Dominican Republic mourns victims of San Cristóbal explosion
Today has been declared a day of national mourning in the Dominican Republic out of respect for the people who died in Monday’s fiery explosion in San Cristóbal.
President Luis Abinader said all flags must be flown at half mast in military compounds and public buildings throughout the country.
At least 27 people have been killed as a result of the explosion.
More than 30 people are still in hospital nursing injuries that range from broken bones to severe burns.
Monday’s fire and explosion occurred at a bakery in the city, which lies just west of the capital of Santo Domingo.
Fire officials are still trying to find what caused the deadly explosion.
Source- Caribbean Loop News
Britney Spears's husband Sam Asghari files for divorce and demands financial support
Britney Spears's husband is seeking financial support from the singer while trying to block her from getting any from him after he filed for divorce.
Sam Asghari, 29, and Spears, 41, have been married for just over a year.
In his divorce filing to Los Angeles County Court, Asghari says the pair separated nearly three weeks ago and cites irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split.
The document lists the couple's separation date as 28 July, though reports of the split did not emerge until Wednesday.
It says he will try to get financial support from her - while blocking her from getting any from him.
Asghari is also trying to get the singer to pay for his divorce lawyers, according to the filings.
The filing says the value of Spears and Asghari's assets, and those they own jointly has yet to be determined.
The couple married at a star-studded ceremony at the US star's home in Los Angeles in June 2022.
They originally met on the set of the Slumber Party music video in 2016, and became engaged in September 2021 as her controversial conservatorship - the legal arrangement that controlled her life and finances - looked to be coming to an end.
Spears posted a photo of herself on Instagram riding a horse on the beach on Wednesday after several US outlets reported the relationship was ending.
In her Instagram post, the Toxic singer wrote: "Buying a horse soon! So many options it's kinda hard!
"I can't make up my mind. Should I join the camaraderie and put a pink cowboy hat on?"
Source- Sky News
Firm regrets taking Facebook moderation work
A firm that was contracted to moderate Facebook posts in East Africa has said with hindsight it should not have taken on the job.
Former Kenya-based employees of Sama - an outsourcing company - have said they were traumatized by exposure to graphic posts.
Some are now taking legal cases against the firm through the Kenyan courts.
Chief executive Wendy Gonzalez said Sama would no longer take work involving moderating harmful content.
Warning - this article contains distressing content
Some former employees have described being traumatized after viewing videos of beheadings, suicide, and other graphic material at the moderation hub, which the firm ran from 2019.
Former moderator Daniel Motaung previously told the BBC the first graphic video he saw was "a live video of someone being beheaded".
Mr Motaung is suing Sama and Facebook's owner Meta. Meta says it requires all companies it works with to provide round-the-clock support. Sama says certified wellness counselors were always on hand.
Ms. Gonzalez told the BBC that the work - which never represented more than 4% of the firm's business - was a contract she would not take again. Sama announced it would end it in January.
"You ask the question: 'Do I regret it?' Well, I would probably put it this way. If I knew what I know now, which included all of the opportunity, the energy it would take away from the core business I would have not entered [the agreement]."
She said there were "lessons learned" and the firm now had a policy not to take on work that included moderating harmful content. The company would also not do artificial intelligence (AI) work "that supports weapons of mass destruction or police surveillance".
Citing continuing litigation, Ms. Gonzalez declined to answer if she believed the claims of employees who said they had been harmed by viewing graphic material. Asked if she believed moderation work could be harmful in general, she said it was "a new area that absolutely needs study and resources".
Source- BBC
Zuckerberg says Musk 'not serious' about cage fight
Elon Musk "isn't serious" about holding a cage fight and "it's time to move on", Mark Zuckerberg has said.
In a post on his social media site Threads, the Meta boss said he had offered Mr Musk "a real date" but the rival entrepreneur had made excuses.
Mr. Musk had earlier on Sunday suggested on his own messaging site X, formerly known as Twitter, that he was willing to fight as early as Monday.
The billionaires agreed to the bout in June, sparking huge media attention.
But despite egging each other on for months, the rivals have yet to secure a date, raising doubts the fight will ever go ahead.
The war of words was complicated by the launch of Threads in July, with the rival messaging app to X attracting more than 100 million sign-ups in less than a week.
That number has fallen back, and X remains comfortably ahead with around 350 million users - but Mr. Musk has threatened to sue Facebook for "unlawful misappropriation of Twitter's trade secrets".
Meta denies the claims.
Last week, Mr. Zuckerberg said he had proposed 26 August for the cage fight. Then in a twist on Friday, Italy's culture minister said that he had spoken to Mr. Musk about hosting the showdown in the country as a charity event.
Mr. Musk suggested it would have "an ancient Rome theme".
On Sunday, however, the Meta boss posted on Threads: "Elon won't confirm a date, then says he needs surgery, and now asks to do a practice round in my backyard instead.
"If Elon ever gets serious about a real date and official event, he knows how to reach me. Otherwise, time to move on. I'm going to focus on competing with people who take the sport seriously."
Responding to X, however, Mr. Musk called the Meta boss a "chicken".
Earlier, Mr. Musk had posted a text message exchange on the messaging platform purportedly between himself and Mr. Zuckerberg.
In it, he tells the Meta boss that he will be in Palo Alto, home to Meta's headquarters, on Monday and that the fight could be held in Mr. Zuckerberg's Octagon, which is the eight-sided ring in which cage fights are held.
Mr. Musk continued: "I have not been practicing much, apart from a brief bout with Lex Fridman [the computer scientist and podcast host] today.
"While I think it is very unlikely, l given our size difference, perhaps you are a modern-day Bruce Lee and will somehow win."
Elon Musk, 52, and Mark Zuckerberg, 39 are two of the world's most high-profile technology billionaires.
The bizarre idea to fight each other started in June when Mr. Musk tweeted that he was "up for a cage fight" with Mr. Zuckerberg.
The Meta boss, who already has mixed martial arts (MMA) training and has recently won jiu-jitsu tournaments, simply responded with "Send me the location".
Source- BBC
Hozier would consider strike over AI threat to music
Irish musician Hozier has said he would consider striking over the threat artificial intelligence (AI) poses to his industry.
Hollywood actors and writers are currently striking over a row about better contracts and protection from the use of AI.
Hozier told the BBC's Newsnight he would be willing to join similar strike action in the music industry.
The singer added he was not sure if AI "meets the definition of art".
In July, Hollywood writers and actors manned picket lines for the first time in decades. Among their concerns was a proposal by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to keep "digital replicas" of actors.
But musicians are yet to follow suit regarding the threat AI poses to their own industry. The technology could be used to write songs or mimic well-known artists.
In April, a song that used AI to clone the voices of Drake and The Weeknd was removed from streaming services following criticism that it violated copyright law.
Asked if he could imagine going on strike over the threat AI poses to music, Hozier, whose real name is Andrew John Hozier-Byrne, said: "Joining in solidarity if there was… action on that? Absolutely."
"Whether [AI is] art or not, I think, is nearly a philosophical debate," the Grammy-nominated singer, well known for his song Take Me to Church, told presenter Victoria Derbyshire.
"It can't create something based on a human experience. So I don't know if it meets the definition of art."
Last week, the Financial Times reported that Google and Universal Music are in talks to license artists' melodies and voices for songs generated by AI.
During his interview, Hozier also discussed the death of fellow Irish singer-songwriter Sinéad O'Connor.
The singer reflected that he was "walking on this road that she paved", after she ripped up a picture of the Pope on US TV in 1992, in protest against child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.
Her actions initially drew widespread condemnation.
Three decades later, Hozier's debut single Take Me to Church, which he said criticized the church's teaching of "shame about sexual orientation", reached number one in 12 countries and remains the 30th most streamed song of all time.
"I think sensibilities have changed," Hozier said of the difference in reaction. "I think part of it is because Sinead was a woman. I think a lot of it is she was one of the first who had the courage to stand up and say it.
"That was such a taboo at the time."
Hozier suggested the "mission statement" of his debut single is "more applicable now than it was 10 years ago".
"I'm not delighted about this, but I think in some ways it is more applicable… We didn't have LGBTQ+ free zones in the European Union 10 years ago," he said.
"We didn't have armed militia waiting outside of, you know, gay and queer spaces and with this sort of terrible threat hanging over that."
When asked if he would ever perform in Russia, Saudi Arabia, or other states that repress minorities, the artist described the issue as "a tricky one".
"Do we not repress minorities here? Or in America?" he asked, as he revealed he had turned down an invite to an event that was sponsored by the Russian state.
"I was invited to perform once in the Vatican City, which was interesting… They invited me to sing Take Me to Church, I believe, at one point."
"And you said no?" Derbyshire asked. "Oh yeah. That would've been fun," Hozier quipped.
The musician spoke to Newsnight in his only UK broadcast interview ahead of the launch of his new album Unreal Unearth.
The album, which is partly inspired by the Italian poet Dante's Inferno, and his experience of the pandemic, is released on 18 August.
Source- BBC
Vietnam EV maker valued at more than Ford or GM
Vietnamese electric vehicle (EV) maker VinFast's stock market valuation has soared above Ford and General Motors (GM) on its first day of trading.
Shares in the firm, which has yet to make a profit, closed above $37 (£29) each in their New York debut.
That gave VinFast a stock market valuation of $85bn, much higher than Ford's $48bn and GM's $46bn.
It comes as motor industry giants and newer manufacturers fight for a slice of the booming EV market.
The listing added around $39bn to the wealth of VinFast's chairman and founder Pham Nhat Vuong, who was already Vietnam's richest man.
Regulatory filings show he controls 99% of the firm's outstanding shares, mostly through Vietnam's largest conglomerate, Vingroup JSC.
That limits the number of shares available for other investors to trade, which can lead to large price swings.
Trading in VinFast was relatively thin on Tuesday, with around $185m worth of its shares changing hands.
"Investors are continuing to believe that the future is in electric and that a low-cost East Asian country will emerge as a competitor in the US," said Bill Russo, Founder and CEO of Shanghai-based Automobility.
"The markets believe that given geopolitics that Vietnam, not China, will be that country."
Instead of a conventional share sale, VinFast went public using a shell company, or special purpose acquisition company (Spac).
Spacs are often used by start-ups to speed up the often slow and expensive process of taking a private company public. In simple terms, it means merging a company that is not on a stock exchange with one that is.
Several EV makers - including Lordstown Motors and Faraday Future - have gone public using Spacs in the last three years.
However, both firms have lost more than 90% of their stock market value since their mergers.
Mr. Russo said VinFast could be different because "they are primarily backed by Vingroup, which gives them access to funding from a business that has a proven track record of growth".
"Most EV start-ups fail because they do not have profitable core and external funding eventually runs out as they burn capital far faster than they generate cash," he said.
But VinFast also faces tough competition as major players fight for market domination.
Market leaders - including Elon Musk's Tesla and BYD, which is backed by veteran investor Warren Buffett - have been cutting prices to boost sales.
In the first half of the year, VinFast delivered 11,300 EVs, according to a company presentation. By comparison, Tesla delivered more than 889,000 vehicles in the same period.
"Tesla will continue to be the clear leader in EVs but there will be many winners," said Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities.
"VinFast has built a strong foundation for EV success."
Source- BBC
Maui death toll climbs to 80 due to Wildfires
Eighty people have now been confirmed to have been killed by wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui, officials say.
There are fears the numbers will rise further, as hundreds are still uncontactable.
Firefighters have been trying to contain fires in several areas, including the historic town of Lahaina which has been utterly devastated.
Hawaii's attorney general has announced a "comprehensive review" of how the authorities responded to the wildfires.
It comes as questions mount over whether officials warned residents fast enough.
State officials reopened Lahaina to people with proof of residency on Friday for the first time since flames swept rapidly through early this week, razing much of the coastal town which has a rich history and attracts some two million tourists a year.
On the Honoapiilani Highway - one of the only available routes into Lahaina - cars sat bumper-to-bumper, with families looking tired and worried alongside trucks piled high with supplies, water, fuel, nappies, and toilet paper.
But within hours after opening, the road was shut to everyone but emergency services.
Authorities told the BBC that police had been called in to address a "situation" but would not elaborate.
Evacuated Lahaina residents later said they believed their homes had been struck by looting, though this was not confirmed by police.
Still, for hours after the closure, families sat in a mile-long line.
Earlier, Governor Josh Green had warned residents would be greeted by "destruction like they've not ever seen in their lives".
And for many of Lahaina's evacuees, waiting for devastation is still too much to see.
In Paukukalo, a coastal neighborhood east of Lahaina, 23 stranded members of the Tacderan family gathered with relatives to take stock of the loss.
One of them, 26-year-old Bryan Aguiran, remained in Lahaina through the worst of the fire, fighting the blaze with large buckets of water and miraculously saving his family home.
But he does not want to go back.
"Every time I close my eyes I see Armageddon," he said, adding he has not been able to sleep.
"Lahaina will never be the same," he said.
He, like many other Maui residents, said he feared how much further the death toll would climb.
These fears were intensified on Friday evening when residents of Kaanapali - north of Lahaina - were ordered to evacuate as a fire flared up in the area where a fuelling station had been set up. It was brought under control some two hours later, Maui officials said.
West Maui, where Lahaina and Kaanapali are located, is still without power and water. Search crews are still in the area looking for wildfire victims.
That includes the water. The Coast Guard said it had pulled 17 people alive from the water near the town's harbor so far. All were reported to be in stable condition.
But Gabe Lucy, who owns a tour operator on Maui, told the BBC that he was hearing horrific accounts.
"People were jumping in the water and I think for a lot of them the fire wrapped around so quickly that the only way to escape was to go down to the water's edge," said Mr. Lucy, whose boats were called in to help.
He added that they were "picking up four-year-olds and putting them on surfboards and pulling them out" and that he had heard reports of "bodies on the rocks".
Authorities have warned it will take many years to repair the damage caused by wildfires on the island of Maui. More than 1,000 buildings have been destroyed in Lahaina alone.
The extensive damage is an added stress for Maui's locals, many of whom rely on the service jobs supplied by the tourism industry.
Governor Josh Green warned Hawaiians on Friday what they found in Lahaina would be difficult.
"Lahaina is a devastated zone. They will see destruction like they've not ever seen in their lives," said the governor, who visited the town on Thursday. "Be very safe, be very careful."
There are six shelters in operation on Maui for those displaced, and officials said they were drafting a plan to house them in hotels and tourist rental properties.
In recent days, donations have been rolling in.
The island is home to many wealthy people, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. He and his partner Lauren Sanchez have pledged $100m (£79m) to help the fire victims.
Wildfires on Hawaii's Maui Island and Big Island began on Tuesday night. The cause is still not known but once lit, hurricane winds and dry weather helped fuel the flames.
Source- BBC
Former cop jailed for stealing guns & ammunition
A former police officer in Puerto Rico was sentenced to eight years in prison on Tuesday for stealing 54 guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition from the Puerto Rico Police Bureau (PRPB) headquarters in Guayama.
William Cintrón-Rivera was convicted of multiple firearms violations and tampering with witnesses in April 2023.
Prosecutors said that Cintrón-Rivera, who went by the alias “El Kid/Kid” stole the guns and ammunition from the PRPB headquarters on July 17, 2019, while he was still a police officer.
Prosecutors said Cintrón-Rivera attempted to intimidate and corruptly persuade a female to provide false information to federal investigators regarding the nature and duration of their relationship; his whereabouts during the timeframe of the theft; the identity of an alleged informant and their communications.
Cintrón-Rivera was arrested in September 2019 after a federal investigation.
In addition to the prison sentence, Cintrón-Rivera was also ordered to forfeit his position as a PRPB officer and to pay $48,624 in restitution to the PRPB.
Source- Loop Caribbean News
Russia launches first moon mission in almost 50 years
Russia has launched its first moon mission in almost 50 years.
A rocket carrying a lunar landing craft blasted off from the Vostochny spaceport in the far eastern Amur region.
It's expected to reach its destination on 23 August, the same day as an Indian vessel that launched last month.
Russia's craft, Luna-25, will take about five and a half days to travel around the moon, and then spend up to a week orbiting before touching down on the surface of the moon's south pole.
Its mission is to collect samples of rock and dust to get an understanding of the environment for a potential base.
The south pole is of particular interest to scientists, who believe its permanently shadowed polar craters may contain frozen water that could one day be transformed into air and rocket fuel.
Friday's launch marks Russia's first lunar mission since 1976 when it was part of the Soviet Union (USSR).
The USSR is one of only three governments to manage a successful moon landing so far, along with the US and China.
Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, has been keen to prove itself as a "space superpower" since the invasion of Ukraine saw it lose access to Western technology.
It said it wanted to prove Russia "is a state capable of delivering a payload to the moon" and "ensure Russia's guaranteed access to the moon's surface".
Despite being widely ostracised from the West by sanctions which have impacted its space program, the country remains part of the International Space Station program for now.
It will leave next year, as work continues on its own orbital outpost.
Source- Sky News
NOAA increases Atlantic hurricane season prediction to ‘above normal'
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has increased its prediction for the ongoing 2023 Atlantic hurricane season from a near-normal level of activity to an above-normal level of activity.
An update was issued two days ago.
Forecasters believe that current ocean and atmospheric conditions, such as record-warm Atlantic Sea surface temperatures, are likely to counterbalance the usually limiting atmospheric conditions associated with the ongoing El Nino event.
NOAA forecasters have increased the likelihood of an above-normal Atlantic hurricane season to 60 percent (increased from the outlook issued in May, which predicted a 30 percent chance).
The likelihood of near-normal activity has decreased to 25 percent, down from the 40 percent chances outlined in May's outlook.
This new update gives the Atlantic a 15 percent chance of seeing a below-normal season.
NOAA’s update to the 2023 outlook — which covers the entire six-month hurricane season that ends on November 30 — calls for 14 to 21 named storms (winds of 39 mph or greater), of which 6 to 11 could become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or greater).
Of those, 2 to 5 could become major hurricanes (winds of 111 mph or greater). NOAA provides these ranges with 70 percent confidence. These updated ranges include storms that have already formed this season.
The Atlantic basin experienced an active start to the hurricane season with five storms that have reached at least tropical storm strength, including one hurricane already.
An average hurricane season produces 14 named storms, of which seven become hurricanes, including three major hurricanes.
Matthew Rosencrans, lead hurricane season forecaster with NOAA’s Climate Prediction Centre stated: “The main climate factors expected to influence the 2023 Atlantic hurricane activity are the ongoing El Nino and the warm phase of the Atlantic Multi-Decadal Oscillation, including record-warm Atlantic sea surface temperatures.”
He added: “Considering those factors, the updated outlook calls for more activity, so we urge everyone to prepare now for the continuing season.”
Source- Loop News