While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Aug 11
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Destroyed homes and buildings in Lahaina, in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii.
PHOTO: AFP
Biden expands US aid for Hawaii as wildfires grip Maui
President Joe Biden on Thursday expanded federal aid to Hawaii and promised help to its suffering citizens as deadly wildfires engulfed the island of Maui, and he expressed condolences for the devastation in a call with the state’s governor.
Mr Biden approved a disaster declaration for Hawaii aimed at spurring resources to allow the island to rebuild, the White House said in a statement, after the fire killed at least 36 people as it swept through a historic resort town.
“Anyone who’s lost a loved one, whose home has been damaged or destroyed, is going to get help immediately,” Mr Biden said, during remarks in Utah, where he is travelling.
Mr Biden said “we’re working as quickly as possible” to fight the fires and evacuate residents and tourists.
Modi survives no-confidence vote, appeals for Manipur peace
AFP
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday easily defeated a vote of no-confidence taken by the opposition over his handling of a deadly ethnic conflict in Manipur, and in a two-hour speech dismissed the move as a vain attempt to “defame India”.
More than 180 people have been killed, many hundreds more wounded and tens of thousands rendered homeless since May in Manipur, but Mr Modi failed to publicly address the violence until last month.
The no-confidence vote, moved by a new, Congress-led opposition alliance called “INDIA”, was easily defeated as expected, with opposition lawmakers walking out of the legislature in protest even before the motion was put to the vote.
‘I miss the sun’: Journalist detained in China issues rare message
PHOTO: LEI CHENG/FACEBOOK
Jailed Chinese-Australian journalist Cheng Lei has described the bleak conditions she faces in detention in a rare public message released on Thursday ahead of the third anniversary of her imprisonment by Beijing.
“I miss the sun,” reads the message, described as a “love letter” to Australia dictated to officials on a consular visit. “In my cell, the sunlight shines through the window but I can stand in it for only 10 hours a year.”
The message was shared with Australian news outlets and on the social media platform X by Cheng’s partner, Nick Coyle.
Russia replicating Iranian drones, using them to attack Ukraine
REUTERS
Russia has begun making copies of attack drones it acquired from Iran last year and is using them in combat against Ukrainian forces, despite sanctions imposed to cripple the country’s weapons production, according to a report issued on Thursday by a weapons research group.
The researchers travelled to Kyiv, Ukraine, in late July and inspected the wreckage of two attack drones that were used in combat in southeastern Ukraine.
Both appeared to be Iranian Shahed-136s, but they contained electronic modules that match components previously recovered from Russian surveillance drones, according to the report.
X chief claims renamed Twitter ‘close’ to break-even
AFP
Linda Yaccarino, chief executive officer of social media platform X, said on Thursday that the company formerly known as Twitter is “close” to breaking even and is hiring to beef up a staff slashed by owner Elon Musk.
Ms Yaccarino shared the news during a CNBC interview in which she defended the safety of the platform, as well as Mr Musk’s decision to replace its globally recognised name with X.
The former ad exec claimed that brands are returning to the X platform, naming Coca Cola, Visa and State Farm as being among them.
