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Martti Ahtisaari, former Finnish president and Nobel Peace Prize winner, dies at 86

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:40 GMT

HELSINKI (AP) — Martti Ahtisaari, the former president of Finland and global peace broker awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008 for his work to resolve international conflicts, died Monday. He was 86.The foundation he created for preventing and resolving violent conflicts said in a statement it was “deeply saddened by the loss of its founder and chair of board.”“It is with great sadness that we have received the news of the death of President Martti Ahtisaari,” Finland’s President Sauli Niinistö said in a statement. “He was president in times of change, who piloted Finland into a global EU era.”In 2021, it was announced that Ahtisaari had advanced Alzheimer’s disease.Among his most notable achievements, Ahtisaari helped reach peace accords related to Serbia’s withdrawal from Kosovo in the late 1990s, Namibia’s bid for independence in the 1980s, and autonomy for Aceh province in Indonesia in 2005. He was also involved with the Northern Ireland peace process in the late 1990s, b...

Gaza’s crowded hospitals near breaking point as Israeli ground invasion looms

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:40 GMT

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinians in besieged Gaza crowded into hospitals and schools on Monday, seeking shelter and running low on food and water. More than a million people have fled their homes ahead of an expected Israeli ground invasion aimed at destroying Hamas after its fighters rampaged through southern Israel.Much of Hamas’ military infrastructure is concealed in urban areas, where street-by-street fighting would likely cause mounting casualties on both sides. Israel has given no timetable for a ground incursion. All eyes were on the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, where the U.S. and international mediators appeared close to reaching a deal for a humanitarian cease-fire that would allow aid in and allow foreigners to exit Gaza. Rafah was shut down nearly a week ago because of Israeli airstrikes.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Monday there was no cease-fire “at the moment.”The enclave’s food, water and me...

Migrant boat sinking off Greek island leaves 3 dead, 2 missing, 8 rescued

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:40 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A search and rescue operation was underway Monday after a dinghy carrying migrants sank overnight off the coast of the small eastern Greek island of Symi, leaving at least three people dead, the coast guard said.Eight people were rescued, with two of them transported to a hospital on the nearby island of Rhodes and the rest transferred to the main port in Symi, according to the coast guard.Authorities said they recovered the bodies of two men and one woman from the sea. Survivors said two more people in the dinghy were believed to have managed to reach the shore on their own.Two coast guard vessels, four private boats and an air force helicopter were searching the area for the two missing people. The nationalities of those on board the dinghy were not immediately known.Greece lies along one of the most popular smuggling routes for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia and trying to get into the European Union.Many use small din...

Commission gathers views on G7 Guiding Principles on generative Artificial Intelligence

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:40 GMT

The Commission has launched a stakeholder survey ondraftInternational Guiding Principles for organisations developing advanced AI systems, which have been agreed by G7 ministers for stakeholder consultation.These principles are currently developed by G7 Members under the Hiroshima Artificial Intelligence process to set up guardrails on a global level. The eleven draft guiding principles, which  cover advanced AI systems such as foundational models and generative AI, aim to promote safety and trustworthiness of the technology. On this basis, G7 members aim to compile a Code of Conduct that will provide guidance for organisations developing AI tools.Values and Transparency Vice President Věra Jourová said: “Generative AI brings opportunities but also risks and challenges and we urgently need to shape a framework for this technology at a global level. With these principles, the EU and like-minded democracies will be equipped with the first international set of guidelines to promote an ...

From prevention to treatment: New hope for genomics in the global fight against cancer, World Health Summit, Berlin 15-17 October 2023

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:40 GMT

Berlin 16 October, 2023: New hope in the fight against cancer worldwide emerged at a workshop on harnessing genomics at the World Health Summit in Berlin on 15 October, as leading international figures explored how to bring innovative preventive and diagnostic tools to populations in the Global South, writes European Alliance for Personalised Medicine (EAPM) Executive Director Dr. Denis Horgan.Developing countries have a chance to fast-track their adoption of life-saving technologies by learning from the mistakes that the EU has made in its own implementation, it was suggested.Many lower and middle-income countries are currently facing even more severe consequences from the general rise in cancer incidence than the developed world, because their health services are often poorly resourced and insufficiently effective. But the European Alliance for Personalised Medicine is now offering a body of work that highlights possible short-cuts to permit coun...

Dead End for Europe

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:40 GMT

After the unspeakable atrocities of last week, Israel will never be the same, and this also holds for Gaza and the Palestinians. An emotionally shattered Israel is united in the determination to destroy the terror infrastructure constructed over 17 years (following the violent Hamas takeover from the PLO in 2007), regardless of criticism. Meanwhile, Hamas is blocking escape routes and using Israeli survivors as hostages in order to retain the missiles and underground terror network – writes Gerald M Steinberg, emeritus professor of politics at Bar Ilan University and president of NGO Monitor.The response from the Americans to this horror was immediate, including deploying a naval carrier group, supported by additional vessels from the UK. Washington made it clear that if Iran and its Hezbollah terror proxy joins in murdering Israelis, they are prepared to intervene.Europe, which has no significant security capabilities to add, sent some leaders to demonstrate relevance, including EU...

Bills coach says running back Harris has full movement after taken to the hospital with neck injury

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:40 GMT

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott expressed relief in saying initial tests indicate Damien Harris is trending in a positive direction after a neck injury led to the running back being transported by ambulance to the hospital on Sunday night.“It’s my understanding he has full movement,” McDermott said following a 14-9 win over the New York Giants. “Fortunate that he is seemingly heading in a good direction, with the reports we are getting. So I am very thankful to God for that.”McDermott also said quarterback Josh Allen was examined for an injury to his throwing shoulder, with tests revealing no damage.Harris flashed a thumbs up sign with his left hand as he was being loaded into the ambulance after being hurt in the second quarter. He lay still on his back on the turf for several minutes after being tackled by linebacker Bobby Okereke on a 1-yard gain up the middle to convert a third-and-1 situation.Harris’ helmet appeared to hit Okereke squarely in the le...

New York Giants come up a yard short — twice — in dropping to 1-5 following loss to Buffalo

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:40 GMT

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Tyrod Taylor and the undermanned New York Giants were twice 1 yard away from reaching the end zone. Both times they fell short in what proved the difference in a 14-9 loss against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night.Rather than celebrating what would’ve been their second victory of the season in a game they entered as two-touchdown underdogs, the Giants instead were left to lament dropping their fourth straight.“You don’t get trophies for trying,” coach Brian Daboll said.New York is 1-5 through six games for the fifth time since 2017, which is in contrast to last year when the Giants started 5-1 in their first season under Daboll, the former Bills offensive coordinator.The outcome was decided on an untimed down to end the game. Driving 57 yards in the final 1:25, the Giants got to the 1-yard line when Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard was called for pass interference in the end zone. Taylor’s pass over the middle on the final play was too high for tight e...

Middle East is ‘on the verge of the abyss,’ says UN chief

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:40 GMT

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres late Sunday urged restraint as Israel gets ready for a ground invasion of Gaza, amid increasing concerns the Israel-Hamas conflict will turn into a regional war.“We are on the verge of the abyss in the Middle East,” Guterres warned. He called on Hamas, the Palestinian militant group and political party, to “immediately” release the people it is holding hostage in the Gaza Strip, and asked Israel to allow for “rapid and unimpeded access for humanitarian aid” in Gaza.At least one million people have fled their homes in Gaza over the past week ahead of an expected Israeli invasion in retaliation for Hamas’ surprise attack on October 7, which killed more than 1,300 Israelis and during which the militants kidnapped 150 people who are currently being held hostage in the Gaza Strip. In response, Israel has declared a siege of Gaza, restricting access to energy, food and water, and launched thousands...

Indonesia’s top court rules against lowering age limit of presidential, vice presidential candidates

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:40 GMT

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s top court on Monday ruled against lowering the minimum age of presidential and vice presidential candidates as the country gears up for election in 2024.The court’s decision is final and can’t be appealed. In August, seven politicians — including from the Indonesian Solidarity Party chaired by the youngest son of current President Joko Widodo — filed a petition against the current age limit for candidates, asking it to be lowered to 35 instead of 40, arguing it was discriminatory. The 7-to-2 decision by the nine-judge panel of the Constitutional Court rejected the arguments, saying it wasn’t the court’s role to change the age limit for candidates and that it was up to the parliament to set such laws.Two judges argued that while the court should uphold the age limit as is, it could add a special exception to those who “served or been elected as regional leaders.”Widodo’s eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, currently serves...