Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic 18 months ago, the schools of millions of children worldwide remain almost totally closed, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said, urging institutions to reopen. In an urgent warning released on Thursday, the organization said schools for almost 77 million students in six nations are still nearly […]
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UN warns unchecked AI & machine-learning tech can ‘violate human rights, damage lives’ as it calls for safeguards against abuse
The UN’s human rights chief has called for a moratorium on the use of some artificial intelligence tech, such as bulk facial recognition, until there are “adequate safeguards” against its potentially “catastrophic” impact. In a statement on Wednesday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet stressed the need for an outright ban on AI […]
HUNDREDS of police respond to ‘possible threat’ at synagogue in Hagen, Germany as Jews mark Yom Kippur
Hundreds of police officers have been deployed on the streets surrounding a synagogue in the western-German city of Hagen, amid warnings of a “threat” to the building. The alert comes on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur. “We currently have indications of a possible dangerous situation in connection with a Jewish facility in Hagen,” […]
Gates Foundation warns about future pandemic threats as Covid-19 response continues to snarl world economy
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, whose advice guided much of the global response to the Covid pandemic, has seemingly washed its hands of one virus while warning the world isn’t prepared to deal with the next big pandemic. The foundation’s annual report, released on Tuesday, bemoaned the poverty increases wrought “by Covid-19” – omitting […]
Africa ‘left behind’ as less than 3.5% vaccinated against Covid-19, WHO chief says
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has said that people on the African continent are being “left behind” in the global Covid-19 inoculation campaign, after Africa’s health chief said only 3.5% were vaccinated. Speaking on Tuesday, WHO Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus once again highlighted the problems of vaccine inequality, warning in particular that […]
Prosecution witness in Netanyahu’s corruption trial killed as his plane crashes in Greece
Former senior Israeli official Haim Geron has been killed in a plane crash near the Greek island of Samos. Geron was among the witnesses in the ongoing corruption trial of ex-PM Benjamin Netanyahu. The light plane, carrying Geron and his wife Esther, crashed into the sea close to the Samos airport late on Monday. The […]
‘Austria won’t accept any fleeing Afghan refugees as long as I’m in power,’ chancellor Kurz vows
Vienna will take no part in the resettlement of Afghan refugees evacuated from Kabul after the Taliban takeover, said Austria’s chancellor Sebastian Kurz, insisting that the country already has enough migrants from Afghanistan. The US and its allies have flown more than 123,000 civilians out of the Afghan capital Kabul after it fell into the […]
Over 260 inmates freed as raiders blow up Nigerian prison fence, killing police officer and soldier
A Nigerian soldier and police officer have been killed after militants attacked a medium-security prison in Kogi State, destroying the perimeter fence and allowing nearly all the jail’s inmates to escape. Late on Sunday night, heavily armed gunmen raided a jail at Kabba, some 270km (168 miles) southwest of the federal capital Abuja. Having blown […]
Venezuela reports another ‘terrorist attack’ on its electrical system as power outages hit Caracas region & other areas
Venezuela’s electrical system was targeted by another “terrorist attack” on Sunday, minister of electric power Nestor Reverol has said, referring to power outages in the Caracas area and other parts of the Latin American country. There was an explosion and fire at an electrical substation in the Jose Angel Lamas municipality of northern Aragua state, […]
No Emmy for Oprah’s bombshell interview with Prince Harry & Meghan Markle as award goes to Stanley Tucci’s food show instead
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s interview with Oprah Winfrey, which shocked the public in the UK and abroad, was snubbed at the Emmys. The award for the best hosted nonfiction special went to Stanley Tucci’s series about Italy. Winfrey’s sit-down with the royals was watched by more than 49 million people in the first three […]
Auckland to remain under coronavirus lockdown for another week as cases keep rising in New Zealand
Lockdown in New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland, won’t be lifted, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said as the country, which tries to stem a Delta variant outbreak, reported the worst number of Covid-19 cases in 11 days on Monday. Some 1.7 million residents in Auckland will remain under strict Level 4 lockdown until midnight on September […]
Czech Republic might have to destroy 45,000 AstraZeneca doses as demand for the jab nosedives – media
Prague might have to dispose of thousands of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine doses as they expire next month. The demand for the jab recommended only to those over 60 years old due to possible side-effects remains low. Some 55,000 doses of the vaccine manufactured by Anglo-Swedish company AstraZeneca and shipped to the Czech Republic are set […]
Scuffles in Munich as police use batons & pepper spray against eco-protesters picketing Germany’s biggest car show (VIDEO)
Munich police clashed with environmental protesters on Saturday, as the city was hosting a major car exhibition. Activists see the recent rebranding of the show as a ‘mobility’ expo as an attempt to ‘greenwash’ the auto industry. Thousands of activists marched through the streets of Munich on Saturday to protest the ongoing IAA Mobility show. […]
‘Terrorism defeated?’ Merkel says ‘not all goals’ reached after 9/11 as intel head warns of 2,000 dangerous extremists in Germany
The US and its allies have failed to achieve all their goals after 9/11 but did “defeat terrorism,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said as her own intelligence warned about thousands of Islamists in the country. “We have now had to recognize that although we have been able to defeat terrorism, which is endangering our security, […]
Australia purchases 1mn Moderna doses as its 3d most populous state narrowly avoids lockdown
Australia’s Queensland has narrowly escaped a snap lockdown, like the ones in effect in Melbourne and Sydney, by reporting no new Covid cases, as the government stocks up on Moderna vaccines in the hopes of reviving the economy. Residents of the country’s third most populous state heaved a sigh of relief on Sunday after it […]