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.
Airlines in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia and Singapore yesterday canceled flights to and from the Indonesian island of Bali, after a nearby volcano catapulted an ash tower into the sky. Australia’s Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Australia all grounded flights after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on Flores island spewed a 9km tower a day earlier. Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, India’s IndiGo and Singapore’s Scoot also listed flights as canceled. “Volcanic ash poses a significant threat to safe operations of the aircraft in the vicinity of volcanic clouds,” AirAsia said as it announced several cancelations. Multiple eruptions from the 1,703m twin-peaked volcano in
Farmer Liu Bingyong used to make a tidy profit selling milk but is now leaking cash — hit by a dairy sector crisis that embodies several of China’s economic woes. Milk is not a traditional mainstay of Chinese diets, but the Chinese government has long pushed people to drink more, citing its health benefits. The country has expanded its dairy production capacity and imported vast numbers of cattle in recent years as Beijing pursues food self-sufficiency. However, chronically low consumption has left the market sloshing with unwanted milk — driving down prices and pushing farmers to the brink — while
China has built a land-based prototype nuclear reactor for a large surface warship, in the clearest sign yet Beijing is advancing toward producing the nation’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, according to a new analysis of satellite imagery and Chinese government documents provided to The Associated Press. There have long been rumors that China is planning to build a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, but the research by the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California is the first to confirm it is working on a nuclear-powered propulsion system for a carrier-sized surface warship. Why is China’s pursuit of nuclear-powered carriers significant? China’s navy is already
‘SIGNS OF ESCALATION’: Russian forces have been aiming to capture Ukraine’s eastern Donbas province and have been capturing new villages as they move toward Pokrovsk Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi on Saturday said that Ukraine faced increasing difficulties in its fight against Moscow’s invasion as Russian forces advance and North Korean troops prepare to join the Kremlin’s campaign. Syrskyi, relating comments he made to a top US general, said outnumbered Ukrainian forces faced Russian attacks in key sectors of the more than two-and-a-half-year-old war with Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a nightly address said that Ukraine’s military command was focused on defending around the town of Kurakhove — a target of Russia’s advances along with Pokrovsk, a logistical hub to the north. He decried strikes
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