Latest news with #TheElders
NHK
15-05-2025
- Politics
- NHK
Colombian Nobel Peace Prize laureate: Dialogue important for resolving conflicts
Former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has stressed the need for dialogue in resolving the ongoing conflicts around the world. Santos was Colombia's president from 2010 to 2018. He was awarded the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to bring an end to the civil war that continued for more than a half a century. Santos spoke with NHK in Tokyo on Thursday. He is a chair of the Elders, an organization of former global leaders working to prevent and resolve conflicts. He is visiting Japan to attend a symposium and other events. Santos first referred to the current state of affairs, 80 years after the end of World War Two. Noting that many conflicts are ongoing around the world, he expressed grave concern that the risk of a nuclear war has increased. Santos added, "We are seeing nuclear powers increasing their arsenals and even threatening each other with the use of nuclear bombs. So it's not a very encouraging situation." He went on to say that, in order to make peace, "you need to put yourself in the shoes of the other person or the adversaries or the enemies, understand their way of thinking, why they are doing what they're doing." He stressed the need to have dialogue to "hear and learn from the other" to reach common ground, instead of "imposing your views on the other." Referring to his own experience, Santos said, "every conflict can be solved." He said empathy, compassion, patience and perseverance are needed. He added, "You need to understand the conditions that are necessary and create them."
Jordan Times
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Jordan Times
Doomsday clock ticks one second, closest ever to midnight
A mahout prepares a decorated elephant prior to the commencement of a religious procession of Niranjani Akhara ahead of the Maha Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj on January 4 (AFP photo) WASHINGTON —The "doomsday clock," symbolizing how close humanity is to destruction, ticked one second closer to midnight Tuesday — the closest it has been, as concerns escalated on nuclear war and climate change, amplified by disinformation. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which set up the clock at the start of the Cold War, shifted the clock to 89 seconds to midnight, a week after the inauguration of US President Donald Trump. The clock was last moved to 90 seconds to midnight over nuclear-armed Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It was originally placed at seven minutes to midnight in 1947. "At 89 seconds to midnight, the doomsday clock stands closer to catastrophe than at any moment in its history," said former Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos, chair of The Elders, a group of major former leaders, as he presented the findings by a board of experts. "The clock speaks to the existential threats that confront us and the need for unity and bold leadership to turn back its hands," he told a news conference in Washington. Just days into his second presidency, Trump has already shattered norms on international cooperation Santos welcomed Trump's pledges for diplomacy with Russia and China, but condemned his withdrawal from the Paris climate accord and World Health Organisation. The experts warned of the worsening impact to the planet of climate change after another record-breaking year of high temperatures. Santos also called for "urgent actions" to tackle disinformation "and the amplifications of conspiracy theories that have become so prevalent in our hyper-connected online world". "This alarming rise in distrust is being fueled in large part by the malicious and reckless use of new technologies we do not yet fully understand," he said.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Doomsday clock ticks one second, closest ever to midnight
The "doomsday clock" symbolizing how close humanity is to destruction ticked one second closer to midnight Tuesday as concerns on nuclear war, climate and public health were jolted by US President Donald Trump's return. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which set up the clock at the start of the Cold War, shifted the clock to 89 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been, a week after Trump's inauguration. The clock was last moved to 90 seconds to midnight over nuclear-armed Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It was originally placed at seven minutes to midnight in 1947. "At 89 seconds to midnight, the doomsday clock stands closer to catastrophe than at any moment in its history," said former Colombian president and Nobel Peace laureate Juan Manuel Santos, chair of The Elders, a group of major former leaders. "The clock speaks to the existential threats that confront us and the need for unity and bold leadership to turn back its hands," he told a news conference in Washington to present the findings from the board of experts. "This is a bleak picture. But it is not yet irreversible," he said. Just days into his second presidency, Trump has already shattered norms on international cooperation. Santos welcomed Trump's pledges for diplomacy with Russia and China. Trump has vowed to end the Ukraine war, which has raised fears of Russian use of nuclear weapons, by pressing both sides. But Santos said that the US withdrawal from the Paris climate accord and World Health Organization set back the planet on two top risks. The world just experienced another record-breaking year of high temperatures and major disasters. Other countries could soon say that if the United States, the world's largest economy, "is not going to make an effort to limit the carbon emissions, why should I?" Santos said. And with many people's memories fading of Covid-19, "we have to remind them what happened -- and what will happen will be worse, according to all the scientists," Santos said. - Threats, and benefits, from AI - Suzet McKinney, a public health expert on the board of Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, said the risks of infectious disease was confounded by advances in artificial intelligence, which increase the risks that rogue actors could unleash biological weapons. "As nation-states around the world and even our own government engage in practices that are sure to encourage rogue behavior and/or cripple our ability to curb the spread of infectious diseases, novel or otherwise, we cannot hide our heads in the sand," she told the news conference. But Robert Socolow, a physicist who also serves on the board, said that the unveiling of Chinese intelligence firm DeepSeek -- which has rattled the United States -- could ultimately also pay dividends by reducing energy demand from the fast-growing field of AI. The Chinese breakthrough may mirror "the kind of progress in semiconductor chips that reduce the energy demands of ordinary computing" in the analogue era. But the experts also warned that artificial intelligence risked worsening disinformation. "All of these dangers are greatly exacerbated by a potent threat multiplier -- the spread of misinformation, disinformation and conspiracy theories that degrade the communication ecosystem and increasingly blur the line between truth and falsehood," said Daniel Holz, chair of the board. sct/st
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Doomsday clock ticks one second, closest ever to midnight
The "doomsday clock" symbolizing how close humanity is to destruction ticked one second closer to midnight Tuesday as concerns on nuclear war, climate and public health were jolted by US President Donald Trump's return. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which set up the clock at the start of the Cold War, shifted the clock to 89 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been, a week after Trump's inauguration. The clock was last moved to 90 seconds to midnight over nuclear-armed Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It was originally placed at seven minutes to midnight in 1947. "At 89 seconds to midnight, the doomsday clock stands closer to catastrophe than at any moment in its history," said former Colombian president and Nobel Peace laureate Juan Manuel Santos, chair of The Elders, a group of major former leaders. "The clock speaks to the existential threats that confront us and the need for unity and bold leadership to turn back its hands," he told a news conference in Washington to present the findings from the board of experts. "This is a bleak picture. But it is not yet irreversible," he said. Just days into his second presidency, Trump has already shattered norms on international cooperation. Santos welcomed Trump's pledges for diplomacy with Russia and China. Trump has vowed to end the Ukraine war, which has raised fears of Russian use of nuclear weapons, by pressing both sides. But Santos said that the US withdrawal from the Paris climate accord and World Health Organization set back the planet on two top risks. The world just experienced another record-breaking year of high temperatures and major disasters. Other countries could soon say that if the United States, the world's largest economy, "is not going to make an effort to limit the carbon emissions, why should I?" Santos said. And with many people's memories fading of Covid-19, "we have to remind them what happened -- and what will happen will be worse, according to all the scientists," Santos said. - Threats, and benefits, from AI - Suzet McKinney, a public health expert on the board of Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, said the risks of infectious disease was confounded by advances in artificial intelligence, which increase the risks that rogue actors could unleash biological weapons. "As nation-states around the world and even our own government engage in practices that are sure to encourage rogue behavior and/or cripple our ability to curb the spread of infectious diseases, novel or otherwise, we cannot hide our heads in the sand," she told the news conference. But Robert Socolow, a physicist who also serves on the board, said that the unveiling of Chinese intelligence firm DeepSeek -- which has rattled the United States -- could ultimately also pay dividends by reducing energy demand from the fast-growing field of AI. The Chinese breakthrough may mirror "the kind of progress in semiconductor chips that reduce the energy demands of ordinary computing" in the analogue era. But the experts also warned that artificial intelligence risked worsening disinformation. "All of these dangers are greatly exacerbated by a potent threat multiplier -- the spread of misinformation, disinformation and conspiracy theories that degrade the communication ecosystem and increasingly blur the line between truth and falsehood," said Daniel Holz, chair of the board. sct/st
