UNITED KINGDOM
Woman jailed for stalking
A woman has been jailed after cyberstalking her ex-boyfriend, culminating in the faking of her own kidnap and assault. Jessica Nordquist, a US national, sent photographs of herself bound and undressed to her former partner, Mark Weeks, claimed to have been raped and defended herself by saying that she had been abducted by an MI5 agent. She faces deportation at the end of her four-and-a-half-year jail sentence. As well as sending scores of text messages and e-mails to Weeks, the 26-year-old created about 20 Instagram accounts to harass him, made false allegations against him and sent malicious messages to the company where they had worked together.
UNITED STATES
Man found in grease vent
A man who authorities say was possibly trying to burglarize an abandoned Chinese restaurant on Wednesday was rescued from a grease vent, where officials say he had been trapped for two days. Police and firefighters were called to a vacant building in San Lorenzo after someone heard cries for help, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office said. When officials arrived, they found a man stuck inside a metal vent, the office said. Sergeant Ray Kelly told the San Francisco Chronicle that the man was in generally good condition, despite being exposed to the elements. The man was taken to a hospital and deputies were to decide later whether to jail him or issue a citation, Kelly said.
UNITED STATES
Diplomats show ear damage
Diplomats affected by mysterious health incidents in Cuba showed damage in the inner ear shortly after they complained of weird noises and sensations, according to their earliest medical exams that were publicized on Wednesday. The detailed findings were published in a medical journal nearly two years after the “health attacks” began, but they shed no new light on a possible culprit. “What caused it, who did it, why it was done — we don’t know any of those things,” said Michael Hoffer of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, who led the exams. Since late 2016, 26 people associated with the embassy in Havana reported problems that include dizziness, ear pain and ringing, as well as cognitive problems. Cuba has denied any involvement. The researchers examined 25 of those people. The patients failed a variety of tests that detect inner-ear problems associated with balance, although there were no presymptom medical records to compare.
ARGENTINA
Actor accused of rape
A television actor who participated in a video asking women to denounce sexual assaults is himself being accused of rape. Actress Thelma Fardin on Tuesday night accused Juan Darthes of raping her in 2009 when she was 16 and he was 45. Fardin said she had filed a criminal complaint in Nicaragua, where she said she was raped by Darthes in a hotel during a promotional tour for Ugly Duckling, a children’s television series. Darthes has denied the allegation. Three other women have accused him of harassment or abuse.
BRAZIL
Healer abuse claims pile up
Police are investigating accusations by 258 women that a self-proclaimed Brazilian faith healer, who became a celebrity after appearing on Oprah Winfrey’s show, sexually abused them while they were seeking spiritual guidance and treatment. Prosecutors have requested the arrest of Joao Teixeira de Faria, known as “John of God,” from a court in Abadiania, a police source said on Wednesday.
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