BRAZIL
Faithful honor sea goddess
Hundreds of practitioners of the Afro-Brazilian Candomble and Umbanda faiths have gathered at Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach to honor the sea goddess Yemanja in a traditional New Year’s tribute. A large statue of the goddess in flowing white and blue robes was carried by truck to the beach on Friday. Worshipers were mostly dressed in white as they launched their offerings to Yemanja: small boats with flowers and bowls with candles and fruits. Night-long music and dancing are to follow the offerings. Candomble was introduced in Brazil by west African slaves at the beginning of the 19th century. Umbanda is an Afro-Brazilian religion that blends African traditions with Roman Catholicism and indigenous American beliefs.
GUATEMALA
Jovel defends embassy plan
Minister of Foreign Affairs Sandra Jovel on Friday said that President Jimmy Morales’ plan to move the country’s embassy in Israel to Jerusalem would not be reversed, calling for critics to “respect” the country’s decisions. “It’s a decision that has been made... It is not going to be reversed,” Jovel told journalists during an event to commemorate the end of the civil war in 1996. “The Guatemalan government is very respectful of the positions that other countries have taken, and as we are respectful of those decisions, we believe others should respect decisions made by Guatemala,” she added in response to critics, including Palestine. On Sunday last week, Morales unexpectedly announced the transfer of the embassy from Tel Aviv to Israel on social media, in the wake of the UN General Assembly’s condemnation of a similar move by the US. The announcement made Guatemala the first country to follow the US’ controversial lead on the holy city. Morales, defending his decision, said Israel is an “ally” and that Guatemala has “historically been pro-Israel.”
PAKISTAN
Police free 25 from relative
Police have rescued 25 members of a family who were held hostage by a drunken relative in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. Officer Israr Abbasi said police yesterday fired tear gas canisters into the home after the man shot and wounded a relative and a police officer. The suspect, Abdur Rahim, was injured as he scuffled with police, Abbasi said. Relatives said Rahim held them hostage at gunpoint starting at midnight on Friday. Investigators said the man got drunk after suffering heavy gambling losses, including machinery from the family’s construction business. Rahim would undergo medical tests to ascertain his mental condition and is to be prosecuted accordingly, Abbasi said.
UNITED STATES
Doctor probed over catheters
A New Jersey surgeon’s medical license has been temporarily suspended for allegedly reusing disposable anal catheters on multiple patients. New Jersey Attorney General Christopher Porrino said East Brunswick-based colon and rectal surgeon Sanjiv Patankar allegedly washed and reused the one-use catheters that are inserted into patients during medical procedures. State officials said they have evidence that Patankar ordered only five catheters during a period when he performed 82 procedures requiring them. The New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners unanimously last week voted to suspend his license, saying that he “placed patients in clear and imminent danger.” Patankar’s license is to remain suspended pending a full hearing in the New Jersey Office of Administrative Law and until the board takes final action based on further findings.
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
RISING TENSIONS: The nations’ three leaders discussed China’s ‘dangerous and unlawful behavior in the South China Sea,’ and agreed on the importance of continued coordination Japan, the Philippines and the US vowed to further deepen cooperation under a trilateral arrangement in the face of rising tensions in Asia’s waters, the three nations said following a call among their leaders. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and outgoing US President Joe Biden met via videoconference on Monday morning. Marcos’ communications office said the leaders “agreed to enhance and deepen economic, maritime and technology cooperation.” The call followed a first-of-its-kind summit meeting of Marcos, Biden and then-Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida in Washington in April last year that led to a vow to uphold international
US president-elect Donald Trump is not typically known for his calm or reserve, but in a craftsman’s workshop in rural China he sits in divine contemplation. Cross-legged with his eyes half-closed in a pose evoking the Buddha, this porcelain version of the divisive US leader-in-waiting is the work of designer and sculptor Hong Jinshi (洪金世). The Zen-like figures — which Hong sells for between 999 and 20,000 yuan (US$136 to US$2,728) depending on their size — first went viral in 2021 on the e-commerce platform Taobao, attracting national headlines. Ahead of the real-estate magnate’s inauguration for a second term on Monday next week,
CYBERSCAM: Anne, an interior decorator with mental health problems, spent a year and a half believing she was communicating with Brad Pitt and lost US$855,259 A French woman who revealed on TV how she had lost her life savings to scammers posing as Brad Pitt has faced a wave of online harassment and mockery, leading the interview to be withdrawn on Tuesday. The woman, named as Anne, told the Seven to Eight program on the TF1 channel how she had believed she was in a romantic relationship with the Hollywood star, leading her to divorce her husband and transfer 830,000 euros (US$855,259). The scammers used fake social media and WhatsApp accounts, as well as artificial intelligence image-creating technology to send Anne selfies and other messages
RSS