OpenAI will not release its latest artificial intelligence model, Astra 6.1, after internal tests found it fell short of safety standards, the maker of ChatGPT confirmed on Monday. The decision came ahead of a meeting of AI leaders at the White House Tuesday convened by US President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson amid mounting controversy over the risks posed by rogue AI. 

Argentine President Javier Milei on Monday threatened to sue the UK over the Sea Lion oil project near the disputed Falkland Islands. Argentina claims sovereignty over the British-administered territory, where a 1982 war killed 255 British and 649 Argentine troops. Developers Navitas and Rockhopper say they hold valid British-issued exploration licences.

US prosecutors reopened an investigation on Monday into an alleged 2024 gang rape at Cornell University after the woman involved accused the school of failing to punish those responsible adequately. In a lawsuit, she said seven Chi Phi fraternity members had drugged her with ketamine and assaulted her.

Costa Rica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Manuel Tovar, was dismissed from his post last week by the country’s president Laura Fernández. Tovar was considered one of the “heavyweights” of the country’s dominant political faction, having previously served as Minister of Commerce under President Rodrigo Chávez.

The decision was made by Fernández on September 24, because, according to a statement, her foreign minister failed to inform her of an invitation to a meeting held in New York City aimed at strengthening the so-called Shield of the Americas.

Shield of the Americas is a political-military alliance led by Donald Trump that seeks to secure Washington’s geopolitical leadership in the region, and which right-wing and far-right Latin American governments have joined enthusiastically.

Right-wing President Fernández said that failing to report such an important meeting constituted an act of negligence on Tovar’s part. The Costa Rican president also said that Shield of the Americas is a “fundamental platform in the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime.”

The president did not travel to the United States to deliver her speech at the UN General Assembly because she was on an official visit to Colombia with her counterpart, the far-right Abelardo de la Espriella.

The Costa Rican presidency reported that the invitation – which was not extended to her – came from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio himself. Several heads of state from Shield of the Americas member states participated, including Javier Milei of Argentina, José Antonio Kast of Chile, Rodrigo Paz of Bolivia, Daniel Noboa of Ecuador, Irfaan Ali of Guyana, Nasry Asfura of Honduras, Santiago Peña of Paraguay, Luis Abinader of the Dominican Republic, and Keiko Fujimori of Peru, among others.

In this regard, Fernández publicly apologized to the US ambassador to the Central American country, Melinda Hildebrand: “I reiterate to your country my firm and resolute commitment to continue supporting the Shield of the Americas alliance… I regret my absence… The failure to forward that invitation from your government to me did not go unnoticed, and today the foreign minister of the Republic was dismissed,” which clearly demonstrates the enormous importance San José attaches to an invitation from Washington.

Tovar’s dismissal comes on the heels of a series of dismissals of key ministers in Fernández’s government, a development the opposition has used to highlight a certain instability in the very young administration.

“We are concerned about serious foreign policy mistakes that need to be corrected… Second, we are concerned about the stability of the cabinet: in less than five months, five senior officials – including ministers and deputy ministers – have already been dismissed. That instability is not in her best interest, nor in that of her government or Costa Rica,” said the leader of the National Liberation Party caucus.

For his part, the former foreign minister did not explain the reasons behind his decision not to inform Fernández about the invitation. In a post on X, he said briefly: “I thank Laura Fernández for the opportunity to serve the Costa Rican people from the Casa Amarilla, and I wish her every success as President of the Republic for the good of the country. Finally, I would like to commend the team at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the passion and dedication with which they undertake every mission on behalf of the country. To them, I offer my eternal gratitude. I accept this moment with great peace of mind. I will always stand by the just causes of the Costa Rican people and the international community.”

The reasons behind Tovar’s decision remain unknown, although several sectors of the opposition have raised suspicions about an alleged ulterior motive on Fernández’s part for not attending the Shield of the Americas meeting – which, if true, could reveal political and diplomatic contradictions deeper than they might appear at first glance.

The Trump administration's policy of deportating thousands of people to countries with which they have no links is "increasing risks of torture and ill-treatment and enforced disappearance", a panel of independent UN experts warned on Monday. An investigation by an international consortium of journalists including FRANCE 24 reporters determined last week that more than 25,000 third-country nationals had been deported by the end of August.

From Pope Leo XIV's historic first visit to France to US President Donald Trump meeting China's President Xi Jinping to flooded streets in Bangkok, FRANCE 24 looks back at the week's most striking pictures.

A powerful storm unusual for this time of year intensified on Sunday over the northeastern United States, bringing torrential rain and powerful winds that cut off power to tens of thousands of people and killed one person, according to US media.

US news outlet CNN has been removed from a press pool that is accompanying President Donald Trump on a trip to Tennessee on Saturday. Last week, the Trump administration barred CNN, along with MS NOW and Politico, from accessing the White House. A judge then ordered their access temporarily restored, saying the move was likely unconstitutional.

US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping capped a state visit to Washington on Friday with pomp and pageantry but no real breakthroughs. Trump said he discussed the Iran war with Xi during his two-day visit, with both men confirming they will meet twice more before the end of the year.     

The US Supreme Court on Friday ruled the Trump administration can use a controversial new federal database that would ostensibly verify voter citizenship in November’s elections. Critics argue the administration is exaggerating the threat of non-citizen voters – an extreme rarity in US elections – to implement policies that would disenfranchise likely Democratic voters.

Argentina’s poverty rate rose to 32.3% in the first half of 2026 from 28.2% in the previous six months, official data showed on Thursday, as incomes lagged rising prices. Extreme poverty climbed to 7.5% from 6.3%. Among children aged 14 and under, 44.5% were poor.

It is for the United States to choose whether to end its war in Iran as Tehran does not wish to continue fighting, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told Fox News in an interview aired Thursday. Pezeshkian took a defiant stand at the UN Wednesday, for which he travelled to New York, telling the world that Iran would not "bend at the knee" to Washington Follow our liveblog for the latest updates.  

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the UN General Assembly on Thursday by video after being denied a visa to the United States for the second year in a row. In his prerecorded speech, he denounced Israeli policies that he said threatened Palestinians with a new Nakba and vowed that his people would remain “on their land”.  

President Donald Trump hosted a lavish state dinner for China’s Xi Jinping on Thursday night that was attended by top business leaders, including tech titans. Trump hailed his “great friendship” with Xi and pulled out all the stops for a ceremony that attempted to mask the tensions between the two rival powers.

Reporters from ​Politico, CNN and MS ​NOW were allowed to enter the ​White ‌House ⁠on ‌Thursday afternoon after being barred in the morning, despite a US federal judge ordering the reinstatement of their access. The judge then issued a second order for the Trump administration to restore the journalists' access after the media outlets called for an emergency follow-up ⁠hearing. 

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday said his country would send "military means" to protect a Saudi oil terminal from attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis. Saudi Arabia has been using the Red Sea port of Yanbu to export oil after Iran blockaded the Strait of Hormuz. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded.

US President Donald Trump personally welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping at a military airfield outside Washington on Wednesday, kicking off a lavish state visit focused on trade, artificial intelligence and Iran, as the two powers seek to preserve a fragile diplomatic and economic truce.

Leaders of some of the world's biggest AI companies urged caution at the United Nations on Wednesday, warning that increasingly autonomous systems could outpace human oversight. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei pledged to slow development to ensure new AI systems are safe, while OpenAI chief Sam Altman called for "extreme care".

A former British member of parliament implied that a video filmed from a helicopter on September 11, 2001 shows that no planes actually hit the World Trade Center's south tower, but this claim would be unfounded. The plane that hit the south tower hit the other side of the building, which isn’t visible in the video.

Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 15 years in prison Wednesday in another #MeToo reckoning for sexually assaulting a former production assistant in 2006.