CANADA
Retiree wins second lotto
There are lucky people, and then there is Jules Parent. For the second time in nine years, the 69-year-old Quebec retiree has won C$1 million (US$804,279) playing the lottery. He showed up at lottery offices to pick up a check for C$1,222,069 after winning the jackpot from an online play worth C$3.2. Loto-Quebec places the odds of such a bet at about one in 23 million. Parent also won C$1 million in 2008.
NICARAGUA
Claim against US to restart
The leftist administration and the country’s congress are vowing to revive a US$17 billion damage claim made decades ago over US support for contra rebels in the 1980s. Leaders are angry over the US House of Representatives’ Foreign Relations Committee voting for a bill that would “oppose loans at international financial institutions” for Nicaragua unless it takes steps “to hold free, fair and transparent elections.” The unicameral legislature on Friday approved reviving the damage claim. Nicaragua was awarded unspecified damages in 1986 by the International Court of Justice, but Washington said it did not recognize the court’s jurisdiction, and a pro-US administration in Nicaragua dropped the claim in 1991. The US-supported contras sought to overthrow the Sandinista National Liberation Front government in the 1980s. About 30,000 people died in the war.
UNITED STATES
Shrinking seats a hazard
An appeals court panel said federal officials should reconsider whether to regulate the size of airline seats in the name of safety. One of the judges calls it the case of the incredible shrinking airline seat. On Friday, a three-judge panel for the federal appeals court in Washington found fault with the work the Federal Aviation Administration did before the agency rejected setting regulations on seat size. A passenger group called Flyers Rights challenged the agency in court, saying cramped planes are a safety hazard. The agency said it is studying the ruling.
UNITED STATES
Boy and bear reunited
A four-year-old north Texas boy has been reunited with his beloved teddy bear nearly a week after the furry friend was forgotten at Dallas Love Field airport. Luke Swofford of Rockwall got his favorite stuffed toy back on Wednesday after extensive efforts that included an airport search and online pleas for assistance. Family members said Luke and some relatives on July 20 flew home to Texas after a visit to Colorado, but the boy forgot his bear on a bench outside baggage claim. Airport officials turned to Twitter to help in the search. An airport security guard on Tuesday found Luke’s favorite toy in a break room.
UNITED STATES
Ruling favors Flint residents
Residents in Flint, Michigan, who were exposed to lead-contaminated water can pursue constitutional claims against state and city officials, a federal appeals court said on Friday. In a 3-0 decision, the court overturned decisions by a judge who said federal water law eclipsed claims of civil rights violations. The court said it was not judging the merits of the two lawsuits, but it is allowing residents to at least get inside the courthouse door. The cases now return to US District Judge John Corbett O’Meara in Ann Arbor, Michigan. They are among many lawsuits in state and federal courts over the disastrous decision to use water from the Flint River without treating it for corrosion in 2014 to 2015.
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