The Courier-Journal (Louisville)
NATION & WORLD BRIEFS Thousands party in Pamplona city as bull-running festival begins
Australian government distances itself from Trump Jr.’s tour
CANBERRA, Australia – Australia’s center-left government distanced itself Thursday from the postponement of Donald Trump Jr.’s speaking tour in Australia.
His promoters said the eldest son of the former U.S. president was deferring visits to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane because his Australian visa was only approved on Wednesday, 24 hours before he was to board a flight.
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles said Trump’s visa application received standard and equal treatment.
Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Dalai Lama, Tibetan spiritual leader, celebrates 88th birthday
DHARMSALA, India – The Dalai Lama celebrated his 88th birthday on Thursday, as hundreds of his supporters and exiled Tibetans thronged his hillside Indian headquarters in Dharamsala.
Artists played traditional welcome tunes as the Tibetan spiritual leader arrived in his open mobile van to preside over the celebrations in the courtyard of the Tsuglakhang Temple, which was festooned with Tibetan and Buddhist flags and portraits.
“We are celebrating my 88th birthday but look at me, I look barely 50,” the Dalai Lama said, smiling.
He has made the hillside town of Dharmsala his headquarters since fleeing from Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.
Beijing orders outdoor work to be halted as summer heat soars
BEIJING – Employers in Beijing were ordered Thursday by the government to stop outdoor work after scorching summer heat in the Chinese capital was forecast to reach 104 degrees Fahrenheit.
Government departments were ordered to ensure the elderly and ill could stay cool after the city of 22 million people issued a “red alert,” the highest level of a warning system for extreme temperatures.
The government reported on Monday
that Beijing recorded 10 days of temperatures above 95 , the longest streak of its kind since 1961.
The government on Wednesday issued an alert for possible flash flooding in Inner Mongolia in the north, Heilongjiang in the northeast and Tibet and Sichuan in the southwest.
PAMPLONA, Spain – Tens of thousands of people packed the town hall square in the northern Spanish city of Pamplona on Thursday to celebrate the traditional “chupinazo” firework blast that starts the San Fermín bull-running festival.
Nearly everyone, including many tourists, was dressed in the traditional garb of white trousers and shirt with red sash and neckerchief as they sang and shouted.
The highlight of the nine-day festival is the early-morning “encierros,” or bull runs, starting on Friday, when thousands of daredevils race to avoid six bulls charging along a winding cobblestoned route to the city’s bullring.
The rest of each day is for eating, drinking, dancing and cultural entertainment.