Gunmen on motorcycles killed dozens of people in dawn raids across three villages in northwestern Nigeria, according to local reports, while the head of global ports operator DP World resigned amid scrutiny over his links to Jeffrey Epstein. In other news, an AI safety researcher quit US firm Anthropic with a warning that the "world is in peril," and Amazon's Ring ended a deal with a surveillance firm after facing backlash.
The attacks in Nigeria, which occurred on Saturday morning, targeted villages in Niger state, near the site of a suspected jihadist massacre earlier this month, according to the BBC. Armed men shot or cut the throats of their victims, set homes on fire, and abducted an "undetermined" number of people. These attacks follow similar raids in Kwara state last month, where armed bandits on motorcycles attacked villages, killing at least 30 people.
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem's departure from DP World, effective immediately, followed the release of files showing he exchanged hundreds of emails with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein over a decade. The BBC approached Sulayem for comment. Essa Kazim was named chairman and Yuvraj Narayan as chief executive of DP World.
In the technology sector, an AI safety researcher, Mrinank Sharma, resigned from Anthropic, citing concerns about AI, bioweapons, and the state of the world. Sharma shared his resignation letter on X, stating he would pursue writing and poetry and move back to the UK to "become invisible." This comes after an OpenAI researcher also resigned, expressing concerns about the company's decision to deploy adverts in its chatbot.
Amazon's Ring decided to end a partnership with Flock Safety, a surveillance firm, after facing scrutiny over its privacy practices. The deal, announced in October, would have allowed agencies working with Flock to retrieve video captured on Ring devices. The decision came days after a Ring advertisement aired during the Super Bowl sparked widespread backlash.
In other news, Gisèle Pelicot, the woman at the center of France's largest rape trial, told BBC Newsnight she was "crushed by horror" upon discovering the extent of her husband's crimes. "Something exploded inside me," she said, describing the moment she realized the scale of her husband's actions. She is preparing to release her memoir, "A Hymn To Life."
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