While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Oct 3
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US President Joe Biden speaking to members of the media before boarding Air Force One, en route to North and South Carolina, in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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Biden does not support attack on Iran’s nuclear sites
US President Joe Biden said on Oct 2 that he would not support any Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear sites in response to its missile attack and urged Israel to act “proportionally.”
Mr Biden spoke a day after Iran fired more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel in a move that he previously described as “ineffective.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Iran would pay for the attack.
“We’ll be discussing with the Israelis what they’re going to do, but all seven of us (G-7 nations) agree that they have a right to respond but they should respond proportionally,” Mr Biden told reporters before boarding Air Force One.
Some analysts said Israel’s response would likely be sharper than when Iran fired missiles and drones at Israel in April, suggesting this time it could target Tehran’s nuclear or oil facilities.
Hamas claims Tel Aviv shooting attack that killed seven
AFP
Hamas’ armed wing claimed responsibility on Oct 2 for the killing of seven people in a shooting and stabbing attack in Israel’s commercial hub Tel Aviv the previous day.
The attack - one of the deadliest in the country since the Oct 7 Hamas onslaught - came as Iran fired about 200 missiles at Israel, sending hundreds of thousands of people into public shelters.
The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades named the attackers as Mohammed Misk and Ahmed al-Haimoni, who managed to “infiltrate into our occupied lands”.
CIA expands recruitment to China, Iran, North Korea
The US CIA on Oct 2 launched a new drive to recruit informants in China, Iran and North Korea, adding to what it says has been a successful effort to enlist Russians.
The premier US spy agency posted instructions in Mandarin, Farsi and Korean on its accounts on X, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, LinkedIn and the Dark Web on how to contact it securely, a CIA spokesperson said in a statement.
“Our efforts on this front have been successful in Russia, and we want to make sure individuals in other authoritarian regimes know that we’re open for business,” the spokesperson said, adding that the CIA was adapting to increased state repression and global surveillance.
Historic funding round values OpenAI at $200b
New funding propelled ChatGPT-maker OpenAI to a valuation of US$157 billion (S$202 billion), the company said on Oct 2, sealing its place as the world leader on artificial intelligence.
The company, founded in 2015 and led by Mr Sam Altman, said that investors pumped in US$6.6 billion in a funding round that was one of Silicon Valley’s biggest ever.
“The new funding will allow us to double down on our leadership in frontier AI research, increase compute capacity, and continue building tools that help people solve hard problems,” OpenAI said in a blog post.
McIlroy hopeful golf’s civil war will be over by end-2024
Rory McIlroy is hopeful golf’s civil war will be over before the end of the year as major figures from both camps gather at this week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which bankrolls LIV Golf are both playing in the pro-am event in Scotland.
Monahan and his partner American Billy Horschel will play in the same group as Al-Rumayyan and South Africa’s Dean Burmester in the Oct 3 first round at Carnoustie.
