Author: News Desk

Ecuador: The defense team of ex-Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas celebrates a ruling that deems his arrest within Mexico’s embassy in Quito unlawful. Nevertheless, attorney Sonia Vera Garcia promised on Friday to file an appeal against the decision, which maintained her client’s incarceration. The decision was made in response to a writ of habeas corpus filed earlier this week on behalf of the former vice president by Francisco Hidalgo, a member of Glas’s left-wing political party, Citizen Revolution, who claimed he had been wrongfully jailed. There have been continuous international tensions surrounding Glas’s arrest. On April 5, a top diplomat…

United Kingdom: Several nations, including France, India, Russia, Poland, and the United Kingdom, have advised their citizens not to travel to Israel, the occupied Palestinian territories, and, in certain cases, the wider region amid fears of an Iranian attack following a strike on its consulate in Damascus this month. Fearing an uptick in bloodshed in the Middle East, Iran has promised retaliation against Israel for the April 1 bombing in the Syrian capital that claimed the lives of seven members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including two generals. Travellers visiting Iran, Lebanon, Israel, and the Palestinian territories are warned…

Dubai: The VAP Group is gearing up to present the Global AI Show, an event anticipated to be the largest artificial intelligence exhibition to date, on April 16-17, 2024, at the Grand Hyatt, Dubai. This event promises to stretch across 12,000 sqm of exhibition space and will feature over 300 speakers, including the renowned humanoid robot, Sophia, developed by Hanson Robotics, serving as the official AI brand ambassador. The show aims to be a hub for knowledge exchange, showcasing the latest AI advancements through discussions, project exhibitions, and interactive sessions. It offers a unique platform for attendees to engage with…

United States: Governments around Latin America have united behind Mexico following the arrest of a controversial politician who had been given political refuge at the Mexican embassy in Quito by security forces in Ecuador. A few hours after the arrest of Ecuador’s former vice president, Jorge Glas, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela censured Ecuador severely, and Nicaragua followed suit, cutting diplomatic ties with Quito. At least one agent scaled the walls to free Glas during the late-night Friday event, which saw special troops encircling the Mexican embassy in Quito’s business area with a battering ram.…

United Kingdom: Storm Kathleen has caused dozens of flight cancellations in the UK due to severe winds and the country’s hottest day of the year so far. The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for wind, which resulted in the cancellation of almost 140 flights leaving and arriving at airports in the UK. Scotland’s rail and ferry networks have also been affected. In numerous areas, wind gusts above 70 mph (112 km/h) caused temperatures in eastern England to reach 21.4°C (70.5 F). The highest recorded gusts, reaching 101 mph, occurred atop Cairngorm, a peak located in the Scottish Highlands.…

United States: OpenAI has debuted a voice-cloning tool that it plans to maintain under strict supervision until security measures are put in place to prevent audio fakes intended to trick listeners. Based on a 15-second audio sample, a model named “Voice Engine” can virtually mimic someone’s voice, according to an OpenAI blog post that presents the findings of a tool’s small-scale test. “We recognize that generating speech that resembles people’s voices has serious risks, which are especially top of mind in an election year,” the San Francisco-based company said. “We are engaging with U.S. and international partners from across government,…

Senegal: The Constitutional Council of Senegal has affirmed Bassirou Diomaye Faye, the opposition candidate, as the winner of the presidential election. His induction as the nation’s fifth president is scheduled for April 2. The provisional results, which were revealed on Wednesday and were based on vote counts from all polling places, were approved by the highest court. In the postponed presidential election held last Sunday, Faye, an opponent of the status quo and a supporter of well-known opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, won more than 54 percent of the total votes. Amadou Ba, the governing coalition candidate and the choice of…

United Kingdom: A report warning that women, younger workers, and those on lower pay are most in danger from automation suggests that there might be a “jobs apocalypse” with the loss of around 8 million jobs in the United Kingdom due to artificial intelligence (AI). According to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), under a “worst-case scenario” for the adoption of new technologies over the next three to five years, entry-level, part-time, and administrative positions are most vulnerable to being replaced by AI. The think tank cautioned that as more businesses use generative AI technologies, which can read and…

United States: Visa and Mastercard have agreed an estimated $30 billion antitrust settlement to reduce credit and debit card costs for retailers in the US. Some of the savings will probably be transferred to customers in the form of cheaper pricing. If approved by the court, it would settle the majority of the claims in the countrywide lawsuit that started in 2005. Some opponents, though, think it might not go far enough. Businesses have long accused Visa and Mastercard of imposing excessive swipe or interchange fees on consumers using credit or debit cards and of preventing them from pointing customers…

United States: US scientists has asserted that they have reduced some of the health advantages of exercise to a tablet form. Although the new medication is still in its early phases of research and development, preliminary mouse studies suggest that it may activate a natural metabolic pathway that is often activated by physical activity. The medication, SLU-PP-332, appears to increase muscular function, endurance, and fitness in mice when given daily; the animals don’t appear to have to exercise any more than they already do. At the 2024 Spring meeting of the American Chemical Society, main investigator and Washington University scientist…