UNITED STATES
Mother accused of desertion
The mother of a five-year-old Louisiana boy faces a child desertion charge after the child’s nine-year-old brother accidentally shot him in the head, authorities said on Wednesday. Colonel John Fortunato, a spokesman for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, said 29-year-old Generra Brown was issued a court summons for the misdemeanor charge because she left the children unsupervised at a Marrero home before the Tuesday evening shooting that killed her son, Melvin Brady. Fortunato said investigators believe that Brown, a home healthcare professional, was caring for a neighbor across the street when her nine-year-old son found a loaded gun while he and his brother were playing in a bedroom closet.
UNITED STATES
Famed flamingo put down
Veterinarians at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida, euthanized “Pinky” the dancing flamingo after a man grabbed her from an animal viewing area and threw her to the ground in front of his children. According to a police report, 45-year-old Joseph Anthony Corrao of Orlando was visiting the theme park with his mother and his three teenagers on Tuesday when he reached into a pen in the Jambo Junction area, picked up a flamingo and set it down. Police say his mother told him to leave the birds alone after he picked up another one. That is when he threw Pinky down so hard that one of its feet was nearly severed, the police report said. Police spokesman Stephen Hegarty said Corrao handled the bird “violently.” Park security officers detained him until his arrest by Tampa police. Busch Gardens said the bird suffered “traumatic” injuries and could not be saved.
UNITED STATES
Bear rides garbage truck
A New Mexico bear hitched a ride on top of a garbage truck, traveling at least 8km on the vehicle before it was able to make its escape up a tree. Santa Fe National Forest spokeswoman Julie Anne Overton said the driver was picking up a dumpster last week when he heard a squeal then realized the bear was on top of the truck. It rode atop the vehicle to a site where the Forest Service keeps a firefighting helicopter. Helicopter mechanic Evan Welsch, who snapped photographs of the bear, said that about 30 Forest Service and National Park workers had gathered around to see the spectacle when it was suggested that the driver back up near a tree to give the animal an escape route. The bear clamored for the tree and stayed up there about an hour or two before scurrying down and running off.
UNITED STATES
Sex magazine targets Utah
Utah’s declaration of pornography as a public health crisis has created a backlash from publications, earning Republican Governor Gary Herbert a mention on the latest cover of a sexually explicit magazine, which also sent copies of the issue to him and leaders in the Utah-based Mormon church. The cover of the magazine’s issue for last month and this month features an image of a model against a US flag along with a headline about Utah’s pornography resolution, passed earlier this year. The magazine’s editor, Raphie Aronowitz, said the move was aimed to agitate. “We wanted to show these guys that them imposing their views on us and bringing their values to our doorstep is just as irritating as us doing the same do them,” Aronowitz said. Jon Cox, a spokesman for Herbert, said the fact that the industry feels threatened by a resolution “meant to raise awareness of this problem shows you just how desperate they must be.”
AUSTRALIA
Drugs smuggled in logs
Two men have been charged with drug smuggling after methamphetamine valued at A$115 million (US$90 million) was shipped to Sydney from Africa hidden in wooden logs, officials said yesterday. The 154kg of the drug had been smuggled inside 14 logs within a consignment of 121 that arrived in June, the Australian Federal Police and Australian Border Force said in a joint statement. Police detected the drug in Sydney and monitored the logs as they were delivered to Melbourne last month. Police launched simultaneous raids on Wednesday, arresting a 64-year-old man in Sydney and a 20-year-old man in Melbourne. They were both charged with importing a commercial quantity of the drug and face potential life sentences if convicted.
CHINA
Sinkhole swallows passersby
A huge sinkhole opened in a Henan Province city, swallowing a section of road and passersby, leaving at least one person missing, state media reported on Wednesday. At least three people fell into the 30m long, 20m wide and 9m deep sinkhole, which appeared during heavy rain in downtown Zhengzhou, the Beijing Youth Daily said, citing witnesses. An initial investigation showed the collapse might have been caused by water pipes buried under the road breaking up due to the rain, provincial firefighters said. A man and a woman were brought out by rescuers after the sinkhole opened up, but another woman, who was riding an electric bicycle, was swept away by a raging torrent. The Zhengzhou City Government said it was unclear how many people fell into the hole, the paper added. Rescuers searching for the missing found three electric bicycles, bags, slippers and some clothes in the cavity.
PAKISTAN
‘Doraemon’ ban proposed
An opposition lawmaker on Wednesday proposed banning 24-hour cartoon TV channels, specifically the popular Japanese series Doraemon, drawing ridicule on social media in a nation fighting corruption, poverty and militants. Malik Taimur, of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), said such channels could have a negative influence on children. The resolution submitted in Punjab Province requested “the federal government that it make it binding upon PEMRA [state regulator] that it close down cartoon channels, specifically Doraemon, or only run them for limited time periods.” Doraemon is a small, blue robot cat from the future sent back in time to help a schoolboy and his family. “In a country where child abductions and abuse is rampant, PTI decides to raise its voice for the real threat our children face. Doraemon,” Twitter user Assad Zulfiqar Khan wrote.
UNITED STATES
Osbourne addicted to sex
Heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne revealed on Wednesday that he has been undergoing therapy for sex addiction as he tries to reconcile with his wife. The Black Sabbath singer went public about the treatment after a hair colorist revealed she was one of his mistresses. “Over the last six years, I have been dealing with a sex addiction,” the 67-year-old English rocker wrote on Facebook. “Out of bad comes good. Since the press exposed this I have gone into intense therapy. I am mortified at what my behavior has done to my family. I thank God that my incredible wife is at my side to support me.” Osbourne has been married for 34 years to Sharon Osbourne. She said in May that the two had separated, but the couple later voiced hope for reconciliation.
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