UNITED STATES
Down syndrome Barbie made
Toy company Mattel on Tuesday revealed its first Barbie doll representing a person with Down syndrome. Mattel collaborated with the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) to create the Barbie and “ensure the doll accurately represents a person with Down syndrome,” the company said. Design features of the new Barbie were made under guidance from the society, Mattel said. In addition to portraying some physical characteristics of a person with Down syndrome, the Barbie’s clothing and accessories carry special meaning. The blue and yellow on the doll’s dress, accompanied by butterflies, represent symbols and colors associated with Down syndrome awareness, while the three chevrons on the Barbie’s necklace represent how people with Down syndrome have three copies of their 21st chromosome, Mattel said. In addition, the Barbie wears ankle foot orthotics, which some children with Down syndrome use. “This means so much for our community, who for the first time can play with a Barbie doll that looks like them,” NDSS president and CEO Kandi Pickard said in a statement. “This Barbie serves as a reminder that we should never underestimate the power of representation.”
JAPAN
Eel rice remark sparks furor
The nation’s public safety chief has come under fire for saying that he enjoyed eel rice so much that he kept eating after his agency informed him of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s narrow escape from a pipe bomb attack two weeks ago. Koichi Tani, chair of the National Public Safety Commission for Kishida’s Cabinet, on Tuesday told a governing party gathering that he had the local delicacy in front of him for lunch when the phone rang. “I was told that we can eat delicious unagi [eel] rice bowl there, and I was really looking forward to it,” Tani told party lawmakers. “Just as I was going to dig into it, I got a call from the National Police Agency saying something was thrown at the prime minister in Wakayama, but I fully savored and finished ... my unadon [eel rice bowl],” he said, beaming. Tani’s eel comment immediately sparked criticism and concern at parliament and on social media about Japan’s public safety. During a parliamentary session, some opposition lawmakers demanded Tani’s dismissal. “As head of the National Public Safety Commission, [Tani] lacks a sense of urgency,” said Jun Azumi, an executive of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. “Isn’t this a negative for the prime minister to have such a person as chief executive responsible for Japan’s security?”
BELGIUM
Gull shriek champ crowned
The Belgian coastal town of De Panne on Sunday organized the third European gull screeching championship, where a jury crowned the best imitation of the bird’s distinctive shriek. About 50 participants took part in the contest, including first-timers and returning participants. Each was judged by a jury which awarded 15 points for how well they imitated the gull’s sound and five points for their behavior. Maren, who was named runner-up, said: “So I started practicing and my friends said: ‘Oh that’s so nice, and then they sent me the links of this championship and I thought why not. This is so much fun.’” Gulls are often despised by the public because of their intrusive behaviour and the contest also aims to change their image.
ANGER: A video shared online showed residents in a neighborhood confronting the national security minister, attempting to drag her toward floodwaters Argentina’s port city of Bahia Blanca has been “destroyed” after being pummeled by a year’s worth of rain in a matter of hours, killing 13 and driving hundreds from their homes, authorities said on Saturday. Two young girls — reportedly aged four and one — were missing after possibly being swept away by floodwaters in the wake of Friday’s storm. The deluge left hospital rooms underwater, turned neighborhoods into islands and cut electricity to swaths of the city. Argentine Minister of National Security Patricia Bullrich said Bahia Blanca was “destroyed.” The death toll rose to 13 on Saturday, up from 10 on Friday, authorities
Two daughters of an Argentine mountaineer who died on an icy peak 40 years ago have retrieved his backpack from the spot — finding camera film inside that allowed them a glimpse of some of his final experiences. Guillermo Vieiro was 44 when he died in 1985 — as did his climbing partner — while descending Argentina’s Tupungato lava dome, one of the highest peaks in the Americas. Last year, his backpack was spotted on a slope by mountaineer Gabriela Cavallaro, who examined it and contacted Vieiro’s daughters Guadalupe, 40, and Azul, 44. Last month, the three set out with four other guides
Local officials from Russia’s ruling party have caused controversy by presenting mothers of soldiers killed in Ukraine with gifts of meat grinders, an appliance widely used to describe Russia’s brutal tactics on the front line. The United Russia party in the northern Murmansk region posted photographs on social media showing officials smiling as they visited bereaved mothers with gifts of flowers and boxed meat grinders for International Women’s Day on Saturday, which is widely celebrated in Russia. The post included a message thanking the “dear moms” for their “strength of spirit and the love you put into bringing up your sons.” It
DISASTROUS VISIT: The talks in Saudi Arabia come after an altercation at the White House that led to the Ukrainian president leaving without signing a minerals deal Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was due to arrive in Saudi Arabia yesterday, a day ahead of crucial talks between Ukrainian and US officials on ending the war with Russia. Highly anticipated negotiations today on resolving the three-year conflict would see US and Ukrainian officials meet for the first time since Zelenskiy’s disastrous White House visit last month. Zelenskiy yesterday said that he would meet Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the nation’s de facto leader, after which his team “will stay for a meeting on Tuesday with the American team.” At the talks in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, US
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