SLOVAKIA
Fico’s condition stabilized
Prime Minister Robert Fico’s life is no longer in danger following an assassination attempt, Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kalinak told reporters yesterday. “He has emerged from the immediate threat to his life, but his condition remains serious and he requires intensive care,” Kalinak said. The prime minister, 59, was shot at five times at point-blank range in an attack on Wednesday. The Special Criminal Court on Saturday ruled that the suspect, identified by prosecutors as Juraj C., would remain in custody after being charged with attempted murder.
NEW CALEDONIA
Forces smash roadblocks
French forces smashed through about 60 roadblocks to clear the way from the capital to the airport, but have still not reopened the route, a top government official said yesterday. After six nights of violence that has left six dead and hundreds injured, security forces would launch “harassment” raids to reclaim other parts of the Pacific territory, High Commissioner Louis Le Franc said. “Republican order will be re-established whatever the cost,” he said. The unrest, which started on Monday last week, was sparked by French plans to impose new voting rules.
TUNISIA
Dozens missing for weeks
Twenty-three people trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe from Tunisia have been missing for the past two weeks, the National Guard said in a statement on Saturday. It said that searches were still under way after the group departed early this month. “They set sail overnight between May 3 and 4” from Nabeul, it said, adding that relatives of the missing only contacted the authorities 10 days later. Acting on orders from prosecutors in Nabeul, the National Guard said it had arrested five people allegedly involved in organizing the crossing. It said it recovered four bodies later on Saturday, after intercepting two crossing attempts to Europe and rescuing “52 migrants” near Sfax, a main departure point for Italy.
JAPAN
Police attacked by bears
Authorities have warned residents to be aware of wild bears in the northeast after several people were attacked, including police officers. The bears, measuring about 50cm in height, were seen in the area, including in Akita and Fukushima prefectures. Two police officers were attacked on Saturday in Akita’s Kazuno while recovering the body of a missing man, news reports said. The man had gone hunting for bamboo shoots in the mountains a few days earlier where he was found dead in the area with gash wounds. It remains unclear if he died due to a bear attack. The officers are in a serious condition, although it is not life-threatening, reports said.
UNITED STATES
Not enough Kyles in Kyle
Another attempt by Kyle, Texas, to break the world record for the largest gathering of people with one name fell short on Saturday, despite 706 Kyles of all ages turning up at a park in the suburbs of Austin. The crown is currently held by a town in Bosnia that got 2,325 people named Ivan together in 2017, according to Guinness World Records. It was not the first time the Kyles came gunning for the Ivans. Last year, the official count at what has become known as the Gathering of the Kyles clocked in at 1,490. Kyle is not a chart-topper among popular names in the US, Social Security Administration data showed. Kyle ranked 416th among male names last year, while Ivan ranked 153rd.
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
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