Most polling shows prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition will lose its majority, with Gadi Eisenkot the leading opposition contender
In Jerusalem
Israel is holding its first election since the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks, the deadliest day in the country’s history, which resulted in the deaths of about 1,200 people, the majority of them civilians.
Continue reading...Lack of profits and the threat posed by western countries are raising concern about the sustainability of Beijing’s AI boom
Trillions of dollars have been wiped from China’s stock markets in recent months amid increasing anxiety about the future of artificial intelligence, as Beijing races against the United States for dominance in the sector.
The STAR 50 Index, which tracks technology and innovation companies on the Shanghai stock exchange, has plunged 40% since June. Other indexes of major companies dropped by about 20% over the same time period.
Continue reading...US military says the restrictions on the electric vehicles at Kadena airbase also apply to delivery drivers and taxis
One of America’s biggest overseas military bases has banned vehicles made by the Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD over security concerns, the US military in Japan said on Tuesday.
The ban, which went into effect this week at Kadena airbase on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, has fueled speculation that similar measures could be taken at other US military facilities as part of Washington’s crackdown on Chinese technology it suspects of being used to collect sensitive information.
Continue reading...NSW police officer accused of murdering Jesse Baird and Luke Davies tells court he wanted to do ‘right thing’ by their families
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Beau Lamarre-Condon has accused a friend of encouraging him to dispose of the bodies of two men “straight away”, despite him wanting to report the deaths to police, according to his first statement to his double murder trial.
Lamarre-Condon, 31, is accused of fatally shooting couple Jesse Baird and Luke Davies with his police service weapon in Baird’s Paddington home on 19 February 2024.
Continue reading...This is the latest sign of the administration’s attempts to challenge states with competitive midterm races that could determine control of Congress
The Trump administration on Monday asked Washington state to set aside any ballots received from more than 400 people it alleges are registered to vote without US citizenship, less than two weeks after making a similar demand in California.
The announcement is the latest sign of the administration’s attempts to sow doubts about the election or its outcome in states with races that will help determine control of the US Senate and House.
Continue reading...Newsom accuses Trump of ‘assault on democracy’ as DoJ claims 20,000 registered voters in state are non-citizens
A US federal appeals court rejected the Trump administration’s move to block California from counting the ballots of 20,000 registered voters that the justice department claims are non-citizens.
The court on Monday ruled 2-1 against Donald Trump’s justice department in the dispute, denying the administration’s demand that election officials segregate the thousands of ballots until people on the list could verify their citizenship. The justice department had given the California secretary of state 48-hours to carry out the order, which state election officials refused – leading to the lawsuit.
Continue reading...Tasks from determining asylum seekers’ ages to border surveillance now involve AI, says Open Rights Group
AI has been embedded across the Home Office in near-total secrecy, reinforcing the so-called hostile environment for immigration, according to research.
Tasks from the detection of potential sham marriages to determining the age of asylum seekers and checking through the contents of phones of new arrivals now involve use of the technology, according to a report by Open Rights Group (ORG).
Continue reading...Last Ditch bar announced it would ‘soft close’ after it went viral following a story on its attempt to relax Covid rules
A Massachusetts lesbian bar that went viral for loosening its Covid mask policy last month announced plans to “soft close” on Monday as it seeks new ownership.
The Last Ditch bar, in the small city of Greenfield, said in an Instagram post that it was searching for co-owners, new owners or a full sale, and that it would “soft close effective immediately”, with “only booked events” continuing while it closes this winter. It had opened just last year as a bar for “dykes, transsexuals, gender freaks, workers, and their friends”.
Continue reading...Controversial mechanism that hit unpaid carers with huge penalties to be scrapped following Guardian investigation
The controversial rule that led to unpaid carers being punished with penalties amounting to thousands of pounds is to be abolished, the Guardian can reveal.
The chancellor, John Healey, is to announce a new digital taper system for carer’s allowance in Wednesday’s budget, effectively ending what is regarded as one of the UK benefit system’s most feared and unfair administrative practices.
Continue reading...Jordanian air force says it carried out strikes against ‘terrorist groups’ tied to killing of nine in Karak
Jordan has carried out airstrikes against armed groups in Syria in retaliation for Friday’s attack on a Greek Orthodox church in the southern Jordanian city of Karak that killed nine people, the Jordanian air force has said in a statement.
It said the operation “resulted in the killing and wounding of many members of these terrorist groups and the destruction of a number of their vehicles”. It did not specify who the groups were or the precise location of the strikes.
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