JAPAN
Threat closes Hello Kitty park
A popular Hello Kitty-themed amusement park yesterday closed for the day after receiving an “e-mail threatening terrorism,” its operator said. Sanrio Puroland in Tokyo is known for its rides, shows and cutesy cartoon mascots including the beloved feline-like heroine. “We decided to temporarily close for the day because the safety of visitors, performers and staff cannot be guaranteed at the moment,” the indoor theme park said in a message on its Web site. The unspecified threat prompted police to scour Sanrio Puroland for suspicious objects, but none were found, public broadcaster NHK reported. The threat against the popular tourist attraction and its closure sparked groans on social media, with one user annoyed it happened during a holiday weekend. “It’s unforgivable that someone is doing this during a precious three-day weekend,” a user wrote on X.
CHINA
Nanjing fire kills 15
At least 15 people have died and were 44 injured in a fire at a residential building in Nanjing, local authorities said yesterday. The fire broke out early on Friday morning, officials told a news conference, with a preliminary investigation suggesting that the blaze started on the building’s first floor, where electric bikes had been placed. By 6am on Friday, the fire had been extinguished, and a search-and-rescue operation ended at about 2pm, authorities said. One of the 44 injured people was in “critical condition,” while another was seriously injured, authorities said.
FRANCE
Actress speaks out at Cesar
Actress Judith Godreche on Friday received a standing ovation at the Cesar Awards as she spoke out against sexual violence in the French film industry. Thriller Anatomy of a Fall dominated at the country’s premier cinematic honors with six trophies, including best film, giving it new momentum ahead of the Oscars, in which it has five nominations. The evening’s winners and losers were eclipsed by the speech from Godreche, who took the stage to denounce the “level of impunity, denial and privilege” in the industry. Godreche, who has become a leading figure in France’s #MeToo movement, has accused directors Benoit Jacquot and Jacques Doillon of sexually assaulting her while she was a teenager. Both deny the allegations. “Why accept that this art that we love so much, this art that binds us together, is used as a cover for illicit trafficking of young girls?” she said. “You have to be wary of little girls. They touch the bottom of the pool, they bump into each other, they hurt themselves, but they bounce back,” she said.
UNITED STATES
Man guilty of trans hate crime
A South Carolina man on Friday was found guilty of killing a black transgender woman in the nation’s first federal trial over a hate crime based on gender identity. After deliberating for about four hours, jurors convicted Daqua Lameek Ritter of a hate crime for the murder of Dime Doe in 2019. Ritter was also found guilty of using a firearm in connection with the fatal shooting and obstructing justice. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled. Ritter faces a maximum of life imprisonment without parole. “This case stands as a testament to our committed effort to fight violence that is targeted against those who may identify as a member of the opposite sex, for their sexual orientation or for any other protected characteristics,” Brook Andrews, an assistant US attorney for the District of South Carolina, told reporters after the verdict.
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
UNREST: The authorities in Turkey arrested 13 Turkish journalists in five days, deported a BBC correspondent and on Thursday arrested a reporter from Sweden Waving flags and chanting slogans, many hundreds of thousands of anti-government demonstrators on Saturday rallied in Istanbul, Turkey, in defence of democracy after the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu which sparked Turkey’s worst street unrest in more than a decade. Under a cloudless blue sky, vast crowds gathered in Maltepe on the Asian side of Turkey’s biggest city on the eve of the Eid al-Fitr celebration which started yesterday, marking the end of Ramadan. Ozgur Ozel, chairman of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), which organized the rally, said there were 2.2 million people in the crowd, but
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