CHINA
Blogger charged for pun
A popular social media figure has been arrested on charges that he made an insulting pun about Chinese soldiers who froze to death during the Korean War. Luo Changping (羅昌平), who has 2 million followers online, referred to soldiers known as the “Ice Sculpture Company” as the “Sand Sculpture Company,” or “Stupid Company” by replacing one Chinese character in a blog post. Luo’s case was handed to prosecutors in his southern hometown of Sanya last month, state TV reported on Saturday. It gave no indication when he might stand trial. The “Ice Sculpture Company” were soldiers who froze to death during a battle with US-led UN forces at Chosin Reservoir in late 1950 amid temperatures as low as minus-40°C.
SOUTH AFRICA
Murder rate continues to rise
The country’s alarming number of murders and rapes kept increasing at the end of last year, Minister of Police Bheki Cele told a news conference on Friday. From October to December, police registered an average of 74 murders and 122 rapes every day, Cele said. The number of murders jumped 8.9 percent compared with the same period in 2020. The 6,859 killings also marked an increase from the previous three months, when 6,163 people were killed. That earlier figure already represented a worrying rise, which Cele at the time blamed on deadly riots in July that left more than 350 dead. “Murder remains worryingly stubborn,” he said on Friday.
UNITED STATES
Rifle for kids introduced
A gun manufacturer has unveiled a semiautomatic rifle for children modeled on the AR-15, which has been used in a number of deadly mass shootings, sparking condemnation from gun safety groups. WEE1 Tactical is marketing the gun, dubbed the JR-15, as “the first in a line of shooting platforms that will safely help adults introduce children to the shooting sports.” The company’s Web site says that the rifle “also looks, feels, and operates just like mom and dad’s gun.” The JR-15 is only 80cm long, weighs less than 1kg and comes with magazines of five or 10 rounds of .22 caliber bullets, with a price tag of US$389. The AR-15 is the civilian version of a military-style weapon and has been used in multiple mass killings, including in schools. Mass shootings are a recurrent scourge of the country, where the right to own weapons is guaranteed by the Constitution. Attempts to regulate gun sales is often blocked in Congress, where the powerful gun lobby — in particular the National Rifle Association — wields great influence.
UNITED STATES
Turtle released after injury
Just in time for sea turtle mating season in the Florida Keys, a rehabilitated male loggerhead turtle was on Friday released off Pigeon Key. Sheldon, named by his coast guard rescuers, was discovered earlier this month near the Old Seven Mile Bridge. The 105kg reptile was rehabilitated at the Keys-based Turtle Hospital after being found entangled in crab trap line. “It’s mating season in the Florida Keys, it’s important to get this massive male turtle back out to sea so that he can begin mating and help preserve the species,” Turtle Hospital general manager Bette Zirkelbach said. Based on Sheldon’s size and the circumference of his head, Zirkelbach estimated that the turtle is at least 50 years old, well into its prime as a sexually reproductive male. Treatment at the turtle rescue facility included injury care, antibiotics and a diet of mixed seafood.
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Hundreds of people in rainbow colors gathered on Saturday in South Africa’s tourist magnet Cape Town to honor the world’s first openly gay imam, who was killed last month. Muhsin Hendricks, who ran a mosque for marginalized Muslims, was shot dead last month near the southern city of Gqeberha. “I was heartbroken. I think it’s sad especially how far we’ve come, considering how progressive South Africa has been,” attendee Keisha Jensen said. Led by motorcycle riders, the mostly young crowd walked through the streets of the coastal city, some waving placards emblazoned with Hendricks’s image and reading: “#JUSTICEFORMUHSIN.” No arrest
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