NewsDeadly mall fire in China, Kenya reshuffles ministers, and more
Deadly mall fire in China, Kenya reshuffles ministers, and more
It happened while you were sleeping. Here is what global agencies reported overnight from Wednesday to Thursday.
5:01 AM EDT, July 18, 2024
- At least 16 people died in a fire at a shopping center in Zigong, a city in Sichuan Province in southwestern China - Reuters reported, citing local media. The fire occurred in a 14-story building in the advanced technology zone in Zigong, about 112 miles south of Sichuan's capital, Chengdu. Preliminary investigation findings suggest that the fire erupted between the ground floor and irregularities during construction work caused the fifth floor.
- The Croatian energy transmission system operator HOPS announced a new record for electricity consumption. According to N1 television, on Tuesday, energy consumption reached 3,341 megawatt-hours. This spike is attributed to the extreme heat that has persisted in the tourist paradise for many days.
- Kenyan President William Ruto appointed Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi as the temporary head of all ministries. Previously, all other ministry heads were dismissed following violent protests.
- Imprisoned in Havana, the capital of Cuba, opposition member Onaikel Infante Abreu painted anti-government slogans on the prison wall using his own blood, the Cuban Institute for Freedom of Speech and Press (ICLEP) reported on Wednesday. "Freedom. Homeland and Life. Freedom for political prisoners. No more hunger for the people!" wrote the regime opponent on the prison wall in Havana, for which he was punished. The inmate's wife informed ICLEP management that among the sanctions imposed on Abreu for painting anti-government slogans was torture, including permanent restraint with handcuffs on both his hands and legs.
- Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of the late president of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov, who has been serving a long-term prison sentence for several crimes, is being specially treated and enjoying privileges not available to other inmates, reported Radio Free Europe. Women who have served time in the same prison in the Tashkent region claim that Karimova, among other things, has a uniform made from a special, breathable material. She is also allowed to wear non-regulation shoes with laces. Additionally, Islam Karimov's daughter has "four beds that she has separated with sheets from the others in the cell [so she has privacy]."
