List of All Articles with Tag 'r'

Elon Musk contracted malaria while on safari in South Africa in 2000 and almost died, a new biography has claimed. Walter Isaacson detailed the billionaire’s near-death experience in a new biography published this week. Mr Musk contracted malaria during a holiday in South Africa after being ousted as CEO of PayPal by Peter Thiel in October 2000. It was Mr Musk’s first time back in his native South Africa since leaving for Canada aged 17, Mr Isaacson wrote. During his trip, Mr Musk and his then-wife Justine Musk went to a game reserve. When he returned to California in January 2001, Mr Musk reportedly began to feel dizzy and experienced recurring waves of chills and started throwing up in an emergency room, leading to him being wrongly diagnosed with viral meningitis. The billionaire’s condition worsened until his “pulse was barely perceptible,” according to the book. Mr Musk was only diagnosed with malaria after a doctor with expertise in infectious diseases passed by his bed at Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City and realized he had a potentially fatal form of the disease that can affect the central nervous system or cause “acute respiratory distress,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mr Isaacson described how it took Mr Musk five months to fully recover after he was put in intensive care for 10 days and treated with doxycycline and chloroquine. An email written by the head of human resources at X.com — later Paypal — to Mr Musk’s former business partners Peter Thiel and Max Levchin described how he was “actually only hours from death,” the biography revealed. The Tesla CEO’s mother Maye Musk described the ordeal as “terrifying”. “I remember your malaria infection very clearly. You were unconscious, yellow and shivering for days. Tubes were going in and out of you. It was a terrifying time. Modern medicine saved you,” she wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. While he was in hospital, Mr Musk’s then-colleagues found he’d taken out a life insurance policy worth $100 million on behalf of X.com. “If he had died, all of our financial problems were going to be solved,” Mr Thiel reportedly told Isaacson. Mr Musk told Isaacson: “Vacations will kill you. Also, South Africa – that place is still trying to destroy me.” The tech mogul co-founded online bank X.com in 1999. The company merged with another payment system, Confinity, which was co-founded by Thiel and Levchin, and was renamed PayPal. Isaacson was given access to the Tesla and SpaceX CEO over the past two years, which culminated in Mr Musk’s biography being published this week. The writer spoke with several figures close to Mr Musk while writing the biography, including his ex-girlfriend Grimes and his former wives Tallulah Riley and Justine Musk, as well as his estranged father. So far, the book has also claimed Musk and Grimes secretly welcomed a third child, in addition to X and their 22-month-old daughter Exa Dark Sideræl. However, it was not immediately clear when their second son, named Techno Mechanicus or “Tau”, was born. In the biography, Isaacson also writes that the tech mogul’s brother Kimbal Musk and his friends “hated” ex-girlfriend and actor Amber Heard so intensely, it “made their distaste for Justine [Musk’s first wife] pale”. One review by The New York Times said Isaacson’s biography stitches together a portrait of a Mr Musk as a “mercurial ‘man-child’”. Read More Grimes says Elon Musk was ‘clueless’ about why she was upset by C-section photo Elon Musk ‘hardly remembers’ his own ‘demon-like’ episodes, biographer claims Book Review: 'Elon Musk' offers a revealing but not surprising portrait of tech mogul Elon Musk makes prediction for imminent Starship launch Twitter rival Bluesky hits new milestone Putin praises Musk days after report Tesla boss stopped Ukrainian attack

By Tim Reid At least six Republican candidates will take part in the second 2024 Republican presidential debate

Defence Committee chair Tobias Ellwood was facing pressure after comments about the Taliban's rule.

The families of two Idaho murders victims have called for cameras to document the trial of suspect Bryan Kohberger. The families of Kayle Goncalves, 21, and Xana Kernodle, 20, broke from prosecutors and called for Mr Kohberger’s trial to be “open to the public to view and watch”. Mr Kohberger is facing the death penalty over the brutal murders of Goncalves, Kernodle and two other University of Idaho students. He is accused of breaking into an off-campus student home on King Road, Moscow, and stabbing Goncalves, Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Ethan Chapin to death with a large, military-style knife in November 2022. It comes after Mr Kohberger filed a motion on 24 August asking the judge to toss cameras from the courtroom. In the defence motion, his attorney Anne Taylor argued that past footage from his court appearances had focused heavily on his crotch. “Mr Kohberger is entitled to defend himself against capital criminal charges without cameras focused on his fly,” his attorney wrote. She added that the media had been warned back in June not to focus solely on Mr Kohberger during the court appearances – but that they had “failed” to comply. A group of media outlets have pushed back on the defence’s request motion, asking the judge to allow cameras to remain in the courtroom for his future hearings and the trial. In response, the group argued that no photographic or film coverage had focused on his fly – pointing out that an image included in the defence motion came from a social media post and not a media outlet’s coverage. “Although Mr Kohberger argues that he is ‘entitled to defend himself against capital charges without cameras focused on his fly,’ that assertion misstates the role that courtroom camera coverage played in the X social media post that appears at page 3 of his motion. No photographs or camera coverage focused on Mr. Kohberger’s ‘fly,’” it states. Prosecuting attorneys have also moved to restrict cameras. Latah County prosecuting attorney Bill Thompson asked the judge to remove cameras during the testimony of “a number of young and vulnerable witnesses,” including two surviving housemates of the four murdered students. The prosecution filed a motion stating that they were “concerned” that cameras “will have a substantial chilling effect on the ability of witnesses to openly, fully and candidly testify about some horrible occurrences.” But the families of the two murdered students have argued that cameras should be permitted in the courtroom to remove the “veil of secrecy” they feel surrounds the case. In a statement, the families said: “It is vitally important that this trial be open to the public to view and watch. “There is an enormous amount of media coverage about this case (some good, some bad) and with that comes the responsibility of the Court to ensure a fair trial. “The thing that is most overlooked in reviewing the motions filed by the State (who took no position in it’s original motion dated June 6, 2023-stating it relied on the discretion of the Court and now is taking a different position) and the Defense is faith in the justice system. “This case is surrounded by secrecy. Everything is either sealed or redacted. The family has not received any discovery on this case or any information about the facts of the case from the State.” The statement continued: “No one knows anything about the case which leads to speculation. That speculation is fueled by the secrecy surrounding everything that is filed and every hearing that is closed off to the media and the public. “Only through independent investigation has the Family been able to get some information. “So it is vitally important that the trial be viewed publicly! It is important to the victims family, relatives, community members and the public that this veil of secrecy be lifted at trial. “This not only ensures accountability for all the parties involved but also helps the public maintain it’s faith in the justice system!” they concluded. The judge will hear arguments on prohibiting cameras from being used during the public trial on 13 September. Mr Kohberger entered a not guilty plea and is asking the judge to throw out the case on the grounds of a biased grand jury, inadmissible evidence, lack of sufficient evidence, and prosecutorial misconduct by withholding exculpatory evidence. His trial had been due to start on 2 October but has now been delayed indefinitely after Mr Kohberger abruptly waived his right to a speedy trial last month. Mr Kohberger is a criminal justice PhD student at WSU. Read More Prosecutors join Bryan Kohberger’s effort to block cameras from Idaho murders trial Bryan Kohberger claims media are ‘focusing on his crotch’ as he demands court camera ban Bryan Kohberger – live: Idaho murders victims’ families react ahead of court hearing about cameras at trial

WASHINGTON The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday postponed a vote that would have begun debate on the

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s sudden decision to launch an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden appears to have won over even the most reluctant Republicans, and some GOP lawmakers are pushing for it to move quickly rather than drag into the 2024 election year

A flotilla of flimsy boats, crowded with migrants and launched from Tunisia is overwhelming a tiny Italian island south of Sicily

All discretionary spending will be stopped in plans to restore confidence in the Irish broadcaster.

Eugene "Buzzy" Peltola Jr., the husband of Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola, has died in a plane crash in Alaska, according to a statement from the congresswoman's office.

The Republican lawmaker was asked to leave a Colorado theatre for alleged disruptive behaviour.

Irish police boss Drew Harris has faced internal opposition over a number of staff issues.

With a lingering handshake and the type of bombastic language you would expect from two men trying to ignore their isolation on the world stage, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un have met for talks to prop up each other’s regimes. The North Korean leader was the most vociferous in his remarks, offering the Russian president his full support for Moscow’s “sacred fight” against “imperialism” – an obvious nod to the West and Mr Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Mr Kim added that North Korea’s relations with Russia were “the first priority”. Mr Putin said in his opening remarks that he was “very glad” to see Mr Kim. Both men need each other. For Mr Putin, the aim will be a deal for weapons and munitions to feed his war machine in Ukraine. With a counteroffensive launched by Kyiv in June, Moscow will have been chewing through artillery shells, missiles and other munitions and domestic production is struggling to keep up as Western sanctions bite. When asked if he and Mr Kim would talk about weapons supplies, Mr Putin replied that the two leaders would discuss “all issues”. For Mr Kim, his nation facing its own sanctions from the UN, there will be a push for food and other aid. The location of the meeting – the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the remote Russian region of Amur – is symbolic, with Pyongyang’s leader also after Russian technology to help its satellite and nuclear programmes. Mr Kim’s country has tried – and failed – twice to launch a military spy satellite. When asked if Russia would help the North build satellites, Mr Putin said: “That’s why we came here. The leader of [North Korea] shows great interest in rocket engineering, they are also trying to develop space.” After their talks Mr Kim was due to travel to Komsomolsk-on-Amur, where he will visit factories where civilian and military equipment is manufactured, Mr Putin told reporters. The visiting North Korean leader will also travel to Vladivostok to see the capabilities of Russia’s Pacific Fleet, he said, adding that he will be received by the Far Eastern Federal University, a facility of the Academy of Sciences of Russia, whose research laboratories are engaged in marine biology. Having travelled to Russia by armoured train, Mr Kim is due to conduct his two-city trip by plane – a departure from the travel habits of his father and predecessor Kim Jong-il, who preferred long train journeys due to his fear of flying. Mr Putin said that he had an “open exchange of opinions with Kim” and there were opportunities for tactical and strategic cooperation. According to Russian state news agency Tass, when asked about longstanding sanctions against North Korea, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: “Russia maintains its position at the UN Security Council, but this cannot and will not hinder the further development of Russian-North Korean relations.” He said the talks between the two leaders were “important and substantive” and that Russia sees opportunities to cooperate with North Korea on its space programmes, an area where the country is struggling. Mr Peskov said that Mr Putin did not raise the risk of nuclear war on the Korean peninsula. The Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, defended the idea of forging closer ties with Mr Kim in spite of UN sanctions that prohibit North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes. “Sanctions against North Korea were adopted in a completely different geopolitical situation when there were problems establishing dialogue (with Pyongyang), when there were quite serious debates in the Security Council,” Mr Lavrov told Russian TV reporter Pavel Zarubin. He blamed the West for breaking pledges of humanitarian support for Pyongyang. “We, the Chinese and the North Koreans were deceived,” Mr Lavrov said. Mr Kim and Mr Putin ended their face-to-face meeting after more than four hours, Russian media reported. An official lunch – comprising of duck salad, crab dumplings, fish soup, sturgeon with mushrooms, and last of all, a berry dessert – followed. During the lunch, Mr Putin raised his glass and said: “A toast to the future strengthening of cooperation and friendship between our countries... For the wellbeing and prosperity of our nations, for the health of the chairman and all of those present.” Mr Kim responded in kind saying: “I propose a toast to Mr Putin’s health.” Mr Putin also praised their countries’ longstanding partnership with a proverb. “In Korea, there is a proverb: good clothes are those that are new, but old friends are best friends. And our people say: an old friend is better than two new ones,” he told Mr Kim. “This folk wisdom is fully applicable to modern relations between our countries.” Before the meeting with the two leaders, both nations fired off drones and missiles. For Russia, it was part of its regular aerial assaults on Ukraine, with Kyiv’s air force saying it intercepted 32 of 44 Shahed-type drones launched over Ukraine overnight, with most aimed at the southern parts of the Odesa district. Pyongyang fired two ballistic missiles 10 minutes apart from the area of its international airport towards the country’s eastern seas, South Korea’s joint chief of staff said. Both missiles fell outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said. Japan’s Coast Guard said the missiles had already landed but still urged vessels to watch for falling objects. It is not known how the North Korean leader commands and controls his country’s missile and nuclear forces while abroad. However, analysts have said recent drills have revealed a system for overseeing nuclear weapons similar to those used in the United States and Russia. Mr Kim’s delegation is said to include his foreign minister, his top two military officials, and a number of people with connections to the country’s weapons industry, as well as representatives of the country’s space and technology sectors. Read More Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin and Kim Jong-un begin weapons talks in Vladivostok North Korea’s Kim Jong-un arrives in Russia ahead of arms deal meeting with Putin Whether Russia or the Soviet Union, a timeline of Moscow’s relations with North Korea The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary