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.
The Philippines yesterday said its coast guard would acquire 40 fast patrol craft from France, with plans to deploy some of them in disputed areas of the South China Sea. The deal is the “largest so far single purchase” in Manila’s ongoing effort to modernize its coast guard, with deliveries set to start in four years, Philippine Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan told a news conference. He declined to provide specifications for the vessels, which Manila said would cost 25.8 billion pesos (US$440 million), to be funded by development aid from the French government. He said some of the vessels would
Hundreds of thousands of Guyana citizens living at home and abroad would receive a payout of about US$478 each after the country announced it was distributing its “mind-boggling” oil wealth. The grant of 100,000 Guyanese dollars would be available to any citizen of the South American country aged 18 and older with a valid passport or identification card. Guyanese citizens who normally live abroad would be eligible, but must be in Guyana to collect the payment. The payout was originally planned as a 200,000 Guyanese dollar grant for each household in the country, but was reframed after concerns that some citizens, including
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
A plane bringing Israeli soccer supporters home from Amsterdam landed at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport on Friday after a night of violence that Israeli and Dutch officials condemned as “anti-Semitic.” Dutch police said 62 arrests were made in connection with the violence, which erupted after a UEFA Europa League soccer tie between Amsterdam club Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Israeli flag carrier El Al said it was sending six planes to the Netherlands to bring the fans home, after the first flight carrying evacuees landed on Friday afternoon, the Israeli Airports Authority said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also ordered
RSS