Author: Reporter

With artificial intelligence at a pivotal moment of development, the federal government is about to transition from one that prioritized AI safeguards to one more focused on eliminating red tape. That is a promising prospect for some investors but creates uncertainty about the future of any guardrails on the technology, especially around the use of AI deepfakes in elections and political campaigns. President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to rescind President Joe Biden’s sweeping AI executive order, which sought to protect people’s rights and safety without stifling innovation. He has not specified what he would do in its place, but...

A key U.N. General Assembly committee adopted a resolution in November paving the way for negotiations on a first-ever treaty on preventing and punishing crimes against humanity after Russia dropped amendments that would have derailed the effort. The resolution was approved by consensus by the assembly’s legal committee, which includes all 193-member U.N. nations, after tense last-minute negotiations between its supporters and Russia that dragged through the day. There was loud applause when the chairman of the committee gaveled the resolution’s approval. It is virtually certain to be adopted when the General Assembly puts it to a final vote...

Gertrude Siduna appears to have little appetite for corn farming season. Rather than prepare her land in Zimbabwe’s arid southeastern Chipinge district for the crop that has fed her family for generations, the 49-year-old, bitter at repeated droughts that have decimated yields, turns her thoughts to the prices and farming techniques of chilies. “I pick my chilies from the fields and take them to the processing center close to my home. It’s simple,” she said. She’s received about $400 from the drought-resistant crop, and plans to grow some more. “Chilies are far better than corn.” Siduna has been growing...

In Damascus, the streets were buzzing with excitement as Syrians welcomed in a new year that seemed to many to bring a promise of a brighter future after the unexpected fall of Bashar Assad’s government just weeks earlier. While Syrians in the capital looked forward to a new beginning after the ousting of Assad, the mood was more somber along Beirut’s Mediterranean promenade, where residents shared cautious hopes for the new year, reflecting on a country still reeling from war and ongoing crises. War-weary Palestinians in Gaza who lost their homes and loved ones in 2024 saw little hope...

Even with hopes running high, so much can go wrong when a country ousts a longtime dictator and tries to start anew. The Middle Eastern and North African nations that attempted to transition to democracy in recent years can attest to that. Now it is Syria’s turn to try to get it right. It is hard to draw lessons from the experiences of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, and Sudan since the wave of Arab Spring uprisings that began in 2011, as each country’s dynamics are different, But there are common themes. In some cases, “the Revolution” was lost when...