Nine-year-old suspended by Australian school after she refuses to rise for the national anthem, and a new weapon in the war on plastic pollution.
Washington DC and Beijing look to resolve trade standoff
The Trump administration has invited Chinese officials to resume trade talks, Larry Kudlow, the top economic adviser at the White House, has said, reports Reuters.
“There’s some discussions and information that we received that the Chinese government – the top of the Chinese government wished to pursue talks,” Kudlow said.
The report comes amid a raging trade conflict between the two superpowers that has seen them slap each other with biting import tariffs.
Earlier, Kudlow had told the media that talks with Beijing had picked up a notch, calling it a positive development.
“I think most of us think it’s better to talk than not to talk, and I think the Chinese government is willing to talk”, he added.
Australian school girl suspended after refusing to stand for national anthem
A nine-year-old Australian student’s refusal to rise for Australia’s national anthem has got her suspended and sparked a controversy in the country, reports BBC.
Harper Nielsen believes the song, Advance Australia Fair, ignores the nation’s indigenous people.”When it says ‘we are young’, it completely disregards the indigenous Australians who were here before us,” she told ABC News Australia.
Ring-wing senator Pauline Hanson, outraged by the girl’s act, labelled her a brat.
9 YEAR OLD REFUSES TO STAND FOR NATIONAL ANTHEM
"Good on the school for trying to instill the respect for our National anthem and pride in our country." @PaulineHansonOz
Join the conversation on Facebook: https://t.co/DREXBZlKip pic.twitter.com/cdMtd300it
— Pauline Hanson 🇦🇺 (@PaulineHansonOz) September 12, 2018
“Here we have a kid that has been brainwashed and I tell you what, I would give her a kick up the backside,” the 64-year-old said.
How pole dancing found itself on the verge of an Olympic slot
Pole dancing may soon find a spot in the Olympics as its popularity as a sport is growing, Al Jazeera writes.
While there is still strong stigma attached to the art, one woman is leading the fight to shatter stereotypes.
Katie Coates, now president of the International Pole Sports Federation, first created an online petition to make pole dancing an Olympic sport in 2006. The petition collected 10,000 signatures from across the world and led to the federation’s formation. The first pole sports world championship was held in 2012.
Last year, the International Olympic Committee fast-tracked pole dancing to Olympic observer status, the youngest sport to get the title. However, the sport faces a major dearth of funds in the absence of sponsors.
“Over the next couple of years, Coates’ goal is to expand pole dancing’s reach to 40 federations across five continents. This would make it eligible to be considered for a slot in the Olympic programme,” the report added.
“We had absolutely nothing, so we took all the sports with a mix of technical and artistic elements, for example, figure skating, synchronised swimming and gymnastics, and used that as inspiration to create this book of 20 moves,” the report quoted Coates as saying.
“We’ve had to update it yearly because new moves are being created all the time, so that tiny book is now 170 pages long,” she added.
Plastic pollution? Fungi could be the solution
Fungi may be the latest entrant in the battle to combat plastic pollution, CNN reported.
A report published by Kew Gardens, a London-based botanical garden, claims to have found a fungus that can break down plastics “in weeks rather than years”.
According to experts, a type of fungus found in Pakistan, known as Aspergillus tubingensis, is capable of eroding plastics such as polyester polyurethane — materials often used in refrigerator insulation and synthetic leather. “We are in the early days of research but I would hope to see the benefits of fungi that can eat plastic in five to 10 years,” CNN quoted senior scientist Ilia Leitch as saying.
Champagne in space could soon be a reality
By the time space tourism kicks off, passengers may be enjoy the experience of drinking champagne in space, BBC reported, if a novel glass-and-bottle set for weightlessness proves successful.
France’s national space agency, CNES, tested the set Wednesday during a parabolic flight of a converted Airbus A310.
According to reports, the new bottle design was commissioned by France-based Mumm champagne house in collaboration with a Paris-based design firm called Spade. The bottle and glass are the brainchild of director and designer Octave de Gaulle.
“The bottle is designed in a manner that the wine sits in the upper portion and is released with a finger-controlled valve that uses the champagne’s own carbon dioxide to eject small amounts as foam,” the BBC report states.
Something’s cooking between Putin and Jinping
Russia President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping found an interesting way to carry out their recent bilateral engagement in Vladivostok. A video released shows the two Asian leaders cooking and sharing some light moments.