Month: October 2022

MEXICO CITY -- The remnants of Tropical Storm Karl dissipated Saturday along Mexico’s southern Gulf coast as heavy rains caused some rivers and streams to flood and at least one person dead. Karl had weakened into a tropical depression late Friday while moving toward the coast of Tabasco state, and its remnants broke up during the day Saturday, though rain still fell in the region. Officials in Chiapas state said intense rain in the northern part of the state resulted in the Pichucalco River overflowing, which forced the evacuation of more than a thousand people at a religious event. In addition, the officials said, about 120 people were evacuated when El Cristo stream flooded and a 65-year-old person who had to be rescued died shortly after at a health center. The U.S. National Hurric...

"The hell with it... Even though Starlink is still losing money & other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, we'll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free," he tweeted. Starlink has been vital for Ukraine's military and people to stay online. Ukraine says it helped to reboot key infrastructure after Russian attacks. Energy installations were among facilities targeted by more than 100 Russian missiles this week. Starlink consists of thousands of satellites in low-Earth orbit and ground terminals. Last month Mr Musk, the Tesla boss and world's richest man, asked the Pentagon to fund the Starlink programme instead of him, according to US media. And on Friday he tweeted: "SpaceX is not asking to recoup past expenses, but...

But on the internet, it's a very one-sided affair. "This is a meme nation," says Olena, a Kyiv entrepreneur who manages teams of social media volunteers. "If this was a war of memes, we would be winning." Olena is not her real name. Due to the sensitive nature of the work she and her teams carry out on behalf of Ukraine's defence ministry, she has asked to remain anonymous. Her teams work round-the-clock, reacting within hours to news from around the country, producing punchy videos, often set to music, for the ministry's audiences at home and abroad. Just as Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky tailors speeches to foreign parliaments to take account of local history, culture and sensibility, so Olena's five-strong internationa...

During a firearms training session, two men opened fire on a group who had volunteered to fight in Ukraine, state-owned news agency Ria reported. The attackers were from a former Soviet republic, the Russian defence ministry said, but did not give further details. They were also shot dead during the incident in the Belgorod region of Russia, which borders Ukraine. A further 15 people were wounded. "During a firearms training session with individuals who voluntarily expressed a desire to participate in the special military operation [against Ukraine], the terrorists opened fire with small arms on the personnel of the unit," Ria cited a defence ministry statement as saying. "As a result of the shooting, 11 people were fatally wound...

Videos shared online show flames and smoke at the site in Tehran, and gunshots and explosions can be heard. An official quoted by state media said the situation was under control, but video footage appeared to show the fire continuing after this. Iran has been gripped for weeks by anti-government protests. They first erupted last month after the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian Mahsa Amini in police custody. Officials said she died of a heart attack, but her family disputed this, saying she was beaten by morality police. BBC Persian's Rana Rahimpour said it is not yet known whether the situation at the prison is linked to the recent demonstrations. But this could easily be the case, Rana said, as hundreds of the protesters have...

Ian Bremmer, head of the Eurasia Group political risk consultancy, alleged that Mr Musk had personally told him about the conversation with Mr Putin. But Mr Musk has now refuted this. "I have spoken to Putin only once and that was about 18 months ago. The subject matter was space," Mr Musk tweeted. Last week, the Tesla CEO asked his 107.7 million followers to vote on ways to resolve the Ukraine war. The suggestions included a proposal to hold votes in parts of Ukraine occupied by Russia that the Kremlin says it has annexed. His comments were welcomed by Moscow. The multi-billionaire said: "Russia leaves if that is will of the people." President Putin has already declared four Ukrainian regions to be part of Russia, fol...