A senior Swedish official said Monday Swedes abroad and businesses linked to Sweden"should observe increased vigilance and caution," following recent Quran burnings in the country and protests in the Muslim world.
Henrik Landerholm, Sweden's National Security Adviser, said there are signs of "a heightened threat" to the country and to Swedish interests abroad, adding the security situation has worsened.
Full StoryFor a vast number of book writers, artificial intelligence is a threat to their livelihood and the very idea of creativity. More than 10,000 of them endorsed an open letter from the Authors Guild this summer, urging AI companies not to use copyrighted work without permission or compensation.
At the same time, AI is a story to tell, and no longer just in science fiction.
Full StoryThe are entrenched in Afghanistan after of rule. Women and girls pay the price
The Taliban have settled in as rulers of Afghanistan, two years after they seized power as U.S. and NATO forces withdrew from the country following two decades of war.
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Elon Musk has said that his much-hyped cage fight with Mark Zuckerberg would take place in Italy, as authorities there confirmed talks about hosting a "great charity event."
Full StoryLebanon's culture minister said he has asked authorities to ban hit movie "Barbie" for purportedly "promoting homosexuality," as anti-LGBTQ rhetoric soars in one of the Arab world's more liberal countries.
"It was decided... to send a request to Lebanon's General Security agency... to take all necessary measures to ban showing this movie in Lebanon," caretaker Culture Minister Mohammed Mortada said in a statement.
Full StoryLondon-based sex worker Marin Scarlett and right-wing populist Nigel Farage might initially appear unlikely campaigning allies, but when it comes to the pitfalls of banking in Britain they share a common cause.
"It's ridiculous that financial institutions can act like moral arbiters," Scarlett told AFP, echoing Farage's exact same criticism last month after a scandal erupted around his treatment by British banks.
Full StoryThe diminutive woman with a white feather headdress stood on the stage of the majestic colonial theater in Brazil's Amazon on Monday and addressed the crowd.
The woman, Minister of Indigenous People Sonia Guajajara, declared the day "the milestone of Indigenous participation," then cited the national statistics institute's freshly released census data that revealed the full scope of the nation's Indigenous population: 1,693,535 people.
Full StoryArtemisia Gentileschi's painting skills quickly surpass her father's, but society dictates that as a woman, she must stay home and protect her virtue. Art — with its unsavory types and naked models — isn't exactly fit for a good Roman Catholic girl. And when her painting tutor attacks her, it sets off a cascade of seemingly insurmountable problems and impossible choices.
Author Elizabeth Fremantle deftly paints Artemisia's painful but inspiring story in her latest biographical fiction, "Disobedient." Having already established herself as a writer who champions powerful female leads, Fremantle fleshes out the 17th-century artist who defied the limits placed upon her and became one of the best painters of the Baroque period.
Full StoryAn Indian court on Thursday ruled that officials can conduct a scientific survey to determine if a 17th-century mosque in the country's north was built over a Hindu temple.
The Gyanvapi mosque in the holy Hindu city of Varanasi, an area Prime Minister Narendra Modi represents in India's parliament, is one of several mosques in northern Uttar Pradesh state that some Hindus believe was built on top of demolished Hindu temples.
Full StoryFrom a university campus to a seaside town, Pope Francis challenged young people on Thursday to make the world a more just and inclusive place, as he focused the second day of his Portugal trip on inspiring students to use their privilege to combat global warming and economic inequalities.
Francis received a warm welcome first at the Catholic University in Lisbon, one of Portugal's top institutions of higher learning. He then had a more intimate, informal encounter with young people in the former fishing village of Cascais, where he was serenaded with a mournful performance of the traditional Portuguese fado, meaning fate or destiny.
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