FRANCE
Reunion search called off
The nation on Monday said it was calling off the hunt for wreckage from missing flight MH370 after 10 days of air and sea searches off its Indian Ocean territory of Reunion yielded no results. A wing part washed up on the island on July 29 and was confirmed by the Malaysian prime minister to be part of the Boeing 777 that went missing on March 8 last year with 239 people onboard. The find raised hopes of finally solving the mystery of what happened to the plane, prompting investigators to search a maritime surface of 10,000km2 and scour the island’s eastern coastline.
CANADA
‘Space elevator’ patented
A company wants to build a tower that would allow astronauts to take an elevator partway into orbit. The tower would be 20 times taller than Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building at 830m. The Pembroke, Ontario-based firm envisions building a 20km-high tower with a platform at the top “for launching payloads, tourism, observation, scientific research and communications.” The tower would be constructed of pressurized, stacked cells, the patent said.
SPAIN
Fossil flower discovered
An aquatic plant is believed by scientists to be the oldest flowering plant on Earth. New analysis of the fossilized remains from the Pyrenees indicate that the plant is about 130 million years old. The plant, Montsechia vidalii, is like the coontail — which is commonly used to populate aquariums — and is thought to have grown underwater in shallow lakes. The plant snatches the title of world’s oldest flower from the hands of Archaefructus sinensis, said to be 125 million years old, found in fossils in Liaoning Province, China.
UNITED STATES
Actor jailed for assault
Hollywood star Emile Hirsch was sentenced to two weeks in jail after pleading guilty to assaulting a Paramount movie executive at the Sundance Film Festival, US media reported on Monday. At a hearing in Park City, which hosts the famous festival, the Into the Wild star was also fined US$4,750 and sentenced to 50 hours of community service for attacking executive Daniele Bernfeld at a disco in the city in January.
SOUTH AFRICA
Mandela grandson in court
Former president Nelson Mandela’s 24-year-old grandson appeared in court on Monday on charges of raping a 15-year-old, police said, in a new scandal to tarnish the family of the anti-apartheid icon. Mbuso Mandela remained in police custody and is to return to the Johannesburg magistrate court on Friday for a bail hearing, police spokeswoman Mashadi Selepe told reporters. He is alleged to have raped the girl at a Johannesburg restaurant more than a week ago.
SPAIN
DNA to help fight dog poop
The northeastern city of Tarragona plans to use DNA analysis of dog droppings to track down errant owners who fail to clear up their pet’s mess, officials said on Monday. The coastal Mediterranean city is to work with a local university to create a DNA database of registered dogs that could be used to identify owners, Tarragona City Councilor for public spaces Ivana Martinez told news radio Cadena Ser. Droppings found on the street or in parks can then be matched through the DNA database to a registered pet and its owner issued with a fine, she said.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in 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
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was