Entertainment
How will the next UN chief be chosen and who wants the job?
A new United Nations Secretary-General will be elected next year for a five-year term starting on January 1, 2027.
Here are the potential candidates so far and how the successor to current UN chief Antonio Guterres will be chosen:
When does the process start?
The race will formally start when the 15-member Security Council and the president of the 193-member General Assembly send a joint letter soliciting nominations.
That letter is due to be sent by the end of the year. A candidate has to be nominated by a UN member state.
The job traditionally rotates among regions, but when Guterres — who is from Portugal — was elected in 2016, it was supposed to be Eastern Europe’s turn. Next on the list is Latin America; however, some diplomats expect candidates from other regions.
Who wants to be the next secretary-general?
While the race doesn’t formally begin until the letter is sent by the presidents of the Security Council and the General Assembly, there are already several publicly declared candidates:
Michelle Bachelet
Chile will nominate the country’s former president, Michelle Bachelet, President Gabriel Boric said on September 23, 2025. Bachelet was Chile’s first female head of state and served as president of the South American nation twice. Bachelet was UN High Commissioner for Human Rights between 2018-2022 and executive director of UN Women between 2010-2013.
Rebeca Grynspan
Costa Rica will nominate former Vice President Rebeca Grynspan, President Rodrigo Chaves said on October 8, 2025. Grynspan, a 69-year-old politician and economist, currently serves as Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Rafale Grossi
Grossi has long said he was considering campaigning to be secretary-general. When asked by Reuters on September 3, 2025 if he was definitely going to run, he said: “Yes, I am going to do that, yes.” A veteran Argentinian diplomat, Grossi is director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, a role he has held since 2019.
What is the process?
The 15-member Security Council will formally recommend a candidate to the 193-member General Assembly for election as the 10th UN secretary-general later next year.
The Security Council will hold secret ballots — referred to as a straw poll — until a consensus is reached on a candidate. The choices council members are given for each candidate in the straw poll are: encourage, discourage or no opinion.
Ultimately, the five permanent veto-wielding council members — the United States, Russia, Britain, China and France — must agree on a candidate.
The ballots for the veto powers in the straw poll are traditionally a different color to those of the 10 elected members. When Guterres was chosen in 2016 to be recommended to the General Assembly, it took six straw polls for the Security Council to reach agreement.
The Security Council then adopts a resolution, traditionally behind closed doors, recommending an appointment to the General Assembly. The resolution needs nine votes in favour and no vetoes to pass.
The General Assembly’s approval of the appointment of a secretary-general has long been seen as a rubber stamp.
How transparent is the process?
The United Nations has been working to improve the transparency of the historically opaque selection process.
The General Assembly, in a resolution adopted in September 2025, said each candidate should provide a vision statement when they are formally nominated and be given the opportunity to present it. It said the vision statement should also be publicised on a dedicated United Nations web page.
The Assembly said each candidate should disclose their sources of funding and that any candidates who already hold a UN position “should consider suspending their work in the United Nations system during the campaign, with a view to avoiding any conflict of interest that may arise from their functions and adjacent advantages.”
What does the secretary-general do?
The UN Charter calls the secretary-general the “chief administrative officer” of the world body. The UN website describes the role as “equal parts diplomat and advocate, civil servant and chief executive officer.”
Guterres currently oversees more than 30,000 civilian staff and 11 peacekeeping operations with around 60,000 troops and police. The core annual United Nations budget is $3.7 billion, while the peacekeeping budget is $5.6 billion.
Since the power to authorise military force or sanctions rests with the Security Council, the UN chief has little more than a bully pulpit. Many diplomats say the five council veto powers prefer a “secretary” rather than a “general.”
Has a woman ever been secretary-general?
No. There is a growing push for the United Nations to choose the first female secretary-general in its 80-year history.
In the resolution adopted in September, the General Assembly noted “with regret that no woman has ever held the position of Secretary-General” and encouraged countries to “strongly consider nominating women as candidates.”
Netflix is packing February with romance, reality TV and high-stakes drama — from Olympic-level ice dancing to the long-awaited conclusion of Bridgerton season 4.
Here are the seven Netflix shows in February 2026 you won’t want to miss.
- Glitter & Gold: Ice Dancing
This new docuseries follows elite ice dancers preparing for the Milan Cortina Olympics. The show centers on Evan Bates and Madison Chock, Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, and Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, offering a behind-the-scenes look at training, pressure and personal lives.
- The Lincoln Lawyer – Season 4
Manuel Garcia-Rulfo returns as Mickey Haller — this time accused of murder. Season 4 picks up after last season’s shocking ending, with Mickey fighting to clear his name in and out of court.
- Love Is Blind – Season 10
The hit dating series returns for its milestone season, heading to Ohio to introduce a new group of singles searching for love without seeing each other first.
- How to Get to Heaven From Belfast
From Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee, this new comedy follows three former friends who reunite at a funeral and stumble into an unexpected mystery across Ireland.
- The Night Agent – Season 3
Gabriel Basso’s Peter Sutherland travels the globe in season 3 as a new conspiracy unfolds, with scenes set in Istanbul, Mexico City, New York and Washington, D.C.
Premieres on February 19.
- Bridgerton – Season 4, Part 2
Benedict and Sophie’s love story reaches its dramatic conclusion as they face class divisions, family pressure and growing passion.
Premieres on February 26.
- F1: Drive to Survive – Season 8
The long-running Formula 1 docuseries returns with more access to drivers, teams and behind-the-scenes drama from the racing world.
Premieres on February 27.
The 68th annual Grammy Awards return Sunday night to honor the best in the music business with some big-name performances, new awards, and Kendrick Lamar leading the pack with nine nominations.
These Grammys will see the addition of two new categories: Best Traditional Country Album and Best Album Cover, bringing the total number of awards doled out to 95. The category formerly known as Best Country Album is now named Best Contemporary Country Album.
Where to watch the Grammys with cable
The 68th annual Grammy Awards will be broadcast live on Sun. Feb. 1, on CBS television stations starting at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (5 p.m. Pacific Time). Find your local CBS station here.
How to stream the Grammys live
The Grammy Awards will stream live and on-demand on Paramount+ in the U.S. The show is available live and on-demand for Paramount+ Premium subscribers. Paramount+ Essential subscribers can stream the show on-demand beginning Monday.
How to watch the Grammy Awards red carpet
CBS Los Angeles’ red carpet special will begin at 7 p.m. Eastern Time, hosted by anchor Kalyna Astrinos and entertainment journalist Grae Drake. It will stream live on CBS News Los Angeles, and those in the L.A. market can also watch the broadcast on the KCAL channel.
Who are the Grammy nominees?
Among Lamar’s nine nominations is a nod for Album of the Year for “GNX.” It’s his fifth consecutive studio album to be nominated for the award, something no other artist has ever done.
Lady Gaga, Jack Antonoff and Canadian producer and songwriter Cirkut received seven nominations each. Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter, Leon Thomas and Canadian audio engineer Serban Ghenea all received six nods.
Bad Bunny is the first Spanish-language artist to be nominated for song, record and album of the year in the same year, according to Variety.
Here is the full list of Grammy nominees.
Who is performing at the Grammy Awards?
The eight artists nominated for Best New Artist — Addison Rae, Alex Warren, KATSEYE, Leon Thomas, Lola Young, Olivia Dean, Sombr and The Marías — are set to perform at the Grammy Awards on Sunday.
The show will also feature performances from Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber and Clipse and Pharrell Williams.
Lauryn Hill will perform a tribute to D’Angelo, who died of cancer in October at the age of 51, and Roberta Flack, who died in February at age 88.
Post Malone, Duff McKagan, Slash, Chad Smith and Andrew Watt are set to pay tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne.
Who is presenting at the Grammy Awards?
Three-time Grammy Award winner Harry Styles is among the stars set to present awards at the show. Doechii, who already has a Grammy Award under her belt and is nominated for five awards on Sunday, will also be a presenter at this year’s ceremony.
Who is hosting the Grammy Awards?
Comedian and former “The Daily Show” host Trevor Noah is returning to host the Grammy Awards for a sixth consecutive year.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
Last year, he steered the show through a broadcast that was refocused in the wake of the devastating Los Angeles fires.
He told “CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King the year before that he relishes the hosting role because the Grammys show is always so unpredictable.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen. So that’s what I love about the Grammys is it’s live; it’s happening; it’s on the fly,”
Where are the Grammy Awards held?
The ceremony for the 68th annual Grammy Awards will take place at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
As OpenAI is gearing up to rollout ads for both free and $8 ChatGPT Go, the company has assured users that ads will not affect ChatGPT’s responses and will be labelled and separated from the content.
Early signs of this rollout have been spotted on Android devices, suggesting the inclusion of ads in ChatGPT is close.
As noted on X (formerly Twitter), OpenAI has designed a full-screen onboarding experience to familiarise users with ads in ChatGPT.
Although the AI giant has assured not to share personal information with advertisers, the current chat may still influence the type of sponsored ads displayed below the answers.
At the current stage, the commendable thing is that users have the option to hide ads, understand why specific ads were shown, and clear their ad data.
Ads will appear as a “Sponsored” block, and tapping the overflow menu draws the dropdown to hide the ad, report it, or even “Ask ChatGPT” about it.
OpenAI stated: “Our mission is to ensure AGI benefits all of humanity; our pursuit of advertising is always in support of that mission and making AI more accessible.”
Furthermore, the company has emphasised that conversations will remain private from advertisers and that user data will never be sold. A new “Ads controls” page has also been added to let users manage their ad history and interests without affecting their chat data.
These ads won’t be displayed to users of ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise plans.
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