HONDURAS
‘Indignados’ demand change
Thousands of people protested in Tegucigalpa on Friday, the latest in a series of marches calling for an investigation into President Juan Orlando Hernandez over allegations of massive corruption. Two separate marches eventually joined near the president’s palace, where scores of hunger-striking protesters known as indignados (the indignant) — have been camped out in tents. “Get out JOH!” demonstrators chanted on Friday, using the president’s initials. Some protesters carried torches, while others held banners showing Hernandez in a prison uniform under the word “corrupt.” Massive crowds have been marching since May against Hernandez, who is accused of receiving government money illegally in his 2013 presidential campaign. Hernandez admitted his conservative ruling National Party had accepted US$94,000 that had been misappropriated from social security funds.The opposition charges that more than US$300 million was skimmed from Honduras’ public health system.
UNITED STATES
Plane crashes in Alaska
A plane crash in southeast Alaska left one person dead and four others injured, the coast guard said on Friday. The four were transported by helicopter to a hospital in Juneau. One patient was listed in serious condition while another was in critical condition. Juneau police said they received a 911 call about 1:30pm on Friday from a person who said they had been involved in a crash on a flight from Juneau to the community of Hoonah. Police said the caller’s name matched that of someone on the aircraft. The Cessna 207 operated by Wings of Alaska was reported missing on Friday afternoon. The company confirmed the plane had been involved in an accident. Coast guard spokesman Grant DeVuyst said authorities, initially thwarted by poor weather and steep, rugged terrain, were able to find a clearing for helicopter hoist operations.
ISRAEL
PM wishes Abbas happy Eid
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have spoken by telephone, a rare exchange amid years of paralyzed peace efforts. Netanyahu’s office said that the Israeli leader wished Abbas a happy Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday that caps the fasting month of Ramadan. A statement issued on Friday said Netanyahu told Abbas that Israelis want peace and that Israel would “continue to act toward regional stability.” The Palestinian news agency WAFA said Abbas told Netanyahu it is important to reach a peace deal next year.
UNITED STATES
Empire State building lit up
New York’s Empire State Building was lit in green late on Friday to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr holiday that marks the end of Ramadan. The green light is to shine until the building closes to the public at 2am, when the building traditionally turns out its lights. The skyscraper has carried out the tradition “for several years now — it is an annual lighting,” a building spokeswoman told reporters. The Empire State Building shines specific colors for a number of religious holidays — pastel shades for Easter, blue and white for Hanukkah and red and green for Christmas. It has also marked a number of events — red, white and blue for the US women’s World Cup victory, rainbow colors for gay Pride Week, and blue, white and purple for World Oceans Day on June 8. The tower is otherwise illuminated in white each night.
The governor of Ohio is to send law enforcement and millions of dollars in healthcare resources to the city of Springfield as it faces a surge in temporary Haitian migrants. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine on Tuesday said that he does not oppose the Temporary Protected Status program under which about 15,000 Haitians have arrived in the city of about 59,000 people since 2020, but said the federal government must do more to help affected communities. On Monday, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost directed his office to research legal avenues — including filing a lawsuit — to stop the federal government from sending
A Zurich city councilor has apologized and reportedly sought police protection against threats after she fired a sport pistol at an auction poster of a 14th-century Madonna and child painting, and posted images of their bullet-ridden faces on social media. Green-Liberal party official Sanija Ameti, 32, put the images on Instagram over the weekend before quickly pulling them down. She later wrote on social media that she had been practicing shots from about 10m and only found the poster as “big enough” for a suitable target. “I apologize to the people who were hurt by my post. I deleted it immediately when I
At first, Francis Ari Sture thought a human was trying to shove him down the steep Norwegian mountainside. Then he saw the golden eagle land. “We are staring at each other for, maybe, a whole minute,” Sture said on Monday. “I’m trying to think what’s in its mind.” The bird then attacked Sture five more times on Thursday last week, scratching and clawing the 31-year-old bicycle courier’s face and arms over 10 to 15 minutes as he sprinted down the mountain. The same eagle is believed to be responsible for attacks on three other people across a vast mountainous area of southern Norway
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is to visit Russia next month for a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) said on Thursday, a move that comes as Moscow and Beijing seek to counter the West’s global influence. Xi’s visit to Russia would be his second since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. China claims to take a neutral position in the conflict, but it has backed the Kremlin’s contentions that Russia’s action was provoked by the West, and it continues to supply key components needed by Moscow for
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