AI In-brief 22 Sept 19:20

France, Britain impose Covid tests on travelers from China

France, Britain, Spain, South Korea, and Israel joined a growing list of nations imposing mandatory COVID-19 tests on travelers from China due to a surge in cases and concerns over new variants.
The World Health Organization pressed Beijing to provide real-time, transparent data on its epidemiological situation, citing discrepancies between official figures and the reported scale of the outbreak.
China insisted it has been open and transparent with its COVID-19 data, despite international skepticism and independent estimates suggesting significantly higher infection and death rates than officially reported.
European nations showed varied responses; while some implemented restrictions, others initially deemed them unnecessary, though Germany advocated for a coordinated EU approach to monitor variants.
Amid the international response, China announced it would end mandatory quarantine for international arrivals and downgrade COVID-19 management from January 8, treating it as a less severe Class B infection.

AI In-brief Yesterday 13:40

Supermarket freezers in several European countries hit by apparent cyberattacks

Supermarkets across Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, Ireland, and Estonia reported widespread freezer and fridge malfunctions due to apparent cyberattacks.
The attacks caused refrigeration systems to overheat, with temperatures soaring to 50 degrees Celsius (122 F), forcing stores to discard spoiled food and limit fresh/frozen product availability.
Major chains like ICA Group, Coop, Delhaize, Carrefour, and SuperValu confirmed impacts, with some incidents quickly resolved, while others experienced temporary disruptions.
These incidents follow a similar pattern to a cyberattack last month in France that targeted older refrigeration systems in hundreds of stores, suggesting a coordinated effort.