Canada's Prime Minister renews call for ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau renewed his call for a ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza.Radio Canada International that Trudeau made the statement in response to the killing of a third Canadian in Lebanon due to an Israeli airstrike. He emphasized the need to put an end to this violence, advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon, increase humanitarian aid, release the hostages, and a reliable pathway towards a two-state solution.Lebanon has been under Israeli attack since October 2023, which has intensified recently with increased air and artillery strikes extending to the capital, Beirut. This escalation has resulted in thousands of Lebanese casualties and forced over a million people to flee their homes, coinciding with the ongoing devastating conflict in Gaza that has persisted for over a year.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/692368/international/canadas-prime-minister-renews-call-for-ceasefire-in-lebanon-and-gaza

France's Macron calls for an end to arms exports used in Gaza and Lebanon

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday reiterated his call for an end to arms exports to the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, adding it was the sole means at hand to end the two conflicts pitting Israel against Hamas and Hezbollah.'This is in no way a call to disarm Israel (...) but a call to stop any destabilisation in this part of the world', said Macron at a press conference in Cyprus at the end of a meeting of Med9, which brings together the EU's Mediterranean countries.The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah erupted a year ago when the group began launching rockets at northern Israel in support of the Palestinian militant group Hamas at the start of the Gaza war, which followed a bloody rampage by Hamas through communities in southern Israel that killed 1,200 people in a matter of hours.The conflict has intensified in recent weeks, with Israel bombing southern Lebanon, Beirut's southern suburbs and the Bekaa Valley, killing many of Hezbollah's top leaders, and sending ground troops into areas of southern Lebanon. Hezbollah for its part has fired rockets deeper into Israel.'We have reiterated the need for a ceasefire, and this ceasefire is essential both in Gaza and in Lebanon. It is necessary now both for our hostages and the civilian population who are victims of the violence, and to avoid regional contamination', he said.'This is why France has called for an end to the export of weapons used in these theatres of war (...). We all know that this is the only way to put an end to it', Macron added.Last Saturday, the French president had already said shipments of arms used in the conflict in Gaza should be stopped as part of a broader effort to find a political solution, which prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to say the next day that placing restrictions on Israel will just serve Iran and its proxies.France is not a major weapons provider for Israel, shipping military equipment worth 30 million euros ($33 million) last year, according to the defence ministry's annual arms exports report.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/692348/region/frances-macron-calls-for-an-end-to-arms-exports-used-in-gaza-and-lebanon

UN accuses Israel of committing crimes against humanity by destroying health system in Gaza

UN investigators accused the Israeli entity Thursday of deliberately targeting health facilities in the Gaza Strip and killing and torturing medical workers, considering that this amounts to crimes against humanity.The UN International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the Israeli entity, consisting of a large number of experts, said in a statement that Israel implemented a coordinated policy to destroy the health care system in Gaza as part of a broader attack on Gaza, committing war crimes.The committee confirmed the collapse of the international legal system in the face of the atrocities in the Gaza Strip. The experts said in a statement today, coinciding with the first anniversary of the start of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, that last year witnessed genocidal attacks, ethnic cleansing and collective punishment of the Palestinians, threatening the collapse of the multilateral international system.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/692318/international/un-accuses-israel-of-committing-crimes-against-humanity-by-destroying-health-system-in-gaza

Hurricane Milton leaves 10 dead, millions without power in Florida

Hurricane Milton ploughed into the Atlantic Ocean yesterday after cutting a destructive path across Florida that spawned tornados, killed at least 10 people and left millions without power, but the storm did not trigger the catastrophic surge of seawater that was feared.Governor Ron DeSantis said the state had avoided the “worst-case scenario”, though he cautioned the damage was still significant.The Tampa Bay area appeared to sidestep the storm surge that had prompted the most dire warnings.US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said at a White House briefing that the government had reports of at least 10 deaths from Milton, adding it appeared they were caused by tornados.In St Lucie County on Florida’s east coast, a spate of tornados killed five people, including at least two in the senior-living Spanish Lakes Communities, county spokesperson Erick Gill said.There were 19 confirmed tornados in Florida as of 8pm on Wednesday, about the time Milton made landfall, DeSantis said.Some 45 tornados were reported throughout the day, mostly in the central and eastern parts of the state, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.More than 3mn homes and businesses in Florida were without power yesterday morning, according to PowerOutage.us.At least some had already been waiting days for power to be restored after Hurricane Helene hit the area two weeks ago.Milton shredded the fabric roof of Tropicana Field, the stadium of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team in St Petersburg, but there were no reported injuries.The ballpark was a staging area for responders, with thousands of cots set up on the field.In the Tampa area, the storm toppled trees, threw debris across roadways and downed power lines, video footage from local news showed.Some neighbourhoods were flooded, but the extent of the damage will not be known until crews can assess the destruction, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said at a morning news conference.Steven Cole Smith, 71, an automotive writer and editor who lives in Tampa about seven miles (11km) from the Gulf Coast, rode out the storm with his wife.He said the wind shook the windows so hard he thought they would shatter.“We really didn’t have anywhere else to go,” Smith said of their decision not to follow evacuation orders. He has a house in central Florida, but said the forecast for that area looked as bad as where he was staying.On a street near Sarasota Bay, Kristin Joyce, a 72-year-old interior designer who opted not to evacuate, took photos of tree branches snapped by the wind.“This is very tragic, especially for an area that relies on a lot of tourism and real estate,” she told AFP, surveying the damage. “There is no question it needs to be a serious wake-up call for everyone in terms of climate change.”Ken Wood, 58, a state ferryboat operator in Pinellas County, fled his Dunedin home on Florida’s Gulf Coast with his 16-year-old cat Andy, after making the “harrowing” mistake of riding out Hurricane Helene two weeks ago in his mobile home.They heeded evacuation orders and headed north but only made it as far as a hotel about an hour’s drive away when he decided it wasn’t safe to stay on the roads.“It was pretty loud, but Andy slept through it all,” he told Reuters by telephone.Emergency crews responded overnight to dozens of calls for help, including one in which 15 people were rescued after a tree fell on top of a house, Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw said.The winds toppled a large construction crane in St Petersburg, sending it crashing onto a deserted street.The state was still in danger of river flooding after up to 18” (457mm) of rain fell.Authorities were waiting for rivers to crest, but so far levels were at or below those after Hurricane Helene two weeks ago, Tampa Mayor Castor said yesterday.Most of the severe damage reported so far stemmed from the tornados, according to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) head Deanne Criswell, who was in Tallahassee yesterday.“The evacuation orders saved lives,” she said, noting that more than 90,000 residents went to shelters.President Joe Biden, who postponed an overseas trip to monitor Milton, spoke to local leaders in Florida yesterday and pledged the federal government’s full support.The storm hit Florida’s west coast on Wednesday night as a Category 3 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, with top sustained winds of 120mph (205kph).While still a dangerous storm, Milton had weakened from the rare Category 5 status as it trekked over the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida.Milton tailed off further over land, dropping to a Category 1 hurricane with top sustained winds of 85mph (145kph) as it reached the peninsula’s east coast, the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said.By morning yesterday, the storm was moving away from the Florida Atlantic coast after lashing communities on the eastern shoreline.The eye of the storm made landfall in Siesta Key, a barrier island town of some 5,400 people off Sarasota about 60 miles (100km) south of Tampa Bay.Meanwhile, in a video posted on social media, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he and his wife Melania were praying for Florida residents affected by the storm and urged them to vote for him.“Hopefully, on January 20th you’re going to have somebody that’s really going to help you and help you like never before,” the former president said, referring to the date when US presidents are inaugurated.Hurricane Helene had just struck the US southeast late last month, and the back-to-back storms have become election fodder as Trump spreads conspiracy theories claiming that Biden and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris are abandoning victims.That prompted a furious response from Biden, who on Wednesday called Trump “reckless, irresponsible”.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/692300/international/hurricane-milton-leaves-10-dead-millions-without-power-in-florida

Several killed in Hurricane Milton sweeping Florida

Several people were killed, homes were destroyed, and more than two million homes were without power in the US state of Florida as a result of Hurricane Milton.'We are not going to get into how many, but I can tell you its more than one person who has lost their life that we already recovered,' St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson told CNN, adding that hundreds of homes were 'completely totaled' by tornadoes across the county.The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said the hurricane's wind speed reached 193 km/h, as it made landfall as a Category 3 storm, making it one of the most dangerous hurricanes the region has recently faced, along with heavy rains and dangerously high tides.The NHC expected Hurricane Milton to move from the Gulf Coast of Florida across the state towards the Atlantic Ocean, with severe destruction occurring offshore.The hurricane caused severe storm surges in parts of Florida, with water levels rising rapidly, causing massive flooding.US authorities have called on millions of residents to evacuate their homes, adding that there have been reports of traffic jams and fuel shortages.Hurricane Milton arrived just two weeks after the devastating Hurricane Helene hit Florida and other southeastern states, leaving extensive destruction and casualties.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/692295/international/several-killed-in-hurricane-milton-sweeping-florida

Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon target critical civilian infrastructure : OCHA

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that Israeli occupation's airstrikes on Lebanon have increasingly targeted critical civilian infrastructure.In a statement on Wednesday, OCHA warned that Lebanon's humanitarian crisis is deteriorating at an alarming rate.'Israeli airstrikes have not only intensified but also expanded into previously unaffected areas and increasingly targeted critical civilian infrastructure,' OCHA said in the statement.'The relentless bombardment is amplifying the suffering of vulnerable populations,' it added.In a single day Oct. 6, more than 30 airstrikes struck the Beirut southern suburbs and surrounding areas frightening residents and forcing additional displacement from densely populated areas, including Shatila Palestine refugee camp.On Tuesday, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health reported that the ongoing Israeli aggression since October 2023 has resulted in 2,141 deaths and 10,099 injuries.In recent days, the Israeli entity has significantly intensified its aerial and artillery bombardment and expanded its targets to include the capital, Beirut, resulting in thousands of deaths and injuries and forcing over a million people to flee their homes.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/692293/international/israeli-airstrikes-on-lebanon-target-critical-civilian-infrastructure-ocha

Five dead after Russian missile attack on Odesa Region's Port: Ukraine

Ukraine has announced that five people were killed and nine were injured as a result of a Russian ballistic missile strike targeting the port infrastructure in Odesa region, southern Ukraine.Five dead and nine injured is the consequence of yet another ballistic missile attack by Russia on the port infrastructure in Odesa region, the Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine Oleksiy Kuleba said in Telegram post.During the attack, a civilian vessel flying the flag of Panama - the container ship Shui Spirit - was damaged, he added.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/692292/international/five-dead-after-russian-missile-attack-on-odesa-regions-port-ukraine

International conference on Lebanon to be held on Oct. 24 : French Foreign Ministry

The French Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that the international conference on Lebanon, announced by President Emmanuel Macron, will be held on Oct. 24.The French Foreign Ministry said in a statement that this ministerial conference will bring together Lebanon's partner countries, the United Nations, the European Union, international and regional organizations, and civil society.It added that the conference aims to mobilize the ranks of the international community to respond to the urgent protection and relief needs of the Lebanese people, and to identify ways to support Lebanese institutions, especially the Lebanese Armed Forces, which guarantee internal stability in the country.The ministry stressed that in the face of a serious and profound political and humanitarian crisis, France will recall through this conference the urgent need to stop the fighting and reach a diplomatic solution based on UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and allow the safe return of the displaced to their homes, noting that electing a president in Lebanon is the first step towards the return of regular political institutions.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/692287/international/international-conference-on-lebanon-to-be-held-on-oct-24-french-foreign-ministry

Duo win Physics Nobel Prize for ‘foundational’ AI breakthroughs

US scientist John Hopfield and British-Canadian Geoffrey Hinton won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday for discoveries and inventions in machine learning that paved the way for the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.The pair’s research on neural networks in the 1980s paved the way for technology that promises to revolutionise society but has also raised apocalyptic fears.Hinton has been widely credited as a “godfather” of AI and made headlines when he quit his job at Google last year to be able to more easily speak about the dangers of the technology he had pioneered.“We have no experience of what it’s like to have things smarter than us,” Hinton said over the phone to the Nobel press conference, speaking from a hotel in California.“It’s going to be wonderful in many respects, in areas like healthcare,” Hinton said. “But we also have to worry about a number of possible bad consequences. Particularly the threat of these things getting out of control.”Hopfield, 91, a professor emeritus at Princeton University, created an associative memory that can store and reconstruct images and other types of patterns in data.“When you get systems that are rich enough in complexity and size, they can have properties which you can’t possibly intuit from the elementary particles you put in there,” he said in a press conference convened by Princeton. “You have to say that system contains some new physics.”He echoed Hinton’s concerns, saying there was something unnerving about the unknown potential and limits of AI.“One is accustomed to having technologies which are not singularly only good or only bad, but have capabilities in both directions,” he said.The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said it awarded the prize to the two men because they used “tools from physics to develop methods that are the foundation of today’s powerful machine learning” that is “revolutionising science, engineering and daily life”.The award comes with a prize sum of 11mn Swedish crowns ($1.1mn) which is shared by the two winners.British-born Hinton, 76, now professor emeritus at the University of Toronto, invented a method that can autonomously find properties in data and carry out tasks such as identifying specific elements in pictures, the academy said. – Reuters/AFP

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/692224/international/duo-win-physics-nobel-prize-for-foundational-ai-breakthroughs

Qatar, France launch joint humanitarian aid to Lebanon

Qatar and France on Tuesday launched joint humanitarian aid to Lebanon. A Qatari and a French aircraft carrying aid including medical supplies, medication and shelter equipment provided by the State of Qatar and the French Republic arrived in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.This aid comes within the framework of the strategic partnership between Qatar and France aimed at supporting those affected by the recent developments in Lebanon.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/692204/qatar/qatar-france-launch-joint-humanitarian-aid-to-lebanon

Nobel prize in physics goes to machine learning pioneers

Prize awarded for work laying foundation for machine learningHinton quit Google last year to speak more freely about dangers of AIPrinceton professor Hopfield created an associative memory that can store and reconstruct imagesPhysics second award in this year's Nobel line-upPrizes announced through course of weekUS scientist John Hopfield and British-Canadian Geoffrey Hinton won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics for discoveries and inventions that laid the foundation for machine learning, the award-giving body said on Tuesday. Hinton has been widely credited as a godfather of artificial intelligence and made headlines when he quit his job at Google last year to be able to more easily speak about the dangers of the technology he had pioneered.'We have no experience of what it's like to have things smarter than us,' Hinton said over the phone to the Nobel press conference, speaking from a hotel in California.'It's going to be wonderful in many respects, in areas like healthcare,' Hinton said. 'But we also have to worry about a number of possible bad consequences. Particularly the threat of these things getting out of control.'Hopfield, 91, a professor emeritus at Princeton University, created an associative memory that can store and reconstruct images and other types of patterns in data, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awards the prize, said.'This year's two Nobel Laureates in physics have used tools from physics to develop methods that are the foundation of today's powerful machine learning,' the academy said in a statement.'Machine learning based on artificial neural networks is currently revolutionising science, engineering and daily life.'The award comes with a prize sum of 11 million Swedish crowns ($1.1 million) which is shared by the two winners.British-born Hinton, 76, now professor emeritus at the University of Toronto, invented a method that can autonomously find properties in data and carry out tasks such as identifying specific elements in pictures, the academy added.Though he quit Google in 2023 after realising computers could become smarter than people far sooner than he and other experts had expected, Hinton said the company itself acted very responsibly.Hinton also said that he regretted some of his research, but that he acted on the information he had at the time.'In the same circumstances I would do the same again,' he told the Nobel press conference. 'But I am worried that the overall consequence of this might be systems more intelligent than us that eventually take control.'Asked about the concerns surrounding machine learning and other forms of artificial intelligence, Ellen Moons, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics, said: 'While machine learning has enormous benefits, its rapid development has also raised concerns about our future.'Collectively, humans carry the responsibility for using this new technology in a safe and ethical way, for the greatest benefit of humankind.' Widely considered the most prestigious award for physicists across the world, the prize was created, along with awards for achievements in science, literature and peace, in the will of Alfred Nobel.The prizes have been awarded with a few interruptions since 1901, though the Nobel economics honour is a later addition in memory of the Swedish businessman and philanthropist, who had made a fortune from his invention of dynamite.Outside the sometimes controversial choices for peace and literature, physics often makes the biggest splash among the prizes, with the list of past winners featuring scientific superstars such as Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr and Enrico Fermi. Last year's physics prize was awarded to Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L'Huillier for their work in creating ultra-short pulses of light that can give a snapshot of changes within atoms, potentially improving the detection of diseases. Physics is the second Nobel to be awarded this week, after US scientists Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun won the medicine prize for their discovery of microRNA and its role in gene regulation, shedding light on how cells specialise.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/692167/international/uslatin-america/nobel-prize-in-physics-goes-to-machine-learning-pioneers