MALAYSIA
Muslims protest Obama trip
Muslim activists protested on Friday outside the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur against the coming visit by US President Barack Obama, denouncing him as an enemy of Islam. The demonstration underscored the delicate nature of Obama’s trip, which will make him the first sitting US president to visit in nearly half a century, a period marked by mutual distrust. The protesters marched to the embassy from a nearby mosque after Friday afternoon prayers, shouting: “God is great” and “Obama is the enemy of the Prophet Mohammed.” They also bore placards and banners reading: “US is axis of evil” and handed out leaflets saying: “Reject Obama, World’s No. 1 Terrorist.” They dispersed after about 15 minutes. The country has opposed US wars in the Middle East. The last US president to visit was Lyndon Johnson in 1966. Obama embarks on a week-long Asia tour next week, including Malaysia from Saturday next week to April 28.
CHINA
Mine toll rises to 20
The death toll from a flooded coal mine has risen to 20 with the recovery of another 14 bodies nearly two weeks after the accident, state media reported. The Xiahaizi mine in Yunnan Province suddenly filled with water early on April 7 following an explosion, leaving 22 miners trapped. Two miners remain missing following the recovery of a total of 20 bodies, Xinhua news agency said late on Friday. The complicated layout of the mine and its narrow tunnels have made the search difficult, it added. Police have detained seven people linked to the mine in Qujing, including officials and shareholders of operator Li Ming Industrial Co, the report said.
UNITED STATES
Gunman threatens office
Police arrested a man late on Friday after he entered the Los Angeles Times building and threatened to start shooting, the newspaper said. It was unclear if the man was carrying a weapon or fired any shots, but building employees locked themselves in safe areas while police officers entered and detained the suspect. Witnesses told the LA Times the man said he had been depressed and did not mind killing someone. He reportedly handed one person a bag of bullets and said that he did not want to go to jail. Police have not identified the suspect, but photographs posted on the newspaper’s Web site showed a white male dressed entirely in black, including black sneakers, with uncombed long, curly hair and no facial hair. The LA Times said the suspect worked for Vxi Global Solutions, a company that specializes in call centers and rents office space in the building.
PUERTO RICO
Salsero dies in crash
Singer Jose Luis “Cheo” Feliciano, one of salsa’s top stars, was killed in a car crash in San Juan early on Thursday morning, police said. He was 78. Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla declared three days of mourning for the widely admired salsero. Feliciano died shortly after 4am, according to Axel Valencia, a San Juan police spokesman. The El Nuevo Dia newspaper said his Jaguar hit an electricity pole. “It appears as if he lost control while taking a curve,” Police Inspector Jorge Hernandez Pena said, adding that he was not wearing a seat belt. Not to be confused with the blind Jose Feliciano, the famed Puerto Rican guitarist, Cheo Feliciano was born in Ponce on July 3, 1935. Tributes poured in on Thursday from fellow musicians and fans. Feliciano dropped out of school at 17 and moved to New York in 1952 to train with top salsa orchestras, according to Billboard.com. He went on to establish a solo career in the 1970s. In 2008, he was honored with the Latin Grammy Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award. Feliciano’s contribution to salsa “has no expiration date,” Panamanian singer Ruben Blades said on his Web site. “He will always be remembered with fondness and admiration that the greats deserve.”
UNITED STATES
Moon craft crashes
NASA’s small moon-orbiting spacecraft LADEE is no more. Flight controllers confirmed early on Friday that LADEE crashed into the back side of the moon. Researchers believe the robotic explorer vaporized upon contact because of its high orbiting speed of 5,800kph, possibly smacking into a mountain or the side of a crater. As of late Thursday afternoon, the spacecraft was flying 100m above the lunar surface. Its altitude had been lowered on purpose to ensure a crash by tomorrow.
UNITED STATES
Gamer suffocates son
Sheriff’s deputies in northern Florida say a man suffocated his young, crying son so he could play video games. Authorities say 24-year-old Cody Wygant is charged with third-degree murder and child neglect. He was being held on Friday without bail at the Citrus County Jail. Sixteen-month-old Daymeon Wygant was pronounced dead at a hospital on Thursday. According to police, Wygant said the boy was crying uncontrollably, preventing him from playing his Xbox games. He covered the boy’s nose and mouth for three to four minutes until the boy became lethargic, then placed him in a playpen and covered him with bedding. Wygant’s infant daughter was placed in the care of authorities.
REBUILDING: A researcher said that it might seem counterintuitive to start talking about reconstruction amid the war with Russia, but it is ‘actually an urgent priority’ Italy is hosting the fourth annual conference on rebuilding Ukraine even as Russia escalates its war, inviting political and business leaders to Rome to promote public-private partnerships on defense, mining, energy and other projects as uncertainty grows about the US’ commitment to Kyiv’s defense. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy were opening the meeting yesterday, which gets under way as Russia accelerated its aerial and ground attacks against Ukraine with another night of pounding missile and drone attacks on Kyiv. Italian organizers said that 100 official delegations were attending, as were 40 international organizations and development banks. There are
TARIFF ACTION: The US embassy said that the ‘political persecution’ against former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro disrespects the democratic traditions of the nation The US and Brazil on Wednesday escalated their row over US President Donald Trump’s support for former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, with Washington slapping a 50 percent tariff on one of its main steel suppliers. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva threatened to reciprocate. Trump has criticized the prosecution of Bolsonaro, who is on trial for allegedly plotting to cling on to power after losing 2022 elections to Lula. Brasilia on Wednesday summoned Washington’s top envoy to the country to explain an embassy statement describing Bolsonaro as a victim of “political persecution” — echoing Trump’s description of the treatment of Bolsonaro as
Pakistani police yesterday said a father shot dead his daughter after she refused to delete her TikTok account. In the Muslim-majority country, women can be subjected to violence by family members for not following strict rules on how to behave in public, including in online spaces. “The girl’s father had asked her to delete her TikTok account. On refusal, he killed her,” a police spokesperson said. Investigators said the father killed his 16-year-old daughter on Tuesday “for honor,” the police report said. The man was subsequently arrested. The girl’s family initially tried to “portray the murder as a suicide” said police in
The military is to begin conscripting civilians next year, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said yesterday, citing rising tensions with Thailand as the reason for activating a long-dormant mandatory enlistment law. The Cambodian parliament in 2006 approved a law that would require all Cambodians aged 18 to 30 to serve in the military for 18 months, although it has never been enforced. Relations with Thailand have been tense since May, when a long-standing territorial dispute boiled over into cross-border clashes, killing one Cambodian soldier. “This episode of confrontation is a lesson for us and is an opportunity for us to review, assess and
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