Rebeca Grynspan ahead in race to be next UN chief
A first informal UN Security Council poll on July 30 showed former Costa Rican vice-president Rebeca Grynspan as the early frontrunner in the race to become the next secretary-general of the world body, followed by former Guyanese foreign minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, diplomats told Reuters.
One diplomat said Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, head of the UN nuclear watchdog, was in a “surprise” third place among the seven candidates for the post.
In the non-binding “straw poll” voting by the 15 members of the Security Council, Grynspan received 10 “encourage” votes to nine for Rodrigues-Birkett and seven for Grossi.
The candidates are seeking to replace Antonio Guterres of Portugal when he steps down at the end of this year after two five-year terms.
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15 years’ jail for father of Georgia school shooter
PHOTO: REUTERS
A man who gave his troubled son the rifle he used to kill four people at a Georgia high school was sentenced on July 30 to 15 years in prison, the culmination of the state’s first case in which a parent was convicted of second-degree murder for a mass shooting committed by his child.
Colt Gray, 16, was sentenced to life in prison without parole on July 28 for the 2024 school shooting by a Barrow County Superior Court judge.
Two days later, the same judge sentenced his 55-year-old father, Colin Gray, to far less than the 80 years prosecutors had requested.
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US government map of Africa mislabels every country
A US government map of Africa mislabeled every country during a State Department presentation at a global conference in Brazil this week, causing a stir among attendees who took screenshots and posted them online.
Reuters viewed a video of the presentation given at the AIDS 2026 conference in Rio de Janeiro, which shows the errant map displayed halfway during a presentation about the State Department’s new health agreements.
A Reuters analysis found the image of the map included in the presentation contained an artificial intelligence watermark that signals it was made with OpenAI tools. The company said it was investigating the report.
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S’pore’s Shanti Pereira qualifies for 200m final
PHOTO: SPEXSG/ANDY CHUA
Singapore sprint queen Shanti Pereira booked her place in the history books on July 30 (July 31, Singapore time), after clinching a spot in the women’s 200m final at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
At the Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow, the 29-year-old clocked a season-best 22.81 seconds to finish third in her semi-finals and eighth out of 24 overall. She is the first Singaporean sprinter to qualify for an individual final at the quadrennial event.
Adaejah Hodge of the British Virgin Islands won the same semi-final as Pereira in a Games record 22.01sec, ahead of Jamaican Ashanti Moore (22.49sec).
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UEFA to boycott World Cup and FIFA tournaments
PHOTO: REUTERS
European soccer’s governing body UEFA and its 55 member nations on July 30 voted to boycott all FIFA tournaments in what could be a knockout blow to the global soccer organisation’s proposal to sell a stake in the World Cup to external investors.
In a statement that pulled no punches, Europe presented a united front to FIFA boss Gianni Infantino, whose proposal has caused uproar only weeks after the World Cup was held in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The Asian Football Confederation also issued a scathing letter to the continent’s 47 member associations and warned the proposal would never succeed without the support of all six regional blocs.
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