All posts tagged: Global

Rehumanizing global health care with agentic AI

Rehumanizing global health care with agentic AI

Published by skeptic

Building on that success, HSS is now deploying AI agents in non-clinical patient-facing settings with an AI scheduling and triage service, as part of a collaboration with enterprise agentic AI developer Ema Unlimited. The service is accessible 24/7 via web, text, or phone. It uses conversational AI to ask patients clarifying questions about their condition and then books appointments with the most appropriate clinician, factoring in location, insurance coverage, and physician availability. “It completes the whole loop,” says Dr. Barad. The AI agent is trained on “all of our context, all of our rules, and all of our knowledge base,” he adds, providing patients with streamlined access to highly specialist knowledge from world-leading surgeons. Given the high-stakes decisions delegated to AI agents, the triage service has built-in safeguards—sensitive, complex, or uncertain scenarios are escalated to human specialists. Every decision made by the AI agent is auditable and human staff can step in at any point. Patient data is kept secure and the system is trained on all HSS protocols, policies, and care pathways. By keeping …

Potential Offshore Strike In Norway Could Add Fresh Uncertainty To Global Energy Markets As Wage Talks Collapse

Potential Offshore Strike In Norway Could Add Fresh Uncertainty To Global Energy Markets As Wage Talks Collapse

Published by Jenni Sidey

By Michael Kern of OilPrice.com A potential strike over wages could threaten smooth operations offshore Norway, Western Europe’s top oil and gas producer, at a time when the world is scrambling for oil and gas supply amid the Middle East crisis. Almost 8% of oil and gas workers offshore Norway could go on a strike from June 5 if trade union negotiations with industry fail to reach an agreement in a government-brokered mediation process, according to data from the labor unions on Monday. More than 600 workers out of about 8,100 in total offshore Norway could begin a strike later this week, Reuters reported on Monday, citing the office of the government-appointed mediator. Negotiations between the offshore industry and the workers organized in the Styrke, Lederne, and Safe trade unions continue. At the end of last week, talks between Offshore Norway, which represents the oil industry in the wage talks, and the unions broke down. Offshore Norway and the trade union Styrke held negotiations on May 27 on the onshore base agreements, which cover approximately …

The Vatican is tackling a big problem plaguing global healthcare

The Vatican is tackling a big problem plaguing global healthcare

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — I’m Jewish and an advocate for water and toilets. I never expected to speak in the shadow of the Vatican. But a few weeks ago I joined more than 100 experts and advocates in Rome for the largest-ever summit on the challenges to provide clean water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) at hospitals and clinics around the world lacking these basic needs. A big part of my message at the event, under the patronage of the Vatican, was this: Those closest to the frontlines need to be asked about WASH conditions, and those on the frontlines need to speak up and be heard.  While it should be unimaginable that healthcare could lack these critical needs, the data says otherwise: In 60 fragile state countries, 37% of healthcare facilities did not have basic water services in 2023, according to a joint report by WHO and UNICEF. Eighty-one percent did not have basic sanitation services. Faith-run facilities are no exception. To be a patient in a facility without WASH is to be the most vulnerable of …

Backrooms rakes in huge global box office and breaks record in further sign of horror genre success

Backrooms rakes in huge global box office and breaks record in further sign of horror genre success

Published by Daniella Wilson

Much has been written about the state of cinema in recent years, with many pundits in the past decade or so making doomsday predictions about the long-term future of the big screen experience. And while it’s true that, in the years since the COVID lockdowns, box office totals have struggled to return to previous levels (and there have been a number of high-profile, expensive flops) we’re beginning to see increasing signs of a major development that makes for a pretty compelling evidence against those more negative takes. The future of cinema, for the moment at least, appears to lie in horror. The last few years have already proved that the genre is one of the most robust in terms of profitability, while we’ve also seen increasing respect for horror films at the most prestigious awards ceremonies, evidenced by major wins for both Weapons and Sinners at this year’s Oscars. And in the past month, two major success stories have emerged that further point to horror as the way forward for a film industry looking to …

Earn a Special Edition Fitness Badge on Your Apple Watch For Global Running Day

Earn a Special Edition Fitness Badge on Your Apple Watch For Global Running Day

Published by skeptic

Ready, set, run! Consider this your annual nudge from Apple to lace up and earn a little extra virtual bling on your wrist. For Global Running Day on June 3, Apple Watch owners can unlock a limited-edition digital badge by logging at least a 5K (3.1 miles) before midnight. Road runs, trail runs, track workouts and treadmill miles all count. Apple says any app that logs workouts to Apple Health is eligible, though recording directly through the built-in Workout app on your watch is your safest bet to see the badge appear right after your run. There’s no physical prize at the end — just virtual bragging rights in the Fitness app. But if you’ve been putting off that run all week, watching a shiny animated badge pop up on your wrist can be a surprisingly effective motivator. Ask me how I know. It’s also a good excuse to explore some of the Apple Watch’s deeper running features. Though not a dedicated running watch, the Apple Watch is a worthy training companion with pace alerts, …

The strait may reopen, but global confidence may not return | Opinions

The strait may reopen, but global confidence may not return | Opinions

Published by Sam Flores

United States President Donald Trump’s claim that a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz has been largely negotiated may calm markets temporarily. But the deeper significance of the current crisis lies elsewhere. The issue is no longer only whether trade routes remain open but who has the power to condition access to them. The specific terms of any agreement may evolve, and any diplomatic arrangement may still be delayed, contested or revised. But the broader pattern is already visible: Strategic trade routes are becoming more politically managed, commercially exposed and geopolitically contested. The danger is not necessarily that diplomacy fails. The more important risk is that it succeeds just enough to disguise a weaker order as stability. Temporary calm is not the same as strategic stability. Calm can be negotiated; stability must be trusted. The most important shift, therefore, is not from war to peace but from disruption to governance. Iranian plans for an authority to manage the Strait of Hormuz and exert greater influence over routing decisions and possible transit tolls show that …

American Allies Warn Division Weakens Deterrence in Calls for Global Unity to Meet New Threats

American Allies Warn Division Weakens Deterrence in Calls for Global Unity to Meet New Threats

Published by Sam Flores

SINGAPORE (AP) — American allies stressed the need for unity at a top defense conference Sunday, saying that as threats increasingly transcend regions, cooperation is more important than ever, even as Washington has become more critical of its traditional friends. U.S. President Donald Trump has been extremely harsh about NATO, and the comments at the Shangri-La conference came the day after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth again chided Western European allies at the forum for not devoting enough resources to defense. Japan pushes for unity, saying it strengthens deterrence Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi praised Hegseth for his commitment to the Indo-Pacific, but at the same time stressed the continued need for strong coalitions globally. “Division weakens deterrence, unity strengthens deterrence,” he told the conference, hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “If gaps emerge among the United States, Europe, and allies and like-minded countries, forces which take it as an opportunity will surely come in,” he said. “We must prevent such a situation. We must keep our cooperation going on. Now is the …

Trump’s Approach to Global Leadership

Trump’s Approach to Global Leadership

Published by Sam Flores

On a special edition of Washington Week With The Atlantic, David Ignatius, a foreign-affairs columnist at The Washington Post, joined the editor in chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, to discuss the state of negotiations with Iran, what the future could hold for the war between Russia and Ukraine, and how Trump may view the U.S.’s relationship with Cuba. A fear is spreading that America’s commitment to upholding the promises that underlie NATO and other global alliances is faltering, Ignatius argued last night. “The NATO umbrella is getting pretty tattered, and I don’t think Americans appreciate just how dangerous that is,” he said. “Other countries will go their own way.” Watch the full episode here. Source link

Ebola shows how Trump’s health policies are going global — and coming home

Ebola shows how Trump’s health policies are going global — and coming home

Published by Sam Flores

The ongoing Ebola crisis is escalating quickly, already ranked the third largest outbreak in history — and experts say erosions of U.S. health policy have fueled the crisis. When Health and Human Services pleaded for volunteers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to screen for Ebola at airports, they highlighted what experts say is a growing problem. The Trump administration’s pullback from public health is rippling across the globe in ways that don’t just affect those overseas. On Wednesday, the CDC issued an “urgent request” to its workers to help screen for Ebola at U.S. airports. The request came on the tail of the CDC restricting travel from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and South Sudan earlier in the month as the outbreak worsens. So far, more than 1,000 cases have been reported, with 223 deaths, though only about 125 confirmed cases and 17 confirmed deaths, given that the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has impacted accurate data collection. On average, Ebola is about 50% fatal, which …

Indonesia blocks Polymarket amid expanding global pressure against prediction market platforms

Indonesia blocks Polymarket amid expanding global pressure against prediction market platforms

Published by skeptic

Indonesia has blocked access to Polymarket after officials concluded that the prediction market platform operates as online gambling under national law. The Communication and Digital Affairs Ministry announced the move on Friday and said authorities are stepping up enforcement against digital betting services across the country. Officials argued that platforms allowing users to speculate on uncertain future events fall within Indonesia’s gambling restrictions, even when those services are tied to crypto assets or blockchain technology. The government will not allow any form of online gambling in Indonesia,” Alexander Sabar, the ministry’s director general of digital space supervision, told reporters in Jakarta. Authorities said Polymarket allows users to place financial wagers on elections, economic developments, sports results, and other future outcomes. While prediction markets often present themselves as information or forecasting tools, Indonesian regulators said the practical function still resembles gambling activity. Sabar said Polymarket’s activities involve betting and speculation on uncertain events, putting the platform in violation of national regulations. Officials confirmed the platform’s website has already been blocked inside Indonesia as part of a …