Hacker NewsJul 23, 2025
AFP journalists warn their 'last reporters will die' in current Gaza conditions
https://apnews.com/article/gaza-hunger-journalists-food-afp-32c19db56ddf9f3e6a847c76a676c7c9
#ycombinator #Gaza #Associated_Press #General_news #Gaza_Strip #Middle_East #Lauren_Easton #World_news #Business #Water_shortages #David_Bauder #Israel_government #Health #News_media
AFP news agency says situation for its journalists in Gaza is 'untenable'

A group of journalists at Agence France-Presse is sounding the alarm about conditions faced by their colleagues working in Gaza, saying that without immediate intervention, the last reporters working there will die. AFP, The Associated Press and Reuters all have teams in Gaza to get out the news from a war-torn territory where Israel generally forbids outside journalists to enter. The AFP journalists said that one of its photographers in Gaza wrote over the weekend that he no longer has the strength to work for the media. Disease, danger from military strikes and, increasingly hunger is a pressing problem there.

AP News
 Hacker NewsDec 1, 2023
Brazilian city enacts an ordinance that was written by ChatGPT
https://apnews.com/article/brazil-artificial-intelligence-porto-alegre-5afd1240afe7b6ac202bb0bbc45e08d4
#ycombinator #Porto_Alegre #Brazil #Brazil_government #Generative_AI #General_news #Politics #World_news #Artificial_intelligence #Water_shortages #Technology
Brazillian city enacts an ordinance that was written by ChatGPT

City lawmakers in Brazil passed what appears to be the nation’s first legislation written entirely by artificial intelligence — even if they didn’t know it at the time. The experimental ordinance was passed in October in the southern city of Porto Alegre and revealed this week by city councilman Ramiro Rosário. He says he asked OpenAI’s chatbot ChatGPT to craft a proposal to prevent the city from charging taxpayers to replace stolen water consumption meters, then presented the proposal to his peers without making a single change or even letting them know about its origin. The arrival of ChatGPT on the marketplace just a year ago has sparked a global debate on the impacts of potentially revolutionary AI-powered chatbots.

AP News
 Hacker NewsAug 4, 2023
Bark beetles are eating through Germany’s Harz forest
https://apnews.com/article/climate-germany-bark-beetles-harz-spruce-2211332b8e841ad18fc16267bcbec6dc
#ycombinator #Beetles #Trees #Plants #Environmental_conservation #Forests #General_news #Germany #Water_shortages #Mice_and_rats #Animals #Climate_and_environment #Entertainment #World_news #Climate #World_News
Bark beetles are eating through Germany's Harz forest. Climate change is making matters worse

Tiny bark beetles have been causing havoc in Germany's Harz mountains, eating away at trees and killing off swaths of the spruce population by hampering their ability to take in nutrients. Drought — made longer and more intense by climate change — is making the problem even worse, as beetles prefer the trees weakened by a lack of water and reproduce better in the warm and dry conditions. Forest conservationists know they have a problem, but there are no easy solutions. A mixture of good planning, chemical pesticides and a longer- term effort to plant different trees in the region are strategies to keep the beetles at bay. But with the climate warming up, it's unclear if conservationists will win their battle against the bugs.

AP News