CZECH REPUBLIC
Napoleonic battle re-enacted
More than 1,000 history buffs gathered on Saturday for a re-enactment of the Battle of Austerlitz, in which Napoleon crushed the Austrian and Russian armies in 1805. “We have soldiers from about 12 countries of the world, including Austria, France, Russia, but also Belgium, Italy or Poland,” organizer Miroslav Jandora said. On Dec. 2, 1805, Napoleon’s army took its rivals by surprise after feigning reluctance to fight the two armies near Austerlitz, modern day Slavkov, a town about 200km southeast of Prague. The 71,000 soldiers of Napoleon’s Grande Armee beat the 91,000 men of the combined Russian and Austrian armies in less than six hours. Considered Napoleon’s finest tactical masterpiece, the “Battle of the Three Emperors” left 28,000 dead. “Every year we re-enact a part of the battle. This year we are doing the fight for the Prace Heights, the crucial part of the battle,” Jandora said.
NORWAY
Government avoids collapse
Norway’s right-wing government narrowly avoided collapse on Saturday after a last-minute deal was agreed in negotiations for next year’s budget, which had threatened to bring down the ruling coalition, media reports said. Prime Minister Erna Solberg’s minority government had until today to secure majority support from its centrist allies in parliament, the Christian Democrats and Liberals, to pass its 2017 finance bill. However, a solution was found after talks stretched into the weekend, according to leading daily Aftenposten, public broadcaster NRK and the tabloid VG, citing sources close to the government. Saturday’s compromise included an extra 6 billion kroner (US$715 million) for climate and environmental measures, family policy, education and research and rail transport, according to media.
SPAIN
Refugees rescued at sea
Authorities said 92 refugees traveling in five makeshift boats were rescued off the country’s coast on Saturday, as an increasing number of migrants seek to reach Europe via the country. Among those rescued were 63 people from sub-Saharan Africa, officials said without specifying their nationalities, and 29 Algerians. Most of the refugees were taken to the port of Malaga, following a “complicated” rescue operation in rough seas about 49 nautical miles (91km) from the coast, a maritime rescue official said. The group included three women and a child, as well as a boy who had to be hospitalized after suffering from hypothermia. Also on Saturday, authorities stopped 22 refugees hiding in a truck who were trying to enter Melilla, a Spanish enclave in north Africa that, along with another enclave called Ceuta, are the only land borders between Africa and the EU.
UNITED STATES
Man caught stealing mail
A Florida man is being accused of being a Christmas Grinch after authorities said he broke into a post office and tried to steal packages. Francis Keller, 56, was arrested by the Boynton Beach Police Department and charged with burglary. Police said they found him inside a post office work room using scissors to open packages. Police said Keller, a former postal employee for 30 years, gained entry using an old security code for the door. Authorities also said Keller was extremely intoxicated when he was found beside a cart full of open packages. According to police, he told officers he was planning to steal valuable items to buy crack. Records show Keller was being held in the Palm Beach County jail.
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