03 World

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Excerpt from www.washingtontimes.com

Israeli officials seized a camera and broadcasting equipment belonging to The Associated Press in southern Israel on Tuesday, accusing the news organization of violating a new media law by providing images to Al Jazeera.

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Excerpt from globalnews.ca

The case in Victoria involves an H5N1 virus, but the strain is not the same as those responsible for outbreaks in the United States, Looker said.

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Excerpt from www.channelnewsasia.com

Scarlett Johansson on Monday (May 20) accused OpenAI of creating a voice for the ChatGPT system that sounded “eerily similar” to the actress after she declined to voice the chatbot herself.

Johansson made the comments in a statement released hours after the artificial intelligence company said it was taking down the voice, called “Sky”.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a statement emailed to Reuters on Monday that Sky’s voice was not an imitation of Johansson, but belonged to a different professional actress.

“The voice of Sky is not Scarlett Johansson’s, and it was never intended to resemble hers. We cast the voice actor behind Sky’s voice before any outreach to Ms Johansson,” Altman said.

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Excerpt from mexiconewsdaily.com

As much of Mexico experiences high temperatures this week with the third heat wave of the season, the latest national drought monitor report published by Conagua (National Water Commission) on Monday shows that drought also continues to increase nationwide.

Some level of drought was affecting 70.76% of the territory in Mexico through May 15, with different locations falling somewhere on Conagua’s range of “moderate” to “exceptional” drought conditions.

That’s up nearly 7% from the agency’s April 15 report.

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Excerpt from www.nytimes.com

A procession in the city of Tabriz was the first in a string of events after Ebrahim Raisi’s death in a helicopter crash. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has announced five days of mourning.

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Excerpt from www.express.co.uk

Morocco, Tunisia, and Mauritania are reportedly using European Union funds to detain and abandon migrants in the Sahara Desert, according to an investigation by Spanish newspaper El País, Lighthouse Reports, and other international media outlets.

This practice, aimed at halting the influx of migrants to Europe, has resulted in people being left in unsafe desert areas without basic necessities, exposing them to extreme dangers.

The investigation revealed that tens of thousands of migrants, particularly black individuals, are forcibly exiled to remote parts of North Africa every year.

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Excerpt from abcnews.go.com

MEXICO CITY — It’s so hot in Mexico that howler monkeys are falling dead from the trees.

At least 83 of the midsize primates, who are known for their roaring vocal calls, were found dead in the Gulf coast state of Tabasco. Others were rescued by residents, including five that were rushed to a local veterinarian who battled to save them.

“They arrived in critical condition, with dehydration and fever,” said Dr. Sergio Valenzuela. ”They were as limp as rags. It was heatstroke.”

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Excerpt from ca.finance.yahoo.com

Volkswagen’s (VWAGY) Audi is pushing deeper into the Chinese market as US rivals like GM (GM) and Ford (F) look to minimize losses in the region and the US ramps up tariffs on Chinese EVs.

On Monday, Audi announced it had signed a deal with China’s state-owned SAIC to develop new EVs for the mainland.

Audi said the SAIC deal would begin with three new EV models covering the B and C segments — small to midsize vehicles — with the first model entering the market in 2025. Audi said the deal with SAIC will reduce its time to market by more than 30%.

Audi CEO Gernot Döllner said the deal “marks a significant milestone in Audi’s China strategy.”

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Excerpt from www.al-monitor.com

ANKARA — Turkey will observe one-day of national mourning after the helicopter crash Sunday that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi  along with seven others, including the country’s foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting in Ankara on Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the day of collective mourning aims to “share the deep pain experienced by the Iranian people.” Erdogan added that he had conveyed his condolences to Iran’s acting president, Mohammad Mokhber, during a phone call earlier in the day.

“We contacted the Iranian authorities and mobilized all our resources to contribute to the search and rescue efforts after the crash,” Erdogan said, adding, “We will continue to act in the same spirit.”

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Excerpt from www.wral.com

CNN — (CNN) — Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader declared himself the winner of the weekend’s presidential election in a race where crime and safety were among voters’ biggest concerns.

Official results are still pending, but the election website shows the former businessman leading by a wide margin as two of his top challengers conceded. As of Monday afternoon, Abinader had 57.46% of the votes counted.

 

Votes have been counted in over 99% of the polling stations, according to real-time data from the electoral board, which has yet to declare a winner.

However, on Sunday, both Abinader’s main rivals congratulated Abinader on his win. “Tonight I called President Luis Abinader by phone to recognize his electoral victory and wish him success in his administration,” candidate Leonel Fernandez wrote on X.

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Excerpt from fortune.com

Beijing hinted it could retaliate against the European Union in a trade dispute that shows signs of escalating the same way as China’s contest with the US.

If the EU keeps pursuing investigations into Chinese firms then China will “very likely have to take a series of measures to hit back,” said a post on Yuyuan Tantian, a social media account linked to China’s state media. Beijing has regularly used such channels as a way of signaling its thinking about trade.

The EU is investigating Chinese subsidies across a range of industries, threatening tariffs for electric carmakers and keeping firms out of rail and energy tenders. President Xi Jinping visited Europe last month seeking to dissuade the bloc from going down the same path as the US, which last week announced new charges on some imports from China — raising concerns in Beijing that American allies may follow suit.

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Excerpt from economictimes.indiatimes.com

Saudi Arabia’s 88-year-old King Salman has been diagnosed with a lung infection and is currently receiving antibiotic treatment after experiencing a fever and joint pain. State media reported the news early Monday, following medical examinations at the Royal Clinics at Al Salam Palace in Jeddah.“It was found that there was a lung infection, and the medical team decided that he – may God protect him – should undergo a treatment programme consisting of antibiotics until the infection goes away,” stated the Saudi Press Agency.
King Salman ascended the throne in 2015 and has since appointed his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as the kingdom’s de facto ruler. The crown prince is widely believed to manage the kingdom’s daily affairs.

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Excerpt from www.lokmattimes.com

Kathmandu [Nepal], May 20 : The rift has widened between Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and the Opposition’s Nepali Congress after Monday’s vote of confidence.

PM Dahal warned the Nepali Congress that it would pay a heavy price for the obstruction which it continued on Monday as well, attempting to prevent the tabling and moving ahead with the vote of confidence motion.

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On Monday, the Nepal House Speaker, Debraj Ghimire, proceeded with the vote of confidence deploying parliamentary marshals to escort the Prime Minister and the leader of the ruling parties.

“I would like to make special reference to the honourable members of the parliament, especially those from the opposition Nepali Congress, you have today done some dreadful things. In Nepal’s history, a Prime Minister who extended his hand time and again and this time as well, the same Prime Minister had attempted to bring you all to the table of talks and dialogue you are obstructing them from taking the vote of confidence. You have presented a negative record in history,” PM Dahal said from the rostrum of parliament after being escorted through the protesting lawmakers of the opposition Congress.

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Excerpt from www.express.co.uk

The death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has sparked celebrations from his critics as women show their skin and drink to his demise.

Officially, the country is in a five-day period of mourning, but opponents of the regime have taken to social media to share their joy at Raisi’s passing, while others set off fireworks in the streets.

Raisi was seen as a frontrunner to succeed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei but was killed alongside Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in a helicopter crash on Sunday following a visit to Azerbaijan.

The former president was a staunch supporter of cracking down on dissent in Iran and supported the country’s security services throughout his time in office, including in the aftermath of the death of Mahsa Amini.

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Excerpt from adventistreview.org

Baptism at Popular Beach Sees 5,000 People Accept Jesus in Port Moresby  Adventist Review

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Excerpt from www.aa.com.tr

World Bank and Türkiye sign $1 billion renewable financing deal  Anadolu Agency | English

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Excerpt from www.euractiv.com

 

The 71-year-old man who attempted to assassinate Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico last week may not have acted as a so-called “lone wolf”, Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok (Hlas) reported, adding he was not the one who deleted the alleged shooters Facebook history hours after the attack. Read more.

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Excerpt from www.euronews.com

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Excerpt from abcnews.go.com

WASHINGTON — U.S. troops ordered out of Niger by the West African country’s ruling junta will complete their withdrawal by the middle of September, the Pentagon and Nigerien defense officials said Sunday.

The timeline was the product of four days of talks between the countries’ defense officials in the capital city of Niamey, according to a joint statement.

Niger’s decision to kick out American forces dealt a blow to U.S. military operations in the Sahel, a vast region south of the Sahara desert where groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group operate.

The rupture in military cooperation followed last July’s ouster of the country’s democratically elected president by mutinous soldiers. A few months later, the ruling junta asked French forces to leave and turned to the Russian mercenary group Wagner for security assistance.

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Excerpt from www.euronews.com

Spain’s prime minister said during a rally in Catalonia that he is going to propose th

Sanchez defended the decision “out of moral conviction”, considering it “a just cause” and the “only way” to achieve peace and security in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Ireland, Malta and Slovenia are expected to follow suit, and have already agreed to take the first steps in that direction.

In a phone call on Saturday, Taoiseach Simon Harris and Norwegian Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Store agreed to remain in close consultation in the days ahead. Norway’s parliament adopted a government proposal in November for the country to be prepared to recognise an independent Palestinian state.

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Excerpt from www.firstpost.com

The TikTok logo is displayed on a smartphone screen in Tokyo on 28 September, 2020. File Image/AP

Canadian intelligence chief David Vigneault has become the latest Western official to warn against the use of Chinese-owned social media app TikTok.

In an interview with CBC News, Vigneault said he would “absolutely not recommend someone” to use TikTok. He further said that it was part of China’s plan to acquire personal information of people across the world.

“My answer as director of [the Canadian Security Intelligence Service] is that there is a very clear strategy on the part of the government of China … to be able to acquire … personal information from anyone around the world,” said CSIS Director Vigneault.

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Excerpt from www.reddit.com

submitted by /u/maxapolyorgies [comments]

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Excerpt from abcnews.go.com

LONDON — British authorities and the country’s public health service knowingly exposed tens of thousands of patients to deadly infections through contaminated blood and blood products, and hid the truth about the disaster for decades, an inquiry into the U.K.’s infected blood scandal found Monday.

An estimated 3,000 people in the United Kingdom are believed to have died and many others were left with lifelong illnesses after receiving blood or blood products tainted with HIV or hepatitis in the 1970s to the early 1990s.

The scandal is widely seen as the deadliest disaster in the history of Britain’s state-run National Health Service since its inception in 1948.

Former judge Brian Langstaff, who chaired the inquiry, slammed successive governments and medical professionals for “a catalogue of failures” and refusal to admit responsibility to save face and expense. He found that deliberate attempts were made to conceal the scandal, and there was evidence of government officials destroying documents.

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Excerpt from www.cbc.ca

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was given permission to have a full appeal over his extradition to the United States after arguing at London’s High Court on Monday that he might not be able to rely on his right to free speech at a trial.

Two judges at the High Court said they had given him leave to have a full appeal to hear his argument that he might be discriminated against on the basis the Australian-born Assange is a foreign national.

Hundreds of protesters had gathered outside the court ahead of what was a key ruling after 13 years of legal battles, with two judges asked to declare whether they were satisfied by U.S. assurances that Assange, 52, could rely on the First Amendment right if he is tried for spying in the U.S.

The news was met outside court by an eruption of cheering and singing. Assange’s legal team had said if he lost he could be on a plane across the Atlantic within 24 hours.

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Excerpt from www.state.gov

The United States congratulates Luis Abinader on his electoral victory as President of the Dominican Republic. We commend the Dominican people for their active participation in the democratic process and the diligent work of electoral observers in supporting a fair and transparent election. We look forward to working closely with President Abinader‘s new administration to further strengthen ties between our nations and our peoples, address shared challenges including climate change and security, and promote economic growth.

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Excerpt from www.gazettextra.com

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Excerpt from www.wionews.com

To counter China’s increasing influence in the electric vehicle (EV) market, Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are set to unveil their inaugural joint strategy for automobile production and sales within the region.

This collaborative initiative, as reported by the Nikkei newspaper on Monday, aims to establish a solid framework by 2035, focusing on several strategic areas including decarbonisation, mineral resource procurement, and investment in next-generation automotive technologies.

Scheduled for discussion during the economic ministers’ meeting between Japan and ASEAN members, potentially as early as September next year, the strategy will address the growing necessity for enhanced cooperation in personnel training and sustainable production practices.

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Excerpt from www.thenationalnews.com

KEY INFO

• At least 31 killed in air strike on Nuseirat camp
• Jordan demands investigation of ‘war crimes’ in Gaza
• UAE aid shipment reaches Gaza
• Israel has prevented entry of 3,000 aid lorries into Gaza, Palestinian authorities say
• UN ‘ blatantly’ disregarded in Gaza, says Lazzarini
• Gaza death toll reaches 35,456, with 79,476 wounded