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European External Action Service (EEAS) 16.03.2026 Geneva Press and information team of the Delegation to the UN in Geneva United Nations Human Rights Council 61st Session Interactive Dialogue with the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua 16 March 2026 EU Statement Mr President, The European Union thanks the Group of Human Rights Experts for their report and reiterates its full support for their mandate. We are particularly alarmed by your findings regarding the gender and transnational dimensions of the repression. The EU is gravely concerned by the continued deterioration of democracy, human rights and the rule of law, including…

The U.S. Navy and GSA will pay Gecko Robotics $71 million to use its drones and AI to inspect ships, jets, and other gear, part of the service’s effort to reach 80 percent fleet readiness next year and stem its shortage of ships. The company says it can identify repairs up to 50 times faster and more accurately than human inspectors—and do so even before a ship reaches its dock, which will help the Navy get the right people and parts in place.This work is slated to be carried out across destroyers, amphibious warships, and littoral combat ships. The deal…

As part of our theme this quarter on AI in procurement – why, how and where it can, or cannot, play a crucial role in the source-to-pay (S2P) process – we have consulted both the practitioners in the field and the tech developers that support them. An often under-heard viewpoint in the conversation comes from the firms that train procurement people in how to embrace these technologies and employ them usefully and competently. We spoke to Sam Pemberton, CEO of Skill Dynamics, which offers digital procurement and supply chain training for corporate teams around the world. We discussed where and…

Recently, at-large Corporate Journalist Curtis Hand spoke one-to-one with DroneShield CEO Oleg Vornik.  While his personal and professional stories are unique, uniquely DroneShield has emerged far away from NATO Europe (Australia) to become one of the Alliance’s popular counter-UAS solutions. On the advent of announcing its new Belgium production and testing facility, Hand explores Vornik’s background, leadership, the company’s roots and its evolutionary technological advances that set it apart from other soft-kill drone counter measures. The Back-Story Curtis Hand (Hand): “The technology world evolves as fast as the earth revolves”, a defence industry analyst once said of the military’s industry.…

As the war in Iran continues to impact—though not completely disrupt—global markets, much of the attention has understandably focused on energy supplies and Gulf countries, which have come under attack from Iran. However, market watchers should keep a close eye on Egypt as the proverbial canary in the coal mine. A financial disruption in Egypt would reverberate not only across the Middle East and North Africa but potentially across global markets as well. Egypt’s economy is large, systemically important within the region, and interconnected with global financial flows. In addition, for the United States in particular, Egypt holds significant geopolitical…

Collins Aerospace, an RTX (NYSE: RTX) business, announces the successful completion of the HECATE project, part of the European Union’s Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking with support from UK Research and Innovation. This initiative achieved Technology Readiness Level 5, or TRL5, successfully proving the electrical architecture design for future hybrid-electric aircraft performance in real-world conditions. The Hybrid-ElectriC regional Aircraft distribution TEchnologies project, or HECATE, reached this significant milestone in late 2025 after completing testing, verification and validation of its Electrical Power Generation and Distribution System.  A hybrid-electric system producing more than 500 kilowatts of power was tested using the Copper Bird…

NEW DELHI — India secured the safe transit of two Indian flagged carriers carrying liquified petroleum gas through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has largely blockaded for commercial shipping as the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran enters its third week.The tankers crossed the strait Saturday after New Delhi stepped up diplomatic engagement to secure its energy imports.India is also seeking safe passage for 22 of its vessels that remain stranded west of the strait, according to officials in New Delhi and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has said that he is hopeful that talks with Iran…

WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) — The number of U.S. troops wounded in the war against Iran has risen to about 200, the U.S. military said on Monday, as the conflict entered its third week.The U.S. military’s Central Command said the vast majority of those wounded had suffered minor injuries and 180 troops had already returned to duty. Ten of the injuries are serious, it said.Troops had been injured in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain, Iraq, and Israel, Central Command added.Thirteen U.S. troops have been killed since Iran launched strikes against U.S. military bases following ⁠the start of…

Background and Aims There has been a resurgence of interest in using psilocybin to treat various mental health conditions. Although some adults in the United States (US) are using psilocybin, little is known about the epidemiology of its use, especially for microdosing (i.e., taking a fraction of a regular dose). This study aimed to present nationally representative survey results about people who microdose psilocybin in the US. Methods A probability-based and nationally representative survey of individuals living in the US was fielded from December 2023 to January 2024. A population estimate of how many US adults have microdosed, recency of…

The U.S. military possesses several capabilities that it could wield to combat naval mine warfare in the Strait of Hormuz.Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy views the maritime weapon as a key pillar of its military strategy, according to a 2017 Office of Naval Intelligence report, and reportedly began laying mines in the sea passage last week.Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a Pentagon briefing Friday, however, that there was “no clear evidence” of mines in the strait. Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, said Monday that U.S. forces destroyed storage bunkers for naval mines during a U.S.…