World Affairs Overview

Argentina in mourning as floods sow chaos

ARGENTINA: Argentina’s government declared three days of national mourning from Wednesday after massive flooding killed 54 people in Buenos Aires and the nearby university city of La Plata.

At least 46 people died as flood waters hit La Plata about 60 kilometers (40 miles) south of the capital, following historic rains that swept through the streets, submerging cars as people cowered on rooftops. Most of the victims were found after a second day of record rainfall hit the area.

A staggering record 40 centimeters (16 inches) of rain fell on La Plata during a two-hour period late Tuesday into Wednesday, officials said, knocking out phone lines and leaving about half the city in the dark.

AFP

Taliban kill 44 in attack on court

AFGHANISTAN: Taliban militants stormed an Afghan court on Wednesday, killing at least 44 people in a bid to free insurgents standing trial, officials said, in the deadliest attack for more than a year.

It was not immediately clear whether the accused men had escaped the court complex in the western town of Farah, although a hospital doctor said one prisoner was among those being treated for injuries.

All nine attackers were killed in the assault, which started with a huge car bomb at the entrance to the court and continued for at least seven hours as security forces hunted down one final surviving assailant.

The brazen and sophisticated attack will raise further questions about the Afghans’ ability to secure the country as NATO winds down its combat mission in the war-torn country by the end of next year.

AFP

Louis XVI ‘bloodstained’ cloth auctioned

FRANCE: A bloodstained cloth allegedly belonging to Louis XVI, the French king who was beheaded after the 1789 revolution, on Wednesday fetched a staggering 19,000 euros ($24,400) at a Paris auction.

Kept in a miniature coffin, the cloth was estimated to go under the hammer for between 4,000 and 6,000 euros.

The 20 cm by 16 cm (8.9 by 6.3 inches) fabric was accompanied by a handwritten piece of paper that said: “The precious blood of Louis XVI, 21 January 1793” -- the day he was guillotined in the heart of Paris. The Coutau Begarie auction house said the cloth had been scooped by a French collector who is fascinated by the former monarch.

AFP

Munching sheep replace lawn mowers in Paris

FRANCE: Four little black sheep on Wednesday left the countryside and began their new careers in the city: working as eco-friendly lawn movers in a largely working-class district in northeastern Paris.

Between April and October, the new “park workers” will graze grounds the size of eight tennis-courts in three two-week-long sweeps in a move to promote biodiversity and make the grooming of the capital’s green areas more sustainable -- replacing both chemicals and lawn mowers.

Out of work, they will be resting back at a farm on the outskirts of Paris, the Ferme de Paris. “For a lawn mowed 24 times a year, there is no biodiversity.

AFP

Obama to hand back five percent of salary

US: President Barack Obama plans to return five percent of his $400,000 annual salary to US government coffers out of sympathy for federal workers furloughed as a result of massive budget cuts.

“The salary for the President, as with members of Congress, is set by law and cannot be changed,” a White House official said Wednesday on condition of anonymity.

“However, the President has decided that to share in the sacrifice being made by public servants across the federal government that are affected by the sequester, he will contribute a portion of his salary back to the Treasury.”

AFP