NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Globe
1 Paris attack: Investigators are searching for potential accomplices of an Algerian man who is suspected of planning to attack at least one church and is thought to have been involved in the killing of a woman near Paris, French authorities said Thursday. Prime Minister Manuel Valls told France Inter radio, “This kind of individual does not act alone” and there were signs that planning for the thwarted attack was carried out “in connection with an individual who could be in Syria.” The Algerian, a 24- yearold computer science student, was arrested Sunday after he called the emergency services to receive treatment for a gunshot wound. In an interview on the TF1 television station Wednesday night, Bernard Cazeneuve, the interior minister, indirectly confirmed that the suspect’s name was Sid Ahmed Ghlam, as had been reported in the French news media.
2 Syrian offensive: Several hard- line Syrian rebel groups pushed a new offensive against government forces in northwestern Syria on Thursday, less than a month after seizing control of the provincial capital there. The conservative Islamic factions, including the al Qaeda- affiliated Nusra Front, are coordinating a multipronged campaign whose main target appears to be the town of Jisr al- Shughour in Idlib province. Opposition fighters are also attacking government checkpoints in a sprawling agricultural plain south of the town as well as nearby military facilities. The operation keeps the pressure on beleaguered government forces in the area just weeks after the rebels captured Idlib city, the provincial capital. Forces loyal to President Bashar Assad maintain control of Jisr al- Shughour as well as towns and military facilities in the province, but their hold looks increasingly shaky.
3 Robot taxis: Transportation experts say car- congested cities could become a thing of the past, provided people are prepared to rideshare with a robot driver. A study published Thursday by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris suggests that widespread use of “taxibots” could cut by 90 percent the number of cars needed to perform the same number of journeys per day. Researchers used data from Lisbon, Portugal, to simulate how such self- driving, communal cabs would affect traffic. Even with only one passenger per ride and no complementary public transport, the number of cars still dropped by 77 percent. The authors said replacing personal cars with self- driving cabs would also free valuable real estate currently used for public parking, equivalent to over 200 soccer pitches in Lisbon’s case.
4 Malaysia Flight 17: An anthropologist and pathologist who is part of the international team working to identify people killed when Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was brought down over Ukraine was publicly rebuked Thursday for discussing the case and showing photos of victims in a lecture to students. Arie de Bruijn, head of the Dutch police forensics unit that is leading the international identification team, criticized Professor George Maat for making comments that de Bruijn said were “speculative, untrue and partly outside his area of expertise.” Evert van Zijtveld, who lost his son, daughter and parents- in- law in the crash, said he was appalled at news of the lecture. “This is terribly shocking. It just causes extra grief for relatives,” Van Zijtveld said in a telephone interview. De Bruijn said it was “unacceptable” that Maat showed students confidential images during the lecture, including photos of victims’ body parts. Maat said he regretted it if he had upset next of kin. He said he had given a number of lectures to students of medicine and forensic science and didn’t realize that people other than students also had attended.