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Video shows moment of Israeli strike on packed Gaza school shelter

Around The Globe - Wed, 07/10/2024 - 10:17
Video shows how an Israeli attack hit a packed school shelter in Gaza.

From the Caribbean to Texas, Beryl leaves a trail of destruction

Around The Globe - Wed, 07/10/2024 - 10:10
The hurricane, which has since been downgraded, destroyed two islands in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Eton set to give 'brick' phones to first years

Education - Wed, 07/10/2024 - 09:27
The world-famous school is handing out handsets that can only send and receive texts and calls.

Northern India bus crash kills 18

Around The Globe - Wed, 07/10/2024 - 08:41
Collision in Uttar Pradesh state occurred when the bus heading to New Delhi slammed into a tanker carrying milk.

Messi scores as Argentina beat Canada to enter Copa America final

Around The Globe - Wed, 07/10/2024 - 08:40
Goals from Messi and Alvarez send the world champions and Copa America holders into Sunday's final in Miami.

Ethiopian PM meets Sudan army chief in push for ‘peace and security’

Around The Globe - Wed, 07/10/2024 - 08:36
Ethiopia's Abiy Ahmed is the highest-level state visit to Sudan since the war began in April 2023.

Russia court orders arrest of Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, in absentia

Around The Globe - Wed, 07/10/2024 - 08:07
Moscow court accused Navalnaya of participating in an 'extremist' group and she faces two months in jail if she returns.

Biden vows NATO support, dozens of new air defence systems for Ukraine

Around The Globe - Wed, 07/10/2024 - 07:55
US president spotlights support for Ukraine as he looks to use NATO summit to reset his stumbling re-election campaign.

Russia favours Trump win in 2024 election race, says US intelligence

Around The Globe - Wed, 07/10/2024 - 07:18
US intelligence assessments found Russia tried to influence campaigns to help Trump win in 2016, and 2020 against Biden.

Cine-Guerillas: How media helped win the Algerian Independence War

Around The Globe - Wed, 07/10/2024 - 06:56
How media was used as a political weapon in the anticolonial struggle during the Algerian war of independence.

Sudanese refugees hiding in Ethiopian forest to escape bandits and militias

Around The Globe - Wed, 07/10/2024 - 06:42
Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia ask to be evacuated from the country after facing repeated attacks from local militias.

Trump seizes on Biden’s re-election woes, mocks Harris as ‘insurance’

Around The Globe - Wed, 07/10/2024 - 06:30
Republican contender sarcastically praises Biden for 'brilliant decision' to appoint Vice President Kamala Harris.

Pupil with cancer able to attend school using robot

Education - Wed, 07/10/2024 - 06:30
Howard says having the robot has made a "big impact" and he can attend class from home or hospital.

Democrats discuss Biden’s fitness as 7th lawmaker calls on him to quit race

Around The Globe - Wed, 07/10/2024 - 04:49
Closed-door talks highlight party divisions within over Biden’s electability against Donald Trump.

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 866

Around The Globe - Wed, 07/10/2024 - 03:53
As the war enters its 866th day, these are the main developments.

Russian election meddlers hurting Biden, helping Trump, US intelligence warns

Technology - Wed, 07/10/2024 - 02:16
WASHINGTON — Russia is turning to a familiar playbook in its attempt to sway the outcome of the upcoming U.S. presidential election, looking for ways to boost the candidacy of former President Donald Trump by disparaging the campaign of incumbent President Joe Biden, according to American intelligence officials.  A new assessment of threats to the November election, shared Tuesday, does not mention either candidate by name. But an intelligence official told reporters that the Kremlin view of the U.S. political landscape has not changed from previous election cycles. "We have not observed a shift in Russia's preferences for the presidential race from past elections," the official told reporters, agreeing to discuss the intelligence only on the condition of anonymity. The official said that preference has been further cemented by “the role the U.S. is playing with regard to Ukraine and broader policy toward Russia.” The caution from U.S. intelligence officials comes nearly four years after it issued a similar warning about the 2020 presidential elections, which pitted then-President Trump against Biden. Moscow was using “a range of measures to primarily denigrate former Vice President Biden and what it sees as an anti-Russia ‘establishment,’” William Evanina, the then-head of the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center, said at the time. “Some Kremlin-linked actors are also seeking to boost President Trump’s candidacy on social media and Russian television,” he added.  A declassified post-election assessment, released in March 2021, reaffirmed the initial findings. Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized "influence operations aimed at denigrating President Biden's candidacy and the Democratic Party" while offering support for Trump, the report said.  U.S. intelligence officials said they have been in contact with both presidential campaigns and the candidates but declined to share what sort of information may have been shared. Trump pushback The Trump campaign Tuesday rejected the U.S. intelligence assessment as backward. "Vladimir Putin endorsed Joe Biden for President because he knows Biden is weak and can easily be bullied, as evidenced by Putin's years-long invasion of Ukraine,” national press secretary Karoline Leavitt told VOA in an email. “When President Trump was in the Oval Office, Russia and all of America's adversaries were deterred, because they feared how the United States would respond,” she said. “The only people in America who don't see this clear contrast between Biden's ineffective weakness versus Trump's effective peace through strength approach are the left-wing stenographers in the mainstream media who write false narratives about Donald Trump for a living," she added. The Biden campaign has so far not responded to questions from VOA about the new U.S. assessment. Russian sophistication Russian officials also have not yet responded to requests for comment on the latest allegations, which accuse the Kremlin of using a “whole of government” approach to see Trump and other American candidates perceived as favorable to Moscow win in November. “Moscow is using a variety of approaches to bolster its messaging and lend an air of authenticity to its efforts,” the U.S. intelligence official said. "This includes outsourcing its efforts to commercial firms to hide its hand and laundering narratives through influential U.S. voices." Russia’s efforts also appear focused on targeting U.S. voters in so-called swing states, states most likely to impact the outcome of the presidential election, officials said. Some of those efforts have already come to light. Russia and AI Earlier Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the seizure of two internet domains and of another 968 accounts on the X social media platform, part of what officials described an artificial intelligence-driven venture by Russian intelligence and Russia’s state-run RT news network. A Justice Department statement said Russian intelligence and RT used specific AI software to create authentic-looking social media accounts to mimic U.S. individuals, “which the operators then used to promote messages in support of Russian government objectives.” A joint advisory, issued simultaneously by the U.S., Canada and the Netherlands, warned Russia was in the process of expanding the AI-fueled influence operation to other social media platforms. The U.S. intelligence official who spoke to reporters Tuesday described such use of AI as a “malign influence accelerant,” and warned the technology had already been deployed, likely by China, in the run-up to Taiwan’s elections this past January. China waiting For now, though, U.S. intelligence officials see few indications Beijing is seeking to interfere in U.S. elections, as it did in 2020 and 2022.  China “sees little gain in choosing between two parties that are perceived as both seeking to contain Beijing," said the U.S. intelligence official, noting things could change. “The PRC is seeking to expand its ability to collect and monitor data on U.S. social media platforms, probably to better understand and eventually manipulate public opinion,” the official said. “In addition, we are watching for whether China might seek to influence select down-ballot races as it did in the 2022 midterm elections.” The Chinese Embassy in Washington, which has denied previous U.S. allegations, responded by calling the U.S. “the biggest disseminator of disinformation.” “China has no intention and will not interfere in the US election, and we hope that the US side will not make an issue of China in the election,” spokesperson Liu Pengyu told VOA in an email. ‘Chaos agent’ The new U.S. election threat assessment warns that in addition to concerns about Russia and China, there is growing evidence Iran is seeking to play the role of a “chaos agent” in the upcoming U.S. vote. “Iran seeks to stoke social divisions and undermine confidence in U.S. democratic institutions around the elections,” according to an unclassified version of the assessment.  It also warned that Tehran “has demonstrated a long-standing interest in exploiting U.S. political and societal tensions through various means, including social media.” As an example, officials Tuesday pointed to newly declassified intelligence showing Iran trying to exploit pro-Gaza protests across the U.S. "We have observed actors tied to Iran’s government posing as activists online, seeking to encourage protests, and even providing financial support to protesters," said National Intelligence Director Avril Haines. Haines cautioned, though, that Americans who interacted with the Iranian actors “may not be aware that they are interacting with or receiving support from a foreign government." Iranian officials have not yet responded to VOA’s request for comment.  

Could maths help in taking the perfect penalty?

Education - Wed, 07/10/2024 - 01:42
Taking a penalty is an art, but Billy Watson says he has found a way to turn it into a science.

US DOJ says it disrupted Russian social media influence operation

Around The Globe - Tue, 07/09/2024 - 22:07
DOJ disrupted a Russian-government-backed, AI-enabled propaganda campaign to use a bot farm to spread disinformation.

Dozens of Palestinians killed in Israeli air raid on Gaza encampment

Around The Globe - Tue, 07/09/2024 - 22:02
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh has warned of 'disastrous repercussions' for truce talks if Israeli 'massacres' continue.

US Fed’s Powell cites slowing job market in signal rate cuts may be coming

Around The Globe - Tue, 07/09/2024 - 21:54
Cutting interest rates 'too late or too little could unduly weaken economic activity and employment', Powell said.

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