CHILE
Violent protests continue
Politicians say they have to figure out how to draft a new constitution quickly following another night of violent protests. Police on Wednesday said that they had documented 348 serious incidents, including looting and attacks on police stations, from Tuesday into the early morning. Twenty people have died since mostly peaceful demonstrations about inequality and other issues broke out on Oct. 18. Chileans are demanding a range of reforms and an overhaul of their dictatorship-era constitution. The sticking point is who drafts the new document. President Sebastian Pinera’s plan relies on legislators, but the opposition says citizens need more input. Members of the National Renewal Party, part of the ruling coalition, and the Christian Democratic Party agree “there isn’t much time” to reach an agreement.
MEXICO
Dismembered bodies found
Investigators have found plastic bags containing the hacked-up bodies of 12 people near Guadalajara. The Jalisco State Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday said that the dead included seven men and five women, but the count could increase because experts have so far analyzed only 33 of the 52 plastic bags found at the property. It said all the body parts in the 33 bags came from 12 victims. The area around Guadalajara has witnessed a rise in clandestine burial pits. Drug and kidnapping gangs frequently use such pits to dispose of rivals or victims.
UNITED STATES
Gosar sends Epstein tweets
Representative Paul Gosar on Wednesday sent a series of tweets regarding a theory that Jeffrey Epstein did not kill himself while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, including allegations of sex with children. Gosar sent 23 tweets about the first public impeachment hearing on Capitol Hill examining President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine. The first letter of each tweet spelled out “Epstein didn’t kill himself.” A New York City medical examiner ruled Epstein’s death in jail a suicide, but theories that he was murdered have persisted, fueled by Epstein’s links to princes, politicians, and other famous and powerful people. When Gosar spokesman Ben Goldey was asked whether the representative sent the tweets himself, his e-mailed response used the first letter of each sentence to spell “Area 51.”
UNITED STATES
‘Unicorn’ puppy a star
A rescued puppy is attracting a lot of attention because of his resemblance to a unicorn. The nearly 10-week-old puppy, Narwhal, has a tail-like appendage growing from his forehead. Narwhal was rescued over the weekend and sent to Mac’s Mission in Jackson, Missouri, which specializes in fostering animals with special needs. Mac’s Mission founder Rochelle Steffen said that Narwhal does not notice the extra tail and is otherwise a happy, healthy puppy. Although it looks like a tail, Narwhal cannot wag it, she said.
UNITED STATES
Fifth WWII sub discovered
A team of ocean explorers said that a US submarine with 80 sailors aboard when it disappeared in 1944 has been discovered in Japanese waters. The “Lost 52 Project” on Sunday announced that the World War II submarine USS Grayback was found in June. The group said that it was the fifth wartime submarine discovery for the team led by undersea explorer Tim Taylor using robotics, and other underwater technological methods and vehicles. The project’s objective is to find the 52 US submarines that were lost during the war.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
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
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
RSS