Hello, this is Anna breaking down news from around the world before the weekend.
‘A Coligula orgy’ - Oxfam, one of Britain’s biggest charities, has been forced to deny claims it covered up the reasons behind the departure of senior aid workers, some of whom were accused of using prostitutes in Haiti during devastation relief efforts. Oxfam is accused of letting three men resign while four men were sacked over the allegations, according to an investigation by The Times. The Times quoted a source as saying one was party was ‘like a full on Caligula orgy’, with sex workers wearing Oxfam T-shirts.
Extravagant school - A public elementary school in Tokyo’s Ginza district has faced a backlash after they announced a plan to adopt uniforms designed by Italian fashion brand Giorgio Armani for its students. Taimei elementary school is introducing the uniforms for incoming pupils, each costing more than 80,000 yen ($729), including optional items, the Huffington Post reported.
Sexism protest - A Colombian university is under fire after advising female students not to wear miniskirts to avoid ‘distracting classmates and teachers’. Saying the advice was sexist, students have coordinated a campaign to encourage everyone, male and female, to wear short skirts on campus. Medellín's Pontifical Bolivarian University, known as UPB, posted the controversial advice on its website.
Stock market panic - Investors caused Asian markets to plummet on Friday following ‘panic’ selling on Wall Street which saw the Dow Jones drop by more than 1,000 points for the second time in a week. A mass sell-off spread to China for the first time in the current crisis as the Shanghai Composite index fell by 5.6% at one stage and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong slipped more than 4%.
Shutdown in the US, again - The US government officially shut down for the second time this year over Thursday night because Congress failed to meet a deadline to vote on a new budget. Senators struggled with last-minute objections from Republican Rand Paul, but have now passed the bill, which has now been signed off by the House.
Diplomacy - Kim Jong-un’s sister has landed in South Korea on a historical day, becoming the first member of Pyongyang’s ruling dynasty to set foot in the rival country since the Korean war. Kim Yo-jong is part of a high-level diplomatic delegation led by the North’s ceremonial head of state, Kim Yong-nam as the Winter Olympics trigger a diplomatic thawing between the two nations.