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.
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
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