Russia has denied that Ukrainian forces have made a breakthrough in the bloody battle for the city of Bakhmut while the United Kingdom has become the first country to supply Ukraine with long-range cruise missiles. Ukraine has for months requested long-range missiles from its Western allies but has only received shorter-range weapons as supporters feared more advanced weapons would be used to strike targets inside Russian territory and further escalate the conflict. UK Defence Minister Ben Wallace said on Thursday that Storm Shadow cruise missiles – which have a range of more than 250km (150 miles) compared with the US-provided…
Author: National Tone
So far, Project Texas appears to be primarily an exercise in geography, one that seems well-positioned to address concerns about the Chinese government accessing Americans’ personal information. But it does not address other ways that China could weaponize the platform, like tweaking TikTok algorithms to increase exposure to divisive content, or adjusting the platform to seed or encourage disinformation campaigns.Adam Segal, director of the Digital and Cyberspace Policy program at the Council on Foreign Relations, told BuzzFeed News that the Chinese government’s influence on TikTok’s algorithms is a more pressing concern than data exfiltration. “I’ve never seen a particularly good…
Karachi, Pakistan On a hot day in Karachi, Mohammad Junaid, an employee of Pakistan Railways, stops his motorcycle by the roadside to ask passersby if they need a ride. Junaid works part-time for a ride-hailing service provider and earns about 800 Pakistani rupees ($2.7) daily. “My salary is not enough to meet expenses,” he told Al Jazeera. “I must work for Bykea [the ride-hailing startup] to provide for my family.” However, the suspension of internet services has diminished his income as rides are booked on the app, which needs the internet. The same is the case with thousands of app-based…
Under the Geneva Conventions, journalists working in conflict zones are regarded as civilians, meaning targeted attacks against them constitute war crimes. Earlier this month, a team of journalists with Britain’s Sky News came under a suspected Russian ambush despite repeatedly identifying themselves. Correspondent Stuart Ramsay was shot and wounded, and the crew was subsequently evacuated to the UK.Carlos Martinez de la Serna, program director with the Committee to Protect Journalists, on Sunday condemned Renaud’s killing and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.”We are shocked and saddened to learn of the death of U.S. journalist Brent Renaud in…
United States senators have grilled the head of the Pentagon for what they called a failure to cooperate with an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation of Russian war crimes in Ukraine. Speaking during a Senate committee hearing on Thursday, Democrat Dick Durbin said he had been told by the international court’s chief prosecutor that the US Defense Department was refusing to cooperate in the case, which it launched in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. In March, the court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Durbin said the court’s top prosecutor,…
The Winnipeg Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck, Boston Bruins’ Linus Ullmark and New York Islanders’ Ilya Sorokin are the 2022-23 Vezina Trophy nominees as top goalie, the NHL announced Thursday. .acf-block-preview .instagram-twitter-container width: 340px; margin: 0 auto; Hellebuyck, 29, was a bright spot for the Jets this season, posting a stellar 37-25-2 record for a team that barely made it into the playoffs. The Commerce, Mich., native had a .920 save percentage and a 2.49 goals-against average, plus four shutouts. Ullmark, 29, backstopped the Bruins’ phenomenal record-breaking season, pacing the league’s top team with an astounding 40-6-1 record, to go along with…
One of the companies in the network, Netherfield, was involved in a complex offshore transaction that raised $50 million for a company controlled by Igor Shuvalov, one of Putin’s key advisers. The deal was reported in Barrons in 2011. The story did not name Abramovich as the owner of Netherfield, but the State Street investigators ultimately found that it belonged to him. In the months after the story ran, Netherfield was closed down, and its investments were moved to a newly formed company in the British Virgin Islands, the State Street investigators found.Cash used for the network’s investments came from…
Phoenix Suns centre Deandre Ayton has been ruled out for Thursday’s pivotal Game 6 against the Denver Nuggets with a rib contusion, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports. .acf-block-preview .instagram-twitter-container width: 340px; margin: 0 auto; Ayton suffered the rib injury in the first quarter of Game 5 after a collision with Nuggets wing Bruce Brown. The big man remained in the game, playing 31 minutes in the Suns’ blowout loss. The Suns will now be without Ayton and starting point guard Chris Paul, who has already been ruled out with a groin injury. Ayton has averaged 13.4 points and 9.7…
Ramallah, occupied West Bank – Palestinian Authority (PA) officials and the Al Jazeera Media Network laid the cornerstone for the Shireen Abu Akleh press museum in Ramallah in the central Israeli-occupied West Bank on the first anniversary of her death. Abu Akleh, a television correspondent with Al Jazeera for 25 years, was shot by Israeli forces on May 11, 2022, while reporting on an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. “Shireen was the witness and the martyr,” said Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh at Thursday’s ceremony. “Today, we immortalise the memory of Shireen Abu Akleh…
Ronnie O’Sullivan says his issues with drinking and drugs resulted in him “losing personality and confidence”; O’Sullivan was speaking on the day of the release of his new book Unbreakable Last Updated: 11/05/23 6:58pm Ronnie O’Sullivan reacts during his match against Luca Brecel at the World Snooker Championship Seven-time snooker world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan admits he lost years of his career due to issues with alcohol and drugs. The 47-year-old, who was beaten by eventual champion Luca Brecel in the quarter-finals of this year’s World Championship, entered rehab in 2000 after being stripped of the Irish Masters title in 1998…