UNITED NATIONS
‘Isis’ storm name dropped
The UN weather agency announced on Friday that it is dropping “Isis” — the name of an ancient Egyptian goddess that also happens to be an acronym for the Islamic State group — from its stocklist of Pacific hurricane names. “Isis” was replaced with “Ivette” on an alphabetical list of hurricane names for the eastern north Pacific region next year, World Meteorological Organization spokeswoman Clare Nullis said. The decision to scratch “Isis” from the list was taken by the organization’s Hurricane Committee at a meeting in Costa Rica. The WMO has six rotating lists of storm names that run from A to Z. The list can also be changed to remove the name of a storm that was too deadly. “Odile” was removed and replaced with “Odalys” in the 2020 name list, after Hurricane Odile killed 11 people and caused widespread devastation on Mexico’s Baja Peninsula last year.
UNITED NATIONS
China trial review demanded
The EU on Friday demanded that China “review” the trial of 71-year-old Chinese journalist Gao Yu (高瑜), who has been sentenced to seven years prison after being convicted of leaking state secrets. The sentence was given “despite the serious doubts that have been raised about the legal procedure,” an EU diplomatic service spokesperson said in Belgium. “We call for the immediate review of Ms Gao Yu’s case, in line with international standards.” The statement said that Gao’s case “highlights the situation faced by a number of Chinese human rights defenders, including journalists and bloggers, who have been prosecuted for exercising their right to freedom of expression.”
SWITZERLAND
Toxin detector wins award
A method for detecting toxins through the reactions of fish embryos has won Chinese company Vitargent International a top prize for inventions, organizers said on Friday. The Grand Prix at the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva went to Vitargent from Hong Kong for the natural method of finding toxins. “The company uses embryos of zebra fish, whose reactions make it possible to study more than a thousand toxins at the same time,” organizers said in a statement. “This method can be used in many areas such as food, medicine, plastic products, cosmetics or any other substance which can enter into contact with people, like water, for example.” The fish embryos would react between 48 and 72 hours after being exposed to a product being tested for toxicity.
UNITED STATES
Senator wants woman on bill
The first woman to serve as both a governor and a senator is backing a campaign to put a female face on the US$20 bill. Senator Jeanne Shaheen filed legislation this week that would create a citizens’ panel to recommend an appropriate choice to the secretary of the Treasury. She is hoping to build on the work of Women on 20s, a national campaign pushing for new US$20 bills by 2020, the 100th anniversary of the constitutional amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote. The portrait of former president Andrew Jackson has stared out from the face of the US$20 bill since 1928. However, paper currency is redesigned every seven to 10 years to thwart counterfeiters, and the latest US$20 notes entered circulation in 2003. Changes can be ordered by the Treasury or the president without an act of Congress, and Shaheen’s bill would not compel either to do so. Still, she hopes it will boost public support for redesigning the currency and spur conversation about the achievements of women.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
‘DELUSIONAL’: Targeting the families of Hamas’ leaders would not push the group to change its position or to give up its demands for Palestinians, Ismail Haniyeh said Israeli aircraft on Wednesday killed three sons of Hamas’ top political leader in the Gaza Strip, striking high-stakes targets at a time when Israel is holding delicate ceasefire negotiations with the militant group. Hamas said four of the leader’s grandchildren were also killed. Ismail Haniyeh’s sons are among the highest-profile figures to be killed in the war so far. Israel said they were Hamas operatives, and Haniyeh accused Israel of acting in “the spirit of revenge and murder.” The deaths threatened to strain the internationally mediated ceasefire talks, which appeared to gain steam in recent days even as the sides remain far
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The