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PARIS, Aug 28, 2023 (AFP) – Silicon Valley’s favourite philosophy, longtermism, has helped to frame the debate on artificial intelligence around the idea of human extinction. But increasingly vocal critics are warning that the philosophy is dangerous, and the obsession with extinction distracts from real problems associated with AI like data theft and biased algorithms. Author Emile Torres, a former longtermist turned critic of the movement, told AFP that the philosophy rested on the kind […]
WARSAW, Aug 28, 2023 (AFP) – Poland and Baltic nations on Monday asked Belarus to expel the Russian mercenary group Wagner, whose fighters are sheltering there after a failed rebellion against Moscow. “We have asked the regime (of Belarusian President Alexander) Lukashenko to immediately expel the Wagner group from Belarus,” Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said after meeting his counterparts from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Poland says thousands of Wagner fighters are stationed in Belarus, […]
MOSCOW, Aug 25, 2023 (AFP) – The Kremlin on Friday dismissed rumours it orchestrated the death of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, presumed dead in a plane crash two months after leading a mutiny in Russia. It also announced by decree that Russian paramilitary fighters will be obliged to swear an oath to the Russian flag, as part of measures to rein in groups like Wagner in wake of the uprising. Speculation the Kremlin may have […]
MOSCOW, Aug 25, 2023 (AFP) – Moscow said on Friday its forces had thwarted a Ukrainian attempt to attack Russia-annexed Crimea with 42 drones overnight. “Nine UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) were destroyed… over the territory of the Republic of Crimea. 33 UAVs were suppressed by electronic warfare and crashed without reaching the target,” Russia’s defence ministry wrote on Telegram. The ministry did not say whether there had been any damage or casualties. Crimea, annexed by […]
KUZHENKINO, Russia, Aug 24, 2023 (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin broke his silence Thursday on the plane crash a day earlier that reportedly killed mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin and other senior members of the Wagner paramilitary group. In televised comments Putin offered his “sincere condolences to the families of all the victims”, describing the crash as a “tragedy”. As well as Prigozhin, the other nine people on board also died. Wednesday evening’s crash took […]
PARIS, Aug 24, 2023 (AFP) – The exact circumstances of the death of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin remained unclear Thursday, although most experts believe it marks President Vladimir Putin’s vengeance for his short-lived rebellion in June. The head of the mercenary group, which in June attempted to topple Russia’s military leadership, was on board a plane that crashed on Wednesday, with all passengers killed, Russian officials said. Russian social media accounts linked to the opposition […]
MOSCOW, Aug 23, 2023 (AFP) – The head of the Wagner mercenary group, which in June attempted to topple Russia’s military leadership, was on board a plane that crashed on Wednesday, with all passengers killed, Russian officials said. The crash comes two months after Yevgeny Prigozhin launched a short-lived rebellion — seen as the biggest challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s authority since he came to power. Since then uncertainty has surrounded the fate of […]
HELSINKI, Aug 23, 2023 (AFP) – Finland, Europe’s largest producer of fox fur, is culling 120,000 farmed foxes and minks in response to bird flu outbreaks in the country’s fur farms, officials said Wednesday. “A culling order has been issued for 13 farms,” Tuija Gadd, head of the virology unit at the Finnish Food Authority, told AFP. “Culling has already been completed on 10 farms.” H5N1 bird flu outbreaks in seagulls were reported in […]
PARIS, Aug 23, 2023 (AFP) – Temperatures in France hit an all-time high for late summer on Tuesday, the weather authority said, as the country continues to swelter under a punishing heatwave. The nationwide average temperature over 24 hours hit 27.1 degrees Celsius (81 Fahrenheit), Meteo France announced Wednesday — ahead of an expected peak in the August hot spell expected in the second half of the week. Such continuously high temperatures have never been […]
GENEVA, Aug 23, 2023 (AFP) – As Europe and other regions swelter, a UN researcher cautioned that climate change was enabling increasingly intense and long-lasting heatwaves, which in some areas could soon begin to hit year-round. Extreme heat has dominated the headlines in recent weeks, from the current “heat dome” cooking much of Europe, to heat-fuelled wildfires raging in Greece, Spain, Canada and Hawaii, and soaring temperatures in the middle of the South American winter. […]
ATHENS, Aug 23, 2023 (AFP) – Greek firefighters on Wednesday struggled to contain uncontrolled fires throughout the country for a fifth day, several of them bordering an acrid, smoke-filled Athens. In the last two days nineteen people believed to be migrants — including two children — have been killed in forest fires. A fire fanned by strong winds ripped through the foothills of Mount Parnitha, the largest forest adjoining the capital, burning near the outskirts […]
