ITALY
Dozen missing in landslide
Rescuers were yesterday searching for a dozen missing people on the southern island of Ischia after a landslide killed at least one person. A wave of mud and debris swept through the small town of Casamicciola Terme early on Saturday morning, engulfing at least one house and sweeping vehicles down to the sea, local media and emergency services said. Rescuers had recovered the body of a 31-year-old woman, said news agency AGI, with other local media reporting that 13 people had been injured in the incident. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Twitter offered her sympathy to those affected, saying she had yesterday called an extraordinary cabinet meeting to discuss the disaster. “We are afraid that there might be other victims, but so far the current figure is one dead,” said Luca Cari, a spokesman for the fire service.
BARBADOS
UK MP faces reparations
The government is considering plans to make wealthy British lawmaker Richard Drax the first individual to pay reparations for his ancestors’ pivotal role in slavery. Drax reportedly traveled to the Caribbean island for a private meeting with Prime Minister Mia Mottley. A report is now before Mottley’s cabinet laying out the next steps, which include legal action in the event that no agreement is reached with Drax. The Drax family pioneered the plantation system in the 17th century and played a major role in the development of sugar and slavery across the Caribbean and the US. David Comissiong, ambassador to Countries in the Caribbean community and deputy chairman of the National Task Force on Reparations, said that besides Drax, other families whose ancestors benefited from slavery are being considered, including the British royal family.
UNITED STATES
Trump meets supremacist
The White House on Saturday condemned former president Donald Trump for meeting at his Florida estate with white supremacist Nick Fuentes and rapper Kanye West, who is embroiled in a storm over anti-Semitic remarks. Trump acknowledged having dinner with West, who now is known as Ye, on Tuesday night at Mar-a-Lago, and said he brought along friends, one of whom was Fuentes, an outspoken anti-Semite and racist. “I didn’t know Nick Fuentes,” Trump posted on his Truth Social account late on Friday. “Bigotry, hate, and anti-Semitism have absolutely no place in America — including at Mar-a-Lago. Holocaust denial is repugnant and dangerous, and it must be forcefully condemned,” White House deputy press secretary Andrews Bates told CNN. President Joe Biden ducked a question, saying: “You don’t wanna hear what I think.”
UNITED STATES
Irene Cara dies, aged 63
Irene Cara, the Oscar and Grammy-winning actress and singer-songwriter best known for her work in the 1980s cult movies Flashdance and Fame, has died, her publicist Judith Moose said on Saturday. Cara, 63, passed away at her Florida home, Moose said in a statement on Twitter. Her cause of death is currently unknown. “She was a beautiful gifted soul whose legacy will live forever through her music and films,” the statement read. Cara’s career in show business began at an early age and spanned theater, television, music and film. The artist got her big break in 1980 when she was cast to play Coco Hernandez in the iconic movie-musical Fame, which chronicled the vicissitudes of a group of New York City high-schoolers. The film’s title song, sung by Cara, would go on to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
REBUILDING: A researcher said that it might seem counterintuitive to start talking about reconstruction amid the war with Russia, but it is ‘actually an urgent priority’ Italy is hosting the fourth annual conference on rebuilding Ukraine even as Russia escalates its war, inviting political and business leaders to Rome to promote public-private partnerships on defense, mining, energy and other projects as uncertainty grows about the US’ commitment to Kyiv’s defense. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy were opening the meeting yesterday, which gets under way as Russia accelerated its aerial and ground attacks against Ukraine with another night of pounding missile and drone attacks on Kyiv. Italian organizers said that 100 official delegations were attending, as were 40 international organizations and development banks. There are
TARIFF ACTION: The US embassy said that the ‘political persecution’ against former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro disrespects the democratic traditions of the nation The US and Brazil on Wednesday escalated their row over US President Donald Trump’s support for former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, with Washington slapping a 50 percent tariff on one of its main steel suppliers. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva threatened to reciprocate. Trump has criticized the prosecution of Bolsonaro, who is on trial for allegedly plotting to cling on to power after losing 2022 elections to Lula. Brasilia on Wednesday summoned Washington’s top envoy to the country to explain an embassy statement describing Bolsonaro as a victim of “political persecution” — echoing Trump’s description of the treatment of Bolsonaro as
The military is to begin conscripting civilians next year, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said yesterday, citing rising tensions with Thailand as the reason for activating a long-dormant mandatory enlistment law. The Cambodian parliament in 2006 approved a law that would require all Cambodians aged 18 to 30 to serve in the military for 18 months, although it has never been enforced. Relations with Thailand have been tense since May, when a long-standing territorial dispute boiled over into cross-border clashes, killing one Cambodian soldier. “This episode of confrontation is a lesson for us and is an opportunity for us to review, assess and
Pakistani police yesterday said a father shot dead his daughter after she refused to delete her TikTok account. In the Muslim-majority country, women can be subjected to violence by family members for not following strict rules on how to behave in public, including in online spaces. “The girl’s father had asked her to delete her TikTok account. On refusal, he killed her,” a police spokesperson said. Investigators said the father killed his 16-year-old daughter on Tuesday “for honor,” the police report said. The man was subsequently arrested. The girl’s family initially tried to “portray the murder as a suicide” said police in