UNITED STATES
Voter ID law upheld
A federal judge on Thursday upheld provisions of new Arizona laws that would require counties to verify the status of registered voters who have not provided proof of citizenship and cross-check voter registration information with government databases. District Judge Susan Bolton said that Arizona legislators did not discriminate when they adopted the laws and the state does have an interest in preventing voter fraud and limiting voting to those individuals eligible to vote. “Considering the evidence as a whole, the court concludes that Arizona’s interests in preventing non-citizens from voting and promoting public confidence in Arizona’s elections outweighs the limited burden voters might encounter when required to provide” documentary proof of citizenship, she wrote.
UNITED STATES
Moon lander goes to sleep
An uncrewed lander that became the first private spaceship on the moon sent its final image on Thursday before its power banks depleted, the company that built it said. Houston-based Intuitive Machines posted a picture that was captured by Odysseus on Thursday last week, the day it touched down near the moon’s south pole, but the image was only received on Thursday. The company shared earlier that a wonky landing had left the vessel’s antennas misaligned and unable to transmit at an optimal rate. The photograph “showcases the crescent Earth in the backdrop, a subtle reminder of humanity’s presence in the universe,” the firm said. “Goodnight, Odie. We hope to hear from you again,” the company added. The onset of the long lunar night means it will be two or three weeks before flight controllers can attempt to awaken the vessel.
UNITED STATES
Tourist drives off cliff
A tourist driving on Sunday in the early-morning dark on the southern tip of Hawaii’s Big Island accidentally drove his rented Jeep off a cliff, but swam to shore until firefighters pulled him up with a rope and helicopter. The man was treated for facial injuries and slight hypothermia after rescue, the Hawaii County Fire Department said in a news release. Police said the 27-year-old was visiting from Canada. Firefighters, police and the Coast Guard responded to the cliffs of South Point in Naalehu at about 3:45am on Sunday to a report of a swimmer in distress in the ocean, the release said. He swam about 100m to shore at the bottom of a cliff, which the fire department estimated to be 15m to 18m.
CANADA
Former PM Mulroney dies
Former prime minister Brian Mulroney, who forged close ties with two US presidents through a sweeping free-trade agreement, died on Thursday. He was 84. The country’s 18th prime minister died peacefully and surrounded by family, his daughter, Caroline Mulroney, wrote on X. The family said last summer that the former leader was improving after a heart procedure that followed treatment for prostate cancer earlier in the year. Leader of the Progressive Conservative party from 1983 to 1993, Mulroney served almost a decade as prime minister after he was first elected in 1984. His government was re-elected in 1988. “He had the courage to do big things,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. “He shaped our past, but he shapes our present and he will impact our future as well. He was an extraordinary statesman and he will be deeply, deeply missed.” He is survived by his wife, Mila, and four children: Caroline, Ben, Mark and Nicolas.
Kehinde Sanni spends his days smoothing out dents and repainting scratched bumpers in a modest autobody shop in Lagos. He has never left Nigeria, yet he speaks glowingly of Burkina Faso military leader Ibrahim Traore. “Nigeria needs someone like Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso. He is doing well for his country,” Sanni said. His admiration is shaped by a steady stream of viral videos, memes and social media posts — many misleading or outright false — portraying Traore as a fearless reformer who defied Western powers and reclaimed his country’s dignity. The Burkinabe strongman swept into power following a coup in September 2022
‘FRAGMENTING’: British politics have for a long time been dominated by the Labor Party and the Tories, but polls suggest that Reform now poses a significant challenge Hard-right upstarts Reform UK snatched a parliamentary seat from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor Party yesterday in local elections that dealt a blow to the UK’s two establishment parties. Reform, led by anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage, won the by-election in Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England by just six votes, as it picked up gains in other localities, including one mayoralty. The group’s strong showing continues momentum it built up at last year’s general election and appears to confirm a trend that the UK is entering an era of multi-party politics. “For the movement, for the party it’s a very, very big
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
SUPPORT: The Australian prime minister promised to back Kyiv against Russia’s invasion, saying: ‘That’s my government’s position. It was yesterday. It still is’ Left-leaning Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday basked in his landslide election win, promising a “disciplined, orderly” government to confront cost-of-living pain and tariff turmoil. People clapped as the 62-year-old and his fiancee, Jodie Haydon, who visited his old inner Sydney haunt, Cafe Italia, surrounded by a crowd of jostling photographers and journalists. Albanese’s Labor Party is on course to win at least 83 seats in the 150-member parliament, partial results showed. Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s conservative Liberal-National coalition had just 38 seats, and other parties 12. Another 17 seats were still in doubt. “We will be a disciplined, orderly
RSS