UNITED STATES
Warren Christopher, 85, dies
Former secretary of state Warren Christopher, who helped bring peace to Bosnia and negotiated for the release of American hostages in Iran, died yesterday, CNN reported. He was 85. CNN said Christopher died in California of complications from kidney and bladder cancer. As the top US statesman under former president Bill Clinton, Christopher was a behind-the-scenes negotiator. Often called the “stealth” secretary of state, Christopher was known for his understated, self-effacing manner.
Photo: AFP
EGYPT
Vote on amendments begins
Polling stations opened yesterday for a referendum on Constitutional amendments that the country’s military rulers hope will open the way to elections within six months. A high turnout is expected for the vote, which is the first in living memory whose outcome has not been known in advance. The reforms are designed to open the door to legislative and presidential elections that would allow the military to hand power to a civilian, elected government. The vote has divided Egypt between those who say much deeper constitutional change is needed and others who argue that the amendments will suffice for now. A high turnout is expected.
UNITED STATES
Evacuation area expanded
The Department of State is expanding the area for voluntary evacuations for family members of US personnel in Japan. The department issued a travel warning late on Wednesday warning Americans to avoid travel to Japan and authorizing evacuations for family members of its personnel out of Tokyo, Nagoya and Yokohama. The department issued an updated warning on Friday night that expanded the evacuation area to 13 other prefectures. The warning also authorized departure for family members at Misawa Air Base in northern Japan because of damage from the earthquake and the resulting tsunami a week ago. The warning gave no details on why the evacuation area was expanded.
UNITED STATES
Shop scams lotto winner
Kecia Parker’s favorite lottery numbers turned out to be lucky in more than one way. Not only did they win her a prize of nearly US$88,000, but her clockwork regularity in playing them enabled North Carolina State Education Lottery investigators to track her down after they took the winning ticket from a convenience store owner accused of trying to steal her jackpot. “I was very surprised, but it’s definitely a good surprise,” she said on Friday. Police in Dunn, North Carolina, said that when Parker brought the winning ticket into a Pop Mart, the store’s owner, Sureshbha Patel, told her it wasn’t a winner and kept it, later trying to claim its winnings for himself. On Wednesday, Patel was arrested and charged with felony larceny and attempting to obtain property by false pretenses. He was freed after posting US$50,000 bond. Parker said she had not checked herself whether the ticket had won, relying instead on the store to make the determination. She plays the same five numbers every week. Parker, who has two children, plans to put the money aside for college costs.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese