AI

'They're playing with our lives': AI researcher quits Anthropic

  • They are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives," Coxon said on Tuesday.
  • An artificial intelligence researcher who left OpenAI to join Anthropic has decided to leave the industry, accusing both US companies of "playing with our lives" in the race to develop AI models capable of self-improvement.
  • They are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives," Coxon said on Tuesday.
An artificial intelligence researcher who left OpenAI to join Anthropic has decided to leave the industry, accusing both US companies of "playing with our lives" in the race to develop AI models capable of self-improvement.
Jacob Coxon, 27, spent the past three years pretraining AI models, first at OpenAI and then, this year, at its rival Anthropic, which he considered more cautious in its approach. 
Pretraining is the stage where AI models absorb vast quantities of data.
"Neither company is acting responsibly. They are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives," Coxon said on Tuesday.
"The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade," he said in a post on X.
"This is not a marketing stunt," he added.
Superintelligence is the theoretical point when AI's capabilities exceed human intelligence.
Anthropic safety executive Evan Hubinger backed up Coxon on X.  
"We really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans!" he said, adding that he estimated that risk at more than 10 percent over the next decade. 
Hubinger said Anthropic is "trying its best", but does not yet have a plan to ensure an AI system that surpasses human capabilities would obey its creators. He said there was a "low" risk of that happening with current models.
Coxon's resignation comes as Anthropic prepares for its market debut, following a summer marked by unauthorized hacks carried out by AI tools during testing.
The two companies did not immediately respond to AFP requests for comment.
AI leaders say so-called "recursive self-improvement," a stage where AI systems could essentially design and train the next generation of AI with little human involvement, is drawing near.
Coxon considers Anthropic's efforts genuine but said he believes no company can responsibly develop an AI that surpasses humans without government intervention or a coordinated slowdown.
"At Anthropic, the stakes are well-understood, but they are locked in a race to get there first -- they believe no one else will act responsibly, so they must do it themselves, despite the risk," he said. 
In February, Anthropic removed a pledge from its safety charter to halt the development of its models if it failed to control their risks.
It argued that if it unilaterally paused its work, its less cautious rivals would dominate the industry, making it less safe overall.
At the end of July, more than 1,000 tech industry employees, including Anthropic's CEO Dario Amodei, called on Washington to support a coordinated slowdown in the development of the most advanced AI systems.
OpenAI halted training of its latest models for two weeks in August before resuming it under tighter controls.
On Sunday, OpenAI's chief scientist, Jakub Pachocki, called for "extreme caution."
"International coordination on future AI development needs to become a top priority for governments around the world," he said in a blog post.
AI models are not regulated by federal law in the United States. 
In September, Senator Bernie Sanders and Democratic Representative Greg Casar introduced a bill seeking to suspend AI development until a federal regulator is created.
bl/lpa/lkd/lga

Smilegate

South Korea video game tycoon to pay record $1.5 bn in divorce

BY JIHYE SHIN

  • The Seoul Family Court granted the divorce and ordered Kwon to transfer a "35-percent stake in Smilegate, worth about 2.5 trillion won, and pay 65 billion won in cash", the court said.
  • A Seoul court on Wednesday ordered South Korean video game tycoon Kwon Hyuk-bin to pay more than 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion) in a divorce settlement, the largest asset division ever awarded in the country.
  • The Seoul Family Court granted the divorce and ordered Kwon to transfer a "35-percent stake in Smilegate, worth about 2.5 trillion won, and pay 65 billion won in cash", the court said.
A Seoul court on Wednesday ordered South Korean video game tycoon Kwon Hyuk-bin to pay more than 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion) in a divorce settlement, the largest asset division ever awarded in the country.
The amount surpasses the 944 billion won awarded in the divorce settlement between SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won -- whose business also owns chip giant SK hynix -- and his ex-wife, Roh Soh-yeong.
Kwon founded Smilegate in 2002 and has built it into one of the most successful gaming companies in South Korea.
The Seoul Family Court granted the divorce and ordered Kwon to transfer a "35-percent stake in Smilegate, worth about 2.5 trillion won, and pay 65 billion won in cash", the court said.
Kwon's ex-wife, surnamed Lee, filed for divorce in November 2022, seeking half of his stake in Smilegate Holdings, now Smilegate, according to local media.
Lee argued that she had contributed to the company's founding and early management, as well as indirectly through domestic work, and was therefore entitled to half of Kwon's stake.
A court spokesperson said the court concluded that the "marriage had broken down beyond repair after considering the circumstances behind the couple's prolonged conflict and the prospects for reconciliation".
The court said "both sides bore equal responsibility for the breakdown of the marriage" and therefore granted the divorce but rejected Lee's claim for damages, she added.
Kwon is known to have argued that Lee was neither a co-founder nor involved in the company's management, and reportedly opposed the divorce, according to local reports.
The court valued Kwon's assets at as much as eight trillion won, local media reported.
Kwon's case comes after Chey, of SK Group, appealed in August a court ruling ordering him to pay $666 million to his former wife Roh.
The Seoul High Court ruled in July that Roh was entitled to a cash payout worth about one-third of the couple's marital assets, including Chey's shares in SK, citing her role in the family and support for SK Group activities.
Chey's appeal sent the case back to the Supreme Court.
Analysts say the appeal could extend a closely watched legal battle that has drawn attention to Chey's control of SK Group, as the AI boom boosts the value of its chip assets.
sjh-cdl/jm/mjw

Iran

Protesters urge South Korea to stay out of Iran war

  • "Sending our troops to an illegal war waged by the United States is unacceptable," she said.
  • Dozens of South Koreans urged their government on Wednesday not to deploy troops to the strategic Strait of Hormuz, slamming what they called Washington's "illegal war".
  • "Sending our troops to an illegal war waged by the United States is unacceptable," she said.
Dozens of South Koreans urged their government on Wednesday not to deploy troops to the strategic Strait of Hormuz, slamming what they called Washington's "illegal war".
The protesters across from the large US embassy compound in Seoul waved signs saying "Do not join a war of aggression" as their leaders weigh a "contribution" to the waterway's security. 
US President Donald Trump has pressured ally South Korea to help in the Middle East war, which has seen Iran take a stranglehold on the strait key to global oil supplies. 
"We cannot send our young people into a sea of death!" chanted the protesters, who numbered about 60 according to an AFP estimate, on the steps outside Seoul's Sejong Center for the Performing Arts.
The protest came a day after South Korean defence authorities said they had sent a fact-finding mission to assess the situation in Hormuz, while stressing that no decision had been made on any deployment.  
South Korea said Friday it was considering "contributions" to US security efforts along the strait  provided that its own military readiness was not compromised.
Iran has warned that any South Korean deployment would be "regarded as direct support for the party responsible for that aggression and will have serious consequences".
Jung Kyung-jik of the civic group People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy told AFP that he saw Tehran's point.
"As Iran has said, the deployment of our troops to the region would amount to direct participation in an illegal war," he said.
"There have been numerous violations of international law arising from US attacks on Iran, including the bombing of an elementary school and energy infrastructure," he said.
Trump has struggled to get help from allies in the war that the United States and Israel launched on Iran six months ago and has since hit an impasse.
Iran maintains a stranglehold on the strategic strait -- which was the conduit for one-fifth of the world's oil supply before the war -- and Washington has pressed its counter-blockade of Iranian ports.
Choi Young-ok, a member of Korean Peace Solidarity for Sovereignty and Reunification, warned that a deployment would "inevitably lead to casualties".
"Sending our troops to an illegal war waged by the United States is unacceptable," she said.
"There is no reason for us to send troops when no other country has done so or said it would."
If Seoul were to deploy armed forces to the strait, it would require parliamentary approval by a majority vote in the National Assembly.
kjk/jm

economy

Africa's informal economy: a burden and lifeline

BY SOULé DIA WITH NICHOLAS ROLL IN ABUJA

  • "The pavements and public spaces are occupied.
  • Across the pavements, residential areas and public spaces of African cities, the informal economy is booming under the noses of authorities, who are often powerless to stop it.
  • "The pavements and public spaces are occupied.
Across the pavements, residential areas and public spaces of African cities, the informal economy is booming under the noses of authorities, who are often powerless to stop it.
Poverty, unemployment and bureaucratic red tape force tens of millions of Africans into work that is not regulated, taxed or protected by the government.
From Abidjan to Dakar and Abuja, mechanics, scrap dealers, motorcycle taxi drivers and street vendors make the most of the tiniest corner to set up their business activity.
AFP spoke to informal-sector workers in several African cities where their affordable prices make them indispensable to daily life for many.
"Life starts somewhere, so I've started here," said Lohbip El-Pius Binyir, who runs a money transfer point and also sells bread, biscuits and drinks from a small pavement stall in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.
The 35-year-old has managed to set himself up in a fashionable district, even though informal businesses like his are mostly confined to poorer neighbourhoods.
He puts the authorities' leniency down partly to the tidy and spartan way he operates his business: a bench, umbrella, card reader and table that he folds up and carts away each evening.
On a street in Ivory Coast's economic capital, Abidjan, municipal officers were in pursuit of informal vendors who had set up their stalls on the pavements and, in some cases, the roads.
It's a common occurrence in megacities across the continent, where kiosks, carts, containers, tables and stalls laid out on the ground are part of the urban landscape.
Yacouba Sylla has been forced to move his informal garage several times because of demolition operations in Abidjan but has always found another place to resume his business.
If it were up to him, the 44-year-old mechanic would choose something better: a fully compliant workshop with modern facilities on which he would pay taxes and bid for contracts.
But all that requires "a lot of resources" or "support from the state", which he does not have, he told AFP, in the middle of repairing an engine laid out on the floor, his hands covered in oil.
In the early 1970s, more than 60 percent of employment in Africa was estimated to be informal, but it has surged to nearly 83 percent in recent years, according to the International Labour Organization.
In Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mali and Nigeria, the figure is more than 90 percent of the active population.

Cracking down

The United Nations says the informal economy is a burden that limits the impact of growth.
Many African countries' development is shaped by the weight of the informal sector, the absence of enterprises capable of scaling up and too few opportunities for creating decent jobs, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said in a report in July.
Governments have stepped up an array of measures to counter the informal sector, ranging from the more repressive, such as demolition and seizure of merchandise, to supporting workers through training or moving services online.
But they have not stopped it expanding.
"It's not an easy task," acknowledged Yaya Doumbia, first deputy mayor of Yopougon, Abidjan's biggest district and a hotspot for informal enterprise, where authorities have created a "sanitation brigade".
"The pavements and public spaces are occupied. It's a real challenge," he said.
Economist Guillaume Liby said African countries were "tackling the problem from the wrong end: coercion".
He also blamed a heavy tax burden and administrative hurdles facing those wanting to work legally.
Fruit, juices, clothes, shoes, peanuts -- Lobe Sarr has turned her hand to various wares over the last 15 years, finally settling on a small street eatery in the Senegalese capital, Dakar.
"Running a shop in the street is difficult," she said.
"At least it gives us something to do and allows us to earn money to cover our daily needs," the aproned woman in her 30s told AFP.

No alternative

She, like others AFP spoke to, said they had no option but to work informally.
Beyond small vendors, the informal sector also includes large numbers of people employed without a contract or social security coverage in artisanal trades, security, the restaurant industry or cleaning, who face a precarious existence.
"It's a survival economy, the only door left open" for many Africans, said Liby, the economist, pointing to a failing institutional environment and strong population growth.
The informal sector is a major part of the economy, accounting for up to 65 percent of the continent's gross domestic product, according to the International Monetary Fund.
But, while the sector remains untaxed, it represents a considerable loss of revenue for African governments, economists say.
Countries must implement policies that encourage informal-sector workers to register with the tax authorities, facilitate access to financing and create infrastructure needed to accommodate small entrepreneurs.
In Ivory Coast, reducing the "significant weight" of the informal sector with notably the creation of a status for small entrepreneurs is one pillar of an ambitious national development plan, unveiled in July.
Benin's efforts have already borne fruit after it introduced a policy based on building new, modern markets and reorganising large commercial areas.
Formerly at 97 percent, its informal economy now accounts for 85 percent of jobs.
The Beninese authorities vaunt a strategy that has enabled the state to hike its tax revenues while providing better working conditions and combating unsanitary practices.
sjd-burx/bam/pid/kjm/jhb

computers

Kenyan start-up makes robotic limbs to sign for deaf kids

  • The team works with Africa One, a humanoid robot they built, to refine and expand the signs their mechnical arms are able to produce.
  • In a school for the deaf in Kenya, children signed their excitement as a team demonstrated how a robotic arm could revolutionise their studies.
  • The team works with Africa One, a humanoid robot they built, to refine and expand the signs their mechnical arms are able to produce.
In a school for the deaf in Kenya, children signed their excitement as a team demonstrated how a robotic arm could revolutionise their studies.
Roughly 300,000 children in the east African nation have a hearing impairment, according to the Kenya Society for Deaf Children, but just 20,000 were enrolled in schools as of 2024. 
Kenyan start-up ZeroBionic, co-founded by 22-year-old Norah Kimathi, hopes to tackle some of the educational difficulties they face.
It has built a mechanical hand that can translate a teachers' voice into sign language in real time, allowing deaf children to learn alongside their hearing counterparts.
For the pupils at the Kasarani Treeside Secondary School for the Deaf in Nairobi, there is another element of the technology that is even more promising.
The robotic arms are trialled by deaf teachers to record and store signs using a bodysuit, which ZeroBionic imported for the task.
In the process, they are building a database of technical terms -- drawing on English, American and Kenyan signs -- that is helping to expand the language and make it easier for deaf children to learn and communicate.
"The biggest challenge we faced actually was in Africa we don't have a standardised African sign language dataset," Kimathi told AFP at the company's tiny lab in Nairobi. 
"No one else had built this on the continent... We had to start from scratch," she said.
Many deaf children in Kenya learn a patchwork of makeshift signs, and the local dialect lacks many technical terms used to teach subjects like maths and biology.
Sharon Mumbe, 19, one of the pupils at the deaf school, says it gives her "hope for the future".
"I'll be able to understand different concepts better," she told AFP.
Numerous prototype limbs litter the surfaces in Kimathi's lab.
The team works with Africa One, a humanoid robot they built, to refine and expand the signs their mechnical arms are able to produce.
Everything has been designed and built in-house, using recycled materials to reduce costs and environmental impact, produced using 3D printers that thump away constantly in the background. 
Each hand costs roughly $350 and can last for up to two years. They are already in 78 schools across Kenya.
They boast a 92-percent speech-to-sign accuracy rate and Kimathi says the results have made all the long hours in the lab worthwhile.
"We know we're going to put a smile on someone else's face," she said. 
rbu/er/kjm

rental

EU to help cities tighten screws on Airbnb, holiday rentals

  • But curbs have often been followed by court challenges from rental providers and tourism operators, resulting in legal uncertainty.
  • European cities will gain more leeway to curb short-term rentals such as Airbnb under plans to bring down housing costs in tourism hotspots that the European Union is to unveil Wednesday.
  • But curbs have often been followed by court challenges from rental providers and tourism operators, resulting in legal uncertainty.
European cities will gain more leeway to curb short-term rentals such as Airbnb under plans to bring down housing costs in tourism hotspots that the European Union is to unveil Wednesday.
The European Commission is to lay out conditions under which local authorities can limit short lets, as part of an "affordable housing" package that seeks to address what EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has called a "social crisis".
"Nurses, teachers, and firemen cannot afford to live where they serve. Students drop out because they cannot pay the rent. Young people delay starting families," she said in a speech last year highlighting the issue as a priority for Brussels.
Though hugely popular with visitors, short-term lodgings are blamed by residents in many popular travel destinations for depriving locals of apartments for long-term rent and pushing up prices.
From New York to Tokyo and Barcelona, a growing number of cities worldwide have imposed or considered restrictions on tourist flats in recent years.
But curbs have often been followed by court challenges from rental providers and tourism operators, resulting in legal uncertainty.
The commission's Affordable Housing Act aims to provide cities with legal cover, clarifying when authorities can take action without falling foul of EU single market rules.
Cities and other relevant authorities will be allowed to limit holiday rentals as well as the purchase of property for short-term letting purposes in areas deemed "under housing stress", according to a draft seen by AFP.
The document laid out a series of parameters that needed to be met for an area to be defined as under stress, such as the ratio between house prices and incomes there.
"Population dynamics" and future housing supply and demand will also need to be taken into account, the draft said, adding any measure should be non-discriminatory, necessary and proportionate.

'Structural solutions'

The legislation will not affect landlords that rent out their own primary residence for short periods of time. 
Housing affordability has become a growing issue across the 27-nation bloc in recent years.
Property prices have surged by 60 percent, while rents have climbed by 20 percent over the past decade, leaving millions struggling to find a home they can afford, according to Brussels. 
The EU says this is mainly driven by insufficient housing supply but short-term lets add extra pressure in certain areas. 
Short rentals account for only about 1.2 percent of the European Union's housing stock but the share can reach as much as 20 percent in popular districts of some tourist destinations, according to EU data. 
Holiday lets "can generate important economic and social benefits, especially for households struggling to make ends meet" but "they may also aggravate housing demand pressures in some constrained local housing markets," the EU draft read.
Yet, that's something rental providers dispute. 
"For the great majority of cities, the claim that short-term rentals are driving housing stress does not survive contact with this evidence," tech lobby group CCIA wrote in a letter to the commission this month. 
In some cities with restrictions, rents and hotel prices have gone up, the letter added, noting Lisbon recently overturned some of the curbs it had previously imposed. 
"Europe's housing crisis needs structural solutions, and the implementation of this Act should focus on increasing the supply of homes," said an Airbnb spokesperson.
ub/ec/rl

healthcare

Sweden immigration restrictions spark healthcare concerns

BY JOHANNES LEDEL

  • - Electoral stakes - In the general election on September 13, opinion polls show that healthcare is the top concern among voters.
  • A dramatic tightening of Sweden's migration policy has sparked concern in a healthcare sector that is ever more dependent on immigrants, professionals warned ahead of a general election on Sunday.
  • - Electoral stakes - In the general election on September 13, opinion polls show that healthcare is the top concern among voters.
A dramatic tightening of Sweden's migration policy has sparked concern in a healthcare sector that is ever more dependent on immigrants, professionals warned ahead of a general election on Sunday.
"I'm the only one born in Sweden here today. The rest are born abroad," said Johanna Bjorkman, a nurse at the NU Hospital Group in the southern city of Trollhattan.
"There wouldn't have been any operations without them," she told AFP outside the operating room in the cardiology department.
Davood Javid, a senior specialist in the department, explained that three out of four of the 20 doctors working at the cardiology unit were born abroad.
Nationally, 37 percent of specialist doctors were born abroad, according to the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKR), while over half (53 percent) of nursing assistants were.
Following a large influx of asylum seekers in Sweden in 2015, successive left- and right-wing governments have tightened asylum and immigration rules.
Originally from Iran, Javid first arrived in Sweden in the 1980s. He said he and his colleagues all felt the change. 
"The tone has hardened in Sweden, and the debate has become highly polarised," he told AFP.
Doctors and specialised nurses often earn enough to meet Sweden's new, higher income requirements for work permits, but nursing assistants, elderly-care workers and adult children of healthcare workers in many cases do not.
Javid started speaking out publicly after his nephew's two daughters, aged 21 and 24, were deported, having lived in Sweden for eight years while studying to become nurses. 

Families 'torn apart'

The case received national attention as an illustration of what became known as "teenage deportations" -- when people who came to Sweden as minors with their parents are deported as adults because they cannot meet the income requirements.
Javid said decisions like these also leave parents who work in the health sector questioning whether to stay in the country when their children are deported.
"The individual loses out, the family is torn apart, and society pays the price for this," he told AFP.
He complained that the migration debate was too focused on criminality and not what "immigrants had contributed to society".
Bjorn Jarbur, director of the hospital, told AFP at least one employee had left after their child was deported.
He said losing competent colleagues was a problem at a time when a lack of qualified staff was more pressing than a lack of funds.
"Today, it's not money that's the limiting factor, it's finding employees with the skills we need," Jarbur said.
"If, for example, we had been able to recruit more nurses, then we would have been able to have more beds open," he explained.
In Sweden's last election in 2022, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's coalition came to power via an alliance with the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, vowing to crack down on immigration and crime.

Electoral stakes

In the general election on September 13, opinion polls show that healthcare is the top concern among voters.
Polls have for months pointed to a victory for the centre-left opposition headed by the Social Democrats, but the gap has narrowed in recent weeks.
On the campaign trail, Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson told AFP he was not convinced by the argument that the lack of labour in healthcare meant that the migration policy needed to be relaxed.
"What people often forget in that discussion is that those who immigrate to Sweden also have needs when it comes to welfare, healthcare, and social care," Akesson told AFP after a press conference.
"Statistically, they often have greater needs than those born in the country," Akesson added.
Tommy Moller, a professor of political science at Stockholm University, told AFP however that he had noted a shift heading into this year's election.
Moller said attention to the "teenage deportations" had led the government to "change its position".
In June, the government along with the Sweden Democrats, among other measures, raised the age at which the children of migrants would be considered adults from 18 to 21.
He also noted that parties like the Centre Party and the Green Party were actively saying Sweden needed more immigration in their campaigning.
"They are raising these issues. It hasn't really been opportune to do so before, because public opinion has been so critical of immigration," Moller said.
jll/po/rlp

Iran

Iran, US trade blows as Hormuz impasse deepens

  • The Islamic republic also said it would target oil tankers off US-allied Kuwait and Bahrain in retaliation for the US strikes on its tankers.
  • Iran launched fresh attacks against US targets in the Middle East on Wednesday in retaliation for American strikes on Iranian oil tankers, dragging the foes deeper into war.
  • The Islamic republic also said it would target oil tankers off US-allied Kuwait and Bahrain in retaliation for the US strikes on its tankers.
Iran launched fresh attacks against US targets in the Middle East on Wednesday in retaliation for American strikes on Iranian oil tankers, dragging the foes deeper into war.
Tehran's powerful Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday they attacked 20 US vessels trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for the world's oil and gas that Iran has largely controlled since the war erupted.
The United States and Iran are locked in a stalemate six months into the war, with Iran maintaining a stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz and Washington pushing a campaign to choke Iran's ports and economy.
The Guards said Wednesday they pummelled a US military base in Jordan in response to US forces destroying five Iranian oil tankers the day before.
The US military said it acted after Iran targeted an American warship, the second such attack in less than a week.
Oil prices climbed to near $100 a barrel in Asian morning trade, as the flare-up threatened to further choke supply from the crude-rich Middle East.
The price of Brent crude, the benchmark international contract, rose to $99.46 per barrel, while the main US contract West Texas Intermediate was at $94.45 per barrel.
The Islamic republic also said it would target oil tankers off US-allied Kuwait and Bahrain in retaliation for the US strikes on its tankers.
Minutes later, Iran's Revolutionary Guards -- the most powerful arm of the Iranian military -- said they had struck the US air base of Al-Azraq in Jordan with missiles, state media reported.
The "punitive operation" damaged maintenance and repair facilities, deployment locations and shelters for fighter jets, according to IRNA.
Jordan's army said it shot down 18 missiles from Iran targeting the kingdom.
The strikes came after Tehran urged crews on oil tankers off Kuwait and Bahrain to leave their vessels, warning they "will be targeted", the Guards said in a statement posted on IRNA.

US warning

The latest round of fighting was triggered after US forces destroyed five Iranian oil tankers, with the US military saying it "directed the crews to abandon ship" before hitting the vessels.
"Iran continues to try to hit US naval ships, and for every time they do that or try to do that, they're going to lose tankers, and I think you'll see that again today," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Tuesday on a visit to Colombia.
Iranian media reported Tuesday that a US missile struck a tanker off the coast of Kharg Island, adding that there were no casualties.
The chief of staff of Iran's army Ali Abdollahi had warned the Islamic republic would hit US bases in the region if Iranian oil tankers were hit.
Iran has asserted control of the Strait of Hormuz -- which normally carries around a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas -- since the start of the war in February, with traffic through the waterway virtually paralysed.
Tehran requires vessels to obtain permission and pay transit fees before using the strait.
Iran's Guards also said on Tuesday they seized "one of the most modern, unmanned" American submarine drone in the Strait of Hormuz.
The US military said that the drone had "malfunctioned", insisting it was an "older model" that did not carry any sensitive data.
Iranian state TV also said the Guards had attacked two US destroyers with ballistic missiles.
The US military did not immediately comment on the report.
bur/phs/roc/cms/abs

US

'Hell': Father of surfers killed in Mexico testifies at trial

  • "It's hell," the victims' father Martin Robinson told the court.
  • The father of two Australian surfers killed in Mexico two years ago testified in court Tuesday that his life had been turned into hell, as the high-profile trial continued into its second day.
  • "It's hell," the victims' father Martin Robinson told the court.
The father of two Australian surfers killed in Mexico two years ago testified in court Tuesday that his life had been turned into hell, as the high-profile trial continued into its second day.
Three men are charged in the killing of Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson, aged 30 and 33, respectively, and their 30-year-old American friend Jack Carter Rhoad, who were on a surfing trip to Mexico's Pacific coast in April 2024.
Authorities say the three were killed in an attempted robbery, and their bodies were found dumped in a cliff-top shaft with gunshot wounds to their heads.
"It's hell," the victims' father Martin Robinson told the court. "It's hard for a parent to lose a son, and we lost two sons."
"It’s not just the loss, but also the potential they had the dreams that lay ahead of them, the places they traveled, and the love they had for others," he said. 
Robinson described the ordeal of having to identify his sons' bodies: Callum by a tattoo on his forearm, while identifying Jake was more difficult and required photographs.
Rhoad's mother Page compared the crime to an execution.
"I miss my son every day, and I don't know if I will ever be able to regain my balance," she testified. "Carter loved Mexico. He spoke fluent Spanish and loved dancing, Mexican food and its people."
Authorities say the men were killed during an attempt to steal their pickup truck, which was later found burned near their bodies.
A protected witness testified Monday that they accompanied one of the defendants to the crime scene and fled after hearing gunshots, and were later threatened into silence.
The surfers' disappearances and deaths sparked widespread outrage and grief in Australia and the United States, prompting a major social media search for their bodies.
"We hold no resentment toward the people who did this, but we cannot understand how they could have taken the lives of two beautiful people," Martin Robinson told the court.
The trial is expected to run until the end of September. 
Rhoad's widow, Natalie, is scheduled to testify Wednesday.
str-ae-jt/nn/md/sla

travel

Travellers in UK face more chaos after air traffic control glitch

  • "We know this is hugely frustrating and apologise unreservedly," the organisation wrote on X.  The air traffic chaos follow a technical glitch in July last year that saw scores of flights to and from the UK cancelled, prompting anger from airline chiefs. 
  • UK travellers faced more misery on Wednesday with more than 150 flights scrapped across the country, as Britain's air traffic control service scrambled to recover from a technical glitch that sparked chaos.
  • "We know this is hugely frustrating and apologise unreservedly," the organisation wrote on X.  The air traffic chaos follow a technical glitch in July last year that saw scores of flights to and from the UK cancelled, prompting anger from airline chiefs. 
UK travellers faced more misery on Wednesday with more than 150 flights scrapped across the country, as Britain's air traffic control service scrambled to recover from a technical glitch that sparked chaos.
Aircraft tracking website FlightRadar24 said 177 flights scheduled for Wednesday had already been axed, following 1,300 cancellations to and from UK airports a day before. 
Nearly all the latest affected flights were at Britain's busiest airport Heathrow in London, FlightRadar24 wrote on X.
The National Air Traffic Services (NATS) said it was still working to resolve disruption following a "system issue".
"This has been a very complex recovery and has created difficulties for the whole aviation network, from which it will take time to recover," said NATS in an X post late Tuesday. 
UK news outlets reported that British Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander will meet NATS boss Martin Rolfe on Wednesday.
Rolfe told UK outlet Sky News he accepted "full responsibility" but declined to say if he was considering quitting his job.
Transport Secretary Alexander said earlier on X she was "seeking assurances that lessons will be learned and systems that support aviation are up to the job".
But Ryanair COO Neal McMahon repeated his calls for Rolfe to be fired, accusing him of having again "failed UK travellers".
"Enough is enough, it's time for the UK government to intervene... and put somebody in charge who can do the job."

'Knock-on impact'

Heathrow said late Tuesday that departures had resumed, after the "technical issue" forced the airport to suspend arrivals.
But it warned that "disruption is expected to continue", asking passengers in an X post to check with their airline before travelling to the airport.
British Airways also warned of a "significant knock-in impact" from the cancellations, which had affected tens of thousands of its customers.
NATS said earlier it had "resolved" the glitch that caused the disruption and was "working as hard as possible to clear the backlog of flights".
"We know this is hugely frustrating and apologise unreservedly," the organisation wrote on X. 
The air traffic chaos follow a technical glitch in July last year that saw scores of flights to and from the UK cancelled, prompting anger from airline chiefs. 
Britain suffered its worst air systems failure in years in 2023, with more than 700,000 passengers affected after hundreds of flights were delayed or cancelled.

'Absolute nightmare'

Healthcare worker Josie Donoghue said it was "an absolute nightmare" at Gatwick after leaving the airport, having had to disembark her flight to Ireland after three hours stuck on the runway.
"Getting through that airport was like trying to get out of Alcatraz," she told Britain's domestic Press Association news agency.
Liverpool, Birmingham and Edinburgh airports were also affected, while Dublin Aiport in Ireland said it had cancelled dozens of flights.
Irish no-frills carrier Ryanair said more than 65,000 of its passengers had been disrupted and it had cancelled more than 50 flights.
Arsenal, due to play Napoli in the Champions League Wednesday in the southern Italian city, were forced to cancel a news conference ahead of the match after the team's flight was delayed.
jj/pdw/cms/hmn

tariff

Trump bans Canadian alcohol in new trade war salvo

BY MATHIEU GORSE WITH MICHAEL MATHES IN WASHINGTON

  • The import ban, which targets various alcoholic beverages as well as some dairy products like whey, will come into effect on September 29, according to other executive orders issued at the same time.
  • US President Donald Trump on Tuesday escalated his trade war against Canada, banning imports of alcohol and various products and raising tariffs on others, with the conflict showing no sign of abating.
  • The import ban, which targets various alcoholic beverages as well as some dairy products like whey, will come into effect on September 29, according to other executive orders issued at the same time.
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday escalated his trade war against Canada, banning imports of alcohol and various products and raising tariffs on others, with the conflict showing no sign of abating.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stood firm, acknowledging that reducing economic ties with the United States would come at a cost but saying the benefits would outweigh the pain.
A range of Canadian products, from mattresses to motorboats and golf carts, will be subject to a 50-percent surcharge beginning September 15, according to Trump's executive order issued late Tuesday.
The import ban, which targets various alcoholic beverages as well as some dairy products like whey, will come into effect on September 29, according to other executive orders issued at the same time.
Canada's retaliatory tariffs came into effect earlier Tuesday, applying to $27.6 billion (US$20 billion) in US imports, including steel and aluminum products and dairy goods such as cheese, in response to duties announced by Washington on August 22.
Canada has "everything we need to pivot and prosper," Carney said in a video address.
"That pivot will come at a cost. There's always a cost to action. But it doesn't come close to the cost of standing still."
- 'Discriminatory treatment' - 
Responding to the latest Canadian levies, Trump pledged to restrict Canadian companies from securing US government contracts.
In a social media post earlier Tuesday, Trump said he was directing officials "to REMOVE Canadian-origin products from GSA's Multiple Award Schedules," referring to a General Services Administration program for long-term contracts.
Contracts through such schedules account for more than $50 billion a year, Trump added.
On Monday, Trump threatened to try to block sales of Canada's Bombardier Aviation unless the Quebec-based plane maker moves manufacturing to the United States.
In response, the aerospace company pointed to its creation of tens of thousands of jobs across the United States, with direct employment in more than 20 states, including Kansas, Texas, Arizona, and California.
The two Republican senators representing Kansas said they had conveyed their concerns to the White House.
"I'm going to fight to keep Bombardier's more than 1,200 Kansas jobs. I've already taken that concern inside the Oval Office," Senator Roger Marshall posted on X, with similar comments posted by Senator Jerry Moran.
US tariffs pose a modestly negative risk to Canada's overall economy, but analysts note that they have a sharper impact on central Canada's manufacturing sector.

'Lake America'

"I don't believe in escalating the conflict. That's not constructive," Carney said in his video statement Tuesday. "But our tariffs are necessary to protect our workers, protect our companies, and protect our communities.
"This is about who we are as Canadians."
Reacting to Trump's move, Canada's minister in charge of trade with the United States, Dominic LeBlanc, said late Tuesday that Ottawa was "assessing the latest tariff measures."
Negotiations between the two sides broke down on August 21 after days of meetings in Washington.
At the time, Carney said US negotiators had introduced restrictions on Canadian trade deals with other countries at the eleventh hour, as well as unacceptable "threats" to the French language and "Quebec culture." Ottawa and Washington have not resumed talks since.
On Sunday, Trump posted an illustration of himself towering over Carney as they played ice hockey, with Trump saying, "Get up, governor," a reference to his determination to turn Canada into another US state.
Trump also signed an order in August to rename Lake Ontario, on the border with Canada, as "Lake America," sparking fury in Canada amid a broader wave of patriotism triggered by the US president's hostility.
Although Carney is backed by Canadian public opinion, his country remains reliant on its neighbor. Nearly 60 percent of Canada's imports come from the United States, and about 70 percent of its exports go to the US market.
To help businesses and workers, Canada's government has unveiled an aid package worth $7.5 billion ($5.4 billion).
mg-bys/bs/md/sla

travel

UK airports face more disruption after air traffic control glitch

  • Nearly all the flights cancelled on Wednesday were at Britain's busiest airport Heathrow in London, FlightRadar24 wrote on X. The National Air Traffic Services (NATS) said late Tuesday it was still working to resolve disruption following a "system issue".
  • UK travellers faced more misery on Wednesday with more than 150 flights scrapped across the country, as Britain's air traffic control service scrambled to rescover from a technical glitch that sparked chaos.
  • Nearly all the flights cancelled on Wednesday were at Britain's busiest airport Heathrow in London, FlightRadar24 wrote on X. The National Air Traffic Services (NATS) said late Tuesday it was still working to resolve disruption following a "system issue".
UK travellers faced more misery on Wednesday with more than 150 flights scrapped across the country, as Britain's air traffic control service scrambled to rescover from a technical glitch that sparked chaos.
Aircraft tracking website FlightRadar24 said 177 flights scheduled for Wednesday had already been axed, following 1,300 cancellations to and from UK airports on Tuesday.
Nearly all the flights cancelled on Wednesday were at Britain's busiest airport Heathrow in London, FlightRadar24 wrote on X.
The National Air Traffic Services (NATS) said late Tuesday it was still working to resolve disruption following a "system issue".
"Work is continuing to assist airlines and airports recover from today's disruption," NATS posted on X.
"This has been a very complex recovery and has created difficulties for the whole aviation network, from which it will take time to recover."
Heathrow said late Tuesday that departures had resumed, after the "technical issue" forced the airport to suspend arrivals on Tuesday.
But it warned that "disruption is expected to continue", asking passengers in an X post to check with their airline before travelling to the airport.
NATS said earlier it had "resolved" the glitch that caused the disruption and was "working as hard as possible to clear the backlog of flights".
"We know this is hugely frustrating and apologise unreservedly," the organisation wrote on X. 
Tuesday's chaos follow a technical glitch in July last year that saw scores of flights to and from the UK cancelled, prompting anger from airline chiefs. 
Britain saw its worst air systems failure in years in 2023, with more than 700,000 passengers affected after hundreds of flights were delayed or cancelled.

'Absolute nightmare'

Heathrow in west London and Gatwick to the south of the UK capital confirmed they were affected.
"It's just an absolute nightmare down there," healthcare worker Josie Donoghue said of Gatwick after leaving the airport, having had to disembark her flight to Ireland after three hours stuck on the runway.
"Getting through that airport was like trying to get out of Alcatraz," she told Britain's domestic Press Association news agency.
Liverpool, Birmingham and Edinburgh airports were also affected, while Dublin Aiport in Ireland said it had cancelled dozens of flights.
British Airways said it was forced to cancel or divert more than 100 flights, impacting tens of thousands of its customers.
Irish no-frills carrier Ryanair said more than 65,000 of its passengers had been disrupted and it had cancelled more than 50 flights.
Arsenal, due to play Napoli in the Champions League Wednesday in the southern Italian city, were forced to cancel a news conference ahead of the match after the team's flight was delayed.
British Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said on X she was "seeking assurances that lessons will be learned and systems that support aviation are up to the job".
But Ryanair COO Neal McMahon repeated his calls for NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe to be fired, accusing him of having again "failed UK travellers".
"Enough is enough, it's time for the UK government to intervene... and put somebody in charge who can do the job."
jj/pdw/cms/abs

funeral

Norway bids farewell to King Harald V, 'grandfather' of the nation

BY PIERRE-HENRY DESHAYES

  • Norway's royal family, led by new King Haakon VIII, foreign royals, heads of state and dignitaries will take part in the procession on foot.
  • Norway bids farewell on Wednesday to King Harald V, a modern and unifying figure whose end of reign was tarnished by scandals, in a funeral attended by European royals and foreign dignitaries.
  • Norway's royal family, led by new King Haakon VIII, foreign royals, heads of state and dignitaries will take part in the procession on foot.
Norway bids farewell on Wednesday to King Harald V, a modern and unifying figure whose end of reign was tarnished by scandals, in a funeral attended by European royals and foreign dignitaries.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Britain's Prince William, Spain's royal couple, the presidents of Finland, Germany and the Czech Republic as well as the French and Thai prime ministers were among those due in Oslo to pay their respects to the 89-year-old monarch who died on August 28.
A funeral procession will leave the royal palace at 12:00 pm (1000 GMT).
The casket will be carried on an artillery carriage along the city's main avenue to Oslo's Lutheran cathedral, where the ceremony will begin at 1:00 pm with a minute of silence observed throughout the country.
Norway's royal family, led by new King Haakon VIII, foreign royals, heads of state and dignitaries will take part in the procession on foot.
Only Harald's widow, 89-year-old Queen Sonja, and the new Queen Mette-Marit, who underwent a lung transplant in June, will follow in a car.
Marius Borg Hoiby, Mette-Marit's son from a previous relationship who is under house arrest pending the appeal of a rape and assault conviction, has been granted permission to attend the funeral.
Among other guests announced are Japan's Crown Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko, the Scandinavian royal families, the Belgian and Dutch royal couples, Prince Albert of Monaco and Jordan's King Abdullah II.

High security

At the end of the religious service, four F-35 fighter jets will fly over the cathedral in a "missing man" formation, as the casket is taken to the Akershus Castle chapel.
There it will be lowered into the crypt of the royal mausoleum, next to Harald's parents and grandparents.
He will be laid to rest in a $2 million sarcophagus whose design remains secret.
Once the burial is completed, flags across the country, which were lowered to half-mast after Harald's death, will once again be raised and church bells will ring for an hour.
Norway's police force has mobilised nearly 3,000 officers in what it has described as "one of the biggest operations" in its history.
Some 3,500 soldiers have also been deployed, while exceptional airspace restrictions have been imposed over much of the eastern part of the country.
Until his death, Harald, who ascended the throne in 1991, was the oldest reigning monarch in Europe.
Despite mounting health woes in his later years, he had always ruled out abdicating, and was extremely popular among his fellow Norwegians.
Embodying an open and tolerant Norway, he made a deep impression by celebrating diversity in a 2016 speech marking the 25th anniversary of his reign.
"Norwegians are girls who love girls, boys who love boys, and girls and boys who love each other," he said, adding: "Norwegians believe in God, Allah, the Universe and nothing."

Reinvigorated monarchy

Thousands of Norwegians have filed past the king's casket in the past week, some waiting in line for hours.
The square in front of the palace has been covered with flowers, drawings and candles. 
"He was the grandfather of the nation," said Gunn Johnsen, 81, speaking to AFP on Tuesday, explaining that she took an hour-long train ride to pay her last respects. 
"Generous, inclusive, kind," added her friend Vigdis Simonsen, 64.
Near the University of Oslo, a large billboard displayed a photo of a smiling Harald with the inscription "Thank you for everything".
Almost three out of four Norwegians, 72 percent, said they support the monarchy, up by eight percentage points from a previous survey in May, in an opinion poll conducted after the king's death and published last week.
Support had dropped to its lowest level in February, when 60 percent said they were in favour of maintaining the monarchy while 27 percent were not.
At the time, the royal family was embroiled in a series of scandals that damaged its image. 
Mette-Marit in particular was under heavy criticism for her past ties to the late convicted American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and her son's legal troubles.
While Haakon VIII, 53, is very popular, opinions on the new queen, also 53, remain deeply divided.
phy/po/pdw/ach/abs

drones

Pakistan police counter drone attacks with Ukraine-style nets

BY LEHAZ ALI AND AHMED AWAN

  • In some frontline Ukrainian cities, nets are hung high and wide across long stretches of road, forming corridors like spiders' webs to thwart aerial attacks.
  • White nets stretch high across the front of brick buildings in Pakistan's northern border region, a tactic borrowed from the Ukrainian battlefield to protect police against the latest militant threat -- drones.
  • In some frontline Ukrainian cities, nets are hung high and wide across long stretches of road, forming corridors like spiders' webs to thwart aerial attacks.
White nets stretch high across the front of brick buildings in Pakistan's northern border region, a tactic borrowed from the Ukrainian battlefield to protect police against the latest militant threat -- drones.
Resembling fishing nets, the mesh lacks the sophistication of other military hardware.
Their use shows how lessons from the war in Ukraine are reverberating on distant fronts such as Pakistan, where security forces are improvising new defences against Islamist insurgents armed with the cheap, easily obtainable devices.
"These drones are easily available in markets, and with a bit of modification a kit for dropping shells can be installed. So it is quite easy and everyone has access to them," Khyber District police officer Waqar Ahmad told AFP.
"We have started installing these... nets to protect our personnel from aerial attacks and to reduce the risk of attacks involving drones."
Made from extra-durable thread, the bespoke, reinforced nets can scupper attacks by entangling enemy drones or by catching munitions, like mortars or grenades, high above the compounds so that they cause less damage if they explode.
They are suspended several metres (feet) above the ground, between the top of the front of buildings and roadside concrete walls, forming a protective canopy.
In some frontline Ukrainian cities, nets are hung high and wide across long stretches of road, forming corridors like spiders' webs to thwart aerial attacks.
Draped over the facade of several police premises in the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), which borders Afghanistan, the nets are a new line of defence alongside concrete blocks and other barriers.
KP is experiencing a growing insurgency by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), with dozens of police killed in attacks on checkpoints this year.
Police are playing catch-up against the militant group, which has deployed drones extensively in attacks since 2024.
About 30 percent of police stations still lack their own devices, a senior officer in the provincial capital Peshawar told AFP.
Drones are readily available at specialised electronics shops across the province, with AFP finding them in around a dozen such stores in shopping malls in Peshawar alone.
They have become a vital part of the TTP's attack toolkit, used not only to strike targets but also for surveillance.
Another senior officer from KP said the militants use drones to monitor "every movement" of their operations, "which creates serious difficulties for us in countering them".
The TTP says they have also turned to drones as an alternative to suicide bombers.
"A suicide attacker could only reach the gate, whereas a quadcopter can penetrate inside military and police compounds," a TTP commander, who did not give his name, told AFP, referring to a drone propelled by four rotors.
The group has "thousands" of drones, he added.

'Significant damage'

Police are also racing to harness the technology, putting on training courses and stocking up on the machines and counter-drone devices such as handheld jammers.
Last month, KP police's UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) Division held the force's first-ever drone course, with 52 participants.
For Muhammad Aamir, a policeman posted at a checkpoint along a road in the province, the nets, alongside boundary walls, have "considerably" reduced the risk of drone attacks and hand grenades being lobbed at the building.
"These incidents caused significant damage and casualties among the police and other security forces. However, the situation has improved now," the 38-year-old told AFP.
But with attacks continuing to claim lives, locals say police need to do more to protect them.
"We want some peace and security in this area. Either the police post should be removed from this location, or the authorities should eliminate the threat posed by the Taliban from this area," said 48-year-old corn seller Gul Haleem.
bur-grk/je/mjw/ane

conflict

Russia torments Kyiv with new 'horror' jet drones

BY ANIA TSOUKANOVA

  • Experts say they are fitted with Chinese-made aircraft-style mini jet engines, and can fly five kilometres in the air at a speed of 400-600 kilometres (250-370 miles) per hour -- up to three times the rate of the previous versions, which were based on Iran's Shahed drones.
  • Flying several kilometres in the air and close to the speed of a commercial plane, Moscow's new long-range jet-powered drones are causing havoc for Kyiv's stretched air defences.
  • Experts say they are fitted with Chinese-made aircraft-style mini jet engines, and can fly five kilometres in the air at a speed of 400-600 kilometres (250-370 miles) per hour -- up to three times the rate of the previous versions, which were based on Iran's Shahed drones.
Flying several kilometres in the air and close to the speed of a commercial plane, Moscow's new long-range jet-powered drones are causing havoc for Kyiv's stretched air defences.
Moscow has been launching waves of the attack drones at the Ukrainian capital in recent weeks, paralysing the city with near constant air alerts.
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday slammed the "horror that's been happening in the sky these past few days" as a new tactic by Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and vowed a response.
The new drones pose a challenge to Ukraine's relatively effective and low-cost anti-drone defence shield, built hastily after Russia's 2022 invasion.
Ukraine has quickly become a world leader in drone defence and has struck deals with several Western and Middle Eastern countries to share technology.
But its vaunted network of drone interceptors -- which had been shooting down the vast majority of more conventional drones, built with internal combustion engines and propellers -- has had a harder task against the new jet-powered devices.
Experts say they are fitted with Chinese-made aircraft-style mini jet engines, and can fly five kilometres in the air at a speed of 400-600 kilometres (250-370 miles) per hour -- up to three times the rate of the previous versions, which were based on Iran's Shahed drones.
The latest model can carry up to 90 kilogrammes of explosives, nearly double the payload of earlier versions, and is much bulkier -- six metres long with a 5.5-metre wingspan.
That altitude and speed puts them out of range for Ukraine's current fleet of interceptors and "wipe out the progress we had made in the fight", Ukrainian military expert Sergiy Zgurets told AFP.
In terms of air defence, analysts say the new drones more closely resemble a cruise missile than a conventional drone.
It is estimated that Russia fired 2,800 of the jet-powered drones in August, up from 1,500 in July and just a few hundred in June.
A Ukrainian air force spokesman said around 60 percent of them are destroyed, compared to more than 90 percent of the slower-moving lower-flying drones.

City at standstill

The new attacks come with Kyiv already strained by a sharp increase in Russian ballistic missile strikes, which have killed dozens since the start of the summer.
On Friday, a jet-powered drone struck the headquarters of Ukraine's security services in the historic centre of Kyiv, a highly symbolic hit carried out in broad daylight.
Ukraine accused Russia of using the strike to disrupt the weekend visit of US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to both Moscow and Kyiv to try to revive stalled peace talks.
The wave of attacks has brought Kyiv to a near-standstill at times, with up to a dozen air alerts ringing out every day.
During alerts, many businesses and institutions close and the metro service is restricted, causing gridlock on the roads and people to gather outside on the street.
Many schools, which returned from summer break last week, have announced a switch to remote learning.
The situation has disrupted social and economic life to such an extent that the authorities announced a rare relaxation of security protocols to allow the city of some three million people to keep functioning.

Six-month wait

Kyiv officials have been criticised for failing to anticipate the threat.
Analysts say Russia started producing jet-powered drones 18 months ago, and can now churn out some 3,000 a month.
Moscow "has a window of opportunity with these jet drones", said Ukrainian blogger Nikolaevsky Vaniok, who is close to the country's air defence community and followed by more than 2.6 million on Telegram.
Faced with the threat, Zelensky convened his military cabinet last week to speed up the production of faster interceptor drones.
Prototypes exist and work is under way "to bring this new weapon up to the required level of efficiency", he said.
One major Ukrainian arms company that makes interceptors for conventional drones told AFP they were "actively working on a solution".
Zgurets, the head of the Defense Express analysis centre, said Ukraine needed a more complex response than just better interceptors.
A fuller response would combine aviation, surface-to-air systems, electronic warfare and more strikes against launch and production sites inside Russia, he said.
"The Russians have gained an edge in this technological cycle," he said, warning it could take "up to six months" for Ukraine to develop effective countermeasures.
ant/blb/jc/cad/rlp/abs

children

Rein in social media not children, say over 130 groups, experts

BY RAZIYE AKKOC

  • Estonia's digital minister echoed the groups' sentiments on the potential ban, telling AFP that social media platforms should be the ones to change.
  • The European Union should force tech giants to make social media safe before children use them instead of banning minors from their platforms, over 130 groups and experts urged in a letter shared with AFP Tuesday.
  • Estonia's digital minister echoed the groups' sentiments on the potential ban, telling AFP that social media platforms should be the ones to change.
The European Union should force tech giants to make social media safe before children use them instead of banning minors from their platforms, over 130 groups and experts urged in a letter shared with AFP Tuesday.
Their call came just a week before EU chief Ursula von der Leyen was to outline how the bloc intends to better protect children online from dangerous content and addictive apps.
She is expected to announce an age limit but officials have been tight-lipped on the details, and whether the ban will be restricted to social media or include other platforms like gaming apps.
Von der Leyen indicated in July she supported giving children gradual access to social media and ensuring platforms had safety features on by default.
Now in a letter sent to von der Leyen, 132 children's rights, digital rights and mental health organisations and experts urged against moves like blanket bans that offload "the burden of safety onto parents or children".
The signatories, including 5Rights Foundation, an advocacy group for children's online rights, Amnesty International and Center for Countering Digital Hate among dozens of others, called for a Europe-wide framework for digital safety.
The EU's approach should focus on the safety of the technology children use -- including through enforcement of the bloc's Digital Services Act -- instead of denying minors access to platforms, they argued.
"It must ensure that proportionate age restrictions go hand-in-hand with robust safety measures so that digital environments both protect and empower children, by design and default," they wrote.

Social media safety calls

The signatories recommended the EU define minimum standards and conditions for digital products and services "to be deemed safe" for age groups up to 18, with age-based limits on high-risk features.
"Europeans have had enough of tech companies exploiting our children, but we also expect more from our leaders than quick-fix bans on kids," said Leanda Barrington-Leach, executive director of 5Rights Foundation.
"Children need and deserve safe, age-appropriate digital services. The EU has the power to set a bar and require tech companies to prove they meet it before accessing children," she added.
Von der Leyen is under pressure from all sides. 
Estonia's digital minister echoed the groups' sentiments on the potential ban, telling AFP that social media platforms should be the ones to change.
But French President Emmanuel Macron called for "European" rules banning social media for under-15s in a letter to von der Leyen seen by AFP Monday.
Macron has tried to do the same in France but the country's top court struck down the proposed law on freedom of expression grounds in August.
Von der Leyen is weighing up limits on under-13s or under-15s, officials say, ahead of her State of the European Union annual speech on September 16.
raz/ec/rlp

AI

OpenAI says AI solved one of math's hardest problems in days

BY ALEX PIGMAN

  • OpenAI's researchers denied having had any access to the rival team's work and said they proposed sharing credit before realizing that Buckmaster and Alpoge had fallen short of solving the problem.
  • OpenAI said Tuesday that one of its unreleased artificial intelligence models had solved a mathematical puzzle that has eluded mathematicians for generations, in a claim which also drew a fight with rival researchers over credit.
  • OpenAI's researchers denied having had any access to the rival team's work and said they proposed sharing credit before realizing that Buckmaster and Alpoge had fallen short of solving the problem.
OpenAI said Tuesday that one of its unreleased artificial intelligence models had solved a mathematical puzzle that has eluded mathematicians for generations, in a claim which also drew a fight with rival researchers over credit.
Researchers at OpenAI said it took just days -- and millions of dollars in computing power -- to crack what is known as the Navier-Stokes problem.
Navier-Stokes is one of the seven Millennium Prize Problems, a list of the hardest open questions in mathematics drawn up by the Clay Mathematics Institute.
It concerns the equations describing how fluids such as air and water move, which are used in aircraft design, weather forecasting and the study of blood flow.
OpenAI said its work showed that these equations can break down over time, answering the question as set out by the Millennium Prize.
"This is a significant milestone for AI research, and its promise for the world is that even more of our hardest questions would become possible to answer," Mark Chen, OpenAI's chief research officer, told reporters.
Each Millennium Prize Problem carries a $1 million reward, and only one has been solved since the list was published in 2000. OpenAI says it will not claim money if its finding is confirmed.
According to the prize rules, a solution has to be published in a peer-reviewed journal and survive two years after gaining acceptance in the mathematical community before the institute will even convene a committee to consider the work.
"The process of evaluation is deliberately unhurried, and we shall ensure that it is absolutely rigorous," Professor Martin Bridson, President of the Clay Mathematics Institute, told AFP. 
ChatGPT-style AI is revolutionizing the world of high-level math by quickly solving famous, long-unsolved problems that stumped experts for decades.
But it has also sparked debate over whether machine-generated answers truly count as real human understanding.

'Millions of dollars'

In a blog post describing the breakthrough, OpenAI said it began training a new model in late August, more capable than anything it had released publicly.
Days later, seeing online rumors that a competitor had solved Millennium problems, OpenAI turned the system loose on all six that remain open.
Work on Navier-Stokes showed unexpected promise, and the company poured its computing power into it.
By the final stage, OpenAI researcher Sebastien Bubeck said, 10,000 AI agents -- programs that operate on their own -- were working on the problem at once, passing messages back and forth.
Chen said the computing costs ran "emphatically in the millions of dollars," with Bubeck adding this was roughly 1,000 times what the company spent on earlier mathematical results.
According to OpenAI's account, the agents reached a solution Saturday, about 88 hours after launching the project.
The claim arrived hours after Tristan Buckmaster, a mathematician at New York University, and Levent Alpoge, who works at OpenAI competitor Anthropic, released their own AI-assisted work on three related equations.
In a statement published alongside his papers, Buckmaster said OpenAI had taken up the problem only after word of his research spread, and pursued the same unusual approach he and Alpoge had spent months developing.
OpenAI's researchers denied having had any access to the rival team's work and said they proposed sharing credit before realizing that Buckmaster and Alpoge had fallen short of solving the problem.
"To be clear, we did not use their prompts or proofs to prompt our models or direct our agents," Bubeck said.
However, in a later post on X, OpenAI said "while unlikely, we cannot rule out that de-identified data derived from their usage of our products helped improve our models."
arp-tu/md

television

'South Park' changes name in dig at Trump

  • "Inspired by the bravery and patriotism of Apple and Google, we are changing the name of South Park to SOUTH AMERICA," said the show's official X account.
  • Animated satire "South Park" said Tuesday it was changing its name to "South America," in an apparent dig at US President Donald Trump's bid to rename swathes of the world.
  • "Inspired by the bravery and patriotism of Apple and Google, we are changing the name of South Park to SOUTH AMERICA," said the show's official X account.
Animated satire "South Park" said Tuesday it was changing its name to "South America," in an apparent dig at US President Donald Trump's bid to rename swathes of the world.
The announcement from the Emmy Award-winning show comes after Trump's recent efforts to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America and the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.
Following the order by Trump, who has also mused about changing the US state of New Mexico to New America, both Apple and Google altered the way the bodies of water are labelled for US users of their maps -- something show creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone took aim at.
"Inspired by the bravery and patriotism of Apple and Google, we are changing the name of South Park to SOUTH AMERICA," said the show's official X account.
The pair also took a shot at Paramount, which is now owned by David Ellison's Skydance Corporation, despite the reported $1.5 billion deal they signed last year.
"We especially want to thank our parent company Paramount -- a Skydance Capitulation," the account wrote.
The show customarily known as "South Park" is set in small-town America and known for crude language and lampooning hot-button social issues. 
Since Trump's return to the White House, it has mercilessly poked fun at him and routinely depicts him as being in a loveless marriage with Satan, while a toady JD Vance plots to evict the devil from the matrimonial bed.
hg/msp

protest

Gambian leader vows power boost after violent blackout protests

  • The demonstrations mark a sharp escalation from earlier power protests and come just months before December elections, in which Barrow is running for a third term.
  • Gambian President Adama Barrow on Tuesday pledged to boost power supplies by next month after violent protests over blackouts that have dogged the west African country since June.
  • The demonstrations mark a sharp escalation from earlier power protests and come just months before December elections, in which Barrow is running for a third term.
Gambian President Adama Barrow on Tuesday pledged to boost power supplies by next month after violent protests over blackouts that have dogged the west African country since June.
The rolling power outages, which are occurring during the country's hot season, have lasted up to 48 hours in some areas.
Demonstrators in Banjul, and other nearby cities protested overnight Monday to Tuesday, setting fires and blocking traffic while chanting "Barrow must go!"
In the Westfield district on the outskirts of the capital, police used tear gas as crowds headed towards the headquarters of The Gambia's energy provider, the National Water and Electricity Corporation (NAWEC). 
Barrow called the outages "a national security issue" and "an emergency" Tuesday, while declaring that it was "time for action", as he visited the NAWEC power station in the city of Brikama, near the capital.
In an address on Tuesday evening, he said: "I know that the fans have stopped turning, children work in the dark, mothers throw away stale food, and the heat is unbearable by day and by night.
"The government is in the final stage of installing an additional 24-megawatt generation machine...  This will be commissioned by the end of October 2026. For a system of our size, this is considerable power, enough to make a big difference in your homes," he said.
"The contract for a 50-megawatt solar power plant in Soma has also been awarded, and the contracted company is now mobilising the necessary resources to begin work soon," he said.
"We commit that the electricity supply situation in the country will improve by the end of October".
The demonstrations mark a sharp escalation from earlier power protests and come just months before December elections, in which Barrow is running for a third term.
NAWEC in mid-August said the blackouts were due to surges in demand, mainly because of high temperatures, combined with "constraints on electricity imports".
On Tuesday, Gallo Saidy, NAWEC managing director, said the problems were due in part to climate change and war in the Middle East, while appealing to Gambians for patience.
He cancelled his attendance at a road inauguration Tuesday to visit the NAWEC facility at Brikama and also Kotu, two of the areas hardest hit by both outages and protests.
Information Minister Ismaila Ceesay said in a statement that The Gambia was "treating the situation with the seriousness and utmost urgency it deserves, and we want to assure every Gambian that we are working relentlessly".
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death

Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader Tung Chee-hwa dies aged 89

BY CATHERINE LAI

  • - Rocky tenure - In 1985, Tung joined a committee to aid in the writing of the Basic Law, Hong Kong's mini-constitution that has governed the former British colony since it was handed over to China in 1997. 
  • Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader Tung Chee-hwa has died aged 89, his office said Wednesday.
  • - Rocky tenure - In 1985, Tung joined a committee to aid in the writing of the Basic Law, Hong Kong's mini-constitution that has governed the former British colony since it was handed over to China in 1997. 
Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader Tung Chee-hwa has died aged 89, his office said Wednesday.
The former shipping tycoon was hand-picked by Beijing to run the former British colony after its return to Chinese rule in 1997, but had a rocky tenure until he stepped down in 2005.
Tung "passed away peacefully in the presence of his beloved family members" on Tuesday, a statement from his office said.
"Mr. Tung dedicated his life with an unwavering commitment to the service of the Nation and the Hong Kong SAR. His contributions with integrity, compassion, and dignity will be well remembered," it said.
Known to be a Liverpool football fan with a distinctive grey crew-cut, Tung was born in Shanghai on May 29, 1937, into one of China's richest shipping dynasties. 
His family moved to Hong Kong in 1947, according to his biography on a government site. 
He graduated from the University of Liverpool with a degree in marine engineering in 1960 and worked in the United States before returning to Hong Kong to join the family business in 1969.

Rocky tenure

In 1985, Tung joined a committee to aid in the writing of the Basic Law, Hong Kong's mini-constitution that has governed the former British colony since it was handed over to China in 1997. 
As a public servant, Tung quietly worked his way through the political machines on both sides of the border, sitting on Beijing's political advisory body and Hong Kong's cabinet.
Widely believed to have been thrown reluctantly into the lion's den of leadership because of his close links to Beijing, Tung had a tumultuous eight-year tenure as the city's leader, blighted by policy blunders and unease over China's interference. 
The first years of his leadership coincided with the Asian financial crisis, record unemployment and a crash in the city's property market which hit many ordinary citizens hard.
A major hurdle for his administration came in July 2003 when 500,000 people protested against restrictive anti-subversion laws proposed by China. 
The government was forced to shelve the bill but the July 1 marches to mark the handover anniversary became an annual fixture until 2020.
Protests again swelled in 2004 as residents rallied for democracy.
His tenure reached its nadir in December 2004 when he and his cabinet were given a public dressing-down by China's then-president Hu Jintao for poor performance. 
He quit the helm with two years left of his second term in 2005, blaming poor health, and was replaced by his deputy, chief secretary Donald Tsang.
After stepping down, he served as vice chairman of China's top political advisory body.
In recent years, Tung remained largely out of the public eye, with local media noting his absence from the July 1 handover anniversary flag-raising ceremonies.
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