Floods in Nigeria kill scores, wash away farmland, raise hunger concerns

ABUJA, Nigeria — Weeks of flooding have killed 185 people in Nigeria and washed away homes and farmlands, the country’s disaster management agency said, further threatening food supplies, especially in the hard-hit northern region. The floods, blamed on poor infrastructure and badly maintained dams, have displaced 208,000 people in 28 of Nigeria’s 36 states, the National…

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Smartwatch insults Chinese as authorities struggle to tame AI

Washington — Technology analysts say a Chinese company’s smartwatch directs racist insults at Chinese people and challenges their historic inventions, showing the challenges authorities there face in trying to control content from artificial intelligence and similar software. A parent in China’s Henan Province on August 22 posted on social media the response from a 360 Kid’s…

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China takes mild tone on US official’s visit

Washington — Beijing has adopted a conciliatory tone in its reporting on this week’s visit by White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, emphasizing cooperation and open communication channels while claiming that Washington remains “incorrect” on its China policies. Sullivan’s tightly scheduled three-day trip to Beijing ended Thursday after he met with Chinese officials, including the…

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Biden restarts immigration program for 4 countries with more vetting

washington — The Biden administration is restarting an immigration program that allows migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to come to the United States, and it is including “additional vetting” of their U.S.-based financial sponsors following fraud concerns. The Department of Homeland Security had suspended the program earlier this month to investigate the concerns but…

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