UNITED STATES
Leak cancels spacewalk
A spacewalk to work on the International Space Station ended abruptly on Tuesday when a water-like liquid started building up inside an Italian astronaut’s helmet, NASA officials said. US astronaut Chris Cassidy and Italy’s Luca Parmitano were less than an hour into a planned six-hour outing when Parmitano reported what seemed to be water inside his helmet. “My head is really wet and I have a feeling it’s increasing,” Parmitano radioed to flight controllers in Houston. Thinking it might be his drink bag leaking, Parmitano drained the bag, but in the weightless environment of space, blobs of liquid continued to collect in his helmet. “Where’s it coming from?” Parmitano said. “It’s too much. Now it’s in my eyes.” With the astronaut at risk of choking or drowning, NASA called off the spacewalk. Engineers estimate about 1 liter to 1.5 liters of water had collected inside Parmitano’s spacesuit by the time station crew members were able to get to him and take off his helmet.
CANADA
‘Glee’ star overdosed: report
Cory Monteith, the Canadian star of the hit TV musical series Glee, died of an apparent overdose of heroin and alcohol, the British Columbia Coroner’s Office said on Tuesday. The 31-year-old Monteith, who had struggled in the past with substance abuse and checked into a rehabilitation facility in April, was found dead on Saturday in his Vancouver hotel room. “There is no evidence to suggest this is anything other than the most sad and tragic accident,” coroner Barbara McLintock said in a statement released on YouTube. McLintock said the coroner’s investigation was continuing. Monteith starred on Glee as Finn Hudson, a star high-school football player who joined a motley crew of students in the glee club.
UNITED STATES
Army trial jury picking starts
Jury selection began on Tuesday for the trial of Army General Brigadier General Jeffrey Sinclair, who is charged with sexually assaulting a subordinate, in the latest in a string of sexual misconduct allegations in the military. The charges against Sinclair led to his removal from command last year in Afghanistan. Sinclair, a 27-year army veteran, pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges of forcible sodomy, wrongful sexual conduct, possessing pornography while deployed and conduct unbecoming of an officer. The most serious charges stem from accusations that he forced a subordinate with whom he acknowledges having a three-year affair to perform oral sex on two occasions. He is also accused of eliciting nude e-mails and text messages from other female subordinates. He could be sent to prison for life if convicted of the most serious charge: forcible sodomy.
UNITED STATES
Guard charged for sex abuse
An Ohio National Guard major who once said he wanted to adopt a girl from Africa to protect her from rape has been indicted on charges he sexually abused three children, including two of his own. A grand jury indicted the man on charges of rape, sexual battery and gross sexual imposition between 2006 and last year. The indictment said he is the father of two of the children, but does not give his relationship with the third. The man is not being named to protect the children’s identities. The Guard say he is on duty in Kuwait. The man spoke in a 2008 story in a military publication about his large family and his desire to adopt an African girl to protect her from sexual assault.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese