FRANCE
Redheads celebrate hair
Ginger, auburn, strawberry blonde; all types of redheads turned out on Saturday in their hundreds in the Brittany town of Chateaugiron for the first “Red Love” festival. “I was born red, I will stay red and I am beautiful like everyone around me,” said Simon, a 32-year-old farm worker. “I was teased when I was young, called names like ‘carrot-top … it’s the same as if you’re fat.” The 1,200 attendees enjoyed concerts and shows, including a fashion parade of 18 redheads in wedding dresses.
Photo: AFP
RUSSIA
Opposition leader detained
Alexei Navalny was detained outside his home in Moscow on Saturday for reasons that were not immediately clear, injuring a finger in the process, his spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on Twitter. In an interview to radio station Ekho Moskvy, Yarmysh said it was “probably linked” to Navalny’s plans to hold protests on Sept. 9 against the government’s unpopular pension reform. In a blog post published on Saturday, Navalny said the protests would take place in Moscow and “in almost a hundred other cities.” Yarmysh said the 42-year-old was treated in a hospital after his arrest for a suspected broken finger.
EGYPT
Couple’s deaths ‘suspicious’
The nation’s top prosecutor dismissed speculation that the death of two British tourists in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada was caused by poisonous gas emissions in their hotel room, as the hotel attributed their deaths to “natural causes.” An inspection by the prosecutor’s team of John and Susan Cooper’s room found that there were no toxic or harmful gas emissions or leaks, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement. All devices in the room were “functioning efficiently without any defects,” it added. The statement came after the couple’s daughter, Kelly Ormerod, told Sky News that “something suspicious has gone on,” especially since her parents had not complained of any health problems prior to going on the holiday. The Cooper couple’s deaths prompted tour operator Thomas Cook to evacuate its 301 customers from the Steigenberger Aqua Magic hotel as a “precautionary measure.” About 100 decided to return home, the rest were moved to other hotels.
UNITED KINGDOM
Lindsay Kemp dies at 80
Dancer, choreographer and mime artist Lindsay Kemp, known for tutoring singers David Bowie and Kate Bush, has died at 80 at his home in Livorno, Italy. Director Nendie Pinto-Duschinsky, who is making a documentary about Kemp, on Saturday said that Kemp died suddenly after a “perfect” day rehearsing with his students. Kemp formed his dance company in the 1960s. He is credited with helping Bowie create his Ziggy Stardust persona and teaching Bush to dance.
UNITED KINGDOM
Cruise ship rescues trio
The Pacific Princess cruise ship late on Saturday afternoon turned around in the North Sea to rescue three men in a lifeboat who had sent up a flare. The ship, which was heading back to Dover after an eight-day cruise around the British Isles, changed its course to rescue the men off the coast of Norwich.
INDIA
Flood death toll hits 445
The death toll from devastating floods in the southern state of Kerala yesterday rose to 445 with the discovery of 28 more bodies as the waters recede and a massive cleanup gathers pace, government officials said. About 1 million people are still packed into temporary relief camps, and 15 are reported missing even as the government mounts an operation to clean homes and public places that have been filled with dirt and sand left by the floods. More than 130,000 flood-hit houses had been cleaned, or nearly one-third of those affected, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in a tweet. The government said that more than 10,000km of roads have been destroyed or damaged, while a legislator said 50,000 houses had been wiped out. People returning to their homes have been told to stay alert as receding waters leave behind a glut of snakes.
AUSTRALIA
Rain brings scant relief
Widespread rain fell across drought-affected parts over the weekend, bringing relief to farmers struggling to cope with the driest conditions in more than half a century. Graziers have had to hand-feed sheep and cattle, sell down stock — and in some cases even shoot them to end their suffering — as they ran out of hay and grain in the severe conditions affecting Queensland and New South Wales states. The wet weather was the first farmers in some areas had seen for more than a year and even included hail. However, locals said the ground had become so dry in the past few months that more downpours over the next few weeks and months would be needed to make a difference.
DR CONGO
Ebola outbreak kills 67
An outbreak of Ebola in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) has killed 67 people this month, authorities said on Saturday. A total of 105 cases have been reported since the flare-up of Ebola began on Aug. 1 in Mangina in North Kivu Province, according to the Ministry of Health, out of which 77 have been confirmed by laboratory tests. Eleven people have recovered from the virus and 67 had died, it said. Minister of Health Oly Ilunga Kalenga on Thursday traveled to Mangina and saw two patients being discharged after they were treated with a new prototype treatment called mAb114. Developed in the US, it is the first therapeutic drug to be used in an active Ebola epidemic in the nation.
CHINA
Hotelier held after deadly fire
Police in Harbin have detained the owner of a resort hotel, where a fire killed 19 people and injured 23. The public security bureau said on its official social media account that it was questioning the legal representative of the Beilong Hot Spring Leisure Hotel (北龍溫泉休閒酒店) on suspicion of negligence leading to Saturday’s fire.
IRAN
Minister voted out of office
The parliament yesterday voted to remove Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Masoud Karbasian from office, state media said, amid a sharp fall in the rial currency and a deterioration in the economic situation. The move was the latest in a continuing shakeup of top economic personnel as the US reimposes economic sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear program and other issues. A total of 137 members of parliament voted for Karbasian’s removal, state media said, while 121 members voted in favor of him remaining in office.
‘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