US sanctions two Wagner-linked firms in Central African Republic
Sanctions aim to 'counter Russia's destabilizing activities in Africa', US Treasury Department says.
OpenAI Shuts Down Influence Networks Using Its Tools in Russia, China – Bloomberg
- OpenAI Shuts Down Influence Networks Using Its Tools in Russia, China Bloomberg
- OpenAI says Russian and Israeli groups used its tools to spread disinformation The Guardian
- OpenAI Says Russia and China Used Its A.I. in Covert Campaigns The New York Times
- OpenAI finds Russian and Chinese groups used its tech for propaganda campaigns The Washington Post
- Open AI Disrupts Influence Operations Using Artificial Intelligence Tools Like ChatGPT Forbes
New York governor to launch bill banning smartphones in schools
Exclusive: Kathy Hochul pushes online child safety, telling social media companies: ‘You’re not going to profit off the mental health of children’
The New York governor, Kathy Hochul, plans to introduce a bill banning smartphones in schools, the latest in a series of legislative moves aimed at online child safety by New York’s top official.
“I have seen these addictive algorithms pull in young people, literally capture them and make them prisoners in a space where they are cut off from human connection, social interaction and normal classroom activity,” she said.
Continue reading...Tice and Farage, the happy couple wedded to migration incoherence | John Crace
Our Nige at least manages to sound slightly plausible while talking utter rubbish
It’s not hard to pick out where the power lies at any Reform party event. Just check out the middle-aged men with a tan. Richard Tice, Nigel Farage and David Bull all look like they’ve spent a suspiciously long time on the sunbed. Or maybe they’ve got a bulk offer on spray tan. Either way, you have to blink several times when you see them in the flesh. The glare is oppressive. Welcome to the party with heavy 1970s Benidorm vibes.
Nigel Farage had insisted that when he first booked Glaziers Hall near London Bridge, it had been to announce that he was planning to stand as a candidate in the election. Like a lot of things Our Nige says, this may be wishful thinking. Or a straight porky. Check out the timings. Rishi Sunak calls a general election last Wednesday. Nige books the room the next day. All set to go. Then changes his mind within days. Mmm. Maybe not.
Continue reading...Spanish MPs give final approval to amnesty law for Catalonia’s separatists
Ex-regional president Carles Puigdemont among high-profile beneficiaries after MPs approve law by 177 votes to 172
Spanish MPs have given their final approval to the deeply divisive amnesty law that the country’s socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, offered Catalan separatists in return for helping him back to power after last year’s inconclusive general election.
The new law, approved by 177 votes to 172 in Spain’s 350-seat congress of deputies, will apply to about 400 people involved in the symbolic independence referendum of November 2014 and the illegal unilateral poll that followed three years later, which triggered Spain’s worst political crisis in four decades.
Continue reading...Egypt tight-lipped over Israeli takeover of Gaza buffer zone
Cairo seeks to keep lid on public anger and avoid escalation as IDF moves into Philadelphi corridor in breach of 1979 peace accord
Egypt has reacted with a wall of silence to the Israeli takeover of a buffer zone in southern Gaza, in apparent defiance of a decades-old peace agreement, as Cairo sought to keep a lid on simmering public anger while also avoiding an escalation in tensions with Israel.
Israel said on Wednesday that its forces had gained “operational” control over the Philadelphi corridor – the Israeli military’s code name for the 9-mile-long (14km) strip of land along the Gaza-Egypt border. Under the terms of the 1979 peace accord between Egypt and Israel, each side is allowed to deploy only a small number of troops or border guards in a demilitarised zone that stretches along the entire Israel-Egypt border and encompasses the corridor.
Continue reading...Paris theatre cancels Asterix star’s shows after sexual assault allegations
Edouard Baer says he ‘does not recognise himself’ in allegations of harassment and assault by six women
Edouard Baer, a French actor best known for playing Asterix on screen, has become the latest star to feel the impact of sexual assault allegations as his live show in Paris was cancelled.
Baer, who played the fictitious Gaul in the 2012 blockbuster Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia alongside Gérard Depardieu, was accused by six women of harassment and sexual assault in a joint article by online news site Mediapart and the feminist website Cheek last week.
Continue reading...Haaretz stories cast doubt on health of Israel’s ‘democracy’
Haaretz staffer says he was told by a senior official that he would 'suffer the consequences' if he publishes the story.
US military defends Africa strategy in light of coups and a drift toward Russia – The Associated Press
Slovenia’s government approves recognition of a Palestinian state
Government's decision still requires the approval of the European Union member country's parliament.
Reveal party funding before elections, says European anti-corruption chief
Marin Mrčela also calls on EU to join Group of States Against Corruption to show it is serious about tackling misconduct
Political parties across Europe, including the UK, should be forced to publish the names of their private funders before elections, not after, the president of the Council of Europe’s anti-corruption body has said.
Unveiling the annual report of the Group of States Against Corruption (Greco), Marin Mrčela, who is the justice of the supreme court of Croatia, also called on the European Union to stop using “excuses” not to join the body.
Continue reading...No decision taken on barring Diane Abbott from selection as Labour candidate, says Keir Starmer – as it happened
It comes after former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the party’s treatment of Abbott was ‘a disgrace’
Keir Starmer is in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, launching Labour’s general election campaign in Wales with beleagured first minister Vaughan Gething. Next week Gething faces a confidence motion in the Senedd. We’ll bring you any key lines that emerge. You can watch it here, the event has just started …
The Liberal Democrats have again criticised ITV’s decision to host a debate featuring just Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer and excluding themselves. The Liberal Democrats were the fourth largest party in the House of Commons after the 2019 election.
Well obviously, I’d love it if Ed Davey and the Liberal Democrats did have a voice in the TV debates, and we are setting out our stall every single day – our fair deal for the British people, our focus on the NHS and care system, the cost-of-living crisis and sewage in our rivers and seas.
Continue reading...‘Unliveable’: Delhi’s residents struggle to cope in record-breaking heat
Temperatures of more than 45C have left population of 29 million exhausted – but the poorest suffer most
As the water tanker drove into a crowded Delhi neighbourhood, a ruckus erupted. Dozens of residents ran frantically behind it, brandishing buckets, bottles and hoses, and jumped on top of it to get even a drip of what was stored inside. Temperatures that day had soared to 49C (120F), the hottest day on record – and in many places across India’s vast capital, home to more than 29 million people, water had run out.
Every morning, Tripti, a social health worker who lives in the impoverished enclave of Vivekanand Camp, is among those who has to stand under the blazing sun with buckets and pots, waiting desperately for the water tanker to arrive.
Continue reading...Israeli war cabinet minister’s party proposes vote to dissolve parliament – Al Jazeera English
- Israeli war cabinet minister's party proposes vote to dissolve parliament Al Jazeera English
- Netanyahu Rival Launches Push to Dissolve Israeli Parliament Amid Split Over Gaza War The Wall Street Journal
- Still in coalition, Gantz’s National Unity party files bill to dissolve Knesset The Times of Israel
- Israeli centrist party increases pressure on Netanyahu government Reuters
- Israel War Cabinet member Benny Gantz files motion to dissolve parliament Semafor
Greens and Plaid Cymru pledge to push Labour on climate, housing and poverty
Election campaigns kick off with policies on single market, climate crisis, NHS and clean seas
Plaid Cymru and the Green party have launched their election campaigns, focusing on issues ranging from offshore windfarms’ profits to initiatives for improving water and air quality.
The parties, which hope to win about four seats each, vowed to keep a Labour government in check and to push the party’s leader, Keir Starmer, to be bolder in areas such as health, housing and the environment.
Continue reading...Israeli war cabinet minister’s party proposes vote to dissolve parliament
Benny Gantz's party has proposed holding early elections after demanding PM Netanyahu agree to post-war Gaza plan.
Eriksen stages fairytale return to Denmark’s Euro squad after heart attack
Eriksen, who suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch during the last Euros in 2021, will now play at Euro 2024.
Fewer pupils in England studying drama and media at GCSE and A-level
Figures show statistics, computing, physics and maths have risen in popularity and languages bouncing back
Fewer pupils in England are studying drama, media and performing arts at GCSE and A-level, while the popularity of statistics, computing, physics and maths has gone up.
Provisional figures for exam entries in England this summer, published by the exams regulator Ofqual on Thursday, also reveal a growing enthusiasm for modern foreign languages, which had been in long-term decline.
Continue reading...Meet the Chinese army’s latest weapon: the gun-toting dog
China shows off mechanical canine with an automatic rifle on its back at joint military drills with Cambodia
The Chinese army has debuted its latest weapon: a gun-toting robotic dog.
The mechanical canine, which has an automatic rifle on its back, was front and centre of recent joint military drills with Cambodia, according to footage from the state broadcaster CCTV.
Continue reading...‘Operation Endgame’ Hits Malware Delivery Platforms – Krebs on Security – Krebs on Security
- 'Operation Endgame' Hits Malware Delivery Platforms – Krebs on Security Krebs on Security
- Massive police sweep across Europe takes down ransomware networks and arrests 4 suspects ABC News
- Largest ever operation against botnets hits dropper malware ecosystem | Europol Europol
- Europol hits malware network in major cybercrime operation DW (English)
- Europol Shuts Down 100+ Servers Linked to IcedID, TrickBot, and Other Malware The Hacker News