Three people killed, houses set ablaze in fresh violence in India’s Manipur state
GUWAHATI, Aug 5 (Reuters) – Three people were killed and houses set ablaze in fresh violence in India’s Manipur, police officials said late on Friday, as sporadic violence and killings continue in the remote northeastern state.
The three people killed on Thursday night belonged to the majority Metei community in the state’s Bishnupur district, a police spokesperson said.
The months-long outbreak of violence began on May 3 after a court ordered the state to consider extending to the majority Meitei population special economic benefits and quotas in government jobs and education that up to now have been reserved for the tribal Kuki people.
A spokesperson for a Kuki civil society group said it did not have an immediate comment on the latest killings.
Over 180 people have been killed and thousands have fled their homes, since the violence started in Manipur, a state of 3.2 million that borders Myanmar.
Saudi Arabia urges its citizens to quickly leave Lebanon
Reuters – Saudi Arabia called on its citizens to quickly leave Lebanese territory and to avoid approaching areas where there have been armed clashes, the Saudi embassy in Lebanon said in a statement posted late on Friday on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The kingdom did not specify which areas in Lebanon that it was advising its citizens to avoid.
The embassy stressed “the importance of adhering to the Saudi travel ban to Lebanon,” the statement added.
Kuwait also issued an advisory early on Saturday calling on Kuwaitis in Lebanon to stay vigilant and avoid “areas of security disturbances” but stopped short of asking them to leave the country, according to a statement by the Kuwaiti Foreign ministry posted on X.
On Aug. 1, the United Kingdom also updated its travel advice for Lebanon, advising against “all but essential travel” to parts of Lebanon’s south near the Palestinian camp of Ain el-Hilweh.
At least 13 people, most of them militants, were killed in fighting that broke out in the camp on July 29 between mainstream faction Fatah and hardline Islamists, security sources in the camp said.
Ain el-Hilweh is the largest of 12 Palestinian camps in Lebanon, hosting around 80,000 of up to 250,000 Palestinian refugees countrywide, according to the United Nations’ agency for refugees from Palestine.
Reporting by Yomna Ehab, Enas Alashray and Moaz Abd-Alaziz; editing by Grant McCool
Philippines’s President Marcos vows to promote Filipinos’ welfare in Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR – The Philippines President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has assured overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Malaysia that he would protect and promote their rights and welfare as he seeks to strengthen the Philippines’ ties with the host country.
“First and foremost, there are so many Filipinos here. We have to make sure that you are well taken care of, have a decent livelihood, and have good opportunities.
That’s why we are here. We have to bolster the relations between the Philippines and Malaysia,” the Philippine News Agency (PNA) quoted Marcos as saying during a meeting and dinner with the Philippines diaspora here Tuesday night.
There are nearly a million Filipinos in Malaysia, mostly overseas OFWs, according to the figures released by the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
Marcos acknowledged the OFWs’ crucial role in fostering good relations with other countries and maintaining the Philippines’ good reputation overseas.
“That’s why we have to thank you because the Philippines’ reputation has increasingly improved because of your good performance. To you Filipinos in Malaysia and even in the Middle East, Europe or America, and elsewhere in the world,” he said.
The President also noted that apart from their contributions to the Philippines through their remittances, overseas Filipinos are also key players in the host countries’ economic growth.
He assured the Filipino community in Malaysia that his administration would protect their interest and address the issues they are facing.
“Everyone is saying, ‘Filipinos are competent. Our life would not be comfortable without Filipinos helping us. We see many Filipinos rising in their fields because of their diligence, competence, and honesty,” Marcos said.
The President added his administration is focused on achieving its plans for the country, attracting more foreign investments, taming inflation, and boosting agricultural productivity to ensure food security.
“We need huge investments. That’s why we are going to other countries to let them know that the Philippines is here and is ready for their investments,” he said.
Marcos arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday afternoon for a state visit, and tweets, Celebrating almost 60 years of diplomatic ties, we continue to strengthen our deep bond with Malaysia.
We had a bilateral meeting with our friend, H.E. @anwaribrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia yesterday. Together, we share a vision for a robust partnership in transnational crimes, agriculture, education, tourism, culture, sports, and the digital economy. We look forward to meeting again in a joint commission meeting very soon and taking our ties to new heights.
Celebrating almost 60 years of diplomatic ties, we continue to strengthen our deep bond with Malaysia.
We had a bilateral meeting with our friend, H.E. @anwaribrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia yesterday. Together, we share a vision for a robust partnership in transnational… pic.twitter.com/2Y5fpvFWgv
During his stay in Malaysia, Marcos will have a royal audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Wednesday, to identify new areas of synergy and strengthen people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.
He is also expected to push for the advancement of agriculture, tourism, and digital economic cooperation between Manila and Kuala Lumpur.
He will also meet with the Malaysian business community. – Bernama
On this occasion Ms. Marietta Reformado IN charge Diplomat times, Malaysia was also present. She was invited as special guest in this wonderful event host by Ambassador of Philippine in Kuala Lumpur.
Ms. Marietta Reformado In- Charge, Diplomat Times, Malaysia with wife of Philippines Ambassador to Malaysia Vicky Jose.
Amazon to invest $7.2 billion in Israel, launches AWS cloud region
(Reuters) – Amazon.com said on Tuesday it is planning to invest about $7.2 billion through 2037 in Israel, and launched its Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers in the country.
Amazon’s cloud services in the region will allow the country’s government to run applications and store data in data centers located in Israel.
“The establishment of the Region will enable us to migrate substantial governmental workloads to the cloud, and we are confident that it will help us accelerate digital transformation in the public sector,” said Yali Rothenberg, accountant general of Israel.
AWS is Amazon’s cloud computing platform, used by companies such as Netflix (NFLX.O), General Electric (GE.N) and Sony (6758.T), enabling storage, networking and remote security.
With the expansion, AWS will be available in 32 geographic regions, the company said, adding that its investment in Israel will contribute about $13.9 billion to Israel’s gross domestic product.
Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri
Former Ivory Coast President Bédié known for promoting ethnic tensions dies at 89, his party says
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — Former Ivory Coast president Henri Konan Bédié died Tuesday night at the age of 89, according to a communiqué from his party.
State media reported that he was rushed from his hometown of Daoukro in central Ivory Coast yesterday evening after falling ill. He arrived by helicopter around 8 p.m. at a hospital in Abidjan, the nation’s largest city and economic hub, where he passed away.
Till his death, Bédié was president of the Democratic Party of the Ivory Coast, which planned to take part in the nation’s 2025 elections.
In a statement on Wednesday, his party called him a “Great Statesman” who worked to bring peace to the country and “the Grandeur of our nation.”
A career diplomat and politician, Bédié was head of state in the West African nation from 1993 to 1999 before he was overthrown in a military coup.
The late president was known for promoting the concept of “Ivoirité,” which stoked ethnic and religious tensions and corresponded to an uptick in violence against immigrant groups in the country.
Climate change made July hotter for almost every human on earth
AP- Human-caused global warming made July hotter for four out of five people on Earth, with more than 2 billion people feeling climate change-boosted warmth daily, according to a flash study.
More than 6.5 billion people, or 81% of the world’s population, sweated through at least one day where climate change had a significant effect on the average daily temperature, according to a new report issued Wednesday by Climate Central, a science nonprofit that has figured a way to calculate how much climate change has affected daily weather.
“We really are experiencing climate change just about everywhere,” said Climate Central Vice President for Science Andrew Pershing.
Researchers looked at 4,711 cities and found climate change fingerprints in 4,019 of them for July, which other scientists said is the hottest month on record. The new study calculated that the burning of coal, oil and natural gas had made it three times more likely to be hotter on at least one day in those cities. In the U.S., where the climate effect was largest in Florida, more than 244 million people felt greater heat due to climate change during July.
For 2 billion people, in a mostly tropical belt across the globe, climate change made it three times more likely to be hotter every single day of July. Those include the million-person cities of Mecca, Saudi Arabia and San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
The day with the most widespread climate-change effect was July 10, when 3.5 billion people experienced extreme heat that had global warming’s fingerprints, according to the report. That’s different than the hottest day globally, which was July 7, according to the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer.
The study is not peer-reviewed, the gold standard for science, because the month just ended. It is based on peer-reviewed climate fingerprinting methods that are used by other groups and are considered technically valid by the National Academy of Sciences. Two outside climate scientists told The Associated Press that they found the study to be credible.
More than a year ago Climate Central developed a measurement tool called the Climate Shift Index. It calculates the effect, if any, of climate change on temperatures across the globe in real time, using European and U.S. forecasts, observations and computer simulations. To find if there is an effect, the scientists compare recorded temperatures to a simulated world with no warming from climate change and it’s about 2 degrees (1.2 degrees Celsius) cooler to find out the chances that the heat was natural.
“By now, we should all be used to individual heat waves being connected to global warming,” said Princeton University climate scientist Gabriel Vecchi, who wasn’t part of the study. “Unfortunately, this month, as this study elegantly shows, has given the vast majority of people on this planet a taste of global warming’s impact on extreme heat.”
The farther north in the United States, the less of a climate effect was seen in July. Researchers found no significant effect in places like North Dakota and South Dakota, Wyoming, northern California, upstate New York and parts of Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Heat waves in the U.S. Southwest, the Mediterranean and even China have gotten special analysis by World Weather Attribution finding a climate change signal, but places like the Caribbean and Middle East are having huge climate change signals and not getting the attention, Pershing said. Unlike the other study, this one looked at the entire globe.
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau announces separation from wife Sophie Grégoire Trudeau after 18 year of Marriage
TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, announced Wednesday that they are separating after 18 years of marriage.
The two said in statements posted on Instagram that they made the decision after “many meaningful and difficult conversations.”
The couple were married in 2005. They have three children, 15-year-old Xavier, 14-year-old Ella-Grace and 9-year-old Hadrien.
“They remain a close family and Sophie and the prime minister are focused on raising their kids in a safe, loving and collaborative environment,” the statement from his office said. “The family will be together on vacation, beginning next week.”
His office requested respect for their privacy.
Trudeau is the second prime minister to announce a separation while in office.
His father, Pierre Trudeau, separated from wife Margaret in 1979, and the two divorced in 1984.
Justin Trudeau channeled the star power of his Liberal icon father when he first won office in 2015. Scandals, voter fatigue and economic inflation have taken a toll on his popularity after eight years in power.
Why is Twitter X, San Francisco investigates Twitter’s ‘X’ sign. Musk responds with a laughing emoji
The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection has slapped Twitter with a complaint and launched an investigation after the company installed a flashing “X” sign above its building without a permit.
On Friday, a city inspector went to Twitter’s headquarters to alert the company of the violation and to evaluate the sign located on the roof, according to the complaint.
A Twitter representative denied access but explained that the structure is “a temporary lighted sign for an event.” The inspector clarified that any signage without a permit must be removed.
The inspector came to the headquarters again on Saturday to visit the roof. But upon arrival, “access was denied again by tenant,” the complaint said.
The city violation comes days after San Francisco police stopped workers from removing Twitter’s original sign, which includes its name and iconic blue bird, because the company also did not have proper permits and failed to tape off the sidewalk as part of pedestrian safety measures.
As the sign permitting saga was unfolding in San Francisco this weekend, Elon Musk posted a video on Twitter on Saturday unveiling the new black and white signage — the latest in Musk’s sweeping rebrand of the social media platform since changes were announced last week.
Twitter did not immediately respond to NPR’s request for comment. But to a tweet alleging that San Francisco authorities were trying to force Musk to remove the “X” sign, the Twitter owner replied with a laughing-crying emoji.
Many have offered rich incentives for X (fka Twitter) to move its HQ out of San Francisco.
Moreover, the city is in a doom spiral with one company after another left or leaving.
Paul Reubens, actor best known as Pee-wee Herman, dies at 70
NEW YORK – Reubens’ rep confirmed his death in a statement to PEOPLE on Monday, revealing that the actor had cancer for years before he died.
“Last night we said farewell to Paul Reubens, an iconic American actor, comedian, writer and producer whose beloved character Pee-wee Herman delighted generations of children and adults with his positivity, whimsy and belief in the importance of kindness,” read the statement.
“Paul bravely and privately fought cancer for years with his trademark tenacity and wit,” it continued. “A gifted and prolific talent, he will forever live in the comedy pantheon and in our hearts as a treasured friend and man of remarkable character and generosity of spirit.”
Who was Paul Reubens
Paul Reubens born Rubenfeld, Peekskill, New York August 27, 1952. was an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and children’s entertainer. He was known for his character Pee-wee Herman. Reubens joined the Los Angeles troupe The Groundlings in the 1970s, and started his career as an improvisational comedian and stage actor. In 1982, Reubens began appearing in a show about a character he had been developing for years. The show was called The Pee-wee Herman Show, and ran for five sold-out months; HBO also produced a successful special about it.
Pee-wee became an instant cult figure and, for the next decade, Reubens was completely committed to his character, doing all of his public appearances and interviews as Pee-wee. His feature film, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985), directed by Tim Burton, was a financial and critical success, and soon developed into a cult film. Its sequel, Big Top Pee-wee (1988), was less successful. Between 1986 and 1990, Reubens starred as Pee-wee in the CBS Saturday-morning children’s program Pee-wee’s Playhouse.
Paul Reubens’s Family
Father: Milton Rubenfeld, Mother: Judy(Rosen), Siblings: Abby Rubenfeld, Luke Rubenfeld
He was previously married to Chandi Heffner, though not much is known about her and their married life. There are numerous rumours regarding his sexuality and it is often speculated that he is homosexual.
Instagram Stunt Star Remi Lucidi, 30, Dead After Falling from 68th Floor of Hong Kong Skyscraper
AN Instagram daredevil has tragically died after falling 721ft from the top floor of a high-rise skyscraper in Hong Kong.
HONG KONG – French daredevil Remi Lucidi died last week after falling from the 68th floor of a Hong Kong skyscraper, according to reports.
The 30-year-old, known as “Remi Enigma” on Instagram, lost his footing outside a penthouse apartment Thursday evening at the 721-foot-tall Tregunter Tower, Sky News and the Independent report, citing The South China Morning Post.
After gaining access to the high-rise by telling a security guard that he was there to visit a friend on the 40th floor, Lucidi made his way to the top floor, according to Sky News.
Per Sky News, Lucidi was seen on surveillance camera exiting the elevator on the 49th floor and again on the staircase to the top floor, where a door had been forced open.
The extreme sports enthusiast, who documented his feats with stunning photographs on social media, somehow got trapped outside the building. He spotted a maid inside and knocked on the window, per Sky News, and the maid called the police.
But Lucidi lost his footing and fell to his death. His body and his sports camera were found on a nearby patio, according to the Independent and Sky News.
“It is possible that he got trapped outside the penthouse while practicing an extreme sport in the building, and he knocked on the window for help, but accidentally fell to his death,” a source told The South China Morning Post.
The thrill-seeker traveled the world to share his extreme challenges.
In March, he posted a photo of himself dangling from the top of a tower near Chernobyl in Ukraine, captioning the experience “My Comfort Zone.”
Recent shots show him atop rooftops and spires in Bulgaria, Bangkok, Dubai and Portugal.
Last month, he posted a selfie while climbing a tower in Bulgaria and added a haunting caption: “Life is too short to chase unicorns he wrote.
