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By Nicholas McAVANEY, Rashid BAXTER LONDON, Dec 20, 2023 (AFP) – Hospital doctors in England hit out Wednesday at a perceived “brain drain” from the country’s state-funded National Health Service (NHS), as they began their longest strike action yet in a protracted pay battle. Junior doctors — those below specialist, consultant level — started joining picket lines from 0700 GMT, as part of an initial 72-hour walkout to be followed by a further six-day strike […]
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 20, 2023 (AFP) – Malaysia banned on Wednesday Israeli-flagged cargo ships from docking at its ports in response to Israel’s actions in Gaza, which it said ignores “basic humanitarian principles”. Ships on their way to Israel will also be barred from loading cargo at any port in the largely Muslim Southeast Asian nation with immediate effect, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in a statement. Anwar singled out Israel’s biggest shipping firm ZIM. […]
By Gregory WALTON, Amelie BOTTOLLIER-DEPOIS UNITED NATIONS, United States, Dec 20, 2023 (AFP) – The United Nations Security Council was due to vote Wednesday on a much-delayed resolution calling for a pause to the Israel-Hamas war after members wrangled over wording while aid efforts in the Gaza Strip neared collapse. The humanitarian situation in Gaza was rapidly deteriorating, with a senior UN official saying Israel’s steps to allow in aid were “far short” of mounting […]
WASHINGTON, Dec 19, 2023 (AFP) – Pharmacy group Rite Aid was ordered Tuesday to stop using facial recognition for the next five years by a US regulator, which said the company falsely identified consumers as shoplifters using the technology. The case touches on one of the main concerns about the proliferation of artificial intelligence, and facial recognition in particular, which is deemed to potentially misidentify or discriminate against individuals, especially non-whites and women. “Rite Aid’s […]
By Victoria LUKOVENKO with Anna MALPAS KYIV, Ukraine, Dec 20, 2023 (AFP) – President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that there was no end in sight to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as fatigue builds among Kyiv’s allies nearly two years into the war and the Kremlin voices growing confidence of victory. Zelensky said he had turned down a request from the military — for now — to mobilise as many as 500,000 Ukrainians for the army, […]
By Camille CAMDESSUS WASHINGTON, Dec 20, 2023 (AFP) – The Democratic and Republican leaders of the US Senate said Tuesday that Washington will not be able to approve new aid for Ukraine before year’s end, as the two sides continue to seek a compromise. “As negotiators work through remaining issues, it is our hope that their efforts will allow the Senate to take swift action… early in the new year,” Democrat Chuck Schumer and Republican […]
BERLIN, Dec 20, 2023 (AFP) – World powers said Tuesday that the international community needed a firm and unified response to North Korea’s “reckless” nuclear build-up and missile launches. G7 foreign ministers said in a statement after the launch of Pyongyang’s most powerful ballistic missile that “North Korea’s repeated reckless actions must be met with a swift, united and robust international response, particularly by the United Nations Security Council”. North Korea on Monday test-fired its […]
By Marc Antoine BAUDOUX STRASBOURG, France, Dec 20, 2023 (AFP) – Narcotics police the world over are sprucing up their video game skills, as cartels go increasingly online to sell drugs and recruit dealers. “Cartels have been incredibly tech savvy over recent years, reaching vast audiences,” Benjamin Shultz, foreign malign influence analyst at Deloitte, told a Council of Europe meeting. “The Sinaloa Cartel has a Twitter account with almost 200,000 followers and they tend to […]
By Huw GRIFFITH LOS ANGELES, Dec 20, 2023 (AFP) – Donald Trump is ineligible for the US presidency because of his involvement in the January 2021 assault on the Capitol, Colorado’s supreme court ruled Tuesday, setting off a political earthquake that could upend next year’s election. The stunning legal decision — which Trump’s campaign said it would appeal — drew immediate condemnation from Republicans across the spectrum, and looked set to light a fire under […]
DAHEJIA, China, Dec 20, 2023 (AFP) – Rescuers dug through rubble for a second freezing day on Wednesday after overnight temperatures plunged well below zero, with the death toll in China’s deadliest earthquake in years rising to 131. State broadcaster CCTV said at least 113 people were killed in northwestern Gansu province and 18 more in neighbouring Qinghai after a shallow tremor on Monday night damaged thousands of buildings. The quake was China’s deadliest since […]
By Didier LAURAS PARIS, Dec 19, 2023 (AFP) – A multinational naval task force to protect a key global shipping lane from Yemen’s Huthi rebels would face severe challenges in a difficult strategic and military context, experts say. The United States has been pushing for such a force after Huthis pledged to continue attacking cargo ships in the Red Sea in support of Palestinians in the Gaza war raging between Israel and militant group Hamas. […]
PARIS, Dec 19, 2023 (AFP) – Following a surge in attacks claimed by Yemen’s Huthi rebels targeting cargo vessels in the Red Sea, major shipping companies have halted traffic through the crucial Bab al-Mandeb strait. As the United States works to form a multinational naval task force to safeguard the lane, AFP looks at the importance of the route, referred to as the “Gate of Tears” in Arabic. – Where is it ? – The […]
