Dorsey’s gushing thread on Sunday came after a 10-day silent Vipassana meditation retreat near Mandalay in which he praised the country’s food, beauty and its people, whom he said were “full of joy”.

The comments drew heat online for leaving out any discussion of atrocities committed against Myanmar’s Rohingya minority during a military crackdown last year that drove more than 720,000 people into Bangladesh camps.

Critics piled into the tech mogul for being “tone deaf” at a time when the UN has said Myanmar’s generals should be investigated for genocide.

    In a series of tweets, Dorsey defended his actions but conceded he could have handled the situation better.

“I’m aware of the human rights atrocities and suffering in Myanmar. I don’t view visiting, practicing, or talking with the people, as endorsement,” he said.

“I didn’t intend to diminish by not raising the issue, but could have acknowledged that I don’t know enough and need to learn more.”

Dorsey said he has been a long-time meditator and wanted to travel to Buddhist-majority Myanmar where Vipassana is practised in its “original form”.

Twitter is not nearly as popular in Myanmar as Facebook, which has been accused of not doing enough to control hate speech that fueled anti-Rohingya and anti-Muslim sentiment.

But hate speech during the Rohingya crisis also spilled over onto the micro-messaging site, which is facing similar allegations over hosting toxic content in countries where it is more broadly used.

Dorsey batted away speculation that there was a business twist to the visit, saying he had no conversations with the government during his trip, and described the platform as a way to raise awareness about human rights issues.

“Twitter is a way for people to share news and information about events in Myanmar as well as to bear witness to the plight of the Rohingya and other peoples and communities,” he said.

It is not the first time the travelling tech whizz has stirred outrage online.

On a trip to India in November, Dorsey was accused of inciting hatred against the highest caste after he was photographed holding a poster declaring “smash Brahminical patriarchy”.

The villagers initially thought the giant snake, which was resting by the river, was just an old log before one of them touched the serpent, triggering it into action.

The November 22 video, shot by villager Ronal Efendi Coto, shows the man fighting as others try to pry him loose from the python’s notorious death grip.

After calling for help and managing to subdue the serpent, the men put it into a cage in Pucuang Anam village in Sumatra and asked a local zoo for assistance.

But the zoo declined to take in the python, citing overcapacity. “For now we are just keeping it in the cage so people can come and have a look”, Coto told AFP, adding that the snake was eight meters (26 feet) long.

Pythons are some of the largest snakes in the world, but are not known to measure more than seven meters in the wild.

In June, an Indonesian woman was found dead inside in the belly of a giant python after it was captured near where she vanished while tending her vegetable garden on Sulawesi island.

But former secretary and real estate agent Janet Wong Li Yoong, 52, has a chockful of ideas about what to do with unwanted items. She upcycles them into new materials and better quality products. She believes in doing her bit to save Planet Earth and reduce the mountains of garbage. Besides, she can earn some money and be happy!

Wong uses waste materials to make jewellery and house decor items, when she has time on her hands. She enjoys “the challenge of repurposing items from empty perfume bottles, forks and spoons, sea shells, beach stones, scrap metals, keys, locks, glass tiles, broken ceramic pieces, buttons and other discards that people deem useless” and turns what’s worthless into works of art.

Upcycled items, Wong said, are still not popular yet. However, some Malaysians are working hard to educate people about upcycled products.

These cute robots make quirky table-top decorative items.

Upcycled items, she said, remind us of the need to create a culture of mindfulness towards others and our environment.

She sells her designer items and pre-loved branded items via the website, Carousell, a smartphone- and web-based consumer-to-consumer marketplace for buying and selling new and second-hand goods. She was introduced to this online platform by her daughter who has had positive experiences selling second-hand items here.

Wong finds Carousell to be very user-friendly as it allows her to easily track items that are most viewed and liked by users. This, in turn, enables her to create more artistic items that would attract buyers.

“At Carousell, I did get to sell some pre-loved branded and vintage items,” she said.

“Previously, I sold my items at bazaars but last November, I stopped after I broke my left arm. Until now, I still cannot carry heavy things although my left arm is 90% recovered. However, I’m blessed that I can still use both hands for craftwork,” she said.

Trinkets

Janet Wong’s daughter Sophia Low models fabric cuff bracelets made from scraps of jeans and other items.

When she was a real estate agent, she felt very stressed out even though she could make more money. “In this line, I saw people fighting for buyers. I also disliked the job because of the frequently travelling,” she said.

“At my age, I don’t think I want to work for others.”

Even though selling handcrafted items doesn’t make much money, she said, she felt more comfortable and has more time to take care of her pet dog and three cats which include one recently rescued in the rain. A kind soul, she also feeds five neutered stray cats in her garden.

From ideas to final products

Wong’s design concepts are based on nature, environment and daily living. Her craftwork involves a lot of mix and match.

She makes upcycled jewellery like necklaces and earrings as well as accessories. She also makes house décor items from old keys or unwanted wire racks.

A hotseller seems to be cute robots made with old door knobs and other stuff. She said: “When I uploaded a photo of a robot I just made, it was quickly snapped up.” A memorable robot with “red hair”, Street Dancer, was bought by a friend.

Even scraps of materials such as pieces cut from old jeans can be turned into accessories like fabric cuff bracelets. Her new creations, she said, were inspired by her late maternal grandmother who loved to sew and knit.

“She was still knitting and sewing at the age of 93. She passed away at 103 a few years ago,” Wong said.

Wong is a handyman of sorts using recycled materials. She said: “I learnt mostly from YouTube or tutorial books.”

Lately, she has been creating wire-wrapped jewellery, which are among the most saleable items. In fact, one day she posted an antique coin pendant – and got commissioned work to wire-wrap a collector’s antique coins, which she turned into wearable pendants.

Well, someone’s junk can be Wong’s gems. In her skilful hands, she can magically turn them into dazzling pieces – from cute robots to edgy steampunk jewellery!

To check out Wong’s upcycled craftworks, go to: https://my.carousell.com/jeanninehandmade

    Some 350 people, including police, troops and helicopters were on the heels of the attacker who had “sowed terror” in the city, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said.

The killer opened fire at around 8pm (1900 GMT) on one of the city’s busiest streets, sending crowds of evening shoppers fleeing for safety.

Castaner said the gunman had killed three people and wounded 12.

    Soldiers patrolling the area as part of regular anti-terror operations exchanged fire with the suspect and wounded him, but could not stop him escaping, police sources said. A soldier was slightly injured by a ricohet from a shot by the gunman.

Castaner also said France had raised its security alert level to “emergency attack” with “the implementation of reinforced border controls and tightened controls on all Christmas markets in France to avoid the risk of a copycat” attack.

The gunman has been identified and was on a watchlist of suspected extremists, a statement from local security services said.

France’s security forces, already on high alert after a series of terror attacks since 2015, are particularly stretched at the moment due to anti-government protests that have swept the country.

“I heard shooting and then there was pandemonium,” one witness, who gave his name as Fatih, told AFP. “People were running everywhere.”

He said he had seen three people injured on the ground only a few metres (feet) from the giant Christmas tree in the centre of the city.

Shortly after the shooting, lines of police vehicles and ambulances streamed into the market area, under festive lights declaring the city the “capital of Christmas.”

“We heard several shots, three perhaps, and we saw people running,” one witness told AFP, asking not to be named.

“One of them fell down, I don’t know whether it was because she was tripped up or if she was hit,” the witness said.

President Emmanuel Macron expressed on Twitter the solidarity of the whole nation after holding a crisis meeting with cabinet officials in Paris.

– Known to police –

Two separate security sources told AFP on condition of anonymity that the shooter was believed to be a 29-year-old from the city, whose name was given as Cherif, and who was set to be arrested on Tuesday morning.

He was being investigated over an attempted murder, one of the sources said.

Several areas neighbouring the Christmas market were sealed off on Tuesday night and residents were being told to stay indoors.

Many people took refuge in local restaurants and bars which pulled down their shutters.

“We let everyone inside, down into the wine cellar. They’re locked in there,” local restaurant owner Mouad, 33, told AFP.

A police source, again speaking on condition of anonymity, said security forces had opened fire in an area of the city where the suspect was thought to be hiding.

The source did not give the address and it was unclear if the shooter had been located.

Specialist anti-terror prosecutors have opened an investigation into the incident in Strasbourg, which lies on the border with Germany.

Several residents of the city have been detained in recent years for trying to reach jihadist groups in Syria, or have been arrested upon their return.

“Shocked and saddened by the terrible attack in Strasbourg. My thoughts are with all of those affected and with the French people,” British Prime Minister Theresa May wrote on Twitter.

– Tourist attraction –

The Strasbourg-based European Parliament was also on lockdown, with MEPs, staff and journalists unable to leave the building.

In a parliament bar usually reserved for MEPs, EU commissioners, powerful legislators and staffers huddled in small groups waiting for developments.

“Our first thought was for colleagues who had already made it to the centre of town, who are safe,” Belgian MEP Kathleen Van Brempt told AFP. “Now we just wait.”

The Christmas market in Strasbourg and the city’s illuminations are an annual attraction that draws hundreds of thousands of people.

Security has been stepped up in recent years after a series of attacks in France by Islamist gunmen and the Strasbourg market was long considered a possible target.

In 2016, a 23-year-old Tunisian killed 12 and injured 48 others when he ploughed a truck into a Christmas market in Berlin in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

Special anti-terror army units have been deployed in Strasbourg, and soldiers and armed police are regularly seen patrolling among the 300 wooden Christmas market chalets.

Three years after groups of jihadists gunned down and blew up 130 people in Paris on November 13, 2015, French counter-terror officials say their focus has shifted.

Rather than coordinated attacks, their main concern is attacks by “lone wolves” — self-radicalised individuals acting without links to terror groups such as Islamic State.

Most recently a 20-year-old Chechnya-born man went on a knife rampage in central Paris last May, killing one man and injuring four other people on a Saturday night.

A total of 246 people have been killed in terror attacks in France since 2015, according to an AFP toll.

Here is what we know about the attack:

​​​​​​– An hour of terror –

Around 7:50 pm (1850 GMT) Tuesday, a lone man opened fire several times in the centre of Strasbourg, which every year holds a Christmas market, drawing in huge crowds of shoppers and tourists.

    The suspect was quickly identified as a 29-year-old man born in Strasbourg and already known to the police.

He “sowed terror (…) at three points in the city,” Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said.

“Soldiers of the Sentinelle force used their weapons to try to intercept the assailant, and between 8:20 pm and 9:00 pm he twice confronted our security forces with systematic exchanges of fire,” he said, referring to soldiers deployed under the country’s anti-terror operation, in place since attacks in 2015.

In his attack, the man killed three people and wounded 11 others, five seriously and six slightly, before fleeing and rushing into a taxi, according to a source close to the investigation.

The taxi driver, unscathed, told police the suspect was injured.

The military reported that a soldier was also lightly wounded by the ricochet of a shot from the attacker.

The busy Christmas market site had been under close surveillance due to the high jihadist threat, especially since it was the target of a planned attack in December 2000.

– Known to security services –

The suspect was well known to the authorities and had been convicted in France and Germany and served his sentences, the minister said.

In 2016 he was flagged by anti-terrorist services, according to a source close to the investigation.

He had been reported by the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI) intelligence agency during a visit to prison where he was noted for violence and religious proselytism, according to the source.

Before the attack on Tuesday, the fugitive was already wanted for armed robbery, according to a source close to the case, while another source said he was linked to an investigation of attempted homicide.

Earlier the same day, police had searched his home but found no trace of him.

While his precise motives remain to be established, the anti-terrorist prosecutor has found sufficient clues to open an investigation for “assassinations and attempted assassinations in connection with a terrorist enterprise”.

Paris public prosecutor Remy Heitz was due to speak on Wednesday, Castaner said.

– Troops and police –

Significant resources have been deployed to track down the fugitive.

On the ground, 350 people have been mobilised, including 100 police personnel supported by two helicopters, officers from elite units, and also soldiers of Operation Sentinelle, which protect sensitive places which could be terrorism targets, the minister said.

After raising the security alert level to “emergency attack”, the minister announced reinforced border controls.

Additional resources were also to be sent to Strasbourg which would be under strengthened surveillance.