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☆ Hate Valentine’s Day? There’s a Market for You, Too.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-11 | by ( Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Lilly Calman is not in the mood this Valentine’s Day for the flowers, chocolates or a romantic dinner for two, especially after a recent breakup. “I’m very angry,” said Ms. Calman, 26, adding that it had been painful to see all the holiday paraphernalia in store aisles. “The visual image of him getting eaten by a Komodo dragon is pretty satisfying,” said Ms. Calman, who donated $25 for the rat option. She is hoping the zoo sends her a video so she can host a screening with a friend. I think it’s cool.”

Persons: Lilly Calman, “, ”, Calman Organizations: San Locations: San Antonio

☆ After a Taste of Freedom in the Scottish Highlands, Runaway Monkey Is Captured
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It was the denouement to a whirlwind that had engulfed — or at least amused — the communities of Kingussie and Kincraig in the Scottish highlands, where about 1,500 humans live. Since the macaque went on the lam, his fate had drawn reporters who waited nearby for updates on the monkey’s location. “Everybody is rooting for this monkey,” said Carl Nagle, a Kincraig resident who spotted the monkey on Sunday in his backyard, apparently snacking on even more birdfeed. “He must be having a ball living his best life.”For his part, Mr. Nagle said he was “hugely relieved,” that the monkey was caught, saying that he needed to return to his troop. “This is ridiculous — and yet it is somehow perfect,” Mr. Nagle said.

Persons: ”, Keith Gilchrist, Carl Nagle, Nagle, “ It’s, Mr Organizations: Wildlife Locations: Honshu, Kingussie, Scottish

☆ A Monkey Is on the Run in the Scottish Highlands
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Was it a longing for freedom, for friends or for snacks that pushed the monkey to make his daring getaway? He has evaded the hands of animal keepers who have been chasing him since Sunday, when he escaped from an enclosure in the Highland Wildlife Park in Kingussie, Scotland, and fled into the Scottish highlands. Park officials have brought in thermal drones to help them search for the animal and have asked residents to report sightings. The monkey’s life on the lam has brought a whirlwind of media attention to the relatively remote communities of Kingussie and Kincraig (combined population: about 1,500 humans). Amused residents, who have given the animal the nickname “Kingussie Kong,” have found themselves invested in its fate, and journalists have followed animal keepers as they have swept the hills.

Persons: Kingussie Organizations: Wildlife Locations: Kingussie, Scotland, Scottish, Kingussie Kong

☆ A Famed Cemetery Is Nearly Full. Can It Reuse Old Graves to Add More Space?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In death, as in life, it is expensive to have famous people as your neighbors. There is hardly any space left at Highgate Cemetery, a Victorian graveyard in north London where Karl Marx, George Michael and George Eliot are buried, along with 170,000 other Londoners. The price of a grave to rest in esteemed peace? That cost gained attention in British media this week, after the historic site notified the public it had begun a process of adding new gravesites. “Cemeteries are quite expensive places to maintain,” said Ian Dungavell, the chief executive of the charity that manages Highgate Cemetery, adding that dwindling space on the property contributed in part to the high cost of being buried there.

Persons: Karl Marx, George Michael, George Eliot, ”, Ian Dungavell, “ Organizations: Highgate Locations: London, “, Highgate

☆ London’s Black Cabs Can Soon Join Uber. But Will They?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Uber said it needed several hundred drivers to sign up in order to launch the service. But many London cabdrivers had a scathing response. “We don’t need a partnership with Uber,” said the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, a union that represents a majority of the city’s nearly 18,000 cabdrivers, in the headline of a release on Wednesday. There was “no demand” for such a partnership from taxi drivers, the union’s general secretary, Steve McNamara, said in a statement, adding that their members were unlikely to even consider joining the platform. “If they were offering double the meter and no commission, I still wouldn’t sign up with them.”

Persons: sweetening, Uber, London cabdrivers, ”, Steve McNamara, Howard Taylor Organizations: Taxi Drivers Association Locations: London

☆ Riots in Dublin Bring ‘Shame’ on Ireland, Prime Minister Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A violent clash between rioters and police in central Dublin on Thursday injured several police officers, one seriously, and prompted the arrests of 34 people, according to the Garda Síochána, the Irish police force. Rioters set fire to police vehicles, destroyed public buses and looted or damaged more than a dozen shops, the Gardai said. A mob had gathered in the city center following a knife attack that had seriously injured a female schoolteacher and three young children. The escalating unrest appalled the authorities, who blamed a far-right faction for fueling tensions by spreading misinformation about the knife attack. Unconfirmed speculation about the nationality of the knife-wielding attacker spread online in the hours after the stabbings, with one protester telling the Agence France-Presse news service that “Irish people are being attacked by these scum.”

Organizations: Garda, Irish, Agence France, Presse Locations: Dublin

☆ ‘Absolute Chaos’: Residents Evacuated From Public Housing Tower in England
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

“Our lives are all up in the air.”The evacuation has drawn fresh attention to the construction of Britain’s public housing high-rises. The Grenfell Tower fire, which killed 72 people and left hundreds homeless, prompted a national reckoning over safety measures and construction of high-rise buildings. Critics have accused governments of prioritizing cost-cutting over safety, and housing advocates in London and elsewhere have since raised concerns about other buildings. While there was “no evidence of an immediate risk to life,” he said the decision was made to evacuate. Barton House was built in 1958 and is among the oldest of the city’s public housing projects, or council housing estates, as they are called in Britain.

Persons: Ali, “, ”, Grenfell, Barton, Mr, Rees Organizations: Barton House Locations: London, Bristol, Barton, Britain

☆ ‘Everybody Is a Bit on Edge’: Sailors Trade Tips on Steering Clear of Orcas
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The first time orcas appeared near his catamaran, Florian Rutsch was surprised, but prepared. He scattered sand in the water, which some sailors thought could act as a deterrent (unsubstantiated). Then he slammed the engine into full throttle, moving away from the group (advice supported by the Spanish government). This time, to deter them, the crew also tried another idea that had been passed along: booming a curated playlist of heavy metal — titled “Metal for Orcas” — through an underwater speaker. The crew had to call for help, and eventually Spanish rescue authorities arrived and towed the vessel to port.

Persons: orcas, Florian Rutsch, Rutsch Locations: Gibraltar, Spanish

☆ Orcas Sink Fourth Boat Off Iberia, Unnerving Sailors
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The yacht Grazie Mamma II carried its crew along the coastlines and archipelagos of the Mediterranean. Its last adventure was off the coast of Morocco last week, when it encountered a pod of orcas. The marine animals slammed the yacht’s rudder for 45 minutes, causing major damage and a leak, according to Morskie Mile, the boat’s Polish operators. The crew escaped, and rescuers and the Moroccan Navy tried to tow the yacht to safety, but it sank near the port of Tanger Med, the operator said on its website. The largest of the dolphin family, orcas are playful apex predators that hunt sharks, whales and other prey but are generally amiable to humans in the wild.

Organizations: Moroccan Navy Locations: Morocco, Tanger, Strait, Gibraltar, Portugal, Spain

☆ Who Killed the Innkeeper With a Sword in 1315?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A street musician murdered for playing music too loudly after dusk. And who killed the innkeeper with a sword after a fight? But fans of true crime and history can now peruse them in an interactive medieval murder map released in September by University of Cambridge researchers. Users can click through the back stories of more than 300 murders in the English cities of London, York and Oxford. Entries are searchable by gender, day of the week and even weapon (pole-axe or crossbow?).

Persons: Queen, England, ”, Manuel Eisner Organizations: University of Cambridge, Oxford, Cambridge Locations: London, York

☆ Air Canada Apologizes for Questioning a British Lawmaker About His Background
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Canada’s largest airline, Air Canada, has apologized to a British lawmaker, Mohammad Yasin, after lawmakers said Mr. Yasin was singled out for questioning because of his name and background on a recent official trip to the country. Pablo Rodríguez, the Canadian transport minister, told reporters in Ottawa on Wednesday that his office had contacted the airline about the screening. “We called Air Canada and Air Canada apologized,” Mr. Rodríguez said, “and apologizing was the right thing to do.”Mr. Yasin, a member of Parliament for the Labour Party, has represented the constituency of Bedford in eastern England since 2017. While leaving for a trip to Canada with other lawmakers last week, he said, he was questioned vigorously at Heathrow Airport near London. Details of the questioning emerged on Monday when one of Mr. Yasin’s colleagues, Clive Betts, said in remarks to Parliament that Mr. Yasin was the only lawmaker in the group delayed for questioning by officials who they believed worked for Air Canada and the Canadian government.

Persons: Mohammad Yasin, Yasin, Pablo Rodríguez, ” Mr, Rodríguez, “, Mr, Yasin’s, Clive Betts Organizations: Air, Air Canada, Labour Party, Airport, Canadian Locations: Air Canada, British, Ottawa, Bedford, England, Canada, London

On Tuesday morning, few meteorologists were talking about Tropical Storm Otis. At that time, forecast computer models didn’t show much to be concerned about. By Sunday evening, the computer forecast models were still not showing much. This is why meteorologists often preach that a computer model isn’t a forecast — forecasters create forecasts, they like to say. On Monday evening, with Otis still a tropical storm, satellite images revealed a little feature that could mean that the storm was about to intensify very quickly.

Persons: Tropical Storm Otis, Otis, Zach Levitt, Tomer, we’re, Eric Blake, Hurricane Otis Organizations: Tropical Storm, National, U.S, National Hurricane Center, Otis, Hurricane Locations: Mexico, Tomer Burg, Florida, @burgwx, Acapulco

Before the storm made landfall, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico had urged residents in Guerrero to brace for the storm. “Agree to move to shelters, stay in safe places: away from rivers, streams, ravines, and be alert,” he said on Tuesday. It also recommended that Acapulco residents take shelter, avoid crossing streams and flooded streets, and stay away from areas prone to landslides. The rainfall could cause flash and urban flooding, as well as mudslides in the mountainous areas, forecasters said. “There are no hurricanes on record even close to this intensity for this part of Mexico,” the hurricane center added.

Persons: Andrés Manuel López Obrador, ”, Otis, Hurricane Patricia Organizations: of, Protection Locations: Mexico, Guerrero, Acapulco, Tecpán, Oaxaca, Pacific Coast

Tens of thousands of women and nonbinary people in Iceland were expected to participate on Tuesday in a one-day strike, which organizers called the country’s largest effort to protest workplace inequality in nearly five decades. Iceland is a global leader in gender equality but still has a long way to go, said Freyja Steingrímsdóttir, a spokeswoman for the Icelandic Federation of Public Workers, the country’s largest federation of public worker unions. “Iceland is often viewed as some sort of equality paradise,” Ms. Steingrímsdóttir, an organizer of the strike, said. “If we’re going to live up to that name, we need to move forward and really be the best we can be — and we’re not stopping until full gender equality is reached.”Organizers urged women and nonbinary people to stop all work on Tuesday, including household errands and child care. Even Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir said she would take part, telling local news media that she would not call a cabinet meeting and that she expected other women in the cabinet to strike.

Persons: Freyja Steingrímsdóttir, Ms, Steingrímsdóttir, Katrín Jakobsdóttir Organizations: Icelandic Federation of Public Workers, ” Locations: Iceland

When the sun broke through the dreary sky on a recent summer’s day in London, Lauren Thompson started packing for a family picnic. Another city resident, Maxwell St Hill, began masterminding plans for an afternoon barbecue. And Johana Bowhill texted her friends that a day dedicated to outdoor games — to celebrate her 24th birthday — was going ahead. Though strangers, the three Londoners all had the same idea for the best way to take advantage of the precious blue skies. “The first thing that people do is flock to the parks,” Ms. Thompson said.

Persons: Lauren Thompson, Maxwell St Hill, —, Ms, Thompson, “ There’s, ” Locations: London

The Americans took off in a plane from Tehran just before 9 a.m. Eastern time and were expected to fly to Doha, the capital of Qatar. Officials said that they would be given brief medical checkups before flying to Washington on a U.S. government plane. Several of the Iranian American prisoners, who hold dual citizenship, had been moved from the notorious Evin prison to a hotel last month, according to officials at the State Department and the National Security Council. The U.S. government had deemed the five wrongfully detained. Their release comes after more than two years of quiet negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

Organizations: Iranian, White House, Officials, State Department, National Security Council Locations: Iran, Tehran, Doha, Qatar, Washington, U.S

☆ Relief Efforts in Libya Turn to Disease Prevention, as Hopes for Finding Survivors Dim
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Nearly a week after a powerful storm caused catastrophic flooding in northeastern Libya, rescue groups assessing the damage left behind after two dams collapsed in the city of Derna — washing entire neighborhoods out to sea — said that the death toll was still being assessed amid diminishing hopes for finding survivors. “There are still bodies in the water,” said Salem Al Naas, a spokesman for the Libyan Red Crescent in Derna, adding in an interview that workers were still searching hundreds of buildings where families were feared to have died. People are being found alive — one person was pulled from the rubble yesterday, Mr. Al Naas said. The United Nations had said on Saturday that at least 11,300 people had died and that more than 10,000 people were still missing, citing figures it said were from the Libyan Red Crescent. But Mr. Al Naas walked that back a bit, and said that while those numbers “might be an approximate number,” the final death toll is yet unknown.

Persons: —, ”, Salem Al, Al Naas, “ Organizations: Libyan, United Nations Locations: Libya, Salem, Salem Al Naas, Derna, Libyan

More than 5,000 people were killed in Libya after torrential rains caused two dams to burst near the coastal city of Derna, destroying much of the city and carrying entire neighborhoods into the sea, local authorities said on Tuesday. Libya, a North African nation splintered by a war, was ill-prepared for the storm, called Daniel, which swept across the Mediterranean Sea to batter its coastline. The country is administered by two rival governments, complicating rescue and aid efforts, and its infrastructure had been poorly maintained after more than a decade of political chaos. In the city of Derna alone, at least 5,200 people died, said Tarek al-Kharraz, a spokesman for the interior ministry of the government that oversees Eastern Libya, according to the Libyan television station al-Masar. At least 20,000 people were displaced.

Persons: Daniel, Tarek al Organizations: Eastern, Libyan Locations: Libya, Derna, African, Eastern Libya

Deadly floods swept through northeastern Libya over the weekend, with the top official in the region warning that the toll could exceed 2,000 dead as rescue teams searched for survivors. It was not immediately clear what the head of the divided country’s eastern region, Osama Hamad, or the spokesman were basing their numbers on. But the flooding was centered in the region under Mr. Hamad’s administration. The internationally recognized government in western Libya, in Tripoli, has not put out figures. “Entire neighborhoods have been swept away by the sea, and entire neighborhoods have disappeared with their inhabitants,” Mr. Hamad said in a phone interview with the Libyan television channel al-Masar on Monday from the port city of Derna in eastern Libya.

Persons: Osama Hamad, ” Mr, Hamad Organizations: Libyan Locations: Libya, Tripoli, Derna

“They have nowhere they can go back to,” Mr. Choula said of his family, who spent Saturday night sleeping in a field with several other families. Some are rallying together to send funds and organize shipments of supplies for survivors while others are heading home to help on the ground. But Mr. Dehy said he had received dozens of calls from Moroccans who want to immediately send help home. For Moroccans watching from afar, “the only thing that helps them is knowing that they helped, that they didn’t just stand idly by,” Mr. Dehy said. Mr. Choula, 41, said he was gathering money to send home.

Persons: Youssef Choula, “, ” Mr, Choula, ”, Latif Dehy, Dehy, —, Ella Williams, Talat N’yakoub, It’s, “ I’ve, Williams Organizations: “, French, of, British Moroccan Society Locations: Gloucestershire, England, Marrakesh, Amizmiz, Moroccan, Avignon, France, Morocco, Europe, Britain, ”

Violent storms have pounded parts of Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey with extreme amounts of rain, causing floods that killed at least 13 people, ravaged roads and prompted evacuations. In Greece, where record rainfall has swamped the country’s central region this week, the death toll stood at three, after the authorities on Wednesday recovered two more bodies. In Turkey, seven people were killed by flooding in the northwest late on Tuesday, according to the interior minister. And Bulgarian officials said on Wednesday that three people had died in floodwaters on that country’s Black Sea coast. Greece’s fire service said Wednesday that it had received more than 2,000 calls for help in 24 hours.

Locations: Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Volos

☆ Have You Seen Paul McCartney’s Lost Bass Guitar? Tips Welcome.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Before Beatlemania, there was the distinctive Höfner violin bass — the first guitar that Paul McCartney bought after becoming the bassist for the Beatles. That bass can be heard on some of the band’s most famous hits, including “Love Me Do,” “She Loves You,” and “Twist and Shout.”Mr. McCartney picked up the instrument in a Hamburg music store in 1961, and it accompanied the Fab Four as they rocketed to stunning success, becoming the most famous band in the world. But the guitar vanished eight years later. A new campaign is seeking to find the missing instrument, and hundreds of people have responded, hoping to help solve the decades-old mystery: Where is Paul McCartney’s missing bass guitar?

Persons: Paul McCartney, Mr, McCartney, Paul McCartney’s Locations: Hamburg

☆ Grim Struggle Begins to Identify Victims in South African Fire
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Families of the victims of a fire in downtown Johannesburg were still searching for relatives at mortuaries and hospitals on Friday to see if they had lived or died, a day after the blaze tore through an overcrowded building in one of the deadliest residential fires in South African history. At least 74 people died in the fire, a dozen of them children, with some victims jumping to their deaths from the building and others trapped inside. Health officials on Friday urged people to come forward to identify their relatives at a mortuary, adding that 40 men and 24 women were among the victims. Ten other bodies were so badly burned they were beyond recognition, they said, and DNA testing would be used to identify them. On Friday morning, the police were seen taking search dogs around the charred site.

Organizations: Health Locations: Johannesburg, mortuaries, South

☆ Scenes From Johannesburg: A Deadly Fire Downtown Kills Scores
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A fire consumed a crowded five-story building in downtown Johannesburg early on Thursday, tearing through an informal settlement of homeless people in what was being described as one of the deadliest blazes in South African history. Owned by the city, the building once provided emergency housing for women but had become home to a large squatter camp, a sign of the scarcity of affordable housing in South Africa’s most populous city. These are photographs from the scene.

Locations: Johannesburg, South Africa’s

☆ King Charles to Visit France in September, After Protests Forced Delay
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

King Charles III of Britain announced plans on Thursday for a visit to France next month, his first trip to the country as monarch, after widespread demonstrations postponed a visit planned earlier this year and caused an awkward moment for President Emmanuel Macron. The British monarch and his wife, Queen Camilla, will visit Paris and Bordeaux from Sept. 20 to Sept. 22, Buckingham Palace said, adding that it would be a celebration of “the shared history, culture and values of the United Kingdom and France.”The French president had originally intended to host King Charles in March, in one of the king’s first overseas trips as Britain’s head of state. On the heels of a visit from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the plan for King Charles’s trip was a signal of a warming in the relationship between the two countries, which has been strained in the years since Britain formally left the European Union in 2021. But an outpouring of anger in March over a plan by Mr. Macron to raise the retirement age in France to 64 from 62 spurred huge street demonstrations and strikes, some of which turned violent. The strikes also disrupted train services, causing concerns over the travel logistics.

Persons: King Charles III of, Emmanuel Macron, Queen Camilla, Buckingham, ”, King Charles, Rishi Sunak, King Charles’s, Macron Organizations: Paris, European Union Locations: France, British, Bordeaux, United Kingdom, Britain

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