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US Fears Fuel Shortage Amid Cyber Attack

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The US government has issued an emergency legislation following a ransomware cyber-attack on the largest fuel pipeline in the country.

The Colonial Pipeline, which carries 2.5 million barrels a day – 45% of the East Coast’s supply of diesel, gasoline and jet fuel was completely knocked offline by a cyber-criminal gang on Friday and work to restore service is still ongoing.

US fuel prices at the pump were largely unaffected on Monday, but experts say that could change if the shutdown is prolonged.

Independent oil market analyst Gaurav Sharma said oil futures traders were now “scrambling” to meet demand and a lot of fuel was now stranded at refineries in Texas.

The emergency legislation relaxes rules on fuel being transported by road. This temporary waiver issued by the Department of Transportation enables oil products to be shipped in tankers up to New York, but this would not be anywhere near enough to match the pipeline’s capacity, Mr Sharma warned.

Many sources confirmed that the ransomware attack was caused by a group called DarkSide, who infiltrated the pipeline network on Thursday and took almost 100GB of data hostage promising to release it if a ransome was not paid.

Jerusalem Sees Fresh Clashes Ahead Of Nationalist March.

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Clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police right outside Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, have reignited ahead of planned Jewish nationalist march.

The event marks Israel’s capture of east Jerusalem and usually sees hundreds of flag-waving Israeli youth make their way through muslim areas, celebrating and singing patriotic songs, an act regarded by many Palestinians as a deliberate provocation.

This year’s march would be taking place in the final days of the Islamic month of Ramadan.

The latest violence follows days of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police in the nearby Sheikh Jarrah district of East Jerusalem. More than 200 people were injured, as crowds threw stones and officers fired stun grenades in response.

The land on which the al-Aqsa mosque sits is known by Jews as the Temple Mount and Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary). Jews revere it as the location of two Biblical Temples and as the holiest site in Judaism.

Papuan Independence Figure Arrested By Indonesian Police On Suspicion Of Treason.

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Authorities in Indonesia have arrested Papuan independence leader Victor Yeimo on suspicions of treason. He is also being accused of orchestrating some of the most serious civil unrest in decades that broke out in 2019.

National police spokesman Iqbal Alqudusy said the 38 year old, who is the international spokesman of the West Papua National Committee, was arrested in the provincial capital of Jayapura on Sunday and is being questioned.

The president of Indonesia, Joko Widodo called for a crackdown after a senior intelligence figure was shot dead late last month, and an additional 400 troops deployed to the easternmost provinces of Indonesia where tension continues to rise.

Police are accusing Yeimo of being the “mastermind” behind the civil unrest and of committing treason, insulting the national flag and anthem, as well as inciting violence and social unrest and carrying weapons without a permit.

It is alleged that the protest erupted after a group of papuan students where verbally assaulted by a mob with racial epithets and where called “monkeys”, over accusations they had desecrated a national flag. The unrest that followed spurred calls for independence from Indonesia.

Papuan separatists have been pushing for independence for decades, saying that the 1969 vote overseen by the United Nations that brought the region under Indonesian control was illegitimate.

Nine African Students Excel in Nuclear Competition

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Nine students from different African universities who took part in the sixth annual competition on nuclear energy organised by the Russian state Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom, have won the competition.

The winners of the online video competition is titled ‘Atoms Empowering Africa’ were announced at the special online awards ceremony this week.

During the competition, participants were to post videos on Facebook exploring nuclear technologies and how these could be utilised to benefit Africa.

These could include how nuclear technologies can assist in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in Africa, how nuclear technologies can help developing countries industrialise, how non-power related nuclear science and technology can benefit countries or communities.

This year’s winners are the team of George Davis Bilali, a Tanzanian, studying at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana, Alyaa Mahmoud Ibrahim Awad from Egypt and Fati Aruna Akoriko from Ghana.

The other winners are Mostafa Omran, a masters student at the African Centre of Excellence in Future Energies and Electrochemical Systems in Egypt and Noоmen Noоmen, a student and communication manager at Panorama short film in Tunisia.

A special prize for best collaboration was established for three other participants because of the diversity of the work. The prize went to the team of Munachimso Oguine, Oguine Jane and Oguine Ozioma from the National Open University of Nigeria.

Another special prize for extraordinary creativity and video content was awarded to Wissem Dallali, from Tunisia.

All winners will go on an all-expenses paid trip to Russia, where they will visit several tourist attractions as well as various nuclear institutions and facilities.

One of the judges, the national executive chairperson of the South African Young Nuclear Professional Society Gaopalelwe Santswere said this year there were high-quality of videos.

Another judge Tebogo Motlhabane, president of Women in Nuclear South Africa, said many girls took part in the competition.

The chief executive officer and Founder of Influence Communications, Mohamed Emara said a large number of videos show that the youth of Africa are eager to achieve sustainable development goals to solve the continent’s problems.

According to Ryan Collyer, the chief executive officer of Rosatom in the Central and Southern Africa, nuclear technology is the heart of many innovations from which Africa and the world can benefit.

He said the company is ready to support African youth’s aspirations in achieving their purposes.Nine African Students Excel in Nuclear Competition

Nine students from different African universities who took part in the sixth annual competition on nuclear energy organised by the Russian state Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom, have won the competition.

The winners of the online video competition is titled ‘Atoms Empowering Africa’ were announced at the special online awards ceremony this week.

During the competition, participants were to post videos on Facebook exploring nuclear technologies and how these could be utilised to benefit Africa.

These could include how nuclear technologies can assist in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in Africa, how nuclear technologies can help developing countries industrialise, how non-power related nuclear science and technology can benefit countries or communities.

This year’s winners are the team of George Davis Bilali, a Tanzanian, studying at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana, Alyaa Mahmoud Ibrahim Awad from Egypt and Fati Aruna Akoriko from Ghana.

The other winners are Mostafa Omran, a masters student at the African Centre of Excellence in Future Energies and Electrochemical Systems in Egypt and Noоmen Noоmen, a student and communication manager at Panorama short film in Tunisia.

A special prize for best collaboration was established for three other participants because of the diversity of the work. The prize went to the team of Munachimso Oguine, Oguine Jane and Oguine Ozioma from the National Open University of Nigeria.

Another special prize for extraordinary creativity and video content was awarded to Wissem Dallali, from Tunisia.

All winners will go on an all-expenses paid trip to Russia, where they will visit several tourist attractions as well as various nuclear institutions and facilities.

One of the judges, the national executive chairperson of the South African Young Nuclear Professional Society Gaopalelwe Santswere said this year there were high-quality of videos.

Another judge Tebogo Motlhabane, president of Women in Nuclear South Africa, said many girls took part in the competition.

The chief executive officer and Founder of Influence Communications, Mohamed Emara said a large number of videos show that the youth of Africa are eager to achieve sustainable development goals to solve the continent’s problems.

According to Ryan Collyer, the chief executive officer of Rosatom in the Central and Southern Africa, nuclear technology is the heart of many innovations from which Africa and the world can benefit.

He said the company is ready to support African youth’s aspirations in achieving their purposes.

More Boats spotted As More Than 1,000 Migrants Arrive Lampedusa

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More than 1,000 migrants landed on the Italian island of Lampedusa in the space of a few hours on Sunday, according to local media reports.

One boat alone was carrying almost 400 men, women and children, Italian news agency Ansa said.

The island’s Mayor Toto Martello said he believed the rise in arrivals coincided with the good weather.

Lampedusa is one of the main arrival ports for people wanting to reach Europe.

More boats were spotted off the coast of nearby Malta, with charity Alarm Phone saying they needed assistance.

“One rescue operation could put a total of around 231 people out of danger of drowning,” it said.

Some 11,000 migrants have landed on the island since the start of the year.

That is up on last year’s figure of 4,105 for the same period.

However, it is still down on 2015 – the height of the migrant crisis.

Artificial intelligence Now Used In South Korea’s Fashion Industry

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Modeling students show off their newly designed fashion lines. Not just clothes, but bags and scarves too.

This isn’t work by professional designers but from artificial intelligence.

It usually takes over a month to go from the design stage to production, but AI has reduced that to around a week.

The creativity of the artificial intelligence comes from a design database of six million clothes made in South Korea. It studies the latest fashion trends from internet postings, then reflects the personal taste of individual users to design a new outfit. The newly designed clothes can be put on virtual models or avatars to show how they would look when being worn.

This new artificial intelligence is expected to help small businesses in the fashion industry that don’t have access to professional designers and models.

The outlook is that one-person small businesses can use this technology to make clothes, from designing to the actual production.

The research team is planning to build an online service that includes AI designers and 3D model generators that can be available to the public.

West Brom Relegated From Premier League After Arsenal Defeat

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West Bromwich Albion were relegated from the English Premier League after a 3-1 loss away to Arsenal on Sunday.

First-half goals from Emile Smith Rowe and Nicolas Pepe left West Brom struggling at 2-0 down.

Matheus Pereira pulled a goal back in the 67th minute but West Brom’s fate was sealed when Arsenal’s Willian made it 3-1 with a superb free-kick in the last minute of normal time.

West Brom will join already-relegated Sheffield United in playing in the second-tier Championship.

Zverev Targets Second Rome Title After Madrid Open Win

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Alexander Zverev recovered from a set down to defeat Matteo Berrettini 6-7 (8/10), 6-4, 6-3 and win the Madrid Open for a second time Sunday as he clinched a fourth Masters 1000 title.

The German fifth seed recorded his third consecutive top-10 victory this week, having eliminated five-time Madrid champion Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem to reach the final.

Zverev, last year’s US Open runner-up, added to his 2018 Madrid triumph as he denied Berrettini successive titles following the Italian’s win in Belgrade last month.

“It is great (to win this title), especially after losing my last three finals I played at Masters 1000 events,” Zverev said. “This is definitely special and I just want to enjoy this one.”

Zverev is targeting a second Rome title at the Foro Italico next week. He captured his first Masters there in 2017 before also winning in Montreal later that year.

“Rome is also an event I like and enjoy, so I hope I can perform in the same way as I did here and we will see how it goes there. I feel awesome,” said Zverev.

Berrettini, making his Madrid main draw debut this week, was attempting to become this year’s third first-time Masters champion after Hubert Hurkacz (Miami) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (Monte Carlo).

“I think we had a great fight. It’s tough, this sport is crazy. It’s a really good moment of my career but at the same time it’s not that great because I lost,” said Berrettini.

World number 10 Berrettini landed the first blow as he broke Zverev to move 4-3 ahead in the opening set at the Caja Magica, only to drop his service the very next game.

The Italian raced into a 5-0 lead in the tie-break but Zverev clawed it back to 5-4 before two set points slipped beyond the grasp of Berrettini.

Zverev failed to take a set point of his own at 7-6 and then saved a third, but a double fault at 8-8 handed Berrettini another opportunity that this time he did not let go to waste.

It was the first set lost by Zverev, whose last clay-court title had come in Geneva in 2019.

Zverev secured the only break of the second set in game nine, when Berrettini double faulted, to send the match into a decider.

The German then broke to move 3-2 ahead in the final set and closed out victory after two hours and 40 minutes with another break, earning his second title of the season after taking home the Acapulco crown in March.

Guinea Gold Mine Collapse: 15 Dead In Siguiri

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At least 15 people have been killed by a landslide at a clandestine gold mine in Guinea’s north-eastern Siguiri region.

A government spokesman said Overhanging rocks collapsed on Saturday morning, crushing some victims and burying others inside the mine, adding that the exact circumstances and causes of the tragedy would be investigated.

According to the local Red Cross, two women were among the dead and that it was likely more bodies would be found.

Djanko Dansoko was quoted as saying by news site Guinee360 that the site is already mined by machines adding the miners had struck too far in, causing the earth, being very badly suspended, gave under.

There are hundreds of unofficial “artisanal” mines around Siguiri, where gold is laboriously panned by hand and safety standards are low and this particular site is near the village of Tatakourou, about 40km from the city centre of Siguiri.

Seventeen miners were killed in a landslide in Guinea two years ago, and a dozen more nine months later.

In spite of the glaring dangers, the search for gold attracts clandestine miners from Mali, Senegal and other West African countries.

Manchester City’s Title Party Delayed By United’s Win

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Manchester City’s Premier League title celebrations were put on hold again as Manchester United fought back to win 3-1 at Aston Villa on Sunday as West Bromwich Albion were relegated after losing to Arsenal by the same score.

Meanwhile, West Ham’s top-four bid suffered a major setback with a 1-0 defeat by Everton.

City missed a chance to seal the title when they lost 2-1 to Chelsea on Saturday.

Pep Guardiola’s side could have started the party if second-placed United lost at Villa Park, but their local rivals kept the leaders’ champagne on ice with a second-half escape act.

Trailing to Bertrand Traore’s first-half rocket, United equalised through Bruno Fernandes’ penalty before Mason Greenwood and Edinson Cavani netted to leave City frustrated.

Asked if he was pleased to make City wait, United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said: “That’s the best thing. At least we don’t drive into a blue army tonight. We’ll try to delay it as long as we can.”

City, with three matches to play, are now 10 points clear of United, who have four games left.

United host Leicester on Tuesday and Liverpool on Thursday, with a defeat in either of those fixtures guaranteeing the title for treble-chasing City, who are next in action at Newcastle on Friday.

Villa took the lead in the 24th minute through Traore, who shrugged off Victor Lindelof before smashing a superb strike into the top corner.

But Paul Pogba won a 52nd-minute penalty when Douglas Luiz needlessly bundled over the United midfielder, with Fernandes scoring from the spot.

Greenwood put United ahead four minutes later, driving a low finish past goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.

United suffered a blow when their captain Harry Maguire limped off after colliding with Anwar El Ghazi.

Cavani wrapped up the points with a glancing header from Marcus Rashford’s cross in the 87th minute.

Villa striker Ollie Watkins was sent off moments later for a second booking after diving in a failed attempt to win a penalty.