AUSTRALIA
Town takes Aborigine’s name
The Melbourne electorate of Batman has been renamed after an Aboriginal activist, following a public campaign to rid it of its ties to a man accused of involvement in the massacre of Aborigines. Batman is now to be called Cooper, after Yorta Yorta activist and leader William Cooper, the Australian Electoral Commission said yesterday. The electorate had been named after Melbourne founder John Batman, who was allegedly involved in massacring Aborigines in Tasmania before journeying to Victoria and attempting to purchase land from the Wurundjeri people. The newly renamed electorate’s parliament member, Ged Kearney, was among those who lobbied for the name to be changed and said she was “absolutely thrilled” at the decision.
YEMEN
Coalition seizes airport
Emitari-backed Yemeni government forces yesterday seized Hodeida International Airport from Houthi rebels, their commander said, in a major step towards retaking the key Red Sea port city. “The airport was completely cleared — thank God — and is under control,” coalition commander Abdul Salaam al-Shehi said in a video posted by the United Arab Emirates’ official WAM news agency. Government forces on Wednesday last week launched an offensive to clear Hodeida of rebel fighters who have held it since 2014, raising UN concerns for vital aid shipments and commercial food imports through the city’s docks.
IVORY COAST
Floods kill 19 in Abidjan
At least 19 people were killed on Tuesday by flooding in Abidjan, after intense rainfall overnight, authorities said. A rushing flood of brown water struck the tropical, lagoon-side city of about 5 million people in the early hours, carrying away cars, destroying homes and leaving hundreds stranded. Nineteen people had died, the government said in a provisional toll posted on its Web site. Another 115 people had been rescued and taken to shelters. “I broke the ceiling and called my neighbor for help. He came to bring the children out of the roof,” said Kadidiatou Diallo, standing in the ruined bedroom of her home in the Palmeraie District.
UNITED STATES
Pearl Harbor survivor saluted
More than 500 sailors saluted Pearl Harbor survivor Ray Emory as he visited the storied naval base in Hawaii for what could be the last time. The 97-year-old lived through the early morning Japanese aerial bombing, but never forgot those who did not. He spent the past few decades doggedly pushing for the remains of those buried as unknowns to be dug up, identified and returned to their families. Emory had expected to spend a quiet few minutes at the same pier where his ship was moored during the attack nearly 80 years ago, but instead, sailors lined their ship decks and shouted a cheer of “Hip, Hip, Hooray!”
UNITED STATES
Synthetic virus warning raised
The rapid rise of synthetic biology, a futuristic field of science that seeks to master the machinery of life, has raised the risk of a new generation of bioweapons, a major US report said. Today, the genetic code of almost any mammalian virus can be found online and synthesized. “The technology to do this is available now,” report committee chair and University of Michigan microbiology and immunology professor Michael Imperiale said. “It requires some expertise, but it’s something that’s relatively easy to do, and that is why it tops the list.”
FLYBY: The object, appears to be traveling more than 60 kilometers per second, meaning it is not bound by the sun’s orbit, astronomers studying 3I/Atlas said Astronomers on Wednesday confirmed the discovery of an interstellar object racing through the solar system — only the third-ever spotted, although scientists suspect many more might slip past unnoticed. The visitor from the stars, designated 3I/Atlas, is likely the largest yet detected, and has been classified as a comet, or cosmic snowball. “It looks kind of fuzzy,” said Peter Veres, an astronomer with the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center, which was responsible for the official confirmation. “It seems that there is some gas around it, and I think one or two telescopes reported a very short tail.” Originally known as A11pl3Z before
US President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday accused Harvard University of violating the civil rights of its Jewish and Israeli students, and threatened to cut off all federal funding if the university does not take urgent action. Harvard has been at the forefront of Trump’s campaign against top US universities after it defied his calls to submit to oversight of its curriculum, staffing, student recruitment and “viewpoint diversity.” Trump and his allies claim that Harvard and other prestigious universities are unaccountable bastions of liberal, anti-conservative bias and anti-Semitism. In a letter sent to the president of Harvard, a federal task
‘CONTINUE TO SERVE’: The 90-year-old Dalai Lama said he hoped to be able to continue serving ‘sentient beings and the Buddha Dharma’ for decades to come The Dalai Lama yesterday said he dreamed of living for decades more, as the Buddhist spiritual leader prayed with thousands of exiled Tibetans on the eve of his 90th birthday. Thumping drums and deep horns reverberated from the Indian hilltop temple, as a chanting chorus of red-robed monks and nuns offered long-life prayers for Tenzin Gyatso, who followers believe is the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. Looking in good health, dressed in traditional maroon monk robes and a flowing yellow wrap, he led prayers — days after confirming that the 600-year-old Tibetan Buddhist institution would continue after his death. Many exiled Tibetans
Hundreds of protesters marched through the Mexican capital on Friday denouncing gentrification caused by foreigners, with some vandalizing businesses and shouting “gringos out!” The demonstration in the capital’s central area turned violent when hooded individuals smashed windows, damaged restaurant furniture and looted a clothing store. Mexico City Government Secretary Cesar Cravioto said 15 businesses and public facilities were damaged in what he called “xenophobic expressions” similar to what Mexican migrants have suffered in other countries. “We are a city of open arms... there are always ways to negotiate, to sit at the table,” Cravioto told Milenio television. Neighborhoods like Roma-Condesa
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