HUNGARY
Students strip in protest
Students at Kaposvar University attended class wearing only their underwear on Thursday to protest against a dress code ordered by the college head. In a letter to students on Wednesday, the university’s rector wrote that a conservative dress code — dark suits and shoes for men; jacket, blouse and trousers or long skirts for women — must be adhered to when attending classes or exams. “From Oct. 1, there is also no place in the university for mini-skirts, flip-flops, heavy make-up, inappropriate fashion accessories, or unkempt fingernails and hair,” the letter continued. The rector did make an allowance for lighter clothing during warm summer days, prompting some students to make the underwear protest. “We were appropriately dressed, but the classroom was so warm we removed some clothing as is permitted,” one student said.
CANADA
Cat cruelty investigated
Police are investigating a case of animal cruelty after six severed cat heads were found in residential locations north of Toronto. Constable Andy Pattenden said on Thursday that the cat heads were placed within a less than 1.6km radius next to curbs in residential neighborhoods in Stouffville, Ontario, about 45km northeast of Toronto. Pattenden says the incidents are not believed to be accidental or the result of a predatory animal. The first incident was reported on Aug. 12 when a head and two legs were found near a daycare center. Five other cat heads were found during the next few weeks, with the latest incident reported on Sept. 13, when a homeowner found her cat’s head. Police are now urging cat owners to keep their pets indoors.
UNITED STATES
Burger offends blogger
A Chicago restaurant has cooked up a controversial burger of the month for this month, garnishing it with an unconsecrated communion wafer and a red wine reduction sauce. Kuma’s Corner, a foodie destination with just a few tables, names its hamburgers after heavy metal bands. For this month, the restaurant chose to name the burger after the Swedish band Ghost. Members of the band dress in religious robes and wear skeleton face makeup. “It’s in poor taste,” said Jeff Young of New Orleans who runs the blog Catholic Foodie. “It’s not, for us, the Eucharist,” Young said. “However this wafer is a symbol. There’s a cross on it. It’s like taking a flag and burning a flag.” Kuma’s Corner director of operations Luke Tobias said the restaurant never wanted to offend anyone. He said reaction has been a “mixed bag,” but more positive than negative.
UNITED STATES
Teen cops sex case plea
A teen accused of having sex with her underage girlfriend on Thursday pleaded no contest — essentially conceding the charges without admitting guilt. Her attorney describes the plea deal as in her best interest. Kaitlyn Hunt was charged in February with having sex with a 14-year-old female schoolmate. Hunt was 18 at the time. A previous plea deal was withdrawn in August following allegations that Hunt exchanged thousands of texts with the girl and sent her nude photos. She was sent to jail. Civil and gay rights groups say that Hunt is being punished for behavior that occurs at schools across the US without resulting in criminal charges. A “Free Kate” Facebook page has generated more than 30,000 followers so far, and an online petition urging that the charges be dropped gained more than 100,000 signatures.
‘GREAT OPPRTUNITY’: The Paraguayan president made the remarks following Donald Trump’s tapping of several figures with deep Latin America expertise for his Cabinet Paraguay President Santiago Pena called US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming foreign policy team a “dream come true” as his nation stands to become more relevant in the next US administration. “It’s a great opportunity for us to advance very, very fast in the bilateral agenda on trade, security, rule of law and make Paraguay a much closer ally” to the US, Pena said in an interview in Washington ahead of Trump’s inauguration today. “One of the biggest challenges for Paraguay was that image of an island surrounded by land, a country that was isolated and not many people know about it,”
‘DISCRIMINATION’: The US Office of Personnel Management ordered that public DEI-focused Web pages be taken down, while training and contracts were canceled US President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday moved to end affirmative action in federal contracting and directed that all federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) staff be put on paid leave and eventually be laid off. The moves follow an executive order Trump signed on his first day ordering a sweeping dismantling of the federal government’s diversity and inclusion programs. Trump has called the programs “discrimination” and called to restore “merit-based” hiring. The executive order on affirmative action revokes an order issued by former US president Lyndon Johnson, and curtails DEI programs by federal contractors and grant recipients. It is using one of the
‘FIGHT TO THE END’: Attacking a court is ‘unprecedented’ in South Korea and those involved would likely face jail time, a South Korean political pundit said Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday stormed a Seoul court after a judge extended the impeached leader’s detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law. Tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday in a show of support for Yoon, who became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in a dawn raid last week. After the court extended his detention on Saturday, the president’s supporters smashed windows and doors as they rushed inside the building. Hundreds of police officers charged into the court, arresting dozens and denouncing an
One of Japan’s biggest pop stars and best-known TV hosts, Masahiro Nakai, yesterday announced his retirement over sexual misconduct allegations, reports said, in the latest scandal to rock Japan’s entertainment industry. Nakai’s announcement came after now-defunct boy band empire Johnny & Associates admitted in 2023 that its late founder, Johnny Kitagawa, for decades sexually assaulted teenage boys and young men. Nakai was a member of the now-disbanded SMAP — part of Johnny & Associates’s lucrative stable — that swept the charts in Japan and across Asia during the band’s nearly 30 years of fame. Reports emerged last month that Nakai, 52, who since
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