Brad Smith, the president of technology giant Microsoft has issued a stark warning regarding foreign attempts to influence the U.S. presidential election in November.

“The most perilous moment will come, I think, 48 hours before the election,” Smith told a U.S. Senate hearing on Wednesday.

“That’s the lesson to be learned from, say, the Slovakian election last fall,” he added.

Smith said two days ahead of the parliamentary election vote in the European country “a Russian group” released and pushed, including by amplifying the story with a top Russian official, a deep fake audio purporting to reveal a vote-stealing plot.

“The Russian government is very capable, very sophisticated, not just in technology but in social science,” Smith said.

The Microsoft boss stressed that “there are real and serious threats,” including in the upcoming U.S. presidential election set to take place on Nov. 5.

The race for the White House may be between Republican candidate Donald Trump and the Democrats’ Kamala Harris, “but this is also becoming an election of Iran versus Trump and Russia versus Harris,” the Microsoft boss said.

“It is an election where Russia, Iran, and China are united with the common interest in discrediting democracy in the eyes of our voters,” Smith warned.

Just a few days ago, U.S. authorities exposed a Russian-sponsored campaign that deployed right-wing influencers.

Accounts masquerading as the websites of news outlets like conservative channel Fox News and newspaper The Washington Post posted fake stories.

On Wednesday, a Russian group published a video of Harris, manipulated with the help of artificial intelligence, in which words were put into her mouth that she never said, said Smith.

The administration in Washington has accused Russia of interfering in the U.S. presidential election campaign.

Similar accusations had been made in previous elections.

Smith testified alongside Meta’s Nick Clegg and Kent Walker, president and chief legal officer for Google’s Alphabet. (dpa/NAN)

An Israeli drone on Tuesday fired several missiles at a flat in a five-story building in the market town of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon.Eight people were injured, according to an initial toll announced by the Lebanese Health Ministry.It was not immediately clear whether there were any Hezbollah members were in the targeted building.

Earlier, an Israeli drone assassinated a Hezbollah fighter riding a motorbike on the Bab Mareaa-Saghbine road in Western Bekaa and wounded two passersby. Hezbollah said that one of its fighters, Mohammad Qassem al-Shaer, was killed but did not specify where and when he was killed.The Israeli army confirmed it “struck and eliminated” the terrorist Mohammad Qassem al-Shaer, who served as a Hezbollah Radwan Force commander, in the area of Qaraoun,It added that the Israeli artillery struck the areas of Sawaneh and Aita al-Shaab.Since the war began between Israel and the Palestinian militant organisation Hamas in Gaza last October, there have been clashes between the Israeli army and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah in Lebanon in the border area.There have been casualties on both sides, most of them members of Hezbollah, which says it is acting in solidarity with Hamas. (dpa/NAN)

The outgoing President of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, Dennis Francis, has described the session as eventful as three resolutions on the Gaza conflict were among the achievements recorded.Francis told journalists on Monday in New York that a milestone declaration to accelerate investment in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was also one of the achievements of the session.

Speaking on the eve of the end of his mandate, Francis described his year at the helm of the UN’s main policy-making body as “an honour of lifetime”. “This has been a truly eventful session,” he said.The General Assembly comprises all 193 UN Member States, and the veteran diplomat from Trinidad and Tobago made ‘Peace, Prosperity, Progress and Sustainability’ the watchwords for his presidency.It began with the adoption of a landmark political declaration at the SDG Summit in September 2023, which the General Assembly endorsed in its first official action of the 78th session, “bringing urgency to our efforts to fulfil the SDGs,” he said.Separate High-Level Meetings on three health-related issues – pandemic prevention, preparedness and response; boosting universal health coverage, and stamping out tuberculosis – also ended with political declarations.“The High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development, meanwhile, led to a resounding consensus on the need to reform the global financial architecture – with a view to matching our Sustainable Development ambitions for 2030 with the necessary resources for implementation,” he added.The General Assembly also commemorated the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in December with an informal plenary meeting and award ceremony for recipients of the UN Human Rights Prize.Francis convened the Assembly’s first-ever Sustainability Week, held in April, focused on issues such as tourism, transport, infrastructure and energy, while a flagship event on debt sustainability highlighted the concerns of countries in special situations.The Week was devoted to building momentum for the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States, held in May in Antigua and Barbuda, and the Summit of the Future, which begins next week in New York, and to catapulting global efforts to achieve sustainable development.“Throughout, we were reminded of the central responsibility to build sustainable peace, the lynchpin of success on any other pillar of the UN’s work,” Francis said.He added that following the horrifying escalation of violence in the Middle East, the General Assembly took bold action to resume its 10th Emergency Session.In line with the “Uniting for Peace” resolution, which the Assembly adopted in 1950, the body can convene an “emergency special session” within 24 hours should the Security Council “fail to exercise its primary responsibility” for the maintenance of international peace and security.Francis said the Assembly adopted three important resolutions in this regard.The first called for the protection of civilians and upholding legal and humanitarian obligations, while the second demanded an immediate ceasefire and that all parties comply with their international organizations, as well as the release of all hostages and ensuring humanitarian access.The third resolution determined that the State of Palestine is qualified for UN membership and recommended that the Security Council consider the matter favourably.“These demands by the Assembly represent the will of the international community, and – as I have routinely said on several occasions – I reiterate these demands, forthrightly, here today. It is time for the violence in Gaza to stop,” he said.Francis also expressed pride in his administration’s work on gender and youth.This included re-establishing the Advisory Board on Gender Equality and frequent engagement with young people, whether at UN Headquarters or elsewhere in the world.The outgoing Assembly president also pointed to another major achievement during his administration, namely raising greater awareness of the threat posed by sea-level rise.He said Heads of State and Government will take up the issue later this month, “with a view to giving specific directions for future work.”Asked if he was optimistic or pessimistic about the UN’s ability to be a key player, given challenges such as the Middle East crisis, the war in Ukraine and the climate emergency.“I’m optimistic about the future of the UN for a number of reasons,” he responded.“Because there is no other organisation on this planet like the UN that has the capacity or the commitment to do what the UN does. It simply does not exist anywhere else.”He highlighted the UN’s power to convene 193 countries who can discuss their problems and concerns “in a rational, civil manner” in the search for solutions.The 79th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 79) will open on Tuesday, with the theme ‘Unity and Diversity for advancing peace, sustainable development and human dignity, everywhere and for all’.Former Prime Minister of Cameroon Philemon Yang, was elected in June to serve as President of the 79th Session of the General Assembly.Algeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Amar Bendjama, was elected Vice-President of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly and will represent the African Group alongside his peers elected from other regional groups.The 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly marks a crucial milestone in the global effort to accelerate progress towards the 17 SDGs.(NAN)