UNITED STATES
Joan Fontaine dies at 96
Oscar-winning actress Joan Fontaine, whose film career was marked by a long-running rivalry with her sister, Olivia de Havilland, died on Sunday at age 96 at her home in Carmel, California, Hollywood’s two trade publications reported. The Hollywood Reporter said Fontaine’s death from natural causes was confirmed by the star’s assistant. Among Fontaine’s most memorable films was the Alfred Hitchcock picture Suspicion, co-starring Cary Grant, for which she won an Academy Award in 1942, beating out her older sister in the competition. The honor gave Fontaine the distinction of being the only performer, actor or actress, ever to win an Academy Award for a starring role in one of Hitchcock’s many movies.
FRANCE
Interpol appeals to public
Interpol yesterday issued an appeal to the public to help track down 15 people suspected of belonging to international crime syndicates, including the head of a Mexican drug cartel. The “public appeal” from the police agency based in Lyon said the fugitives were holed up in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela and various Caribbean and Central American countries. Interpol first launched “Operation Infra-Americas” last month involving 46 countries and territories in Central and South America, the Carribean as well as the US and several European countries.
UNITED KINGDOM
‘Geek’ Collins word of year
Once a slur reserved for eggheads and an insult aimed at lovers of computer programming, “geek” has been deemed the word of the year by the Collins online dictionary. Less brazen than “selfie” — which topped the Oxford Dictionaries poll last month — “geek” was chosen as a reminder of how an insult can be transformed into a badge of honor, according to Collins. In September, the dictionary changed the main definition of “geek” from someone preoccupied with computing to “a person who is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about a specific subject,” adding “geekery,” “geek chic” and “geekdom” to the fold. Self-confessed word-geek Ian Brookes, consultant editor to Collins Dictionary and a lexicographer for the past 20 years, admitted that “geek” was not a word that had exploded into the language this year. “That would probably belong to ‘twerk,’” he said, adding: “But we felt that that is not really a celebratory word.” Instead “geek” typified the type of word that could change their meaning and expand their longevity.
UNITED KINGDOM
Immigration cap considered
The government is considering capping the number of EU migrants entering the country at 75,000 people a year, the Sunday Times said, citing a leaked government report. The Ministry of the Interior paper suggested net migration from the EU could be cut by 30,000 from the current 106,000 a year figure. Prime Minister David Cameron wants to get overall net migration below 100,000 a year, and shake up the nation’s relations with Brussels, first renegotiating powers then staging an in-or-out referendum in 2017 based on the new settlement. The Home Office document on the EU’s fundamental free movement of people principle suggests high-skilled migrants from countries like Germany and the Netherlands can only move to the nation with a firm job offer. Low-skilled workers could only move to the nation if they have jobs on a national shortage job list, the Sunday Times said.
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