03/09/2026

THURSDAY | SEPT 3, 2026 9 New York to ban AI in public schools NEW YORK: New York City will ban the use of artificial intelligence for students in public schools through eighth grade, a source close to the matter told AFP yesterday, confirming US media reports. Teachers and parents have warned against the use of AI in schools over concerns about harming children’s mental health and cognitive development, as well as environmental damage. AI use will only be allowed in high school, which begins in the ninth grade in the American school system, the source said. Even then, it will be limited to specific uses, such as learning about the technology itself, they said. Eighth graders in the US are typically about 13 years old. According to the New York Times , AI “companion chatbots” offering psychological support will also be banned. The rules, however, allow teachers to use AI for tasks, including preparing lessons. The new rules are to be announced today. The city’s education department recommends limiting screen time to 45 minutes in class for middle schoolers – sixth through eighth grade – and 30 minutes for elementary school students. But the question remains of how to monitor AI use, since it often takes place outside the school environment. The new rules follow an initial framework published in March, which used a traffic light system to determine which tasks AI would be used for. The framework, which allowed students to use AI for research, exploration and creative projects, sparked fury among many parents and teachers who considered it too lenient. In response, the city’s schools chancellor Kamar Samuels said leaders had “missed the mark” in their communications, adding his office would carefully review feedback from parents for incorporation into future rules. The city had long planned to follow the March framework with a more comprehensive “guidebook” to take feedback into account, the education department has said. The department will set up a task force made up of teachers, elected officials, experts and union representatives. The task force is to produce a report in April, intended to serve as the basis for New York’s AI-in-schools policy. The city’s public school technology policies are closely watched by the rest of the United States. – AFP KENYAN EDITOR FOUND SAFE NAIROBI: An editor of one of Kenya’s largest news outlets was abducted by armed men and released hours later at the edge of a dam more than 200km away, his employer said yesterday. Alex Kiprotich, an associate editor for Standard Group, was taken from a car near the city of Nakuru on Tuesday night, the company said in a statement. Dashcam footage shared by Standard Group appeared to show four armed men emerging from a vehicle parked on a busy road. Screams could be heard from the car carrying Kiprotich. He was dumped near the Masinga Dam, where he was found safe, the company said, without providing further details of his condition or the circumstances of his release. – Reuters SHIPS COLLIDE OFF ISTANBUL ISTANBUL: Two Turkish-flagged commercial vessels collided off Istanbul in the Sea of Marmara yesterday and one of the ships, which had 10 crew on board, is believed to have sunk, the Istanbul governor’s office and Turkish maritime affairs authority said. The Alsu , en route to the Aegean port of Aliaga, and Tugberk Imamoglu , en route to the Black Sea port of Karadenizeregli, collided off the Silivri district of Istanbul at about 3am (8am in Malaysia), the Istanbul governor’s office said. Coastguard ships and helicopters found there was no visible damage to the Alsu . Authorities were unable to establish contact with the Tugberk Imamoglu . – Reuters

Xi holds talks with Sisi

branch of Egypt’s second-largest bank was targeted by US sanctions. He wrote that Egypt and China were partners in “strengthening the role of the global south” in an increasingly polarised world. Washington vowed last month to isolate Iran economically, threatening expanded sanctions that could also hit Chinese banks, among others. China, a major buyer of Iranian oil, has vowed to safeguard its interests. In the lead-up to an expected meeting between Xi and US President Donald Trump this month, it has also sought to shore up ties with US-friendly regional nations. Egypt is one of the largest recipients of US military aid, and historically a key Middle East mediator. Last week, the US Treasury announced sanctions on the Emirati branch of Egypt’s Banque Misr for alleged support to Iran. Egypt, which under Sisi’s administration became one of the world’s top weapons buyers, hosted major joint air combat exercises with the Chinese military last month, featuring Beijing’s powerful J-16 fighter jet. – AFP

megaprojects, the crowning jewel of which is the New Administrative Capital 50km east of Cairo, large swathes of which have been bankrolled by Chinese investment. China is a major exporter to Egypt, with its trade surplus reaching US$12 billion in the first seven months of this year, according to Chinese Customs data. Across Cairo, a megalopolis home to over 26 million people, major streets have been lined with Chinese and Egyptian flags, as well as billboards showing Sisi and Xi. Street signs boast of “generations of Egyptian-Chinese friendship flowing like the Nile River”, while residents have been warned to plan for substantial traffic delays on their commutes. Xi is expected to traverse the entire capital during his visit, including a stop at the Grand Egyptian Museum overlooking the Giza Pyramids. According to analysts, Cairo will use the summit to underscore its strategic autonomy, showing it can leverage its close ties with both Washington and Beijing. Sisi, in an op-ed published in Egyptian media on Tuesday, highlighted Cairo’s “independent foreign policy”, days after a

CAIRO: Egypt President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi yesterday received his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on his first visit to Cairo in a decade, as Beijing seeks a greater foothold in the region against the backdrop of the US Iran war. A 21-gun salute at Cairo’s Ittihadiya Palace marked the start of a day of talks expected to cover the Middle East war and its fallout, including on maritime trade security, as well as boosting Chinese investment in the Arab world’s most populous country. The two BRICS members are expected to sign a slate of economic agreements, including on artificial intelligence, transport and manufacturing. Egypt estimates Chinese investments at about US$10 billion (RM40.5 billion). Beijing has key stakes in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, which are only expected to grow as the US-Iran war threatens maritime trade. Beijing has also played a key role in Sisi’s o China, Egypt to sign slate of economic agreements

Sisi (right) welcoming Xi at Cairo International Airport on Tuesday. – AFPPIC

BR I E F S

US pounds Iran, Tehran strikes back at bases CAIRO: Iran and its Arab neighbours were plunged back into war yesterday by the biggest exchange of fire between Tehran and Washington since July, with US forces striking Iran’s southern coast and Iran firing at American bases across the region. cooperates with the aggressive American army must accept its dangerous consequences,” Iran’s military command said.

combined missile and drone attacks on US bases in Erbil in northern Iraq, claiming to have killed several US personnel. Iran also said two tankers had been struck by mines while being steered across the Strait of Hormuz by US operatives through a channel that Tehran says it has closed. Iran reported at least 12 deaths from the night of US strikes, with five people including a four-year-old said to have been killed while celebrating a wedding at a home in Sirik, a town along the coast of the strait. Iranian media said as many as 68 people were wounded there, and released images of several injured children in hospital. Iranian officials compared the incident to a strike on a girls’ school that killed 160 people on the first day of the war. The exchange of fire was the worst since July, when President Donald Trump abruptly halted two weeks of intense bombing of Iran after warnings from his military brass that they were using up munitions and running out of meaningful targets. – Reuters

Jordan’s military said it dealt with 13 missiles, 10 of which were intercepted and three which fell in remote areas. The IRGC said it killed a large number of US forces in Jordan but US officials said there had not been any casualties. In Kuwait, Iran said it had carried out a missile and drone attack on the US Ali Al Salem Air Base and targeted the accommodation of a US commander. Kuwait’s fire service said crews put out a blaze at a residential complex early yesterday that was struck by a drone, causing damage but no casualties. Qatar, home of the largest US airbase in the Gulf, said it “holds the Islamic Republic of Iran fully legally responsible for these attacks and their repercussions and consequences”. Bahrain, which houses the regional headquarters of the US Navy, said Iranian drones were destroyed. The IRGC said its ground forces carried out

The United States threatened more devastating strikes. Iran accused Washington of hitting a wedding party, killing five people and wounding dozens. The US military Central Command said it struck Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) air defences, radar systems, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities and communications sites on Tuesday. Iranian media reported hits on targets near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded by striking what it said were US assets in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and Iraq, and said its aim was now to drive US forces out of military bases across the Middle East. “American evil in the region will be met with heavier, more widespread and devastating responses, and any country that