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Activists in Kenya burn tires and block roads to protest taxes. Police detain more than 20 people

Mark Kenya
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Activists in Kenya burn tires and block roads to protest taxes. Police detain more than 20 people

Activists in Kenya burn tires and block roads to protest taxes. Police detain more than 20 people

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Anti-government demonstrators in Kenya lit bonfires and barricaded major roads in the capital Friday as part of nationwide protests against the government’s plans to increase taxes. Police detained more than 20 protesters.

Hundreds of protesters turned up in Nairobi, as well as in the coastal city of Mombasa and the lakeside city of Kisumu, where the opposition enjoys huge support. Some businesses closed their doors. Police dispersed the protesters with tear gas canisters.

Protester Emmanuel Wafula in Nairobi said he wanted President William Ruto to lower the cost of living, not raise it through his administration’s newly passed tax package.

READ MORE : The death toll from a South Africa gas leak blamed on illegal gold processing has risen to 17

“He wants to tax the little money we have in our pockets. What will we eat?” Wafula said. “He is increasing taxes to people who have nothing. If one has money, it is okay to be taxed. We have nothing!”

Nairobi police commander Adamson Bungei told The Associated Press that “more than 20 people” had been arrested by midday, but he did not say what charges they would face.

The government’s tax package increased the value added tax on petroleum from 8% to 16%, boosted a business turnover tax from 1% to 3% and created a new 1.5% percent housing tax for salaried workers.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga has called on followers not to pay the taxes, and for “civil disobedience” to protest them, including more nationwide demonstrations planned for next Wednesday.

The implementation of some of the new tax provisions has been suspended by a court pending a case filed by an opposition senator challenging their legality. The government has, however, implemented the increased fuel tax.

At a rally Friday in Nairobi, Odinga launched a petition drive to get 10 million Kenyans to sign an impeachment motion against President Ruto. However, the Kenyan constitution grants impeachment powers only to the national assembly, which the ruling party currently controls.

The opposition in March held a series of weekly protests that turned deadly and caused damage to property and businesses. President Ruto then invited the opposition into a dialogue, and the opposition called off its protests. It later accused the government of dishonesty during the talks and vowed to resume demonstrations.

The Kenyan constitution guarantees the right to peaceful demonstrations, but police sometimes deny permits to opposition groups because of a past history of violence and vandalism.

BY EVELYNE MUSAMBI

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The death toll from a South Africa gas leak blamed on illegal gold processing has risen to 17

Mark Kenya
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The death toll from a South Africa gas leak blamed on illegal gold processing has risen to 17

The death toll from a South Africa gas leak blamed on illegal gold processing has risen to 17

BOKSBURG, South Africa (AP) — The death toll from a toxic gas leak that authorities blamed on an illegal gold processing operation in South Africa rose to 17, including three children, as police removed canisters from a community of closely packed shacks and sifted through evidence Thursday.

The leak of what authorities said was a toxic nitrate gas happened Wednesday night in the informal Angelo settlement in Boksburg, a city on the eastern outskirts of Johannesburg.

The three children who died were ages 1, 6 and 15, police said. At least 10 people were hospitalized, including a 2-month-old baby, two 4 year olds and a 9 year old, according to Panyaza Lesufi, the premier of Gauteng province, who gave an update Thursday.

READ MORE : Sudan clashes intensify with no mediation in sight

A statement from South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office said it was a “devastating and tragic loss of innocent lives.”

Bodies remained on the ground, some of them covered in sheets or blankets, for hours after the gas leak was reported around 8 p.m. Wednesday as emergency service responders waited for forensic investigators and pathologists to do their work.

“It’s not a nice scene at all. … It’s painful, emotionally draining and tragic,” Lesufi was quoted as saying in news reports as he visited the settlement on Wednesday night.

An Associated Press journalist saw a forensic investigator covering the body of a small child with a blanket. Another body, covered in a white cloth with a shoe sticking out, lay under a strip of yellow police tape cordoning off the area. The bodies eventually were removed.

Search teams combed the area deep into the night looking for other possible casualties. Authorities didn’t say if the people engaged in the illegal gold processing thought to have caused the gas leak were among the dead, but police opened a criminal case.

Investigators made their way through narrow alleys between shacks and other makeshift homes that were dark due to a lack of streetlights, a common situation in the deeply impoverished informal settlements found in and around South Africa’s cities.

Emergency services spokesman William Ntladi said the deaths were caused by the inhalation of nitrate gas that leaked from a gas cylinder being kept in a shack where illegal miners were separating gold from rock and dirt. He said the leak had emptied the canister.

Lesufi, the Gauteng premier, tweeted videos that showed the dusty inside of the shack and at least four gas cylinders on metal stands. The footage included what Lesufi said was the cylinder that leaked lying on the floor next to the shack’s entrance.

The search teams concentrated on an area stretching out 100 meters (yards) from the cylinder to check for more dead or injured people, Ntaldi said.

Police later began tearing down the shack, and Lesufi said all gas cylinders were removed from the site.

Illegal mining is rife in the gold-rich areas around Johannesburg, where miners go into closed off and disused mines to search for any deposits left over. They then attempt to process some of that gold in secret, often in makeshift and highly dangerous facilities.

Mining fatalities underground are also common and the South African government department responsible for mining announced recently that at least 31 illegal miners were believed to have died in a gas explosion in a disused mine in the city of Welkom in central South Africa in May. The cause was methane gas, the mining department said.

Wednesday’s tragedy was likely to stoke more anger at illegal miners, who are often migrants from neighboring countries, operate in organized gangs and are blamed for bringing crime into neighborhoods.

Violence against illegal miners erupted last year and raged for days in an area west of Johannesburg after a group of 80 men, some of whom were believed to be illegal miners, were charged with gang raping eight women who were working on a TV shoot at a disused mine.

Boksburg is the city where 41 people died after a truck carrying liquefied petroleum gas got stuck under a bridge and exploded on Christmas Eve.

___
Imray reported from Cape Town, South Africa for AP Video Source GSTN 

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US Treasury chief Yellen and China’s No. 2 leader express hope for improved bilateral communication

Marietta Reformado
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US Treasury chief Yellen and China’s No. 2 leader express hope for improved bilateral communication

US Treasury chief Yellen and China’s No. 2 leader express hope for improved bilateral communication

BEIJING (AP) — U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Chinese Premier Li Qiang expressed hope Friday for better communication after Yellen appealed to Beijing not to let frustration over U.S. curbs on technology exports disrupt economic cooperation.

Both governments used positive terms to describe Yellen’s visit to China’s capital, which was aimed at improving strained relations, and stressed the importance of U.S.-China economic ties. They announced no plans for more high-level meetings or to revive additional contacts that disputes over technology, security and other respective irritants have disrupted.

Yellen is one of several senior U.S. officials expected to travel to Beijing to encourage Chinese leaders to revive interactions between the governments of the world’s two largest economies. Treasury officials said earlier she wouldn’t meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and no breakthroughs were expected.

READ MORE : Blinken and Xi pledge to stabilize deteriorated US-China ties, but China rebuffs the main US request

In a one-hour meeting with China’s No. 2 leader that lasted twice as long as planned, Yellen said Washington and Beijing have a duty to cooperate on issues that affect the world. She appealed for “regular channels of communication” and “healthy economic competition,” a reference to complaints that China is stepping up subsidies and market barriers to protect its companies.

At the same time, Yellen defended “targeted actions,” such as U.S. curbs on Chinese access to advanced processor chips and other technology, that she said they are needed to protect national security.

“You may disagree,” the Treasury chief said. “But we should not allow any disagreement to lead to misunderstandings that needlessly worsen our bilateral economic and financial relationships.”

Li expressed optimism about U.S.-Chinese relations. He said he hoped Washington would “meet China halfway” but gave no indication of possible changes to Chinese trade and other policies that have irked Washington.

“China’s development is an opportunity rather than a challenge to the United States and a benefit rather than a risk,” Li said, according to a statement from the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “The two sides should strengthen communication and seek consensus on important issues in the bilateral economic field through candid, in-depth, and pragmatic exchanges.”

The Chinese Finance Ministry called Yellen’s visit a “concrete measure” toward carrying out an agreement by Xi and President Joe Biden during a meeting in November to improve bilateral relations. The ministry called on Washington to make the next move.

“We hope the United States will take concrete actions to create a favorable environment for the healthy development of economic and trade relations,” a ministry statement said.

U.S. curbs on Chinese access to technology threaten to delay or derail the efforts of China’s ruling Communist Party to develop telecommunications, artificial intelligence and other technologies. Xi accused Washington in March of trying to hamper China’s development.

Beijing has been slow to retaliate, possibly to avoid disrupting its tech industries. But this week, the government announced unspecified controls on exports of gallium and germanium, metals used in making semiconductors and solar panels. The announcement jolted South Korea and other countries that import from China.

During a meeting with businesspeople earlier Friday, Yellen criticized China’s treatment of American companies.

U.S. and other foreign companies are uneasy about their status in China following raids on consulting firms, the expansion of a national security law and calls by Xi and other officials for greater self-sufficiency.

“I am communicating the concerns that I’ve heard from the U.S. business community — including China’s use of non-market tools like expanded subsidies for its state-owned enterprises and domestic firms, and barriers to market access for foreign firms,” Yellen said, according to a transcript released by her department.

BY JOE MCDONALD 

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What is the South China Sea dispute?

Diplomat Times
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What is the South China Sea dispute?

What is the South China Sea dispute?

Countries have wrangled over territory in the South China Sea for centuries, but tension has grown in recent years.

BBC – In particular, China’s sweeping claims – which include sovereignty claims over land parcels and their adjacent waters – have angered competing claimants like Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.

The other countries have staked claims on islands and various zones in the sea, such as the Paracels and the Spratlys.

China has backed its expansive claims with island-building and naval patrols. The US says it does not take sides in territorial disputes, but has sent military ships and planes near disputed islands in what it calls “freedom of navigation” operations.

READ MORE : Blinken and Xi pledge to stabilize deteriorated US-China ties, but China rebuffs the main US request

Japan, which has no direct stake in the South China Sea, also provides ships and military equipment to claimants like Vietnam and the Philippines.

There are fears that the area is becoming a flashpoint, with potentially serious global consequences.

Why are countries interested in these waters?

The South China Sea is a major shipping route. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development estimates that over 21% of global trade, amounting to $3.37 trillion, transited through these waters in 2016.

It is also home to rich fishing grounds that provide for the livelihoods of millions of people across the region. More than half of the world’s fishing vessels operate in this area.

Although largely uninhabited, the Paracels and the Spratlys may have reserves of natural resources around them. There has been little detailed exploration of the area, so estimates are largely extrapolated from the mineral wealth of neighbouring areas.

The Paracels and the Spratlys are two island chains claimed in whole or in part by a number of countries. GETTY IMAGES

The nine-dash line and other claims

China claims by far the largest portion of territory in an area demarcated by its so-called “nine-dash line”. The line comprises nine dashes which extends hundreds of miles south and east from its most southerly province of Hainan.

A map issued by Beijing shows the two island groups falling entirely within its territory. GETTY IMAGES

In 1947, China issued a map detailing its claims, and insists history backs up its claims – Beijing says its right to the area goes back centuries to when the Paracel and Spratly island chains were regarded as integral parts of the Chinese nation.

These claims are mirrored by Taiwan.

However, critics say China has not been specific about what exactly its claim includes, and that the nine-dash line that appears on Chinese maps encompassing almost the entirety of the South China Sea includes no coordinates.

It is also not clear whether China claims only land territory within the nine-dash line, or all the maritime space within it as well.

Both the Philippines and China lay claim to the Scarborough Shoal, or Huangyan Island as it is known in China. GETTY IMAGES

Vietnam hotly disputes China’s historical account, saying China had never claimed sovereignty over the islands before the 1940s. Vietnam says it has actively ruled over both the Paracels and the Spratlys since the 17th Century – and has the documents to prove it.

The other major claimant to the area is the Philippines, which invokes its geographical proximity to the Spratly Islands as the main basis of its claim for part of the grouping.

Both the Philippines and China also lay claim to the Scarborough Shoal (known as Huangyan Island in China) – a little more than 100 miles (160km) from the Philippines and 500 miles from China.

Malaysia and Brunei also lay claim to territory in the South China Sea that they say falls within their economic exclusion zones, as defined by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS.

Brunei does not claim any of the disputed islands, but Malaysia claims a small number of islands in the Spratlys.

Serious clashes

  • In 1974, the Chinese seized the Paracels from Vietnam, killing more than 70 Vietnamese troops.
  • In 1988, the two sides clashed in the Spratlys, with Vietnam again coming off worse, losing about 60 sailors.
  • In early 2012, China and the Philippines engaged in a lengthy maritime stand-off, accusing each other of intrusions in the Scarborough Shoal.
  • Unverified claims that the Chinese navy sabotaged two Vietnamese exploration operations in late 2012 led to large anti-China protests on Vietnam’s streets.
  • In January 2013, Manila said it was taking China to a UN tribunal under the auspices of the UN Convention on the Laws of the Sea, to challenge its claims.
  • In May 2014, the introduction by China of a drilling rig into waters near the Paracel Islands led to multiple collisions between Vietnamese and Chinese ships.
  • In June 2019, Manila accused a Chinese trawler of ramming a Filipino fishing boat with 22 people on board. The Filipinos were rescued by the Vietnamese.
  • In early 2023, the Philippines said Chinese vessels have been shining lasers at Filipino boats to temporarily blind their crew. They also accuse the Chinese of dangerous manoeuvres by sailing too close or blocking the Filipinos’ path.

    Have they tried to reach a resolution?

    China prefers bilateral negotiations with the other parties. But many of its neighbours argue that China’s relative size and clout give it an unfair advantage.

    Some countries have argued that China should negotiate with Asean (the Association of South East Asian Nations), a 10-member regional grouping that consists of Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia.

    However, China is opposed to this, while Asean is also divided over how to resolve the dispute.

    China has opposed negotiations with Asean, a 10-member regional grouping. GETTY IMAGES

    The Philippines has sought international arbitration instead. In 2013, it announced it would take China to an arbitration tribunal under the auspices of the UN Convention on the Laws of the Sea, to challenge its claims.

    In July 2016, the tribunal backed the Philippines’ case, saying China had violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights.

    China had boycotted the proceedings and called the ruling “ill-founded”. It says it will not be bound by it.

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Rahul Gandhi to move Supreme Court after Gujarat High Court dismisses appeal in defamation case

Shasi Kumar
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Rahul Gandhi to move Supreme Court after Gujarat High Court dismisses appeal in defamation case

Rahul Gandhi to move Supreme Court after Gujarat High Court dismisses appeal in defamation case

The Gujarat high court has dismissed Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi’s appeal seeking a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case.

Ahmedabad (BBC)- Congress said it will move the Supreme Court against the Gujarat High Court’s Friday verdict to stay former party president Rahul Gandhi’s conviction in the ‘Modi surname’ defamation case.

The Gujarat HC on Friday dismissed his review petition and refused to stay his conviction in the 2019 Modi surname case.

On Friday, the Congress party said Mr Gandhi would appeal against the order in the Supreme Court.

Mr Gandhi will not be arrested until he has exhausted all legal appeals as his arrest was put on hold.

Friday’s decision is being seen as a setback for the Congress leader as it means he cannot contest national elections due next year.

While dismissing his appeal, the Gujarat high court said Mr Gandhi’s conviction was “just and proper”.

Addressing a press conference later in the day, party leader and lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the case was “a matter of free speech and expression”.

These complaints have been filed by the workers of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he said.

“The aim of this government is to control the freedom of expression,” he said. “That is why the law of defamation has been misused.”

Party president Mallikarjun Kharge said Mr Gandhi was “fighting for truth” and would continue this fight.

Mr Gandhi lost his seat in parliament a day after his conviction on 23 March due to a Supreme Court order which says that a lawmaker convicted in a crime and sentenced to two or more years in jail is disqualified with immediate effect.

The party criticised Mr Gandhi’s conviction and accused the governing BJP of political vendetta. The BJP denied this, saying that due judicial process was followed in the case.

The defamation case against Mr Gandhi, brought by BJP lawmaker Purnesh Modi, revolved around comments Mr Gandhi made in Karnataka state in 2019 during an election rally. “Why do all these thieves have Modi as their surname? Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi,” he said.

Nirav Modi is a fugitive Indian diamond tycoon while Lalit Modi is a former chief of the Indian Premier League who has been banned for life by the country’s cricket board.

In his complaint, Purnesh Modi alleged that the comments had defamed the entire Modi community. However, Mr Gandhi said that he made the comment to highlight corruption and it was not directed against any community.

A lower court had granted Mr Gandhi bail to appeal against his conviction, but it’s the stay or suspension of his conviction that’s crucial to reinstating him as an MP.

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Wimbledon 2023: Casper Ruud Dumped out by Britain’s Liam Broady in major shock as Katie Boulter Wins

Roshan Bilung
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Wimbledon 2023: Casper Ruud Dumped out by Britain’s Liam Broady in major shock as Katie Boulter Wins

Wimbledon 2023: Casper Ruud Dumped out by Britain’s Liam Broady in major shock as Katie Boulter Wins

UK (ES) – British wild card Liam Broady earned the biggest win of his career by stunning fourth seed Casper Ruud in a five-set epic to reach the third round at Wimbledon.
Broady, ranked 142 in the world, triumphed 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-3 6-0 in a three-and-a-half hour classic on Centre Court to the delight of a packed crowd.

“When I went to bed last night I was having a think about what I would say if I won the match…and I don’t really know what to say now,” a beaming Broady said after the match.

“It’s a terrifying, exhilarating experience coming out onto Centre Court at Wimbledon. It’s been my dream since I was five years old.”
It marked the first major shock of the men’s singles draw, as the No. 4 seed became the first top 10 player to crash out at SW19 this year.
Up next for the 29-year-old is a third-round tie against No. 26 seed Denis Shapovalov.

“Denis is a mercurial talent, he’s one of the best players in the world, as Casper is.
“He’s won junior Wimbledon here, I think he’s made the quarter-finals [in fact the semi-finals in 2021], he’s an amazing player. but with a crowd like this, why not have a go again?”
Things started ominously for the home favourite when Ruud took an early break to go 3-1 up in the first, but the Brit managed to break straight back.
Broady then doubled up with a second break as the fourth seed showed his first signs of weakness, and served out the opener in style with a forehand winner zipping down the line.

Ruud appeared ill-prepared for the grass-court major, having not competed at any preparatory tournaments on the surface or indeed any event at all since Roland-Garros.
But the Norwegian took an early break in the second and showed impressive composure to see off spirited resistance from Broady to serve out.
The momentum appeared to have shifted in the third when Broady double-faulted to give up a break and go 5-4 down before squandering two break-back points as Ruud edged two sets to one in front.

But the Stockport native came storming back in the fourth, taking an early break to race  3-0 in front and maintaining his advantage to take the set in 34 minutes and set up a decider. After taking a moment to get his wrist taped up, the left-handed Broady gave the London crowd even more reason to cheer as he left them almost in disbelief by breaking Ruud in three consecutive games to leave him needing to serve out a deciding bagel set.

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Britney Spears slapped by Victor Wembanyama’s security guard: reports

Roshan Bilung
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Britney Spears slapped by Victor Wembanyama’s security guard: reports

Britney Spears slapped by Victor Wembanyama’s security guard: reports

LAS VEGAS (TMZ)- Britney Spears has reportedly filed a police report after a member of San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama’s security team slapped her and knocked her to the ground in Las Vegas, according to TMZ.

TMZ reports that Spears, her husband Sam Asghari and two others were walking to Catch restaurant in the ARIA Hotel for dinner when they spotted the 7-foot-3 Wembanyama, this year’s No. 1 draft pick.

We’ve now gotten photos showing Britney Spears and Victor Wembanyama headed toward the restaurant’s entrance.

Photo : TMZ

You can see Spears come up from behind the young NBA star — and from there, a witness said she tried to tap him on the shoulder, which led to things getting physical with security.

Photo : TMZ

9:46 AM PT — We just received contrary information about the police investigation from a source high up in the Metro PD. Our source says this is indeed a criminal investigation and they are taking the incident “as serious as a heart attack.” The source adds the case will “likely” be referred to the D.A., although that does not mean criminal charges will be filed.

9:10 AM PT — We’re told Vegas police brass will be meeting face-to-face with Britney this morning to discuss the incident. We got video of them walking through the lobby to go up to her suite.
Our law enforcement sources tell us the cops who responded to ARIA reviewed security camera footage showing Smith push Britney’s hand away … and then her hand, not Smith’s, struck her face. Cops did not address the velocity of the force of the swing.

8:23 AM PT — Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, the man listed on the police report as the one who slapped Britney is Damian Smith, the Director of Team Security for the Spurs. Our sources say it is not being handled as a criminal matter, because cops determined Smith was not trying to hurt Britney but rather defend Victor Wembanyama.

Britney Spears was allegedly assaulted Wednesday night in Vegas, after a member of NBA phenom Victor Wembanyama’s security backhanded her in the face, and she has filed a police report.

READ MORE : Madonna postpones upcoming Celebration tour due to ‘serious bacterial infection

The incident went down at Catch restaurant in the ARIA Hotel around 8:30 PM. Britney, along with her husband, Sam Asghari, and 2 others went to the restaurant for dinner. She was swarmed by fans as she entered the casino.

Britney and co. walked over to Catch, and as they were entering the restaurant, Britney spotted Victor. We’re told she’s a fan and went over to him to ask if they could take a photo together. She tapped him on his back, right shoulder and, we’re told the Director of Team Security for the San Antonio Spurs — the team that drafted Victor last month — instantly backhanded her, causing her to fall to the ground … knocking her glasses off.

Britney composed herself and went to her table. We’re told the security guy came over to the table and apologized. He said, “You understand how it is when you’re being swarmed by fans.” He apologized and Britney accepted it. BTW, we’re told he also said when he slapped her he didn’t know who she was.

Britney’s security team spent time with Victor’s security guy, and afterward her team filed a police report with the Metropolitan Police Dept. alleging battery.

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Zelenskiy arrives in Prague, to rally support ahead of NATO summit

Shasi Kumar
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Zelenskiy arrives in Prague, to rally support ahead of NATO summit

Zelenskiy arrives in Prague, to rally support ahead of NATO summit

PRAGUE (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy landed in the Czech capital Prague on Thursday as part of a tour to drum up support for a fast track to NATO membership for Kyiv ahead of a summit next week.

Zelenskiy landed in a Czech government plane, escorted by two air force jets, television footage showed. He was welcomed by his Czech counterpart, Petr Pavel.

Ukraine is seeking a clear signal from NATO at a July 11-12 summit in Vilnius that it can join the military alliance when Russia’s war on his country ends.

Though Ukraine wants to join as quickly as possible, NATO members have been divided over how fast that step should be taken, with some wary of moves they fear could take the alliance closer to an active war with Russia.

“The visit of the Ukrainian president is intended to be an expression of appreciation for the support that the Czech Republic has provided to Ukraine since the beginning of Russian aggression, and to bring mutual assurance that this support will continue,” the office of Czech President Petr Pavel said in a statement.

“At the meeting, the presidents should coordinate their positions before the NATO summit in Vilnius, where it is expected to discuss, among other things, security guarantees for Ukraine.”

The Czech Republic, a NATO member, has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since the invasion in February 2022, supplying military aid and other help.

Czech President Pavel, who was Czech army chief and principal military adviser to the NATO secretary-general in 2015-2018, said in a Reuters interview in May that Ukraine needs support for NATO and European Union entry but joining either would be a lengthy process.

Zelenskiy’s diplomatic adviser Ihor Zhovkva said Kyiv had secured the backing of Bulgaria for its membership of the military alliance “as soon as conditions allow. ”

During the visit, Zelenskiy urged Sofia to continue military support and moved to dispel the notion that supplies of Western weapons to his country had expanded the scale of the war.

Reporting by Jason Hovet, Robert Muller and Ronald Popeski, additional reporting by Alan Charlish; Editing by Jonathan Oatis, Richard Chang and Conor Humphries.

Czech President Tweets, A man who inspires the whole world with his determination and bravery has arrived at Prague Castle. 500 days the president @ZelenskyyUa and the Ukrainian people resist Russian aggression. On behalf of the Czech Republic, I can once again personally assure him that he is not alone in the fight for freedom and sovereignty and never will be.

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The Threads, Meta’s new Twitter rival, How is Threads different from Twitter?

Marietta Reformado
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The Threads, Meta’s new Twitter rival, How is Threads different from Twitter?

The Threads, Meta’s new Twitter rival, How is Threads different from Twitter?

Kari Paul tested the social network minutes after its launch – did it fail to impress, or should Elon Musk be shuddering?

We tried Threads, Meta’s new Twitter rival. Here’s what happened Kari Paul tested the social network minutes after its launch – did it fail to impress, or should Elon Musk be shuddering?

The move is a bold attempt to lure users away from its floundering competitor with a near-clone of the platform. The Guardian tested out the new social network on Wednesday, minutes after its widely hyped launch. Would it fail to impress, or does it spell real trouble for Elon Musk?

READ MORE : Australian firm sues Twitter for $665,000 for not paying bills

The move is a bold attempt to lure users away from its floundering competitor with a near-clone of the platform. The Guardian tested out the new social network on Wednesday, minutes after its widely hyped launch. Would it fail to impress, or does it spell real trouble for Elon Musk?

How it works ?

Threads offers an eerily Twitter-like microblogging experience.

Opening the app reveals buttons to like, repost, reply to or quote a “thread”, and counters showing the number of likes and replies that a post has received. Posts are limited to 500 characters, which is more than Twitter’s 280-character threshold, and can include links, photos and videos up to five minutes long.

Using Threads felt like a fever dream in which Twitter and Instagram had a more usable brain child. The feed was slick and easy to read, though for now it was populated largely with accounts I did not yet follow or care about – perhaps an issue that will resolve itself as more people sign up.

Unlike Twitter, Threads does not seem to use hashtags and does not have a feature that allows users to search for specific text or phrases. It also allows users to share up to 10 photos in a single post – the same limit that exists on Instagram – as opposed to Twitter’s limit of four images.

We tested the app from the US, but it’s now live in Apple and Google Android app stores in more than 100 countries including Britain, Australia, Canada and Japan.

Some have raised the question of a potential culture clash between Instagram and a Twitter-like service. How will our curated, photo-based lives clash with the freewheeling, meme-heavy and often unhinged world of Twitter? So far, it’s strange, unfamiliar – and kind of fun.

So, is it better than Twitter?

Meta’s clone of Twitter does feel like, well, using Twitter. The features – likes, retweets, following – are nearly identical to its longstanding microblog predecessor. However, with Twitter getting clunkier and progressively less usable since Musk took it over, opening an app and actually being able to see and engage with content smoothly felt like a breath of fresh air.

That is a user experience Meta is betting on, openly stating that the chaos at Twitter has made space for a new product on the market. In an interview with The Verge, Instagram’s head of product, Adam Mosseri, said the company felt that recent “unpredictability” at Twitter had created a need for a new platform.

“Obviously, Twitter pioneered the space,” Mosseri said. “But just given everything that was going on, we thought there was an opportunity to build something that was open and something that was good for the community that was already using Instagram.”

As a tech writer who has reportedly extensively on the privacy concerns surrounding Meta, the company’s shameless copying of competitors’ apps, and tech’s growing unchecked power, it pains me to say that I actually enjoyed using Threads. I already use WhatsApp and Instagram daily, and have a nearly dormant yet still existent Facebook account. Do I really want to share more of my data with one of the largest tech companies in the world?

Should Elon be worried about Meta’s growing power?

Like many Meta-run products, Threads offers the unsettling experience of integrating almost too well into existing products. Making an account gives you the option to follow your existing circle from Instagram. Your followers will likely receive a notification that you’ve made an account and posted, encouraging them to do the same.

And then there are the longstanding privacy issues. Watchdogs have raised a number of concerns about Threads, as the tech giant seeks to pull even more users into its universe. Threads is able to collect a wide range of personal information, including health, financial, contacts, browsing and search history, location data, purchases and “sensitive info”, according to its data privacy disclosure on the App Store.

How is Threads different from Twitter?

1. A verified account on Instagram can avail their blue badge on Threads. However, this feature is offered on Twitter for $8 per month.
2. Users on Threads, both verified and unverified, will be able to post videos as long as five minutes. On Twitter, users without the blue badge can post a video up to 20 seconds long.
3. Threads users will be given a 500-character count, Meta confirmed. Whereas, Twitter users have access to a maximum of 280 characters.
4. The content rules on Threads, along with controls for muting and blocking accounts, are the same as Instagram.
5. Past weekend, Twitter limited the number of posts a user can read to 600 per day for unverified accounts and 6000 per day for those with a blue badge. There are no such limitations on Threads yet.
6. Threads has been launched without ads. This has been done to engage as large an audience as possible, according to Bloomberg.
7. As Threads is linked to Instagram, you don’t necessarily have to start from scratch when it comes to finding people to follow. Also, the people you’ve blocked on Instagram will remain the same.
8. One cannot send private messages on Threads and will have to head to Instagram to do the same. However, Twitter enables receiving and sending direct messages.
9. According to the screenshots, a user has to press enter three times to start a thread, whereas it can be done on Twitter by clicking the plus button.
10. You can explore what’s on Threads by scrolling through the homepage. On the other hand, Twitter’s homepage allows viewing trending news along with other topics users might be interested in.

Source : TG and TOI

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Hong Kong-born singer Coco Lee dies after suicide attempt

Andy Sengiah
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Hong Kong-born singer Coco Lee dies after suicide attempt

Hong Kong-born singer Coco Lee dies after suicide attempt

Hong Kong (Reuters) – Hong Kong-born American singer Coco Lee died at 48 on Wednesday following a suicide attempt that left her in a coma, Lee’s two sisters, Carol and Nancy Lee, said in a statement posted on Instagram and Facebook.

Lee died in Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong, where she had been living.

“Although, Coco sought professional help and did her best to fight depression, sadly that demon inside of her took the better of her,” the statement said.

“On 2 July, she committed suicide at home and was sent to the hospital. Despite the best efforts of the hospital team to rescue and treat her from her coma, she finally passed away on 5 July, 2023,” the statement said.

Lee’s career spanned around 30 years. Among her most notable performances were voicing of the female warrior Mulan in the Mandarin-language version of Disney’s “Mulan” and performing the Oscar-nominated song “A Love Before Time” from the film “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”

READ MORE : YouTuber Devraj Patel killed in road accident, Face of viral ‘Dil Se Bura Lagta Hai’ meme

She was born in Hong Kong in 1975 and was the youngest of three children of a Hong Kong Cantonese mother and Malaysian father.

Lee was hugely popular in China and Taiwan, especially in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and her death prompted an outpouring of grief in both and wall to wall news coverage in Taiwan.

One of the most read hashtags on her death generated 200 million readings on China’s Twitter-like Weibo microblogging site.

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