Billie Eilish, Nicki Minaj and 200 other artists ask that AI respect their rights

 Billie Eilish, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Camila Cabello and around 200 other musical artists published an open letter this Tuesday in which they ask Artificial Intelligence (AI) developers and technology companies that they do not use this tool to "infringe and devalue the rights of human artists."

Artist Rights Alliance (ARA), a non-profit organization run by artists to defend their rights, was in charge of sharing the letter with the support of well-known names in the industry to warn about the use of musical works without permission by AI companies.

"We call on all digital music platforms and music-based services to commit to not developing or deploying AI music generation technology, content or tools that undermine or substitute the human artistry of composers and artists or deny us a fair compensation for our work," the artists demand in the letter.

In this sense, the writing highlights two trends in which songs are used illicitly: to train and produce AI "imitators" and to dilute royalty obligations using the sound of these algorithms.

Music creators also talk about threats such as voice cloning, since the arrival of AI allows a vocal sample to be used to transform songs into others that sound like a human artist without being one.

"The unethical use of generative AI to replace human artists will devalue the entire music ecosystem, for both artists and fans," ARA CEO Jen Jacobsen said in a statement.

Sam Smith, HYBE, Jon Bon Jovi, Norah Jones, Pearl Jam, REM, Chuck D and Kate Hudson are other signatories of the letter.

Already in October 2023, three major music publishers - Universal Music Publishing Group, Concord Music Group and ABKCO - sued the AI ​​company Anthropic, alleging that it infringed the copyright of the song lyrics, as detailed by The Hollywood Reporter. .

Also in the cultural sector, Hollywood actors began a strike in July 2023 - which lasted for more than 100 days - to, among other reasons, achieve regulation in the use of AI, considering it an "existential threat."

The heartfelt post of Aryna Sabalenka in the midst of pain over the death of her ex-partner

 

At 42 years old, Kostantin Koltsov , former Belarusian hockey player and athlete, died in the United States while accompanying tennis player Aryna Sabalenka, with whom he had a relationship for a time.

As confirmed by LA NACION through sources from the Miami-Dade County Police, Sabalenka's ex-partner died in the context of a possible suicide. “On Monday, March 18, 2024, at approximately 12:39 a.m., Bal Harbor Police and firefighters were dispatched to the St. Regis Bal Harbor Resort, located at 9703 Collins Avenue, in reference to a man who " he jumped from a balcony ," the security agencies of the North American country explained in response to the death of Koltsov, a well-known personality in Belarus, his country of origin.

The statement on the death of Konstantin Koltsov

“We are in mourning. The Belarusian Hockey Federation expresses its most sincere condolences to the family, friends and all those who knew and worked with Konstantin,” expressed the Belarusian Hockey Federation, which extended its condolences to his loved ones at such a delicate time.

Aryna Sabalenka's new post after the death of Kostantin Kolstov

Faced with the irreparable loss and, at the same time, immersed in the WTA circuit where she is the number 2 tennis player in the world ranking, Aryna Sabalenka decided to use her Instagram account to clarify some events that were publicly disclosed and expressed her pain over the death. who was his partner for a time.

“I want to take a moment to thank all my fans for their outpouring of love and support during this difficult time. Your kind words mean a lot and I carry them with me every day. “I am very grateful for all of you,” Sabalenka highlighted in an Instagram story published this Tuesday, April 2.

The one born in Minsk, Belarus, who has 1.7 million followers on her account and is one of the most influential athletes on this social network, shared the message with a photo of a sunset in the background and took time to reflect in the middle of the demanding circuit.

Aryna Sabalenka expressed her pain on her Instagram account

Previously, Sabalenka expressed herself through the same medium and asked for a mantle of reserve in the face of the journalistic siege. “ Konstantin's death is an unimaginable tragedy and, although we were no longer together, my heart is broken. Please respect my privacy and that of his family at this very difficult time ,” she clarified.

Botswana threatens to "gift" 20,000 elephants to Germany in protest

 

The president of Botswana, Mokgweetsi Masisi, has threatened - in statements to the newspaper "Bild" - to "gift" 20,000 elephants to Germany as a protest against the ban on bringing hunting trophies into the European country.

Masisi says that he sees elephants and their controlled hunting as an economic resource that also prevents the number of elephants from increasing exorbitantly, endangering the population.

Now, according to the president, the German Environment Minister, Steffi Lemke of the Greens party, wants to ban the entry of trophies.

"If the Greens and Lemke know more about everything than the others, then they have to show how to live with elephants. I propose sending 20,000 wild elephants to Germany, it is not a joke," declared the president, who maintains that in the attitude of the Greens there are racist tendencies.

According to Masisi, Botswana has more than 130,000 elephants and the population grows by 6,000 annually and they have donated thousands of animals to neighboring countries such as Angola and Mozambique.

"We want to make a similar offer to Germany and we will not accept a negative response," he said.

Extreme heat causes the suspension of classes in the Philippines and an alert in Thailand

 An extreme heat wave this Wednesday caused the suspension or modification of classes in hundreds of schools in the Philippines, while the Thai authorities issued an alert in the north due to the high temperatures upon entering the hottest season in the region.

Educational centers in numerous locations throughout the Philippines, including Manila, ordered the suspension of classes or the alteration of schedules between Tuesday and Wednesday to avoid health problems in the face of temperatures that have reached 43 degrees Celsius.

In a statement, the Manila Public Information Office indicated that school principals have the authority and responsibility to suspend or seek mixed formulas to avoid the heat wave.

"Teachers and students can also wear more comfortable clothing than uniforms to reduce feelings of heat," the office said in a statement.

According to the Philippine Star, more centers on the island of Luzon (north) and Mindanao (south) took measures today to alleviate the effects of the high wind chill, calculated by combining temperature and humidity.

At what temperature does the dengue mosquito die?

 Given the invasion of mosquitoes that crosses the northern and central areas of Argentina, the hope of many is that autumn temperatures will help reduce the colonies of these insects that make it difficult to be in a park or square. At the same time, the country faces an unprecedented outbreak of dengue. The movement of people carrying the disease that infect healthy mosquitoes when bitten, plus climate change that brought more heat and humidity, created a perfect breeding ground for the proliferation of Aedes aegypti.

With the weekend rains, the temperature has dropped in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area. But is this drop in temperature enough to put an end to mosquitoes?

According to the National Ministry of Health, so far in 2024, 163,419 cases of dengue have been registered in Argentina, and 129 people have died from the disease . The accumulated cases represent up to six times more than what was registered in the same period of the previous season, and almost 10 times what was registered in the 2019 and 2020 season.

Laura Harburguer, researcher at the Institute of Scientific and Technical Research for Defense and member of the National Council of this institute, points out that the Culex pipiens mosquito , which is usually brownish and is more present in green spaces, is not the one that transmits dengue. –, is capable of surviving at lower temperatures, however, the adult Aedes aegypti –transmitter of dengue– usually dies after four or five days of temperatures below 15 degrees .

Taiwan suffers the strongest earthquake in 25 years

Taiwan suffers the strongest earthquake in 25 years: multiple deaths and injuries, collapsed buildings and destroyed roads are reported

Taiwan suffered its strongest earthquake in 25 years on Wednesday, a deadly 7.4 magnitude quake that shook the island's east coast, toppling several buildings, causing landslides and injuring more than 800 people.

Taiwan's National Fire Agency reported that at least nine people were killed, 882 injured and 131 others remain trapped. The deaths occurred in Hualien County, where a hiker was among the dead.

According to Taiwanese authorities, buildings have collapsed in Hualien County, thousands of homes have been left without power and a major highway on the east coast has been closed due to landslides and rockslides.

Several aftershocks have been recorded in Taiwan, including one with a magnitude of 6.5, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). In addition, the island's Central Meteorological Administration warned that aftershocks are expected over the next three or four days, which could have a magnitude of 6.5 to 7.0, an agency spokesperson added.

In this image, taken from a video posted by TVBS, a partially collapsed building is seen in Hualien, eastern Taiwan, on Wednesday, April 3. (Credit: TVBS/AP)

 

The world's attention turned to Taiwan , a country located in East Asia east of China, which suffered one of the worst natural disasters in history after being shaken by a powerful earthquake . It is the strongest earthquake in the last 25 years, which caused deaths and hundreds of injuries .

What happened in Taiwan

04/03/2024 VIDEO: Taiwan.- At least four dead and 57 injured after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake and numerous aftershocks in Taiwan. The authorities of Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines withdraw the tsunami alert SOCIETY ASIA ASIA TAIWAN INTERNATIONAL EUROPEAN-MEDITERRANEAN SEISMOLOGICAL CENTER (EMSC) - Credits: @EUROPEAN-MEDITERRANEAN SEISMOLOG

The tremor that shook the Asian island occurred early this Wednesday, April 3, at precisely 7:58 in the morning. According to Taiwan 's seismological agency , the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.2 on the Richter scale . Meanwhile, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) placed it at 7.5 and indicated that it had its epicenter 18 km south of the Taiwanese city of Hualien, with a depth of 34.8 km. “The earthquake was close to the ground and is shallow. It was felt throughout Taiwan and the islands (...). It is the strongest in 25 years,” Wu Chien-fu, director of the Taiwanese Seismological Center, told reporters , referring to the 7.6 magnitude earthquake in September 1999 that left 2,400 dead.

Local authorities indicated that they only anticipated a relatively mild earthquake of magnitude 4 and for that reason they did not send alerts, since it is an area accustomed to this type of natural phenomena and they usually carry out evacuation drills. That is why in the hours that followed, its inhabitants remained calm and followed the protocols.

The death toll from the Taiwan earthquake rises to 9, which leaves more than 100 aftershocks

 At least nine people died, 821 were injured, 127 remain trapped or stranded and 28 buildings collapsed after the strong earthquake registered this Wednesday in Taiwan, which has already left more than a hundred aftershocks. different magnitudes, official sources reported.

The earthquake, whose magnitude was 7.2 according to the Central Meteorological Agency (CWA) of Taiwan and 7.4 according to the United States Geological Survey, occurred at 7:58 on Wednesday (23:58 GMT on Tuesday) in the sea, specifically 25 kilometers southeast of the eastern county of Hualien.

This area has been the most affected by the earthquake, both in loss of life and in material damage, since numerous buildings and infrastructure have suffered damage and at least two blocks of houses were partially collapsed.

As of 4:30 p.m., the island had recorded 123 aftershocks of varying intensity, including nine with a magnitude of between 5 and 6, according to the CWA.

Likewise, according to the state electricity company Taipower, a total of 371,275 homes were left without electricity after the earthquake, although around 99% have already recovered electricity supply.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen asked the population to remain calm and take extreme precautions, since new aftershocks of between 6.5 and 7 degrees of the earthquake are likely to occur in the coming days.

This earthquake is the most intense that Taiwan has suffered since September 21, 1999, when a magnitude 7.6 earthquake killed 2,416 people.

Taiwan sits at the confluence of the Philippine and Eurasian plates, so earthquakes are frequent on the island.