NEPAL
Dogs gifted baths, garlands
Hindus across the country yesterday honored their dogs with baths, garlands and special treats. It was the second day of the five-day Tihar Festival, during which even crows and cows get respect. Devout Hindus consider the dog to be the messenger of Yamaraj, the god of death, and believe that worshiping the animal makes the god happy. “Kukur Tihar is special among the different festivals,” housewife Parbati Devkota said after a worship ceremony for her pet, using the Nepali word kukur for dog. “I worship my dog every year on this day,” said Devkota, 40, who carried a tray of sweets, flowers and vermilion powder in the capital, Kathmandu. Families bathed the pets, tied marigold garlands around their necks, smeared their foreheads with auspicious vermilion and offered them special meals of sweets, meat, milk and rice. Even stray dogs got offerings of food and garlands.
ISRAEL
LGBTQ+ dating site hacked
A hacking group calling itself Black Shadow on Tuesday dumped online what it said was the user database of LGBTQ+ dating site Atraf, an attack some security experts blamed on Iran. “Enjoy! Atraf’s database,” the group said on the messaging application Telegram, releasing a large file for download that quickly became unavailable. The Atraf dating site is owned by CyberServe, an local Web development company whose clients include public transportation firms, museums and a travel company. It released an early batch of user profiles over the weekend, and on Sunday demanded US$1 million within 48 hours to prevent a wider release. Keren Elazari, a cybersecurity expert and researcher at Tel Aviv and Reichman universities, said that the hack bore many similarities with previous Iran-linked attacks.
UNITED STATES
SQUID crypto goes bust
An unsanctioned Squid Game cryptocurrency that played off the hit Netflix series made big losers out of people who bought in only to see the value plummet on Tuesday. The digital asset launched on Oct. 21 using imagery from the Squid Game series without the permission of Netflix. The value of the cryptocurrency called SQUID quickly climbed from pennies at launch to US$2,856 on Monday, specialty site CoinMarketCap said. However, it plunged even faster and was worth less than a penny on Tuesday after its creators evidently converted an estimated US$2.5 million to US$3.5 million into other currencies. The massive withdrawal caused SQUID to become virtually worthless, bearing the signs of a scam nicknamed a “rug pull” in reference to a carpet being yanked from under investors’ feet.
UNITED STATES
QAnon fans wait for ‘reveal’
Hundreds of followers of QAnon conspiracy theories on Tuesday gathered in downtown Dallas, Texas, in the belief that John F. Kennedy Jr, who died in a 1999 plane crash, would reappear. However, he did not. The Dallas Morning News reported that several hundred QAnon followers converged on Dealey Plaza, where JFK Jr’s father, former president John F. Kennedy, was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963. QAnon postings quoted by media reports said that JFK Jr would emerge from hiding at 12:29pm on Tuesday and this would lead — somehow — to the reinstatement of QAnon favorite, former president Donald Trump, in the White House. The appointed time came and went with no sighting of the late president’s son.
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
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
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,
Myanmar’s junta chief met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for the first time since seizing power, state media reported yesterday, the highest-level meeting with a key ally for the internationally sanctioned military leader. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup in 2021, overthrowing Myanmar’s brief experiment with democracy and plunging the nation into civil war. In the four years since, his armed forces have battled dozens of ethnic armed groups and rebel militias — some with close links to China — opposed to its rule. The conflict has seen Min Aung Hlaing draw condemnation from rights groups and pursued by the
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