JAPAN
Emperor prescribed rest
Emperor Akihito, 84, was advised to rest after feeling nauseous and dizzy early yesterday and canceled or postponed his duties. The Imperial Household Agency said Empress Michiko called the palace doctor early in the morning after finding Akihito sweating profusely. It said his symptoms were caused by cerebral anemia or an insufficient flow of blood to the brain, and the doctor was continuing to monitor his situation.
FRANCE
Manhunt on for escapee
The government yesterday pointed to possible security failings as a manhunt continued for a notorious gangster who used a helicopter to make his second prison break of his career. Redoine Faid was sprung from a prison in Paris on Sunday by two armed accomplices who had hijacked a helicopter from a flight school. The pair forced the instructor to take them to the prison, where they set off smoke bombs before using power tools to break into the visiting room, where Faid was talking to his brother. The helicopter was later found about 60km from the prison, with the pilot, who had been beaten, in a state of shock.
RUSSIA
Protests over pension plan
Opponents of the government’s proposal to raise the eligibility ages for pensions held demonstrations throughout the country on Sunday. The Cabinet sent parliament a proposal last month to gradually bring the pension age for men from 60 to 65 and to increase it from 55 to 63 for women. The average pension is 14,000 rubles (US$230) a month.
UNITED STATES
‘FART’ act reportedly mulled
A report that President Donald Trump is looking to walk away from the WTO and instead adopt a “Fair and Reciprocal Tariff Act” (FART) has been greeted with loud amusement on Twitter. Axios reported that it had received a leaked early draft of a bill ordered by Trump, which would see the government take the unlikely step of abandoning WTO rules, allowing him to raise tariffs without the consent of Congress. The bill — the existence of which has not been independently confirmed — would be a dramatic shift in trade policy with wide-reaching impacts, but it was the name of the proposed bill that caught people’s attention. There were debates about whether the name of the act was intentional, while Internet users responded with jokes, memes and even poetry.
UNITED STATES
Trump used as drug brand
Some drug traffickers appear to be using Trump’s image to brand their illegal wares. An Indiana State Police news release about 129 arrests in a series of drug busts includes a photograph of what police describe as “Trump-shaped ecstasy pills.” They are orange and stamped with a face. On the back are the words “great again,” an apparent reference to Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
UNITED KINGDOM
‘Cats’ choreographer dies
Choreographer Gillian Lynne, who was best known for her work on the long-running musicals Cats and Phantom of the Opera, died on Sunday at age 92, her husband said. “She leaves behind a huge legacy & is adored by many,” her husband, actor Peter Land, said on Twitter, paying tribute to his “dearest wife & friend & love for 40 years.” She choreographed more than 50 productions on the West End and Broadway and was the recipient of two Olivier Awards.
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
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