“And more people are fleeing as conflict intensifies”, Arafat Jamal, UNHCR’s Representative in the world’s youngest country, said in a press release. At least 3,000 people have already fled to neighbouring Sudan – further escalating South Sudan’s refugee crisis, which is already the largest in Africa. ‘Civilians under attack’ “Civilians are under attack in this ruthless conflict; we must ensure their protection”, the UN official stressed. Fighting erupted in the Upper Nile village of Tonga on 15 August. Violence has since spread further to northern parts of Jonglei and Unity states. And currently, conflict is spreading through Upper Nile’s Fashoda county, threatening the town…
Author: World News Intel
AI has mastered some of the most complex games known to man, but while it often excels at competition, cooperation doesn’t come as naturally. Now an AI from Meta has mastered the game Diplomacy, which requires you to work with other players to win. Google’s mastery of the game of Go was hailed as a major milestone for AI, but despite its undeniable complexity, it is in many ways well-suited to the cold, calculating logic of a machine. It’s a game of perfect information, where you have full visibility of your opponent’s moves, and winning simply means being able to…
Pandemic-related disruptions caused 25 million boys and girls to miss their first dose of the measles vaccine last year, while another 14.7 million did not get the second dose. The record decline in measles vaccination coverage represents a significant setback in global progress to combat the disease. Pandemic paradox “The paradox of the pandemic is that while vaccines against COVID-19 were developed in record time and deployed in the largest vaccination campaign in history, routine immunization programmes were badly disrupted, and millions of kids missed out on life-saving vaccinations against deadly diseases like measles,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO…
Estimates from ILO for the third quarter of 2022, indicate that the level of hours worked was 1.5 per cent below pre-pandemic levels, amounting to a deficit of 40 million full-time jobs. Inflation up, wages down The 10th edition of the Monitor on the World of Work confirms that rising inflation is causing real wages to fall in many countries. This comes on top of significant declines in income during the COVID-19 crisis, which affected low-income groups most in many countries. The report finds that labour market inequalities are likely to increase, contributing to a continued divergence between developed and developing…
SAN DIEGO — The Washington Nationals added to their young talent pool Wednesday, selecting right-handed pitcher Thad Ward with the first pick of the Rule 5 draft. Ward, 25, had a breakout season with Boston’s low and high Class A affiliates in 2019, then had his career stalled by the pandemic and Tommy John surgery. But the Nationals believe he can contribute as a multi-inning reliever next season and potentially start down the road.Because Ward arrives via the Rule 5 draft, the Nationals will have to carry him on their active roster for all of 2022 or risk losing him…
JAKARTA, Indonesia — A strong and deep earthquake shook Indonesia’s capital and other parts of the main island Java on Thursday but there were no immediate reports of serious damage or casualties.High-rises in Jakarta, the capital, swayed for several seconds and some ordered evacuations.The U.S. Geological Survey said the 5.8 magnitude earthquake shook at a depth of 123.7 kilometers (76.9 miles) centered 14 km (8.7 miles) northwest of Ciranjang-hilir in West Java province, the same province where a magnitude 5.6 earthquake on Nov. 21 in Cianjur city killed at least 334 people and injured nearly 600.It was the deadliest in…
Back-to-back bleaching events have highlighted the critical threat that climate change poses to the Great Barrier Reef. But few people are aware of the network of gullies pumping out about half the sediment that is polluting reef water quality and threatening its World Heritage status. These gully networks are like miniature Grand Canyons, some with walls up to 20 metres high. They make a spectacular sight but are a disaster for the land, the reef and the rivers that connect them. In the UNESCO delegation’s latest report on the reef, dramatically scaling up gully repair efforts is the top recommendation.…
Climate and environmental campaigners on Wednesday hailed the first-ever U.S. government offshore wind power lease sale off the Pacific coast, an auction that drew over three-quarters of a billion dollars in winning bids.”Today’s lease sale is further proof that industry momentum—including for floating offshore wind development—is undeniable.”The U.S. Interior Department said Wednesday that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s wind energy auction on Tuesday for five leases covering 373,000 acres off the California coast drew winning bids totaling $757.1 million from five companies.The five sites offshore lease sites—two near Eureka in Humboldt County in far northern California and three near…
SAN DIEGO — Brian Cashman’s sentences wound and ran on, doubled back and petered out. The New York Yankees general manager had spent a sleepless Tuesday night at baseball’s winter meetings texting Aaron Judge, checking in with owner Hal Steinbrenner (who was calling Aaron Judge) and texting Aaron Judge’s agent. And waiting.By Wednesday morning, Cashman was in the complicated situation of being unable to acknowledge what had been widely reported: The newly minted American League most valuable player had chosen to return to the Yankees for a reported nine years and $360 million. Unlike Judge’s foundation, which tweeted “Case closed”…
Secretary of State Antony Blinken joined NATO ministers gathered in Romania last week, hailing the unity of the alliance in its response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has seen member states scramble to provide weapons and funding to aid Kyiv’s fight.But when Blinken welcomes his counterparts from Finland and Sweden in Washington this week, it will be the differing, and sometimes dissonant, agendas of the bloc’s 30 members that will take center stage.Long after the June 2022 summit when Western leaders had hoped to cement the Nordic nations’ entry into NATO, the accession of Finland and Sweden remains blocked…