At least 14 people were killed and around 40 others injured after a fire swept through a nightclub in Chonburi province in south-eastern Thailand.

The fire broke out at 01:00 local time on Friday (18:00 GMT Thursday) at the Mountain B nightspot in Sattahip district, police said.

Footage shows people screaming as they flee, some with clothes on fire.

The cause of the fire is not clear, with rescuers saying flammable material on the walls may have exacerbated it.

The venue in Chonburi, a province located 150km (90 miles) south of Bangkok, was a single-storey complex measuring 4,800 square metres (51,660 square feet).

Firefighters battled for more than two hours to bring the fire under control, local media reported. The blaze apparently broke out during a live music performance at the venue, according to the mother of one of the music performers who died in the incident.

Bodies of the victims were mostly found near the entrance and in the bathrooms. Others were found near the DJ booth.

So far, all those who died are believed to be Thai nationals.

Officials from the Sawang Rojanathammasathan Rescue Foundation said flammable acoustic foam on the club's walls might have accelerated the speed at which the fire tore through the venue.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on Friday ordered an investigation into the fire, and said that families of the victims would receive aid from authorities. He also urged entertainment venues nationwide to ensure they had proper emergency exits and safety measures in place.

Officials said the venue had been turned from a restaurant into a nightclub and was likely operating without permission.

This is not the first time a deadly fire has broken out in a Thai nightclub.

In 2009, more than 60 people died in Bangkok after a fire spread at the Santika Club in the early hours of New Year's Day. Two men, including the owner of the club, were jailed in 2011.

And a fire at a nightclub in the popular Thai tourist destination of Phuket in 2012 killed four people and injured about a dozen others.

KABUL (Reuters) -The Islamic State (IS) militant group claimed responsibility for a deadly blast on Friday in a Shi'ite residential area in Afghanistan's capital Kabul.

Police said at least eight people were killed and 18 wounded in the blast. The militant group said in a statement that 20 people were killed and injured in the attack in western Kabul.

"The explosion happened in a crowded place," police spokesman Khalid Zadran said.

Video posted on social media purportedly of the blast site showed men rushing to help the injured after the incident.

A senior Taliban security official, who declined to be named, said primary investigations revealed that explosives were placed in a vegetable cart and the blast resulted in the wounding and killing of more than 50 people, including women and children.

"There is a possibility that the death toll will increase because most of the wounded people had critical wounds," he said.

The IS affiliate operating in Afghanistan since 2014 is seen as the country's most serious security challenge since the Taliban took control of the country in August last year.

The hardline militant group has claimed recent attacks, mainly on the minority Shi'ite community.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — State police in north-central Mexico killed 13 alleged gang members in a shootout the same day they captured four people burying one of their officers and a relative, authorities said Friday.

The San Luis Potosi state security agency said in a statement the clash occurred Thursday evening in the Vaqueros community in Rayon municipality.

Among the victims were 10 men and three women. Authorities did not report any wounded state police.

The San Luis Potosi state prosecutor’s office said weapons, tactical gear and vehicles were seized. Thursday’s operation was the result of intelligence gathered after police arrested four people as they buried a member of the state police and a relative earlier Thursday, the office said.

In the southern state of Guerrero, authorities said Friday they had found six bodies with bullet wounds and two heads nearby.

The Guerrero state prosecutor’s office said the remains were found near a burned out and shot up vehicle in the municipality of Quechultenango.

Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador continues to face stubbornly high rates of violence more than midway through his 6-year term. The president has emphasized attacking violence with social programs rather than head-on confrontations with the country’s powerful drug cartels.

“I am absolutely convinced that you can’t confront violence with violence, coercive measures are not enough, that is the conservative, authoritarian vision,” López Obrador said last month.

“My definition of a recession is a holistic definition. It goes well beyond two quarters of negative GDP,” said the chief economic advisor of Allianz and former CEO of PIMCO.

“The labor market is too strong. Consumer spending is too strong. Business balance sheets are too strong. We simply are not in a recession. Is the risk of recession high? Yes, it is high and getting higher,” El-Erian said on Yahoo Finance's "Influencers with Andy Serwer."

He highlighted the Federal Reserve tightening monetary policy into a slowing economy. The International Monetary Fund’s recent forecast shows all major areas of the global economy are slowing, calling conditions “gloomy and uncertain.”

El-Erian said in order to stop the U.S. from slipping into a recession there are four measures in particular tht need to be taken.

“First and foremost, we've got to get control of the inflation beast,” said El-Erian.

“That is a Fed that needs to act in not only tightening its monetary policy, but also regaining credibility. Its forward guidance right now is almost meaningless,” he said.

In July, the Federal Reserve announced a 75 basis point rate hike. Fed chair Jerome Powell said the central bank would be “data dependent” with its next steps — essentially ditching forward guidance. Markets rallied on Powell's unscripted comments.

El-Erian also said the government needs “to target fiscal policy more to protect the most vulnerable segments of our society. That has massive economic, social, and political consequences.”

He also suggested “pro-growth, pro-productivity reforms that need to be done, including to increase labor force participation,” in order to improve supply chains.

“Finally, let's not forget financial stability. Let's not forget how risk has not only morphed and migrated from banks to non-banks, but non-banks have been encouraged, by years of zero interest rates and massive and predictable liquidity injections, to go well beyond the native habitat in taking risk,” said El-Erian.

“So the non-banking sector is still offside. And we have to keep an eye on the financial stability risk because that could come back and harm the economy,” he added./ Yahoo Finance

The richest man in the world is asking the court to free him from the agreement and make Twitter pay him an amount in damages to be determined at trial.

Elon Musk has accused Twitter of fraud, alleging the social media platform misled him about key aspects of its business before he agreed to a $44 billion buyout, as their court fight heats up.

The Tesla boss lodged the claim on late Thursday as he fights back against Twitter's lawsuit seeking to force him to close the deal, which he has tried to cancel.

Musk argued in the filing to a Delaware court that the number of users actually shown advertising on the platform is about 65 million lower below the firm's 238 million figure.

"Twitter's disclosures have slowly unraveled, with Twitter frantically closing the gates on information in a desperate bid to prevent the Musk Parties from uncovering its fraud," the claim alleged.

Musk last week filed his countersuit, which was finally made public on Thursday, along with a legal defence against Twitter's claim that he is contractually bound to complete the takeover deal.

The entrepreneur accused Twitter of not just deceiving him, but also of lying to US market regulators. He is asking the court to free him from the agreement and make Twitter pay him an amount in damages to be determined at trial, which set to open on October 17.

Billions of dollars are at stake, but so is the future of Twitter, which Musk has said should allow any legal speech -- an absolutist position that has sparked fears the network could be used to incite violence.

'Twitter has complied in every respect'

In its own filing, Twitter rejected the mercurial billionaire's argument, calling it "as implausible and contrary to fact as it sounds."

The legal battle flows from Musk wooing Twitter's board with a $54.20 per-share offer in April, but then in July announcing he was terminating their agreement because the firm had misled him regarding its tally of fake and spam accounts.

Twitter, whose shares were up about 3.5 percent to $42.51 on Friday, has stuck by its estimates that less than five percent of the activity on the platform is due to software "bots" rather than people.

The social media platform told the court that Musk's claim that the false account figure tops 10 percent is "untenable."

Twitter also disputed Musk's assertion he has the right to walk away if its bot count is found to be wrong, since he didn't seek information on that topic when he made the buyout offer.

"Twitter has complied in every respect with the merger agreement," the company said in the filing made to Chancery Court, accusing Musk of contriving a story to escape a merger agreement that he no longer found attractive.

"Musk's counterclaims, based as they are on distortion, misrepresentation, and outright deception, change nothing," Twitter added. The social media platform has urged shareholders to endorse the deal, setting a vote on the merger for September 13.

Source: AFP

Rwanda carried out operations inside Democratic Republic of Congo and "provided troop reinforcements" to notorious rebel group, which Kinshasa always accuses Kigali of backing, says a report prepared by independent experts for UNSC.

Rwandan troops attacked soldiers inside the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and aided the M23 rebel group, according to a report by independent experts for the UN seen by the AFP news agency.

The findings follow months of deepening tensions between DRC and Rwanda over the notorious M23.

According to a 131-page report by experts for the UN Security Council, Rwanda allegedly launched military interventions inside DRC territory since at least November 2021.

Rwanda also "provided troop reinforcements" for specific M23 operations, the report said, "in particular when these aimed at seizing strategic towns and areas."

A Rwandan government spokesperson in a statement described the allegations as "unvalidated" and stressed that Rwanda had the right to defend itself.

"Rwanda has a legitimate and sovereign right to defend our territory and citizens, and not just wait for disaster to unfold," Yolande Makolo said.

The investigation for the UN also found that DRC forces had been providing support for armed groups in the deeply troubled east.

Joint attack

On May 25, the report said, a large DRC army base in Rumangabo in eastern North Kivu province came under heavy mortar and small-arms fire.

M23 fighters and Rwandan troops "jointly attacked" the site after Rwandan troops had crossed into the DRC the day before, it alleged.

An estimated 1,000 Rwandan troops also cut the main highway leading to the provincial capital Goma, an important commercial hub on the Rwandan border, and attacked DRC positions, it said.

On the eve of the attack on Bunagana, and on the day itself, Rwandan soldiers were in the vicinity, the report said, citing drone images from the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC, eyewitnesses, amateur videos and photos.

It added that Ugandan troops at the border acquiesced to M23 fighters crossing into the DRC.

Some 300 Rwandan troops also conducted operations against rebel groups in eastern DRC, such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

DRC 'supporting' militias

The UN report also found that the DRC army supported militias active in the east of the country.

On May 26, after being dislodged from positions near the Goma highway, the DRC army launched a counterattack alongside militia fighters, for example.

A coalition of armed groups had formed in May, with the knowledge of DRC officers, the report said.

Leaders of several militias confirmed to the experts that the DRC army had provided them with weapons and munitions "on several occasions," it added.

The DRC and Rwanda have had strained relations since the mass influx of Rwandan Hutus accused of slaughtering Tutsis during the 1994 Rwanda genocide.

Relations began to thaw after DRC President Felix Tshisekedi took office in 2019 but the M23's resurgence reignited tensions.

The report comes after 36 people died in eastern DRC last week during protests against the UN's peacekeeping force, which were fuelled by perceptions that it is ineffectual against armed groups.

Source: AFP

Hungary and Poland opposed the law, but their opposition did not derail the plan, which needed support from a reinforced majority of 15 countries to become law.

European Union countries have formally adopted the bloc's emergency plan to curb gas use as they attempt to save fuel for a winter of uncertain Russian supplies, despite Poland and Hungary both opposing the final law.

The bloc last week struck a deal to reduce their gas demand, to attempt to fill gas storage and prepare for a possible full Russian cut-off. On Friday, they formally approved the law that will put this deal into action.

The agreement asks all EU countries to voluntarily cut gas use by 15 percent this winter and could make the cuts binding in a supply emergency, albeit with numerous opt-outs for some countries and industries.

All countries except for Hungary and Poland approved the law, according to a document published by the Czech Republic, which currently chairs EU country negotiations.

A reinforced majority

Before its offensive on Ukraine, Russia provided 40 percent of EU gas. Moscow has since slashed gas flows to Europe, making it harder for EU states to fill storage ahead of winter, and prompting many to race to buy non-Russian fuel and take steps to limit their gas demand.

Hungary, which is in talks to buy more gas from Russia, was the only country to oppose the deal last week and questioned the legality of EU rules that affect a country's national energy mix or energy security.

Poland also opposed the final law, despite supporting the deal last week. Poland described the legal basis for the law as "defective", and said decisions affecting the energy mix of member states should be taken with unanimous approval from all countries.

Their opposition did not derail the plan, which needed support from a reinforced majority of 15 countries to become law.

The European Commission is also "urgently assessing" the possibility of introducing gas price caps, it said in a statement, without elaborating on what form such a cap would take.

Source: Reuters

Russia has cut gas supplies to several European countries. While some countries in central and Eastern Europe face shortages, the poorest struggle with spiralling energy prices.

As Russia continues to reduce its gas supply to Europe, countries across the continent have begun implementing contingency plans that include reopening coal-fired power plants and extending the life of nuclear reactors.

After cutting gas supplies to several northern and east European countries earlier this year, Russia has now reduced gas deliveries to Germany via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to a mere 20 percent of capacity. A turbine used to operate the pipeline and scheduled to be returned to Russian state-owned company Gazprom after maintenance in Canada has been stranded in Germany as the government claims Gazprom hasn’t provided the paperwork necessary to get it back. Russia, for its part, has blamed the stalemate on western sanctions.

At the end of July, European Union governments committed to cutting down on gas consumption by 15 percent by next March – a voluntary target aimed at showing a united front in the face of what EU officials see as energy blackmail from Russia over the bloc’s sanctions.  

The original European Commission proposal included a provision that would have enabled it to impose the targets as mandatory in case of an emergency. Instead, the move would now have to be approved by each country’s head of state, with the exception of Hungary – making it much more difficult to implement a real system of coordinated rationing.

We look at how EU countries have been affected so far, and the main challenges they will face ahead of winter.

Austria

Before Russia’s war in Ukraine began, Austria had been heavily dependent on Russian gas. Environment minister Leonore Gewessler said this week the country had successfully managed to reduce that dependence from 80 to 50 percent.

As Russian state-owned company Gazprom failed to provide gas to fill Austria’s storage capacity ahead of winter, the government allowed other companies to make use of it. 

Austria has also announced plans to run its Mellach power plant on coal this winter, after it had been converted into a gas facility in 2020.

Belgium

Belgium only relied on Russia for around 6 percent of its gas, and is instead a hub for supply to other countries in the European Union. 

The Belgian port of Zeebrugge is an important import centre for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). Much of it is supplied by Qatar.

Nevertheless, high gas prices have affected households and industry.

Bulgaria

In late April, Bulgaria was among the first EU countries to be cut off from Russian gas for refusing to pay for it in roubles.

Dependent on Russian gas by about 90 percent, Bulgaria stepped up LNG purchases, looking at suppliers including the United States.

It also expanded the capacity of a pipeline that runs from Azerbaijan's giant field in the Caspian Sea. 

Croatia

Croatia passed a law in June to enable the construction of an LNG terminal in an attempt to wean itself off Russian gas.

At just over 50 percent, Croatia’s gas storage levels were among the lowest in the EU in early August – a far cry from the EU’s overall target of at least 80 percent. 

Czechia

The country is almost 100 percent dependent on Russian gas, but most buyers purchase gas through foreign traders rather than directly from Gazprom.

A transit country, the Czechia connects northern Germany to southern Germany and Slovakia, from where the gas flows to Austria and Italy. Earlier this year, it reported a dip in gas transit, but importers said supplies remained stable.

Denmark 

Denmark was also cut off from Russian gas after Danish multinational Ørsted refused to pay in roubles.

The country pledged to quickly restart its Tyra gas field in a bid to become independent from Russian supplies, but that plan has been subject to delays of up to nine months, and is estimated to reopen in the final quarter of 2023 or the first quarter of 2024.

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

Despite their dependence on Russian gas, the Baltic states announced they would stop all imports from Russia in April.

Russia provided gas to Latvia via both Estonia and Lithuania, while Estonia was the most dependent on Russian for its gas supply. 

Latvia, which was due to stop all imports from Russia in early 2023, was cut off from Russian gas in late July, citing the country’s breach of “terms for extraction of gas.”

Finland

Finland was cut off from Russian gas in May after refusing to comply with Gazprom’s request to pay in roubles. The move coincided with Helsinki’s push to join NATO.

Finland relies on Russian gas for only five percent of its energy needs.

France 

With about 17 percent of its supply coming from Russia, France is less dependent than other large European economies such as Germany and Italy. 

France has secured its gas storage from Qatar and other countries supplying via Norway. It signed an energy cooperation agreement with the United Arab Emirates and has announced plans to bump up nuclear power generation. However, those plans have been disrupted by recent heat waves, which have pushed up river temperatures.

Germany

Until the war in Ukraine started, Germany’s dependence on Russian gas had been a political choice. That dependence has now been reduced from 55 percent to a still high about 30 percent.

In early August, the country put a coal power plant back online as gas supplies from the Nord Stream 1 pipeline further dwindled.

The coal power plant, located in Lower Saxony, has received a temporary permission to operate until April 2023 to provide energy to at least half a million families.

German cities have cut back on lighting and hot water in an attempt to avert the worst scenarios for the winter.

Greece

Greece relies on Russia for 40 percent of its gas, two thirds of which is used for power generation. The country hasn’t experienced any disruption to its supply so far.

Greece has managed to replace a good amount of Russian gas by ramping up LNG imports, and plans to implement rotating power outages in case of a supply disruption.

Hungary

About 85 percent dependent on Russian gas, Hungary has been opposed to EU sanctions on gas imports from the country. 

Lagging behind in securing gas storage ahead of winter, Hungary expects to sign a new deal with Russia this summer for further supplies.

Ireland and Malta

The island countries do not rely heavily on Russian gas and are not connected to the continental European gas pipelines. Ireland, for instance, gets most of its gas from the North Sea.

Italy

Italy has cut much of its dependence on Russian gas from 40 percent at the beginning of the year to about 25 percent – which still exposes it to the Russian cutoff. 

The country has sought to strike a new deal to get gas from Algeria, and has ramped up on LNG imports. It also plans to get more from Azerbaijan. 

Luxembourg

The small central European state’s dependence on Russian gas was between five and ten percent of total consumption in 2020. It does not expect to have to implement cuts or a significant drop in GDP.

The Netherlands

The Netherlands has pursued agreements to buy more LNG to limit its dependence on Russian gas, while also running a campaign urging citizens to save power by, for instance, taking shorter showers.

Before the crisis, the government had planned to close a giant gas field in the north of the country, Groningen, due to local opposition over the environmental threats it posed, including earthquakes. The plan to permanently close the field has now been shelved.

Poland 

Alongside Bulgaria, Poland was the first EU country to be cut off from Russian gas back in April. As of early August, it had filled its storage capacity by nearly 100 percent. 

Most of Poland’s electricity needs are covered, controversially, by coal-fired power plants. It also has an LNG terminal in Świnoujście through which it has been importing gas from the US, Qatar, Egypt and Israel.

Portugal and Spain

Neither country in the Iberian peninsula counts on Russia for its gas, but both have suffered from a rise in the cost of LNG imports.

Romania

Romania turns to Russia in winter to cover around 20 percent of its gas needs, but has significant reserves both at sea and on land.

Earlier this year, the Romanian government passed a law to facilitate extraction in the Black Sea.

Despite being less vulnerable to a Russian gas cutoff than other countries, increased energy costs are posing a challenge to the country’s economy, while gas export facilities are still underdeveloped. 

Slovakia and Slovenia

The two countries rely on Russia to cover about 60 percent of their gas needs.

In Slovenia, the government has put in place measures aimed at energy savings of about 10 percent. Slovakia announced it will import gas from other suppliers, particularly Norway.

Sweden

Sweden, which has a common gas market with Denmark, is heavily reliant on Russian gas, but currently is well-stocked ahead of winter, with reserves 90 percent full.

Source: TRT World

Texas jury orders American conspiracy theorist to pay punitive damages for falsely claiming the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary shooting – in which 20 children and six educators were killed – was "staged" by gun control activists.

A Texas jury has ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay $45.2 million in punitive damages to the parents of a child who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, adding to the $4.1 million he has to pay for the suffering he put them through by claiming for years that the nation's deadliest school shooting was a hoax.

The total — $49.3 million — is less than the $150 million sought by Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, whose 6-year-old son Jesse Lewis was among the 20 children and six educators killed in the deadliest classroom shooting in US history. 

But the trial marks the first time Jones has been held financially liable for peddling lies about the 2012 attack in Newtown, Connecticut.

After the verdict, Lewis said that Jones has been held accountable. She said when she took the stand and looked Jones in the eye, she thought of her son who was credited with saving lives by yelling "run" when the killer paused in his rampage.

"He stood up to the bully Adam Lanza and saved nine of his classmates’ lives," Lewis said. "I hope that I did that incredible courage justice when I was able to confront Alex Jones, who is also a bully. I hope that inspires other people to do the same."

Earlier this week, Jones testified that any award over $2 million would "sink us." His company Free Speech Systems, which is Infowars' parent company, filed for bankruptcy protection during the first week of the trial.

Sending a strong message

Attorneys for the family had urged jurors to hand down a financial punishment that would force Infowars to shut down.

"You have the ability to stop this man from ever doing it again," Wesley Ball, an attorney for the parents, told the jury Friday. "Send the message to those who desire to do the same: Speech is free. Lies, you pay for."

An economist testified on Friday that Jones and the company are worth up to $270 million, suggesting that Jones was still making money.

Bernard Pettingill, who was hired by the plaintiffs to study Jones' net worth, said records show that Jones withdrew $62 million for himself in 2021 when default judgments were issued in lawsuits against him.

"That number represents, in my opinion, a value of a net worth," Pettingill said. "He’s got money put in a bank account somewhere."

The money that flows into Jones' companies eventually funnels its way to him, said Pettingill, who added that he has testified in approximately 1,500 cases during his career.

But Jones' lawyers said their client had already learned his lesson, and asked for lenience, saying the punitive amount should be less than $300,000.

"You've already sent a message. A message for the first time to a talk show host, to all talk show hosts, that their standard of care has to change" said Jones' lead attorney, Andino Reynal.

Source: AP