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Zuckerberg and Musk throw verbal jabs over proposed cage match

Zuckerberg and Musk trade online jabs, charity cage match dispute continues.

Meta founder calls Musk unserious, Musk responds with taunts. Italy considered for event.

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1 year ago

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WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES — Billionaires and social media business rivals Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk threw new online jabs at each other Sunday, with the Meta founder declaring the owner of X — formerly known as Twitter — was not treating a proposed charity cage match seriously.

“I think we can all agree Elon isn’t serious and it’s time to move on,” Zuckerberg wrote on his Threads social platform.

“I offered a real date… Elon won’t confirm a date, then says he needs surgery, and now asks to do a practice round in my backyard instead.”

Musk quickly responded on X, the platform he bought last year that was previously called Twitter.

“Zuck is a chicken,” Musk posted.

The Tesla boss said he would head to Silicon Valley Monday: “Can’t wait to bang on his door tomorrow.”

When an X user suggested Zuckerberg was getting cold feet about the match, Musk referred to a popular US fast food chain known for its chicken offerings.

“He can’t eat at Chick-fil-A because that would be cannibalism,” Musk posted.

The two tech titans have gone back and forth on social media about fighting each other in a much-hyped charity match.

Musk said Friday the fight would take place in Italy, as authorities there confirmed talks about hosting a “great charity event.”

“I spoke to the PM of Italy and Minister of Culture,” Musk wrote, referring to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. “They have agreed on an epic location.”

In response, Zuckerberg posted a photo of himself shirtless and pinning down an opponent in his “backyard octagon.”

A martial arts enthusiast who has taken part in jiujitsu competitions, Zuckerberg said, “I love this sport and I’ve been ready to fight since the day Elon challenged me.”

“If he ever agrees on an actual date, you’ll hear it from me. Until then, please assume anything he says has not been agreed on.”

Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano confirmed speaking to Musk about “how to organize a great charity event evoking history” but said any match “will not be held in Rome.”

Sangiuliano said any event with Musk would raise “a huge sum, many millions of euros, (that) will be donated to two important Italian pediatric hospitals.”

The two tech tycoons, who have occasionally jousted from afar, became direct competitors after Zuckerberg’s Meta launched its Twitter-like Threads platform in early July.

Musk noted on Friday that he may need to undergo “minor surgery” to resolve a “problem with my right shoulder blade rubbing against my ribs.”

“Recovery will only take a few months,” he added.

The world’s richest person has a titanium plate holding two vertebrae together but said Friday it is currently “not an issue.”

— AFP

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International

Team Liquid wins The International 13 Dota 2 Championship, defeats Gaimin Gladiators 3-0

Team Liquid won The International 13 Dota 2 championship, defeating Gaimin Gladiators 3-0 in the grand final. The victory secured Liquid’s second TI title and over US$1.15 million in prize money, with Neta “33” Shapira becoming a two-time champion.

Published

3 hours ago

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16 September 2024

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Team Liquid has claimed the title of world champions at The International 13 (TI13) Dota 2 tournament, defeating Gaimin Gladiators 3-0 in the grand final. Despite entering the match as underdogs due to their history of losing grand finals, especially against Gaimin Gladiators, Liquid delivered a dominant performance to secure their second TI victory.

Dota 2, a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game developed by Valve, is one of the most popular esports titles in the world. In this competitive game, two teams of five players each battle to destroy the opposing team’s base, known as the “Ancient,” while defending their own. The International, Dota 2’s premier annual tournament, is widely regarded as one of the largest and most prestigious events in the esports industry.

Liquid, one of the favourites going into the event, dispelled doubts with their commanding win. This marks their second International title, the first being in 2017, and the first with their current roster. Neta “33” Shapira became one of the few players to win the tournament twice, having previously triumphed with Tundra Esports in 2022.

For their triumph, Team Liquid not only raised the coveted Aegis of Champions but also took home over US$1.15 million. Gaimin Gladiators, the runners-up, earned just over US$358,000.

Throughout the tournament, Liquid demonstrated exceptional form. They only suffered one loss during the group stage and the seeding decider phases, going on to deliver one of the most dominant performances in the history of The International. Liquid did not lose a single game in the playoff bracket, making their path to the championship flawless.

In the final, Liquid started strong despite Gaimin’s momentum after defeating Tundra Esports in the lower bracket final earlier that day. Though the 3-0 scoreline did not live up to the epic expectations of many fans, Liquid’s decisive victory brought immense satisfaction to their supporters, who had long awaited their team breaking a string of grand final losses.

Coach William Lee delivered an emotional speech after the win, expressing gratitude for the team’s perseverance through difficult years: “I feel like they took a chance on a guy who’s never coached a winning team before. We had so many losses… I’m just so glad that people like Zai, Nisha, and Boxi took a chance on us,” Lee said.

The final, while not as close as some anticipated, offered fans a deeply rewarding conclusion. After years of near-misses in major tournaments, Team Liquid finally broke their grand final curse on the biggest stage of all.

Their commanding victory, combined with their beloved status in the Dota 2 community, led to an outpouring of emotion, with many fans visibly in tears as they witnessed Liquid lift the Aegis.

Liquid’s unprecedented dominance throughout the playoffs only added to the historic nature of their win, which will go down as one of the most satisfying and celebrated moments in Dota 2 history.

The International 2024, also known as TI 13, was the thirteenth edition of Dota 2’s premier esports tournament, held in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Six teams were directly invited, while ten teams qualified through regional tournaments. Two teams each came from Western Europe, China, Southeast Asia, and South America, while Eastern Europe and North America each sent one team.

The base prize pool of the tournament was set at US$1.6 million, with an additional US$963,967 added from 25% of all Compendium sales, bringing the total prize pool to over US$2.5 million.

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International

UN agency for Palestine refugees reports six staff killed in Israeli airstrike on Gaza school

An Israeli airstrike on a school in Gaza has killed six UNRWA staff members. The Israeli military claimed the school was being used by Hamas for military purposes, while the UNRWA condemned the strike and called for the protection of civilian infrastructure.

Published

2 days ago

on

13 September 2024

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(Photo: X/UNRWA)

Six employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a school in central Gaza, the agency has reported.

The al-Jaouni school in the Nuseirat refugee camp, which shelters thousands of displaced Palestinians, was struck on Wednesday (12 Sept).

Gaza’s Hamas-run Civil Defence agency reported a total of 18 deaths in the attack.

Among those killed were the manager of the UNRWA shelter and other team members who were assisting displaced people.

The UNRWA stated that this was the highest single-incident death toll among its staff since the conflict began and revealed that this was the fifth time the school had been hit since the start of the war.

The school is home to approximately 12,000 displaced individuals, mainly women and children.

Since the beginning of the assault on 7 October, at least 220 UNRWA staff members have been killed in Gaza.

In response to the attack, the UNRWA condemned the strike, stating, “No one is safe in Gaza. No one is spared.”

The agency emphasized the need to protect schools and other civilian infrastructure, declaring, “They are not a target,” and reiterated its call for all parties to refrain from using schools or their surroundings for military purposes.

Israel’s military acknowledged responsibility for the airstrike, claiming it was a “precise strike on terrorists” who were allegedly operating from the school.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that the strike targeted a Hamas command and control center embedded within the school.

The IDF also claimed that steps had been taken to minimize civilian harm, including using precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and intelligence gathering.

The IDF accused Hamas of systematically using civilian infrastructure for military purposes, in violation of international law.

They alleged that nine of those killed were members of Hamas’s armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, including three who also worked for the UNRWA.

Israel called on the UNRWA to provide details of the workers killed in the strike, claiming no response had been given.

In response, UNRWA communications director Juliette Touma stated that the Israeli military had not requested a list of the staff who were killed.

She also noted that the names published by the Israeli military had not previously been flagged to the agency by Israeli authorities.

Touma reiterated that UNRWA regularly shares staff lists with host governments, including Israel as the occupying power in Gaza.

Touma further emphasized that UNRWA had consistently called for independent investigations into claims that civilian infrastructure was being used for military purposes.

She said the agency could not independently verify whether the school was being used by Hamas.

UN Secretary General António Guterres condemned the airstrike, calling it a violation of international humanitarian law.

“What’s happening in Gaza is totally unacceptable,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday (12 Sept).

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, rejected Guterres’ remarks, defending Israel’s actions as part of a “just war against terrorism.”

The escalation of violence follows Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on 7 October, which left approximately 1,200 people dead and led to the abduction of 251 Israelis who were taken to Gaza as hostages.

Since the conflict began, more than 41,000 people have been killed in Gaza, including nearly 16,500 children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

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