Nigeria's health regulator is recalling a batch of Johnson & Johnson children's cough syrup after finding an unacceptably high level of a potentially fatal toxic substance, it said on Wednesday.

Laboratory tests on Benylin Paediatric showed a high level of diethylene glycol, which has been linked to the deaths of dozens of children in Gambia, Uzbekistan and Cameroon since 2022 in one of the world's worst waves of poisoning from oral medication.

The syrup is used to treat cough and congestion-related symptoms, hay fever and other allergic reactions in children aged two to 12, Nigeria's National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) said in a notice on its website.

"Laboratory analysis conducted on the product showed that it contains an unacceptable high level of Diethylene glycol and was found to cause acute oral toxicity in laboratory animals," NAFDAC said.

Human consumption of the substance could cause symptoms like abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, headaches and acute kidney injury that may result in death, the regulator added.

J&J referred a request for comment to Kenvue, which now owns the Benylin brand after a spin-off last year. Kenvue did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The batch being recalled was made in South Africa in May 2021 with an expiration date of April 2024. The regulator urged those with bottles from the batch to discontinue use or sale and submit them to its nearest office.

 

Reuters

 

Voters in many countries are suffering a crisis of faith in their democracies and institutions, a survey by a governance watchdog showed, painting a bleak picture in a year in which more than half of the world's population holds elections.

With the United States, India, Britain and the European Union going to the polls in 2024, the report published on Thursday by the International Institute of Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) offers a sombre snapshot of the perceived health of many democracies.

The results show that voters in 11 of the 19 countries surveyed, which included the U.S. and India, fewer than half of the people believed the most recent election was free and fair.

Only voters in Denmark believed courts 'always' or 'often' provide access to justice, while in 8 of 19 countries, more people had favourable views of "a strong leader who doesn't have to bother with parliament or elections" than had unfavourable views.

"Democracies must respond to the scepticism of their public, both by improving governance and by combating the growing culture of disinformation that has fostered false accusations against credible elections," International IDEA Secretary-General Kevin Casas-Zamora said in a statement.

This year's presidential election in the United States is likely to see incumbent Democrat Joe Biden face off again against ex-president Donald Trump.

The survey showed that only 47 per cent of respondents in the United States expressed faith that the country had credible electoral processes.

Elections for Europe's parliament which take place in June could see big gains for the far-right and impact policy from support for Ukraine in its war against Russia's full-scale invasion to measures to address climate change.

In February, the parliament condemned what it called Russian attempts to undermine European democracy.

The survey, conducted between July 2023 and January 2024, polled about 1,500 people in each of 19 countries including Brazil, Chile, Colombia, The Gambia, Iraq, Italy, Lebanon, Lithuania, Pakistan, Romania, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Korea and Tanzania.

 

Reuters

ISRAELI REPORTS

Three sons of Hamas leader Haniyeh killed in Israeli airstrike

Three sons of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh were killed in an IAF airstrike in Gaza on Wednesday, an anonymous senior Israeli diplomatic official said, while at the same time there were widespread denials that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and war cabinet minister Benny Gantz knew about the attack. 

It was unclear if the later denial was legitimate or if Netanyahu or some other officials may have known about it, but decided afterward that the cost of the attack to the hostage negotiations or with being rebuked by the US was too high to take credit. In general, the IDF has been careful in such situations, especially with hostage talks ongoing, to clear top level of attacks with the political echelon. 

All three sons were part of Hamas’s so-called military wing, Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, and Israel is ready to go after any member of Hamas involved in violence, the official said.

** Gallant: We’ll flood Gaza with far more than 500 trucks of aid per day

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Wednesday announced what he called “new major breakthroughs” that would jump the humanitarian aid going into Gaza from around 200 trucks per day last week to well over 500 trucks per day.

The increase in aid would come as part of five new initiatives, Gallant said.

The new initiatives include:

1. Implementing last Thursday’s government decision to open up Ashdod Port to increase the entry of goods and streamline security checks.
2. Implementing last Thursday’s government decision to open up a new northern crossing (reportedly Erez), which would provide a route to bring aid directly to northern Gaza and reduce pressure on the Kerem Shalom crossing.
3. Boosting aid through Jordan with two routes, including cooperation with the Jordanian Air Force, for a total of 150 trucks). This will set the foundation for future hubs.
4. Establishing the coordination and deconfliction mechanism, which is part of a wider effort to increase cooperation with international organizations, implement lessons learned, such as the World Central Kitchen incident, and work with new partners.
5. Other major projects, including working with the US on the JLOTS artificial island for absorbing and distributing maritime aid, COGAT working on infrastructure projects, such as water lines, and other meetings with new aid organizations.

“These breakthroughs have a direct impact on the flow of aid,” Gallant said. “We plan to flood Gaza with aid, and we are expecting to reach 500 trucks per day” very soon. “It will also streamline security checks and strengthen our work with international partners.”

He also discussed how humanitarian aid has already spiked dramatically since last week.

On Tuesday, “we saw a record number of 467 trucks, and air-dropped 303 packages,” Gallant said. “Last month, the daily average was 213, and before that it was 170.”

“Our policy has evolved to facilitate more and more aid, as we improved work with partners and created the operational conditions to enable such work,” he said.

Although Gallant said he was pushing for many of these new initiatives since his meetings in Washington on March 25-26, he has received much stronger backing from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since US President Joe Biden threatened the prime minister last Thursday.

Future crossings into Gaza 

Going forward, there will be four land crossings for aid: Nitzana, Kerem Shalom, Crossing 96, and the “northern crossing,” which is said to be Erez.

Israel has already facilitated the delivery of 407,400 tons of humanitarian aid on over 21,638 trucks, Gallant said.

There have been 62 air-drop missions that delivered 3,608 packages, he said.

There are seven working field hospitals and two in the planning stages (IMC and Red Cross), Gallant said.

Despite these improvements, increasing aid will face challenges “in terms of securing and distributing aid,” he said. “This is the result of Hamas threats and also the issue of planning for the day after Hamas.”

“There are three bad options for the day after: Hamas controlling Gaza, Israel controlling Gaza, and total anarchy,” Gallant said. “We need to create another option: to empower a local alternative. The humanitarian effort is key in empowering a local alternative.”

Defense sources have in the past accused Netanyahu of blocking initiatives to build local alternatives based on forces affiliated with Fatah in Gaza, including having the US train them in Jordan.

There was still no confirmation that Netanyahu has reversed himself on this issue given his general preference to weaken, or at least not strengthen, the Palestinian Authority. 

** IDF: The IDF eliminated the Head of Hamas' Emergency Bureau in the Central Camps

on Monday, directed by IDF intelligence, IDF fighter jets struck and eliminated the terrorist Hatem Alramery, Head of Hamas' Emergency Bureau in the Gaza Central Camps.

Alramery was a Hamas military wing operative in the field of projectile launches within the Maghazi Battalion of the Central Camps.

Attached is the profile of Hatem Alramery, Head of Hamas' Emergency Bureau in the Gaza Central Camps: https://IDFANC.activetrail.biz/anc09042024685464545

** IDF: Overnight, two launches from Lebanon toward the area of Misgav Am in northern Israel which fell in open areas were identified. No injuries were reported.

On Monday, one launch from Syria toward the area of Yonatan in the Golan Heights was identified. No injuries were reported. IDF artillery struck the sources of the fire.

Overnight on Tuesday, IDF fighter jets struck terrorist infrastructure belonging to the Syrian army in the area of Mhajjah. In addition, IDF artillery struck a Syrian military post in southern Syria last night.

** IDF: Terrorists eliminated and terrorist infrastructure destroyed; A terrorist who participated in the October 7th massacre was eliminated

On Monday, several launches from the Gaza Strip were fired toward the area of Re'im in southern Israel. Shortly after, IDF fighter jets struck a launch position, military compound, and underground tunnel shafts in the area from which the launch attack was carried out.

Throughout the past day, the IAF also struck and destroyed military compounds, launch posts, and numerous terrorist infrastructure sites throughout the Gaza Strip.

Furthermore, an IAF aircraft eliminated a terrorist in Khan Yunis who participated in the October 7th massacre.

IDF troops are continuing to operate in the central Gaza Strip. Over the past day, the troops eliminated a number of terrorists in close-quarter combat. Several additional terrorists who posed a threat to the troops were eliminated by aircraft strikes and precise sniper fire.

Attached are photos of IDF operational activity in the Gaza Strip: https://IDFANC.activetrail.biz/anc090420246854154162531

Attached is a video of IDF strikes in the Gaza Strip: https://bit.ly/3JdGr3s

** IDF: First operational interception by the "C-Dome" Defense System from a Sa'ar 6-class corvette

Overnight, for the first time ever, an IDF Sa'ar 6-class corvette missile ship successfully intercepted a UAV that had approached from the east and had crossed into the area of the Gulf of Eilat.

IDF troops in the area operated in cooperation with the IAF Aerial Control Unit and the Sa'ar 6-class corvette.

In accordance with the situational assessment since the beginning of the war, IDF missile boats including Sa'ar 6-class corvettes were positioned in the Red Sea.

The Israeli Navy is deployed in the area of the Red Sea and has both the defensive and offensive capabilities to engage with regional threats.

Attached is a video of the interception: https://bit.ly/4aO0NMc

Attached is IDF archive footage of the "C-Dome" Defense System: https://bit.ly/4aP9BBp

 

HAMAS’ REPORTS

Family sources: Hazem, Amir, and Muhammad Haniyeh, sons of the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, were martyred, along with a number of their children, in a bombing carried out by the occupation aircraft on the Beach camp, west of Gaza.

** A statement issued by the Yemeni Armed Forces

In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful

God Almighty said: {And God will surely help whoever helps him. Indeed, God is Powerful, Mighty} God Almighty has spoken the truth.

A victory for the oppression of the Palestinian people and a response to the American-British aggression against our country

With the help of God Almighty, the naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out four military operations this morning, as follows:

Targeting two Israeli ships, the first a ship (MSC Darwin) and the other, a ship (MSC GINA), which was targeted again in the Gulf of Aden.

Targeting the American ship MAERSK YORKTOWN in the Gulf of Aden.

Targeting an American warship in the Gulf of Aden with a number of drones.

The ships were targeted with a number of suitable naval missiles and drones.

The Yemeni armed forces continue to perform their religious, moral and humanitarian duty towards the oppressed Palestinian people and in defense of dear Yemen, and their operations in the Red and Arab Bahrain and in the Indian Ocean will continue until the aggression stops and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted.

God is sufficient for us, and He is the best disposer of affairs, the best protector, and the best helper

Long live Yemen, free, dear and independent

Victory belongs to Yemen and to all the free people of the nation

Sanaa, Shawwal 1, 1445 AH

Corresponding to April 10, 2024 AD

Issued by the Yemeni Armed Forces

#War_Media

 

The Jerusalem Post/Israel Defense Forces/Hamas Brigade al-Qassam

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russian forces stage deadly attacks in southern, northern Ukraine

Russian forces launched deadly attacks on Wednesday on frequent targets in the south and north of Ukraine, in Kharkiv and Odesa regions, killing seven people and injuring many more, officials said.

In Odesa district in the south, an early evening missile attack killed four people, including a 10-year-old girl, and injured 14 more, regional Governor Oleh Kiper said.

Writing on the Telegram messaging app, Kiper said four of the injured were in serious condition with doctors "fighting to save their lives". One man had had his legs amputated.

In northeastern Kharkiv region, which has been subjected to intensified Russian attacks on cities and energy sites in recent weeks, a strike on a pharmacy killed a 14-year-old girl and two women in the village of Lyptsi, regional Governor Oleh Synehubov said.

Two people were injured and rescuers combed rubble for other possible victims.

Two guided bombs destroyed a clinic in the village of Vovchansk, injuring one person, Synehubov said. Separately, Russian troops dropped an explosive on a bus, wounding a man, according to the interior ministry.

On the Russian side of the border, Roman Starovoyt, governor of Kursk region, said three people, two of them children, were killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on a car.

Reuters could not independently verify battlefield accounts from either side.

In Odesa, Kiper said missiles, presumed to be Iskander-M ballistic missiles, struck between 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. (1500-1530 GMT) and also damaged transport infrastructure, including nearby trucks.

"People in cars and on foot were heading home at the end of the work day and became victims of a treacherous double strike," the Ukrainian military said on Telegram.

A petrol station had been hit and was still burning late in the evening, it said. Shops, warehouses and administrative buildings all sustained damage.

Odesa, one of Ukraine's busiest ports, has been a frequent target of Russian attacks in the 25-month-old war.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy decried the deaths in his nightly video address, saying, "Russian terror persists day and night at our border and in frontline areas".

Zelenskiy said he had discussed Ukraine's domestic production of missiles at a meeting of top commanders and military industry officials and said Ukrainian industry had achieved "the necessary results".

 

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

US drones faring poorly in Ukraine conflict – WSJ

Small drones sent to Ukraine by US manufacturers have largely proved ineffective on the battlefield due to Russian electronic countermeasures, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

The Ukraine conflict has seen the widespread use of small expandable unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for reconnaissance, as well as for dropping small explosives and serving as loitering munitions. US products have proved unsatisfactory, however, forcing Kiev to rely on Chinese models instead, the WSJ reported on Tuesday. 

“The general reputation for every class of US drone in Ukraine is that they don’t work as well as other systems,” Adam Bry, CEO of drone maker Skydio, told the newspaper. He admitted his own company’s products are “not a very successful platform on the front lines.” 

Even some of the drones that the Pentagon has deemed fit for American soldiers have not fared well in the conflict, according to the report. The list of problematic weapons mentioned by the WSJ included AeroVironment Switchblade 300 loitering munitions, Velos Rotors V3 helicopter drones, and UAVs made by Cyberlux.

Ukrainian troops are burning through some 10,000 small drones a month, the report added. Many of them are off-the-shelf models produced by Chinese manufacturer SZ DJI Technology, or are assembled from Chinese components on Ukrainian soil. 

The Chinese firm, which has been banned from US military use for supposedly posing a national security risk, told the newspaper that it “absolutely deplores and condemns the use of its products to cause harm anywhere in the world.” 

Many American commercial drones cost tens of thousands of dollars more per piece than their Chinese competitors, the WSJ noted. US producers aiming to sell their UAVs to the Pentagon must meet its regulations, including restrictions on using Chinese parts and software updates.  

Russia has significantly increased domestic production of military drones amid the hostilities with Ukraine. Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu reported last November that the country was supplying 16 times more drones compared to January 2023.

Forbes suggested in December that Ukrainian assessments that Russia makes as many as 40,000 smaller first-person-view kamikaze quadcopters per month may be too conservative.  

 

Reuters/RT

Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, must have smarted from the embarrassing fallout his comments about Nigerians and their habits of energy efficiency generated. While addressing the public last Thursday, he noted how Nigerians waste energy by keeping their freezers and air conditioners running even when not at home. He said the habit of energy preservation eludes us because energy is too cheap in our part of the world.

The media quotes him as saying, “A lot of people will come back from work, they want to have dinner, or they want to see their colleagues down the road, they switch on the AC for the room to be cooling before they come back. Some people will be going to work in the morning, a freezer that you left on for days, they will still leave it on when all the items in the freezer are frozen and 5, 6, 8 hours of their absence will not make it to defreeze, they will still leave it to be consuming power just because we are not paying enough. We have all been overseas before; we know how conscious the power consumers are about electricity consumption.”

If I had been at that gathering, I would have asked Adelabu how frequently he turns off the refrigerator in his houses in Ibadan, Abuja, and elsewhere, to preserve energy. Also, does he wait until he starts sweating into the folds of his agbada before he turns on the air-conditioning system? In trying to clarify the broader context in which the minister addressed the public, former media aide Tolu Ogunlesi noted that the manner in which people ran with the “freezer” gaffe was “sad” and “unfortunate” because it distracted from the main points of the public address. Actually, what is really sad and unfortunate here is that the minister chose to be pedestrian. He walked into it.

Unlike his thought clarifier, I do not take the quoted statement as a case of wrong choices of examples; I see it as the extent to which he understands energy issues as they play out in mundane situations. In case Adelabu has not noticed, appliances like refrigerator/freezer are not designed to be unplugged. As long as a home (or office) is occupied, the refrigerator works itself to its death.

Three crucial issues stood out from his criticism of Nigerians’ energy consumption habits. One, his selection of appliances—freezer and air-conditioning—are interesting for far more reasons than why he chose them. In 2013, an American guy called Todd Moss (a vice president and senior fellow at the Centre for Global Development), bought a refrigerator. As he closely looked at the efficiency tag (that yellow paper appended on new refrigerating sets), he noticed that the single appliance would consume 459 kWh annually. He ran the figures and realised that that single refrigerating unit would gulp more electricity than most people in African countries get to use in a whole year. Those six countries? Ethiopia, Tanzania, Liberia, Kenya, Ghana, and of course, Nigeria.

The chart he created comparing energy use figures and inequality of access has been reproduced and circulated multiple times to illustrate the reality of energy inequity. If there is one luxury that people in countries like Nigeria cannot be said to have, it is energy supply. As of 2020, electricity consumption for air conditioning accounted for about 19 per cent (roughly 254 billion kiloWh) of electricity consumption in US homes. It takes about 2,365 kWh of electricity per year to cool an average home in the USA.

So, when the Nigerian power minister suggests we overuse electricity, with whom exactly was he comparing us? Even Ghana where roughly 70 per cent of households have access to electricity does not consume anything close to what mere air-conditioning and refrigerating sets in countries like the US gulp. As of 2020, Americans reportedly consume an annual average energy of 10,700 kWh per hour, compared to the Nigerian average of 161 kWh. How can people so lacking be considered irresponsible users?

Second, our leaders should understand that contrary to the assumption that the scarcity of resources is due to overconsumption, we are—by almost every measure—a vastly under-resourced people. We lack certain infrastructure like energy, not because we are wasteful, but simply because we have never had enough. Nigeria is a place where people have to decide whether a visitor is worth their turning on their generator (so as to turn on the fan) or endure the sweltering heat together. Countries where they supply energy 24/7 never need to worry about such things. If Nigerians cannot similarly take energy supply for granted, it is not because their freezers never defrost but because their energy supplies are woefully inadequate.

How many households in Nigeria even have freezers and air-conditioning units? According to Ogunlesi, there are 12 million electricity customers (including both households and businesses) in Nigeria. Relative to our purported population, that number is shockingly meagre. Even if Nigeria’s population were a mere 150 million  (as against the 200 million plus which official figures frequently tout) and there is an average of seven people per household, it is still not enough. Twelve million customers simply means far too many households and businesses are unconnected to official energy supply. It is either that millions of people stay in the dark or Nigeria is preponderantly powered by generators. Either way, we have a challenge that will not be resolved by asking people to deny themselves certain basic comforts in the name of energy conservation. For a developing society like Nigeria that needs all the energy it can get to grow, preaching conservation can easily become counterproductive.

Third, none of the above is to be construed as discounting the necessity of energy preservation. While I will readily agree that conservation is essential, I also urge caution when comparing our energy management practices with societies that, comparatively, have excess supplies. When those societies nudge themselves towards preservation, they are not coming from a place of perpetual lack like Nigeria. If there is another reason that Nigerians have not cultivated the ethic of energy preservation, it is also because we tend not to see the link between the energy supplied to us and what we are billed for it. There is no time in my Nigerian life that I do not recall people complaining that even though they do not get “light,” but they still receive bills from the energy company and which they have to pay.

There is a local radio show that I listen to some mornings. Officials from an energy company come on the show and take questions. Many times, when a customer phones in, it is to vent over being billed for services denied. What do you think people like that would do the very moment that light comes on? They will use it with carefree abandon. People like that come to believe that they would be inordinately billed whether they use up the energy (whenever it is supplied) or not, and so they use it so they can justify what they pay for it.

Finally, we also cannot presume that the entire responsibility of energy management lies with individual Nigerians monitoring their energy usage by turning off their freezers as soon as the contents are frosted or waiting until their skins start cooking in the afternoon heat before they turn on their air-conditioning systems. Those habits are ultimately limited in their effects without larger structural enablement. For instance, the kind of appliances we use (and their age) also go a long way in facilitating energy preservation. Advanced societies constantly tweak technology to ensure that newer models of those appliances consume less energy. You can only export some of these products to their countries if those devices meet their set bar for energy-saving specifications.

 

Punch

 

Recently, I wrote about how different school is today compared to even 10 years ago, and the thing that stuck out most to me was the difference in technology. So, I decided to ask teachers and professors in our BuzzFeed Community how student AI use is changing their classrooms. Here are some of their most interesting stories:

1. "I teach media studies at the college level. In a nutshell, it's just absolutely baffling the level of laziness [AI use] shows. I've assigned video games for [my students] to play and write up notes on and a response to, and received responses generated by AI about an imaginary video game that does not exist, based on the game's name."

"But the funniest experience I've had was my first: in an intro course after teaching the concept of remediation, a specific media studies concept, I asked a pretty simple question in a quiz: 'Give an example of remediation.'

"The response [I got from a student using AI] was about the processes of removing chemicals from soil via the process of remediation; [nothing to do with the media studies concept].  I stared at it for about a minute and a half just trying to process what I was reading.

"I guess I learned something about soil management... thanks, ChatGPT?"

—venusaurtium

2. "AI has already taken away the ability to see what the students are actually capable of because they won't put in their real effort. They're using more effort to find ways to do as little as possible than if they just put the effort into writing. This is only going to get worse. It amazes me that students don’t know what a comma is in middle school."

—Anonymous
3. "Spanish teacher here. With the amount of cheating using translators and essay writers only growing exponentially, I have all but gotten rid of technology in my class. Project? Handwritten, all work done in class. Quiz? On paper. Interpretive test? All the Chromebooks go on the counter where students can't access them."

"The only time we use technology is for vocab practice games and accessing study resources. 

"I think it is a good thing for students to disconnect from their addiction anyway. They spend so much time glued to their short-form content that I can hardly keep their attention for more than five minutes. It is also best practice for language learning; writing things down helps you remember things way better than typing."

—Anonymous

4. "Creative writing and publishing student here: besides the fact that my professors will give you an automatic zero on assignments if you write them with AI, it's highly unethical because nothing it spits out is an original idea."

—daynam4b6e28fa3
5. "In my state, certain documents are required to be read during the freshman year of college and then students must complete an assignment on the documents. It's been the law for a couple of years now. Students who use AI to do the assignments are breaking the law, which can jeopardize whether they get their college degree."

—Anonymous

6. "My students are spending more time using AI on their assignments than they would if they actually just did the assignment themselves. Absolutely bonkers."

—Anonymous
7. "It has exposed new levels of student laziness. My husband teaches history, and he literally got an assignment that began, 'As an AI, I cannot give an opinion.'"

—lovelytortoise925
8. "[It's] less so students using AI and more so everyone else. Standardized tests are being written using it and we can tell. The tests were already garbage and biased, but now they are riddled with spelling and grammar mistakes."

"If they've been translated into Spanish, there are often a ton of mistranslations or places where it just hasn't been translated. Districts are supplying us with curricula that make no sense and are not teachable. AI is a way for these billion-dollar companies to cheap out and screw the kids over. It's just sad."

—Anonymous

9. "I'm not a teacher, but a mature-age student getting my BA in design. My teachers still can't tell [when students use AI]! Our online discussion board is just stupid. The discussions mean nothing. I had to lie to the girl I was doing an assignment with and tell her that universities have this new AI scanner to actually get her to do the work."

—Anonymous

10. "AI doesn't give room for critical thinking. Students depend so much on the output of AI and give it no kind of mental review. Students do not take classroom attendance seriously; they believe AI can give them whatever is given in the classroom."

"In addition, it erases respect for teachers since students feel like they don't have to depend on them but on AI. This encourages a lack of discipline among the students. They can't recognize disinformation. They should be made to understand the need for critical thinking."

—Anonymous

11. "The students don't know anything. They think using AI to cheat is the same as learning the information for themselves. Imagine you're having surgery, and your doctor used AI to fudge his way through medical school. Or you drive across a bridge built by an engineer who cheated his way through with AI. They think they're clever or insightful for sliding a generated response into the pile, but they're lying their way through an education that they aren't actually getting."

—Anonymous
12. "The majority of my students either do not speak English or just learned English within the school year. I teach first graders in NYC; it is very common to have ELL students in NYC, as there are many immigrants and refugees here. We [have been] asked by the state to use online AI programs that read to the children to practice listening comprehension."

"The AI expects students to verbally reply to various prompts [within] specific time frames. The issue is, that kids who have enough knowledge of English to reply to the prompts tend to have accents that the AI can't understand.

"When the AI doesn't understand their accents, it will continuously ask the same questions and won't allow the child to move to the next questionif it doesn't understand their reply. Naturally, this frustrates kids and takes a large toll on their confidence in speaking the new language.

"And for the kids who know no English at all, the platform is useless, yet it's still required to be used by the state, thus leading to more wasted time and frustrated learners."

—meebz2173

13. "I'm a ninth-grade Spanish teacher. My students have writing tests that they type on their computers at the end of each unit. At least three or four [students in each class] will try to use our writing assistant to write the prompt for them. It's frustrating to have to run it through an indicator if the essay looks too good."

—Anonymous
14. And finally: "I teach computer science at the high school level. AI has transformed students from being collaborative problem solvers to lazy, unimaginative robots who attempt to plug in their assignments and copy and paste. When I give them code to correct on paper, it becomes immediately clear who knows what we are doing and who doesn't. It makes it so hard to do fun projects like building simple video games because they don't know how to problem solve on their own if they get stuck. I understand using AI to debug, I do it too, but only after I've actually written some of the code first."

—Anonymous

 

Buzzfeed

 

Northern Elders Forum has said that the northern region regrets voting President Bola Tinubu in the 2023 general elections.

The elders noted that the mistake of voting for the president who was the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 outing has taught the north a lesson.

The forum recently came hard on the President when it lamented the growing insecurity across the country.

The elders said the recent abduction of Kuriga school children in Kaduna indicated that the present goverment has failed to protect Nigerians just few months in office.

In a chat with The Guardian on Tuesday, spokesperson of the forum, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, said going forward, the region will now prioritise unity and consensus in selecting a candidate for the highest office in the land.

Recall that in the 2023 general elections, Tinubu polled a total of 8,794,726 total votes to be declared president.

The Northern region of North West, North East and North Central gave the president a combined votes of 5.4 million.

Responding to a question on the recent visit and donations by former Anambra Governor, Peter Obi to northern communities, Suleiman said: “The North made a mistake in voting Bola Tinubu to the presidency in 2023, and it is unlikely that they will repeat the same error in the future.

“They have learned from their past misstep and will strive to select a candidate who can unite the country and govern in the best interests of all Nigerians.

“Moving forward, the North will be more cautious in selecting a candidate for the presidency.

“They will prioritize someone who is seen as more inclusive, less controversial, and more aligned with the interests of all regions of the country.

“The mistake of supporting Tinubu in 2023 has taught them the importance of unity and consensus in selecting a candidate for the highest office in the land.”

 

The Guardian

Allen Onyema, chairman of Air Peace, has raised the alarm over the alleged conspiracy by foreign governments to frustrate his airline out of business.

Recounting his experience on the Lagos-London route during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today, on Tuesday, he said Air Peace commenced its London flight with special students’ fares to make travelling affordable for students going to study.

He alleged the airline was being segregated, calling on the Nigerian government to do more to ensure the operation is sustained.

“We are aware that there are devilish conspiracies. All of a sudden airlines are under pricing below the cost. One airline is advertising $100 and the other $350. If you peel up your entire aircraft and carry people on the wings it is not even enough to buy your fuel.

“Why are they doing that? Their government is supporting them because Nigeria has been a cash cow for everybody. The idea is to take Air Peace out and the moment they succeed in taking Air Peace out, Nigerians would pay twenty times over. It would happen God forbids if they are able to take Air Peace out

“What is happening is scary. On the inaugural flight out of London 24 hours they moved us to another checking area. The place they gave us things were not working. When you are checking people you need to manually carry the load to go 50 metres and drop it. This was just to delay. No other airline faced that. We were denied a slot. Festus Keyamo had to travel to London with us to warn them. He told them if they continue the foolish act, the Nigerian government would retaliate.

“The government of Nigeria is behind Air Peace but the government has to do more now that there is evidence that unofficial statements are taking this airline.”

 

Daily Trust

 

Super Falcons of Nigeria have qualified for the women’s football event of the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Nigeria defeated South Africa 1-0 on aggregate in the final round of qualifiers to book a place at the Games for the first time since 2008.

Rasheedat Ajibade’s 43rd-minute penalty in the first leg proved historic as the Falcons held on to a pragmatic goalless draw at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Tuesday.

Randy Waldrum kept faith in the same line-up that clinched the vital home win on Friday.

The Falcons dominated the match in the early stages. They held on to the ball, with the South African attack barely troubling Nigeria’s makeshift centre-back pairing of Christy Ucheibe and Osinachi Ohale.

Chiwendu Ihezuo was handed an opportunity, but her header off a Deborah Abiodun cross trailed wide.

The match settled for a cagey battle in the midfield, with chances few for both teams.

Chimaka Nnadozie was a domineering presence in the air as she mopped up the South Africans’ crosses before they escalated into danger for Nigeria.

Nigeria held on for a vital draw and secured a berth to represent Africa in Paris later this year.

The Falcons will be playing at the Olympics for the fourth time. They qualified for the competition in 2000, 2004 and 2008.

The 2024 Olympics is billed to take place in Paris, France, from July 26 to August 11, 2024.

 

The Cable

Federal Government has extended the public holiday for this year’s Eid -El-Fitr celebration to cover Thursday.

It has earlier declared Tuesday and Wednesday as public holiday for the celebration, but added Thursday, making it three days declared for the end of Ramadan celebration.

The latest announcement was contained in a press statement signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Aishetu Gogo Ndayako on Tuesday.

The statement read. “The Federal Government has approved Thursday 11th April, 2024 as an additional public holiday to celebrate this year’s Eid -El-Fitr.

 

Thisday