MYANMAR
Military plane crashes
Pieces of a military plane that went missing with more than 100 soldiers and family members aboard were found in the Andaman Sea late yesterday, an official said. Navy ships and aircraft began a searching in the afternoon after the plane lost contact with air traffic controllers. More than a dozen children were believed to be among the passengers. “Now they have found pieces of the damaged plane in the sea 136 miles [218km] away from Dawei city,” said Naing Lin Zaw, a tourism official in Myeik, adding the navy was still searching the sea.
UNITED STATES
‘Terror award’ teacher fired
A Houston-area school district said it no longer employs a teacher who gave a student a mock award naming her “most likely to become a terrorist.” The Channelview Independent School District on Tuesday said that it had parted with the junior-high school teacher who gave the award to a 13-year-old girl and other mock awards to other students. “We have concluded our investigation and the teacher responsible is no longer employed by the district,” it said.
UNITED STATES
Woodstock recognized
The site of the 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Fair is now officially recognized for its place in history. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday said that the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in the Hudson Valley town of Bethel has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Cuomo said the festival that drew about half a million people to Max Yasgur’s dairy farm was a “pivotal moment in both New York and American history,” and the recognition would preserve the landmark for future generations.
UNITED STATES
City makes taco ‘faux pas’
A California city is apologizing for using a taco pun in an official tweet to promote a council meeting to discuss sanctuary protections. The City of Hayward issued a tweet with an illustration of a taco, urging the public “Let’s Taco Bout It.” City spokesman Chuck Finnie said the meme was not related to the topic of sanctuary status. He said city officials are “upset and embarrassed” by the inappropriate tweet. The meme was developed by the city’s social media team to promote city council meetings, which are held on Tuesdays, and is a play on the phrase “Taco Tuesdays.” The council is to consider whether to formally declare itself a “sanctuary city” for people in the country illegally.
UNITED STATES
Trump supporter losses poll
A former contestant on The Apprentice and President Donald Trump campaign backer, who was booted from the Republican Party ticket after video surfaced of him using a vulgarity toward a woman, on Tuesday lost a party poll in New Jersey. Brian McDowell failed to win a spot on the two-person Republican slate in the 1st Assembly District to square-off against a pair of Democratic incumbents in November. McDowell can be seen in the nine second video using a vulgarity to tell a woman she should have sex with him.
AUSTRALIA
Prince touts Invictus Games
Britain’s Prince Harry yesterday marked 500 days until Sydney hosts the 2018 Invictus Games. At a harborside ceremony attended by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Governor-General Peter Cosgrove, Harry said he was inspired to create the games for wounded veterans as he was leaving Afghanistan, where he had served as an army captain in 2008.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At 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
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