Another quake hits western Afghanistan; official says losses “huge”

KABUL, Afghanistan (Reuters) -A 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck Afghanistan's western province of Herat on Wednesday, forcing authorities to redeploy relief and rescue teams already in the field following a series of deadly quakes on Saturday. There were no early details on casualties caused by the latest quake, disaster management spokesman Janan Sayeeq told Reuters. Saturday's tremors...

If Joe Biden quits, Kamala Harris will be no easy pushover

THE forces are starting to align to push President Biden out of the way in 2024 – leaving understudy Kamala Harris as the next weak link on the Democratic chain.   But despite Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton’s best efforts, it won’t be so easy to push Harris out. The historic prospect of the first woman president –...

‘Phantom hackers’ are targeting people across the US. What the FBI wants you to know

A growing nationwide scam could target your grandparents, the FBI warns. “Phantom hacker” scams are on the rise and are disproportionately affecting older people, according to a Sept 29 FBI public service announcement. It’s an “evolution of more general tech support scams”, US federal officials say, as these “phantom hackers” claim to be technology support, bank staff and...

Moldovan president says Russia’s Wagner head plotted coup against her -FT

(Reuters) - Moldova's pro-European President, Maia Sandu, said Russia's Wagner paramilitary force was the main force behind an attempt to foment a coup against her, she told the Financial Times in an interview published on Friday. Sandu, interviewed by the Financial Times during the European Union's European Political Community summit in Spain, said Wagner's late leader...

Brothers swap fake iPhones for real ones – scamming Apple out of RM28.75mil, US feds say

Three brothers from San Diego caused Apple to lose US$6.1mil (RM28.75mil) with a widespread scheme in which more than 10,000 fake iPhones and iPads were swapped out for the real devices at hundreds of stores, according to US federal prosecutors. Zhimin, Zhiting and Zhiwei Liao led the scam involving a slew of other co-conspirators from 2011...

AI of the tiger: Tiny camera ‘protects’ predator – and people

PARIS: Tiger populations are on the rise in the jungles of India and Nepal and the predators are roaming ever closer to villages, sparking a race among conservationists to find ways of avoiding conflict. They are increasingly finding solutions with artificial intelligence, a bunch of technologies designed to reason and make decisions like humans. Experts from Clemson University...

Korean YouTuber Live Streams Herself Fleeing Bangkok’s Siam Paragon During Yesterday’s Deadly Shooting

Bobby Jini was dining at a restaurant when a gunshot went off. She was seen running towards the exit alongside many other shoppers. Yesterday (Oct 3), a deadly shooting occurred at Bangkok’s Siam Paragon mall. Two women were killed, and five people injured. Thai police have since arrested a 14-year-old gunman. Korean YouTuber Bobby Jini was live streaming while dining at...

UK police open investigation into killer nurse’s hospital

LONDON (Reuters) - British police said on Wednesday they had opened an investigation into corporate manslaughter at the hospital where nurse Lucy Letby, who murdered seven babies, had worked. Letby, 33, Britain's most prolific serial child killer of modern times, was convicted in August of killing five baby boys and two baby girls at the Countess...

‘Attention – remain calm’: Russia tests public warning system

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia tested its emergency public warning systems across the country on Wednesday, blaring out sirens and interrupting some television and radio broadcasts to warn the population to stay calm. The test, first conducted in 2020, is part of a new initiative that requires authorities to conduct tests twice a year, starting from Sept. 1. It...

Kevin McCarthy ousted by US House Republicans in historic vote

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A handful of Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday ousted Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy, as party infighting plunged Congress into further chaos just days after it narrowly averted a government shutdown. The 216-to-210 vote marked the first time in history that the House removed its leader, with eight Republicans voting with...