The Philippines' military chief accused China of a "malign influence effort" on Wednesday, after a local newspaper reported a Filipino vice admiral had made a deal with Beijing to de-escalate tensions in the South China Sea....
Opal Sandy from Oxfordshire in the UK is the first patient treated in a global gene therapy trial, which shows “mind-blowing” results. She is the first British patient in the world and the youngest child to receive this type of treatment....
A Chinese fighter jet endangered an Australian military helicopter during an "unsafe" and "unacceptable" confrontation over the Yellow Sea, Australia said on Monday....
The Hague-based office of ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said in a statement on Friday that all attempts to impede, intimidate or improperly influence its officials must cease immediately....
Last month, the Israeli parliament passed a law giving the government the power to temporarily close foreign broadcasters considered to be a threat to national security during the war against Hamas....
In the 1940s, Austrian psychologist Fritz Heider introduced social balance theory, which explains how humans innately strive to find harmony in their social circles. According to the theory, four rules — an enemy of an enemy is a friend, a friend of a friend is a friend, a friend of an enemy is an enemy and, finally, an enemy...
The UN’s refugee agency rebuffed requests from the Thai government to assist 48 Uyghur asylum seekers from China who have been detained in life-threatening conditions in Thailand for more than 10 years, according to internal UNHCR documents seen by The New Humanitarian....
A 14-year-old boy was seriously injured and sustained limb amputations after opening a booby-trapped can of food found while looking for his belongings in his house that had been shelled by Israeli forces in Khan Younis,” the UN aid coordination office (OCHA) said, citing the Strip’s authorities....
Social media posts claim footage from Gaza shows explosives disguised as food cans, but there are no visible labels or pictures on the metal cylinders to suggest they contain food.
Experts on military strategy and the Middle East said the metal cylinders seen in photos and videos online are likely containers for M603 fuzes, which are designed to detonate landmines. Footage shows one of the cans is labeled "fuze mine."
The fuzes are not designed to explode if a person opens the container. It requires 140 to 750 pounds of force to ignite the fuze and trigger an explosion.
I'm sorry, seems that you can't trust the UN news?
One target of the UN Sustainable Development Goals is that by 2030, remittance fees should be less than 3%, and total fees to send and receive money between a pair of countries should be no more than 5%. Some researchers believe that to be truly affordable, the first goal should be even less than 3%....
Saudi officials confirmed in a statement to the United Nations high commissioner for human rights that Manahel al-Otaibi was sentenced on 9 January for what the Saudi government called “terrorist offences”....
The Personal Status Law [in Saudi Arabia] requires women to obtain a male guardian’s permission to marry, codifying the country’s longstanding practice. Married women are required to obey their husbands in a “reasonable manner.” The law further states that neither spouse may abstain from sexual relations or cohabitation without the other spouse’s consent, implying a marital right to intercourse.
While a husband can unilaterally divorce his wife, a woman can only petition a court to dissolve their marriage contract on limited grounds and must “establish [the] harm” that makes the continuation of marriage “impossible” within those grounds. The law does not specify what constitutes “harm” or what evidence can be submitted to support a case, leaving judges wide discretion in the law’s interpretation and enforcement to maintain the status quo.
Fathers remain the default guardians of their children, limiting a mother’s ability to participate fully in decisions related to her child’s social and financial well-being. A mother may not act as her child’s guardian unless a court appoints her, and she will otherwise have limited authority to make decisions for her child’s well-being, even in cases where the parents do not live together and judicial authorities decide that the child should live with the mother.
The 16-year-old Nika Shakarami vanished from an anti-regime protest in 2022. Her body was found nine days later. The government claimed she killed herself....
Iran's judiciary has filed charges against "a number of journalists and activists" after the publication of a BBC report alleging men working for the security forces sexually assaulted and killed [...] 16-year-old protester Nika Shakarami.
Taiwan has reported that a dozen Chinese warplanes flew sorties close to the island on Saturday, in a sudden surge of military activity just hours after the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, left Beijing following talks with President Xi Jinping and top Chinese officials.
Some senior U.S. officials have advised Secretary of State Antony Blinken that they do not find "credible or reliable" Israel's assurances that it is using U.S.-supplied weapons in accordance with international humanitarian law, according to an internal State Department memo....
Higgs, 94, who was awarded the Nobel prize for physics in 2013 for his work in 1964 showing how the boson helped bind the universe together by giving particles their mass, died at home in Edinburgh on Monday....
Concerned governments should impose targeted sanctions and suspend arms transfers to press the Israeli government to ensure access to humanitarian aid and basic services in Gaza, in accordance with Israel’s obligations under international law and the recent International Court of Justice order in South Africa’s genocide...
In its submission to the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab gives recomnendations to hold Chinese and U.S. firms accountable for their involvement in online censorship and assisting victims of digital abuse and intimidation.
The issue affected Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), a system used to deploy, scale and manage how applications are “containerized.” GKE — the tech giant’s implementation of the open-source Kubernetes project — is used widely in healthcare, education, retail and financial services for data processing as well as...
The girls – who were detained in shopping centres, classes and street markets – were accused of “spreading and encouraging others to wear a bad hijab” and wearing makeup....
'Neom' project: Forces in Saudi Arabia 'told to kill' to clear land for a futuristic desert city being built by dozens of Western companies, ex-intelligence officer says ( www.bbc.com )
Col Rabih Alenezi says he was ordered to evict villagers from a tribe in the Gulf state to make way for The Line, part of the Neom eco-project....
Philippine military chief accuses China of 'malign influence effort' to distract from 'the China coast guard's ongoing aggressive behaviour' ( www.reuters.com )
The Philippines' military chief accused China of a "malign influence effort" on Wednesday, after a local newspaper reported a Filipino vice admiral had made a deal with Beijing to de-escalate tensions in the South China Sea....
Baby born deaf can hear after breakthrough gene therapy ( www.cuh.nhs.uk )
Opal Sandy from Oxfordshire in the UK is the first patient treated in a global gene therapy trial, which shows “mind-blowing” results. She is the first British patient in the world and the youngest child to receive this type of treatment....
Chinese fighter jet endangered Australian military helicopter during "unsafe" and "unacceptable" confrontation over the Yellow Sea, Australia says ( www.reuters.com )
A Chinese fighter jet endangered an Australian military helicopter during an "unsafe" and "unacceptable" confrontation over the Yellow Sea, Australia said on Monday....
International Criminal Court appeals for end of 'intimidation' of its staff, saying such threats could constitute an offence against the “administration of justice” ( www.aljazeera.com )
The Hague-based office of ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said in a statement on Friday that all attempts to impede, intimidate or improperly influence its officials must cease immediately....
Israeli government blocks media outlet Al Jazeera from broadcasting over 'incitement' ( www.bbc.com )
Last month, the Israeli parliament passed a law giving the government the power to temporarily close foreign broadcasters considered to be a threat to national security during the war against Hamas....
Physics confirms that the enemy of your enemy is, indeed, your friend ( news.northwestern.edu )
In the 1940s, Austrian psychologist Fritz Heider introduced social balance theory, which explains how humans innately strive to find harmony in their social circles. According to the theory, four rules — an enemy of an enemy is a friend, a friend of a friend is a friend, a friend of an enemy is an enemy and, finally, an enemy...
UN declined offers to assist Uyghur asylum seekers detained in Thailand because they feared "China would get angry and reduce cooperation or donations to the agency" ( www.thenewhumanitarian.org )
The UN’s refugee agency rebuffed requests from the Thai government to assist 48 Uyghur asylum seekers from China who have been detained in life-threatening conditions in Thailand for more than 10 years, according to internal UNHCR documents seen by The New Humanitarian....
Sumatran orangutan in Indonesia has self-medicated using a paste made from plants to heal a large wound on his cheek, say scientists ( www.bbc.com )
It is the first time a creature in the wild has been recorded treating an injury with a medicinal plant....
Gaza’s new terror: Booby-trapped cans of food for the unwary --- UPDATE: please see comment in the thread ( news.un.org )
A 14-year-old boy was seriously injured and sustained limb amputations after opening a booby-trapped can of food found while looking for his belongings in his house that had been shelled by Israeli forces in Khan Younis,” the UN aid coordination office (OCHA) said, citing the Strip’s authorities....
Migrants hit by high fees to send money home ( www.bbc.com )
One target of the UN Sustainable Development Goals is that by 2030, remittance fees should be less than 3%, and total fees to send and receive money between a pair of countries should be no more than 5%. Some researchers believe that to be truly affordable, the first goal should be even less than 3%....
Israeli Minister Reportedly Asks Military To Kill Palestinians Instead Of Arresting Them To Manage Overcrowding In Prisons ( www.huffpost.com )
Cross posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/13516787...
Young women in Saudi Arabia sentenced to 11 years in prison by "anti-terrorism court" after being arrested for “her choice of clothing and support for women’s rights” ( www.theguardian.com )
Saudi officials confirmed in a statement to the United Nations high commissioner for human rights that Manahel al-Otaibi was sentenced on 9 January for what the Saudi government called “terrorist offences”....
Iran security forces sexually assaulted and killed teenager, leaked document says ( www.bbc.com )
The 16-year-old Nika Shakarami vanished from an anti-regime protest in 2022. Her body was found nine days later. The government claimed she killed herself....
Chinese jets fly sorties over Taiwan strait in show of force as US delegation departs ( www.theguardian.com )
Taiwan has reported that a dozen Chinese warplanes flew sorties close to the island on Saturday, in a sudden surge of military activity just hours after the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, left Beijing following talks with President Xi Jinping and top Chinese officials.
Some US officials say in internal memo Israel may be violating international law in Gaza ( www.reuters.com )
Some senior U.S. officials have advised Secretary of State Antony Blinken that they do not find "credible or reliable" Israel's assurances that it is using U.S.-supplied weapons in accordance with international humanitarian law, according to an internal State Department memo....
Popular social media apps TikTok and Instagram use AI to analyze photos on your phone, introducing both bias and errors ( news.wisc.edu )
Archived link...
Iran sentences rapper to death for supporting popular protests in his songs ( www.bbc.com )
Cross posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/13393970...
Almost all Chinese keyboards have severe security flaws that can be (mis)used for mass surveillance, report reveals ( citizenlab.ca )
Cross posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/13390116...
Peter Higgs, physicist who discovered Higgs boson, dies aged 94 ( www.theguardian.com )
Higgs, 94, who was awarded the Nobel prize for physics in 2013 for his work in 1964 showing how the boson helped bind the universe together by giving particles their mass, died at home in Edinburgh on Monday....
Children in Gaza dying from starvation-related complications since Israeli government began using starvation as a weapon of war, Human Rights Watch says ( www.hrw.org )
Concerned governments should impose targeted sanctions and suspend arms transfers to press the Israeli government to ensure access to humanitarian aid and basic services in Gaza, in accordance with Israel’s obligations under international law and the recent International Court of Justice order in South Africa’s genocide...
Citizen Lab: "Not only the Chinese government, but also US-based firms, are complicit in the political and religious censoring of content on China-accessible platforms" ( citizenlab.ca )
In its submission to the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab gives recomnendations to hold Chinese and U.S. firms accountable for their involvement in online censorship and assisting victims of digital abuse and intimidation.
‘Significant security loophole’ found in Google software container system ( therecord.media )
The issue affected Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), a system used to deploy, scale and manage how applications are “containerized.” GKE — the tech giant’s implementation of the open-source Kubernetes project — is used widely in healthcare, education, retail and financial services for data processing as well as...
Afghan girls as young as 16 arrested in shops, classes and markets in Kabul by the Taliban, who labelled them ‘infidels’ for wearing ‘bad hijab’ ( www.theguardian.com )
The girls – who were detained in shopping centres, classes and street markets – were accused of “spreading and encouraging others to wear a bad hijab” and wearing makeup....