CHINA
Capsized tugboat claims 22
Authorities yesterday confirmed that 22 people died in the capsizing of a tugboat with an international team that was on a test voyage in the nation’s east, after rescuers dragged the overturned vessel to shallow waters and scoured it. Four Singaporeans, an Indian, an Indonesian, a Japanese and a Malaysian were among the dead in the accident on the Yangtze River; the 14 other victims were Chinese, state-run Xinhua news agency said. The newly built, 30m Wanshenzhou 67 was on a test voyage on Thursday in the river’s Fubei Channel in Jiangsu Province when it suddenly turned over. The ship’s owner, parts suppliers and engineers were among the 25 people aboard for the test. An official at a Jiangsu maritime search-and-rescue center who declined to give his name confirmed that 22 people were dead.
RUSSIA
Cat aids abandoned infant
A homeless cat has won praise for keeping warm a baby boy who was apparently abandoned in a chilly entryway in the town of Obninsk in the Kaluga region on Saturday last week, a day when temperatures were several degrees centigrade below zero. A local cat by the name of Masha that lived in a cardboard box in the hallway “warmed the baby for several hours with her body,” TV Zvezda channel reported on Thursday. “The residents are certain — if the cat had not taken care of it — the baby would not have had a chance,” TV Zvezda reported. When paramedics arrived and took the baby into the ambulance, Masha ran after them, REN TV reported. Vera Ivanina, a paramedic, told REN TV: “She was so worried about where we were taking the baby. She ran right behind us, meowing. She was really a rational creature.” Police have launched a search for the parents while the healthy boy is being cared for in a hospital.
MYANMAR
Rescue effort set to begin
Trucks are on standby to try to rescue more than 1,000 civilians trapped in two villages in the nation’s north, where fierce fighting broke out between the army and rebels. Gam Aung, a resident in Lone Khin, a town near the fighting in Kachin State, said many people, including children, were seeking refuge in Buddhist monasteries and Christian churches yesterday. There are no injuries reported. Ethnic insurgent spokesman Dawng Hka said soldiers have so far blocked efforts to ferry villagers to safety. There was no immediate comment from the government.
UNITED STATES
‘Doggone’ rug for sale
A rug at a Florida sheriff’s department might have been better suited for an animal shelter. The plush green carpet proudly displayed the crest of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Department, emblazoned with its name and a picture of the state of Florida. Unfortunately, it included the words “In Dog We Trust,” rather than “In God We Trust,” the official motto found on US currency and on many government seals. It took workers at the office a few months to notice the typo. Now they are looking to sell the defective floor covering for a good cause. “The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office will not ‘sweep anything under the rug,’” it said in a statement. “Due to extensive inquiries regarding the plans for the ‘doggone’ rug, the Sheriff’s Office has placed the item up for bid and will donate 100 percent of the bid to Canine Estates Incorporated, a local animal rescue,” the sheriff’s department said.
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