CHINESE COAL ACCIDENT KILLS 18, TRAPS 2
BEIJING: At least 18 people were killed and two more missing after an explosion on Tuesday ripped through a coalmine in China’s northwestern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. The mine was operated by Linli Coal Mining company in the city of Shizuishan, the official Xinhua news agency said. According to Xinhua, 20 miners were working under ground at the time of the incident. More than 200 rescuers are at the pit. China is the world’s largest coal producer and deadly mining accidents are common. In March 19 people were killed in a coalmine accident in the northern province of Shanxi.
US HACKER PLEADS GUILTY TO STEALING NUDE CELEBRITY PHOTOS
CHICAGO: A Chicago hacker who stole nude photos from the accounts of at least 30 celebrities pleaded guilty Tuesday in US federal court. Under a plea agreement with prosecutors, Edward Majerczyk admitted to one count of “unauthorized access to a protected computer to obtain information.” Prosecutors agreed to ask for a reduced sentence of nine months in prison. The charge carried a maximum sentence of five years. In 2013 and 2014, Majerczyk hacked into the Apple iCloud and Gmail accounts of celebrities, including actresses Jennifer Lawrence and Brie Larson, and model Kate Upton, and stole photographs of the women in various states of undress. The photographs were later leaked online, causing a scandal.
ELON MUSK UNVEILS PLAN FOR ‘CITY’ ON MARS
GUADALAJARA: on massive spacecraft with cabins, at a cost as low as $100,000 per person. Taking the stage under a large globe of Mars at the International Astronautical Congress, Musk showed his vision for a giant rocket that would propel men and women to the Red Planet “in our lifetime.” “We need to go from these early exploration missions to actually building a city,” he said to an overflow crowd at an expo center with a few thousand seats in the western Mexican city of Guadalajara. Musk showed a futuristic video depicting his concept of an interplanetary transport system based on re-usable rockets, a propellant farm on Mars and 1,000 spaceships on orbit, carrying about 100 people each. The spacecraft would have a restaurant, cabins, zero- gravity games and movies. “It has to be fun or exciting. It can’t feel cramped or boring,” he said. The first flight would be expensive but the aim is “making this affordable to almost anyone who wants to go,” by dropping the price of a ticket over time to $100,000, Musk said. Experts warn reaching Mars -- 225 million kilometers (140 million miles) from Earth on average -- and living there requires major engineering feats and a massive budget.
DUTCH-LED TEAM TO RELEASE INITIAL MH17 CRIMINAL PROBE
THE HAGUE: A Dutch-led international team of criminal investigators on Wednesday will release initial findings into the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 amid growing frustration among relatives over the probe’s pace. The preliminary findings are expected to shed light on the exact type of BUK missile which struck the Boeing 777 passenger liner midair on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 people on board including 196 Dutch citizens. It is also expected to show exactly where the Russian-made missile was fired from in war-torn eastern Ukraine, where Kiev has been battling pro-Russian separatists since April 2014. But the Dutch prosecution has already cautioned that it will not be naming any suspects at the briefing. Investigators will meet relatives of the victims first to give them the results, after which a press conference is planned for 1100 GMT.