International

NATO chief warns of ‘malign’ Russian interference in Bosnia

SARAJEVO, Nov 20, 2023 (AFP) – NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned on Monday of Russia’s “malign” interference in Bosnia, saying Moscow’s actions threatened the stability of the deeply divided Balkan country. Nearly 30 years after the end of its civil war, Bosnia remains fractured along ethnic lines, with NATO troops and later European peacekeepers stationed in the country to help keep the peace. “We are concerned by secessionist and divisive rhetoric as well as […]

Microsoft to hire OpenAI’s Sam Altman after sacking

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 20, 2023 (AFP) – Microsoft announced Monday the hiring of OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman following his shock sacking from the company whose ChatGPT chatbot has led the rapid rise of artificial intelligence technology. OpenAI has appointed Emmett Shear, a former chief executive of Amazon’s streaming platform Twitch, as its new CEO despite reported pressure from Microsoft and other major investors to reinstate Altman. OpenAI’s board sacked Altman on Friday, with US media […]

Investors in OpenAI seek return of fired CEO, US media report

NEW YORK, Nov 19, 2023 (AFP) – Major investors in OpenAI, the company behind hugely popular ChatGPT, are working to orchestrate the return as CEO of Sam Altman, a leader in the AI revolution who was fired in a shock move Friday, US media reported Sunday. Investors as important as Microsoft and venture firm Thrive Capital “are making efforts to bring back Sam Altman,” the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed sources. Microsoft and Thrive […]

Javier Milei: outsider who ignited Argentine rage to become president

By Fran BLANDY BUENOS AIRES, Nov 20, 2023 (AFP) – With his wild hair and powered-up chainsaw, the libertarian Javier Milei has upended Argentine politics in a meteoric rise from obscurity to the presidency, riding a wave of fury over decades of economic decline and rampant inflation. “Long live freedom, damn it!” was his rallying cry throughout a campaign in which he railed against a “thieving and corrupt political class,” notably on TikTok and YouTube […]

Former US first lady and humanitarian Rosalynn Carter dead at 96

WASHINGTON, Nov 19, 2023 (AFP) – Former US first lady Rosalynn Carter, the wife of former president Jimmy Carter, died Sunday at 96 at the couple’s home in the southern state of Georgia, their nonprofit organization announced. Carter was best known for her work post-White House, as she and her husband championed human rights, democracy and health issues around the world — all while maintaining a notably humble public image. She had joined her husband […]

URGENT: Argentina’s Milei wins presidential election, Massa concedes

BUENOS AIRES, Nov 19, 2023 (AFP) – Libertarian outsider Javier Milei will be Argentina’s next president, said his rival, Economy Minister Sergio Massa, who conceded defeat after Sunday’s election. “Obviously the results are not what we had hoped for, and I have spoken to Javier Milei to congratulate him and wish him well, because he is the president that the majority of Argentines have elected for the next four years.” This is a developing story…

Israeli army releases footage it says shows ‘hostages at Gaza hospital’

JERUSALEM, Nov 19, 2023 (AFP) – Israel’s military released security camera footage Sunday it said showed hostages being brought into Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City after being kidnapped in the October 7 Hamas attacks on southern Israel. In one of the clips a man is brought in on a gurney by several individuals, at least four of them armed, while in another someone struggles to resist while being forcibly dragged into a building resembing a […]

Eleven killed in tragic train-minibus collision in Indonesia

JAKARTA, Nov 19, 2023 (AFP) – A collision between a train and a minibus at a level crossing in the east of Indonesia’s most populous island Java on Sunday killed at least 11 people and injured several others, an official told local media. The train was travelling towards the port city of Surabaya when it hit a minibus carrying a dozen passengers at a crossing in the East Java city of Lumajang at around 8:00 […]

More than 250 Thai nationals caught in Myanmar crossfire to be evacuated

BANGKOK, Nov 19, 2023 (AFP) – More than 250 Thais trapped in northern Myanmar by an upsurge in fighting between the junta and an alliance of ethnic minority groups are to be repatriated through China, Thailand’s foreign ministry said Sunday. Fighting has surged across a swathe of Myanmar since late October, when the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Arakan Army (AA) launched attacks on the military. The rugged, […]

Argentines hold breath in tight presidential election

By Fran BLANDY and Sandra FERRER BUENOS AIRES, Nov 19, 2023 (AFP) – Argentina braced Sunday for the outcome of a knife-edge presidential election between Economy Minister Sergio Massa and outsider Javier Milei, who represent wildly different visions for the country’s future. Voters cast their ballots gripped by fear, uncertainty and resignation, with few confident either candidate could halt decades of economic decline and financial mismanagement of an economy that is Latin America’s third-biggest and […]

Taiwan’s opposition alliance falters over joint presidential ticket

TAIPEI, Taiwan, Nov 18, 2023 (AFP) – Taiwan’s two leading opposition parties failed to agree Saturday on who would lead the ticket in a joint presidential bid for January’s crucial elections. The lead-up to Taiwan’s January 13 vote is being closely watched because it will shape Taipei’s future relations with China, which claims the self-ruled island as its territory. The current frontrunner is Vice President Lai Ching-te of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which […]

PHOTOS: Nicaraguan Sheynnis Palacios wins crown at Miss Universe 2023

SAN SALVADOR, Nov 19, 2023 (AFP) – Nicaragua’s Sheynnis Palacios was crowned Miss Universe 2023 on Saturday at the 72nd edition of the pageant, held this year in El Salvador. Palacios, 23, received the crown and sash from her predecessor, R’Bonney Gabriel from the United States. This is the first time a contestant from Nicaragua has won the contest, with Thailand’s Anntonia Porsild and Australia’s Moraya Wilson rounding out the top three. Palacios, who said […]