The United Nations rights chief called Monday for countries and “frontier” artificial intelligence companies to act urgently to rein in a technology he warned posed “unprecedented risks”. In a letter sent to countries and AI developers and shared with the media, Volker Turk cautioned that the world was “on the cusp of irreversible change, affecting not just us but generations of humanity to come”. “The current race towards ever more powerful AI is a step change towards greater existential risks to every aspect of our lives.” He sent the letter at a time when worries over the risks of “superintelligent”…
Author: Oki Bin Oki
A South African and his two sons, one a police officer, appeared before a Cape Town magistrate last month accused of extorting around 50 convenience stores run by Ethiopians and Somalis. Also in the dock was a Somali alleged to have collected “protection fees” from the shopkeepers outside Stellenbosch, the winelands capital 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Cape Town. The trial has highlighted the targeting of foreign-owned “spaza” shops in a growing extortion economy that preys on a range of businesses from construction to nightclubs. Immigrant-run shops were also a focus of an explosion of xenophobic unrest earlier this year…
The Iran-backed Houthis’ swift advance in Yemen and attacks on Saudi Arabia have left the Gulf Arab kingdom with few options to respond, all of which carry heavy costs. The key message emanating from the kingdom is that Riyadh does not want an all-out war, experts say, but the Houthis’ emboldened behavior may nonetheless drag the Gulf state into a wider conflict. All signs now “point to a large-scale Saudi retaliation, and that likelihood is increasing by the day,” Mohammed Al-Basha, an expert on Yemen and Washington, DC-based risk adviser, told CNN. “At this point they don’t have an option,”…
Savir Shah fired an impressive 3-under-par 69 to win the Boys 15 – 18 years category as the NCBA-supported U.S. Kids Golf Nairobi Local Tour made its fourth stop at Muthaiga Golf Club on Sunday. Shah produced the lowest score of the day, finishing two shots ahead of Yuvraj Rajput, who carded a one-under-par 71. Wahome Mutahi was third on 82, while Alan Mbogo finished fourth on 84. In the Girls 15–18 years category, Shani D’Souza emerged victorious with a score of 98, ahead of Kalendi Ndambuki on 114 and Chanel McKenzie on 119. Ashley Gachora won the Girls 13-14…
Three relay teams from Kenyatta University have qualified for the finals of the Open Lanes Varsity Invitational after emerging from a competitive round of in-campus qualifiers. The competition, powered by Swiss sportswear brand On, brings together student-athletes from universities across Nairobi in a contest for inter-university bragging rights and a fully paid race-weekend experience in South Africa. The qualification marks the start of the knockout phase, which will see students from Kenyatta University, the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA), Strathmore University, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), the University of Nairobi and Riara University compete in relay…
Former US CIA director David Petraeus was at a Ukrainian train station at the very moment a Russian drone struck a passenger train on Sunday, shortly after a diplomatic train carrying former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other foreign dignitaries had passed through. Kyiv framed the attack as evidence of the increased threat Russia’s Vladimir Putin poses to Europe, with Ukraine’s rail operator saying it was “quite likely” a targeted attack. The diplomatic train carrying Johnson, European security officials and other former leaders from Kyiv to Poland had made an early departure from Yahodyn station –– about two kilometers…
In a striking incident that highlights the deep frustrations surrounding India’s digital infrastructure, villagers in Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur district tied a telecom technician to a mobile tower. The event, which took place on September 10, 2026, in Hardauli village under the Bindki police station area, was a desperate protest against persistent network failures that residents claimed had plagued them for nearly two years. The technician, identified as Aditya Bhan Singh, a resident of Basawanpur, had gone to the village to inspect the local power supply at the telecom site when a group of villagers confronted him. According to police, the…
The French UN mission said it regretted an online post criticizing how the United States voted during a UN General Assembly meeting, with US officials telling AFP on Saturday that Washington appreciated the statement. France’s permanent mission to the UN published the apology Friday, saying it regretted a post on X criticizing the United States’ commitment to human rights. “France and the United States recently took different positions on a vote at the United Nations General Assembly. This difference concerned one vote, and not the defense of human rights,” the mission said in an English statement on its website. “Public…
An Indonesian ferry carrying 243 passengers and crew is out of contact while sailing north in bad weather from Java to Borneo, rescue officials said Sunday. The passenger and cargo ship Virgo Transport 8 departed from Surabaya, East Java, on Saturday before running into bad weather and losing contact with its shipping company early on Sunday. “We have received the report regarding the loss of contact with the Virgo Transport 8 vessel and have immediately deployed personnel and KN SAR Laksmana 241 to the estimated last known position,” said I Putu Sudayana, head of the Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Office.…
More than 7,000 Ebola cases have been recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s worst outbreak of the deadly disease ever, according to figures released Saturday by Congolese authorities. But the government also suggested that the spread of the disease may already have peaked, despite the virus having been confirmed in a seventh province earlier this week. The DRC officially detected the latest outbreak in mid-May, with nearly 3,400 people killed in its 17th epidemic of the highly infectious virus. It began in the northeastern Ituri province before spreading to conflict-plagued, remote eastern and northern regions where armed groups have…
The Duchess of Sussex has shared a glimpse of family life in footage posted to Instagram following their return to the UK. The 34-second clip, which features Wham!’s Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, begins with Meghan, along with her husband Prince Harry, walking along a country path as she turns and says “come on, you”. UK flag and heart emojis are shown throughout the video, which also shows their son Archie running towards deer as their daughter Lilibet rides her bike. Another clip sees Harry fishing with the children as their dog walks alongside the water. It’s the first…
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and political appointees in his department pushed for the two crew members of an F-15 who were shot down over Iran in April to participate in Sunday’s highly publicized “60 Minutes” report about the ensuing rescue operation, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. Both airmen initially expressed reservations about doing the interview, with one even raising concerns about the prospect of being potentially ordered to take part in the segment, while military officials were also wary of revealing classified details of the rescue effort, according to three of the sources. Political appointees in Hegseth’s…
Wisconsin congressman and Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany said he suffered minor injuries after a plane he was in made an emergency landing Saturday night on Lake Wausau in central Wisconsin. In a post on X, Tiffany said while returning home from the La Crosse County Lincoln Day Dinner, in Onalaska, Wisconsin, the plane lost power as it approached Wausau Downtown Airport. The pilot made an emergency water landing in Lake Wausau, he said, and the two called 911. As the plane began to submerge, Tiffany and the pilot exited the aircraft and swam to a shallow area where they…
Six people have died and 107 have been rescued from a stricken Indonesian passenger ferry in the Java Sea, Indonesia’s search and rescue agency has said. A search and rescue operation was launched after contact was lost with the Virgo Transport 8 ship, which was carrying 243 people, as it encountered bad weather, Indonesia’s search and rescue agency said. The search for the remaining passengers is ongoing. The ferry was travelling from Surabaya to the South Kalimantan city of Banjarmasin and was last reported to be about 150km (93 miles) south of Banjarmasin around 02:00 local time on Sunday (18:00…
Uganda’s King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, once the world’s youngest reigning monarch, was buried on Saturday, days after a row broke out over who would succeed him. Oyo, 34, who had ruled the traditional kingdom of Tooro in western Uganda since the age of three, died last month while undergoing cancer treatment in the US. Tooro is one of Uganda’s traditional kingdoms. They were abolished in 1967 but restored in the 1990s under President Museveni. Their monarchs are recognised as cultural leaders rather than political rulers. Thousands of mourners lined the streets as the king’s casket was transported…