UNITED STATES
‘Cheers’ actor Wendt dies
George Wendt, the American actor best known for his role as the curmudgeonly Norm Peterson in Cheers, has died, a representative said on Tuesday. Wendt, who was 76, was nominated for six successive Emmy awards for his role as the perennial barfly opposite Ted Danson in one of television’s most successful ever sitcoms. “George’s family confirmed the news of his death early Tuesday morning, announcing he died peacefully in his sleep while at home,” the family’s representative, Melissa Nathan, said. “George was a doting family man, a well-loved friend and confidant to all of those lucky enough to have known him.
PAKISTAN
School bus bombing kills 6
A suspected suicide bomber targeted a school bus yesterday, killing at least four children and two adults, in an attack the government accused India of backing. The bus driver and his assistant were among those killed in the attack in Khuzdar District of Balochistan Province, on the way to a school that caters to the children of army personnel and civilians living in the area. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif accused archrival India of backing the militants that carried out the attack, coming almost two weeks after the two sides settled a ceasefire to end their most serious conflict in decades.
AUSTRALIA
Towns cut off by floods
Heavy rain in the southeast yesterday triggered flash flooding and cut off entire towns, stranding some residents on the roofs of their homes, as authorities issued snap evacuation orders with rivers staying above danger levels. Rural towns in the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions of New South Wales were the worst hit from the downpour, with some areas receiving more than four months of rain over the past 24 hours. The Bureau of Meteorology said some areas could receive up to 300mm of rain over the next 24 hours, three times the mean total for May. Images shared on social media showed some residents sitting inside their homes ankle-deep in water waiting for rescue crews.
MEXICO
Mexico City staff killed
The personal secretary and an adviser to Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada were shot dead on Tuesday, authorities said, in the worst attack against public officials in the capital in the past few years. Brugada — who holds the second-most powerful political post in the country — said in a statement that her secretary, Ximena Guzman, and adviser, Jose Munoz, were killed in the Moderna neighborhood. The motive was under investigation. The attack happened at about 7am, when Munoz and Guzman were in an Audi on a busy thoroughfare. Four bullet holes were found clustered on the driver’s side of the windshield. One body lay on the pavement.
COSTA RICA
Drug-smuggling cat caught
Guards have intercepted an unusual prison drug delivery, catching a cat as it jumped over the periphery fence at night with marijuana and crack taped to its body. The black-and-white feline, carrying more than 230g of marijuana and 67g of crack cocaine in two packages, was captured this month at a prison in the canton of Pococi, the Ministry of Justice and Peace said in a statement on Tuesday. It shared a video of a guard climbing a perimeter fence to catch the cat burglar. Later, the feline is seen on a prison table, while guards cut the packages from its tiny body. The cat was taken to an animal welfare society.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
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
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel
NO EXCUSES: Marcos said his administration was acting on voters’ demands, but an academic said the move was emotionally motivated after a poor midterm showing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday sought the resignation of all his Cabinet secretaries, in a move seen as an attempt to reset the political agenda and assert his authority over the second half of his single six-year term. The order came after the president’s allies failed to win a majority of Senate seats contested in the 12 polls on Monday last week, leaving Marcos facing a divided political and legislative landscape that could thwart his attempts to have an ally succeed him in 2028. “He’s talking to the people, trying to salvage whatever political capital he has left. I think it’s
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