South Syria faces uncertain calm after deadly clashes that killed over 1,100
21/07/2025
Japan PM Ishiba vows to stay on after bruising election defeat
21/07/2025
Ecuador's biggest drug lord 'Fito' extradited to US
21/07/2025
D-Day veteran and TikTok star 'Papa Jake' Larson dies at 102
21/07/2025
Storms hit southern China mainland in wake of Typhoon Wipha
21/07/2025
Gaza civil defence says Israeli fire kills 93 aid seekers
21/07/2025
A million people sign French petition against bringing back bee-killing pesticide
20/07/2025
Astronomer CEO announces resignation after viral kiss cam video at Coldplay concert
Americas
20/07/2025
Zelensky offers to hold new talks for ceasefire
Europe
20/07/2025
Japan's government loses upper house majority
JAPAN
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
China urges global consensus on balancing AI development, security
His remarks came just days after US President Donald Trump unveiled an aggressive low-regulation strategy aimed at cementing US dominance in the fast-moving field, promising to "remove red tape and onerous regulation" that could hinder private sector AI development. Opening the World AI Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai on Saturday, Li emphasised the need for governance and open-source development, announcing the establishment of a Chinese-led body for international AI cooperation. "The risks and challenges brought by artificial intelligence have drawn widespread attention... How to find a balance between development and security urgently requires further consensus from the entire society," the premier said. Li said China would "actively promote" the development of open-source AI, adding Beijing was willing to share advances with other countries, particularly developing ones. "If we engage in technological monopolies, controls and blockage, artificial intelligence will become the preserve of a few countries and a few enterprises," he said. "Only by adhering to openness, sharing and fairness in access to intelligence can more countries and groups benefit from (AI)." The premier highlighted "insufficient supply of computing power and chips" as a bottleneck. Washington has expanded its efforts in recent years to curb exports of state-of-the-art chips to China, concerned that these can be used to advance Beijing's military systems and erode US tech dominance. For its part, China has made AI a pillar of its plans for technological self-reliance, with the government pledging a raft of measures to boost the sector. In January, Chinese startup DeepSeek unveiled an AI model that performed as well as top US systems despite using less powerful chips. 'Pet tiger cub' At a time when AI is being integrated across virtually all industries, its uses have raised major ethical questions, from the spread of misinformation to its impact on employment, or the potential loss of technological control. In a speech at WAIC on Saturday, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Geoffrey Hinton compared the situation to keeping "a very cute tiger cub as a pet". "To survive", he said, you need to ensure you can train it not to kill you when it grows up. In a video message played at the WAIC opening ceremony, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said AI governance would be "a defining test of international cooperation". The ceremony also saw the French president's AI envoy, Anne Bouverot, underscore the "an urgent need" for global action. At an AI summit in Paris in February, 58 countries including China, France and India -- as well as the European Union and African Union Commission -- called for enhanced coordination on AI governance. But the United States warned against "excessive regulation", and alongside the United Kingdom, refused to sign the summit's appeal for an "open", "inclusive" and "ethical" AI.
France 24
6 hours ago
- France 24
Polls open in Taiwan's high-stakes recall election
Supporters of Lai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) are seeking to unseat 31 lawmakers belonging to the main opposition Kuomintang party, who they accuse of being pro-China and a security threat. The KMT, which wants closer ties with Beijing, controls parliament with the help of the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) and has slammed the unprecedented recall effort as a power grab. Polling stations opened around Taiwan at 8:00 am (0000 GMT) with 24 KMT lawmakers facing potential recall. Elections for another seven KMT lawmakers will be held on August 23. Both major parties held rain-soaked rallies in the days leading up to the critical vote, which has dominated Taiwanese politics, newspaper headlines and social media feeds for months. While Lai won the presidential election in 2024, his DPP party lost its majority in parliament. Since then, the KMT and TPP have joined forces to stymie Lai's agenda, and slashed or frozen parts of the government's budget. Contentious opposition bills, including an attempt to expand parliament's powers, sparked brawls in the legislature and massive street protests -- and spurred civic groups to launch the recall campaign. The DPP needs a minimum of 12 KMT lawmakers recalled to gain temporary control of the parliament, with risk analysis firm Eurasia Group giving that outcome "a 60 percent probability". Lai's party would then need to flip six seats in by-elections later this year to cement its dominance in the 113-seat parliament -- which analysts say would be a formidable challenge. Whatever the result of the recall and by-elections, analyst Lev Nachman said political divisions in Taiwan were certain to deepen. "The way that the recalls have played out have been perhaps some of the most divisive language used towards both camps that I think I've ever seen," Nachman, a political scientist and longtime observer of Taiwan, told AFP. China looms large In recent months, KMT chairman Eric Chu has compared Lai's government to Hitler's Nazi regime, while Lai has spoken of "removing impurities" to defend Taiwan's sovereignty. Beijing has loomed large over the recall vote, with Taipei warning of "visible evidence" that China was trying to interfere in the process. Communist China has never ruled Taiwan, but Beijing claims the island is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control. For a KMT lawmaker to lose their seat, the number of votes in favour of recalling them must exceed those against and also be more than 25 percent of the total number of registered voters in the electorate.
France 24
11 hours ago
- France 24
UN chief blasts 'lack of compassion' for Palestinians in Gaza
"I cannot explain the level of indifference and inaction we see by too many in the international community -- the lack of compassion, the lack of truth, the lack of humanity," Guterres told Amnesty International's global assembly via video link. "This is not just a humanitarian crisis. It is a moral crisis that challenges the global conscience. We will continue to speak out at every opportunity." Aid groups have warned of surging cases of starvation, particularly among children, in war-ravaged Gaza, which Israel placed under an aid blockade in March amid its ongoing war with Hamas. That blockade was partially eased two months later. The trickle of aid since then has been controlled by the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, replacing the longstanding UN-led distribution system. International Committee of the Red Cross President Mirjana Spoljaric said Friday "there is no excuse for what is happening in Gaza." "The scale of human suffering and the stripping of human dignity have long exceeded every acceptable standard -- both legal and moral." Spoljaric said the ICRC has more than 350 staff in Gaza, "many of whom are also struggling to find enough food and clean water." Aid groups and the United Nations have refused to work with the GHF, accusing it of aiding Israeli military goals. Guterres said while he had repeatedly condemned the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on southern Israel, which triggered the war in the Palestinian territory, "nothing can justify the explosion of death and destruction since." "The scale and scope is beyond anything we have seen in recent times," he said. "Children speak of wanting to go to heaven, because at least, they say, there is food there. We hold video calls with our own humanitarians who are starving before our eyes... But words don't feed hungry children." Guterres also condemned the killing of more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to access food aid supplies since May 27, when the GHF began operations. "We need action: an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, immediate and unimpeded humanitarian access," Guterres said. He added that the United Nations was ready to "dramatically scale up humanitarian operations" in Gaza should Israel and Hamas reach a ceasefire deal.
