UNITED STATES
Renowned actor Curry dies
Tim Curry, the English actor best known for his star turn as Dr Frank-N-Furter in the cult classic musical film The Rocky Horror Picture Show, has died at the age of 80, media reported on Wednesday. Curry, who had struggled with his health for more than a decade after a debilitating stroke, died at his home in Los Angeles, TMZ said, citing unnamed sources. The actor, who launched his career in London’s West End theater district, first played the gender-bending mad scientist in Rocky Horror before reprising the role in the 1975 film, which is still a staple of midnight cinema showings more than 50 years later. His other credits include the sinister clown Pennywise in a 1990 television miniseries version of Stephen King’s It and films including Annie, Charlie’s Angels and Muppet Treasure Island. Rocky Horror star Susan Sarandon called Curry a “funny, sexy original,” in a post on Instagram. “What I loved about him most was his heart. Even wheelchair bound he continued to be so sweet and generous with his fans. Thank you Tim for meaning so much to so many people,” she wrote.
Photo: AP
SPAIN
Thieves raid museum
Thieves yesterday raided the Treasure of Villena — one of the greatest bronze age gold collections — in the latest high profile heist on a European museum, officials said. A Villena Council spokesman said it was not immediately known how many of the more than 50 mainly gold objects in the collection were taken as police were still making an inventory. The raid lasted just minutes. “The alarm at the Villena Museum went off around 5:20am,” the spokesman said, adding that by 5:24am the thieves had already left the building. The operation was “super-fast and super-professional”, the spokesman said.
MALAYSIA
Ex-PM Ismail Sbari charged
Former prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob was yesterday charged with failing to declare his assets, making him the nation’s third leader to face criminal charges after leaving office. Ismail Sabri, 66, pleaded not guilty to a charge under the anti-graft law that alleged he failed to provide a complete declaration of assets following a notice from the Anti-Corruption Commission in January last year. The charge sheet lists large amounts of cash in Malaysian and foreign currencies, as well as gold and silver. If convicted, he faces up to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to 100,000 ringgit (US$24,795).
JAPAN
Animal cafes investigated
The government plans to probe popular animal cafes, where visitors can interact with anything from cats to capybaras, following concerns about hygiene and the creatures’ welfare, authorities said yesterday. The nation has hundreds of the cafes where campaigners say animals are sometimes kept in cramped spaces, and that their popularity encourages the capture and illegal trade of rare wildlife. A fact-finding survey is to begin as early as next month to determine the number of establishments and what animals they keep, a Ministry of the Environment official said. The ministry would examine whether they comply with laws, including whether animals have enough space and how often cleaning takes place, said the official, who asked not to be named. “We may then do on-site inspections if we find facilities that appear to be breaching rules” stipulated by the animal welfare law, he said. The decision to launch the survey followed recommendations by members of an expert panel about animal welfare.
MAN VS MACHINE: The games could help improve hardware, but longer-term value depends on real-world problem-solving, an executive at a tech firm said China’s humanoid robots have shown they can run quicker than the fastest humans. Now comes the real test: Can they also handle packaging and warehouse operations while reliably performing precision tasks like connecting cables designed to evaluate their ability to work like humans in less flashy jobs? The five-day World Humanoid Robot Games, which began in Beijing on Saturday, combines events modeled on human sports with those designed to test the robots in simulated factories, restaurants, offices and in emergency situations. Heavily promoted in Chinese state media, the games, held at Beijing’s National Speed Skating Oval and which run through Wednesday, feature 51
A cross-party group of Japanese lawmakers, including one from Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s governing party, yesterday headed to Beijing to meet with Chinese officials for the first time since ties between the two Asian rivals deteriorated after Takaichi’s comment on Taiwan angered China. The group, which includes Gaku Hashimoto, a lawmaker of Takaichi’s governing Liberal Democratic Party and a former health and welfare vice minister, and a lawmaker each from two opposition parties Komeito and the Centrist Reform Alliance (CRA), is to meet with Chinese Communist Party officials during their visit through Thursday. “Communication has been severed in all areas and we
FLEXIBLE EMPLOYMENT: With gig workers making up about 44% of China’s urban workforce, Zhang Dandan’s comments sparked public outrage The term “flexible employment” has gone viral in China after a prominent economics professor described gig work as a form of “welfare,” drawing widespread public anger and highlighting deep anxieties over job insecurity. Zhang Dandan (張丹丹), a professor of economics and deputy dean at Peking University’s National School of Development, made the remarks during a discussion on social protection for gig workers, on the popular financial show Let’s Talk (張丹丹) last week. She said that from the perspective of labor economics, “flexibility itself is a form of welfare.” While regular employees trade schedule flexibility for pensions and other benefits, flexible workers enjoy greater
Nepal yesterday deployed helicopters after a massive flash flood swept away villages in the Himalayan nation, killing eight and damaging roads, bridges and power projects in areas near Tibet, authorities said. Across the border, Tibet reported “major casualties” with some missing in neighboring Gyirong County after a mudslide hit a land crossing between China and Nepal, Xinhua news agency said. The waters were too high for helicopters to land in Nepal’s affected areas of Syapru Besi and Timure in the mountainous Rasuwa District, with a population of about 50,000, officials said, while flagging the risk of casualties. “There could be heavy casualties or
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