CUBA
Fuel emergency declared
The nation must implement emergency measures to stave off an acute fuel shortage this month caused by the efforts of US President Donald Trump’s administration to block oil shipments to the nation, President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on Wednesday. The nation would have to make do this month with the little fuel now available, plus supply from a ship that arrives tomorrow and another at the end of the month, Diaz-Canel said in a roundtable discussion on state television. All shipments for next month are already guaranteed, he said. “There may be tense situations in the distribution of some products and the provision of services to the population in the coming days,” he said. The aim is to avoid blackouts, he said, adding: “If we have to do them ... they will not be as long nor as intense of those of the Special Period,” referencing the severe economic depression the nation went through in the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
UNITED STATES
Indie legend dies at 58
Daniel Johnston, an eccentric, enduring and much beloved figure in the indie rock scene, has died aged 58 following a heart attack. The news was confirmed by his manager, Jeff Tartakov. Numerous cultural figures have paid tribute to the cult songwriter — once a favorite of Kurt Cobain — including Beck, Judd Apatow and Ezra Furman, who described him as “one of my best teachers.” Actor Elijah Wood wrote: “What a gentle, beautiful treasure. So sad to hear you’ve left us.” Born in California in 1961 and raised in West Virginia, Johnston became known as a songwriter after moving to Austin, Texas. His popularity grew in the city after he started handing out tapes of his affectingly naive songwriting to people in the street, and began recording numerous albums. Cobain’s patronage prompted a bidding war to sign him, and he eventually signed to major label Atlantic in 1994, although mainstream success eluded him. In the early 1990s, he suffered a manic psychotic episode during a plane flight, when, believing he was the cartoon character Casper the Friendly Ghost, he threw the ignition keys for the plane out of its window — he and his father escaped with minor injuries following the subsequent crash. It prompted one of many spells in psychiatric institutions, and he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
UNITED STATES
Suicide outreach pastor dies
Jarrid Wilson, a Southern California pastor who with his wife founded the outreach group “Anthem of Hope” to help people coping with depression and suicidal thoughts, took his own life, a church official said. Wilson, 30, an associate pastor at the megachurch Harvest Christian Fellowship, died by suicide on Monday, said Greg Laurie, senior pastor of the church. “At a time like this, there are just no words. The Bible says, ‘There is a time to mourn.’ This is certainly that time,” Laurie wrote on his blog on Tuesday. Wilson is survived by his wife, Juli, and two young sons. The church was founded in Riverside in 1973 and now has 15,000 people with campuses in Southern California and Hawaii that host large-scale evangelistic events. Wilson had spoken openly about his struggle with depression and his desire to help others. The outreach group founded in 2016 sought to end the stigma of mental illness and connect people to resources including a 24-hour crisis line. Wilson died a day before World Suicide Prevention Day, which he posted about on his Twitter feed.
‘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