JAPAN
Test rocket catches fire
A lightweight rocket yesterday failed its second test run after catching fire in the latest setback for the nation’s space program. The Epsilon S rocket’s second-stage engine suffered a malfunction 49 seconds into a ground test at Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said in a statement. A live feed from the national broadcaster showed plumes of smoke rising from the site. No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire has yet to be determined, the agency said. The Epsilon is scheduled to make its debut launch in March next year, but the failed test could trigger further delays in the program.
CHILE
Boric rejects sex complaint
President Gabriel Boric was accused in a criminal complaint of sexually harassing a woman in 2013, an allegation he “rejects and categorically denies,” his lawyer, Jonatan Valenzuela, said on Monday. The complaint was filed on Sept. 6 in the local prosecutors’ office of Magallanes. Office head Cristian Crisosto confirmed “there is a criminal case related to the facts listed,” adding that there was a special team at the agency investigating the complaint. Valenzuela said the complaint was filed by a woman who at the time sent Boric 25 e-mails that were “unsolicited and non-consensual,” including one with explicit images. More than 10 years later, the woman “filed a complaint without any basis whatsoever against now-president Gabriel Boric.” Boric, now 38, was 27 at the time and had just completed his law degree.
UNITED KINGDOM
Scrooge’s tomb smashed
If life imitates art, a vandal in the English countryside might be haunted by The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. Police in the town of Shrewsbury are investigating how a tombstone that marked the fictional grave of Ebenezer Scrooge was destroyed. The movie prop used in the 1984 adaption of A Christmas Carol was kept in place and became a tourist attraction. Town Clerk Helen Ball said the town is discussing what should be done to fix or replace the stone that is “hugely popular” with residents and visitors. This time of year, organized tours of locations used in the movie visit the grounds of St Chad’s Church to see the marker. “There’s not much to see other than broken bits of the gravestone,” Ball said. “You can’t see that it says Ebenezer Scrooge at the moment because it’s so damaged. It’s hugely disrespectful... If the ghosts of past, present and future would like to visit [the vandals] in the middle of the night and drop them and break them in pieces, I think that would be a perfect punishment.”
UKRAINE
Drone attacks reach record
Russia launched a record number of drones at Ukraine overnight, the air force said yesterday, damaging buildings and “critical infrastructure” in several regions. “During the night attack, the enemy launched a record number of Shahed strike uncrewed aerial vehicles and unidentified drones,” the air force said, referring to Iranian-designed drones and putting the overall number fired at 188. The air force said it had shot down 76 Russian drones in 17 regions, while another 95 were either lost from their radars or downed by electronic jamming defensive systems. Moscow also fired four Iskander-M ballistic missiles, the air force said. “Unfortunately, critical infrastructure facilities were hit, private and apartment buildings were damaged in several regions due to massive drone attacks,” the statement said.
A ship that appears to be taking on the identity of a scrapped gas carrier exited the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, showing how strategies to get through the waterway are evolving as the Middle East war progresses. The vessel identifying as liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier Jamal left the Strait on Friday morning, ship-tracking data show. However, the same tanker was also recorded as having beached at an Indian demolition yard in October last year, where it is being broken up, according to market participants and port agent’s reports. The ship claiming to be Jamal is likely a zombie vessel that
Cannabis-based medicines have shown little evidence of effectiveness for treating most mental health and substance-use disorders, according to a large review of past studies published in a major medical journal on Monday. Medical use of cannabinoids has been expanding, including in the US, Canada and Australia, where many patients report using cannabis products to manage conditions such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and sleep problems. Researchers reviewed data from 54 randomized clinical trials conducted between 1980 and May last year involving 2,477 participants for their analysis published in The Lancet. The studies assessed cannabinoids as a primary treatment for mental disorders or substance-use
NATIONWIDE BLACKOUT: US President Donald Trump cut off Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba, strangling the Caribbean island’s already antiquated grid Cuba’s national electric grid collapsed on Monday, the nation’s grid operator said, leaving about 10 million people without power amid a US-imposed oil blockade that has crippled the already obsolete generation system. Grid operator UNE on social media said that it is investigating the causes of the blackout, the latest in a series of widespread outages that last for hours or days and that this weekend sparked a rare violent protest in the communist-run nation. Officials ruled out a major power plant failure, but had still not pinpointed the root cause of the grid collapse, suggesting a problem with transmission. Officials said that
CONSERVING FUEL: State institutions are to operate only four days a week starting tomorrow, with the measures also applying to schools and universities Sri Lanka on Monday announced a shorter working week to conserve its scarce fuel reserves as it prepares for a prolonged war in the Middle East. The Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which about 20 percent of global exports pass in peacetime, has been effectively closed by Iran in retaliation over the US and Israeli war against it, now in its third week. Sri Lankan Commissioner-General of Essential Services Prabath Chandrakeerthi said state institutions would operate only four days a week starting tomorrow. The new austerity measures would also apply to schools and universities, and would remain in place indefinitely. “We are
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