The destruction of the Nova Khakhovka dam will likely turn Ukraine’s southern fields “into deserts” within the year – sparking a global food security crisis, top Ukrainian officials have warned. Ukraine’s emerency services are carrying out rescue operations across dozens towns and villages in the wake of the dam – which is under Russian occupation – unleashing the waters of one of Europe’s largest reservoirs across the war-torn south. The deluge has destroyed homes, drowned animals, severed clean water supplies and forced thousands of people to evacuate. The sudden emptying of the reservoir has crippled key irrigation systems in three surrounding regions. That has stopped the water supply to nearly 600,000 hectares of agricultural land, and endangered the production of 4 million tonnes of grain and oil crops, Ukraine's agricultural ministry wrote in a statement. “The fields in the south of Ukraine may turn into deserts as early as next year,” the ministry said, adding that the surrounding countryside and water supplies have also been destroyed and fish stock killed. “In total, according to preliminary calculations, the losses from the death of all biological resources will amount to [$285 million dollars],” it concluded. Mykhailo Podolyak, a chief advisor to President Zelenksy, warned this “global ecological disaster” could impact worldwide food supplies, as Ukraine, nicknamed the bread basket of the world, is a major producer of grains and oils. “The instantaneous death of a large number of fish and animals, the waterlogging of drained lands and the change in the climatic regime of the region will later be reflected in the food security of the world,” he told The Independent. Ukraine holds the western bank of the Dnipro River near the dam - where some 16,000 people were affected by the flood. Russia controls the eastern side, which is lower and more vulnerable to flooding and where some 22,000 people are impacted. About 3,000 people have already been evacuated from flooded areas on both sides of the river, officials said. The Ukrainian military has blamed Moscow for the attack, saying Russia wants to prevent an advance by Ukrainian forces. The Kremlin denies the accusations saying Kyiv is seeking to distract from a “failing” counteroffensive, that is ongoing. The Kakhovka hydroelectric dam and reservoir are essential for drinking water and irrigation for a huge area of southern Ukraine and the Crimean Peninsula, which has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It lies in a part of the Kherson region that has been controlled by Moscow's forces for the past year since President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion. On Wednesday the authorities and charities rushed to get drinking water and food supplies to the flooded areas and to help save those who are stranded. In the city, people used boats and rafts to try to find missing inhabitants, while others waded through knee-deep water clutching their belongings. “There were people standing on the street just in their underwear because the water had come in too fast and submerged their homes and belongings,” said Yuliya Konovalova, an aid worker who works for Ukrainian animal charity Hachiko. She had spent the day bringing hot meals and water to the inhabitants of Kherson, and rescuing and feeding stranded pets. "The water was rising so fast we hope those people manage to escape,” she added. She said in the centre of the city trains were leaving every two hours despite the flooding and the shelling to ferry people to the nearby city of Mykolaiv “It is a disaster, it is a catastrophe, it is difficult to understand how it is possible.” “It was a really painful day, on the way back I was crying,” she added breaking down in tears. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian soldiers were shooting from a distance while rescue attempts were in progress. "As soon as our helpers try to save them, they are shot at," he told German newspapers Bild and Die Welt and also Politico. The country’s deputy prime minister, Oleksandr Kubrakov, also warned of drifting landmines unearthed by the flooding. "Water is disturbing mines that were laid earlier, causing them to explode," Mr Kubrakov said. “As a result of the flooding, infectious diseases and chemicals were getting into the water,” he added. Mr Zelensky said later said on Telegram he had spoken to French President Emmanuel Macron about the environmental and humanitarian situation in the Kherson region. "I laid out Ukraine's general needs in dealing with the disaster. And we discussed the possibility of involving international mechanisms to investigate its causes," the president said. Meanwhile, in his first public comments on the disaster, President Putin repeated Moscow's line that Ukraine is to blame for destroying the Kakhovka dam. In a call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Mr Putin alleged that Kyiv authorities had escalated "war crimes, openly using terrorist methods and staging acts of sabotage on the Russian territory," the Kremlin said in its account of the call. Read More Ukraine-Russia war news – live: Exploding mines float through floodwater after Kherson dam attack ‘Hard to control emotions’ amid Kherson flooding, says Ukrainian aid worker A dam bursts, but this barbaric attack will not halt Kyiv’s ‘big push’ Ukraine’s long-term future to be on agenda at Sunak and Biden meeting The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

The White House has challenged hackers to break ChatGPT and other AI chatbots in order to better understand the risks that the technology poses. The test of generative artificial intelligence will take place at the Def Con 31 hacker convention in Las Vegas this August, with leading AI developers like Google, Microsoft and OpenAI all agreeing to let their products be tested. “AI is one of the most powerful technologies of our time, but in order to seize the opportunities it presents, we must first mitigate its risks,” the White House said in a statement. “The Administration is announcing an independent commitment from leading AI developers, including Anthropic, Google, Hugging Face, Microsoft, Nvidia, OpenAI, and Stability AI, to participate in a public evaluation of AI systems.” The event was announced during a meeting between US Vice President Kamala Harris and tech executives at the White House, which aimed to address concerns about fast-growing AI technology. The hacking contest aligns with the Biden Administration’s AI Bill of Rights announced last year, which aims to protect citizens against potential harms associated with AI. “This independent exercise will provide critical information to researchers and the public about the impacts of these models, and will enable AI companies and developers to take steps to fix issues found in those models,” the White House’s statement read. Last week, a blog post from the White House Domestic Policy Council and White House Office of Science and Technology Policy warned that the technology currently poses a significant risk to workers. Longer term, technologists and policy makers warn that advanced artificial intelligence could have catastrophic consequences for society. A former OpenAI researcher recently said that he believed there was a “50/50 chance of doom” if AI systems reach and surpass the cognitive capacity of humans. “I tend to imagine something like a year’s transition from AI systems that are a pretty big deal, to kind of accelerating change, followed by further acceleration, et cetera,” Dr Paul Christiano, who now runs AI research non-profit Alignment Research Center, said last month. “I think once you have that view then a lot of things may feel like AI problems because they happen very shortly after you build AI.” Read More 10 ways AI will change the world – from curing cancer to wiping out humanity Google and ChatGPT are facing a major threat, leaked document warns Microsoft lets the world access its controversial Bing chatbot DeepMind boss says human-level AI is just a few years away

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IRVING, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 11, 2023--

England boss Gareth Southgate stressed Harvey Barnes is “a player we like a lot” while also emphasising the competition he faces amid talk of the winger possibly switching allegiance to Scotland. Barnes is reported to be considering a switch three years on from winning his sole England cap to date in a friendly against Wales. At a press conference ahead of Tuesday’s friendly clash with Scotland at Hampden Park, Southgate said of the 25-year-old: “He’s obviously a player who has played for us. “We’ve got a lot of competition in that area of the pitch. He’s a player we’re always monitoring and he’s a player we like a lot.” Southgate was asked about on a potential swap of allegiances for Barnes and Newcastle team-mate Elliot Anderson, who has played for both countries at youth level and received a call-up to the Scotland squad last month, only to be forced to withdraw due to injury. Southgate said: “Both very good players. With Elliot, again I think he’s a player that has progressed really well. We’ve previously spoken with him, but of course he was named in the squad here, so assumed that was that. “I thought he had an excellent pre-season with Newcastle, you could see that evolution that he’s got as a young player and the potential he’s got. I know Newcastle rate him very highly. “I don’t know is the answer to the ultimate question for either player, but there are going to be more and more of these sorts of situations. He’s a player we’re always monitoring and he’s a player we like a lot Gareth Southgate on Harvey Barnes “There are so many players with dual or triple nationality now, it is very complicated for every country, and sometimes you can’t offer the player something as quickly as they’d like. “We’ve benefited from it and lost players because of it, and I think that’s always going to be the case.” Southgate was joined at the press conference by Newcastle full-back Kieran Trippier, who said of Anderson: “As the gaffer said, in pre-season he’s been unbelievable. It was good for him last year to stay with us and not go out on loan again, to gain that experience. “He’s a great lad with great potential. We’ve had talks, but he went away with Scotland. That’s his decision, it is ultimately up to him.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Durham promoted to Division One of the LV= Insurance County Championship Luis Rubiales resignation has to be ‘the start of something’ – Georgia Stanway I genuinely believe Great Britain can win Davis Cup – Andy Murray

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 4, 2023--

Before Dicks: The Musical unfurls its fucked up version of The Parent Trap, three title