AFGHANISTAN
Two die in bomb blast
A bomb hidden in a scrap metal shop blew up in a market in Helmand Province yesterday killing two civilians, officials said. The early morning blast in the town of Gereshk killed the shopkeeper and a child sitting in a car parked outside the store, deputy provincial police chief Kamaluddin Sherzad said. Four people were wounded in the explosion. The attack is the second in as many days in Gereshk. On Sunday, gunmen killed community council member Jan Mohammad Khan in the town’s market, the Helmand governor’s office said in a statement.
PHILIPPINES
Families demand apology
Victims’ families and survivors of last year’s hostage drama that left eight Hong Kong tourists and their attacker dead in a botched police rescue say they are still awaiting an apology and compensation. A weeping mother of a slain tourist guide told reporters in Manila yesterday that “the Philippine government has not done anything.” Lee Ying-chuen, who was wounded when the dismissed policeman opened fire as police stormed the bus he had hijacked, said the families are angry because the government has failed to apologize directly. Spokesman Edwin Lacierda says the government has apologized on numerous occasions.
CHINA
Eleven dead in Xinjiang
Vinegar tainted with antifreeze is suspected of killing 11 people and sickening 120 after a communal Ramadan meal in Xinjiang. Investigators suspect the victims consumed vinegar put in two plastic barrels that had previously been used to store antifreeze, Xinhua news agency reported yesterday. It said the mass food poisoning occurred on Saturday night in a village close to Hotan City. Xinhua said children as young as six were among the dead. Authorities were still testing to confirm the source of the poisoning, it said.
CHINA
Biden eatery draws crowds
Diners are flocking to a restaurant in Beijing whose house specialty is pig intestines in soup after US Vice President Joe Biden lunched there last week, the Global Times reported yesterday. Biden took time out from official talks in Beijng to eat at the small, family-run eatery, earning plaudits from netizens and headlines in state-run newspapers praising his “noodle diplomacy.” Since then, lines have formed outside the restaurant and people have traveled from around China to sample the “vice president’s meal” — pork buns, noodles and cucumbers — the English-language newspaper reported. The restaurant, called the Yaoji Chaogan, said it had no plans to make the meal a regular menu item, although customers have been demanding it.
PHILIPPINES
Public asked to use coins
The central bank is appealing to the public to stop hoarding coins, saying the habit is forcing it to mint more money at a high cost. Deputy bank Governor Diwa Guinigundo lamented on Sunday a shortage of coins in the country and noted that some people illegally drill holes in coins and use them instead of more costly tokens for video games. He said other people keep change and later give it to charities. The hoarding is hurting monetary authorities, who have to spend at least 2 pesos (US$0.4) for every coin that is not used. He said the central bank would save hundreds of millions of pesos if there were more coins in circulation.
CANADA
Tornado ruins Ontario town
A powerful tornado on Sunday swept through Goderich, Ontario, killing one person and causing severe devastation in the picturesque community on the shores of Lake Huron. It was the most powerful tornado to hit Ontario in years, officials said. Downtown businesses, century--old buildings and several churches lost their roofs and upper floors as the twister ripped through the town. Images showed downed power lines, trees and debris strewn across streets, while witnesses described cars being picked up and thrown like toys. Police identified the victim as Norman Laberge, 61, of Lucknow, Ontario, who was working in a salt mine in the town when the storm hit. Randy Mawson of Environment Canada said the town was battered by winds of up to 300kph.
RUSSIA
Supermarket bombed twice
Two strong blasts tore through a supermarket in the volatile Caucasus region of Dagestan, injuring 15 people including three children, regional police said yesterday. The first blast went off late on Sunday and wounded a sales clerk, the regional interior ministry said in a statement. The second struck when a Russian security team arrived on the scene. The ministry said 15 people, including three children, were hospitalized. Four of them were in a serious condition, a police spokesman in Dagestan said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
UNITED STATES
Irene roars into region
Tropical Storm Irene gained strength as it passed over Puerto Rico early yesterday and was officially declared a hurricane, US government forecasters said. The hurricane was packing sustained winds of 125kph, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said. Irene was expected to become even stronger as it moves north northwest at about 19kph, the center said. The storm was expected to dump as much as 25cm of rain on Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and 10cm to 18cm of rain on the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
VENEZUELA
Chavez fans shave heads
Supporters of President Hugo Chavez shaved their heads in solidarity with their leader’s struggle against cancer on Sunday, as hundreds prayed and sang at a televised event. Barbers shaved off the hair of several men and at least one woman, while the crowd swayed to a religious song. Chavez, who shaved his head after starting to lose his hair due to chemotherapy, smiled and waved to the crowd. He returned from his second round of chemotherapy in Cuba on Aug. 14 and has said he may undergo a third round, without specifying a time frame.
UNITED KINGDOM
PM hangs Emin artwork
A new message is greeting visitors to the home of Prime Minister David Cameron: “More Passion.” The words, rendered in dazzling neon, are a work by artist Tracey Emin that is now hanging in 10 Downing St. Cameron’s office said on Sunday the work was installed last week in a busy hallway, above the door to the Terracotta Room. It stands in contrast to the oil paintings and portraits of former prime ministers elsewhere in the 300-year-old house. Emin was invited to install the neon sign by Cameron, a fan of her work. She has donated the piece to the Government Art Collection, a trove of more than 13,000 works by domestic artists from the 16th century onwards.
Four contenders are squaring up to succeed Antonio Guterres as secretary-general of the UN, which faces unprecedented global instability, wars and its own crushing budget crisis. Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan and Senegal’s Macky Sall are each to face grillings by 193 member states and non-governmental organizations for three hours today and tomorrow. It is only the second time the UN has held a public question-and-answer, a format created in 2016 to boost transparency. Ultimately the five permanent members of the UN’s top body, the Security Council, hold the power, wielding vetoes over who leads the
A humanoid robot that won a half-marathon race for robots in Beijing on Sunday ran faster than the human world record in a show of China’s technological leaps. The winner from Honor, a Chinese smartphone maker, completed the 21km race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, said a WeChat post by the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, also known as Beijing E-Town, where the race began. That was faster than the human world record holder, Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo, who finished the same distance in about 57 minutes in March at the Lisbon road race. The performance by the robot marked a significant step forward
An earthquake registering a preliminary magnitude of 7.7 off northern Japan on Monday prompted a short-lived tsunami alert and the advisory of a higher risk of a possible mega-quake for coastal areas there. The Cabinet Office and the Japan Meteorological Agency said there was a 1% chance for a mega-quake, compared to a 0.1% chance during normal times, in the next week or so following the powerful quake near the Chishima and Japan trenches. Officials said the advisory was not a quake prediction but urged residents in 182 towns along the northeastern coasts to raise their preparedness while continuing their daily lives. Prime
HAZARDOUS CONDITION: The typhoon’s sheer size, with winds extending 443km from its center, slowed down the ability of responders to help communities, an official said The US Coast Guard was searching for six people after losing contact with their disabled boat off the coast of Guam following Typhoon Sinlaku. The crew of the 44m dry cargo vessel, the US-registered Mariana, on Wednesday notified the coast guard that the boat had lost its starboard engine and needed assistance, Petty Officer 3rd Class Avery Tibbets said yesterday. The coast guard set up a one-hour communication schedule with the vessel, but lost contact on Thursday. A Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules aircraft was launched to search for the six people on board, but it had to return to Guam because of
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