ITALY
Berlusconi acquitted
An appeals court on Friday acquitted former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi in a sex-for-hire case, reversing a lower court conviction that had carried a seven-year prison sentence and a lifetime ban on holding political office. The prosecution alleged that Berlusconi had paid for sex with underage Moroccan prostitute Karima el-Mahroug, better known as Ruby the Heartstealer, and then used his influence to cover it up. Berlusconi denied the charges, saying the case was politically motivated. The acquittal was announced just as Berlusconi was leaving a facility for Alzheimer’s patients where he is performing community service for a separate conviction.
CHINA
Highway blast claims 38
At least 38 people were killed when a van carrying inflammable liquid hit a bus on a highway in central China early yesterday, state media reported. The collision in Hunan Province triggered a fire and explosion which destroyed five vehicles, the Xinhua news agency said. Another five people were injured in the accident, which occurred at about 3am, Xinhua said, citing police. The fire was finally put out by about 8am. The double-decker long-distance bus, with capacity for 53 occupants, was traveling between China’s Fujian Province and Guizhou in the southwest when the crash occurred. Senior work safety and transport ministry officials and police were heading to the site to investigate, Xinhua said.
GERMANY
Buses crash, killing nine
Several buses crashed on a highway near the eastern city of Dresden, leaving nine people dead and 43 injured, police said yesterday. The crash, which happened at about 2am, involved a Polish bus, a Ukrainian bus and a Polish minibus, Dresden police said. According to a preliminary investigation, the Polish bus hit the rear of the Ukrainian bus and then broke through the median barrier, crashing into the oncoming minibus. Six of those killed were Polish citizens. public broadcaster MDR reported that most of those who died were in the minibus. The injured people were taken to hospitals in Dresden and Radebeul, police said.
UNITED STATES
Police identify remains
Officials have confirmed that the mummified remains of a woman found in the garage of a suburban Detroit home in March were those of the woman who lived there alone. Authorities this week notified the relatives of Pia Farrenkopf that she had been positively identified using DNA testing, the Detroit Free Press reported. Oakland County deputy medical examiner Bernardino Pacris said the cause and manner of death could not be determined because the body was mummified. Investigators said in March that they believed the remains were Farrenkopf’s, a self-employed financial troubleshooter who would have turned 50 this year. A message posted on Tuesday on a Facebook page set up by a relative said arrangements were being made to lay the remains to rest. Her body was found in the rear seat of her Jeep, inside the garage of her Pontiac home. Officials said she could have been dead for more than five years and that there was no evidence of foul play. They sought help from dentists who might have treated Farrenkopf, but could not secure the necessary records. Oakland County authorities say Farrenkopf paid her mortgage and other bills through a checking account that once had a balance of US$54,000. The money ran out last year, and the Pontiac home went into foreclosure.
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