UNITED STATES
Music icon Henry Stone dies
Henry Stone, a fixture on the R&B and disco scene who was instrumental in the careers of Ray Charles, James Brown and KC & the Sunshine Band, has died at the age of 93. Stone, a cofounder of the famed TK Records, died on Thursday of natural causes in a Miami hospital, funeral home the Riverside Gordon Memorial Chapels confirmed. Stone opened up a record distribution business and recording studio in south Florida in 1948 and within a few years recorded his first artist, a pianist-singer from the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind who would become the legendary Ray Charles. Stone’s hits were on TK Records and similar labels he founded. They included: Get Down Tonight, That’s the Way (I Like It), Shake, Shake, Shake (Shake Your Booty), I’m Your Boogie Man for KC & the Sunshine Band and Ring My Bell for Anita Ward, the Miami Herald reported. Stone released Otis Williams and the Charms’ No. 1 R&B hit, Heart of Stone, in 1954. He was also instrumental in signing James Brown and the Famous Flames, earning the hit, Please, Please, Please.
CANADA
Americans die in plane crash
Ontario Provincial police say three Americans died in a plane crash in northwestern Ontario on Friday. Police said search-and-rescue squads located a downed Cessna 182 just after 4pm on Friday by Chappie Lake, south of Kenora, Ontario. Police say two people were found dead and the third died later of her injuries. Police arrived at the scene after receiving an emergency locator signal from the lake. Authorities identified the victims as 41-year-old Nikolas Rajala, 40-year-old Teresa Rajala and 36-year-old Lynn Bohanon, all of Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Police say the three were staying at a fishing lodge in the area and were on a fishing trip when the crash occurred.
UNITED STATES
Woman tries to smuggle cash
A 78-year-old Florida woman tried to fly the Philippines from Detroit Metropolitan Airport with almost US$41,000 in cash hidden inside her girdle, bra and carry-on bag, federal authorities said. A complaint filed on Friday in Detroit’s District Court said the Clearwater woman was trying to board the flight on April 2 with her daughter. She initially said she had US$200 in cash, but submitted a form declaring she had US$1,200, prompting questions. During a search, Customs and Border Protection officers found US$8,000 in her carry-on bag, US$4,000 sewn into a cloth pouch and nearly US$1,000 in envelopes, according to the complaint. She then told them she had US$3,000 in her blouse and US$2,000 in the strap of her bra. Officers continued to search and said they found about US$21,000 in her girdle. The woman told authorities she sold her home for US$120,000 and wired some of the money to the Philippines. ”She stated that she did not wire the proceeds to the Philippines this time because she thought it was safer to carry the money,” the complaint said.
UNITED KINGDOM
Abbey Road to get guard
The pedestrian crossing on London’s Abbey Road immortalized by The Beatles could soon have its own traffic warden to ensure the safety of the fans who flock there, media reported on Saturday. The local authority is considering employing a “lollipop lady” to help regulate the flow of cars past the landmark. Fans often block traffic as they stand on the black-and-white zebra crossing outside Abbey Road Studios to recreate the Fab Four’s famous pose on the cover of the 1969 album Abbey Road.
‘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
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