UNITED KINGDOM
Genome mapping made easy
Scientists have assembled the most complete human genome to be mapped with a single technology using a new pocket-size portable DNA sequencer, which they say could one day make genome mapping quick and simple enough to do at home. Using a device about the size of a mobile phone and called a MinION, made by Oxford Nanopore Technologies Ltd, researchers from the UK, the US and Canada said they were able to sequence much longer strands of DNA than previously, making the process cheaper and swifter. Understanding and interpreting the human genome is a cornerstone of modern medicine, offering a wealth of information about a person’s inherited genetics risks, the antibodies they have, or how their diseases — such as cancer — have developed.
UNITED STATES
State-built network opposed
Telecom regulators and industry groups on Monday voiced opposition to a government-built wireless network that President Donald Trump’s administration is reportedly considering. The news Web site Axios on Sunday reported that national security officials might want a government-built next-generation “5G” mobile network because of concerns about China and cybersecurity. A White House spokesman referred inquiries to the National Security Council, which did not immediately respond to questions. The telecom industry, which is powerful in Washington, is already working on 5G, which heralds better Internet on smartphones as well as potential applications for self-driving cars and other new technology. The new standard is already being tested and could be widely available by 2020.
CANADA
NAFTA talks inch ahead
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Monday said talks to rewrite the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) are progressing very slowly. Lighthizer said the US views NAFTA as a “very important agreement” and said the sixth round of talks between Canada, the US and Mexico, which concluded on Monday, were a “step forward.” “Some real headway was made here,” Lighthizer said. “We’re committed to moving forward.” President Donald Trump called NAFTA a job-killing “disaster” on the campaign trail and has threatened to withdraw from the 24-year-old pact if he cannot get what he wants. However, Lighthizer called the idea “vague.” “We find that the automobile rules of origin idea that was presented, when analyzed, may lead to less regional content than we have now, fewer jobs in the United States, Canada and likely Mexico,” he said. Lighthizer said the Trump administration’s goal coming out of the negotiations is to boost the number of manufacturing jobs in the US, either by encouraging new investment or by bringing back jobs that had moved to Mexico.
UNITED STATES
Facebook to shift focus
Facebook on Monday said it has decided to deliver more local news to US users, in its latest effort to manage the flow of information on the enormously-influential social network. Earlier this month, Facebook announced it would ask its 2 billion users to rank their trust in news sources as part of an effort to combat the spread of misinformation. The changes come as the social network seeks to address charges that it has failed — along with Google and Twitter — to prevent the spread of false news, especially ahead of the 2016 US presidential election.
SPAIN
Catalan vote postponed
The Catalan parliament speaker said the vote for a new regional head, planned for yesterday, had been postponed, but added that former leader Carles Puigdemont was the only viable candidate. “Today’s session has been postponed, but under no circumstance canceled ... another candidate will not be presented,” Roger Torrent told a news conference. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy reiterated yesterday that Puigdemont could not be a candidate as he was in exile in Brussels.
JAPAN
Bird can visualize snakes
Japanese songbirds can make unique calls to warn of a snake nearby, causing their comrades to conjure a visual image of the predator and react accordingly, researchers said on Monday. Until now, the ability to visualize something after hearing a word or sound was thought to be a human-only trait, the report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences said. Researchers played recordings of songbird calls warning of a snake, while a short tree branch was moved “in a serpentine fashion,” the report said. When birds saw this movement and heard the call, they reacted as if seeing a snake. “With a snake’s image in mind, tits can efficiently search out a snake regardless of its spatial position,” study author Toshitaka Suzuki said.
JAPAN
Woman sues for sterilization
A Japanese woman in her 60s yesterday sued the government over her forced sterilization under a now-defunct eugenics law, a court official and local media reports said. The woman was 15 in 1972, when the government forced her to undergo a sterilization procedure after she was diagnosed with a mental disability, local media reported. She is reportedly seeking ¥11 million (US$101,200) in damages, saying the state failed to offer relief measures while seriously violating her human rights under the law that remained in force until 1996. About 16,000 people were forcibly sterilized under the eugenics law, according to the Japanese Bar Association. The government is prepared to have talks with those who need support, but “has no plans to offer blanket measures” to all victims of forced sterilization, a Ministry of Health official said.
PHILIPPINES
‘Significant’ volcanic ashfall
A significant amount of ash has fallen on towns near the Philippines’ most active volcano after energetic eruptions of lava from the crater. Mount Mayon in northeastern Albay province has been erupting more than two weeks, and 84,000 people who fled are staying in schools and other crowded shelters. The Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said one large lava eruption lasted more than an hour and a half late on Monday. The ash plume reached 1.5km above the crater and caused significant ashfall in the towns of Camalig and Guinobatan.
MACAU
Wynn’s firm to cooperate
Wynn Macau Ltd yesterday said it would comply with Macau regulators as they seek more information about sexual misconduct allegations against the Las Vegas billionaire. The statement came after Macau’s gambling regulator said it was concerned about reports Steve Wynn, 76, might have been “involved in inappropriate behavior in the United States.” The Wall Street Journal on Friday reported that a number of women said they were harassed or assaulted by Wynn, and that one case led to a US$7.5 million settlement with a manicurist.
‘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
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
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in