Author: Gulf News Week
Watch: “Great” or “alarming” – Should AI be reined in?When President Donald Trump responded to mounting calls for a slowdown in the development of artificial intelligence (AI) on Monday, he was unequivocal.”AI taking over the World, destroying Humanity, and all other things bad, is a HOAX,” he wrote on social media. He earlier argued that “the only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs” is a “strong and smart” president.Trump’s view, unsurprisingly, is not shared by senior Democrats in Congress. It is also opposed by leading figures in the AI sector, who have in recent days issued stark safety warnings and…
Getty ImagesThe price of oil has jumped to $105 a barrel amid signs the conflict in the Middle East will not be resolved quickly, fuelling fears that inflation could accelerate. With the conflict between the US and Iran in the Gulf intensifying in recent days, the cost of both crude oil and gas has been rising sharply. Brent crude went back above $100 a barrel on Wednesday and has continued to climb.The war has led to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, preventing supplies of oil and gas from the Gulf from reaching global markets.US and UK long-term…
ReutersZelensky’s plane after it landed in Norway after flying in from Moldova A plane carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was delayed by a Russian drone as he prepared to fly to attend a state funeral in Oslo, Moldovan and Norwegian authorities say.Zelensky and his wife Olena were on the jet at Chisinau, Moldova’s capital, ahead of Wednesday’s funeral of Norway’s King Harald V when the unmanned aircraft crossed over the Moldovan border.The drone prompted an immediate airspace shutdown and Zelensky’s plane was left on the runway for around an hour before it could take off.The flight was only authorised after…
Drone display recreates the Twin Towers over New York CityOrganisers say each of the 2,977 drones in the display represents a victim of the 9/11 attacks.1 hr agoUS & Canada
PA MediaCatherine joined Prince William to launch the mental health project in LiverpoolThe Princess of Wales has made a surprise appearance alongside her husband the Prince of Wales, as he gave an impassioned call to the sports sector to help prevent suicides.”Sport can help save lives,” Prince William told sports players, mental health charities and sports industry figures at Everton’s football ground in Liverpool.He was launching a project that wants to use sport to help open conversations and end the stigma surrounding mental health.”Sport has the ability to reach people who may never walk through the door of a mental…
MAPANG ProjectJaws of early human settlers showed unusual dental wear which researchers linked to sucking whole betel nutsHumans may have been using mind-altering substances far earlier than scientists had once thought, new research indicates.The evidence shows that betel nuts were used as drugs by some Indonesian communities up to 25,000 years ago.Scientists from Griffith University in Australia found unusual patterns in the skeletal remains of early human foragers, which they linked to the sucking of betel nuts. Professor Adam Brumm, who led the research, said this may be the “earliest evidence for drug use anywhere in the world”.In the new…
Watch: Thick plumes of smoke rise from cargo ship fire in Qingdao, ChinaTwenty-five people have been killed in a fire on a foreign-flagged cargo ship docked at a port in eastern China, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. Of the 42 people on board, 17 were were evacuated of which five are in hospital in stable condition, CCTV reports.The vessel was undergoing maintenance at a shipyard in the city of Qingdao when the blaze erupted at around 11:15 local time (03:15 GMT). It was put out just over three hours later, according to CCTV.Photos released by state media showed the…
Getty ImagesRussia fired its new rapid, jet-powered drones against Ukraine every day throughout August, BBC Verify analysis of Ukrainian Air Force data has found, escalating its use of a weapon that Kyiv’s air defences are struggling to deal with.It marked the first time that daily attacks by Moscow’s new upgraded Geran drones were recorded in Ukrainian Air Force data. The growing use of jet-propelled and other varieties of drones prompted President Volodymyr Zelensky to condemn what he called an unfolding “horror” over the skies of Kyiv.Ukraine’s military recently told the BBC that jet-powered drone attacks grew from 350 in June…
UBCUBC TV news presenter Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma has been selected as the new Tooro monarchA bitter succession dispute has erupted in one of Uganda’s traditional kingdoms, days before the burial of its late king, who until his death had been the world’s youngest reigning monarch.King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, who ruled the Tooro Kingdom for more than three decades, was undergoing cancer treatment in the US when he died last month aged 34.Royal clan elders have named popular TV news presenter Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, 56, as the next monarch, but this has been rejected by Oyo’s…
Getty ImagesAugust was the joint-hottest month ever recorded, tying with July 2023, according to the EU’s climate service.The record was driven by a combination of climate change and the rising influence of El Niño, pushing heat into the atmosphere across the Pacific.Temperatures for the month were 1.65C above pre-industrial levels – surpassing the critical 1.5C threshold agreed by countries to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.While a single month above 1.5C does not mean it has been permanently crossed, it shows a trend towards breaching that limit.Dr Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at Copernicus, described August as “a…