While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Sept 29
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
A gunman went on a shooting rampage at a house and a hospital in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, killing three people.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Teen girl, mother and teacher killed in Dutch shootings
A gunman dressed in combat gear and wearing a bulletproof vest went on a shooting rampage at a house and a hospital in Rotterdam on Thursday, killing a 14-year-old girl, her mother and a teacher.
Dutch police said they were still investigating the motive for the twin attacks by the 32-year-old man, who also set fire to the hospital and the house.
The man first burst into a house in the Dutch port city and opened fire, killing a 39-year-old woman and seriously injuring her 14-year-old daughter, police chief Fred Westerbeke told reporters. The girl later died of her injuries.
He then moved to a classroom at the Erasmus MC university hospital, shooting dead a 46-year-old teacher before starting another fire in the facility, sparking panic.
Maga movement, Trump threaten US democracy
President Joe Biden warned on Thursday that Republican Donald Trump and his allies pose a dangerous threat to American democracy, reviving a previous message ahead of the 2024 election that is likely to be another face-off between the two men.
“There is something dangerous happening in America now,” Mr Biden said, as he detailed recent Trump threats against US officials.
Mr Biden honoured the legacy of the late Republican US Senator John McCain of Arizona, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, who died in 2018.
US accuses China of global media manipulation
REUTERS
China is manipulating global media through censorship, data harvesting and covert purchases of foreign news outlets, the United States said on Thursday, warning the trend could lead to a “sharp contraction” of global freedom of expression.
The US State Department said in a report that Beijing has spent billions of dollars annually on information manipulation efforts, including by acquiring stakes in foreign media through “public and non-public means,” sponsoring online influencers and securing distribution agreements that promote unlabelled Chinese government content.
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Russia unveils spending hike to battle ‘hybrid war’
Russia said on Thursday that it plans to raise defence spending by almost 70 per cent next year, funnelling massive resources into its Ukraine offensive to fight what it calls a “hybrid war” unleashed by the West.
With Moscow’s so-called “special military operation” now approaching another winter, both sides have been digging deep and procuring weapons from allies in preparation for a protracted conflict.
The announcement came as Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg and the defence ministers of Britain and France visited Kyiv, where President Volodymyr Zelensky lobbied for more air defence systems.
OpenAI turns to Jony Ive for ‘AI iPhone’, says report
Apple’s former lead designer Jony Ive is in talks to team up with ChatGPT creator OpenAI to create an “iPhone of Artificial Intelligence,” the Financial Times reported on Thursday.
Citing three unnamed sources, the report said OpenAI chief executive officer Sam Altman had turned to Mr Ive’s company LoveFrom to develop what would be the ChatGPT creator’s first consumer device.
The project would be financed with an investment of US$1 billion (S$1.3 billion) by Japanese conglomerate Softbank, with its chip design company Arm playing a key role.
