UNITED KINGDOM
Donkeys to ‘speak’ with kids
A self-proclaimed “donkey whisperer” is encouraging people in London to use technology to help them understand donkeys’ emotions and mannerisms. Mark Ineson, owner of Real Donkeys in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, has been studying the animals for more than 20 years and says they are very emotive creatures. Entertainment group Merlin Events has teamed up with Real Donkeys to offer donkey rides “with a difference” in London’s Jubilee Gardens. New technology allows children to hear the animals’ sounds translated into English, and into full sentences. “We get the nudges, we get the facial expressions,” he said. Chloe Couchman, a spokeswoman at Merlin Events, explained that the technology behind the translators analyses the unique sounds, frequencies and vibrations of each donkey’s “ee-aww,” triggering a phrase that reflects what the donkey is feeling.
BRAZIL
Pay Rio robbers off: France
Worried about surviving a mugging during the Rio Olympics? Have a banknote ready in your pocket to keep your attacker happy. That is the advice French visitors heading for the Games are getting from their government to minimize the risk of being hurt in the notoriously dangerous Brazilian city. France’s security advisory recommends that tourists walk Rio streets with no jewelry or valuables, and carry a spare 20 real or 50 real bill (US$6.08 or US$15.20) ready to give to a mugger. “The idea is that it’s best not to resist an assault and always useful to have a 20 or 50 real bill to keep the robber happy,” French embassy spokesman Thibaut Lespagnol said. As many as 500,000 foreign tourists are expected to descend on Rio for the first Olympic Games to be held in South America from Friday next week to Aug. 21, and Brazil is deploying 88,000 police and troops to protect them from terrorist threats and dissuade muggers.
UNITED STATES
Acrobats marry on tightrope
Two circus acrobats on Tuesday tied the knot on a tightrope during a performance in Houston, Texas. Mustafa Danguir and Anna Lebedeva got married 9m off the ground during a Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus show at NRG Stadium. The groom, wearing a white tuxedo coat, arrived on a camel and climbed a side ladder to reach the tightrope. The veiled bride rode a horse. She shed her high heels and adjusted her flowing gown to also climb a ladder to the wire. The ringmaster presided as the pair met in the middle of the wire, then exchanged vows and rings. The smiling newlyweds descended and waved to the cheering crowd as they walked away arm-in-arm.
UNITED STATES
Man brags of eluding police
A suburban Detroit, Michigan, motorcyclist was apparently fast enough to leave police in the dust during a chase, but not swift enough to stop from bragging about it on Facebook. Lake Orion police said 33-year-old Michael Brown, of Rochester Hills, turned himself in on Tuesday, three weeks after the incident. He was charged with fleeing police and reckless driving. Police said an officer pulled up to Brown outside a restaurant after seeing loud motorcycle maneuvers in the street. Brown sped off and the officer eventually stopped pursuing him. Police say Brown boasted on Facebook that he was going “140 in a 35mph” zone. He added: “#nojailthisweekend.” Someone shared the post with police. He is due in court on Tuesday.
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
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
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of