HONDURAS
‘Indignados’ demand change
Thousands of people protested in Tegucigalpa on Friday, the latest in a series of marches calling for an investigation into President Juan Orlando Hernandez over allegations of massive corruption. Two separate marches eventually joined near the president’s palace, where scores of hunger-striking protesters known as indignados (the indignant) — have been camped out in tents. “Get out JOH!” demonstrators chanted on Friday, using the president’s initials. Some protesters carried torches, while others held banners showing Hernandez in a prison uniform under the word “corrupt.” Massive crowds have been marching since May against Hernandez, who is accused of receiving government money illegally in his 2013 presidential campaign. Hernandez admitted his conservative ruling National Party had accepted US$94,000 that had been misappropriated from social security funds.The opposition charges that more than US$300 million was skimmed from Honduras’ public health system.
UNITED STATES
Plane crashes in Alaska
A plane crash in southeast Alaska left one person dead and four others injured, the coast guard said on Friday. The four were transported by helicopter to a hospital in Juneau. One patient was listed in serious condition while another was in critical condition. Juneau police said they received a 911 call about 1:30pm on Friday from a person who said they had been involved in a crash on a flight from Juneau to the community of Hoonah. Police said the caller’s name matched that of someone on the aircraft. The Cessna 207 operated by Wings of Alaska was reported missing on Friday afternoon. The company confirmed the plane had been involved in an accident. Coast guard spokesman Grant DeVuyst said authorities, initially thwarted by poor weather and steep, rugged terrain, were able to find a clearing for helicopter hoist operations.
ISRAEL
PM wishes Abbas happy Eid
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have spoken by telephone, a rare exchange amid years of paralyzed peace efforts. Netanyahu’s office said that the Israeli leader wished Abbas a happy Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday that caps the fasting month of Ramadan. A statement issued on Friday said Netanyahu told Abbas that Israelis want peace and that Israel would “continue to act toward regional stability.” The Palestinian news agency WAFA said Abbas told Netanyahu it is important to reach a peace deal next year.
UNITED STATES
Empire State building lit up
New York’s Empire State Building was lit in green late on Friday to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr holiday that marks the end of Ramadan. The green light is to shine until the building closes to the public at 2am, when the building traditionally turns out its lights. The skyscraper has carried out the tradition “for several years now — it is an annual lighting,” a building spokeswoman told reporters. The Empire State Building shines specific colors for a number of religious holidays — pastel shades for Easter, blue and white for Hanukkah and red and green for Christmas. It has also marked a number of events — red, white and blue for the US women’s World Cup victory, rainbow colors for gay Pride Week, and blue, white and purple for World Oceans Day on June 8. The tower is otherwise illuminated in white each night.
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
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