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      US repeatedly warned Russia ahead of Moscow attack, White House says

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Yesterday - 17:57

    National security spokesperson says US passed on warnings and dismissed Russian allegations Ukraine was involved as ‘nonsense’

    The US repeatedly alerted Russia that extremists were planning to attack large gatherings in Moscow ahead of last week’s concert hall attack that claimed more than 140 lives, the White House has said.

    The national security spokesperson, John Kirby, said on Thursday that US officials passed on warnings – including one in writing – and dismissed Russian allegations that Ukraine was involved as “nonsense”.

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      Biden orders every US agency to appoint a chief AI officer

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Yesterday - 17:52

    Biden orders every US agency to appoint a chief AI officer

    Enlarge (credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / Contributor | AFP )

    The White House has announced the "first government-wide policy to mitigate risks of artificial intelligence (AI) and harness its benefits." To coordinate these efforts, every federal agency must appoint a chief AI officer with "significant expertise in AI."

    Some agencies have already appointed chief AI officers, but any agency that has not must appoint a senior official over the next 60 days. If an official already appointed as a chief AI officer does not have the necessary authority to coordinate AI use in the agency, they must be granted additional authority or else a new chief AI officer must be named.

    Ideal candidates, the White House recommended, might include chief information officers, chief data officers, or chief technology officers, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) policy said.

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      Heavy fighting reported around Gaza’s al-Shifa and Nasser hospitals

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Yesterday - 15:32

    Israeli forces also blockading al-Amal hospital amid mounting concern for the safety of patients, civilians and medical staff

    Heavy fighting took place around two key hospitals in Gaza on Thursday, while a third was reportedly under Israeli siege, amid mounting international concern for the safety of patients, civilians and remaining medical staff in the facilities.

    The most intense fighting once again appeared to be focused on the al-Shifa complex, Gaza City’s main hospital before the war, where the Israeli army said it continued to operate around the site after storming it more than a week ago.

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      British judges were right to allow Julian Assange’s appeal. The next three weeks will show who cares about justice | Duncan Campbell

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · 3 days ago - 17:14 · 1 minute

    It is hypocritical of the US to seek to lock up Assange while boasting about its commitment to press freedom

    For Julian Assange, the wait continues. The pause can be counted as a small victory in the long battle to fight his extradition to the United States. But it is one of the many shameful issues in this most shameful of sagas that his waiting room is a cell in a high security prison where he has been held for the past five years, despite having been convicted of nothing.

    The high court decision issued by Dame Victoria Sharp and Mr Justice Johnson means that the US has been given a short time to offer “assurances” as to how his trial would be conducted and that the death penalty would not be imposed. Astonishingly it has previously been unable to provide them. Assange’s defence team will then be allowed to challenge those “assurances” issued by a country with a long record of ignoring many of the basic rights of anyone deemed to be threatening the security of the state in any way.

    Duncan Campbell is a freelance writer who worked for the Guardian as crime correspondent and Los Angeles correspondent

    Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here .

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      Netanyahu has been spoiling for a fight with the US. He may not survive this one | Alon Pinkas

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · 3 days ago - 16:47 · 1 minute

    The UN vote for a Gaza ceasefire shows Biden’s administration has finally lost patience with Israel’s leader. That could be crucial

    How do you gaslight an entire nation about a war and then try to do the same to a superpower that is your ally? And how do you turn a just war into global isolation and widespread condemnation? Just ask Benjamin Netanyahu. He has the patent.

    Netanyahu has been deliberately and intently seeking a confrontation with the US ever since late October. The UN security council resolution 2728 , demanding an “immediate ceasefire”, is just the latest pretext for this premeditated showdown. This may sound counterintuitive and imprudent to you, given that the two countries are close allies, given Israel’s heavy reliance on US military aid and its diplomatic umbrella, and particularly given President Biden’s sweeping and unwavering support for Israel since the 7 October catastrophe.

    Alon Pinkas served as Israel’s consul general in New York from 2000 to 2004. He is now a columnist for Haaretz

    Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here .

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      The US finally backs a ceasefire, but the nuances in its UN resolution show the tightrope it walks

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Thursday, 21 March - 18:32

    Draft resolution loosens linkage between Gaza ceasefire and hostage release as US tries to claw back leadership on issue at UN

    Washington’s draft UN security council resolution on Gaza marks a shift in the US position , but it is a nuanced shift, retaining the linkage between a ceasefire and hostage release while loosening that linkage and emphasising that an immediate end to hostilities is the priority.

    The primary focus for now is the hostage negotiations underway in Qatar, which are moving into high gear again, with the CIA and Mossad chiefs, William Burns and David Barnea, expected to fly into Doha on Friday.

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      Biden administration to cancel $5.8bn in student debt for public service workers

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Thursday, 21 March - 17:28

    Under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, 77,700 people working in government and non-profit jobs will see relief

    The Department of Education announced on Thursday plans to cancel $5.8bn in student debt for 77,700 public service workers who qualify under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.

    The program, which was created in 2007, promises student debt cancellation to graduates working full-time in public service jobs in government and the non-profit sector. The program only went into effect in 2017 – but the Department of Education under the Trump administration rejected the vast majority of applicants for relief when it kicked in.

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      White House on Republican plan for Biden to testify on impeachment: ‘LOL’

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Thursday, 21 March - 13:53

    Spokesperson tells rightwing congressman leading effort to impeach president over Hunter Biden claims to ‘call it a day, pal’

    A White House spokesperson poured cold water on Republicans’ stated intention to invite Joe Biden to testify in public in his own impeachment hearings, lamenting “a sad stunt” and telling the rightwing congressman steering the effort: “Call it a day, pal.”

    James Comer of Kentucky, the Republican chair of the House oversight committee, has led attempts to impeach the president over alleged corruption involving the business dealings of his son Hunter Biden.

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      The Gaza famine is man-made. And the US is complicit in this catastrophe | Mohamad Bazzi

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Thursday, 21 March - 10:01

    Experts first warned of rising hunger in December – yet when Israel blocked a vital US food shipment, Biden did nothing

    The people of Gaza are enduring “catastrophic” levels of hunger, and famine is imminent in northern Gaza as Israel continues its devastating war and siege of the Palestinian territory. That stark warning came in a report on Monday from a global authority on food security which was set up 20 years ago by UN agencies and humanitarian groups to sound the alarm on famines.

    While Israel bears much of the responsibility for this human-made famine , it’s not alone. Joe Biden and his administration are also complicit in this unfolding catastrophe: the UN and international relief groups have been warning about the potential for widespread starvation in Gaza since December. The Biden administration could have acted then, pressuring Israel to allow more aid into the territory and enforcing an existing US law that bars weapons shipments to US allies that obstruct humanitarian aid.

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