Joe Biden Compares Maui Wildfires To A Small Fire He Had In His Kitchen

US President Joe Biden on Monday met the survivors of the Maui wildfires. He told the survivors that he could relate to their plight because he and First Lady Jill Biden knew what it was like to lose a home to a fire.

The 80-year-old president was trying to console the survivors by invoking a small kitchen fire in 2004 at his residence in Delaware.

"I don't want to compare difficulties, but we have a little sense, Jill and I, of what it was like to lose a home," Mr Biden said. "Years ago, now, 15 years, I was in Washington doing 'Meet the press'... Lightning struck at home on a little lake outside the home, not a lake a big pond. It hit the wire and came up underneath our home, into the...air condition ducts."

He added, "To make a long story short, I almost lost my wife, my 67 Corvette, and my cat."

Mr Biden added that firefighters who responded "ran into flames to save my wife and save my family. Not a joke."

NEW: President Biden once again tries to make the Maui fire that killed ~500 people about himself by telling a story about how he almost lost his corvette in a house fire.

You can always count on Biden to tell a story that didn't happened.

“I don't want to compare difficulties,… pic.twitter.com/FI4bR85erR

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 22, 2023

The Maui wildfires, deadliest in over a century, caused widespread destruction on Aug. 8 killing at least 114 people.

The US President made a 13-minute speech to a group of survivors in Lahaina- the city destroyed by flames.

People on the internet accused the president of being insensitive to the tragedy of Maui.

Mr Biden is fighting criticism his government was too slow to respond to the disaster that devastated a town of more than 12,000 people, with locals angry at what some see as a plodding official response.

Residents have also lashed out at Maui officials who they say should have sounded an alarm system as the fire erupted.

As a result, "a warm welcome may not be assured for Biden in some circles on Maui," the Honolulu Star-Advertiser newspaper said ahead of the visit.

Biden and First Lady Jill Biden walked through the ravaged remains of Lahaina with Hawaii's Governor Josh Green and his wife, nearly two weeks after ferocious, wind-whipped blazes sent residents jumping into the ocean to escape the flames.

The couple also took to the air in Marine One, the presidential helicopter, to see the crushing extent of the devastation that left the former royal capital in ashes.

Many houses were completely destroyed by the wall of fire that tore through the town; the shells of other buildings still stand, shorn of the vibrancy that made Lahaina a major tourist draw.

The burned-out hulks of cars litter roads where they were abandoned by drivers who realised -- some too late -- that the way out was snarled with traffic.

 

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Video: Millionaire Accuses Partner Of Cheating During Engagement Party

An Italian millionaire banker's speech has gone viral after he accused his fiance of cheating on him during a lavish party to celebrate their engagement.

Massimo Segre, a 64-year-old banker and a board member of the Domani newspaper stood up to give a toast at the banquet held at his Turin mansion, last week. The event had 150 high-society guests to celebrate his engagement to entrepreneur Cristina Seymandi, 47.

"I want to give Cristina the freedom to love," Mr Segre said in his speech, which he had written in the form of a letter, according to a translation from The Sunday Times."Specifically, to love another person; a notable lawyer, who she clearly cares about more than me."

"Dear Cristina, I know how much you are in love with him mentally and sexually," he added, according to The Sunday Times. "And I know that before him you had a relationship with an industrialist acquaintance."

"And I know that before him, you were in a relationship with a well-known industrialist. Do not think that I am pleased to look like a cuckold in front of all of you," he continued.

He also accused Ms Seymandi of lying and turning him against his children from another marriage.

"She is so good at telling her truths, that I could not let her be the only one to explain why I am ending our relationship tonight," he said.

"Dear Cristina, go to Mykonos with your lawyer. Be happy with him, it's all paid for, just like the trip to Vietnam."

The shaky video of the speech has gone viral on the internet. The video shows Ms Seymandi in shock as her fiance delivered the speech before walking off.

According to the Independent, the couple had been engaged for three years.

Ms Seymandi told Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera, "When he started talking, I thought it was a joke. Then I was petrified. It was an act of abhorrent violence."

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"Not to mention the comments on social networks with obscene words and phrases. If the same thing had happened but with the roles reversed, the reactions would have been very different. But I am a woman, and in this world, that makes a big difference."

An advisor for Seymandi has now said that legal action could take place, the Times reported.

"Very probably Seymandi will be taking legal action for reputational damage," Luca Poma told The Times. "She has suffered very serious attacks on social media and threats from Italian citizens. It has been traumatic."

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Video: All 8 Stuck In Pakistan Cable Car Stranded Mid-Air Rescued

Military helicopters and zipline experts on Tuesday rescued eight people, including six school children, trapped for hours in a stricken cable car high above a remote Pakistan valley.

The daring rescue began with a helicopter plucking two children to safety after almost 12 hours in the air as daylight faded, but the chopper was forced back to base in the dark.

Then rescuers used the cable keeping the gondola from plunging into the valley as a zipline to rescue the rest of those stranded late into Tuesday night.

"The rescue operation has been completed. The two adults were the last to be rescued," Bilal Faizi, from the Pakistan emergency service Rescue 1122.

The military confirmed the rescue efforts had successfully concluded.

A video of the first rescue showed a teenager in a harness hanging at the bottom of a swinging rope under a helicopter as crowds cheered with relief.

Rescuers set up a temporary camp on a mountaintop and were providing first aid, Faizi said.

The six children had been on their way to school when the chairlift broke down at around 7:00 am (0200 GMT) midway through its journey, hanging above the lush green Allai valley.

Residents used mosque loudspeakers to alert neighbourhood officials of the emergency and hundreds of people gathered on both sides of the ravine -- hours away from any sizeable town -- to watch the drama unfold.

Several military helicopters had earlier in the day flown sorties and an airman was lowered by a harness to deliver food, water and medicine, Rehman, the official, told AFP.

"Great team work by the military, rescue departments, district administration as well as the local people," caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar posted on X.

He earlier issued a directive for all chairlifts in mountainous areas to be inspected and for those that are not safe to be immediately closed.

"What can they do?"

Earlier in the day, as the rescue operation unfolded, headmaster Ali Asghar Khan told AFP by phone that the children were teenage boys and students at his government high school Battangi Pashto.

"The school is located in a mountainous area and there are no safe crossings, so it's common to use the chairlift," Khan said.

"The parents are gathered at the site of the chairlift. What can they do? They are waiting for the rescue officials to get their children out. We are all worried."

Abid Ur Rehman, a teacher from another school in the area, said around 500 people had gathered to watch the rescue mission.

"Parents and women are crying for the safety of their children," he told AFP.

Syed Hammad Haider, a senior Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial official, said the gondola was hanging about 1,000 to 1,200 feet above the ground.

Cable cars that carry passengers -- and sometimes even cars -- are common across the northern areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and Gilgit-Baltistan, and are vital in connecting villages and towns in areas where roads cannot be built.

In 2017, 10 people were killed when a chairlift cable broke, sending passengers plunging into a ravine in a mountain hamlet near the capital Islamabad.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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"I Don't Want...": Sunny Deol On Bank Of Baroda's Property Auction Notice

Bollywood actor Sunny Deol on Tuesday refused to comment on Bank of Baroda's property auction notice and said that I do not want to comment as these are personal matters.

Bank of Baroda the state-owned bank was set to put on auction the property owned by actor and BJP Member of Parliament Sunny Deol to recover Rs 56 crore.

"I do not want to comment. These are personal matters. Main kuch bhi bolunga, log galat matlab nikalenge," Sunny Deol said.

Meanwhile, Bank of Baroda has cited two major "technical" reasons as to why it withdrew the auction notice of actor-cum-parliamentarian Sunny Deol's property in Mumbai.

Earlier it withdrew the sale notice published citing "technical reasons".

"First, the total dues did not specify the exact quantum of dues to be recovered. Secondly, the sale notice was based on a symbolic possession of the property as per Rule 8(6) of The Security Interest (Enforcement) Rules 2002. An application has been made for physical possession by the Bank with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate on 01st August'2023, which is pending for permission," a Bank of Baroda spokesperson said in a statement.

"Since the unit is running as conveyed to us by the borrower, sale action will be initiated as per the provisions of the SARFAESI Act, once the physical possession is taken," the spokesperson said.

In the meantime, the bank said the borrower has approached the lender for settling the dues as per the sale notice published on Sunday, "where the borrower/guarantors were notified that they are entitled to redeem the securities by paying the outstanding dues/costs/charges and expenses at any time before the sale is conducted."

Citing these as reasons, the sale notice is withdrawn as per the normal industry practice followed in other cases as well, the spokesperson added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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China's Economy, World's Second-Largest, In Deep Distress: Report

China's economy, the world's second-largest, is now in deep distress and its successful model of growth for 40 years stands "broken", a prominent American financial publication has said, noting that signs of trouble extend beyond China's dismal economic data to distant provinces.

The Wall Street Journal in a major Sunday story wrote that economists now believe China is entering an era of much slower growth, made worse by unfavourable demographics and a widening divide with the US and its allies, which is jeopardising foreign investment and trade.

Rather than just a period of economic weakness, this could be the dimming of a long era, it commented.

"Now the (economic) model is broken," the financial daily said.

"We're witnessing a gearshift in what has been the most dramatic trajectory in economic history," Adam Tooze, a Columbia University history professor who specialises in economic crises, was quoted as saying by the Wall Street Journal.

According to the report, the total debt, including that held by various levels of government and state-owned companies, climbed to nearly 300 per cent of China's GDP as of 2022, surpassing US levels and up from less than 200 per cent in 2012, according to Bank for International Settlements data.

In Beijing's corridors of power, senior officials have recognised that the growth model of past decades has reached its limits, the daily wrote.

In a blunt speech to a new generation of party leaders last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping took aim at officials for relying on borrowing for construction to expand economic activities, it added.

"Some people believe that development means investing in projects and scaling up investments," Xi said, warning: "You can't walk the old path with new shoes." Xi and his team so far have done little to shift away from the country's old growth model, the financial daily wrote.

China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 5.5 per cent year-on-year in the first half (H1) of 2023, the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in June.

China's GDP reached 59.3 trillion yuan (about 8.3 trillion US dollars) in the first half, according to the NBS data. In the second quarter, the country's GDP expanded 6.3 per cent year on year, China's official media quoted the NBS as saying.

Meanwhile, China on Monday also trimmed for the second time this year its one-year loan prime rate (LPR) by 10 basis points from 3.55 per cent to 3.45 per cent and did not change the five-year rate, which stands at 4.20 per cent, to revive economic growth in the world's second-largest economy after that of the United States.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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London's Iconic 'India Club' Loses Demolition Battle, To Shut Down On...

The India Club in London, with its early roots in the Indian independence movement as a hub for nationalists, is to shut down next month after losing a protracted battle against closure, it emerged on Monday.

The historic meeting venue and eatery, which had won its battle to prevent the building in the heart of London's Strand from demolition a few years ago, was served a notice by the landlords to make way for a more modernised hotel.

Proprietors Yadgar Marker and his daughter Phiroza launched a "Save India Club" appeal as they fought to keep it going but have now announced its impending closure.

"It is with a very heavy heart that we announce the closure of the India Club, with our last day open to the public on September 17," they said.

The India Club has its roots in the India League, which campaigned for Indian independence in Britain, with its founding members including Krishna Menon - who went on to become the first Indian High Commissioner to the UK.

As well as housing one of the UK's early Indian restaurants, the Club quickly transformed into a hub for a rapidly growing British South Asian community in the aftermath of Indian independence and Partition.

"Since its opening over 70 years ago, the India Club has been a home-away-from-home for 1st generation immigrants from the Indian subcontinent, as well as a community space for Indo-British groups," said Phiroza, who has been helping out her father at the Club since childhood.

"Menon intended the India Club to be a place where young Indian professionals living on a shoestring could afford to eat, discuss politics, and plan their futures," noted Parvathi Raman, Founding Chair of the Centre for Migration and Diaspora Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), when she worked on the exhibition 'A Home Away from Away: The India Club' in 2019, curated by the UK's conservation charity National Trust.

The Club, which has functioned as an Indian restaurant on the Strand near the Indian High Commission since 1946, is located on the first floor of the 26-room Strand Continental Hotel.

The freeholder of the building, Marston Properties, had earlier put in an application with Westminster City Council for a "partial demolition" to create a new hotel. The application was unanimously turned down by the Council in August 2018, noting the venue's importance as a cultural institution in the heart of London.

Senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor took to social media to lament the closure announcement, given his journalist father Chandran Tharoor's connection with the historic venue.

I am sorry to hear that the India Club, London, is to close permanently in September. As the son of one of its founders, I lament the passing of an institution that served so many Indians (and not only Indians) for nearly three-quarters of a century. For many students,… pic.twitter.com/bwyOB1zqIu

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) August 19, 2023

"As the son of one of its founders, I lament the passing of an institution that served so many Indians (and not only Indians) for nearly three-quarters of a century.

"For many students, journalists and travellers, it was a home away from home, offering simple and good quality Indian food at affordable prices as well as a convivial atmosphere to meet and maintain friendships," he posted on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

It triggered a flood of responses from people expressing their sadness at the loss of a slice of British Indian history in London.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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JLo And Ben, Sealed With A Kiss And A Poem. See Her Anniversary Post

Jennifer Lopez's first-anniversary post for her husband Ben Affleck is poetically beautiful. The Boy Next Door star, who got married a year back at the Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, celebrated her first anniversary by posting pictures from their wedding alongside a sweet poem. In the picture, the stars can be seen smiling heartily with Ben Affleck holding the actress in his arms. The second picture has them sharing a kiss. "One year ago today…Dear Ben, Sitting here alone. Looking at my ring ring. Feeling overwhelmed. It makes me wanna sing sing. How did we end up here? Without a rewind. Oh my. This is my life, Jennifer," read Jlo's caption.

Take a look at it here:

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A post shared by Jennifer Lopez (@jlo)

Last Saturday, Jennifer Lopez shared a set of pictures on her Instagram profile. The post was a photo dump from August featuring herself and her friends. JLo's husband Ben Affleck was MIA from the post. However, Jennifer Lopez made up for it by wearing a necklace with his name on it. She captioned the post, "This Is...August (so far)." The comments section of the post was flooded with comments like, "She's an icon" and "Love the Ben necklace." Another comment read, "Lookin gorgeous in August, Mrs Affleck." Another one added, "You are a star in any room you stand in."

Check out JLo's post here:

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A post shared by Jennifer Lopez (@jlo)

On her husband Ben Affleck's birthday earlier this week, Jennifer Lopez shared this video for him, and she simply captioned it, "Dear Ben ... Happy Birthday. I love you."

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A post shared by Jennifer Lopez (@jlo)

Jennifer Lopez married Ben Affleck last year. The Gigli co-stars were engaged back in 2002. However, it ended in a split two years later. JLo and Ben Affleck were previously married to and are divorced from Marc Anthony and Jennifer Garner, respectively. JLo was previously dating Alex Rodriguez, while Ben Affleck was with actress Ana de Armas.

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