CHINA
Tornado leaves 5 dead
A strong tornado on Saturday wreaked havoc through the city of Guangzhou, killing five people and injuring 33, Xinhua news agency said. The tornado, which occurred early afternoon, was accompanied by a hailstorm with hailstones as big as fists, and the extreme weather event lasted until 7pm, the Guangzhou Meteorological Bureau said. The tornado also damaged 141 factories, Xinhua reported. The Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport reported a blackout at one of its terminals late on Saturday, and said that about 70 flights were delayed for more than one hour as of 11pm due to bad weather.
UNITED KINGDOM
Watch sets ‘Titanic’ record
A gold watch found on the body of the richest passenger on the Titanic was on Saturday auctioned in England for ￡1.17 million (US$1.48 million). It was a record sum for an object linked to the notorious 1912 shipping disaster, auctioneers Henry Aldridge & Son said. A US buyer won the bidding war, smashing the auctioneer’s presale estimate of between ￡100,000 and ￡150,000. The watch, engraved with the initials JJA, belonged to the US business magnate John Jacob Astor. Astor was 47 when he died as the Titanic sank. He was reputed to be one of the richest men in the world at the time.
RUSSIA
Two journalists arrested
Two Russian journalists were arrested by their government on “extremism” charges and were on Saturday ordered by courts there to remain in custody pending investigation and trial on accusations of preparing materials for a YouTube channel run by a group founded by the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Konstantin Gabov and Sergey Karelin both denied the charges for which they are to be detained for a minimum of two months before any trials begin. Each faces a minimum of two years in prison and a maximum of six years for alleged “participation in an extremist organization,” according to Russian courts.
UNITED STATES
Anti-war protesters detained
Police detained more than 150 people while clearing pro-Palestinian encampments at two US universities on Saturday, in the latest campus clashes triggered by protests over Israel’s war against Hamas. On the East Coast, police in Boston detained about 100 people while clearing a protest camp at Northeastern University, with social media posts showing security forces in riot gear and officers loading tents onto the back of a truck. In the Southwest, Arizona State University police arrested 69 people for trespassing after the group set up an “unauthorized encampment” on campus. The action in Boston was taken after some protesters resorted to “virulent anti-Semitic slurs, including ‘Kill the Jews,’” Northeastern University wrote on X.
UNITED STATES
Harvey Weinstein in hospital
Disgraced Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was hospitalized on Saturday upon his return to New York after the city’s highest court overturned his 2020 conviction on sex crime charges. The 4-3 decision was a reversal of one of the defining cases of the #MeToo movement, but Weinstein is to remain jailed on a separate 16-year rape sentence. Attorney Arthur Aidala said Weinstein was moved to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan after his arrival on Friday to city jails. “It seems like he needs a lot of help, physically. He’s got a lot of problems. He’s getting all kinds of tests. He’s somewhat of a train wreck health wise,” Aidala said.
RARE EVENT: While some cultures have a negative view of eclipses, others see them as a chance to show how people can work together, a scientist said Stargazers across a swathe of the world marveled at a dramatic red “Blood Moon” during a rare total lunar eclipse in the early hours of yesterday morning. The celestial spectacle was visible in the Americas and Pacific and Atlantic oceans, as well as in the westernmost parts of Europe and Africa. The phenomenon happens when the sun, Earth and moon line up, causing our planet to cast a giant shadow across its satellite. But as the Earth’s shadow crept across the moon, it did not entirely blot out its white glow — instead the moon glowed a reddish color. This is because the
DEBT BREAK: Friedrich Merz has vowed to do ‘whatever it takes’ to free up more money for defense and infrastructure at a time of growing geopolitical uncertainty Germany’s likely next leader Friedrich Merz was set yesterday to defend his unprecedented plans to massively ramp up defense and infrastructure spending in the Bundestag as lawmakers begin debating the proposals. Merz unveiled the plans last week, vowing his center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU)/Christian Social Union (CSU) bloc and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) — in talks to form a coalition after last month’s elections — would quickly push them through before the end of the current legislature. Fraying Europe-US ties under US President Donald Trump have fueled calls for Germany, long dependent on the US security umbrella, to quickly
In front of a secluded temple in southwestern China, Duan Ruru skillfully executes a series of chops and strikes, practicing kung fu techniques she has spent a decade mastering. Chinese martial arts have long been considered a male-dominated sphere, but a cohort of Generation Z women like Duan is challenging that assumption and generating publicity for their particular school of kung fu. “Since I was little, I’ve had a love for martial arts... I thought that girls learning martial arts was super swaggy,” Duan, 23, said. The ancient Emei school where she trains in the mountains of China’s Sichuan Province
Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte on Friday failed to attend in person an initial hearing at the International Criminal Court (ICC) as he faces crimes against humanity charges over his deadly crackdown on narcotics. The 79-year-old, the first ex-Asian head of state charged by the ICC, followed by video during a short hearing to inform him of the crimes he is alleged to have committed, as well as his rights as a defendant. Sounding frail and wearing a blue suit and tie, he spoke briefly to confirm his name and date of birth. Presiding Judge Iulia Motoc allowed him to
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