Kamala Harris to run AI taskforce

The US vice president will ask AI execs to evaluate the safety and fairness of their models

US Vice President Kamala Harris has been appointed to head a new artificial intelligence initiative in partnership with leading companies in the field, the White House announced in a press release on Thursday.

Harris and other senior officials in the administration of President Joe Biden will meet with the CEOs of Alphabet,

 » …

Mass shooting in Texas mall claims eight lives

The gunman was killed by an officer responding to an unrelated call, police say

A man opened fire at a shopping mall in Allen, Texas on Saturday afternoon, killing eight people and wounding seven, officials have reported. The shooter was shot dead by law enforcement.

The attack took place at Allen Premium Outlets mall,

 » …

Macron says he’s ready to be unpopular

Controversial pension reform is not a “luxury” but a long-overdue measure, the French president says

French President Emmanuel Macron has stood by his controversial pension reform in his first public remarks since pushing the measure through without the approval of lawmakers. He said the move, which has deepened ongoing unrest in the country,

 » …

Pacific nation expresses concern at China port deal

Samoa has cautioned that Beijing’s contract with Solomon Islands may “morph into something else”

The awarding of a contract to a Chinese state-owned company to redevelop a commercial port in the Solomon Islands’ capital, Honiara, may lead to deeper security tensions, the Prime Minister of Samoa Fiame Naomi Mata’afa has said.

The agreement struck between Beijing and Honiara will see the city’s international port and two domestic wharves upgraded as part of a $170-million project to be completed by the China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC).

 » …

UK war crimes probe launches with call for evidence

The investigation into extrajudicial killings by British troops in Afghanistan was announced last year

An independent inquiry into alleged illegal killings by the British military in Afghanistan officially opened with a call for evidence on Wednesday. Investigation chairman Lord Justice Haddon-Cave promised to “do everything in our power” to “get to the bottom” of the scandal.

 » …

Cost of Ukraine reconstruction estimated

The estimated cost of rebuilding and restoring Ukraine has surpassed the $400 billion mark, a fresh report suggests

Ukraine’s reconstruction and recovery bill has grown to $411 billion, according to a new assessment conducted jointly by the country’s government, the World Bank, the European Commission, and the UN.

According to the evaluation,

 » …

IDF ran illegal Gaza psyop – Haaretz

Israel’s military has admitted it made a ‘mistake’ by targeting civilians in an effort to shore up support for its 2021 Gaza campaign

The Israel Defense Forces illegally targeted the Israeli population with a social media psychological operation to convince citizens that its airstrikes were “taking a toll” on Gaza during the 2021 Guardian of the Walls military operation,

 » …

US to build new military base near South China Sea

Beijing said countries in the Asia-Pacific must not allow themselves to be “coerced or used” by Washington

The United States is set to build four new military bases “scattered” around the Philippines, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said, noting that at least one facility would be placed near a disputed island chain claimed by China and several other nations. 

 » …

North Korea issues nuclear warning

Pyongyang slams Washington’s UN envoy as “a pawn of the Evil Empire” after she urged the DPRK to give up its nuclear arsenal

North Korea has said that any attempt to force it to abandon its nuclear weapons would trigger a harsh response, invoking a recently updated policy governing the use of the atom bomb in the event of a major threat. 

 » …

Transgender lawmaker wins ‘Woman of the Year’ award

Leigh Finke began her role as a US state representative less than three months ago

Leigh Finke, a transgender former journalist and author who was elected as a state representative late last year, has been chosen as Minnesota’s ‘Woman of the Year’ by the USA Today newspaper. The decision has sparked criticism from some American conservatives.

 » …