UNITED STATES
World’s tallest dog dies
Zeus, the Great Dane who in 2012 earned the Guinness World Record as tallest dog in the world, has died at age five, a local newspaper said on Friday. Zeus died last week of natural causes, owner Kevin Doorlag told the Kalamazoo Gazette, a local daily in Michigan State. He would have celebrated his sixth birthday in November. The gentle giant, who measured 1.12m at the shoulder and more than 2.13m tall when standing on his hind legs, weighed more than 68kg, the paper reported. In 2012, when Zeus entered the records book, Doorlag said his massive canine often sparked astonishment when he took him on walks. “The most common thing people ask is: ‘Is that a dog or a horse?’” he recounted, according to NBC news.
UNITED STATES
Dozens flee forest fires
Forest fires burning near San Diego forced dozens of people to evacuate on Friday ahead of a weekend expected to see record temperatures for the season. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department said it ordered the mandatory evacuations of about 30 households near the Cleveland National Forest as parts of Silverado Canyon lost power due to the fire. The local fire department said about 526 hectares had burned, adding it had no estimate for how much of the blaze had been contained. Weather forecasters have warned of a heatwave due to last until Tuesday in the Golden State that could further expand the blaze or trigger more fires, while also complicating the work of firefighters. The National Weather Service said temperatures could break records for this time of year, climbing up to 38oC in Los Angeles and up to 42.2oC in desert areas.
CANADA
Ford withdraws from race
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has withdrawn his re-election bid for mayor as he seeks treatment for a tumor in his abdomen and his brother has registered to run his in place. The city clerk’s office says Ford will instead seek a seat on the Toronto City Council, after a nephew withdrew his candidacy. Doug Ford, a city councilor who had been the mayor’s campaign manager, submitted his registration papers to run for mayor in his brother’s place. The announcement ended a campaign that Rob Ford had pursued despite persistent calls for him to quit amid drug and alcohol scandals.
PERU
‘Narco runways’ destroyed
Authorities destroyed more than 37 makeshift runways in the Amazon this week, part of bid to stop a growing number of small planes from smuggling cocaine out of the world’s top producer, military officials said. Security forces plan to wipe out 58 so-called narco runways by tomorrow — a record number in such a short period of time, Deputy Minister of Defense Ivan Vega said. The runways, carved into remote corners of the rainforest, help move tens of tonnes of cocaine out of the country every year. In the VRAEM, the lawless jungle region where most of the country’s coca is grown, a special forces unit blew up several runaways on Thursday with bundles of dynamite, leaving behind 30m-wide holes that officials hope will make future landings impossible. The runways, which can stretch for 600m and sometimes feature drainage systems, are built by villagers who rent them to traffickers for between US$8,000 and US$10,000 per use, according to police. Before this week’s operation, authorities had destroyed 60 runways used for smuggling this year, Vega said, adding that security forces must make sure that the same runways are not rebuilt.
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number
‘GUARDIAN ANGEL’: The new security law would protect global investors’ rights, freedom, assets and investments in Hong Kong, a top Beijing official said Top Beijing officials in charge of Hong Kong affairs yesterday lashed out at critics of the territory’s new national security law, calling them “mantises and flies.” Hong Kong authorities last month enacted the territory’s second national security law, which expanded on legislation Beijing imposed four years ago to quell dissent after massive democracy protests in 2019 were quashed. The two laws together punish nine categories of broadly defined crimes — ranging from sedition and insurrection to foreign interference and theft of state secrets — with some carrying penalties of up to life imprisonment. The latest law raised concerns over further
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