GERMANY
Hostage crisis closes airport
Hamburg airport remained closed yesterday, authorities said, as police dealt with a hostage situation they say likely involves a custody dispute. The airport closed for all takeoffs and landings on Saturday evening after police arrived in large numbers on the scene to deal with a man who drove through a barrier onto the grounds of the airport with a child. The car with the 35-year-old man and four-year-old girl was parked under a plane, a police spokesperson said. “The operation continues. Our negotiators are in contact with the person in the car,” the police posted yesterday on social media platform X.
UNITED STATES
Matthew Perry laid to rest
Actor Matthew Perry of the hit sitcom Friends was laid to rest at a Los Angeles cemetery on Friday during a private funeral attended by family and costars, US media reported. The 54-year-old, known for his role as Chandler Bing in Friends, which aired from 1994 to 2004, was found dead on Oct. 28. “The service was held at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles near Warner Bros. Studios,” People reported, citing an unidentified source. It said the funeral service lasted about two hours. Forest Lawn Memorial Park, a cemetery in the Hollywood Hills, did not respond to a request for confirmation. Several other US media outlets, including celebrity news website TMZ, also reported that Perry was laid to rest at a low-key funeral attended by castmates Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and Lisa Kudrow. “We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family,” his five costars said in a statement shortly after his death. Perry’s mother, father and stepfather also attended, according to the media reports. The cause of Perry’s death is not yet known. An initial postmortem examination was inconclusive and the results of toxicology tests have not yet been released. TMZ cited sources saying that no illicit drugs were found at his home, although several medications were discovered including antidepressants and anxiety medication.
UNITED STATES
Man rams nuclear plant
An Arkansas man has been arrested for trying to crash through the exit gates of a South Carolina nuclear plant, authorities said. Doyle Wayne Whisenhunt of Lockesburg, Arkansas, was taken into custody on Friday night at an abandoned home in Pickens County, South Carolina, and transferred to the Oconee County sheriff’s office, the sheriff’s office announced in a news release. Whisenhunt, 66, has been charged with one count each of attempted murder, malicious injury to personal property, and unlawful entry into an enclosed place relating to the Thursday night incident at the Oconee Nuclear Station. An arrest warrant says Whisenhunt accelerated his vehicle toward a Duke Energy security officer while on the grounds of the nuclear station in an attempt to cause harm or death. Authorities also say Whisenhunt caused damage to the gates and fencing outside the secured area of the facility. The incident at the nuclear plant near Seneca, South Carolina, happened about an hour after security asked the same car to leave when it tried to enter, authorities said. A pop-up security barrier stopped the car with an Arkansas license plate at the facility at about 8pm Thursday. The driver backed up and tried to drive down a dirt road as security tried to block them in. The driver tried to hit the guards, then drove through a fence and off the nuclear plant property, authorities said. None of the security staff was injured, Duke Energy said.
A beauty queen who pulled out of the Miss South Africa competition when her nationality was questioned has said she wants to relocate to Nigeria, after coming second in the Miss Universe pageant while representing the West African country. Chidimma Adetshina, whose father is Nigerian, was crowned Miss Universe Africa and Oceania and was runner-up to Denmark’s Victoria Kjar Theilvig in Mexico on Saturday night. The 23-year-old law student withdrew from the Miss South Africa competition in August, saying that she needed to protect herself and her family after the government alleged that her mother had stolen the identity of a South
BELT-TIGHTENING: Chinese investments in Cambodia are projected to drop to US$35 million in 2026 from more than US$420 million in 2021 At a ceremony in August, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet knelt to receive blessings from saffron-robed monks as fireworks and balloons heralded the breaking of ground for a canal he hoped would transform his country’s economic fortunes. Addressing hundreds of people waving the Cambodian flag, Hun Manet said China would contribute 49 percent to the funding of the Funan Techo Canal that would link the Mekong River to the Gulf of Thailand and reduce Cambodia’s shipping reliance on Vietnam. Cambodia’s government estimates the strategic, if contentious, infrastructure project would cost US$1.7 billion, nearly 4 percent of the nation’s annual GDP. However, months later,
The Philippine Department of Justice yesterday labeled Vice President Sara Duterte the “mastermind” of a plot to assassinate the nation’s president, giving her five days to respond to a subpoena. Duterte is being asked to explain herself in the wake of a blistering weekend press conference where she said she had instructed that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr be killed should an alleged plot to kill her succeed. “The government is taking action to protect our duly elected president,” Philippine Undersecretary of Justice Jesse Andres said at yesterday’s press briefing. “The premeditated plot to assassinate the president as declared by the self-confessed mastermind
Texas’ education board on Friday voted to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary schools, joining other Republican-led US states that pushed this year to give religion a larger presence in public classrooms. The curriculum adopted by the Texas State Board of Education, which is controlled by elected Republicans, is optional for schools to adopt, but they would receive additional funding if they do so. The materials could appear in classrooms as early as next school year. Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has voiced support for the lesson plans, which were provided by the state’s education agency that oversees the more than
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