At least six killed in border clashes between South Sudan and Uganda
Elements from the two armies exchanged fire on Monday in South Sudan's Kajo Keji county, killing five South Sudanese (SSPDF) soldiers, South Sudanese officials said.
Ugandan army spokesperson Felix Kulayigye said SSPDF soldiers had strayed into Uganda's West Nile region and refused to leave, leading to the firefight, in which at least one Ugandan soldier died.
Uganda has backed forces loyal to South Sudanese President Salva Kiir for several decades, helping the country fight for independence, which was won in 2011, and during the subsequent civil war.
Kajo-Keji County said in a statement that five SSPDF soldiers had been killed in a surprise attack by Ugandan forces backed by tanks and artillery. South Sudan's army confirmed the skirmish but did not say how many died.
An existing joint border committee willlook at ways to find a peaceful resolution to recurrent border-related disputes, SSPDF spokesperson Lul Ruai Koang said in a statement released late on Tuesday.
In March, South Sudan invited Uganda's army to help bolster security in the capital Juba, following a breakdown in the turbulent relationship between Kiir and his rival, First Vice President Riek Machar.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
39 minutes ago
- The Guardian
What will the AI revolution mean for the global south?
I come from Trinidad and Tobago. As a country that was once colonized by the British, I am wary of the ways that inequalities between the global north and global south risk being perpetuated in the digital age. When we consider the lack of inclusion of the global south in discussions about artificial intelligence (AI), I think about how this translates to an eventual lack of economic leverage and geopolitical engagement in this technology that has captivated academics within the industrialised country I reside, the United States. As a scientist, I experienced an early rite of passage into the world of Silicon Valley, the land of techno-utopianism, and the promise of AI as a net positive for all. But, as an academic attending my first academic AI conference in 2019, I began to notice inconsistencies in the audience to whom the promise of AI was directed. AI researchers can often identify consistent choices for locations where such conferences are hosted, and where they are not. NeurIPS, one of the top AI conferences, has highlighted annual issues for obtaining visas for academic attendees and citizens from the African continent. Attending such a prestigious conference in the field grants one the opportunity to gain access to peers in the field, new collaborations and feedback on one's work. I often hear the word 'democratisation' within the AI community, an implication of equity in access, opportunity and merit for contribution regardless of one's country of origin. Associate professor of economics Fadhel Kaboub talks about how 'a lack of vision for oneself results in being a part of someone else's vision', reflecting on how systematically lacking an access to infrastructure results in local trade deficits in economies. As in the time of Nafta's promise of 'free trade', promises of 'AI democratisation' today still exist and benefit mainly countries with access to tech hubs not located in the global south. While the United States and other industrialized countries dominate in access to computational power and research activity, much of the low-paid manual labour involved in labelling data and the global underclass in artificial intelligence still exists in the global south. Much like coffee, cocoa, bauxite and sugar cane are produced in the global south, exported cheaply and sold at a premium in more industrialized countries, over the past few years we have seen influence in AI inextricably tied to energy consumption. Countries that can afford to consume more energy have more leverage in reinforcing power to shape the future direction of AI and what is considered valuable within the AI academic community. In 2019, Mary L Gray and Siddharth Suri published Ghost Work, which exposed the invisible labour of technology today, and at the beginning of my tenure at graduate school, the heavily cited paper Decolonial AI: Decolonial Theory as Sociotechnical Foresight in Artificial Intelligence was published. It has been five years since these seminal works. What would an AI community inspired by the Brics organisation, which united major emerging economies to advocate for themselves in a system dominated by western countries, look like for the global south? I often ask myself how AI has contributed to our legacy, and whose stories it won't tell. Has AI mitigated issues of mistrust and corruption in less-resourced countries? Has it benefited our civic communities or narrowed educational gaps between less-resourced regions? How will it make society better, and whose society will it make better? Who will be included in that future? A historical mistrust can impede adoption by developing countries. Furthermore, many developing countries have weak institutional infrastructures, poor or nonexistent laws and regulatory frameworks for data projection and cybersecurity. Therefore, even with an improved information infrastructure, they are likely to function at a disadvantage in the global information marketplace. A currency is only as good as its perceived global trust. When thinking about the democratization in AI and a vision of what it could be in years to come, AI's survival requires including more perspectives from regions such as the global south. Countries from the global south should work together to build their own markets and have a model of sovereignty for their data and data labour. Economic models often consider a definition of development that includes a measure of improvement in the quality of life of the most marginalized of its people. It is my hope that in the future that will extend to our evaluation of AI. Krystal Maughan is a PhD student at the University of Vermont studying differential privacy and machine learning
Reuters
a day ago
- Reuters
Jordan says two armed people killed after 'infiltration attempt' via Syrian border
Aug 2 (Reuters) - Jordan's armed forces said on Saturday that its forces killed two armed people after a 'foiled infiltration attempt' through its border with Syria the previous day. The Jordanian Armed Forces did not provide further details in its statement but said that the rest of the armed group were pushed back to the Syrian territory. Jordan's armed forces often report foiling border infiltration attempts, sometimes for drug smuggling. In January, Jordan and Syria agreed to form a joint security committee to secure their border, combat arms and drug smuggling and work to prevent the resurgence of Islamic State militants.
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
NLC reject policy wey wan stop workers from going on strike in Nigeria
Di labour union for Nigeria wey be di Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) don criticise di National Industrial Relations Policy (NIRP) wey Nigeria govment recently adopt. Nigeria govment on Thursday afta di Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting bin tok say dem don adopt a new policy wey go control di way unions dey go on strike. Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, na im announce di decision afta di FEC meeting on Thursday. Oga Mohammed Idris explain say di NIRP go guide trade unions, employers, and govment agencies. E go also promote beta tok-tok wey dey in line wit labour practices for Nigeria wey go also meet international standards. "Di policy na major step forward to address di long-standing gaps for how we dey manage labour relations for Nigeria," But NLC say di main aim of dis newly adopted policy na to stop di workers from going on strike, especially strikes by trade unions, as pipo dey always criticise govment for dis strikes. For statement wey di NLC President, Joe Ajaero sign, di labour union say e shock dem say out of di hundreds of workplace issues wey dey inside di National Industrial Relations Policy, di federal govment only pick out di industrial strikes sake of say na dat one dey give dem headache. "Di unfortunate press statement don expose di mindset of di pipo wey we elect to protect di interests of di ordinary citizen, including workers. NLC also para on how govment use strong-arm tactics to overturn popular decisions through a process of tripartism (three parties wia goment, employers through dia representative and workers agree on sometin) through di process of social dialogue. " NLC tok say wen dem bin dey develop di National Industrial Relations Policy for Nigeria, govment bin wan put some clauses for di policy wey go make strike actions criminal. Di statement add say di trade unions, di employers and even di representatives of govment bin reject am sake of say e no follow di 1999 Constitution and di Trade Unions Act wey give trade unions di power to withdraw dia services in line wit di law. "Di right of a worker and trade unions to withdraw dia services dey fundamental and dem no go fit remove am. Why govment remember dis policy According to NLC, di policy dey since and e cover plenti labour issues for Nigeria but govment remember to pick and adopt only di part wey relate to strike. Nigeria govment adopt am for di FEC meeting on Thursday afta di National Union of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives bin start a seven-day warning strike on Wednesday. Nigeria govment bin announce say di nurses and midwives don suspend dia strike on Friday, but di nurses deny suspension of strike, afta FG tok am. Di nurses begin strike afta dem give 15-days ultimatum to Nigeria govment.
