Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — An outbreak of the chikungunya virus in China has prompted authorities to take preventive measures from mosquito nets and clouds of disinfectant, threatening fines for people who fail to disperse standing water and even deploying drones to hunt down insect breeding grounds.More than 7,000 cases of the disease have been reported as of Wednesday, focused largely on the manufacturing hub of Foshan near Hong Kong. Numbers of new cases appear to be dropping slowly, according to authorities.Chikungunya is spread by mosquitoes and causes fever and joint pain, similar to dengue fever, with the young, older people…

MONTREAL, Canada (AP) — Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina has spoken out about the deluge of hateful abuse she received online from frustrated gamblers after losing a match in Canada, including messages wishing her death and celebrating Russia killing her compatriots.Following her straight-sets loss to Naomi Osaka in the quarter-finals of the National Bank Open on Tuesday night, Svitolina posted screenshots of the messages on Instagram.The abuse was directed at her, while other racial slurs also targeted her husband, the French tennis player Gael Monfils, who is Black. One abuser hoped that Russia “kills all you (expletive) Ukrainians” in the…

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Natalia Haiova was a beloved kindergarten teacher in Kyiv known for the artistic flair of her creations — drawings, flower arrangements, decorations. Last week, she perished in a Russian strike on a nine-story building in the Svyatoshinsky district of the capital. The attack, which targeted multiple neighborhoods in Kyiv, claimed the lives of 31 people, including five children, making it the deadliest to hit the capital since the full-scale invasion.Haiova, 46, was killed along with her sons, Vladyslav, 21, and Roman, 17, and her brother Oleksandr Naralyk, 44. The family was crushed under rubble when their…

Hinge may be a bright spot in the fizzling online dating industry.On Tuesday’s earnings call for Hinge and Tinder parent Match Group, CEO Spencer Rascoff said that Hinge is an example of what can be achieved with a motivated team and a great product.”Simply put, Hinge is crushing it,” Rascoff said. “Hinge’s success should put to rest any doubts about whether the online dating category is out of favor among users.”Match’s chief financial officer, Steven Bailey, said that Hinge generated $168 million in revenue in the second quarter, a 25% increase from the same time last year.The dating app’s paying…

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Aaron Glenn had an expensive sense of style when he played for the New York Jets. Mainly because of all the fines he had to pay.The current Jets head coach was a Pro Bowl cornerback with a flair for fashion. That included his game day socks, which didn’t always adhere to NFL regulations. “I think he was like the most fined guy on the Jets, not because of his demeanor on the field but because of the way he wore socks,” recalled former Jets teammate Jason Fabini, an offensive tackle who played with Glenn from…

Paul Graham, the founder of startup incubator Y Combinator, said identifying and leaning into your passions will be the best way to secure your job in the age of AI.”It may be a mistake to ask which occupations are most safe from being taken by AI,” Graham wrote in an X post on Tuesday.”What AI (in its current form) is good at is not so much certain jobs, but a certain way of working. It’s good at scutwork. So that’s the thing to avoid,” he continued.Graham said programming jobs “at the bottom end” are not safe from AI, adding that…

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The mother of the man who killed four people at a Manhattan office tower home to the NFL told 911 dispatchers during a 2022 incident when he threatened to kill himself that he suffered from a sports-related concussion and other issues, new information released by Las Vegas police Tuesday revealed.Shane Tamura, 27, had a documented history of mental health problems and carried a handwritten note in his wallet when he carried out the shooting that claimed he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, known at CTE, investigators said. He fatally shot three people in the building lobby before…

In a case of “it’s not you, it’s me,” the creators of ChatGPT no longer want the chatbot to play the role of therapist or trusted confidant.OpenAI, the company behind the popular bot, announced that it had incorporated some “changes,” specifically mental health-focused guardrails designed to prevent users from becoming too reliant on the technology, with a focus on people who view ChatGPT as a therapist or friend.The changes come months after reports detailing negative and particularly worrisome user experiences raised concerns about the model’s tendency to “validate doubts, fuel anger, urge impulsive actions, or reinforce negative emotions [and thoughts].”The…

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Tudor Lakatos is fighting discrimination against Romania’s Roma minority through the music of Elvis Presley. Dressed in a rhinestone shirt and oversized sunglasses, Lakatos performs unique versions of Elvis’ hits in a mix of Romani, Romanian and English. But don’t call him an Elvis impersonator. Lakatos says he “channels” Elvis as a way to connect with people from both communities and provide a role model for Roma children after centuries of discrimination and poverty. Tudor Lakatos, who goes by the stage name Elvis Rromano, tests microphones at the Terasa Florilor restaurant before a performance as President…

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Tudor Lakatos is fighting discrimination against the Roma people, one Elvis Presley song at a time.Decked out in a rhinestone shirt and oversized sunglasses, with his black hair slicked back into a 1950s-style quiff, Lakatos swivels his hips and belts out his own idiosyncratic versions of hits like “Blue Suede Shoes” at venues throughout Romania.But don’t call him an Elvis impersonator. Lakatos prefers to say that he “channels” the King of rock ‘n’ roll’s global appeal to break down stereotypes about the Roma and provide a positive role model for Roma children. “I never wanted to…