08/09/2026

TUESDAY | SEPT 8, 2026

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Five killed in Miami Airport cargo plane crash

China top court sets rules for deepfakes BEIJING: A familiar face on a video call may not be who it appears to be. Artificial intelligence (AI) can replicate people’s faces and voices with startling realism, creating new challenges for the law. China’s top court issued guidelines spelling out when such AI-generated content can lead to legal liability, Xinhua news agency reported. The guidelines, released by the Supreme People’s Court (SPC), address a range of emerging disputes, including AI deepfakes and voice cloning, algorithmic price discrimination and AI-generated false information. They make clear that people cannot use AI to create or distribute recognisable digital replicas of others without their consent, including cloned faces and voices. Such use can infringe individuals’ rights, while using AI-generated faces or voices to spread false claims or damage someone’s reputation can also result in legal liability. The rules come as AI-generated impersonation becomes increasingly easy to create and difficult to distinguish from authentic content. A handful of photographs or a short voice recording can provide enough material to produce a convincing digital replica. The guidelines also address algorithmic discrimination against consumers. Businesses that use algorithms to offer different prices or other transaction terms for the same goods or services without reasonable justification may be held liable if the practice causes harm to consumers. “We cannot expect every consumer to become an expert at spotting deception. The law must step in promptly to protect consumers’ legitimate rights and interests,” said Zhou Jiahai, head of the research office of the SPC. The guidelines also provide a way for people to seek swift protection when AI-generated content threatens to cause serious and irreversible harm. For example, someone whose face has been digitally altered and used to spread false and defamatory sexual claims may ask a court for an injunction if waiting to act could cause harm that would be difficult to repair later. – Bernama Nepal tunnel rescues face new challenge KATHMANDU: Nepal’s flood disaster posed an unprecedented challenge, Australian rescue expert Arnold Dix said yesterday. The Aug 26 mountain collapse on the China Nepal border killed at least 1,385 people, with more than 5,500 missing across the two countries. Hundreds of hydropower workers are among the missing, with rescue efforts now in their 13th day. “We are facing something I have never faced before,” said Dix, president of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association. “Not one rescue but multiple potential rescues, unfolding at the same time, in different places, each with its own dangers, uncertainties, and lives that may still be saved.” Nepal is holding a national day of mourning in line with traditional Hindu rituals. But rescue efforts continue “with the same tempo we had on day one”, said Nepal Army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet. “Our focus is on search and rescue at three levels: on ground, by air and in the tunnels. We are making sure that no one is still stranded.” The rescue of three workers from deep inside tunnels – two Nepalis on Friday and a Chinese man on Saturday – buoyed hopes of finding other survivors. Foreign experts are aiding Nepali teams in rescue efforts, among them Dix. “We are measured not only by the lives we save but by the lives we refuse to abandon,” said Dix. – AFP

o Amazon Prime Air flight overshoots runway

for various airlines from 1994 to 2015, according to flight tracking service Flightradar24. Cargo airline 21 Air operated the plane for Amazon, an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement. “We are devastated by the accident involving one of our aircraft in Miami,” 21 Air said on its website. “Our deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives.” Flightradar24 said the plane was travelling at 207 kph when it exited the usable runway. The National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates US civil aviation accidents, said it had sent a team led by Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy to investigate the accident. – Reuters

At least two people were trapped in vehicles that were struck by the plane, and the pilot and co-pilot were trapped inside the plane by the crash, Jadallah said. Officials declined to identify those who died. More than 60 rescue units and about 200 personnel responded to the incident, Miami Dade Fire Rescue said in a statement. As of late afternoon, emergency personnel were still dealing with a fuel leak from the aircraft, Jadallah said. Although the airport halted all flights immediately after the crash, flights had resumed by Sunday evening. The plane, which departed from San Juan, Puerto Rico, was a 32-year-old Boeing 767-300 freighter that had operated as a passenger jet

CHICAGO: At least five people died when an Amazon Prime Air cargo flight overran a runway and crashed while landing at Miami International Airport on Sunday. Prime Air Flight 7598 overran the airport’s diagonal runway shortly before 2pm EDT (Monday 2am in Malaysia) and struck vehicles on the ground, officials said during a news conference. Five people were also injured in the crash, including three who are in critical condition, said Miami-Dade Fire Chief Ray Jadallah.

An Amazon cargo plane overshot a runway as it landed in Miami. – AFPPIC

UN rights chief warns of AI risk to humanity GENEVA: The UN rights chief warned yesterday that artificial intelligence could pose an “existential threat to humanity”, demanding immediate action to reduce the risks. the freedom to exploit our data,” he said. Turk warned that “AI that escapes its testing environment or blackmails developers to prevent itself from being turned off, is AI that is too powerful”.

“I am calling here, today, for an all-out effort to put cast iron guarantees in place around the safety and security of AI, before it is too late.” The UN rights chief said he would be writing to AI companies in coming days “to urge them to take the steps that are within their control to reduce risks now”. At a minimum, he said, “we need countries hosting AI and those involved in its supply chains to come together around agreed red lines”. “We need independent verification, and much stronger collaboration on security within the industry. “We also need to consider the human rights impacts of AI on employment practices, on fundamental principles of democracy and on our environment.” – AFP

Speaking before the UN Human Rights Council, Volker Turk warned that humans faced “unfamiliar, even unprecedented” threats to their rights. “The need for AI governance is widely acknowledged but where is the action?” he asked, warning that “delay only benefits the tech companies, their owners and enablers”. Turk decried that “a handful of men has almost unlimited power over AI, which we are repeatedly told has unimaginable computing capacity”. “They talk about freedom, but on closer inspection, this turns out to be little more than

He appeared to be alluding to revelations in July that OpenAI agents had escaped supposedly controlled environments and had broken into servers of Hugging Face, a widely used platform where programmers share AI software. That episode shook the tech world and revived calls for tighter rules and oversight of AI. Anthropic, Meta and other companies have reported similar incidents while testing agents. “I share the concerns of industry insiders that advanced AI could pose an existential risk to humanity,”Turk said.