Heidi Vogt

On Religion & Ideologies

WSJ •

Artificial Intelligence Rules More of Your Life. Who Rules AI?

WASHINGTON—Technology companies are racing to get ahead of regulators to shape the future of artificial intelligence as it moves deeper into our daily lives. Companies are already working artificial intelligence, or AI, into their business models, but the technology remains controversial. So IBM Corp., Intel Corp. and associations representing Apple Inc., Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google unit are seeking to set ethical standards, or a sort of code of conduct, through alliances with futurists, civil-rights activists and social scientists.
WSJ •

Peaceful Protest Emerges Amid Congo’s Violence

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo—Election delays and deadly clashes threaten to plunge this resource-rich country the size of Western Europe back into civil war, but have also given rise to peaceful activism in the country’s most violent region. In eastern Congo, which was at the epicenter of a brutal 1998-2002 conflict and where suspected rebels killed at least 36 people late Saturday, this new wave of peaceful youth activism...
WSJ •

In Africa, a Booming Catholic Church, and its Growing Pains, to Greet Pope Francis

KAMPALA, Uganda—The pews are so packed at Christ the King Church in Uganda’s capital that people squeeze hip-to-hip during weekday services. On Sundays, hundreds spill out onto the sidewalk, where tents handle the overflow. Such scenes are emblematic of Catholic congregations in Africa—where Pope Francis is traveling to for the first time this week. Demand is such that some communities in Uganda are building parishes first, then seeking priests to staff them.
WSJ •

Boko Haram’s Abduction of Girls Still Grips Nigeria

YOLA, Nigeria—In the year since Boko Haram militants kidnapped hundreds of schoolgirls from their dormitories in northeastern Nigeria, the missing girls have come to symbolize an insurgency that doesn’t need a large footprint to terrorize a population. Protests continue nearly weekly in the capital Abuja to urge the government to do more to free the more-than-200 girls. Each time a town has been retaken from the Islamist militants,...
WSJ •

Al-Shabaab’s Kenya Killings Fit Broader Strategy

NAIROBI, Kenya—When al-Shabaab militants raided a Kenyan university last week, some opened fire indiscriminately and others singled out Christians to execute. The carnage appeared calibrated to achieve two goals: a high death toll and headlines proclaiming a holy war. Over the past two years, the Somali militant group has increasingly portrayed itself as a band of international Muslim crusaders out to kill Christians, even though their far more frequent attacks in Somalia have killed mostly Mus
WSJ •

Somali Militants Targeted Non-Muslims

MPEKETONI, Kenya—The gunmen who raided a town along Kenya's popular Indian Ocean coast, killing at least 48 people, shouted "God is great!" and in some cases asked men to recite Quranic verses before shooting those who couldn't, residents said on Monday. The attack as described by residents was planned and methodical: Dozens of gunmen wearing military uniforms split into three groups—one headed toward the cinema where many were watching a World Cup match, another toward the hotels, and a third
The Associated Press •

Afghan TV stations find censorship line is blurry

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN — The young Afghan woman in a headscarf spends all day staring at other women's bodies and Hindu idols on her computer screen, then covering them up. It's Laila Rastagar's job to turn Indian and Korean soap operas into family viewing in this conservative Muslim country. Dual flat-screen monitors illuminate the 22-year-old's face in the dark cubicle as she draws a blurry square with her mouse to obscure a collarbone, then a kneecap, then a Buddha statue. She's one of a crew of such editors employed by Tolo TV, Afghanistan's most popular station, to censor shows in an attempt to balance its programming at the intersection of radical Islam, traditional values and the West.