Mon, Jul 10, 2023 page5

• World News Quick Take

  • Agencies
  • • 
    • 
    • 

  CHINA

  Nine missing in landslide

  Nine people are missing after a landslide sparked by heavy rains amid flooding and searing temperatures across much of the country, authorities said yesterday. Five people were rescued from under the rubble at a highway construction site in central Hubei Province, where the landslide occurred on Saturday. Crews were still excavating in hopes of finding more survivors. Tens of thousands of people have been moved to shelters amid heavy flooding in the northern, central and southeastern parts of the country. Seasonal flooding is a regular occurrence, but this year’s rising waters have been accompanied by unusually prolonged stretches of high temperatures. Cities have opened their air raid shelters to offer residents relief from the heat. Earlier this week, Beijing reported more than nine straight days with temperatures above 35°C, a streak unseen since 1961.

  SOUTH KOREA

  BTS book release thrills fans

  K-pop megastars BTS yesterday released their hotly anticipated memoir in their home country, marking their 10th anniversary as a group. Beyond the Story: 10-Year Record of BTS is the septet’s first official book, and contains a chronological summary of their musical career as well as hints at their future endeavors, according to their agency Bighit Music. Crowds were kept away by heavy rain yesterday morning, but some diehard fans braved the weather to gather in front of the Kyobo bookstore in Gwanghwamun, one of the biggest in Seoul. Sri Lankan fan Lakshi said that if her excitement were measured on a “one to 10 scale, then it is about a million.” The book, which is also being released in the US, shot to the top of the Amazon and Barnes and Noble bestseller lists in May on the strength of its preorders. It was cowritten by South Korean journalist Kang Myeong-seok and members of the band, its US publisher Flatiron Books said. The release date of the memoir, is a nod to a significant date in the septet’s history: It is the day the megastars’ loyal international fan base, known as ARMY, first came into being 10 years ago.

  CANADA

  Emoji valid signature: judge

  A judge has ruled that the “thumbs-up” emoji is just as valid as a signature, saying that courts need to adapt to the “new reality” of how people communicate as he ordered a farmer to pay C$82,000 (US$61,661) for an unfulfilled contract. In a recent case the Court of King’s Bench in the province of Saskatchewan heard that a grain buyer with South West Terminal sent a mass text message to clients in March 2021, advertising that the company was looking to buy 86 tonnes of flax at a price of C$17 per bushel. The buyer, Kent Mickleborough, spoke with farmer Chris Achter on the phone and texted a picture of a contract to deliver the flax in November, asking the farmer to “please confirm flax contract” in the message. Achter responded with a thumbs-up emoji, but did not deliver the flax in November, and by that time, prices for the crop had increased. Mickleborough and Achter dispute the meaning of the emoji. The buyer pointed to previous contracts confirmed by text message, suggesting the emoji meant Achter was agreeing to the terms of the contract, but Achter said that the emoji indicated only that he had received the contract in the text message. Justice Timothy Keene dismissed defense concerns that allowing the thumbs up emoji to signify acceptance “would open up the flood gates” to new interpretations of other emojis, including the “fist bump” and “hand shake.”
• Most Popular

  • 1

    LA Dodgers beat Braves to secure 7th straight win

  • 2

    Notes from Central Taiwan: Taiwan’s health system is going to erode, not collapse

  • 3

    PSG make final as Arsenal fall short

  • 4

    Taiwan celebrates V-E Day for first time

  • 5

    Taiwan lauds US House bills of support