UNITED STATES
Kids, parents to be reunited
At least 54 immigrant children under the age of five were to be released from detention centers and reunited with their parents by yesterday’s court-ordered deadline, a government lawyer said. That is only about half the 100 or so children covered by the order. More than 2,000 children were separated from their parents at the border and sent to shelters across the nation while their parents were charged criminally for illegal entry. The parents will be free while their cases wind through immigration court and may be required to wear ankle monitors. A federal judge on Monday rejected the federal government’s efforts to detain immigrant families in long-term facilities.
AFGHANISTAN
Suicide attack kills 10
A suicide attacker yesterday blew himself up near an Afghan security forces vehicle, killing at least 10 people, mostly civilians, officials said. The explosion in the eastern city of Jalalabad also left at least four people wounded and set a nearby gasoline station alight, provincial governor spokesman Attaullah Khogyani said. Some of the victims were taken to hospital with severe burns, health director Najibullah Kamawal said, confirming the casualty toll.
UNITED STATES
Baby found alive in woods
A five-month-old baby who miraculously survived more than nine hours being buried under a pile of sticks and debris in the woods of western Montana suffered only minor injuries, despite wearing wet and soiled clothes in 8oC weather, authorities said. Missoula County Sheriff Office deputies were called at about 8pm on Saturday about a man threatening people in the Lolo National Forest. Deputies apprehended the man, Francis Crowley, who indicated that a baby was buried somewhere in the woods. They found the baby after a six-hour search. Crowley, 32, was being held on US$50,000 bail on a charge of criminal endangerment. Additional charges are to follow, the sheriff’s office said in a statement. The nature of Crowley’s relationship to the baby was not immediately clear.
GERMANY
Holocaust funding increased
The government has agreed to pay another 75 million euros (US$88 million) to fund social welfare services for Holocaust survivors, the New York-based Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany said yesterday. That brings total funding next year to 480 million euros to help survivors as they grow older and more frail. “These elderly heroes deserve the recognition that increased payments and much-needed services will provide,” Claims Conference negotiator Greg Schneider said. Germany also agreed to increase pensions paid to 55,000 Holocaust survivors in central and eastern Europe, and expand eligibility for child survivors.
AUSTRALIA
Monster croc caught
An elusive monster saltwater crocodile weighing 600kg has finally been caught after an eight-year hunt, officials said yesterday. The 4.7m beast was found in a trap downstream from the northern outback town of Katherine after first being spotted in 2010. Authorities had tried in vain for years to bag the croc, which is estimated to be 60 years old. “We’ve called it a lot of things over the years because it’s been so hard to catch,” senior wildlife officer John Burke told Australian Broadcasting Corp. The animal was taken to a crocodile farm to keep it separate from the local human population, Northern Territory wildlife operations head Tracey Duldig said.
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
‘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