News Headlines - 29 April 2021

▽Chinese spokesman Zhao Lijian doubles down on Fukushima nuclear tweet | South China Morning Post

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman has rejected calls for him to remove a cartoon on his Twitter account taking aim at Japan’s decision to release contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean.
Instead of taking down the tweet, Zhao Lijian responded to protests from Tokyo by pinning it to the top of his feed... The image by a Chinese illustrator is based on Hokusai’s “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” and shows waves turning into deformed babies and human fingers. Instead of Mount Fuji, the image depicts nuclear power plants and nuclear waste being dumped into the ocean.

▽China adopts law on preventing food waste - Xinhua

Chinese lawmakers on Thursday voted to adopt an anti-food-waste law at a session of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee... According to the law, catering service providers could charge customers who leave excessive amounts of food waste a disposal fee, but rates for the charge must be clearly advertised.
Approximately 18 billion kg of food is wasted every year in China's urban catering industry, according to a report based on nationwide field research carried out by NPC deputies.

▽India Covid: Delhi builds makeshift funeral pyres as deaths climb - BBC News

Deaths have been surging in India as a second wave of infections devastates the country.
The rising number of deaths - 380 were recorded in Delhi alone on Monday - has left crematoriums in urgent need of space.
At the capital city's Sarai Kale Khan crematorium, at least 27 new pyres have been built and dozens more are being added in a nearby park. Officials are also looking for additional space near the city's Yamuna river bed.

▽NatWest to move HQ from Scotland in event of independence | Reuters

Britain's NatWest would move its headquarters out of Scotland in the event of a vote in favour of independence, its CEO Alison Rose said, only days before parliamentary elections there.
State-backed NatWest (NWG.L), which until last year was called Royal Bank of Scotland, has been based for 294 years in the Scottish capital Edinburgh.
"In the event that there was independence for Scotland our balance sheet would be too big for an independent Scottish economy. And so we would move our registered headquarters, in the event of independence, to London," Rose told reporters.

▽Lady Gaga's stolen dogs: 5 arrested in connection to the case - CNN

Five people have been arrested and charged for their alleged involvement in the February shooting and robbery of Lady Gaga's dog walker, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Three of the suspects, ranging in age from 18 to 27, were arrested Tuesday on charges of attempted murder. The other two suspects, aged 40 and 50, were charged with accessory to attempted murder. The LAPD said four of the five suspects are documented gang members.
Ryan Fischer, a close friend of the pop star who was walking her dogs, was shot during a violent altercation on Feb. 24 that ended with two of Lady Gaga's three prized French bulldogs stolen and Fischer seriously wounded.