United Nations, Sep 27: India has defended every nation’s right to develop its own artificial intelligence models as countries at the UN warned that control over the technology must not remain concentrated among a few governments and corporations.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar told the UN General Assembly that AI could become “a transformational driver” of human empowerment and economic prosperity.

He also cautioned that the misuse of AI was sharpening bias and eroding mutual respect. Countries should be free to create their own models in line with their national priorities, Jaishankar said during the General Debate on Saturday.

His remarks were part of a wider discussion at the UN over who controls AI, who writes its rules and whether developing countries will have a meaningful role in shaping the technology.

Malaysia warned that nations in the Global South could not be reduced to hosting infrastructure while governments and companies elsewhere controlled the technology.

“The Global South cannot simply become a destination for data centres while decisions about AI are made elsewhere,” Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Haji Hasan said.

Developing countries must become “partners in innovation, not merely customers and markets”, he said.

Hasan said a small number of private actors now had considerable influence over how billions of people communicate, work, conduct transactions and receive information. The benefits of AI were enormous, he said, but so were the risks.

He also called for attention to the demands that data centres and other technology infrastructure place on water, energy and land. Those costs should not be imposed on developing countries while the principal economic gains flow elsewhere.

Germany raised a related concern about the concentration of AI ownership.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said most global AI patents were held by companies in only two major countries. “Whenever power becomes global, responsibility must become global, too,” he said.

Wadephul urged countries to agree on common safety requirements for the most capable AI models. The technology was advancing faster than international institutions were responding, he warned.

“AI is not waiting for our institutions to catch up. Our institutions have to catch up with reality,” he said.

Belize Prime Minister John Briceño said AI could improve public services and widen access to knowledge if governed properly.

“Poorly governed, it can deepen inequality, expose critical systems, displace workers and leave developing countries dependent on technologies and rules designed elsewhere,” Briceño said.

National legislation alone could not regulate technology that crossed every border, he added.

Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan described AI as “the most urgent frontier”. He called for investments in science, infrastructure and skills, alongside safeguards that would keep people in control of the technology.

Laos said AI must support human development, build local technical capacity and respect national development priorities. Saudi Arabia highlighted its work to establish an international network of AI capacity-building centres and an AI research and ethics centre in Riyadh.

Cameroon also called for technological advances to benefit all humanity. It linked access to new technology with wider demands for reform of the international financial system so that developing countries receive a fair opportunity.

The UN adopted the Global Digital Compact in 2024 as part of efforts to encourage international cooperation on AI, close digital divides and promote safe and human-centred technology. Governments are still debating how global principles should be translated into enforceable rules.

Kathmandu, Sep 27: Nepali authorities have issued a special flood warning after the Narayani River crossed its danger level in parts of southern Chitwan and Nawalparasi districts, with the water level continuing to rise.

Flooding in the transboundary river, known as the Gandak in India, could also affect downstream areas in the neighbouring country.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) issued the flood warning on Sunday morning and urged residents living along the banks of the Narayani River to move away from the river and to higher ground, considering the risk to lives and property.

According to a special flood forecast and advisory bulletin issued by the Centre of Hydrology and Water Resources Research (CHWRR) at 7:45 a.m. Sunday, the water level of the Narayani River had risen to around 11 metres, well above the designated danger level of 9 metres.

The CHWRR said the water level at the Devghat flood monitoring station in Chitwan district is expected to keep rising until this afternoon and could peak at about 13 metres around 11 a.m.

“There is a high likelihood that the water level will remain above the danger level until the evening,” the CHWRR said, adding that high flows are also expected to continue in the Narayani’s tributaries through the afternoon.

The Kali Gandaki River, one of the Narayani’s major tributaries, has recorded a flow significantly above its danger level, while the Seti, Madi, Marsyangdi, Daraundi and Chepe rivers are flowing above their warning levels and continue to rise. The Budhi Gandaki and Trishuli rivers have also approached their warning levels, with flows continuing to increase.

The CHWRR said the high flow has created a high risk of flooding and inundation in low-lying and flood-prone areas along the Narayani River in Chitwan and Nawalparasi East and West districts—all three districts border India.

Nepali authorities have also advised people to avoid travelling along the banks of the Narayani and its tributaries and to avoid unnecessary movement near riverbanks, bridges, embankments and other vulnerable locations.

People living along the Kali Gandaki, Seti, Madi, Marsyangdi, Daraundi, Chepe, Budhi Gandaki and Trishuli rivers and their tributaries have been urged to remain on high alert until the evening.

The authorities have asked residents to follow flood-related information and instructions issued by local administrations, security agencies and other relevant authorities.

Nepal, which was hit hard by devastating floods in the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers, has been experiencing incessant rainfall in several parts of the country since September 24.

A rainfall-triggered landslide buried a house in Bhaskatta, Mathagadhi Rural Municipality, Palpa district, in western Nepal early Sunday, leaving three people missing, Nepal Police said. A police team has been deployed to carry out the rescue operation, police said.

Meanwhile, flooding in the Kali Gandaki River swept away 25 houses in the Farse area of Jaljala Rural Municipality-8 in Parbat district, according to police. “Of the approximately 80 houses in the settlement, 25 have been swept away, while the remaining houses are at risk,” police said.

“No human casualties have been reported, and all residents of the settlement have been relocated to a safe location,” police added.

Tehran, Sep 27: The Secretariat of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) denied in a statement that Iran would take military retaliatory action in response to the recent aviation restrictions imposed on the country, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

The SNSC issued the statement in response to certain “misleading” interpretations and quotes from recent remarks by its Secretary Mohsen Rezaei regarding the air transport issue, which have given rise to questions and ambiguities.

It said the claim that Iran would resort to military retaliation in response to recent aviation restrictions was rejected, adding that negotiations with relevant countries were being pursued seriously to remove certain “illegal” aviation restrictions, Xinhua news agency reported.

The SNSC underlined that there were numerous non-military ways to retaliate against those complying with the restrictions, which could be applied to certain airports if necessary, while expressing hope that the situation would not reach that point.

Earlier this week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that “all the Iranian airlines will be shut down around the world” from Wednesday, threatening to impose secondary sanctions on companies that provide them with aviation services.

He told broadcaster CNBC that when Iranian carriers land at an airport, “you cannot provide them with fuel, you cannot provide them with landing services, you cannot sell them tickets, or you will be knocked out of the dollar system.”

In an interview with state-run IRIB TV on Wednesday hours after the US sanctions on Iranian airlines took effect, Rezaei called on countries, especially Iran’s neighbors, not to join the U.S. “adventurism” as it would soon be doomed to failure.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has reportedly rejected Iran’s proposal for a seven-day ceasefire and is likely to resume bombing Tehran after the November midterm elections in the US.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had rejected the proposal, citing US officials familiar with the matter.

Trump, who has vowed that Iran will never acquire a nuclear bomb, was sceptical that Tehran would meet his demands and considers a renewed bombing campaign likely, according to the report.

He also posted an image on his Truth Social platform showing a map with the Strait of Hormuz circled and labelled “Trump Strait.”