Meet Cute on company’s intranet allows employees to advertise family and acquaintances to colleagues
TikTok has an internal matchmaking service for employees to introduce their colleagues to friends and family members, it has been revealed.
The channel, called Meet Cute, sits on the workplace tool used by thousands of TikTok employees around the world for document hosting, video conferencing. It also helps people find a potential romantic partner from among their colleagues.
Continue reading...WHO says China facing ‘sustained community transmission’ of virus first detected as imported case last year
China is fuelling a global surge in mpox cases, accounting for the majority of new cases reported in September, according to the World Health Organization.
The number of weekly cases reported globally increased by 328% in the week to 10 September, data shows. Most of that rise came from China, where more than 500 new cases were reported in August. The WHO said China was experiencing “sustained community transmission” of the virus, which was first detected as an imported case in September last year.
Continue reading...Hundreds of traumatised children are thought to have lost their families in disaster
People in western Libya have rallied round to provide care and breastmilk for young children orphaned by the devastating floods that hit the coastal city of Derna on 10 September.
Hundreds of traumatised babies and young children are thought to have lost their parents in Derna, where whole neighbourhoods were wiped out after two dams broke.
Continue reading...New laws come after weeks of protests sparked by a series of teacher suicides said to be linked to malicious complaints from parents
South Korea has passed a set of legal revisions aimed at improving the rights of teachers in schools, following weeks of protests sparked by a series of teacher suicides said to be linked to malicious complaints from parents.
The four bills, collectively known as the “teacher rights restoration bills” and passed at the national assembly on Thursday, represent a significant step towards enhancing the working conditions and protections for educators in the country.
Continue reading...The future of the Australian newspaper, which Rupert Murdoch launched in 1964, is less assured with Lachlan favouring Sky News Australia and Foxtel
With Lachlan Murdoch to become the sole chair of News Corp as well as the chief executive of Fox Corp, the global Murdoch empire will be run at least some of the time from Australia.
Lachlan, 52, moved his family back to Sydney in March 2021 because his Australian-raised wife Sarah prefers the lifestyle and the schooling it can provide for their three children.
Continue reading...British ex-politician, a cult figure in the US, will reportedly appear alongside Love Island’s Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu
Former House of Commons speaker John Bercow is reportedly starring in the upcoming series of TV show The Traitors US, alongside Love Island winner Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu.
The former MP will feature alongside reality TV stars from Big Brother, Dancing With The Stars and RuPaul’s Drag Race, according to media reports.
Continue reading...Court voted against agribusiness-backed attempt to prevent communities claiming land they did not physically occupy in 1988
Brazil’s supreme court has blocked efforts to dramatically strip back Indigenous land rights in what activists called a historic victory for the South American country’s original inhabitants.
Nine of the court’s 11 members voted against what rights groups had dubbed the “time limit trick” – an agribusiness-backed attempt to prevent Indigenous communities claiming land they did not physically occupy in 1988.
Continue reading...‘It was a mistake,’ says Doug Ford to allow development in protected areas of Greenbelt amid scandal that cost him ministers
Ontario’s premier has reversed course on a controversial multibillion-dollar land swap deal, saying it was a “mistake” to allow development in protected areas of the green belt around Toronto. The abrupt reversal comes after the scandal has cost him a pair of cabinet ministers, two damning reports from government watchdogs and mounting public outrage.
“I made a promise to you that I wouldn’t touch the Greenbelt. I broke that promise. And for that, I am very, very sorry,” Doug Ford told reporters on Thursday afternoon. “It was a mistake to open the Greenbelt … I’m not perfect. No government is perfect.”
Continue reading...Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Chérizier issued call to arms as US looks to UN to approve Kenya-led mission to stem country’s growing violence
The most severe humanitarian crisis in the Americas has taken yet another dramatic turn after Haiti’s most powerful gang boss took to the streets to call for an armed uprising to overthrow the country’s unpopular prime minister.
Jimmy Chérizier, a police officer turned gang lord nicknamed “Barbecue”, issued his call to arms on Tuesday, as reports suggested the US was preparing to ask the UN security council to approve a Kenya-led intervention designed to address the Caribbean country’s escalating security crisis.
Continue reading...Mock gallows erected covered in pictures of politicians in ugly scenes in Dublin
Ireland is reviewing security around the seat of government after aggressive protests in Dublin that trapped lawmakers, ended with 13 arrests and were condemned by the country’s leadership as “wrong” and “fascist-like”.
The Oireachtas, Ireland’s legislature, was put into a virtual lockdown for hours on Wednesday by a small but abusive group of about 200 people.
Continue reading...Claims by former Brazilian president’s ex-secretary prompt calls for alleged rightwing conspirators to be brought to justice
Jair Bolsonaro’s former secretary has reportedly told investigators his ex-boss met the heads of Brazil’s army, navy and air force late last year to discuss a “putschist plan” for a military coup.
The claims – reported by two of Brazil’s most important news outlets, O Globo and UOL – prompted calls for the alleged rightwing conspirators to be brought to justice.
Continue reading...Organized crime groups have about 175,000 members and authors say the best way to reduce violence is to cut membership
Organised crime groups in Mexico have about 175,000 members – making them the fifth-biggest employer in the country, according to new research published in the journal Science.
Using a decade of data on homicides, missing persons and incarcerations, as well as information about interactions between rival factions, the paper published on Thursday mathematically modeled overall cartel membership, and how levels of violence would respond to a range of policies.
Continue reading...Announcement of ‘security threats’ follows Justin Trudeau’s claims India was involved in Sikh activist’s killing
Relations between India and Canada have further deteriorated after Delhi announced it was suspending visa services for Canadians due to “security threats” faced by its embassy and consulates in Canada.
BLS International, which runs the Indian visa offices in Canada, put a notice on its website stating that all visa services for Canadians were suspended until further notice, citing “operational reasons”.
Continue reading...Party leader says he would not bring in lower environmental and food standards than in Europe or reduce workers’ rights
Keir Starmer has gone further than before in outlining his vision of a future UK relationship with the EU, saying Labour didn’t “want to diverge” – in comments that were immediately seized on by the Conservatives.
The Labour leader was speaking at an event in Canada bringing together liberal and centre-left politicians, where he said that “most of the conflict” since Brexit had arisen because the UK “wants to diverge and do different things to the rest of our EU partners”.
Continue reading...Four ex-Soviet states excepted from ban, which has been prompted by railway bottlenecks and weak rouble
Russia has temporarily banned exports of petrol and diesel to all countries outside a circle of four ex-Soviet states with immediate effect, in order to stabilise the domestic market.
“Temporary restrictions will help saturate the fuel market, which in turn will reduce prices for consumers,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
Continue reading...Comments by Polish PM follow Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s accusation that some in Europe are in effect aiding Russia
Poland, one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies, has announced an end to its arms transfers to the country, a day after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Warsaw of playing into Russia’s hands by banning Ukrainian grain imports.
Poland is one of Kyiv’s main weapons suppliers and has been one of the loudest cheerleaders for the Ukrainian cause since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, but relations have soured over recent days amid the growing row over grain.
Continue reading...White House hopes to secure nuclear cooperation deal with Riyadh as Chinese influence grows in Middle East
The Saudi crown prince has confirmed his country would seek to acquire a nuclear arsenal if Iran developed one, throwing fresh doubt on a possible US-Saudi nuclear cooperation deal currently under negotiation.
Joe Biden’s Democratic allies in the US Senate have warned his administration will face a tough battle for approval of a deal normalising relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia if it includes substantial nuclear cooperation with Riyadh, because of distrust of Saudi intentions.
Continue reading...In a rare interview with Fox News, Mohammed bin Salman said major progress must be made in creation of a Palestinian state
A potential normalisation deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and what those negotiations could mean for the Palestinians, are top of the news agenda in the Middle East after the two countries and the US signalled progress on the matter on the sidelines of the UN general assembly in New York.
In a rare interview with western media, Riyadh’s powerful crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, told Fox News on Wednesday that ongoing talks with Israel meant the prospect of normalised relations was “getting closer every day”.
Continue reading...This live blog is now closed. For our latest reporting on the war in Ukraine, you can read our latest report:
Energy and civilian infrastructure was hit in an early morning Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s western Rivne region, Reuters reports local governor Vitaliy Koval said on Thursday.
The Russian defence ministry claims to have downed 19 drones over the Black Sea and Crimea regions, and three further drones launched at the Belgorod, Kursk and Oryol regions by Ukraine.
Continue reading...White Island/Whakaari volcano exploded in 2019, prompting debate over natural hazard tourism
The landowners of a New Zealand volcano that fatally erupted in 2019 have rejected arguments from the country’s workplace safety regulator that they ultimately managed and controlled activities on the island and bore legal responsibility for whether visitors to it were safe.
When White Island/Whakaari exploded on 9 December 2019, 22 people were killed – 17 of them Australians – with 25 others injured. It prompted renewed debate about controls for natural hazard tourism in New Zealand.
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