HAITI
Beyonce visits Haiti with UN
Pop queen Beyonce has paid a visit to Haiti to look at the progress made since an earthquake devastated the country five years ago. Haiti UN mission spokeswoman Sophie Boutaud de la Combe on Saturday said that Beyonce was also able to “meet some of the people who were affected by” by the 2010 disaster in the impoverished Caribbean country. De la Combe said the US singer, a 20-time Grammy winner, visited Haiti with Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos. Photographs taken during the Haiti visit show Beyonce wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the name of her charity organization. It was not immediately clear how long Beyonce’s stop in Haiti was or exactly where she visited. Official estimates say the 2010 quake that shattered Haiti’s capital and surrounding areas claimed as many as 300,000 lives.
CHILE
LGBT march draws crowds
Thousands of people, many waving rainbow-colored flags, gathered in Santiago on Saturday to march for equality, pushing the nation to acknowledge more gay rights. The crowds showed their support for equality in the socially conservative South American nation, which has been slower to adopt same-sex marriage laws than some of its neighbors. March organizers estimated the crowd at 50,000. Couples, some wearing wedding dresses, kissed for cameras as they marched in downtown Santiago, ahead of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia observed yesterday. “It was a family-friendly, diverse and colorful event that marks one more step forward in Chile’s social movement,” a spokesperson for the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation told reporters. Gay marriage has been recognized in Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil, while Colombia and Ecuador recognize civil unions or partnerships of same-sex couples.
GUATEMALA
Protests target president
Thousands took to the streets in Guatemala City on Saturday, demanding that President Otto Perez step down amid a corruption scandal that has shaken his government. Demonstrators banged drums and blew whistles calling for Perez to stand down as his now ex-vice president Roxana Baldetti already has done. Prosecutors last month uncovered a customs bribery ring following an investigation by the UN International Commission Against Impunity, accusing top tax officials and an aide to Baldetti, Juan Carlos Monzon, of involvement. Baldetti herself resigned on May 8. However, Perez has sought to ride it out, calling for peaceful demonstrations. There were demonstrations in 13 cities across the country of more than 15 million people.
UNITED STATES
Legends’ gear rocks auction
A guitar George Harrison played when Beatlemania was taking flight has sold for nearly half a million dollars at a New York auction. Julien’s Auctions said the 1963 Mastersound electric guitar went for US$490,000 on Friday to an undisclosed bidder. Julien’s said Harrison borrowed it from a British music store and played it on stage several times in England and in the Channel Islands in the summer of 1963. It was offered during a two-day rock memorabilia auction. A so-called “penguin” suit that Elvis Presley wore on stage in Las Vegas in 1975 sold for nearly US$122,000. A vest worn by Jimi Hendrix sold for more than US$59,000. A tank top Madonna wore sold for US$25,000.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
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