ICC prosecutor drops charges against Central Africa militia leader
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has withdrawn charges against a former militia leader from the
2023-10-19 17:53
Celebrations are replaced by concern at Napoli amid a slow start to Serie A title defense
There are still blue-and-white streamers hanging over alleyways and banners all over the city celebrating Napoli’s first Serie A title since the days when Diego Maradona played for the club
2023-10-19 17:52
Woman's campaign for assisted death law change
Nichola Harris' mother died surrounded by "friends and loved ones singing and holding her hands".
2023-10-19 17:51
Indonesia central bank unexpectedly raises rates amid falling rupiah
By Gayatri Suroyo and Stefanno Sulaiman JAKARTA Bank Indonesia unexpectedly raised interest rates on Thursday to arrest the
2023-10-19 17:49
Buatsi vs Azeez postponed due to injury in ‘final training session’
Joshua Buatsi’s fight with Dan Azeez has been cancelled on four days’ notice, after the latter sustained an injury in the final session of his training camp. The unbeaten Britons were set to put their friendship aside and meet in a light-heavyweight bout on Saturday (21 October), headlining at the O2 Arena in London. However, the fight has been postponed due to Azeez suffering a back injury, it was announced on Tuesday (17 October). Azeez, 34, said: “I’m devastated for this to happen on fight week. It still hasn’t sunk in. I’ve never had to withdraw from a fight in my career before. “I want to apologise to all the fans, especially those travelling to the fight. I am also extremely sorry to my opponent Joshua Buatsi, to my promoter, and to everyone involved who has worked so hard on this date. I hope this fight can be rescheduled as soon as possible.” Meanwhile, Boxxer chief Ben Shalom said: “This is a big shock, but everyone at Boxxer is working very hard to ensure we provide clarity for all fighters, teams and – most importantly – the fans as soon as we can. “I know that Dan would do anything to be in the ring on Saturday night, and for this to happen at this stage is devastating. This is a huge fight for British boxing, but the health and safety of our fighters must come first. “My heart goes out to Dan and Joshua, who have both completed tough camps, and to the fans, with more than 10,000 having made arrangements to come on Saturday. We will provide an update on the rest of the card and communicate a revised date for Buatsi-Azeez as soon as possible.” Azeez last fought in July, bearing Khalid Graidia on points, two months after 30-year-old Buatsi outpointed Pawel Stepien. On Wednesday (18 October), Boxxer announced that the undercard would remain intact and take place at London’s York Hall, headlined by Mikael Lawal vs Isaac Chamberlain. Read More Tommy Fury hits out at KSI’s ‘star jumps and hugs’ after beating YouTuber in boxing match Jake Paul announces return to boxing after Tommy Fury’s win over KSI Dillon Danis explains why he will appeal defeat by Logan Paul
2023-10-19 17:28
Barcelona to wear Rolling Stones logo on El Clasico shirts
Barcelona will wear the Rolling Stones logo on their shirts for El Clasico against Real Madrid.
2023-10-19 17:24
Putin's prominence and the shadow of conflict: Key takeaways from China's Belt and Road Forum
A two-day global gathering billed as China's "most important diplomatic event" of the year wrapped up in the Chinese capital on Wednesday, with Beijing touting its outsized role in world development -- and its alternative vision to that of the United States.
2023-10-19 17:22
House in limbo as Jordan continues speaker bid despite stiff GOP resistance
The House remains paralyzed with no end in sight to the Republican leadership crisis as GOP Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio continues his bid for speaker despite facing stiff resistance.
2023-10-19 17:21
Pets pose a serious health threat that we've all been overlooking
While millions of people own cats and dogs and wouldn’t dream of getting rid of them, pets pose a health risk to humans that is massively overlooked, according to a new study. Since the Covid-19 pandemic swept the world with devastating impact, it has become evident how much of a risk new viruses can pose to our well-being. However, experts are warning that it is not just the wildlife trade or exotic animals that we should be concerned about, as pets could also be sources of zoonotic diseases (which jump from animals to humans). Back garden pets, house pets, working animals and even rodents and pests could host new viruses that could affect humans, according to a new study. It warns that the urbanisation of our habitats and climate change will have an impact on diseases and their dynamics. The study was shared in Science Translational Medicine and penned by disease ecologist Amandine Gamble along with a group of colleagues, who gave examples of how companion animals (aka pets) and stray animals carried a risk of zoonotic spillover. While the risk is thought to be small, experts warn it is significantly underappreciated, especially given the frequent proximity human beings have to pets and strays. The study said: “These animals can play critical roles in zoonotic spillover by enabling the maintenance of a zoonotic pathogen, facilitating its spatial spread, acting as a bridge between otherwise unconnected species, or providing particular opportunities for its evolution.” While the zoonotic spillover that caused Covid-19 sparked a global pandemic, any instance of infection that jumps from animal to human is known as a zoonotic, regardless of the numbers affected. Pet parrots are a known transmitter of the Chlamydia psittaci bacterium to humans. Elsewhere, bats and horses are also known sources of zoonotic diseases. In terms of common household pets, cats can act as a link to a number of fatal diseases. The experts explained: “Numbers of infections are low, but plague is endemic in 17 western U.S. states, and many of the small mammals on which cats prey carry Y. pestis. “Consequently, outdoor cats and cats with incomplete veterinary care, combined with human interaction, suggest that cat-transmitted plague can be considered an increasing public health risk.” They conclude that “it is critical to implement surveillance programs allowing us to track changes in pathogen dynamics”. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-10-19 17:19
Olivia Rodrigo announces limited-edition GUTS vinyl with four bonus tracks
Only fans who purchase the 'Guts: The Secret Tracks’ vinyl will get to hear four bonus tracks.
2023-10-19 17:18
ECB's Valimaki: digital euro will not be an investment object
By Anne Kauranen HELSINKI A digital euro would allow consumers in Europe to pay with central bank money
2023-10-19 17:16
WhatsApp update changes how billions log in to messaging app
WhatsApp is changing the way billions of users log into the messaging app, ditching passwords and two-factor authentication in favour of quicker and more secure passkeys. The move is part of a major shift within the tech industry to move away from decades-old password technology and replace it with the more modern passkey format, which combines biometric information like fingerprints with a simple numeric code in order to identify people. A similar switch was recently announced by Google, which will introduce passkeys to its apps like Maps, Search and YouTube. WhatsApp’s update will only impact Android users to begin with. “Passkeys are a new way to log back into your account,” said Will Cathcart, who heads WhatsApp. “This is a more secure way of confirming it’s really you – and gives you an added layer of security.” WhatsApp is also rolling out self-destructing voice notes to users as part of new measures to improve privacy on the world’s most popular messaging app. The update is currently only available for beta tester users who have the latest version of WhatsApp installed on their phone or computer, though it is expected to eventually be introduced for all users. With more than 2.7 billion users worldwide – the majority of which on Android devices – WhatsApp updates typically need to be introduced gradually in order to make sure any potential security bugs do not have a critical impact. The self-destructing audio messages, first spotted by WhatsApp feature tracker Wabetainfo, is compatible with both Android and iOS users, though no date has been given for when a wider roller out might be expected. WhatsApp does not comment on release schedules for feature updates unless they relate to security. “After sending the voice note with view once mode enabled, you won’t be able to listen to it and the recipient can no longer listen to the voice note after dismissing it,” Wabetainfo noted. “This mode effectively minimises the chances of unauthorised access or later listening, providing a new layer of privacy for sensitive and confidential information.” The latest update follows recently added features like ‘Channels’, which allow people to follow celebrities and companies within the app, and a ‘Create’ button that gives users the ability to make custom art on the platform. The Create feature brings generative artificial intelligence to WhatsApp for the first time, and means users do not require external tools or specific design skills to create the stickers. Instead, the custom stickers can be produced using simple text-based prompts, similar to other AI image generators like Midjourney and OpenAI’s Dall-E. Read More Facebook and Instagram users face monthly fee for ad-free version Meta launches AI chatbots with ‘personalities’ to take on ChatGPT Viral WhatsApp warning of cyberattack targeting Jewish people is fake Amazon trials humanoid robots to see if they can help staff warehouses Tesla’s profits dip as Musk goes on rant about staff working from home
2023-10-19 17:15
