UNITED STATES
Monopoly junks glass ceiling
In the latest update of the classic board game Monopoly unveiled on Tuesday, the trademark real-estate tycoon has been replaced by his socially minded niece: an advocate who invests in female entrepreneurs. In Ms Monopoly, players collect inventions made by women, such as Wi-Fi and solar heating. Female players start out with more money than male players and receive US$240 each time they pass “go,” more than the US$200 that goes to males. That is an inversion of real life, where women make only 81 percent of what men do, according to the Department of Labor.
PHILIPPINES
Felons let loose early
The early release of hundreds of convicted rapists, murderers and drug criminals has acutely embarrassed President Rodrigo Duterte, with Secretary of Justice Menardo Guevarra saying they were ineligible to be freed because of the severity of their crimes. About 1,700 felons serving life sentences have quietly walked free under a good behavior program in the three years since Duterte swept to power, promising to wage a national war on corruption, drugs and crime. Among those freed are 745 convicted rapists, 748 murderers and 156 drug criminals, according to an internal prisons document that names all of the prisoners guilty of crimes categorized as “heinous.”
FRANCE
New giant pterosaur found
Scientists on Tuesday unveiled a new species of pterosaur, the plane-sized reptiles that lorded over primeval skies above Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops and other dinosaurs of the late Cretaceous Period. With a wingspan of 10m and weighing 250kg, Cryodrakon boreas rivals another pterosaur as the largest flying animal of all time, researchers reported in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. The remains of C. boreas were first discovered more than 30 years ago in Alberta, Canada, yet elicited scant excitement because of a misclassification.
UNITED STATES
Derailment causes fire
A freight train believed to be bearing a flammable liquid used in solvents on Tuesday derailed near St Louis, Illinois, causing a fire that sent thick, black smoke into the air and prompted the evacuation of nearby schools and residences. Union Pacific said in a news release that the train derailed at its yard at about 12:45pm in the town of Dupo. The tank car that first caught fire contained a flammable liquid used as a solvent, it said. Railroad spokeswoman Kristen South said the smoke from the fire does not pose a significant health hazard. Video showed more than 10 train cars derailed and flames shooting from the wreckage.
UNITED STATES
LGBT+ credit union to open
A unique US credit union opening next year is to give priority to the needs of LGBT+ customers amid controversy over a national effort to ensure that financial institutions do not discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Superbia Credit Union of Michigan would provide loans and other financial services that LGBT+ clients might not otherwise obtain, its founder said. Research published by Iowa State University earlier this year found that same-sex couples were 73 percent more likely to be turned down for a mortgage than were same-sex couples. “Our families, lives and financial journeys are vast and unique,” the Superbia Web site 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