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The World Population Day, 2025 is being marked across the world today by organizing different programs and sensitizing the population related issues.

The theme of this year's World Population Day is "Empowering young people to create the families they want in a fair and hopeful world” which reaffirms the promise of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, according to the United Nations.

In his message today, the UN Secretary General António Guterres has stated that many young people today face economic uncertainty, gender inequality, health challenges, the climate crisis and conflict and still, they are leading – with courage, conscience and clarity.  "They are calling for systems that uphold their rights and support their choices.  I urge countries to invest in policies that ensure education, healthcare, decent work, and the full protection of their reproductive rights."

The UN Secretary General stated that on this Population Day, the world celebrates the potential and promise of the largest youth generation ever, as they are not only shaping our future; they are demanding one that is just, inclusive, and sustainable.

"It took hundreds of thousands of years for the world population to grow to 1 billion – then in just another 200 years or so, it grew sevenfold. In 2011, the global population reached the 7 billion mark, it stands at almost 7.9 billion in 2021, and it's expected to grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050, and 10.9 billion in 2100," according to the UN.

Young people are already driving change, but face major obstacles: economic insecurity, gender inequality, limited healthcare and education, climate disruption, and conflict. A UNFPA–YouGov survey of over 14,000 people in 14 countries found most wanted more children but were prevented by social, economic, or health barriers.

The UN has stated that leaders must prioritize young people’s needs and voices to respond to global population trends effectively. "They need more than services—they need hope, stability, and a future worth planning for."

Contrary to popular belief, using cutting-edge artificial intelligence tools slowed down experienced software developers when they were working in codebases familiar to them, rather than supercharging their work, a new study found, Reuters reported.

AI research nonprofit METR conducted the in-depth study, opens new tab on a group of seasoned developers earlier this year while they used Cursor, a popular AI coding assistant, to help them complete tasks in open-source projects they were familiar with.

Before the study, the open-source developers believed using AI would speed them up, estimating it would decrease task completion time by 24%. Even after completing the tasks with AI, the developers believed that they had decreased task times by 20%. But the study found that using AI did the opposite: it increased task completion time by 19%, according to Reuters.

The study’s lead authors, Joel Becker and Nate Rush, said they were shocked by the results: prior to the study, Rush had written down that he expected “a 2x speed up, somewhat obviously.”

Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist who was detained by U.S. immigration authorities for more than 100 days, is seeking $20 million from the Trump administration over what he says was his false imprisonment and malicious prosecution, Reuters reported.

Khalil’s lawyers on Thursday said they submitted the claim against President Donald Trump's departments of Homeland Security and State under a law requiring people to seek damages directly from the government before they can file a lawsuit. Officials have six months to respond.

A DHS spokesperson called Khalil's claim "absurd" and said the Trump administration acted well within its legal authority to detain Khalil.

Khalil, a 30-year-old permanent U.S. resident of Palestinian descent, was arrested in March and detained for months while the Trump administration sought to deport him, saying his support of Palestinians undermined U.S. relations with Israel, according to Reuters.

A senior Ukrainian intelligence officer has been gunned down in broad daylight in Kyiv, officials have said, BBC reported.

The agent of the domestic Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) was shot several times in a car park after being approached by an unidentified assailant who then fled the scene, footage circulated on social media shows.

The spy agency did not identify the victim, though Ukrainian media outlets have named him as Colonel Ivan Voronych.

The SBU is primarily concerned with internal security and counter-intelligence, akin to the UK's MI5. But since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, it has also played a prominent role in assassinations and sabotage attacks deep inside Russia, according to BBC.