Author: News Desk

United States: OpenAI and Microsoft, are being sued by another US Center for Investigative Reporting for alleged copyright infringement. In a “rebuke to artificial intelligence and its exploitative practices,” the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR), the publisher of Mother Jones and Reveal, announced on Thursday that it had filed a lawsuit against the tech companies for allegedly copying its content without authorisation. “OpenAI and Microsoft started vacuuming up our stories to make their product more powerful, but they never asked for permission or offered compensation, unlike other organisations that license our material,” Monika Bauerlein, CEO of the Center for Investigative…

London: Famous Indian author and activist Suzanna Arundhati Roy has been awarded this year’s PEN Pinter Prize. Established in memory of playwright Harold Pinter, the award honours writers of “outstanding literary merit” who provide an “unflinching” look at the world. Arundhati Roy is best known for her novel “The God of Small Things,” which won the Booker Prize in 1997. Roy has written extensively on human rights issues in India, as well as war and capitalism globally. English PEN chair Ruth Borthwick praised Roy for her ability to tell, “urgent stories of injustice with wit and beauty.” “While India remains…

United States: American actor Bill Cobbs has passed away at the age of 90. He was best known for his roles as security guard Reggie in the 2006 film “Night at the Museum” and as Bill Devaney, Whitney Houston’s manager, in the 1992 film “The Bodyguard.” 2014 saw the release of Secret Of The Tomb, the sequel to the former in which he also appeared. Cobbs is also noted for his turns as Dr. Elton Lloyd in Sunshine State, Moses the Clock Man in The Hudsucker Proxy, and Arthur Chaney in Air Bud. He appeared on Sesame Street, The West…

Glastonbury, England: Thousands of fans have begun arriving at Worthy Farm in southwest England for the Glastonbury music festival. This year’s festival features hundreds of artists, including Dua Lipa, Coldplay, and Shania Twain, set to entertain the audience over the five-day festival. Tickets for Glastonbury are tough to get, often selling out within minutes, even before the line-up is revealed. The festival will conclude on Sunday with R&B singer SZA performing hits like “Kill Bill” and “The Weekend” on the main Pyramid stage. The line-up for this year also includes Afrobeats sensation Burna Boy, rapper Little Simz, American electro-rock group…

United States: South Africa has won by nine wickets with over 11 overs to spare, crushing Afghanistan’s T20 World Cup hopes. This victory secured South Africa’s spot in the final of the cricket tournament for the first time. South Africa struck early, taking eight wickets in the opening ten overs of the innings and bowling Afghanistan out for just 56. Marco Jansen, with figures of 3/16 from three overs, Kagiso Rabada, who took 2/14 from three, and Anrich Nortje, who secured 2/7 in three overs, led South Africa’s stellar performance. Tabraiz Shamsi wrapped up the innings, claiming 3/16 in just…

Palestine: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has raised concerns about a high risk of famine across the entire Gaza Strip. This is due to ongoing conflict and limited large-scale humanitarian access, according to a new report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) global initiative. “We have observed high risk of famine over the last eight months due to relentless hostilities characterized by bombardment and ground operations as well as limited access to those in need of urgent humanitarian aid which have had severe impacts on the entire population of Gaza”, stated FAO Chief…

Vienna, Austria: The annual World Drug Report, published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), has warned of an increase in synthetic drug overuse deaths worldwide. The Opium ban by the Taliban in Afghanistan, a major global narcotic supplier, had led heroin users to use alternate synthetic opioids. The cultivation of opium, from which heroin is made, fell by 95 percent in Afghanistan last year after the Taliban banned the production of narcotics in 2022. Even though opium production in Myanmar increased by 36 percent, its global production still dropped by 75 percent, according to the U.N.…

Iceland: The volcanoes on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula are becoming active again with increased intensity after nearly 800 years of dormancy. Since 2021, there have been eight eruptions, and recent studies indicate that the increase in volcanic activity is likely caused by a shallow magma pool that is only 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) wide and 9–12 kilometres below the surface. Researchers assert that the magma pool might sustain similarly-sized volcanic eruptions in the area for years or possibly decades more, hence warning authorities about this magma source is essential to the continued safety of local populations. The majority of Iceland’s population…

Russia: The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov for alleged international crimes, including war crimes and crimes against humanity. The two are accused of two war crimes, according to the court, which are targeting civilian targets and intentionally causing significant incidental harm or damage to civilian property. They are charged with crimes against humanity as well. On the same day, Kyiv won its first interstate hearing against Moscow over the peninsula, which could lead to additional cases of this kind. Europe’s top court…

South Korea: South Korea has reported that North Korea might have launched a hypersonic missile towards its east coast. The joint chief of staff of South Korea reported that the launch on Wednesday morning came from Pyongyang and seemed to fail before splashing down in the ocean. At first, the nation believed that North Korea had fired a ballistic missile. According to Japan’s defence ministry, the missile travelled approximately 200 kilometres (124 miles). It reached an altitude of over 100 kilometres (62 miles) before crashing outside of the nation’s exclusive economic zone, which is a section of the sea over…