MEXICO
Storm gains strength
Hurricane Norma on Thursday strengthened to a Category 4 storm as it headed toward Mexico’s Pacific coast with maximum sustained winds exceeding 209kph, the US National Hurricane Center said. “Norma is a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale,” said the center, which grades such storms up to a maximum Category 5. “Small intensity fluctuations are possible today [Thursday], followed by gradual weakening beginning Friday [yesterday] and continuing into the weekend,” the center said in a statement. Norma was moving northward at about 11kph, and was expected to approach the Baja California peninsula last night and today, with tropical storm conditions possible by early today.
AUSTRALIA
Opera House marks birthday
Sydney Opera House yesterday celebrated its 50th birthday, with a laser show planned to illuminate the iconic building. Officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on Oct. 20, 1973, the Opera House is widely regarded as one of the greatest architectural designs of the 20th century, with 10.9 million people visiting every year. The building was to be illuminated last night by a light show created by Australian audio-visual artist Robin Fox, before welcoming an expected 37,000 people today for free tours, its first open day in eight years. “A symbol around the world and a national treasure turns 50,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a post on X. “Happy Birthday to an Australian icon.” As part of the 1956 Opera House international design competition, 233 designs were submitted by architects from around the world, with Jorn Utzon from Denmark chosen as the winner. Construction began in 1959, with the project meant to take four years to complete, but after Utzon resigned due to a change in government, design differences and a blow-out in costs, the structure took 14 years to complete. The Sydney Opera House was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2007.
UNITED STATES
X to launch subscriptions
X would soon launch two new tiers of premium subscriptions, CEO Elon Musk wrote early yesterday on the social media platform. “One is lower cost with all features, but no reduction in ads, and the other is more expensive, but has no ads,” Musk wrote. Musk did not provide more detail on the subscription plans. Earlier this week, the company started charging new users US$1 in New Zealand and the Philippines as a test case for accessing the platform. New users who opted out of subscribing would only be able to take “read only” actions, such as: read posts, watch videos, and follow accounts, the company said on its Web site.
EUROPEAN UNION
EU demands report
The EU on Thursday demanded that Meta and TikTok detail their efforts to curb illegal content and disinformation during the Israel-Hamas war, flexing the power of a new law that threatens billions in fines, if tech giants fail to do enough to protect users. The European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s executive branch, formally requested that the social media companies provide information on how they’re complying with pioneering digital rules aimed at cleaning up online platforms. The commission asked Meta and TikTok to explain the measures they have taken to reduce the risk of spreading and amplifying terrorist and violent content, hate speech and disinformation.
Kehinde Sanni spends his days smoothing out dents and repainting scratched bumpers in a modest autobody shop in Lagos. He has never left Nigeria, yet he speaks glowingly of Burkina Faso military leader Ibrahim Traore. “Nigeria needs someone like Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso. He is doing well for his country,” Sanni said. His admiration is shaped by a steady stream of viral videos, memes and social media posts — many misleading or outright false — portraying Traore as a fearless reformer who defied Western powers and reclaimed his country’s dignity. The Burkinabe strongman swept into power following a coup in September 2022
‘FRAGMENTING’: British politics have for a long time been dominated by the Labor Party and the Tories, but polls suggest that Reform now poses a significant challenge Hard-right upstarts Reform UK snatched a parliamentary seat from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor Party yesterday in local elections that dealt a blow to the UK’s two establishment parties. Reform, led by anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage, won the by-election in Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England by just six votes, as it picked up gains in other localities, including one mayoralty. The group’s strong showing continues momentum it built up at last year’s general election and appears to confirm a trend that the UK is entering an era of multi-party politics. “For the movement, for the party it’s a very, very big
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
SUPPORT: The Australian prime minister promised to back Kyiv against Russia’s invasion, saying: ‘That’s my government’s position. It was yesterday. It still is’ Left-leaning Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday basked in his landslide election win, promising a “disciplined, orderly” government to confront cost-of-living pain and tariff turmoil. People clapped as the 62-year-old and his fiancee, Jodie Haydon, who visited his old inner Sydney haunt, Cafe Italia, surrounded by a crowd of jostling photographers and journalists. Albanese’s Labor Party is on course to win at least 83 seats in the 150-member parliament, partial results showed. Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s conservative Liberal-National coalition had just 38 seats, and other parties 12. Another 17 seats were still in doubt. “We will be a disciplined, orderly
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