Human Rights Watch has reported its concerns about mass arrests by the Pakistani police resulting from protests over the arrest of Imran Khan. More than 4,000 people have been detained, including opposition political party members. Many have been charged with rioting, although authorities have arrested members of opposition political parties who were not involved in violent protests, and all those detained for peaceful protest should be released. Violence began after the police arrested former prime minister Khan on 9 May 2023, on corruption charges. Since then hundreds of members of Khan’s political party have been arrested.
Artificial intelligence (AI) may be a cause for job losses, but new advances in technology can also lead to the creation of new jobs, according to experts. Erik Brynjolfsson, a professor at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI, said he wished people would realise the scope for undertaking tasks that had never previously been possible. Researchers at OpenAI and the University of Pennsylvania found that in about 80% of jobs, at least 10% of tasks could be automated using generative AI, which can produce things like text and images. However, the new technology may complement human labour, allowing workers to focus on new areas of work. Brynjolfsson cited the example of an AI tool that generated live responses for call centre staff to give to customers, boosting productivity by 14% on average and improving customer sentiment.
Transgender activists in Pakistan have said they plan to appeal the Federal Shariat Court’s ruling that the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, passed in 2018, is in contravention of Islamic doctrine. The Act protects transgender rights and ensures access to legal gender recognition. The Court overturned several provisions, including allowing a person to alter their gender on the basis of “innermost feeling” or “self-perceived identity”. Religious factions argued that the Act may promote homosexuality. Human rights groups expressed concern that the ruling would further marginalise Pakistan’s transgender community.
Women in Honduras are accessing pills prescribed by the World Health Organization to terminate pregnancies, in spite of the country’s strict abortion ban and social and religious opposition. Assistance is being provided by anonymous networks with participants using aliases, code words, encrypted messages and burners to maintain concealment. The pills – mifepristone and misoprostol – are usually obtained from Mexico via the networks. While some other Latin American countries are relaxing abortion restrictions, Honduras tightened its ban this year by enshrining it in the Constitution. It also increased the number of lawmakers required to alter the ban.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson gave a lighthearted speech to graduates from American University’s Washington College of Law that drew on life lessons learned from watching the reality TV show "Survivor." Jackson told her audience that they should make time for things they love, know their strengths, and play the long game. She also urged them to make the most of the resources they have, even when they feel out-resourced. Overall, Jackson's speech went over well with the audience, as many graduates braved the outside heat whilst donning AU-blue gowns to attend the ceremony in person after a period of online learning. The ceremony marked a significant achievement for many graduates, as it came after a period of study that occurred during the coronavirus pandemic.
Poland's government has been alienating rural voters ahead of parliamentary elections this autumn due to farmer discontent with imports of cheaper Ukrainian grain, which has caused significant losses for local producers. Farmers form a pillar of the ruling Law and Justice party's (PiS) electorate, but several different farmer associations have been organising protests against PiS policies, which included the imposition of a unilateral ban on some Ukrainian foodstuffs. Smaller parties promoting farmer concerns have had boosted membership due to this issue and now pose a threat to PiS' chances in the upcoming elections.
Detente seems to be in the air between China and America according to an opinion piece in Bloomberg. It describes several significant breakthroughs in meetings between Chinese and American officials, a far cry from the frosty silence of recent times. Perhaps most poignantly, President Joe Biden’s National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan recently gave a speech at The Brookings Institute where he appeared to be intent on making Cold War II less chilly. Moreover, the opinion piece argues that the Chinese economy may not live up to its great expectations, showing some signs of headwinds with China’s dire demographic prospects and over-leveraged and depressed real estate sector.
The cost of AI infrastructure, particularly generative AI, is so high that few companies can afford to build it. For example, even service provider OpenAI reportedly bled $540m in one year as it developed its products. Building the sort of technology on offer by Microsoft, Google and Amazon would require firms to make significant investments in state-of-the-art chips and prize-winning researchers. “People don’t realise that to do a significant amount of AI things like ChatGPT (OpenAI’s text generator tech) takes huge amounts of processing power. And training those models can cost tens of millions of dollars,” said Jack Gold, an independent analyst. As a result, companies will need to rely on platforms provided by tech giants such as Microsoft, leaving them less control over their infrastructure and augmenting the influence of already-dominant players.
A man granted clemency by former US President Barack Obama has been arrested for attempted murder. Alton D Mills had been sentenced to life imprisonment following multiple drug charges but he was one of 95 individuals whose sentences were commuted by Obama. Mills was arrested for firing multiple shots at a vehicle driving behind him on an Illinois highway 30 miles south of Chicago. The backseat passenger in the vehicle was hit by the gunfire and taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. Mills has been charged with three counts of attempted murder and is being held in Cook County Jail in Chicago with no bond.
A documentary about the acrimonious legal battles between film star Johnny Depp and his ex-wife, actress Amber Heard, will air on UK television network Channel 4 on Sunday. The three-part series, called Depp Vs Heard, was directed by Bafta-nominated filmmaker Emma Cooper, and covers Depp’s unsuccessful 2020 libel case against the publisher of The Sun and a separate defamation trial he initiated against Heard earlier this year. It is billed as the first “in-depth” examination of the case. The related legal battle, which included allegations of domestic violence, was dubbed the world’s first “Tik Tok trial” as it was streamed live and generated widespread public interest. Depp won the later defamation case on 2 June, receiving $15m in damages. Heard also won $2m in damages in a counter-claim.
As part of a drive to reduce poverty, Chinese officials are warning of the risks of mounting rural debt. They point to weaknesses, particularly in the agricultural sector, and a lack of options as collateral for loans as contributing to risk in the sector. A deputy head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs’ budget and finance department warned there is "too much risk" for lenders operating in rural areas. The Chinese central government is continuing to provide financial support for rural areas with loans totalling ¥49.25tn ($7.03tn) across agriculture and rural development.
China has announced it discovered "relatively serious" cybersecurity risks in products made by Micron Technology which could impact national security. The reaction came after China’s Cyberspace Administration carried out a month-long investigation into imports from the company. This latest incident has amplified tensions between the US and China, where both nations have accused each other’s tech sectors of posing national security risks. At present, Micron is the last remaining maker of computer memories based in the US following industry downturns that forced Intel and Texas Instruments to exit.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is hosting the G7 summit in Hiroshima, has found himself with a unique dilemma as he has to balance his vision of a world without nuclear arms with the widespread fears of aggression from Japan’s nuclear-armed neighbours. Kishida has been pushing for a pacifist constitution and a world free of nuclear weapons, but is faced with threats from North Korea and China, which are both rapidly expanding their nuclear arsenals. Kishida has already shown Japan’s solidarity with Ukraine, which faces Russian aggression, but is still trying to maintain his overall vision of peace for Asia-Pacific.
Several U.S. states are advancing legal efforts to prevent Chinese purchases of land, with some arguing that the measures guard against hostile foreign influence while Asian American groups view them as overreach. Florida is among those that prohibit Chinese nationals from buying land unless they are U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
At least three people were killed and two others were wounded in a mass shooting in a Kansas City nightclub on Sunday. The incident is at least the fifth mass shooting in the US over the weekend. It also brings the number of mass shootings to more than 230 in the US in 2019, meaning that on average a mass shooting has occurred every day. Kansas City police have yet to identify a suspect in the shooting. The US experienced 372 mass shootings in 2015, 383 in 2016, 346 in 2017 and 337 in 2018.
Firebrand, which has been shown at the Cannes Film Festival and has yet to have a UK release date, has been reviewed by the Telegraph. The pungent drama is about King Henry VIII and his wife Katherine Parr, played by Jude Law and Alicia Vikander respectively. The film portrays them as enemies with opposing ideologies rather than just in the domestic realm. The plot follows Parr, who survived Henry VIII, and the battles she had to endure to stay alive in his court.
The film starts with Parr going secretly to a woodland shrine to listen to a sermon by her friend Anne Askew, played by Erin Doherty. This friend would soon be burned at the stake as part of a witch hunt. She was a Protestant radical at a time when the Catholic church were still in power. The review described Law’s portrayal of Henry VIII as that of a “terrifying glutton”.
The output is from director Karim Aïnouz, one of Brazil’s most recognised film makers who brings lashings of Vermeer to the film and portrays Henry VIII as the English monarchy’s own Harvey Weinstein. The Telegraph suggested the content may have been better suited to a TV series.
Law firms Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling plan to merge
Reuters
23-05-21 18:22
Law firms Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling are planning to merge in a deal that will create one of the world's largest legal practices with combined global revenue of around $3.4bn. The resulting firm, to be called A&O Shearman, would have around 3,900 lawyers across 49 offices worldwide. It would also be the only global law firm with US law, English law and local law capabilities in equal measure, according to a joint statement. The planned merger comes after Shearman & Sterling abandoned talks about a tie-up with transatlantic firm Hogan Lovells earlier this year.
South Africa's government is considering ways to help Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend a summit in Johannesburg, despite an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant issued accusing him of war crimes related to the abduction of Ukrainian children. Most commentators believe that, since South Africa is an ICC signatory, it is obliged to enforce arrest warrants. Should the country find a legal loophole to allow Putin to attend the summit, this could potentially damage the ICC's international influence, aiding states in avoiding their obligations under its rulings.
A GoFundMe page for the Cho family, who were among eight people killed by a neo-Nazi gunman in Texas earlier this month, raised nearly $2m for their only surviving son. Kyu and Cindy, who were both born in Texas and had moved back home upon starting their family, left behind two sons aged three and six years old respectively. The couple had met in Boston congregation, a church that they both attended, where their supportive relationship had become one of its defining strengths, earning them the title “relationship goals”.
Kyu and Cindy Cho died alongside their son, James, in a recent shopping mall shooting north of Dallas in a case that has disgusted the world. The demented individual who killed the Cho family as well as five others is understood to have a background with white-supremacist and dangerous misogynistic beliefs and writings. The Cho family has set up a fund to support their extended family, following the murder of their children's parents. The family's hope is to allow all of William’s future needs and dreams to be realised and to keep his parents’ legacy alive.
