As the secretary general, António Guterres, prepares to step down, the general assembly is highlighting the scale of the organisation’s challenges

The United Nations was created, its charter states, to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war”. Donald Trump used his address to the general assembly to threaten Iran, another member state, with annihilation again. The charter also speaks of the obligations of international law. On Venezuela, Mr Trump gloated that “to the victor belong the spoils”. His speech in New York on Tuesday might be regarded as an improvement on last year’s only in that it was not an explicit, full-scale attack on the UN itself, merely on its founding principles.

The absences this year are perhaps as telling as the US president’s hostile presence. Vladimir Putin has not attended for more than a decade. Nor has Xi Jinping – but the snub is more striking as he is in Washington to meet the US president. India’s Narendra Modi is not present; nor are Cyril Ramaphosa, Bola Tinubu or Abdel Fatah al-Sisi – the leaders of Africa’s three giants, South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt. While their reasons are various, the gaps speak collectively to Mr Trump’s wrecking capability and the broader challenges faced by the UN.

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

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Agreement with Mauritius over Diego Garcia unlikely to be revived unless president changes his mind, insiders believe

The Chagos Islands deal is on hold for as long as Donald Trump objects to it, UK officials believe, with no immediate signs it can be adapted to suit the US president.

After Trump savaged the three-way plan as “a terrible deal” during a meeting with Andy Burnham at the UN general assembly, the prime minister said he was “confident” the UK would be able to find a solution to revive the idea.

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Milan show full of diaphanous dresses and visible bras celebrates 1970s sensation Raffaella Carrà

Maria Grazia Chiuri has been having more fun with clothes since she decamped from Paris back to her native Rome to work at Fendi. “I have less of a uniform these days. I think it is because being back here makes me feel young again. I’m not sure my daughter appreciates [this attitude]! But I don’t care,” she said at a preview before her Milan fashion week show.

Not that Chiuri doesn’t approach her work as a designer seriously. She described her second ready-to-wear season at Fendi not as a show, or a collection, but as “the second part of the project I am working on for them”.

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Kimi Antonelli has given his thoughts on his position in the Drivers’ Championship ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen believes "it made perfect sense" for Red Bull to retain Isack Hadjar for the 2027 season, adding that it is "good that we have that continuation".

Lewis Hamilton has reflected on his chances in the championship battle ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Weer voor Rotterdam ⛅ - 23-09-2026 19:16 CEST

In één oogopslag:
• 18.7°C · Gedeeltelijk bewolkt ⛅ | Min 16.2°C / Max 20.7°C | Kans op neerslag 9%

Verwachting voor vandaag:
• Min 16.2°C, Max 20.7°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, Kans op neerslag 9%, 🧭 1022.3 hPa ↗️ +0.5 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 20.5 km/u (5.7 m/s), richting: ↗ 236°

Uurlijkse voorspelling voor de komende 12 uur:

• 20:00: 18.5°C (Helder) 🌕, Kans op neerslag 4%, 🧭 1021.8 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 11.5 km/u (3.2 m/s), richting: → 259°
• 21:00: 18.3°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, Kans op neerslag 19%, 🧭 1022.2 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 14.0 km/u (3.9 m/s), richting: → 265°
• 22:00: 17.6°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, Kans op neerslag 39%, 🧭 1022.4 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 20.5 km/u (5.7 m/s), richting: ↘ 334°
• 23:00: 17.3°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, Kans op neerslag 49%, 🧭 1022.8 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 16.9 km/u (4.7 m/s), richting: ↘ 333°
• 00:00: 16.9°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, Kans op neerslag 38%, 🧭 1023.5 hPa ↗️ +0.7 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 11.2 km/u (3.1 m/s), richting: ↘ 330°
• 01:00: 16.8°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, Kans op neerslag 16%, 🧭 1023.8 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 12.6 km/u (3.5 m/s), richting: ↘ 330°
• 02:00: 16.7°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1024.0 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 12.2 km/u (3.4 m/s), richting: ↘ 331°
• 03:00: 16.1°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1024.0 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 11.2 km/u (3.1 m/s), richting: ↘ 326°
• 04:00: 15.8°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1024.1 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 9.0 km/u (2.5 m/s), richting: ↘ 319°
• 05:00: 15.5°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1024.3 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 7.9 km/u (2.2 m/s), richting: ↘ 314°
• 06:00: 15.5°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1024.4 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 7.6 km/u (2.1 m/s), richting: ↘ 333°
• 07:00: 15.1°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1024.5 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 8.6 km/u (2.4 m/s), richting: ↘ 328°

Voorspelling voor de komende dagen:

• donderdag 24 september: Min 15.1°C, Max 19.2°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1024.8 hPa ↗️ +2.5 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 12.2 km/u (3.4 m/s), richting: ↓ 349°
• vrijdag 25 september: Min 13.1°C, Max 22.9°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1021.4 hPa ↘️ -3.4 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 12.6 km/u (3.5 m/s), richting: ↖ 155°
• zaterdag 26 september: Min 13.1°C, Max 20.8°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 0.1 mm, Kans op neerslag 3%, 🧭 1017.7 hPa ↘️ -3.7 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 12.3 km/u (3.4 m/s), richting: ↓ 342°
• zondag 27 september: Min 12.8°C, Max 21.5°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, Kans op neerslag 3%, 🧭 1015.6 hPa ↘️ -2.1 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 9.5 km/u (2.6 m/s), richting: ↑ 174°
• maandag 28 september: Min 15.2°C, Max 21.0°C (Matige motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 4.2 mm, Kans op neerslag 16%, 🧭 1015.2 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 9.3 km/u (2.6 m/s), richting: ↗ 213°
• dinsdag 29 september: Min 16.0°C, Max 22.5°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 2.9 mm, Kans op neerslag 15%, 🧭 1011.9 hPa ↘️ -3.3 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 19.1 km/u (5.3 m/s), richting: ↑ 169°

Details:
• 🌡️ Huidige temperatuur (om 19:15): 18.7°C (Gedeeltelijk bewolkt)
• 🤚 Gevoelstemperatuur: 17.9°C (-0.8°C)
• 💨 Windsnelheid: 13.0 km/u (3.6 m/s), richting: → 262°
• 🌬️ Windstoten: 25.6 km/h (7.1 m/s)
• 💧 Luchtvochtigheid: 73%
• 🧭 Luchtdruk: 1021.8 hPa ↗️ +0.6 hPa/3h
• 👁️ Zichtbaarheid: 18.1 km
• ☀️ UV-index: 0.1
• 🌅 Zonsopgang: 07:29 · 🌇 Zonsondergang: 19:38

Luchtkwaliteit:
• AQI: 68 🟡 (Matig)
• PM2.5: 9.2 μg/m³
• PM10: 15.0 μg/m³

Gegevens geleverd door Open-Meteo

#Rotterdam #Meteo #MeteoBot #MeteoNetherlands #OpenMeteo #FediMeteo

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

europeanspaceagency posted a photo:

Three space explorers make their way to the top of an ancient volcano called Caldera Blanca in Lanzarote, one of Europe’s volcanic hot spots. From its rim, remnants of recent eruptions lie open for this crew of astronauts learning geology for planetary exploration.Participants of PANGAEA’s 10th edition are ESA astronaut Pablo Álvarez Fernández, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli and Kimiya Yui from the Japanese space agency, JAXA. During three intensive weeks, the training grows in complexity as the astronauts face challenges in real environments.A team of instructors, including some of Europe’s top planetary geologists, progressively gives the trainees more time exploring independently. Based on their experience over the last decade, astronauts perform best when they are given autonomy, as they enjoy true exploration and feel motivated by scientific discovery.This was the first expedition in which the astronauts needed very little coaching from the science team, who followed their moves remotely and received frequent pictures and measurements. Pablo acted as commander, Jasmin documented their observations and Kimiya was leading the exploration.Their scientific objectives were to study the chronology and morphology of lava flows, and to find evidence of interaction between water and volcanic activity – two key factors in the search for life. Caldera Blanca is an open-air museum for learning about lava flows that compare to the vast plains of the lunar maria – the large, basaltic areas on the Moon that appear dark to the naked eye from Earth.Besides the indispensable rock hammers, the astronauts carry spectrometers and microscopes connected with the ESA developed Electronic Field Book, an all-in-one tool for future space explorers. Jasmin uses this ‘space tablet’ to map their exploration, keep a record of the samples collected and communicate their observations with the science team. Lanzarote is the last leg of their geology journey. The training has taken the astronauts from theory-packed lessons to the wild outdoors in locations across Europe, including the Bletterbach canyon in Italy and the Ries crater in Germany. 

Credits: ESA/V. Crobu

europeanspaceagency posted a photo:

Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) team in front of their rocket on the launch pad, July 2026.

The first RFA One rocket is already at Saxavord Spaceport in the UK, with hot-fire tests of the complete rocket on the launch pad coming soon, followed by the launch of Test Flight-1.

RFA One is an orbital vehicle with three stages launching from its SaxaVord launch pad in the UK. At about 30 m tall and 2.15 m in diameter, the rocket, in current configuration, targets a deployment capability of up to 500 kg to a 500 km sun-synchronous orbit. The RFA One launcher is being developed in Augsburg, Germany, with an initial Boost! co-funding committed by ESA in 2022.

ESA’s ‘Boost!’ programme awards commercial initiatives that offer transportation services to space, in space, and returning from space. The programme also supports Member States implementing national objectives for spaceports, testing facilities and more.

RFA is also one of the contenders in the European Launcher Challenge receiving ESA support for its ramp-up phases to accelerate launch service deployment and increase payload capacity.

Credits: Rocket Factory Augsburg

europeanspaceagency posted a photo:

A special Astronaut Pikachu plush travelled to the International Space Station to join ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot as part of a collaboration between ESA and The Pokémon Company International.

In this image, Astronaut Pikachu floats inside the Cupola, the European-built observation module that offers spectacular views of Earth and is a favourite spot for astronauts living and working on the Station to watch our home planet pass by below.

The International Space Station orbits Earth around 400 km above it, circling the planet every 90 minutes and treating its crew to around 16 sunrises and sunsets each day – a beautiful sight that has now been shared with Pikachu. Since 2000, astronauts have lived and worked continuously aboard the Station, carrying out science research using the unique microgravity conditions in orbit.

Sophie has spent more than 200 days in space as part of her εpsilon mission, conducting scientific research and completing three spacewalks over the summer to help maintain the orbiting laboratory.

ESA and Pokémon are teaming up to inspire the next generation of explorers. Whether through science or imagination, discovery begins with curiosity.

Read the full article for more information on the collaboration.

Follow Sophie’s mission on the εpsilon page and on her social media platforms, such as X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn.

Credits: ESA/NASA – S. Adenot

europeanspaceagency posted a photo:

This picture was published on social media by ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot with the following caption:

Day 221 orbit 3426 — What happens to our muscles when they no longer have to fight gravity? That’s one of the questions behind Myotones, an experiment looking at how our muscles adapt to life in space.

The measurements are quick and non-invasive: a small handheld device applies a brief, painless pressure pulse and measures properties such as muscle tone, stiffness and elasticity during spaceflight. Understanding these changes can help scientists learn more about human resting muscle tone, which is still not fully understood.

As nearly always with research in space, what we learn up here can also be useful down on Earth. The findings could contribute to better ways of preventing or treating muscle stiffness and loss of function, particularly in older people, people on prolonged bed rest or those with sedentary lifestyles. Go science!

Follow Sophie’s mission on the εpsilon page and on her social media platforms, such as X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn.

Credits: ESA/NASA

europeanspaceagency posted a photo:

ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) will return to Earth on 28 September, with flight controllers guiding the spacecraft close to our home planet to alter its speed and direction en route to Jupiter.

Read more

[Image description: Infographic showing Juice's flight past Earth with a dotted orange line. Key timings are indicated, including the start of the flyby navigation campaign (17 August), the closest approach to Earth (28 September) and the farewell images of Earth (2 October). Some of the line is bold yellow, a key indicates that this means that Juice's science instruments are switched on.]

Credits: European Space Agency; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
Acknowledgements: ATG Europe

Social

Kijk u kunt wel denken dat iedereen die een video maakt vol rare tekeningen met allemaal pijltjes erop en 'JFK' en '911' een rare complotwappie is, maar dat is dus wat ze willen dat u denkt! En met 'ze' bedoelen 'we' de CIA, die juist bedacht heeft dat er complotdenkers zouden moeten zijn, zodat ze hun complotten geheim kunnen houden en iedereen die de waarheid wil achterhalen op een ondoordringbare ring van complotdenkers stuit. Dat is op zichzelf dan weer geen complot, nou ja, het is wel een complot, maar het is dus ook juist echt waar, dat het een complot is, maar dat weet u dus niet, vanwege al die complotdenkers die er voor moeten zorgen dat u de complotten niet doorziet. Of zoiets. Je gaat het pas zien als je het doorhebt. En George van Houts heeft het al heel erg lang door. Je zou haast zeggen: te lang.  
PS: Bindende luistertip

Iemand, die juist niet gek is

Gerko spreekt voor velen

In tender paper collages featuring woodland creatures in relief, Kanako Abe imagines dreamlike scenes reminiscent of childhood narratives and folk tales. Giant wolves, diminutive bunnies, and curious deer wander through a Narnia-like realm that we glimpse through foliage-filled portals. In her practice, “the paper becomes a canvas for stories untold, where every cut is a deliberate step into a world where imagination and reality intertwine,” a statement says.

Paper-cutting has long been a central tenet of Abe’s practice, which she recently applied to an ambitious forthcoming book project in collaboration with young adult novelist Caryl Lewis. The Paper Girl, published by Frances Lincoln Ltd., follows the adventures of a young protagonist who folds herself into different forms in response to others’ comments and directives only to learn how to stand up for herself by summoning the power of “no.”

The Paper Girl is slated for release on October 6. Pre-order your copy on Bookshop, and if you provide proof of purchase via a form on Quarto, you’ll receive a signed bookplate by Abe. The artist is currently working toward a curatorial endeavor at Giant Robot Gallery scheduled to open in January, which will also include her work. And next April, she’ll participate in a group exhibition at Childhood’s End Gallery in Olympia, Washington. Keep an eye on updates on Instagram.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Woodland Creatures Inhabit an Imaginary World in Kanako Abe’s Intricate Paper Cuts appeared first on Colossal.

After more than six months of kicking the age verification can down the road due to community blowback, Discord is finally deploying its new system, albeit with several tweaks it hopes will assuage user frustration. Discord cofounder and CTO Stanislav Vishnevskiy took to the company blog Tuesday to reveal the final shape of Discord’s age verification plans. The essence of the scheme, as initially revealed in February, is the same: The platform will now use algorithms to identify whether accounts belong to adults or kids. The promises made after users raised a stink, namely that more than 90 percent of users will never have to confirm their ages, are also unchanged. What’s new in Vishnevskiy’s announcement is primarily the level of technical detail we’re getting about how Discord’s new age verification model works, and several new methods of verifying a user’s age that don’t require handing over an ID scan or providing a selfie to a third party. One of the primary fears that surfaced among Discord users when the platform first announced it was going to verify user ages was the idea that Discord’s AI would start reviewing user posts and other content to determine their age. Discord took pains to mention that’s not the case in multiple places in Tuesday’s announcement and in related posts, like a technical review of the age verification algorithm. “Our model looks at patterns of account behavior on Discord,” the company explained. “It does not read, scan, or analyze the content of users’ messages or voice calls.” There are a number of factors that go into how Discord estimates user age groups without reviewing the content of their interactions on the platform, including account metadata, engagement metrics, community context, device information, and social-graph embeddings. The most heavily weighted factor, however, is what Discord calls Discord Entity-Relationship Embeddings, or DERE. That, as the company explained in the technical writeup, involves a “Discord social graph” that encodes relationships between users, servers, and the games users claim to play, and represents each user with a 32-dimensional numerical embedding based on their position in that graph. “DERE is highly predictive of age because users of similar ages tend to form organic social clusters,” Discord explained. “DERE captures this structure without ever being trained on age data.” More verification options Using DERE alongside those other factors, Discord’s age-estimation model outputs a probability between 0 and 1 that a user is an adult, but accounts in the middle ground, or those without enough activity for the model to classify confidently, may still have to verify their age to access age-restricted content, spaces, or settings. Thankfully, verifying one’s age isn’t nearly as intrusive as it used to be thanks to a few more options that Discord has provided. There’s still the age-verification-service route, which Discord said users could opt into through a service called AgeKey, which allows users to create an age verification passkey that’s stored locally on their own device and can be reused on a variety of supported sites. Alternatively, Discord can use a credit-card check as an adult-age signal, while Apple and Google can share age ranges already associated with supported accounts or digital IDs. As detailed in a post on age-assurance methods, Discord users can opt for a credit-card check processed through Stripe, which itself isn’t without criticism of its privacy practices. Alternatively, users of Google Wallet, Google Play, or Apple’s App Store can have those services share an age range with Discord as well. For users already comfortable entrusting Apple or Google with that information, this at least avoids introducing another age-verification provider into the process. Teen accounts will still get restrictions if they’re identified as such, with messages from non-friends dumped into a request inbox, friend requests being flagged if they come from someone without any mutual friends or servers, and a requirement that users be an adult in order to disable that. Teen accounts will also be blocked from age-restricted servers and channels, and sensitive images will be blurred or blocked as well. Profile data is also locked down. Vishnevskiy closed out his announcement by admitting that age verification is controversial, but trying to pass the buck on caving to governments demanding web providers add it by saying that the issue is bigger than Discord. “Any form of age assurance, and the possibility of sharing something biometric or an ID, is a controversial topic,” the Discord cofounder noted. “Rightfully so, because of what it represents and where internet legislation around the world is heading: toward a more gated internet.” He added that he hopes Discord users will hold the company accountable for its rollout and judge it not just based on what has begun rolling out today. “We'll get some things wrong, but you can judge us on how we respond: how accurate the age group estimation gets, how fast we fix bad calls, and whether we keep publishing the data so you don't have to take my word for it,” Vishnevskiy said. Discord age verification is rolling out beginning Wednesday and will reach more accounts as the week progresses. Users who’ve been added to the new system should see their age status, and be able to verify their age if needed, under User Settings > Account Status. ®

In Schiedam is een voetganger gewond geraakt bij een aanrijding met een bestelbus. Het ongeluk gebeurde op de Burgemeester Verveenstraat. De man raakte gewond aan zijn been.