World news in brief
Solar Impulse 2 starts last leg of round-the-world voyage
An experimental solar-powered plane took off from Cairo on the last leg of its globe-circling voyage last night. The Mission Control Centre tweeted that the Solar Impulse 2 is expected to land in Abu Dhabi after a 48-hour flight. The around-the-world voyage began in March 2015 in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
The wings of Solar Impulse 2, which stretch wider than those of a Boeing 747, are equipped with 17,000 solar cells that charge batteries. The plane runs on stored energy at night. The normal cruise speed is 70km/h, although that can double during the day when the sun's rays are strongest.
Mexican mayor shot to death, second in 2 days
The mayor of a town in one of Mexico's most violent drug corridors was shot to death on Saturday, the
second mayor to be killed in Mexico in two days. Ambrosio Soto was the mayor of a township that includes Ciudad Altamirano, a known haven for drug traffickers in southern Guerrero state.
Roberto Alvarez, a spokesman for southern Guerrero state, said that gunmen blocked a highway just over the state line in neighboring Michoacan state with pickup trucks and opened fire on the mayor's vehicle. He said two federal officers serving as Soto's bodyguards were wounded in the attack.
Isis suicide bomb kills 20 in Baghdad
At least 20 people died after a suicide bomber attacked a security checkpoint in northern Baghdad yesterday. The bomber, who was on foot, detonated his device at one of the busy entrances of the Shiite district of Kadhimiyah, killing at least 10 civilians and four policemen, a police officer said. At least 35 other people were wounded, he added.
Two-day-old baby dies as four hospitals hit in Aleppo
Air strikes by Syrian government forces hit four makeshift hospitals yesterday and a blood bank in the city of Aleppo, killing a two-day-old baby. The strikes took place over the space of 24 hours as part of an overnight raid in the Al-Shaar neighbourhood yesterday. The hospitals hit provide urgent medical care to more than 200,000 civilians in the war-torn city and were out of action on Sunday.