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The Security Council is meeting now in New York to debate critical minerals — the lithium, cobalt and copper powering the clean energy transition. Demand is set to triple by 2030. The question: will this…
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Security Council LIVE: Can critical minerals fuel peace and prosperity instead of conflict?
The Security Council is meeting now in New York to debate critical minerals — the…
From lithium to nickel: How the UN is helping countries make the most of critical minerals
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Rahmat Shah is Afghanistan’s leading run-getter in Tests and ODIs. Middle-order batter Rahmat Shah has been appointed captain of Afghanistan’s Test and one-day international squads, the country’s cricket board announced on Wednesday.The change in leadership comes after Hashmatullah Shahidi stepped down on Tuesday, ending a five-year stint during which Afghanistan finished sixth at the 2023 World Cup defeating former champions England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.”The Afghanistan Cricket Board appreciates Hashmatullah Shahidi’s valuable service, dedication, and leadership during his tenure as captain and wishes him continued success in his future endeavours,” the board said in a statement.”With extensive experience in international cricket, leadership, and the team’s overall structure, Rahmat Shah is well positioned to take on this important responsibility.” The elevation to captaincy is a natural progression for Shah considering he was the vice-captain since May 2021 when Shahidi was announced captain. He is also Afghanistan’s leading run-getter in Tests and ODIs.Rahmat, who has served as Shahidi’s deputy since 2021, will begin his captaincy with a five-match ODI series in Ireland next month. Related Story Source link
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham holds his first Cabinet meeting, in London, Tuesday. (Reuters) Andy Burnham told the inaugural meeting of his cabinet Tuesday that he would lead a “cost-of-living government”, after unveiling an energy tax cut on his first full day as prime minister.Burnham, who replaced Keir Starmer in Downing Street on Monday, announced he was cutting value-added tax (VAT) on consumer electricity bills — his first significant policy announcement as UK leader.But a Starmer loyalist, one of several to be culled from ministerial positions by Burnham, questioned how the Labour government would fund the cut, suggesting the new premier’s call for party unity may go unheeded.From October 1, electricity bills will be VAT free, saving an average household around £45 ($61) a year, the government said in a statement.In opening remarks to his cabinet in front of media before the private meeting, Burnham told ministers that they must give the public “a sense that help is coming”.”We need to be a cost-of-living government, getting that cost of living down, looking at all possible ways of doing that,” he added.But he also stressed “we’ve got to show fiscal discipline” and vowed to always “show how we’re going to pay” for policies.The tax cut will cost the government about £850mn ($1.143bn) in the current UK financial year.The government said it would be funded by cancelling Starmer’s plan for a digital ID scheme that would have cost the taxpayer £1.8bn.But in a post on X, former minister Darren Jones said the ID programme had been “unfunded”.”The government will have to set out how it will pay for its new policies at the budget,” he wrote.Burnham, parachuted into No. 10 by Labour MPs after they lost confidence in Starmer, insisted during the cabinet meeting that he would always “show how we’re going to pay” for policies.He is currently mulling rent control measures and caps to bus fares.Burnham became Britain’s seventh prime minister in just over a decade Monday and signalled a new left-ward direction for the Labour government during his first speech outside No. 10.He pledged to re-industrialise the country, push through greater public control of utilities and build more public housing, vowing to unveil a 10-year-plan later this year.Burnham also intends to decentralise power away from London to other cities and regions.Despite vowing to end factionalism in Labour, one of his first acts as prime minister was to cull most of Starmer’s supporters from his new 23-member cabinet.Rachel Reeves was axed as finance minister, replaced by John Healey, while David Lammy left his role as deputy prime minister, as Burnham promoted his own allies and reshuffled the existing pack.Ed Miliband became foreign minister, Wes Streeting — who abandoned plans to run against Burnham for the Labour leadership — was named defence minister, and left-wing figurehead Angela Rayner returned to government.The new cabinet has 12 women, and 11 men, although women have been cut from two of the top posts.ChallengesOn Monday’s busy afternoon, Burnham also held calls with numerous foreign leaders, including US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and French leader Emmanuel Macron.Burnham, a long-time critic of Starmer’s more centrist approach to governing, only returned to parliament four weeks ago following a nine-year stint as Greater Manchester mayor.Labour MPs hope his down-to-earth persona can stem support for the anti-immigrant Reform UK party, led by Nigel Farage, before the next general election, due in 2029.But Burnham faces multiple challenges, not least an anaemic economy, high government borrowing costs, a ballooning welfare bill and irregular migrants arriving in small boats.Unpredictable energy prices due to the US-Iran war and volatile relations with Washington under Trump also threaten to buffet his premiership.Burnham, an MP between 2001 and 2017, has little room to manoeuvre amid high public debt and strict financial rules requiring him to balance government spending against tax revenue.His swift appointment as Labour leader, and prime minister by virtue of Labour’s huge parliamentary majority, came without him putting forward a clear plan for how he will achieve his aims.Farage has questioned Burnham’s mandate and called for a snap election. Related Story Source…
The assembly is the world’s highest-level decision-making body for matters related to the environment. More than 6,000 people – representing 186…
New Zealand's Hayden Wilde and Great Britain's Kate Waugh were crowned T100 Triathlon World Champions after winning the Qatar T100 Triathlon World Championship Final in Lusail on Friday.Wilde capped a phenomenal season with his sixth victory of the year, completing a perfect campaign that saw him win every T100 race he entered. For Waugh, a dramatic victory – crossing the line on her knees through sheer exhaustion – sealed her first ever World Championship title. Both athletes had prepared for the finale with training camps in Abu Dhabi following the Dubai T100 in November, using the UAE capital's world-class facilities and similar climate to acclimatise for Qatar conditions.Wilde's win was never in doubt. The Olympic bronze medallist led into T2 after a blistering bike leg and controlled the 18km run to cross the line in 3:06:08. His sixth victory of the season – following wins in Singapore, London, the French Riviera, Spain and Wollongong – earned him a perfect score across the 2025 T100 season. The triumph is all the more remarkable given the horror bike crash Wilde suffered in Japan at the start of May, which punctured his lung, broke six ribs and left him needing surgery on his left scapula.’It's pretty special from starting in Singapore, then being in hospital for a bit, and then coming back and winning a few races, and then finishing here in Qatar,’ said Wilde. ‘It's been a long season but it's nice to finish up.’ Wilde takes $25,000 for the win in Qatar – added to the $125,000 already earned in race wins this year – plus $200,000 for winning the T100 Race to Qatar. Morgan Pearson of the USA produced a storming run to finish second in 3:07:23, moving up to 4th in the final standings. Belgium's Marten Van Riel, the 2024 world champion, came home third in 3:08:14.Waugh's win was anything but comfortable. The 26-year-old from Gateshead led from the front throughout but paid for her efforts in the closing stages, slowing to a walk in the final straight before stumbling to her knees as she crossed the line in 3:31:30. ‘Oh my gosh, that was the most dramatic way to win the world title,’ said Waugh. ‘I've always been a bit of a drama queen, so perhaps that was the best way to win it. I'm completely overwhelmed with emotion right now.’ Waugh had led the T100 Race to Qatar standings throughout the season, finishing on the podium in all six T100 races she entered. Her consistency earned her 183 points and a $200,000 bonus on top of the $25,000 race win. Georgia Taylor-Brown charged home to finish second, just 20 seconds behind, while Julie Derron – who had pushed Waugh all season – took third to secure second place in the overall standings. Source link
DPS-Modern Indian School alumnus, Talha Faiz (Batch of 2015), has been featured in the Forbes 30 Under 30–USA-2026 list for his pioneering work in artificial intelligence and the energy sector.After graduating from DPS-Modern Indian School, he pursued higher studies in the US, publishing research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and earning a fully funded Master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute. His professional journey began in mechanical engineering, with organisations such as Qapco, Chiyoda, and Intertek, before he transitioned into computer science and contributed to cutting-edge projects at Samsung Research and Meta.Today, Faiz is the co-founder and CEO of Candid Intelligence, an AI-driven company partnering with leading energy and engineering organisations across the globe. Talha has expressed his willingness to guide DPS-Modern Indian School students and parents interested in exploring how artificial intelligence is transforming the energy industry, a statement added. Related Story Source link
US President Donald Trump has said he will withhold federal broadband funding from states whose laws to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) are judged by his administration to be holding back American dominance in the technology.”We want to have one central source of approval,” Trump told reporters, flanked by top advisers, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, arguing that 50 different regulatory regimes hamper the growth of the nascent industry.”To win, United States AI companies must be free to innovate without cumbersome regulation,” the order said, adding that the current patchwork of different regulatory regimes made compliance more challenging, especially for start-ups.The Trump administration will work with Congress in coming weeks and months to craft a single national framework to regulate developments in the field of AI, White House adviser Sriram Krishnan told CNBC yesterday.He told CNBC’s *First on CNBC programme that the executive order signed by Trump was needed to ensure companies could move forward with technology developments and not have to contend with over 1,000 state regulations already on the books.However, eventually the issue would require legislation by Congress, Krishnan said.”So we’ll be working with Congress in the coming weeks and months to make sure that is a single national framework which makes sure we can win this race,” he said.Trump has embraced AI as a critical technology, working closely with US companies to boost investment in a sector where China has also made great strides.However, critics worry that unfettered development could leave Americans vulnerable.The order also reflects the Trump administration’s broader attack against anti-discrimination efforts, taking aim at states such as Colorado that have sought to prevent discriminatory language from being embedded in AI models.Such efforts could result in “ideological bias” and produce false results, it said.The order will give the Trump administration tools to push back on the most “onerous” state regulations, said White House AI adviser David Sacks.The administration will not oppose rules governing AI that relate to child safety, he added.It directs the secretary of commerce to evaluate state laws for conflicts with Trump’s AI priorities and to block those states in conflict from accessing the $42bn Broadband Equity Access and Deployment fund.Democratic Representative Don Beyer, who co-chairs a bipartisan caucus on AI, said the order would squelch safety reforms passed by states and create “a lawless Wild West environment for AI companies that puts Americans at risk”.He warned that the order would reduce the likelihood of congressional action and likely violated the 10th Amendment, which says that any powers not specifically given to the federal government belong to the states or the people.Trump’s order called for his administration to work with Congress to craft a national standard that forbids state laws which conflict with federal policy, protects children, prevents censorship, respects copyrights and protects communities.Until such a standard was in place, the order called for actions to “check the most onerous and excessive laws emerging from the states that threaten to stymie innovation”.Major AI players including ChatGPT maker OpenAI, Alphabet’s Google, Meta Platforms, and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz have said the federal government, not states, should regulate the industry.Yet state leaders from both major political parties have said they need the power to put guardrails around AI, particularly as Congress has consistently failed to pass laws governing the tech industry.New York state last month became the first to enact a law requiring online retailers that employ “surveillance pricing” to disclose their use of algorithms and customers’ personal data.California and lawmakers in Washington are considering bans on such methods, which are also known as “personalised pricing”.Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has proposed an AI bill of rights that includes data privacy, parental controls and consumer protections.California Governor Gavin Newsom, whose state is home to several major AI companies, signed off on a bill this year requiring major AI developers to explain plans to mitigate potential catastrophic risks.Other states have passed laws banning AI-generated non-consensual sexual imagery and unauthorised political deepfakes. Source link
