NEWS OF THE DAY
1 Evacuation:
Rescue crews in Dubai safely evacuated a 34story residential tower Sunday after a fire gutted portions of the building, police said. The blaze charred the outside of the structure and sent smoke drifting over a major development known as Jumeirah Lakes Towers, a cluster of high-rise apartment buildings and shops on the southern edge of Dubai. Residents stood on roadways watching flames pour from windows on high floors. No casualties were reported.
2 Pope enthroned:
The new pope of Egypt’s Orthodox Coptic church was enthroned Sunday in an elaborate ceremony in Cairo attended by the nation’s Muslim prime minister and a host of Cabinet ministers and politicians. Pope Tawadros II, 60, replaced Shenouda III, who died in March after leading the ancient church for 40 years. Egypt’s Christians make up about 10 percent of the nation’s 83 million people, making them the largest single Christian community in the Middle East.
3 Protesters
charged: A Jordanian official said Sunday that the country’s military prosecutor has charged 89 activists with inciting violent revolt. Protests over price hikes swept through the U.S.allied kingdom last week. One person died in the riots, and 75 others were wounded.
4 Funeral:
Hundreds of thousands of grieving supporters thronged the streets of Mumbai on Sunday for the funeral of Bal Thackeray, a Hindu extremist leader linked to waves of mob violence against Muslims and migrant workers in India. Nearly 20,000 policemen were on hand because of the violent history of Thackeray’s Shiv Sena group. The mourners, however, remained orderly as the body of Thackeray was cremated at Shivaji park, where he addressed his first public rally 46 years ago. Indian media said more than 1.5 million people attended the procession. There were no official estimates of the mourners.
5 China unrest:
Thousands of residents of Fuan city in Fujian province protested after a traffic accident, smashing police cars and overturning three police vans, witnesses said Sunday. One resident said people became angry because police and paramedics took nearly an hour to arrive to help the injured, while a Hong Kongbased human rights group said Saturday night’s clash was over corruption. Protests have become increasingly common in China.
6 Same- sex marriage:
The controversial Ukrainian group Femen, whose topless members stage pranks in support of gay rights, taunted a march in Paris on Sunday by Catholics who oppose France’s draft law to legalize same-sex marriage. The Catholic group Civitas organized the march by several thousand people carrying pro-family banners. Several Femen activists turned up topless, chanted “in gay we trust” and sprayed white powder from bottles. Several protesters opposing same-sex marriage struck the Femen members and pushed them to the ground.
7 Territorial disputes:
Southeast Asian leaders decided Sunday to ask China to start formal talks on crafting a binding accord intended to prevent an outbreak of violence in disputed South China Sea territories. Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations made the decision during their annual summit in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said. Many fear the South China Sea territorial disputes could spark Asia’s next war.