Category Archives: World News

Iranian group used ChatGPT to try to influence US election, OpenAI says

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AI company bans accounts and says operation did not appear to have meaningful audience engagement

OpenAI said on Friday it had taken down accounts of an Iranian group for using its ChatGPT chatbot to generate content meant for influencing the US presidential election and other issues.

The operation, identified as Storm-2035, used ChatGPT to generate content focused on topics such as commentary on the candidates on both sides in the US elections, the conflict in Gaza and Israel’s presence at the Olympic Games and then shared it via social media accounts and websites, Open AI said.

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Gaza sees first polio case in 25 years as UN calls for mass vaccinations

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Highly infectious disease confirmed in 10-month-old as UN chief urges pauses in fighting to contain spread

Gaza has recorded its first polio case in 25 years, the Palestinian health ministry said on Friday, after the UN chief, António Guterres, called for pauses in the Israel-Hamas war to vaccinate hundreds of thousands of children.

Tests in Jordan confirmed the disease in an unvaccinated 10-month-old from the central Gaza Strip, the health ministry in Ramallah said.

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Trump reportedly considers endorsing expanded child tax credit after Harris unveils economic plan – as it happened

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Joe Biden is expected to jump on the phone later today with the leaders of Qatar and Egypt amid a glimmer of progress towards a deal for a ceasefire deal in Gaza, including the return of remaining hostages, according to a report.

An Axios reporter has posted about this, citing a source with knowledge of the situation.

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Gaza ceasefire talks to resume next week after no breakthrough in Doha

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US, Qatar and Egypt issue optimistic statement that may also be aimed at stalling Iranian retaliation against Israel

The latest round of Gaza ceasefire talks have ended in Doha without a breakthrough, but a new date next week has been set for further negotiations to attempt to end the 10-month-old war.

A White House statement signed by the co-mediators Qatar and Egypt described a fresh proposal that built “on areas of agreement” and bridged remaining gaps in a manner that allowed for “a swift implementation of the deal”.

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‘It’s a proper jungle’: Rome’s rat and snake infestation blamed on waste problems

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Pest control expert says warmer winters help creatures such as oriental hornets, snakes and rats thrive in the city

A Rome zoologist says the Italian capital has become “a proper jungle” amid a surge in the presence of snakes, oriental hornets, seagulls and rats owing to a combination of high temperatures and the city’s persistent problem with rubbish.

Andrea Lunerti, who is well known in Rome for capturing dangerous animals, said he had been inundated with calls this summer, especially about snake sightings.

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David Lammy condemns ‘abhorrent’ Israel settler attack on West Bank village

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Foreign secretary says settlers must be ‘brought to justice’ after violence in Palestinian village leaves one dead

The UK foreign secretary has condemned the “widespread rampage” in a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank after an attack by dozens of Israeli settlers left at least one person dead.

The Palestinian health ministry said a man was killed and another left critically injured by the settlers who opened fire on Thursday night in the village of Jit.

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Ukraine links Kursk incursion to ‘fair talks’ as Russia closes in on key city

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Comments by Zelenskiy aide come as officials in strategic Pokrovsk say Moscow’s forces are ‘advancing at a fast pace’

Ukraine’s lightning offensive into several Russian border regions is designed to persuade Moscow to engage in “fair” talks about its war in Ukraine, an aide to Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said, as Russian forces close in on the strategic city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region.

“We need to inflict significant tactical defeats on Russia,” the Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on the Telegram messaging app. “In the Kursk region, we clearly see how the military tool is objectively used to convince the Russian Federation to enter into a fair negotiation process.

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Lula criticizes Maduro’s ‘authoritarian’ regime amid Venezuela election dispute

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Brazilian president calls Nicolás Maduro’s administration ‘a very unpleasant regime’ as diplomats explore solutions

The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has said Venezuela is living under “a very unpleasant regime” with an “authoritarian slant”, as the political crisis engulfing the oil-rich South American country intensifies before fresh street protests on Saturday.

In an interview early on Friday, Lula – whose diplomats have been exploring possible solutions to Venezuela’s post-election drama – offered some of his sharpest criticism yet of Nicolás Maduro’s nominally socialist administration.

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Mpox screening stepped up globally as more cases emerge outside Africa

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The move comes amid reports of disappointing results from trials for a treatment against the variant behind the current outbreak

Surveillance efforts against mpox are being ramped up globally, as trials for a new treatment showed disappointing results against the variant driving the current outbreak.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on Friday raised its risk level assessment for mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, from low to moderate. The decision came after Sweden reported the first case of clade Ib outside Africa.

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Chinese woman loses final appeal in her fight to freeze her eggs

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Beijing court rejects lawsuit brought by Xu Zaozao, who was seeking to widen access to fertility treatment in China

A Chinese woman who filed a groundbreaking lawsuit to win the right to freeze her eggs has lost her final appeal, exhausting the legal avenues in her fight to widen access to fertility treatment in China.

Beijing No 3 intermediate people’s court ruled that Xu Zaozao’s rights had not been violated when Beijing obstetrics and gynaecology hospital refused to freeze her eggs in 2018. Chinese regulations stipulate that assisted reproductive technology is only for married couples with fertility issues. Xu, now 36, said the doctor gave her some friendly advice instead: hurry up, get married and have children now.

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‘The new reality’: Athens wildfire victims vow to adapt and stay put

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People say they are determined and that prevention will be key to mitigating the effects of the climate crisis

“I used to talk to them every day.” Dimitris Petrou takes in the creatures that were once his fluffy chicks but now look like coals. The buckled cage with its carbonised birds is part of the cataclysmic scenery left behind by the fire that bore down on Athens after raging across the Attica plains consuming everything in its path.

The 72-year-old retiree and his wife, Frosso, though red-eyed and fatigued, are “somehow still going” but are profoundly shocked.

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Paetongtarn Shinawatra becomes Thailand’s youngest prime minister

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Daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra approved as PM after frantic negotiations triggered by ousting of Srettha Thavisin

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of the billionaire former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, has become Thailand’s youngest prime minister, taking office just days after her predecessor was ousted by a shock court ruling.

Paetongtarn was approved as the new head of government in a parliamentary vote that came after 24 hours of frantic negotiations triggered by a court judgment ordering Srettha Thavisin to step down as prime minister.

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Indian medics step up strike in protest at doctor’s rape and murder

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All hospital services except for emergency care to be shut down on Saturday amid outrage over Kolkata attack

All hospital services in India except for emergency care will shut down on Saturday as doctors escalate their protest over the rape and murder of a colleague by calling for a nationwide strike.

A strike that doctors started on Monday was more limited, affecting only government hospitals and elective surgeries. The one on Saturday, called by the Indian Medical Association, will cause massive disruption for 24 hours. All outpatient services and treatment in government and private hospitals will be cancelled.

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China adds new clean power equivalent to UK’s entire electricity output

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Data shows continued surge in wind and solar power amid hopes Chinese greenhouse gas emissions may have peaked

China added as much new clean energy generation in the first half of this year as the UK produced from all sources in the same period last year, data shows, as wind and solar power generation continued to surge in the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases.

Electricity generation from coal and gas dropped by 5% in China in July, year on year, according to an update from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) thinktank, basing its analysis on data released by the Chinese government on Thursday.

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Global health charities warn of ‘huge and terrible’ threat to abortion rights if Trump returns

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‘Global gag rule’ and funding cuts will be ‘on different scale’ if Republicans win again, family-planning providers say

Providers of women’s healthcare around the world are preparing for potentially disastrous consequences should Donald Trump win the US presidential election in November.

Policies pursued during Trump’s last presidency caused “devastating” harm in a number of countries, said Beth Schlachter, a senior director at MSI Reproductive Choices in the US. It meant “clinics shuttered, health teams closed, women dying … but a second Trump term will be on a different scale”.

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Inquiry into Mexico’s ‘dirty war’ obstructed by military and other agencies, board says

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Report details years of abuse in 90s during authoritarian one-party system, but says its inquiries were often stymied

An independent commission charged by Mexico’s president with documenting human rights atrocities committed by the state has accused the country’s military and other government agencies of obstructing their investigation and threatening the country’s transition towards justice and democracy.

A blistering report released on Friday details years of abuses committed by Mexico’s government and its armed forces between 1965 and 1990, a period known as the country’s “dirty war” when it was ruled by an authoritarian one-party system which violently repressed any form of dissent.

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Prince Harry hits out at spread of disinformation via AI and social media

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Duke speaks at summit on digital responsibility while on visit with Duchess of Sussex to Colombia

The Duke of Sussex has hit out at online disinformation during a four-day visit to Colombia, warning: “What happens online within a matter of minutes transfers to the streets.”

Speaking in Bogotá at a summit on digital responsibility, Harry said of the spread of false information via artificial intelligence and social media: “People are acting on information that isn’t true.”

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Los Angeles police arrest four suspects over killing of actor Johnny Wactor

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General Hospital star, 37, was shot dead in downtown LA in May after interrupting men taking car’s catalytic converter

Police have arrested four suspects in the fatal shooting of Johnny Wactor, the actor best known for his role on General Hospital.

The four suspects were arrested in Los Angeles, and range in age from 18 to 22. Three of the suspects were booked on arrest warrants for murder and the fourth was booked as an accessory.

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British MPs appeal to Azerbaijan government to free detained academic

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In letter to Ilham Aliyev, campaigners urge release of Gubad Ibadoghlu after pre-trial process halted indefinitely

A group of British MPs have called on the Azerbaijan government to free an academic from the London School of Economics and Political Science who was detained after writing articles critical of the country’s environmental policies.

Dr Gubad Ibadoghlu, who is based in the UK, was arrested and held by Azerbaijan authorities while visiting members of his family in July 2023. He has been a prominent critic of the ruling elite in the Eurasian nation, which is preparing to host the Cop29 Climate Summit in November.

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One Palestinian killed as Israeli settlers attack West Bank village

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Assault condemned by Israeli authorities, with Netanyahu’s office pledging trial for perpetrators

• Middle East crisis live – latest updates

Dozens of Israeli settlers have attacked a Palestinian village near Nablus in the occupied West Bank, killing at least one person, in the latest deadly incident of settler violence amid surging tensions in the Palestinian territory.

The Palestinian health ministry said one man was killed and another critically wounded by Israeli settlers who opened fire during the Thursday night attack in the village of Jit, in the north of the West Bank, which is surrounded by Israeli settlements.

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