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☆ Colombia's Petro Denies Calling for Cabinet Resignations
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

Colombian presidents frequently request mass, 'protocol' cabinet resignations in order to make changes to the government, though these are not guaranteed. The three government sources said had Petro asked for the resignations of his ministers during a meeting on Wednesday evening. Rather than the president demanding their resignations, ministers offered to resign, Agriculture Minister Jhenifer Mojica said during a presentation near capital Bogota. Petro last called for ministers' resignations in April after a debate on a health reform was abandoned by the lower house of congress. (Reporting by Oliver Griffin and Luis Jaime Acosta; Additional reporting by Carlos Vargas; Writing by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Persons: Oliver Griffin, Luis Jaime Acosta BOGOTA, Gustavo Petro, Petro, Jhenifer Mojica, Jorge Ivan Gonzalez, Ricardo Bonilla, Jose Antonio Ocampo, Luis Jaime Acosta, Carlos Vargas, Sandra Maler Organizations: Finance Locations: Bogota

☆ A government employee bought a wildly expensive sex doll to promote kimonos to tourists. Now the scandal's blowing up.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Read previewAuditors have rapped the Tokushima Prefectural Government for purchasing an "extremely expensive" sex doll to promote the city's tourism. The exhibition was meant to promote the prefecture's traditional indigo-dyeing art, so the doll was clad in an indigo-dyed summer kimono, per the Mainichi. Officials initially used a pair of cheaper mannequins — not the sex doll — at the exhibition in June 2017. AdvertisementBut in July, an unnamed male official decided to replace the mannequins with the sex doll. The auditors dismissed the prefecture's claims that the sex doll was more effective at drawing tourists than the mannequins.

Persons: —, he'd, Masazumi Gotoda Organizations: Service, Tokushima Prefectural Government, Business, Tokushima Awaodori Airport, Mainichi Shimbun, Mainichi . Officials, Mainichi, COVID, Yahoo Japan Locations: Tokushima Prefectural, Tokushima, Noto

☆ Foreign-born residents in Japan sue the government for alleged racial profiling
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Jessie Yeung | Saki Toi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Tokyo CNN —Three foreign-born residents in Japan are suing the country’s government over alleged racial profiling, highlighting an ongoing debate about Japanese identity and nationality. The three plaintiffs, all residents of Tokyo, filed the lawsuit in the Tokyo National Court and held a news conference with their lawyers on Monday, according to public broadcaster NHK. One plaintiff came to Japan from India after marrying his wife, and has lived there for more than 20 years, NHK reported. Since then, he has been repeatedly stopped and questioned by police officers on the street, sometimes twice a day. The third plaintiff is an American-born man who said he hoped to raise awareness of the issue among the Japanese population, according to Reuters.

Persons: “, ”, Philip Fong, Nissin, Naomi Osaka –, Karolina Shiino Organizations: Tokyo CNN —, Tokyo National Court, NHK, Aichi, Reuters, Court, Getty, CNN, Pew Locations: Japan, Tokyo, India, Pakistani, American, AFP, Aichi, Nagoya

☆ Why America hates its children
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-07 | by ( Lydia Kiesling | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

Time and again, I was struck by a public attitude toward children I seldom encountered in America: unequivocal support. In America, we socialize our children to see strangers not as helpers but as threats. Virtually every other industrialized nation provides more government aid for their children than America does. Children who are neglected — a loose term inextricably tied to poverty — are thrown into a foster-care system known for its propensity to harm children. From the tumult of the pandemic, the calls for America to care more for its children are getting louder.

Persons: George Washington, Jesse Zhang, Charlie Shepherd, Shepherd, Richard Nixon, Nixon, Franklin Roosevelt, leery, unironically, Sen, Joe Manchin, Serabi Medina, Serabi, Sandy, —, Lydia Kiesling Organizations: United Nations, hasn't, UN, Senate, National Government, Social Security, Jet, Centers for Disease Control, Business, Child Protective Services, Pediatrics, Black Panthers, National Domestic Workers Alliance, State, Mobility, New York Times Magazine, New Yorker Locations: Greece, America, Sweden, Oregon, Idaho, Athens, Chicago, Sandy Hook , Connecticut, Uvalde , Texas, Portland , Oregon, New Mexico

☆ Satellites are the new climate police for oil and gas polluters
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Fifty oil and gas companies pledged to zero out methane emissions by 2030 at the UN climate summit. Satellites are the next tool that will hold oil and gas companies accountable in their promise to cut methane emissions and slow global warming. Many state-owned oil companies signed on, including the UAE's Adnoc, as well as Saudi Arabia's Saudi Aramco. This, in turn, means oil and gas companies responsible for the plumes can be notified faster and potentially take action. The country's state-owned oil companies are also absent from the "decabonization charter" announced in Dubai.

Persons: Adnoc, Catherine Boudreau, Erin Snodgrass, Michael Bloomberg, Sultan Al Jaber, Peter Dejong, Fred Krupp, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Melanie Robinson, Robinson Organizations: ExxonMobil, Shell, Service, United, Saturday, Environmental Defense Fund, Bloomberg, UN, Summit, EDF, IEA, RMI, European Union, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, EU, Russia —, World Resources Institute Locations: Saudi Aramco, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Los Angeles, Saudi, Argentina, EU, Glasgow, Scotland, China, Russia

REUTERS/Mike Blake//File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsDUBAI, Dec 1 (Reuters) - A United Nations-led effort to use space satellites to detect methane leaks from fossil fuel infrastructure has alerted governments to 127 major methane plumes across four continents since its launch at the start of this year. Environment Programme's (UNEP) Methane Alert and Response System (MARS) was created to support a 2021 global pledge by more than 150 countries to cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030. "Every kilogram of methane matters, but what we can see from our satellites is only the most outrageous of those emissions," said Manfredi Caltagirone, head of UNEP's International Methane Emissions Observatory. While satellites picked up more than 127 major plumes in 2023, some appeared short-lived and therefore too hard to trace, he said. Super-emitting events such as these are responsible for between 8% and 12% of methane emissions from the oil and gas industry.

Persons: Mike Blake, Manfredi Caltagirone, Caltagirone, Gloria Dickie, Barbara Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, United Nations, Programme's, UNEP, MARS, Thomson Locations: Pixley , California, U.S, Argentina, Dubai

☆ Private sector collaboration is essential in the energy transition, says AIIB President
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailPrivate sector collaboration is essential in the energy transition, says AIIB PresidentThe private sector will be essential in tackling the climate crisis, according to AIIB CEO Jin Liqun. Liqun emphasised the need to attract private investment while also maintaining good dialogue with national governments.

Persons: Jin Liqun, Liqun

☆ Geert Wilders: A ‘Trump moment’ in the Netherlands shows that Europe still has a populist problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —The shock election results in the Netherlands have taken Europe by surprise, and left many onlookers unsure exactly what happens next. Far-right populist Geert Wilders and his Freedom Party (PVV) are now seeking to form a government after an unexpected win in Wednesday’s national vote. It would be very unusual for a party that comprehensively won the most seats to be locked out of government. Beyond those immediate concerns, there are questions as to what Wilders’ victory means for the direction of Dutch and European politics more broadly. Congratulations to Geert Wilders on winning the Dutch elections,” Hungarian PM Viktor Orban said late on Wednesday.

Persons: Geert Wilders, “, Donald, Trump, ” Catherine de Vries, Wilders, Mark Rutte, Robert Fico, Giorgia, Tiziana Fabi, Viktor Orban, Marine Le Pen, Carl Court, Emmanuel Macron, Le Pen, Giorgia Meloni, Nigel Farage, Farage Organizations: CNN, Freedom Party, Wednesday’s, Italy’s Bocconi University, European Union, Democracy Party, VVD, New, Labour, Green, Italy's, Albania's, Edi, Getty, –, EU, ”, Conservative, firebrand, Conservatives, Conservative Party Locations: Netherlands, Europe, Ukraine, Italy, Slovakia, Rome, AFP, EU, Brussels, ” Hungarian, France, United Kingdom

☆ Opinion | The Senate Is Getting Less Democratic by the Minute
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Jamelle Bouie | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

62, you should consider it a concession to the political realities of the moment:A government founded on principles more consonant to the wishes of the larger States, is not likely to be obtained from the smaller States. The most populous states — including not only California, but New York, Illinois, Florida and Texas — tend to be the most diverse states, with a large proportion of nonwhite residents. The smallest states by population — like Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire — tend to be the least diverse. And the structure of the Senate tends to amplify the power of residents in smaller states and weaken the power of those in larger states. The second and more important problem is that the modern Senate isn’t the one the framers designed in 1787.

Persons: James Madison, John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, Madison Organizations: Washington Post, Philadelphia Convention Locations: Philadelphia, Madison, Virginia, Delaware, Wyoming, California, New York , Illinois, Florida, Texas, Maine , Vermont, New Hampshire

☆ Private jet version of Boeing’s 777X gets CelestialSTAR luxury cabin concept
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

That’s the centerpiece of Lufthansa Technik’s new cabin design for the upcoming BBJ 777-9 — the private jet version of Boeing’s new widebody aircraft, the 777X. “It’s a combination between a Middle Eastern touch and a very modern, sleek design,” says Hassan Gasim, a sales director at Lufthansa Technik. A Boeing 777-X performing a flight demonstration at the Dubai Airshow. They also come with high environmental costs, as private jets emit 10 times more pollutants than commercial planes per passenger. The Boeing 777X was one of the stars of the Dubai Airshow, where it performed a flight demonstration.

Persons: ”, Hassan Gasim, Gasim, it’s, we’ve, Giuseppe Cacace, Clemens Schrettl, Schrettl, Gary Crichlow, “, Syed Zaidi, Zaidi Organizations: CNN, Lufthansa, Boeing, Lufthansa Technik, Dubai Airshow, Technik, Getty, United, United Arab Emirates, Boeing Business Jet, Emirates airline, Airbus Locations: AFP, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab, Dubai

☆ BlackRock is looking for new lobbyists and reshaping its public affairs team to match 'policy threats,' leaked memo shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The money management giant is looking for a new Washington, DC-based head of US government affairs and public policy as well as a new head of state government affairs, wrote John Kelly, BlackRock's global head of corporate affairs, in a previously unreported company memo last week. The overhaul, which includes reshuffling positions and a renamed government affairs and public policy group, reflects the tremendous pressure BlackRock is under in the public eye. Reshaping the key policy groupA string of roles in the public policy group are changing to meet this new reality. The firm's public policy group has about 40 people, some 25 of whom are on Cound's team focused on international policy. Novick launched the firm's public policy efforts in 2009.

Persons: John Kelly, BlackRock's, Kelly, BlackRock, Larry Fink, Fink, Samantha DeZur, Joanna Cound, Rachel Barry, Kate Fulton, Bryan Wood, Barbara Novick, Rob Kapito, Susan Wagner, Novick, Sheila Kindig, Jim Badenhausen, Kindig Organizations: BlackRock, Business, Republican Party, Texas Republicans, Bloomberg Locations: BlackRock, Washington, DC, Florida , Texas , Louisiana, South Carolina

☆ New Delhi air pollution: Why can’t India’s capital clean up its toxic air like Beijing?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

“It’s an invisible killer,” said Jyoti Pande Lavakare, author of “Breathing Here is Injurious to Your Health: The Human Cost of Air Pollution” and co-founder of clean air non-profit Care for Air. China’s capital has since cleaned up its act, which begs the question: if Beijing can clean up its toxic air, why can’t India too? A key moment in China’s fightback came in 2013, when the government started to invest billions of dollars into a national air pollution action plan. Hundreds of thousands of lives savedChina’s raft of clean air policies have been so successful, they have saved hundreds of thousands of lives, research has shown. They say Kejriwal’s team has done little in terms of implementing effective policies to clean New Delhi’s air.

Persons: “, ”, Jyoti Pande Lavakare, Arun Sankar, China’s, –, Wang Zhao, China’s fightback, Frank Christian Hammes, IQAir, Sunil Dahiya, Dahiya, Stringer, Arvind Kejriwal, Kejriwal, Virendra Sachdeva, Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sudhanshu Dhulia, Raj K Raj, “ You’re Organizations: CNN, Health, Pollution, Air, Getty, United, Global, Energy, Institute, University of Chicago, Centre for Research, Clean, Bloomberg, Beijing, Care for Air, Aam Aadmi Party, Bharatiya Janata Party, AAP, Ministry of Environment, Hindustan Times Locations: Delhi, Beijing, India, ”, AFP, United States, China, Swiss, New Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, New, Indonesia, Malaysia, Care, CREA, IQAir

[1/5] Several volunteers give Spanish classes to migrants outside the Las Raices Camp in La Laguna, Spain, November 5, 2023. The mix-up shows just how overwhelmed the Spanish archipelago is, Canary Islands president Fernando Clavijo told Reuters, after a record 32,000 migrants came so far this year. At Tenerife's Las Raices adult migrants' centre in San Cristobal de La Laguna, Camara and his friend from the voyage, 16-year-old Modou Lamin Jarju from Gambia, sat around with dozens of other west Africans. Reuters GraphicsOne of the most strained of the eight Canary Islands is El Hierro, its population of 9,000 more than matched by the arrival of 11,000 migrants this year. At its largest minors' centre on a recent day, some 300 children ate breakfast on a basketball court before Spanish lessons.

Persons: Borja Suarez, Moussa Camara, Camara, Classing, Fernando Clavijo, Fran Morenilla, Salaoum Colley, Amparo Morales, Clavijo, El Hierro, Corina Pons, Horaci Garcia, Charlie Devereux, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: REUTERS, CRISTOBAL, LA LAGUNA, Reuters, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Las, Amnesty, Canaries, San Cristobal de La Laguna, Camara, Thomson Locations: La Laguna, Spain, Guinea, Europe, Islands, Spanish, Almeria, Canary, San Cristobal de La, Jarju, Gambia, El Hierro, European Union, Africa, Senegal

☆ Fighting to Govern Myanmar, From a Teeny Office in Washington
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Hannah Beech | More About Hannah Beech | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

This pro-democracy government was formed after a military coup in Myanmar deposed civilian authorities in 2021. But Washington attracts political refugees from all over the world who hope proximity to power will draw attention to their national plights. Ma Aye Chan Mon and U Moe Zaw Oo of the N.U.G. remain optimistic they can get the world to care about Myanmar, despite the destructive forces of apathy and ignorance. “They don’t even know how to pronounce Myanmar,” said Ms. Aye Chan Mon, about the reception she often receives in Washington.

Persons: ”, Ma Aye Chan, Moe, Oo, Aye Chan, “ Organizations: White, National Unity Government, Washington Locations: Myanmar, Washington, Yemen

Mendoza, a former fighter for the now-disbanded Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas, dragged her children back inside the house. In interviews with Reuters, those people recounted how the attacks left conservation projects adrift, with conservationists withdrawing from environmental protection works because of fear of more violence. Municipal data from local environmental authorities and the Colombian Institute of Meteorology (IDEAM) also showed that in the year after each killing, deforestation at a local level was worse than national trends. Santofimio's killing brought his hard-fought conservation project to a halt. In the tree nursery, which stopped work after Santofimio's killing, saplings bask in the dappled sunlight beneath protective nets.

Persons: Duberney Lopez, Jorge Santofimio, PUERTO, Leidy Mendoza, Mendoza, Jorge !, they'd, Susana Muhamad, Muhamad, Colombia's, –, Armando Aroca, Santofimio, Lopez, Kevin Murakami, Comuccom, Aroca, Javier Franciso Parra, Francisco couldn't, Andres Felipe Garcia, Cormacarena, Parra, Garcia, Luisz Martinez, Martinez, La, KfW, Roberto Gomez, Gonzalo Cardona, Sara Ines Lara, Oliver Griffin, Julia Symmes Cobb, Katy Daigle, Claudia Parsons Organizations: Revolutionary Armed Forces, Colombian, Villagers, Reuters, Environment Ministry, Global, Colombian Institute of Meteorology, Comuccom, International Narcotics, Law, Affairs, U.S, National Liberation Army, UN, Programme, Meta, UNDP, Progress, World Wildlife Fund, Security, USAID, Thomson Locations: Colombia, PUERTO GUZMAN, Putumayo, Bogota, La, Meta, La Macarena, Amazonia, Puerto Guzman

☆ Britain publishes 'Bletchley Declaration' on AI safety
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Ian Hogarth, chair of the UK frontier AI taskforce, speaks on Day 1 of the AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park in Bletchley, Britain on November 1, 2023. The UK Government are hosting the AI Safety Summit bringing together international governments, leading AI companies, civil society groups and experts in research to consider the... Acquire Licensing Rights Read moreLONDON, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Britain on Wednesday published a "Bletchley Declaration", agreed with countries including the United States and China, aimed at boosting global efforts to cooperate on artificial intelligence (AI) safety. The declaration, by 28 countries and the European Union, was published on the opening day of the AI Safety Summit hosted at Bletchley Park, central England. The declaration encouraged transparency and accountability from actors developing frontier AI technology on their plans to measure, monitor and mitigate potentially harmful capabilities. "This includes, alongside increased transparency by private actors developing frontier AI capabilities, appropriate evaluation metrics, tools for safety testing, and developing relevant public sector capability and scientific research," the declaration said.

Persons: Ian Hogarth, Rishi Sunak, William James, Farouq Suleiman, Sachin Ravikumar Organizations: AI, Bletchley, Government, European Union, Thomson Locations: Bletchley, Britain, United States, China, England

☆ China willing to enhance communication with all sides on AI regulation - vice minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

China's Vice Minister of Science and Technology Wu Zhaohui speaks on Day 1 of the AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park in Bletchley, Britain on November 1, 2023. The UK Government are hosting the AI Safety Summit bringing together international governments, leading AI companies, civil society groups and experts in research to... Acquire Licensing Rights Read moreLONDON, Nov 1 (Reuters) - China is willing to enhance communication with all sides on AI regulation, its vice minister of science and technology on Wednesday told a global AI summit in Britain. "China is willing to enhance our dialogue and communication in AI safety will all sides, contributing to an international mechanism with global participation in governance framework," Wu Zhaohui said, according to an official translation of his remarks. All nations have the right to develop and use artificial intelligence technology, Wu said. "We call for global cooperation to share AI knowledge and make AI technologies available to the public on open source terms."

Persons: Technology Wu Zhaohui, Wu Zhaohui, Wu, Martin Coulter, Paul Sandle, William James, Sachin Ravikumar Organizations: China's, Science, Technology, AI, Bletchley, Government, Wednesday, Thomson Locations: Bletchley, Britain, China

☆ China says it will back global consensus on AI amid tech clash with U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The UK Government are hosting the AI Safety Summit bringing together international governments, leading AI companies, civil society groups and experts in research to consider the risks of AI, especially at the frontier of development, and discuss how they can be mitigated through internationally coordinated action. His comments were delivered at the U.K.'s AI safety summit, which officially kicked off Wednesday at Bletchley Park, England. Wu Zhaohui, China's vice minister of science and technology, said the country was willing to "enhance dialogue and communication in AI safety with all sides." That has placed significant pressure on China's generative AI developers, many of which rely on Nvidia's chips. Raimondo also said the U.S. would look to launch an AI safety institute, hot on the heels of the U.K announcing its own intentions for a similar initiative last week.

Persons: Gina Raimondo, Michelle Donelan, China Wu Zhaohui, Leon Neal, Getty, Wu Zhaohui, Raimondo Organizations: State for Science, Innovation, Technology, Science, AI, Bletchley Park, Government, U.S, Bletchley, Union, U.S . Department of Commerce, U.K Locations: BLETCHLEY, ENGLAND, China, Bletchley , England, Beijing, Bletchley Park, England, U.S . China, U.S, Bletchley

☆ Elon Musk is coming to the UK's big AI safety party. Some people actually building AI say they got frozen out.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The UK's AI summit is underway. Some AI experts and startups say they've been frozen out in favor of bigger tech companies. They warn that the "closed door" event risks ensuring that AI is dominated by select companies. The UK's AI summit aims to bring together AI experts, tech bosses, and world leaders to discuss the risks of AI and find ways to regulate the new technology. "It is far from certain whether the AI summit will have any lasting impact," Ekaterina Almasque, a general partner at European venture capital firm OpenOcean, which invests in AI, told Insider.

Persons: Elon Musk, Sam Altman, —, OpenAI's Sam Altman, Brad Smith, Kamala Harris, Iris Ai, Victor Botev, Yann LeCun, Rishi Sunak, Ekaterina Almasque, Almasque, Goldman Sachs Organizations: Service, OpenAI's, Microsoft, Twitter, UK, Big Tech, UK government's Department for Science, Innovation, Technology, UK's Trades Union Congress, American Federation of Labor, Industrial Organizations, Summit Locations: OpenOcean

☆ Elon Musk says AI Safety Summit aims to establish 'third-party referee'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Tesla, X (formerly known as Twitter) and SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk speaks with members of the media during the AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park in Bletchley, Britain on November 1, 2023. The UK Government are hosting the AI Safety Summit bringing together international governments, leading AI... Acquire Licensing Rights Read moreBLETCHLEY PARK, England, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Elon Musk said on Wednesday an inaugural AI Safety Summit in Britain wanted to establish a "third-party referee" that could oversee companies developing artificial intelligence and sound the alarm if they have concerns. "I don't know what necessarily the fair rules are, but you've got to start with insight before you do oversight," Musk said. "I think there's a lot of concern among people in the AI field that the government will sort of jump the gun on rules, before knowing what to do," Musk said. Reporting by William James; editing by Kate Holton and Sachin RavikumarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Elon Musk, you've, Musk, Musk's, William James, Kate Holton, Sachin Ravikumar Organizations: SpaceX's, Bletchley, Government, Safety Summit, European Union, Thomson Locations: Bletchley, Britain, BLETCHLEY, England

☆ U.S. to launch its own AI Safety Institute - Raimondo
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo speaks on Day 1 of the AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park in Bletchley, Britain on November 1, 2023. The UK Government are hosting the AI Safety Summit bringing together international governments, leading AI companies, civil society groups and experts in... Acquire Licensing Rights Read moreBLETCHLEY PARK, England, Nov 1 (Reuters) - The United States will launch a U.S. AI Safety Institute to evaluate known and emerging risks of what is called "frontier" artificial intelligence models, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said on Wednesday. "I will almost certainly be calling on many of you in the audience who are in academia and industry to be part of this consortium," she said in a speech to the AI Safety Summit in Britain. Raimondo added that she would also commit for the U.S. institute to establish a formal partnership with the United Kingdom Safety Institute. Reporting by Paul Sandle; writing by Kate Holton; editing by William JamesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Gina Raimondo, Raimondo, Paul Sandle, Kate Holton, William James Our Organizations: . Commerce, AI, Bletchley, Government, AI Safety, Summit, U.S, United Kingdom Safety Institute, Thomson Locations: Bletchley, Britain, BLETCHLEY, England, United States, U.S

☆ Nipah virus outbreak in India renews calls to protect bat roosts
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Sreekanth Sivadasan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +15 min

Because spillover risk is concentrated in lower income countries in the tropical south, the cost of preventing another pandemic falls squarely on nations that can least afford it. To that end, federal and state officials say they are talking about ways to protect bat habitats in areas where spillover risk is high. Investigators still don’t know precisely how the virus jumped from bats to people in each of the four Kerala outbreaks dating back to 2018. BAT MAGNETS: Bananas and areca nuts grow on land that was home to the first patient who died in a recent Nipah outbreak in Kerala, India. The state would need to act to protect trees and bat roosts, they said.

Persons: Subrat Mohapatra, ” Mohapatra, coronaviruses, Bhupender Yadav, Veena George, ”, Nigel Sizer, Biden, Sizer, Pamela Hamamoto, Muhammad Ali, Pinarayi Vijayan, Sreehari Raman, “ I've, ” Raman, Kerala Agricultural University Dean P.O, Nameer, Sajith Kizhakkayil, “, ” Vijayan, Unni Vengeri, Francisco Pérez, Sreekanth Sivadasan, Rupam Jain, Deborah J, Nelson, Ryan McNeill, Allison Martell, Sam Hart, Simon Newman, Janet Roberts, Feilding Organizations: World Health Organization, Reuters, WHO, Bank, Fund, European, European Union, BAT, Kerala Agricultural University, Research, United, Coalition, European Commission Locations: INDIA, India’s Kerala, India’s, Asia, Kerala, Kozhikode, Geneva, U.S, European, Malaysia, Bangladesh, India, United Nations, Maruthonkara, Changaroth, Kerala’s midland, Berlin

☆ China puts $137 bln Band-Aid on local debt wounds
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Chan Ka Sing | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The funds are to be funnelled to cash-strapped local governments struggling under 92 trillion yuan ($12.6 trillion) of debt. The last time was for a 1 trillion yuan special bond issuance in 2020 to combat the economic fallout from Covid-19. All these plans stem from the ruling Politburo in July calling on regulators to formulate “a basket of measures” to resolve risks stemming from local governments’ debt. CONTEXT NEWSChina’s top legislature approved a plan on Oct. 24 to sell 1 trillion yuan ($137 billion) of sovereign bonds. Separately, the Chinese legislature passed a bill to allow local governments to frontload part of their 2024 bond quotas.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Xi Jinping’s, Antony Currie, Thomas Shum Organizations: of, People, REUTERS Acquire, Reuters, Monetary, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, HONG KONG, Covid

Governors of California, which has an economy larger than most countries, have a long history of climate collaboration with China. “It’s going to be very difficult to tackle the climate crisis just here in California,” Sanchez said. California Republicans said Newsom shouldn’t be visiting China at a time of tensions over international conflicts and the suppression of free speech. But climate experts said California has a significant role to play in advancing global climate policy. “There’s a natural role for California and the California governor.”___Megerian reported from Washington.

Persons: Gavin Newsom, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Jerry Brown, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Brown, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, Xi Jinping, Joe Biden, John Kerry, Xie Zhenhua, Xie, David Victor, ” Victor, ”, Newsom, Kerry, Lauren Sanchez, ” Brown, Sanchez, “ It’s, ” Sanchez, Biden, Ron DeSantis, Newsom shouldn’t, James Gallagher, “ Newsom shouldn’t, It’s, Nathaniel Keohane, ” ___ Megerian, Ken Moritsugu Organizations: —, Governors, China Climate Institute, University of California, U.S, ., U.S ., White, Democrats, Republican, Florida Gov, California Republicans, Center, Climate, Energy Solutions, Associated Press Locations: SACRAMENTO, Calif, — California, China, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Jiangsu, He'll, Israel, California, Berkeley, United States, Taiwan, Dubai, Indonesia, U.S, San Diego, ” California, U.S . West Coast, Washington

The Global Cooling Pledge – set to be announced at the upcoming United Nations climate summit, COP28 – represents a tough request given the cooling industry is only expected to grow. The emissions from both the refrigerants and the energy used in cooling now account for about 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and are expected to triple by 2050 as temperatures continue to rise. "We need cooling, but it has to become more efficient," UNEP Cool Coalition global coordinator Lily Riahi said. Another 13 commitments outlined in the draft pledge include establishing minimum energy performance standards for air conditioning by 2030, and including cooling emissions in countries' overall climate action plans, called Nationally Determined Contributions. The UNEP estimates that global efforts to tackle cooling emissions could have a significant impact by 2050, avoiding the release of up to 86 billion metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.

Persons: Tyrone Siu, –, Noah Horowitz, Lily Riahi, Gloria Dickie, Katy Daigle, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: China Import, Export Fair, Canton Fair, REUTERS, Reuters, United, Programme's, Cool Coalition, International Energy Agency, UNEP, Coalition, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Canton, Guangzhou, China, India, United States, Nations, United Arab Emirates, Kigali, Montreal, Dubai, London

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