PAPUA NEW GUINEA
More ferry bodies found
Rescuers, searching for survivors after a ferry sank off the nation’s northeast coast, said yesterday they had found four bodies and that the search would continue for about 100 still missing. Planes, ships and helicopters have been mobilized to search for survivors from the MV Rabaul Queen, which sank in rough weather on Thursday with about 350 people on board. Captain Nurur Rahman, of the maritime safety authority, said the number of confirmed survivors stood at 246. Rahman said he remained optimistic, given the relatively warm water, that more survivors would be found. Prime Minister Peter O’Neill has promised a full investigation into the tragedy. Sea transport is a major communication lifeline in the archipelago nation, most of whose 6 million people live subsistence lives in traditional villages.
CHINA
Officials fired after spill
An environmental protection director and six other officials have been fired after a spill of toxic cadmium in a river in the south of the country threatened drinking water supplies for millions of people, news reports said yesterday. The spill last month prompted residents of Liuzhou, a city of 3.2 million in Guangxi Province, to stock up on bottled water. Officials said efforts to neutralize the cadmium were keeping its levels in river water within safe limits. Hechi Environmental Protection Bureau Director Wu Haique (吳海愨), was fired for negligence and dereliction of duty, the People’s Daily reported. Two other officials were punished but kept their jobs, the reports said. Official reports have provided little information about the exact cause of the spill. It was initially blamed on a mining company. Eight managers of mining and metals companies have been detained and four others fled, the China Daily newspaper said.
BRAZIL
Jackie Chan given jet
Planemaker Embraer on Friday presented a Legacy 650 executive jet to Hong Kong martial arts star Jackie Chan (成龍) to help build its brand in China. The company said in a statement that Chan would help the company promote “its entire line of executive aircraft, not only in the rapidly growing greater China market, but globally.” “This delivery is a moment of historical importance to Embraer because it solidifies an already long and successful relationship between China and Embraer,” Embraer Executive Jets unit president Ernest Edwards said. By turning to Chan, Embraer hopes to translate his charisma and celebrity into increased recognition and sales for its products. “I believe that Embraer is poised to become a major player in the Chinese executive jet market,” said Chan, who described himself as a “brand ambassador” for the manufacturer. The ebullient actor, singer and cultural icon toasted the company’s executives as they stood together in front of the plane customized with the Chinese colors of red and yellow, and the name “Jackie” painted on the tail.
UNITED STATES
Kobayashi destroys record
Japanese competitive-eating champion Takeru Kobayashi ate a record 337 chicken wings in 30 minutes before a crowd of nearly 20,000 at Wing Bowl XX in Philadelphia. He demolished the record of 255 set last year by Jonathan “Super” Squibb. The Friday-morning contest drew thousands to watch competitors stuff themselves with chicken wings. Kobayashi claimed the US$20,000 cash prize.
UNITED STATES
Case linked to serial killer
Charges were dropped on Friday against the son of a murder victim in Santa Ana after detectives linked the case to a suspected California serial killer. Eder Herrera, 24, was arrested shortly after his mother and brother were found stabbed to death in October. A judge dismissed the charges on Friday after detectives linked Itzcoatl Ocampo to the fatal stabbings and found that Ocampo was associated with Herrera. Authorities have also linked Ocampo to a killing spree in December and last month targeting four homeless men. Each of the four men was stabbed more than 40 times with a weapon believed to be a 17.78cm, fixed-blade, military-type knife, authorities said.
UNITED STATES
Ben Gazzara dies at 81
Actor Ben Gazzara, who enjoyed a long and successful career on Broadway and in Hollywood, died of pancreatic cancer on Friday in Manhattan, his attorney said. He was 81. The lawyer told reporters that the actor died at a Manhattan hospital. During his 60-year Hollywood career, the actor appeared in more than 100 films and TV movies, including Husbands, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie and Opening Night. He won an Emmy Award for his supporting role in the 2002 HBO drama Hysterical Blindness. He also received an Emmy nomination for the 1985 TV movie An Early Frost, in which he played a middle-aged husband who learns that his son is gay and dying of AIDS.
UNITED STATES
Mother settles Spector suit
A lawyer said the mother of the actress Phil Spector was convicted of killing has settled her wrongful death suit against the legendary music producer. Attorney John Taylor told the Los Angeles Times the terms of Friday’s settlement were confidential, but said his client, Donna Clarkson, was pleased and relieved the suit was over. Lana Clarkson was shot and killed in the foyer of Spector’s Alhambra mansion nine years ago. Donna Clarkson attended the 2009 trial daily, and testified that her daughter was upbeat and not at all suicidal, as Spector’s defense alleged. Spector was convicted in the death and is serving a 19-years-to-life sentence.
UNITED STATES
Keith Urban makes return
Keith Urban is back. The country star returned to the stage during The Grand Ole Opry on Friday night, his first public appearance since vocal surgery late last year. He played three songs and an encore. He was joined by a string quartet on Long Hot Summer, then sang Making Memories of Us microphone-free with the audience. Urban didn’t address the surgery while speaking with the crowd. The 44-year-old Australian had a polyp removed from a vocal cord in November last year.
UNITED STATES
Zalman King dies at 70
Actor and filmmaker Zalman King, who became known for his erotic work after writing and producing his breakthrough film 9-1/2 Weeks, has died. He was 70. King’s son-in-law, Allison Burnett, said the filmmaker died on Friday morning at his home in Santa Monica, California, after a six-year battle with cancer. Born Zalman King Lefkovitz in 1941, King began his career as an actor in the 1960s. He and wife, Patricia Louisianna Knop, collaborated on the screenplay for 9-1/2 Weeks, which became a cult hit starring Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke.
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
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