ESTONIA
Scientists plan peat batteries
Peat, plentiful in bogs in northern Europe, could be used to make sodium-ion batteries cheaply for use in electric vehicles, scientists at an Estonian university said. Sodium-ion batteries, which do not contain relatively costly lithium, cobalt or nickel, are one of the new technologies that battery makers are looking at as they seek alternatives to the dominant lithium-ion model.
ALGERIA
Said Bouteflika sentenced
Said Bouteflika, the younger brother of deposed late president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was sentenced on Tuesday to two years in prison for “obstructing the course of justice,” the Algeria Press Service reported. The prosecution had called for seven years’ jail for Said Bouteflika, who was charged with other former officials for “abuse of office,” “inciting the falsification of official documents,” “obstruction of justice” and “contempt of court.”
UNITED STATES
Land borders to reopen
Land borders are to reopen to nonessential travel next month, ending a 19-month freeze due to the COVID-19 pandemic as the country moves to require all international visitors to be vaccinated against the disease. Vehicle, rail and ferry travel between the nation, and Canada and Mexico has been largely restricted to essential travel since the earliest days of the pandemic. The new rules are to allow fully vaccinated foreign nationals to enter regardless of the reason for travel starting early next month, when a similar easing of restrictions is set to start for air travel.
UNITED STATES
Fire evacuations rise
Evacuation orders on Tuesday were expanded for a growing wildfire driven by intense winds that has shut down a southern California highway for more than a day. At least 200 firefighters battled the Alisal fire, which had scorched 31km2 along coastal Santa Barbara County. “The fire is burning in dense chaparral and is being pushed by strong winds and growing at a rapid rate,” a fire update said on Tuesday.
UNITED STATES
‘Peppa Pig’ park to open
A standalone Peppa Pig theme park at the Legoland Florida Resort is to open on Feb. 24 next year, park officials announced on Tuesday. A one-day ticket for the central Florida park is to be US$34.99 at the gate and US$30.99 online. An annual pass is to cost US$79.99. Based on the preschool animated television series, the new park is near the main Legoland theme park, but will be separately ticketed, a news release said. The Peppa Pig theme park is to feature rides, interactive attractions, themed playscapes, water play areas and live shows, mostly designed for small children and their parents, officials said.
FRANCE
Resistance fighter dies
Hubert Germain, the last of an elite group of decorated French Resistance fighters who helped liberate France from Nazi control in World War II, has died. He was 101. The office of President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday said that Germain “embodied a century of freedom.” It did not divulge details of his death. Born in Paris on Aug. 6, 1920, Germain was taking his entry exam for France’s Naval Academy in June 1940, just after the French state capitulated to the Nazis. “Rising from his examination table, he preferred to hand in a blank paper rather than give a blank check to the France that had gone to bed, that had given in to resignation and renunciation,” the office said.
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