Author: Gulf News Week
ReutersThe bear appeared to be “extremely intelligent”, Fukushima’s mayor has saidA bear that was holed up inside an electronics factory in north-east Japan after attacking four people has eluded capture, apparently by opening a window by itself and fleeing under the cover of night, authorities said.The bear’s trail suggests it released the window latch and pushed it open, according to city officials. Before Wednesday’s escape, the bear was seen opening a faucet to drink using its front paws.”We believe it to be extremely intelligent,” Fukushima Mayor Yuki Baba said, according to Kyodo news agency.The bear entered a steel factory in…
DAVID MARIUZ / EPAThe watchdog report examined the 12 royal properties of Andrew and his familyAndrew Mountbatten-Windsor received an undisclosed rental income from sub-letting three cottages on the Royal Lodge estate that he leased from the Crown Estate, the public spending watchdog has revealed.The National Audit Office (NAO) report also revealed that the King pays the rent for accommodation in royal palaces for Mountbatten-Windsor’s daughters Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice, who are not working royals.It is the first report into royal residences in 20 years and shows Mountbatten-Windsor and his family and staff had 12 properties, owned by the Crown Estate…
Supplied: DCCEEWMadagascar hissing cockroaches are some of the biggest in the worldMore than 100,000 illegal exotic cockroaches – some as big as the palm of a hand – have been seized by Australian authorities from a commercial breeder in New South Wales.The seizure, worth $AU200,000 ($143,000; £106,000), included Madagascar hissing cockroaches and dubia cockroaches from a breeder in Bathurst, 200km west of Sydney. Both species cannot be legally imported into Australia or kept, bred or sold.It is the largest seizure of illegal exotic invertebrates, authorities said. The illegal insects can spread disease and harm native wildlife and agriculture, they added.The…
‘It looks black’ – Americans react to Reflecting Pool’s completed paint jobAfter weeks of renovation, water has begun refilling the historic pool, which has been coated in a colour named “American flag blue”.5 hrs agoUS & Canada
SuppliedZeynab Javadli divorced Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum in 2019The ex-wife of a nephew of the ruler of Dubai has been taken into custody, authorities have said.Dubai Public Prosecution told the BBC that Zenab Javadli was detained following a complaint made by the father of her three children – her former husband, Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum.He alleged that she had abducted the children during a court-approved visitation session.Javadli’s family and friends had lost contact with her since Tuesday night and had raised the alarm over her whereabouts.For months, she had barely left the…
Getty ImagesArtificial intelligence has been used to develop a “fundamentally new” type of vaccine that could protect against large swathes of viruses and prevent pandemics, say researchers.The team at the University of Cambridge say it is the first time a vaccine’s key component has been designed entirely by AI and then trialled in people.The vaccine was engineered to work on all coronaviruses which would include all Covid variants and viruses that infect animals, but could start the next pandemic.The work is still in the early stages, but the team is already developing separate vaccines that could tackle flu and Ebola.But…
Watch: AI needs a ‘brake pedal’, Anthropic co-founder tells BBC NewsnightAnthropic co-founder Jack Clark has called for the ability to slow progression of artificial intelligence (AI), warning the technology is nearing a point where it could develop without human input.”You want the option to be able to take your foot off the gas and put your foot on the brake”, Clark told BBC Newsnight. “Right now, it’s like the AI industry has a gas pedal, but it doesn’t have a brake pedal.”He stressed people, through government policy, need to keep control of AI systems, which will only get more powerful…
Watch: Guide stranded on Everest for six days rescuedThe BBC’s Rajini Vaidyanathan pieces together how events unfolded.3 hrs agoAsia
ReutersSmoke billows from the Nabatieh area in southern Lebanon following an Israeli strike on ThursdayThe Lebanese armed group Hezbollah has emphatically rejected the terms of a US-backed ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.In a strongly-worded statement, the Iran-backed group’s leader Naim Qassem said negotiations had been “futile” and “humiliating” for Lebanon, and rejected categorically by “broad segments of the Lebanese people”. It comes after Israel and Lebanon announced a renewal of their fragile ceasefire with the creation of “pilot” security zones inside Lebanon in which Hezbollah operatives would be banned.In a joint statement released on Wednesday by the US State Department,…
Getty ImagesWarning: This story contains details some may find distressingA major investigation has been launched by police in the Netherlands into the suspected drugging and sexual assaults of a number of women, prompting the arrests of four men.Dutch police said they had received information suggesting multiple women may have been drugged “by someone in their immediate circle” and sexually assaulted on camera, following tip-offs from agencies in England and Germany.The suspects allegedly frequented private social media groups in which tips were shared on how best to drug victims and images of the abuse were circulated.Dutch media likened the alleged events…