Wednesday, September 8 top stories
It is Wednesday, September 8. Here are today’s top stories.
Scientists say they discovered a huge aquatic bug fossil in the Canadian Rockies. It is called “Titanokorys” and the fossil is about one foot and a half long. An illustration shows that the animal had multiple spiked appendages with a large disc-shaped mouth encircled with teeth. Science Alert said it was basically a swimming head that lived at the bottom of the sea floor. The fossils are dated to the Cambrian period, about 500 million years ago.
Here is a cute drawing I found on Wikipedia of a similar animal so you can visualize what the Titanokorys looked like.
The new Taliban government in Afghanistan said it would ban women’s sports, such as women’s cricket, out of concerns that the athletes’ faces and bodies would be uncovered and exposed in the media. Afghanistan had a national women’s cricket team, but it will likely be dismantled. A top Taliban official said, “It is not necessary that women should play cricket.”
It is yet another example of increasing levels of oppression against women in Afghanistan since the collapse of the former government and the Taliban takeover.
CNN reported that Taliban fighters used whips and sticks against a group of women protesting in Kabul over the announcement of the all-male new government. The women shouted, “Long live the women of Afghanistan.” CNN said in recent days there were several other Afghan female activists who made bold and public challenges to the Taliban’s rule.
On Tuesday night, a powerful 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Mexico near the beachfront city of Acapulco. A 19-year-old man died. News images showed people running outside and property damage such as fallen columns and broken glass. People in Mexico City, which is over 200 miles away from Acapulco, said they could feel the ground shaking. Millions are without power.
In Israel, there is a manhunt for six Palestinian prisoners who escaped from a maximum-security prison by digging through an underground tunnel and emerging out of a hole on Sunday night. Four of the prisoners were serving life sentences. Axios reported that news of the prison break has sparked riots in three other prisons. The Israel Defense Forces is said to have arrested several family members of the prisoners in an effort to obtain information on their whereabouts. The manhunt has continued for three days now.
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Today El Salvador became the first country to accept and use the cryptocurrency bitcoin as legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar. The government is giving out the equivalent of $30 U.S. dollars in bitcoin to citizens who sign up for El Salvador’s national digital wallet called Chivo.
An economist explained in a heavy.com article that legal tender refers to money that must be accepted if offered in payment of a debt. Legal tender is usually in the form of coins and banknotes (dollars). El Salvador’s new law does not require all businesses to accept bitcoin, but says creditors — such as banks — must accept bitcoin if it is used to repay debts.
Starbucks, McDonalds, and Pizza Hut in El Salvador accept Bitcoin as payment.
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said on Monday the government bought 400 bitcoin worth about $21 million and that it would buy more. A CNBC article explained that there is criticism across the country against this concept and that many do not know how to use bitcoin. The government said it hopes its investments will lift up the economy.
In Paris, the trial for those accused of being involved in carrying out the November 2015 terrorist attacks has begun. 130 people were killed in a series of shootings and bombings at a soccer stadium, restaurants, and a concert hall carried out by those affiliated with or inspired by ISIS. The trial is expected to last nine months. There were 10 attackers in total and only one is still alive: Salah Abdeslam. There are 19 other men who are accused of helping to plan and coordinate the attacks. Over 300 lawyers and almost 1,800 plaintiffs will participate in the trial. The trial will be filmed.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light
https://www.axios.com/prisoner-escape-israeli-prison-ff96821e-fa69-4bbf-8d93-5fe63e55d444.html
https://www.axios.com/prison-break-israel-riots-95e78f43-04f7-452b-8267-cea448298297.html
https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/08/asia/afghanistan-women-taliban-government-intl/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/07/americas/mexico-earthquake/index.html
https://heavy.com/news/bitcoin-el-salvador-legal-tender-explained/
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/08/world/europe/paris-terror-attacks-trial.html