UNITED KINGDOM
Amy Winehouse found dead
Troubled singer Amy Winehouse, whose drink and drug addictions overshadowed her exceptional sultry voice, was found dead at her London home at the age of 27. The Grammy award-winning soul singer, with her trademark beehive hairstyle, had laid bare her demons in her music, notably her biggest hit single Rehab. Reports suggested that the soul singer died of a drug overdose, but police said it was inappropriate to speculate on the circumstances of her death, which is being treated as unexplained. Winehouse was found dead at her home in Camden, north London, on Saturday. Fans soon began to gather and lay flowers, candles and teddy bears at the police cordon outside, while friends and fellow stars voiced their shock and sadness. A London Ambulance Service spokeswoman told reporters they were called to her home at 3:54pm on Saturday and sent two ambulance crews that arrived within five minutes. Her comeback tour lasted one performance last month when she was booed at the opening performance in Belgrade, apparently too drunk or drug-addled to sing. She joins the notorious “27 Club” — the tragic group of rock stars who passed away at the age of 27. Rolling Stones founding member Brian Jones, guitarist Jimi Hendrix, singer Janis Joplin, The Doors singer Jim Morrison, Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain and blues king Robert Johnson are the other major “members” of the ill-fated club.
Photo: Reuters
UNITED STATES
Gunman kills five at rink
A gunman killed five people during a birthday party at a roller skating rink in Texas on Saturday before turning the gun on himself, police said. The shooting in the town of Grand Prairie occurred after a fight broke out at a birthday party, said a police official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The gunman killed five people and wounded four before shooting himself in the head, police said. He was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. No other details were given, but the official said the incident was under investigation. The wounded were treated at nearby hospitals, officials said without elaborating. Police say the shooter was one of the organizers of the party, which quickly got out of control when an argument erupted between two family members.
UNITED STATES
Three killed at biker rally
Three people were killed and one was critically wounded in an apparent murder-suicide shooting at a northern Arizona motorcycle rally, authorities said on Saturday. The shooting occurred late on Friday at a campground at Mormon Lake, about 56km southeast of Flagstaff. The victims were all participants in the annual “Too Broke for Sturgis” motorcycle rally, the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office said. Sheriff’s spokesman Gerry Blair said two men and a woman were killed. Another woman from the same group was shot six times and was in critical condition at Flagstaff Medical Center following
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in 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
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was