NIGERIA
UN says millions need food
The number of people who need food aid in northeastern Nigeria rose by 11 percent to 5.2 million in June from three months earlier, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization said. “The ongoing lean season is contributing to a deterioration in food insecurity in northeastern Nigeria, in the three most affected states,” a report by the agency said. The three worst-affected regions include Borno, where the Boko Haram militia group has waged a violent campaign since 2009 to impose its version of Islamic law. The others are Adamawa and Yobe. The militants have used ambushes and bombed the northeast regions of the nation, killing tens of thousands of people.
UNITED KINGDOM
Drones destroy drawing
Military drones destroy a child’s picture in graffiti artist Banksy’s latest work, the highlight of an anti-war art show in London which protests against one of the world’s biggest arms fairs this week. Civilian Drone Strike depicts three drones flying above a framed picture of a line drawing of a house which has been blown up. A crudely drawn little girl and her family pet look on in horror. “Banksy is apparently offering a critique of the military industrial complex by deliberately destroying a rather nice child’s drawing” Art the Arms Fair organizer Sam Walton said. The work is to be auctioned tomorrow, with Banksy having set a reserve price of £10 (US$13.28) on the picture. The auction is in support of the Campaign Against Arms Trade group and human rights charity Reprieve. The east London art show has been organized in response to this year’s Defence and Security Equipment International, an annual military fair which is being held nearby.
ITALY
Boy killed in volcanic field
Three family members visiting a steamy volcanic field near Naples died on Tuesday after an 11-year-old boy entered an off-limits area and his parents followed to try to rescue him, police said. The boy apparently slipped after he breached a fence surrounding the prohibited area at the Solfatara crater in Pozzuoli, police said. A seven-year-old boy who was a member of the same family was nearby, but remained outside the fenced-off area. It was not immediately clear if the 11-year-old and his parents were overcome by gases or were killed as the result of an explosion of super-heated mud. Heavy rains in recent days might have played a role by creating more openings in the volcanic field’s surface. The crater is located in the Phlegraean Fields, a sprawling constellation of ancient volcanic craters frequented by Italian schoolchildren and tourists from around the world. The fields are scorching hot only centimeters below the surface. Signs around the crater in multiple languages warn of the danger of burning from high soil temperatures and steam.
UNITED KINGDOM
Floral tribute ridiculed
A floral tribute to Princess Diana produced as part of a traditional festival for dressing wells in Chesterfield has been described as “horrendous” and “an insult” to the late royal. The flower arrangement, decorating a well in Chesterfield’s market place to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Diana’s death, was mocked online after the Derbyshire town’s council published photographs on Facebook “I saw it and thought what an insult to Dianna [sic] ... luckily she had a sense of humor and would probably be laughing,” Gayla Tuckley said. “Seriously ... I hope this was done by a local primary school?” Stephen Jones posted.
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