China launches contest to name its latest lunar probe, and 12-month emergency in Italy region after deadly motorway collapse.
Google seeks to crush secrecy around political ad spends
Google will now show who buys US election ads on its platform and the amount of money spent on political advertising, Reuters reported.
The search engine giant made the announcement Wednesday.
Google’s move comes after social media giants such as Twitter and Facebook agreed to reveal data of a similar nature over threats of US regulation.
The data revealed so far shows ‘Trump Make America Great Again Committee’, a fundraising organisation for President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, as the highest spender on political ads with expenses to the tune of $629,500.
Here’s your chance to name China’s lunar rover
China unveiled the lander and rover for the Chang’e-4 lunar probe, which the country aims to land on the far end of the moon, Wednesday, Global Times reported.
The rover is “a rectangular box with two foldable solar panels and six wheels. It is 1.5 metres long, a metre wide and 1.1 metres high”, the report added.
Designed to land on the Aitken Basin of the lunar south pole region — a hot spot for scientific and space exploration — Chang’e-4 is said to be “equipped with a panoramic camera, infrared imaging spectrometer and radar measurement devices… to obtain images of the moon’s surface and detect lunar soil and structure”.
According to the Chinese government’s State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence, suggestions will be invited from the global public to name the rover, Global Times reported. Participants can submit their suggestions till 5 September and the official name will be announced in October. Winners will get 3,000 yuan (just over Rs 50,000) and an invitation to watch the lunar probe launch.
Nepal keeps up ‘diplomatic tradition’ with gift of rhinos to China
Nepal will gift a pair of baby one-horned rhinos to China in a bid to enhance “friendliness” between the two countries, Xinhua reported Wednesday. Two others were flown to China last week.
Acccording to an opinion piece published in The Kathmandu Post, the Nepal government has reportedly gifted 22 rhinos to various countries, including India.
Italy declares state of emergency in region where bridge collapse killed 39
Italy has declared a 12-month state of emergency in its Liguria region after the collapse of a motorway bridge in Genoa killed 39 people, the BBC reported.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte Wednesday announced an initial grant of €5m ($5.7m) from central funds for the region.
According to a report in The New York Times, the bridge had been flagged for its deteriorating structure numerous times. The BBC report said the cause of the collapse was unknown known, but a lot of criticism has focused on the private company responsible for operating the bridge. The government has opened an investigation into possible negligent homicide, the BBC reported.
First batch of Syrian children arrives in Russia for lessons at military schools
The first group of Syrian children have arrived in Russia to study at military schools, RT News reported. The group of eight is expected to begin their studies from 1 September.
The group has arrived as part of a recent agreement between the two nations that “allows Syrians to study in Russian military schools for free, provided they prove their knowledge of Russian and pass all necessary medical tests”. The kids are reportedly the “first-ever Syrian citizens to receive military education in Russia”.
Referring to the agreement, an official from the Syrian embassy told RT News that batches will arrive in Russia from the West Asian nation every year.
“The preparation of highly professional military officers by Russia is a considerable investment into the future of peaceful Syria. The children of late Syrian heroes who receive their training in Russia will become the military elite of the Syrian Arab Republic,” the report quoted Russian parliamentarian Olga Kovitidi as saying.
Child drownings related to parents’ phone fixation?
German lifeguards have issued a warning that a large number of children’s drownings are a result of their parents’ fixation with their mobile phones, The Guardian reported.
According to the report, more than 300 people drowned in the German waters this summer.
The German Lifeguard Association (DLRG) said that, many a time, lifeguards had to make direct contact with children as their parents were busy on the phones. “Too few parents and grandparents are heeding the advice: When your children and grandchildren are in the water, put your smartphone away,” Achim Wiese the DLRG spokesman was quoted as saying in the report.