While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Aug 18
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Video clips posted on social media show mobs of up to 50 people rampaging through high-end retailers.
SCREENGRABS: CRIME IN NYC/TWITTER, NOEL ESCOBAR/TWITTER
Smash-and-grab mob robberies spark Los Angeles clampdown
Los Angeles police vowed Thursday to clamp down after a series of violent flash mob robberies by gangs that have stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars of luxury goods in brazen daytime raids.
Upmarket stores throughout the United States’ second biggest city have been targeted by masked groups who smash through display boxes and grab designer bags and clothes.
Video clips posted on social media show mobs of up to 50 people rampaging through high-end retailers, breaking glass and yanking away goods attached by security cables.
Auschwitz Memorial criticises Musk’s X for not removing antisemitic content
AFP
The Auschwitz Memorial on Thursday criticised social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, for failing to remove an antisemitic post on the site.
X’s owner Elon Musk has described himself as a free speech absolutist, but some critics have said his approach is irresponsible. Researchers have found an increase in hate speech and antisemitic content on the platform since he took over, and some governments have accused the company of not doing enough to moderate its content.
The Auschwitz Memorial, which preserves the site of the death camp set up by Nazi Germany on the territory of occupied Poland during World War Two, said in a post on X that it had reported an antisemitic message on the site but received a response from X that the content did not violate its rules.
H&M says it will ‘phase out’ sourcing from Myanmar
REUTERS
The world’s second-biggest fashion retailer, H&M, has decided to gradually stop sourcing from Myanmar, it told Reuters on Thursday, as reports of labour abuses in the country’s garment factories increase.
H&M became the latest brand to cut ties with suppliers in the country after Zara owner Inditex, Primark, Marks & Spencer and others.
While recognising the challenge companies face to ensure they are not linked to abuses, some experts say the exits could ultimately leave workers in the country worse off.
Microsoft to shut Xbox 360’s online store next year
Microsoft said on Thursday it would pull the plug on Xbox 360‘s online store and marketplace next year, as it focuses on its latest consoles and subscription service Game Pass.
Xbox 360 Store and Xbox 360 Marketplace will be shut on July 29, 2024, and gamers using the old console will not be able to purchase and download new games, according to a post on Xbox’s website.
Microsoft is, however, allowing users to play with their already purchased Xbox 360 games and older titles that are compatible with the console.
Massa’s lawyers seek compensation for lost 2008 F1 title
REUTERS
Lawyers for former Ferrari driver Felipe Massa have started legal action against Formula One bosses and the governing FIA seeking substantial damages resulting from an alleged “conspiracy” that denied him the 2008 championship.
A formal eight-page Letter Before Claim, seen by Reuters, was sent to Formula One chief executive Stefano Domenicali and Paris-based FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem on Aug 15.
Such a letter is a required formal legal notice before court proceedings.
