At least five people were killed and more than 1,000 structures were destroyed as fierce wildfires raged in the Los Angeles area, officials said. Fast-moving flames burned through homes and businesses as residents fled smoke-filled canyons and picturesque neighborhoods that are home to many celebrities. Gov Gavin Newsom said the state has deployed more than 1,400 firefighting personnel to battle the blazes. Additionally, Oregon is sending 300 firefighters and Washington state 146 personnel. Utah, New Mexico and Arizona are also sending teams. Uber aids evacuations A burnt down home in Pacific Palisades, California Thousands have been notified to evacuate their homes because of the multiple fires burning in the Los Angeles region. Uber is offering free rides up to US$ 40 to active evacuation centers using the code WILDFIRE25, LA County Supervisor Lindsay Horvath said. Oscar nominations delayed The nominations announcement of the 97th Academy Awards, originally scheduled for January 17, has been postponed to January 19. The deadline for Oscar nomination voting has been extended by two days till January 14. Biden cancels Italy trip Firefighters battle the Palisades Fire US President Joe Biden has cancelled his visit to Italy, the final overseas trip of his presidency, to monitor the response to the devastating wildfires raging in Los Angeles. He was scheduled to leave for Italy on Thursday. Paris Hilton loses LA home Singer and actor Paris Hilton is one of those celebrities who was affected by the wildfire in Pacific Palisades, despite not being harmed physically. Hilton shared a video of a news broadcast that showed her house burning in Malibu. The actress said she felt “heartbroken” and that “no one should go through such an experience”. Mandy Moore, Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag, James Woods, Diane Warren, Cameron Mathison and Ricki Lake among celebrities who also lost their homes in wildfires. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
10 January,2025 08:51 AM IST | Los Angeles | AgenciesAn attack on Chad’s presidential palace left 18 assailants dead and six in custody, with one soldier killed and three wounded, state media reported on Thursday. The attack on Wednesday night occurred while Chadian President Mahamat Deby Itno was inside the palace, but authorities said the situation was quickly brought under control. “The situation is completely under control. There is no fear,” Foreign Affairs Minister Abderaman Koulamallah said while surrounded by soldiers in a live Facebook broadcast filmed inside what appeared to be a quiet presidential palace late on Wednesday. Koulamallah praised the vigilance of the palace guards, describing the attackers as disorganised and intoxicated by alcohol. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
10 January,2025 08:50 AM IST | N’Djamena, Chad | AgenciesSo much of the technology showcased at CES includes gadgets made to improve consumers, but not all innovation is good. A panel of self-described dystopia experts has judged some products as ‘Worst in Show’. Least repairable product Kyle Wiens, CEO of iFixit, awarded the US$ 2,200 Ultrahuman Rare Luxury Smart Ring the title of “least repairable.” Its battery only lasts 500 charges and cant be replaced. Sharing too much Bosch’s ‘Revol’ crib uses sensors, cameras and AI that can help monitor how an infant is sleeping, heart and respiratory rates and more. The crib can also rock gently and signal if a blanket or other object is interfering with breathing. But EFF Executive Director Cindy Cohn said it “collects excessive data about babies”. Ultrahuman Rare Luxury Smart Ring Too much waste? Stacey Higginbotham, a policy Fellow at Consumer Reports, felt that SoundHound AI’s In-Car Commerce Ecosystem ”increases energy consumption and distracts drivers.” Vulnerable to hacks TP-Link’s Archer BE900 router won for “least secure”. Paul Roberts, founder of Security Ledger, said TP-Link showcased it without addressing issues. Who wanted this? Nathan Proctor, senior director of US PIRG, a consumer advocacy group, said Samsung’s Bespoke AI Washing Machine is filled “with features no one needs, making the appliance more expensive, fragile, and harder to repair.” The worst overall Gay Gordon-Byrne, director of The Repair Association called the LG ‘AI Home Inside 2.0 Refrigerator with ThinkQ’ the “worst product overall”. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
10 January,2025 08:50 AM IST | Las Vegas | AgenciesAmid concerns surrounding the Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) virus, WHO official, Margaret Harris, said that the rise observed in the number of common respiratory infections is 'common' during winter and spring, reported news agency ANI. She further added that as per Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the pathogens causing the disease are "known ones." "Human metapneumovirus #hMPV is NOT a new virus. First identified in 2001, it has been in the human population for a long time. It is a common virus that circulates in winter and spring. It usually causes respiratory symptoms similar to the common cold." - @who pic.twitter.com/zojxwNLgH8 — United Nations Geneva (@UNGeneva) January 7, 2025 "There has indeed been a rise in the number of common respiratory infections in the country. And this is entirely expected during the winter. China has a sentinel surveillance system for influenza-like illness and severe respiratory infections," she said, reported ANI. Harris said that the pathogens are known ones and can be tackled, including the pathogens of Covid-19. "According to the Chinese CDC data, the pathogens causing these infections are known ones. And they include the seasonal influenza virus, the respiratory syncytial virus, also known as RSV, and of course, the human metapneumovirus, HMPV, as well as our old friend SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19," she said, reported ANI. The WHO official further said that seasonal influenza is a common one that crops up for testing. "Now among the pathogens reported by China's CDC, seasonal influenza is by far the most common that's coming up in all the testing. And it's increasing. The test positivity rate for influenza at the end of December was over 30 per cent among people presenting with flu-like symptoms in outpatient and emergency departments sentinel sites," she said, reporting ANI. She added that the cases of respiratory illnesses reported by China are within the normal range. "China's reported levels of respiratory infections are within the normal range. It's what we expect to see for the winter season. Authorities report that hospital utilisation is currently actually lower than this time last year and there have been no emergency declarations. Human metapneumovirus is not a new virus. So it's got an unusual name, so there's been a lot of interest. But it is not a new virus. It was first identified in 2001. It has been in the human population for a long time. It is a common virus that circulates in winter and spring. It usually causes respiratory symptoms similar to the common cold," she said, reported ANI. Harris said that the precautions to avoid contracting the disease are simple. They are the same as those followed during COVID-19. "So our advice to those who are in the winter season is to try to avoid getting ill in the first place, try to avoid getting infected and simple measures as we know we've all been very well trained by a coronavirus, by COVID-19, are simple measures can prevent spread," she said. (With inputs from ANI)
09 January,2025 10:35 AM IST | Geneva | mid-day online correspondentIt wasn't just fact-checking that Meta scrapped from its platforms as it prepares for the second Trump administration. The social media giant has also loosened its rules around hate speech and abuse ' again following the lead of Elon Musk's X ' specifically when it comes to sexual orientation and gender identity as well as immigration status. The changes are worrying advocates for vulnerable groups, who say Meta's decision to scale back content moderation could lead to real-word harms. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Tuesday that the company will 'remove restrictions on topics like immigration and gender that are out of touch with mainstream discourse," citing 'recent elections' as a catalyst. For instance, Meta has added the following to its rules ' called community standards ' that users are asked to abide by: 'We do allow allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation, given political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality and common non-serious usage of words like weird.'' In other words, it is now permitted to call gay people mentally ill on Facebook, Threads and Instagram. Other slurs and what Meta calls 'harmful stereotypes historically linked to intimidation' ' such as Blackface and Holocaust denial ' are still prohibited. The Menlo Park, California-based company also removed a sentence from its 'policy rationale' explaining why it bans certain hateful conduct. The now-deleted sentence said that hate speech 'creates an environment of intimidation and exclusion, and in some cases may promote offline violence.' 'The policy change is a tactic to earn favour with the incoming administration while also reducing business costs related to content moderation,' said Ben Leiner, a lecturer at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business who studies political and technology trends. 'This decision will lead to real-world harm, not only in the United States where there has been an uptick in hate speech and disinformation on social media platforms, but also abroad where disinformation on Facebook has accelerated ethnic conflict in places like Myanmar.' Meta, in fact, acknowledged in 2018 that it didn't do enough to prevent its platform from being used to 'incite offline violence' in Myanmar, fueling communal hatred and violence against the country's Muslim Rohingya minority. Arturo Béjar, a former engineering director at Meta known for his expertise on curbing online harassment, said while most of the attention has gone to the company's fact-checking announcement Tuesday, he is more worried about the changes to Meta's harmful content policies. That's because instead of proactively enforcing rules against things like self-harm, bullying and harassment, Meta will now rely on user reports before it takes any action. The company said it plans to focus its automated systems on 'tackling illegal and high-severity violations, like terrorism, child sexual exploitation, drugs, fraud and scams.' Béjar said that's even though 'Meta knows that by the time a report is submitted and reviewed the content will have done most of its harm.' 'I shudder to think what these changes will mean for our youth, Meta is abdicating their responsibility to safety, and we won't the impact of these changes because Meta refuses to be transparent about the harms teenagers experience, and they go to extraordinary lengths to dilute or stop legislation that could help,' he said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
09 January,2025 08:41 AM IST | Washington | APPresident-elect Donald Trump, who has alternated among praising, criticising and even mocking Jimmy Carter, came Wednesday to the Capitol Rotunda to pay his respects as the 39th president lay in state ahead of his funeral Thursday in the nation's capital. Carter was often the target of Trump's derision during his 2024 campaign, and the president-elect has renewed his critique of the Georgia Democrat this week amid his state funeral rites for ceding control of the Panama Canal to its home country when he was president more than four decades ago. Trump, who plans to attend Carter's funeral Thursday at Washington National Cathedral, played it straight on Capitol Hill, walking somberly into the rotunda with his wife, Melania, and pausing in front of Carter's flag-draped casket, which is resting atop the Lincoln catafalque and stands surrounded by a military honour guard. Trump was on Capitol Hill to meet with Republican senators 12 days before he takes office for the second time. His visit to the rotunda briefly paused the steady stream of citizens who waited in long lines on Capitol Hill to file past Carter's remains. Members of Congress, Hill staffers and former Speaker Kevin McCarthy were among the steady stream. Lynda Robb and Luci Baines Johnson, the daughters of President Lyndon Johnson paid their respects, as well. Luci aines Johnson blew a kiss toward the casket as she walked away. Carter, the longest-lived US president, died December 29 at the age of 100. A US Naval Academy graduate, submarine officer and peanut farmer before entering politics, Carter won the White House as an outsider in the wake of the Vietnam War and Watergate. He endured a rocky four years of economic unrest and international crises that ended with his defeat to Republican Ronald Reagan. But he also lived long enough to see historians reassess his presidency more charitably than voters did in 1980, and the national rites of a state funeral afford him a notable counter to the often testy relationship he had with Washington during his four years in the Oval Office. 'President Carter was the governor of the great state of Georgia when I was born,' said Lyn Leverett, among the people who waited in below-freezing weather Wednesday. 'So he's been around my, you know, my whole entire being. And I just want to pay my respects to a decent person.' Some visitors fondly recalled personal connections to Carter's 1976 campaign, when his family, close friends and other supporters from Georgia formed the 'Peanut Brigade' to fan out across Iowa, New Hampshire and other key primary states and help Carter surprise the Washington establishment by winning the Democratic nomination. 'I'm originally from Nashua, New Hampshire, and when I was a child, Jimmy Carter slept at my house,' said Susan Prolman. 'He had just won the Iowa caucuses and he was in New Hampshire campaigning for the first-in-the-nation New Hampshire presidential primary. And I created this little poster for him, and he very kindly signed it.' Margaret Fitzpatrick, of Kensington, Maryland, recalled a family friend who had attended the Naval Academy with Carter in the 1940s and later hosted him as a presidential candidate. But she and others said what most drew them to the Capitol was what they remember of Carter once he left office ' and the distinctions they see between Carter and Trump. 'The contrast is amazing,' Fitzpatrick said, as she noted the juxtaposition of Carter's funeral with the obvious preparations around Washington for Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration. 'I'm here to respect somebody who has built a reputation on honesty, character and integrity. President Carter was a decent, kind, genuine and gentle person.' Kim James, also a Maryland resident, said she had yet to start grade school when Carter was elected and thinks of him more as the white-haired former president who fought disease and advocated for democracy in the developing world and built homes for Habitat for Humanity in the US and abroad. 'He cared about other people,' she said, adding that political leaders today should work harder to replicate that example. 'That selflessness ' it always stood out.' Official ceremonies this week also have remembered Carter's religious convictions, long public service and decades of humanitarian work beyond what he accomplished in politics. Vice President Kamala Harris, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune eulogized Carter day earlier at the Capitol, when his remains first arrived in the rotunda. Said Johnson in his tribute: 'In the face of illness, President Jimmy Carter brought lifesaving medicine. In the face of conflict, he brokered peace. In the face of discrimination, he reminded us that we are all made in the image of God. And if you were to ask him why he did it all, he would likely point to his faith.' Carter will remain at the Capitol until Thursday morning, when he is transported to Washington National Cathedral for a state funeral. President Joe Biden, a longtime Carter ally, will deliver a eulogy. Other living former presidents, including Trump, are expected to attend. After the funeral, the Boeing 747 that is Air Force One when a sitting president is aboard will carry Carter and his family back to Georgia. An invitation-only funeral will be held at Maranatha Baptist Church in tiny Plains, Georgia, where Carter taught Sunday School for decades after leaving office. Carter will be buried next to his wife, former first lady Rosalynn Carter, in a plot near the home they built before his first state Senate campaign in 1962 and where they lived out their lives with the exception of four years in the Georgia Governor's Mansion and four years in the White House. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
09 January,2025 08:39 AM IST | Washington | APA daytime Russian missile attack on the southern Ukraine city of Zaporizhzhia killed at least 13 civilians and wounded about 30 others on Wednesday, officials said. Footage posted on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Telegram channel shows civilians lying in a city street littered with debris. The post shows them being treated by emergency services and taken away on gurneys. Russian has frequently launched aerial attacks on civilian areas during the almost three-year war. Thousands of civilians have been killed in Europe's biggest conflict since World War II. Zelenskyy and regional Gov. Ivan Fedorov said Wednesday's attack killed at least 13 civilians. Minutes before the attack, Fedorov had warned of a threat of high-speed missiles and devastating glide bombs being fired at the Zaporizhzhia region. Russian troops started launching the glide bombs at Zaporizhzhia in the middle of the afternoon, and at least two bombs struck residential buildings in the city, Fedorov said. He announced that Thursday would be a day of mourning in the region. 'There is nothing more brutal than aerial bombing of a city, knowing that ordinary civilians will suffer," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. Zelenskyy said earlier Wednesday that countries wanting to end the war should offer Ukraine assurances about its future defense. Kyiv officials fear that any ceasefire or peace deal will just give the Kremlin time to rearm and invade again unless it is deterred by military force. 'To be honest, I believe that we have a right to demand serious security guarantees from ' the countries that aim for the peace in the world,' Zelenskyy said. Zelenskyy was responding at a news conference in Kyiv to comments the previous day by President-elect Donald Trump that he understood Russia's opposition to neighboring Ukraine joining NATO. The United States, Germany, Hungary and Slovakia have stood in the way of Ukraine immediately joining the 32-nation alliance, Zelenskyy noted. The alliance has said only that the country is on an 'irreversible path' to membership. Earlier, the Ukrainian military said it struck a fuel storage depot deep inside Russia, causing a huge blaze at the facility that supplies an important Russian air base.Russian officials acknowledged a major drone attack in the area, and said that authorities had set up an emergency command center to fight the fire. Ukraine's General Staff said the assault hit the storage facility near Engels, in Russia's Saratov region, about 600 kilometers (370 miles) east of the Ukrainian border. The depot supplied a nearby airfield used by aircraft that launch missiles across the border into Ukraine, a statement on Facebook said. Ukraine has been developing its arsenal of domestically produced long-range missiles and drones capable of reaching deep behind the front line as it faces restrictions on the range that its military can fire its Western-supplied missiles into Russia. The attacks have disrupted Russian logistics in the war, which began on Feb. 24, 2022, and embarrassed the Kremlin. Zelenskyy said last year that his country has developed a weapon that could hit a target 700 kilometers (400 miles) away. Some Ukrainian drone attacks have hit targets more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) away. The governor of the Saratov region, Roman Busargin, said that an unspecified industrial plant in Engels sustained damage from the falling drone debris that sparked a fire, but nobody was hurt. Engels, which has a population of more than 220,000, is located on the left bank of the Volga River, and is home to multiple industrial plants. Saratov, a major industrial city of about 900,000, faces Engels across the river. 'The damage to the oil base creates serious logistical problems for the strategic aviation of the Russian occupiers and significantly reduces their ability to strike peaceful Ukrainian cities and civilian objects. To be continued,' the statement from Ukraine's General Staff said. Russian authorities restricted flights early Wednesday at the airports of Saratov, Ulyanovsk, Kazan and Nizhnekamsk, in an apparent response to the Ukrainian attack. The main base of Russia's nuclear-capable strategic bombers is located just outside Engels. It has come under Ukrainian drone attacks since the early stages of the war, forcing the Russian military to relocate most of the bombers to other areas. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
09 January,2025 08:35 AM IST | Kyiv | APUS President-elect Donald Trump has warned that “all hell will break out in the Middle East” if the hostages being held by Hamas are not released by Inauguration Day, repeating the threat four times. Trump did not elaborate on what actions he might take if the captives are not released by the time he takes office. Officials say about 100 hostages, including some Americans, who were seized on October 7, 2023, remain captive in Gaza, though they believe many of them may have died in captivity. Trump will be sworn in on January 20 as the 47th President of the US. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
09 January,2025 08:28 AM IST | Washington | AgenciesTens of thousands of residents in Southern California have been forced to evacuate as a series of fast-moving wildfires ravage the region, CNN reported. The most destructive, the Palisades fire, is spreading rapidly across Los Angeles, with homes destroyed and major roads closed. Authorities are scrambling to manage the situation, with widespread evacuations and emergency declarations. The out-of-control Palisades fire, which has burned more than 2,900 acres, is blazing through nearly five football fields per minute. It has prompted an emergency declaration from Los Angeles officials, who warned that the worst is yet to come due to the “tornado-like” winds complicating the firefighting efforts. As the fire approached key roads, including Sunset Boulevard, many drivers were told by fire officials to abandon their vehicles and flee. Two new fires erupted in Los Angeles on Tuesday. One has scorched 100 acres, while the other grew to 1,000 acres in just six hours. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
09 January,2025 08:27 AM IST | Los Angeles | AgenciesPresident-elect Donald Trump told residents of Greenland that “we’re going to treat you well” as his oldest son visited the mineral-rich Danish territory that’s home to a large US military base, heightening speculation that the incoming US administration could seek to acquire it. The president-elect later told a news conference he wouldn’t rule out using military force or economic coercion to take control of Greenland, saying that “we need it for national security”. He said Denmark should give up its control of Greenland or it would face high tariffs and suggested people of Greenland could vote for independence or to become the part of the US. In a statement, Greenland’s government said Donald Trump Jr.’s visit was taking place “as a private individual” and not as an official visit, and Greenlandic representatives would not meet with him. Why is Greenland coveted? Think of Greenland as an open refrigerator door or thermostat for a warming world, and it’s in a region that is warming four times faster than the rest of the globe. Locked inside are valuable rare earth minerals needed for telecommunications, as well as uranium, billions of untapped barrels of oil and a vast supply of natural gas that used to be inaccessible but is becoming less so. Many of the same minerals are currently being supplied mostly by China, so other countries such as the US are interested, Dabelko said. Three years ago, the Denmark government suspended oil development offshore from the territory of 57,000 people. Panama Canal, Canada bid Trump has also hinted at military force to take control of the Panama Canal and “economic force” to acquire Canada, CNN reported. Since his election, Trump has repeatedly expressed his interest in gaining control of the Panama Canal. However, when asked whether he would also use the military to acquire Canada, he responded, “No, economic force.” Trump, in his recent social media posts, has said that Canada should become the 51st state of the US. He even used Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s stepping down as PM and Liberal Party leader to reiterate his stance that Canada becomes the 51st state of the US. Further, Trump said that he wants to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America “which has a beautiful ring and is appropriate.” This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
09 January,2025 08:27 AM IST | Greenland | AgenciesRescuers in the freezing, high-altitude Tibet region in western China searched a second day for any remaining victims of a deadly earthquake that struck near a holy city for Tibetan Buddhists, before shifting their focus to resettling the survivors. More tents, quilts, stoves and other relief items were being delivered on Wednesday to people whose homes were uninhabitable or unsafe. Temperatures fall well below freezing overnight in an area with an average altitude of about 13,800 feet. In video aired by state broadcaster CCTV, workers could be seen erecting rows of tents with metal frames and stakes after nightfall on Tuesday. Meant as temporary shelter, they were lined with quilted padding to keep out the cold. The workers distributed packaged food items to the shelter occupants, donning blue winter jackets over their orange uniforms. The confirmed death toll stood at 126 with another 188 injured as of Tuesday evening, and no further updates were issued during the day on Wednesday. Hong Li, the director of Tibet’s Emergency Management Department, told a late afternoon news conference that the work had shifted from search and rescue to resettlement and reconstruction. The earthquake struck an outlying county in the city of Shigatse, the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, the second-highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism. More than 500 aftershocks were recorded after the earthquake, which the US Geological Survey said measured magnitude 7.1. China’s earthquake center recorded a magnitude of 6.8. The quake was also about 75 km from Mount Everest and the border with Nepal. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
09 January,2025 08:26 AM IST | Beijing | AgenciesADVERTISEMENT
