JAPAN
Fuji view beats building
A property developer is to demolish a near-complete, 10-story condominium in Tokyo after pushback from neighbors who said it blocked a view of Mount Fuji. Sekisui House on Tuesday said that it had “voluntarily decided to discontinue the project” as “there is no denying that the current situation has an enormous impact on the landscape.” The apartments are in part of western Tokyo famous for its views of Japan’s highest mountain from the end of a road named Fujimi, or “Fuji Viewing,” street.
Photo: AFP
GUATEMALA
Animals found in prison
The penitentiary system has asked authorities to investigate more than 100 prison guards for charges including possible abuse of power, the government said in a statement on Tuesday, after a prison clean-out revealed hidden cash and even pets. Of the guards, 102 worked at a prison known as “El Infiernito” (The Little Hell), which until early this month housed 225 suspected members of the Barrio 18 criminal gang. On June 2, authorities transferred the prisoners to take back control of the building from its occupants. The following day, authorities found nearly US$24,000 in hidden cash stashes, 30 mobile phones and animals that were being kept as pets, including raccoons, hawks and crocodiles.
Photo: AFP
ARGENTINA
Building climber arrested
A Polish daredevil was arrested in Buenos Aires on Tuesday as he tried to scale a 30-story building without ropes, only to be removed by firefighters. Marcin Banot, dressed in an Argentina soccer jersey, was intercepted after climbing 25 floors of the Globant building. More than 30 firefighters, ambulances and police cars were rushed to the scene after someone inside the building called an emergency line. He did not resist efforts to remove him. On the ground, Banot was arrested and risks being ordered to pay the costs for the rescue operation, officials said.
UNITED STATES
IS-linked suspects arrested
Eight people from Tajikistan with suspected ties to the Islamic State (IS) group have been arrested in the past few days, people familiar with the matter said. The arrests took place in New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles, and the individuals, who entered the nation through the border with Mexico, are being held on immigration violations, said the sources, who were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation by name and spoke on condition of anonymity. The individuals entered the country last year and passed through the government’s screening process without turning up information that would have identified them as potential terrorism-related concerns, one of the sources said.
FRANCE
Francoise Hardy dies
Singer Francoise Hardy, whose crystalline voice and melancholy lyrics shot her to international stardom in the 1960s, has died, her son, Thomas Dutronc, said on Tuesday. She was 80. “Mom is gone,” he wrote on Instagram alongside a baby picture of himself with his mother. Hardy became a pop icon and fashion muse of the 1960s and beyond. In 1962 she released her debut single, Tous les garcons et les filles (All the girls and boys), in which the singer-songwriter lamented her loveless status. “All the boys and girls my age walk hand in hand in the streets two by two ... but not me, I walk alone through the streets, my heart aching,” she sang. Her career spanned more than 50 years and almost 30 studio albums.
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
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,
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