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Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon fell by 33.6% in the first six months of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's term compared with the same period in 2022, the government says. Its suggests the rainforest shrank by 2,649 sq km this January-June, down from 3,988 sq km in those six months last year under President Bolsonaro. The released government satellite data has not been independently verified. Lula has pledged to end deforestation, or forest clearance, by 2030.

With a platform that has been echoed in state legislatures across the United States and in the halls of Congress and has received widespread condemnation from human rights groups, Ron DeSantis has championed his record of targeting LGBT+ people, particularly transgender youth. His campaign for the Republican nomination for president in 2024 is being fueled by the governor's extensive platform, which focuses on trans rights and civil liberties. He has also pledged to implement his agenda on a national scale. His campaign posted a video at the end of Pride Month that combines previous statements from his Republican opponent, Donald Trump, celebrating Pride and promising protections for LGBT+ rights. The video then cuts to a fast-paced series of headlines and comments labeling the DeSantis agenda as "draconian," a threat to "trans existence," and "totalitarianism in disguise," with a series of images and quick edits that are reminiscent of far-right and authoritarian memes. For gay right-wing influencers, pundits, and political organizations that had previously supported him, that appeared to be the final straw. A co-founder of Gays Against Groomers resigned in protest of the "extremely anti-gay" video, indicating that an anti-trans group with close ties to the DeSantis camp appears to have collapsed as a result of the video. David Leatherwood appears to be one of several recent departures from the far-right group, despite his appearance in a pro-DeSantis advertisement less than a year ago. There is speculation that blowback from the most recent video provided a pretext for now-former supporters of DeSantis to leave after poll numbers dropped. The video's message was criticized by Republicans as "divisive and desperate." In a statement, group president Charles Moran said, "This old playbook has been tried and failed – repeatedly." The team led by Ron DeSantis is unable to distinguish between gays who follow common sense and gays who follow the radical Left. Sadly, he sees them all as one. His naive policy positions pose a threat and are politically ignorant. Conservative US Rep George Santos of New York, who had vocally upheld the supposed "Don't Say Gay" bill last year, presently says he feels "utilized" by Mr DeSantis. "I used to think he was an extraordinary lead representative," he told The Slope. " I'm beginning to think differently now. -- © Copyright Asean Now 2023-07-07

A liberal fact-checker for the Washington Post gave Biden the nickname "Bottomless Pinocchio" for his claim. Once more, President Biden is going to make a claim about the federal budget deficit that has been described as "highly misleading." Biden claimed that he had reduced the federal government's budget deficit by $1.7 trillion since taking office in January 2021 during a speech on Thursday in West Columbia, South Carolina, praising the success of his administration's economic policies. "And by the way, I'd like to mention the deficit in parentheses. In two years, I reduced the deficit by $1.7 trillion. "Cutting the debt $1.7 trillion has never been done before," Biden told the gathering at Flex LTD, a manufacturing company. The same assertion has been made by Biden numerous times, and in April, Glenn Kessler, the liberal chief fact-checker for The Washington Post, gave it the rating of "Bottomless Pinocchio." Kessler gave Biden "three Pinocchios" when he made a different version of the claim in September of last year, and he called the claim "highly misleading." Kessler wrote in April, "He keeps saying it over and over again." According to our count, he has claimed credit for reducing the budget deficit by $1.7 trillion at least 30 times since June." Kessler wrote that the extra pandemic help reserves established by Biden, as well as other new strategies, caused a "more humble decrease in the shortage" than was anticipated for 2021 and 2022. "By and large, in those two years Biden expanded the public obligation about $850 billion a bigger number of than initially anticipated," he said. He continued, "In other words, the data again shows the deficit picture has worsened under Biden." -- © Copyright Asean Now 2023-07-07

State-controlled Russian television has apparently launched a campaign to smear Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin after his failed mutiny at the end of June. The media revealed that the pictures were allegedly taken during a search of his luxury home outside St Petersburg and that his wealth was bad for him. They also looked back at his criminal past and suggested he was motivated by greed, but made no mention of Prigozhin's persistent and often harsh criticism of the Russian military and its conduct in the Ukraine war. It was the first time state media had reported Prigozhin in such detail, so personal, and filled with harmful details about his biography. Until recently, Russian television showed a positive image of Wagner's mercenary group, which fought alongside Russian troops during the invasion of Ukraine. On 5 July, the state-run Rossiya 1 broadcaster released photos it said were from Prigozhin's home. A commentator on the talk show 60 Minutes said, "Let's have a look how this fighter for the truth lived, someone who has two criminal convictions and who kept claiming that everyone else was a thief." Eduard Petrov said in a sarcastic tone, "Let's have a look at the palace built for this campaigner against corruption and crime." The footage showed a wealth of cash, a variety of weapons, the opulent interiors of the house, huge gardens with a parked helicopter, a variety of wigs, and what appeared to be fake passports issued to Prigozhin under a variety of names. -- © Copyright Asean Now 2023-07-07

Twitter is considering legal action against Meta's fast-growing rival app Threads. Unveiled to millions of people on Wednesday, Threads, similar to Twitter, has been touted by the bigwigs as a “friendly” alternative. Twitter’s Elon Musk said that “competition is okay, cheating is not” — but Meta disputed in a legal letter that former Twitter employees helped create the posts. More than 30 million people have signed up for the new app, according to Meta. BBC News technology reporter James Clayton pointed out that Threads looks similar to Twitter. He said newsfeeds and retweets looked very familiar. The move was first reported by the Semafor news agency, and Twitter lawyer Alex Spiro wrote to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday, accusing Meta of being "systematic, deliberate and unlawfully misappropriating Twitter's trade secrets and other intellectual property" to create the website. Threads. Specifically, Spiro claims that Meta hired dozens of former Twitter employees who "had and continue to have access to Twitter's trade secrets and other highly confidential information," which ultimately helped Meta develop what he designated as a "copycat" threading app program. "Twitter intends to strictly enforce its intellectual property rights and requests that Meta take immediate steps to cease using Twitter's trade secrets or other highly confidential information," the letter read. "Twitter reserves all rights, including without limitation, the right to seek civil and injunctive relief without notice." In response to a Twitter post related to the legal letter, Musk said: "Competition is ok, cheating is not." On Threads, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone wrote, "No one on the Threads engineering team is an ex-Twitter employee — that's not a problem at all." -- © Copyright Asean Now 2023-07-07

CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Meta's new Threads app had 10 million sign-ups in its first seven hours. He described the app as a "friendly" competitor to Twitter, which Elon Musk bought in October. Experts said the posts could attract Twitter users unhappy with recent changes to the platform. Threads allows users to post up to 500 characters and has many Twitter-like features. Zuckerberg has previously said that ultimately "staying platform-friendly" will be key to his success. But Musk replied: "Being attacked by strangers on Twitter is much better than indulging in false happiness that hides pain on Instagram." Asked whether the app would be "bigger than Twitter," Zuckerberg said, "It will take time, but I think there should be a public conversation app for over a billion people." "Twitter had a chance and didn't take it. Hopefully we can do that." Competitors have criticized the amount of data the app can consume. According to Apple's App Store, this may include health, financial and browsing data related to the user's identity. Some users are also concerned that you cannot delete your Threads profile without deleting the associated Instagram profile. Meta told the BBC: "Currently, it is not possible to delete a Threads profile without deleting your Instagram account. We are working on resolving this. In the meantime, you can deactivate your Threads profile at any time." "Deactivating your Threads profile will not deactivate your Instagram account." Opting out means your Threads profile, posts and interactions with other people's posts will not be visible, the company added. Users can download and delete Threads data by visiting their Instagram settings, Meta said. Threads is now available for download in over 100 countries, including the UK, but not yet in the EU for regulatory reasons. -- © Copyright Asean Now 2023-07-06

Fact Check The video is nothing but another piece of social media hype, garnering eyeballs on various platforms. The truth about the video is that the man walking in the front is not the Emir of Bahrain and hence, the giant robot following close behind is not his bodyguard. It is, however, a much renowned robot named ‘Titan.’

The King of Bahrain has a Robot fully loaded Bodyguard costing $7.4 million !

Former President Trump on Wednesday lashed out at President Biden, his son Hunter Biden, Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith and the media after a suspicious white powder found at the White House over the weekend came back positive for cocaine. “Does anybody really believe that the COCAINE found in the West Wing of the White House, very close to the Oval Office, is for the use of anyone other than Hunter & Joe Biden,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “But watch, the Fake News Media will soon start saying that the amount found was ‘very small,’ & it wasn’t really COCAINE, but rather common ground up Aspirin, & the story will vanish,” Trump claimed. A suspicious white powder found in an area of the White House during a routine sweep on Sunday prompted a brief “precautionary closure” and evacuation of the building, the Secret Service said. The powder was determined to be nonhazardous and sent for further testing, which confirmed the material was cocaine. FULL STORY

Mass shootings, like the ones that occurred Monday in Philadelphia and Fort Worth, Texas – and over the weekend in Baltimore — are not uncommon around the Fourth of July. The holiday has accounted for the most mass shootings of any other days of the year in nearly a decade, according to a CNN analysis of the Gun Violence Archive’s mass shooting data since 2014. Both CNN and GVA define a “mass shooting” as a shooting that injured or killed four or more people, not including the shooter. The July 4 holiday sees the most mass shootings of any other calendar date Over nearly the last decade, there have been more than 50 mass shootings on July 4, more than any other calendar day. The second most frequent day is the day after, July 5. FULL STORY

Clinical overuse of marijuana is linked to a variety of complications after major elective surgery, including blood clots, stroke, breathing difficulties, kidney issues and even death, a new study found. Using marijuana may affect your ability to think and plan, study says “Our findings complement previous studies that have identified significant associations between cannabis use disorders and perioperative complications,” the study’s authors wrote in the report. The research team is from the department of anesthesiology, critical care and pain medicine at McGovern Medical School, part of the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. Why would this be? Smoking marijuana impacts blood flow in the brain and body, decreases respiration and body temperature, contributes to airway blockages, raises blood pressure, increases heart rate, impacts heart rhythm, and more — all of which can make recovery from surgery more difficult, according to a November 2019 review of literature. Use of marijuana also increases post-op pain, according to an October 2020 study. The new study’s finding is significant, the authors said, considering prior analyses have found nearly 3 of every 10 marijuana users develop a dependence on weed called cannabis use disorder. FULL STORY

As America celebrated its independence, while divided on the true nature of its values, it also braced for a toxic presidential campaign likely to deepen its political trauma and again push the election system to its limits. Donald Trump, for example, put on a July Fourth weekend show of force, highlighting his early dominance of the Republican race for president and the stiff task his rivals face in trying to thwart his bid to win their party’s nomination for the third time in a row. The former commander in chief drew a massive crowd at a rally in the key early state of South Carolina on Saturday, which reverberated with his false claims about election interference and over his indictment for allegedly mishandling classified documents after he left office. But the raucous event in Pickens also showed the enduring power of his personality and feral political appeal to GOP base voters. And, coupled with his lead in primary polling, it should be a warning to Democrats that the most disruptive president in modern history has a realistic chance of a White House reprise that would likely be even more tumultuous than his first term. FULL STORY

A number of Ukrainians are trying to leave country with queues at the border crossing to Moldova. Sky's international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn says that whenever the Russians accuse Ukrainians of preparing to do something, it's often a sign they're about to do it themselves. Ukraine has claimed "explosive devices" have been placed on the roof of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, as Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned of "dangerous provocations" at the facility. The Ukrainian armed forces quoted "operational data" as saying that the devices had been placed on the roof of the plant's third and fourth reactors on Tuesday, adding that an attack was possible "in the near future". Ukrainian president Mr Zelenskyy said: "Now we have information from our intelligence that the Russian troops have placed objects resembling explosives on the roof of several power units of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. "Perhaps to simulate an attack on the plant. Perhaps they have some other scenario." Read more: Ukraine war latest

Rhetoric around a potential attack at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has ramped up, with Volodymyr Zelenskyy accusing Russia of possibly planting explosives on the roof. VIDEO REPORT

The atmosphere in Jenin refugee camp feels like one I have witnessed elsewhere - in Gaza, after wars with Israel. But this is the occupied West Bank; where the dynamics are very different. Now it seems like a fast descent into something far more dangerous is already happening. The destruction in the camp following the Israeli army's biggest assault there in 20 years is massive. As hundreds of troops entered the camp on Monday morning, the army fired missiles from drones - air strikes have not been used in the West Bank for two decades - and tore up roads to clear them of what it said were militants' roadside bombs. Fierce gun battles broke out between the troops and Palestinian militants and continued until Israeli troops withdrew on Tuesday night. Now for the first time in safety since Sunday, thousands of residents pour into the streets to see the destruction themselves. FULL STORY

Instagram-owner Meta has launched its Threads app, which experts say could attract Twitter users unhappy with recent changes to the platform. The app is now available to download in over 100 countries including the UK, but not yet in the European Union because of regulatory concerns. Users can create posts of up to 500 characters, and many features are similar to those found on Twitter. But rivals have criticised the amount of data it may collect. Meta calls the new app an "initial version", with extra features planned including the ability to interact with people on some other social media apps like Mastodon. "Our vision with Threads is to take what Instagram does best and expand that to text," the firm says. Despite Threads being a standalone app, users will log in using an Instagram account. Their Instagram username will carry over, but there is an option to customize their profile specifically for Threads. FULL STORY

A U.S. District Court judge is temporarily preventing White House officials from meeting with tech companies about social media censorship, arguing that such actions in the past were likely First Amendment violations. The Tuesday injunction by Louisiana Judge Terry A. Doughty was in response to recent lawsuits from Louisiana and Missouri attorneys general. The suits allege that the White House coerced or "significantly encourage[d]" tech companies to suppress free speech during the COVID-19 pandemic. Doughty is barring several federal officials and agencies – including some of Biden's Cabinet members and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre – from contacting social media companies in efforts to suppress speech. Google, Meta and Twitter were all named in the lawsuits. FULL STORY

President Biden called on Republican lawmakers to “come to the table on meaningful, commonsense reforms” following several “tragic and senseless shootings” leading up to Independence Day. The president’s Tuesday statement comes after a slew of recent shootings, including one in Fort Worth, Texas, Monday night that left three people dead and eight wounded, a Philadelphia shooting the same night that killed five people and injured two children, and a Baltimore block party shooting Sunday that left two people dead and 28 injured. “Today, Jill and I grieve for those who have lost their lives and, as our nation celebrates Independence Day, we pray for the day when our communities will be free from gun violence,” Biden wrote in the statement. Biden called attention to the first anniversary of last year’s Fourth of July shooting in Highland Park, Ill., where seven people were killed and dozens were injured at a parade. FULL STORY

A trade war between China and the United States over the future of semiconductors is escalating. Beijing hit back Monday by playing a trump card: It imposed export controls on two strategic raw materials, gallium and germanium, that are critical to the global chipmaking industry. “We see this as China’s second, and much bigger, counter measure to the tech war, and likely a response to the potential US tightening of [its] AI chip ban,” said Jefferies analysts. Sanctioning one of America’s biggest memory chipmakers, Micron Technology (MU), in May was the first, they said. Here’s what you need to know about gallium and germanium, how they could play into the chip war and whether more countermeasures could be coming. FULL STORY

The new record beats the previous figure - set back in August 2016 - and has been put down to a combination of climate change and an emerging El Nino weather pattern. The average global temperature reached 17.01C (62.62F) on Monday, according to the US National Centres for Environmental Prediction. The figure surpasses the previous record of 16.92C (62.46F) - set back in August 2016. It comes as the southern US and China have been hit by heatwaves, while temperatures in North Africa have neared 50C (122F). Experts have blamed a combination of climate change and an emerging El Nino weather pattern. "This is not a milestone we should be celebrating," said climate scientist Friederike Otto of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment at Britain's Imperial College London. FULL STORY

A UN watchdog has said that Japan's plan to release waste water from the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea complies with international standards. The International Atomic Energy Agency says the release will have a "negligible" impact on the environment. The Fukushima facility is running out of storage space for the water, which was used to cool nuclear reactors. Japan's plan has been opposed by China and South Korea. Tokyo has not announced a schedule for the release and the plan still needs approval from a regulator. In 2011, a tsunami triggered by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake flooded three reactors of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. It is regarded as the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. FULL STORY More than 150,000 people were evacuated from an exclusion zone around the plant, which remains in place. Decommissioning of the plant has also started, but the process could take decades.

A white substance that sparked an emergency evacuation at the White House on Sunday night tested positive for cocaine. The substance was found in a work area at the secure building during a routine inspection, the US Secret Service said. The preliminary positive test was first reported by the Washington Post, citing fire and law enforcement sources. President Joe Biden and his family were away at the Camp David residence when the substance was found. The White House complex was closed as a precaution around 20:45 local time (01:45 BST) on Sunday after Secret Service officers found the white powder "inside a work area" of the West Wing, Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi told the BBC in a statement. FULL STORY

At least 43 people, including 12 children, have been injured after a missile struck the carpark of a residential building in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, local officials say. What is believed to be a Russian Iskander missile landed in the town of Pervomaisky at about 13:30 local time. Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said there were only residential buildings in the area. A one-year-old and a 10-month-old were reportedly among the injured. Mr Kostin said targeting the residential buildings amounted to another war crime from Russia. Oleg Sinegubov, the Kharkiv regional governor posted several pictures of the damaged building to Telegram. They showed smashed windows, dark smoke clouds and an overturned car. "At least half of the neighbourhood is in an uninhabitable state," Anton Orekhov, the chairman of Pervomaiskyi was quoted as saying by local media. FULL STORY

China says the UK is sheltering fugitives after Hong Kong put bounties on the heads of eight pro-democracy activists who fled the territory. The statement from its London embassy came after the UK said it would not tolerate attempts by China to silence individuals in the UK or overseas. The eight left the former British territory after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law in 2020. Hong Kong's Chief Executive John Lee said they would be "pursued for life". He urged them to give themselves up, adding that otherwise they would spend their days in fear. "British politicians have openly offered protection for fugitives," a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in London said late on Monday, condemning what it alleged was "crude interference in Hong Kong's rule of law and China's internal affairs". On Monday a bounty of HK$1m (£100,581; $127,637) was offered for the activists' arrest. FULL STORY