PHILIPPINES
Radio journalist killed
Police say a radio journalist has been fatally shot by a motorcycle-riding gunman in the north. Cabanatuan police chief Eli Depra said no motive was known for the killing of Julius Cauzo early yesterday. His colleague at DWJJ radio station, Elena Quijano, said he had received death threats, but it was unclear why. Cauzo was the vice president of the provincial press club. The media watchdog Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility said that if his death were found to be work-related, he would be the fourth journalist killed in the country this year.
SOUTH AFRICA
Linkin Park fan killed
A female fan of the US rock band Linkin Park has died from injuries after an advertising tower gave in to strong winds and collapsed ahead of a concert, officials said yesterday. “One person died in hospital,” Cape Town spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said. Twenty fans waiting were wounded and 12 of them required hospitalization after the scaffolding blew over in high winds on Wednesday outside the stadium. “We wish to express our deep sadness and concern for those injured and our heartfelt condolences to the family of the fan who died as a result of her injuries,” Linkin Park said in a statement on its Web site.
NEW ZEALAND
No case against dead man
A judge yesterday threw out an attempt to prosecute a dead South Korean fisherman, comparing the case to a Monty Python sketch, reports said. Trawler officers Soon Ill-hwang and Dae Jun-lee were accused in Christchurch District Court of illegally dumping dead fish at sea in a case brought by the Ministry for Primary Industries, the New Zealand Herald reported. However, shortly after charges were laid against him earlier this year, Soon was killed in a car crash. A solicitor representing the ministry reportedly told the court there were still valid reasons for the prosecution to go ahead — although judge Gary MacAskill rejected the argument as “absurd.” “It reminds me of Monty Python and his dead parrot,” Fairfax Media quoted the judge as saying. “I would have thought that the death of the accused is pretty fundamental,” he said, adding: “We can’t try dead people.” The case against Dae is proceeding.
THAILAND
Tatoo ‘wizard’ held
A “sorcerer” tattooist has been arrested after several brawls involving his disciples who believed his body art made them invincible, police said on Tuesday. Boonyong Luangjumpol was held for possession of guns after officers raided his home following a spate of fights in the province of Kalasin, local police chief Major General Kanisorn Noinard said. “Police arrested the teenagers and asked them why they fought. They said they were tattooed because they believed it would make them invincible and wanted to test whether it works or not,” Kanisorn said. When asked if the fights had injured any of the followers, he said “every single one” was hurt.
UNITED STATES
Man sues church for lost leg
The case of the man whose leg had to be amputated after a 270kg crucifix fell on him will go to trial in January. Attorney Kevin Kitson says his client, David Jimenez, prayed to the crucifix outside St Patrick’s Church in New York State after his wife was diagnosed with cancer. When she recovered, he showed his thanks by volunteering to clean the cross. In May 2010, the crucifix fell on him, crushing his right leg. It was later amputated. He is suing the church for US$3 million.
‘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
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
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in