
TL;DR
Overall, while familiar issues like climate change and global conflict remain at the forefront, Ukraine's plea for attention to its situation and the looming war in Lebanon underscores the complexities of international diplomacy amidst competing crises.
Dig deeper:
↳ What to know from the UN: Ukraine doesn’t want the world to forget, and attention turns to Lebanon (Associated Press)
↳ Biden walks off the U.N. stage, leaving behind a world in ‘purgatory’ (Washington Post)
↳ Israel keeps bombing Lebanon, with Hezbollah and civilian deaths rising, as Netanyahu shifts tone on cease-fire (CBS News)
↳ We are winning, Netanyahu tells UN, as Israel-Hezbollah attacks continue (BBC)
↳ Zelensky warns of Russia threat at UN as Putin steps up nuclear rhetoric (The Guardian)
🌎 Around the world
➤ Meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump says he will negotiate a Ukraine-Russia deal 'that's good for both sides'
Trump also complained about his 2019 impeachment, which stemmed from a July 2019 phone conversation with Zelenskyy about the Bidens. (NBC News)
➤ South Korea set to criminalize possessing or watching sexually explicit deepfake videos
South Korean lawmakers have passed legislation banning the possession and watching of sexually explicit deepfake images and video, according to the Reuters news agency. The new law was passed Thursday by South Korea's National Assembly. It now lacks only a signature of approval by President Yoon Suk Yeol before it can be enacted. (CBS News)
➤ Chinese nuclear-powered submarine sank this year, US official says
China's newest nuclear-powered attack submarine sank earlier this year, a senior U.S. defense official said on Thursday, a potential embarrassment for Beijing as it seeks to expand its military capabilities. (Reuters)
⚡️ From Zivvy
Why did some activists protest the launch of the new iPhone 16?
Demonstrations were held at Apple Stores around the globe, demanding the company stops sourcing cobalt from the Congo. (Zivvy News)
🗳️ 2024 Elections
➤ Harris heads to the border, trying to project toughness against Trump
Visiting the border on Friday in Arizona, the vice president will try to neutralize a key vulnerability, and will demonstrate her party’s harder line on immigration. (NYTimes)
➤ CNN: We asked 10-year-olds about the election. Here’s what we learned
Researchers found that Democrat-supporting kids drove polarization in a new study for CNN, and the children were more likely to say they wouldn’t be friends with someone who supports Trump. Kids in red states, on the other hand, were more likely to repeat misinformation. (CNN)
➤ Trump and Vance hit with citizen criminal charges in Ohio over false pet-eating claims
Donald “They’re eating the dogs” Trump and JD “Pet abduction” Vance were hit with criminal charges this week over their repeated insistence that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are stealing and eating people’s pets—a claim for which there is zero evidence, as they’ve been told over and over. (Vanity Fair)
🇺🇸 More U.S. News
➤ At least 11 dead in Georgia as storm sweeps across Southeastern U.S.
Hurricane Helene weakened into a tropical storm over Georgia Friday after making landfall overnight in northwestern Florida as a Category 4 storm. At least 11 people have died so far in Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp said. Authorities continue to rescue people trapped by floodwaters and millions are without power across much of the southeastern U.S.(AP)
➤ Foreign bribes, cheap flights: What is Eric Adams accused of?
US prosecutors have charged New York City Mayor Eric Adams with bribery and fraud charges as part of a "long-running" scheme that has upended politics in America's largest city. (BBC)
↳Eric Adams pleads not guilty to five-count criminal indictment (Politico)
➤ Migrants from around the world are trying to reach the U.S. via charter planes
Hundreds of thousands of migrants have used charter planes since 2022 to reach the U.S., according to immigration analysts. These migrants are flying into Nicaragua and, from there, making their way north. (NPR)
⚕️Health and wellness
➤ Americans can again order 4 free at-home COVID tests from the federal government
This is the third year in a row Americans can order free at-home COVID tests. (ABC News)
➤ ‘Weekend warrior’ workouts may be as effective as daily exercise, study shows
Scientists say total amount of physical activity people get is more important than how frequently they train (The Guardian)
➤ New York Resident Dies of Eastern Equine Encephalitis Infection
Gov. Kathy Hochul declared the mosquito-borne illness a public health threat after the first confirmed case in the state in nearly a decade resulted in a death. (New York Times)
↳ More: 'A warmer, sicker world': Mosquitoes carrying deadly diseases are on an unstoppable march across the US (BBC)
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💰 Money
➤ Survey: 73% of Amazon workers are considering quitting after 5-day in-office mandate
In a recent survey of 2,585 Amazon employees on anonymous job review site Blind, 73% said they are considering looking for a new job following CEO Andy Jassy’s recent memo announcing a full-time return-to-office. Conversations on Blind tend to be critical of employers. (CNBC)
👩💻 Technology
➤ Telegram Agrees to Share User Data With Authorities for Criminal Investigations
In a major policy reversal, the popular messaging app Telegram has announced it will give users' IP addresses and phone numbers to authorities in response to valid legal requests in an attempt to rein in criminal activity on the platform. (The Hacker News)
🍿Pop Culture
➤ Chappell Roan isn’t Endorsing Kamala Harris, but Clarifies ‘No, I’m not voting for Trump’
She says her comments about “problems on both sides” were taken out of context, underlining the importance of questioning “authority,” “world leaders,” “myself” and “my algorithm” (The Wrap)
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↳ Related: Chappell Roan Cancels All Things Go Festival Appearances This Weekend: ‘Things Have Gotten Overwhelming’ (Variety)
➤ Ilona Maher wears string bikini as she gets ‘vulnerable’ with fans about body confidence
“It’s hard to love your body all the time and to think it’s just so amazing,” Maher says. “Even myself, I have a problem with that.” (Today)
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➤ Fans Are 'uncomfortable' with JoJo Siwa's bedazzled bulge in new magazine cover photos
JoJo Siwa, who released the divisive EP Guilty Pleasure this summer, now has fans puzzling out her new magazine cover photoshoot that featured a bedazzled male chest plate and bulge. (Parade)
➤ Sports mascots were very dude-coded. Then came Ellie the Elephant.
You can’t ignore the elephant in the room — because she’s twerking, for the WNBA’s New York Liberty. (Washington Post)
📡 On the radar
➤ Earth Is temporarily getting a second ‘moon’
From Sept. 29 until Nov. 25, astronomers calculate that 2024 PT5— which is what scientists think is an asteroid but have dubbed a “mini-moon”—will be looping around Earth. It will eventually break free of the planet’s gravitational orbit. (Time)
🏫 College Corner
➤ Men's lacrosse players released from hospital with investigation to follow
The voluntary, supervised workout on Sept. 16 was led by a Tufts alumnus and a recent graduate of the BUD/S, or Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL, a Navy SEAL training program.. Out of the approximately 50 team members who participated in the exercise, 12 were diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis after it finished, Patrick Collins, Tufts’ executive director of media relations, wrote in the university’s original Sept. 20 statement. Of those athletes, nine players were hospitalized, with three remaining as of Monday. (Tufts Daily)
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