UNITED KINGDOM
Clowns honor forebear
Clowns from all over on Sunday gathered in East London for the annual memorial of the legendary Joseph Grimaldi. The 19th-century English stage performer was credited with inventing the white-faced, curly haired, red-nosed look that came to define the role of a clown. Scores of devotees traveled by plane, by car and on foot — wearing oversized shoes — to the All Saints Church in Haggerston for the service, which has been held since 1947. “We have people flying in from Canada, Ireland, from France, people coming down from Scotland,” organizer Bibbledy Bob said.
Photo: AFP
BELGIUM
Gbagbo offered place
The government has agreed to receive former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo after his conditional release by the International Criminal Court, pending an appeal of his acquittal on charges of crimes against humanity. The government’s decision followed a request by the court, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Karl Lagatie said. Prosecutors are preparing an appeal against the acquittal, which might take months. The ICC’s Appeals Chamber on Friday said that Gbagbo, 73, and codefendant Charles Ble Goude could reside in a “state willing to accept them on its territory and willing and able to enforce” conditions attached to their release.
TURKEY
Thousands back prisoners
Thousands of people on Sunday rallied in Istanbul in support of hunger strikers protesting against the prison conditions of militant Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan, who is serving a life sentence. “I am saluting my friends resisting in prisons. They are our honor, they are not alone,” said Fahit Ulas, a supporter of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP). “If needed we will sacrifice our bodies for this cause. We have no fear.” About 250 prisoners around the country have begun hunger strikes along with HDP deputy Leyla Guven, who wants to force the government to let Ocalan hold regular meetings with his lawyers and relatives.
UNITED STATES
ICE arrests 21 Savage
Grammy-nominated Atlanta-based rapper 21 Savage on Sunday was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Georgia, who said he was illegally in the country and a convicted felon. The rapper, whose real name is Sha Yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, arrived from the UK as a teenager in 2005, overstaying his visa to settle in Atlanta, ICE spokesman Bryan Cox said. He said Abraham-Joseph was convicted on felony drug charges in Georgia in 2014, and was arrested on Sunday as part of a targeted operation. He faces deportation proceedings, Cox said.
GERMANY
Nein to street names
Voters in Hilgermissen have delivered a clear message: No street names, thanks. Results from a referendum on Sunday showed 60 percent of voters rejected their council’s plan to name the streets, while 40 percent supported it. The municipality of about 2,200 residents was formed in the 1970s out of several villages. Addresses consist of a house number and the name of a former village. The proposal was aimed at helping emergency services and delivery services find their way.
INDIA
Kumbh Mela festival begins
Millions of Hindu pilgrims yesterday took the plunge into sacred rivers at the world’s largest religious gathering, led by ash-smeared holy men and accompanied by religious chanting. On the most auspicious day of the months-long Kumbh Mela festival, devotees rose at dawn in Allahabad to immerse themselves at the confluence of three rivers — the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati. Thousands of Hindu devotees and holy men led the mass bathing in the chilly waters. Hindus believe that bathing in the sacred rivers cleanses them of sin and yesterday’s Mauni Amavasya Snan — the “no moon day” — is considered the holiest of the gigantic 48-day festival that runs until March 4.
AGHANISTAN
Taliban to join talks
The Taliban said they would participate in what they call “intra-Afghan” talks in Moscow among prominent national figures, including former president Hamid Karzai and tribal elders — but no Kabul government officials. President Ashraf Ghani’s office has criticized the meeting, expected today, as a gathering of the power-hungry. A statement released yesterday by those attending the Moscow meeting describes it as “the first step toward intra-Afghan dialogue.” The Taliban delegation is to be led by Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai.
AUSTRALIA
Scores battle building fire
More than 60 firefighters were yesterday deployed to battle a fire at building in Melbourne’s Spencer Street that has prompted fresh concerns about combustible cladding on apartment buildings. The blaze began shortly before 6am and shot up several floors of the apartment complex. The Metropolitan Fire Brigade said initial reports suggested the fire started on the 22nd floor and moved up the outside of the building to the 27th floor. Ambulance Victoria said paramedics had treated one man in his 20s for smoke inhalation. Melbourne Fire Brigade chief officer Dan Stephens said that crews believed the building was clad in the same material as the Grenfell Tower in London, which caught fire in 2017 and killed 72 people.
PHILIPPINES
Bomb suspects charged
Five suspected Abu Sayyaf militants wanted for alleged involvement in the in the Jan. 27 bombing of a Roman Catholic cathedral in Sulu province’s Jolo have surrendered, police chief Oscar Albayalde said yesterday. The five are to be charged with murder for their role in the bombing that killed 23 people and wounded about 100. Albayalde said. Police said the suspects escorted the two suicide bombers around Jolo and to a meeting with the Abu Sayyaf commander accused of funding the attack.
PAKISTAN
Baluchistan probes death
Baluchistan provincial authorities on Sunday said they had launched an investigation into the death of a regional leader of a civil rights group. Arman Loni died on Saturday after police tried to break up a four-day demonstration in the city of Loralai by the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM), which stages demonstrations nationwide against violence and disappearances carried out by the state. A police spokesman said Loni had died of a heart attack following clashes between protesters and police, but Mohsin Dawar, a lawmaker and founding member of PTM, said the police had singled Loni out and deliberately beat him to death because of his role as a leader of the group.
‘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