News in brief
Turkey lifts ban on Wikipedia
AFP, Istanbul
A Turkish court on Wednesday lifted a ban on Wikipedia after almost three years. Turkey was the only country in the world apart from China to entirely block access to the online encyclopedia. But its constitutional court ruled last month that the ban, in place since April 2017, violated freedom of expression. Turkish officials said in 2017 that the ban was needed as Wikipedia had failed to remove content accusing its government of assisting terrorist groups.
China reports first death from mystery pneumonia outbreak
AFP, Wuhan, China
A 61-year-old man has become the first person to die in China from a respiratory illness believed caused by a new virus from the same family as SARS, which claimed hundreds of lives more than a decade ago, authorities said. Forty-one people with pneumonia-like symptoms have so far been diagnosed with the new virus in Wuhan, with one of the victims dying on Thursday, the central Chinese citys health commission said on its website on Saturday.
US lawmakers concerned over facial recognitions accuracy
BBC, London
US politicians expressed concerns about the accuracy and growing use of facial recognition software, at a hearing on Wednesday. The technology is being developed by firms including Amazon and Microsoft and increasingly used by law enforcement worldwide. Some facial recognition technologies misidentify women and people of colour. Civil liberties and privacy groups have raised concerns about how the data for these programs is being gathered.
Jihadists free five kidnapped aid workers in Nigeria
AFP, Kano, Nigeria
Islamic State-aligned jihadists have released five local aid workers abducted last month in violence-wracked northeastern Nigeria, security sources and one of those freed said yesterday. The aid workers were seized along with other passengers in two separate incidents in December when fighters from Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) disguised as soldiers.
