Latest Episode
October 12: Ilhan Omar Home Search and French School Shooting
In renewable energy
Researchers co-led by a UC San Diego team report improved perovskite solar cells with efficiencies of roughly 24 to 26 percent. Their method uses additives to control crystal growth during heating, producing larger, more uniform crystals with fewer defects. The devices retained most of their initial efficiency after eight weeks under simulated sunlight. The findings appeared in Science.
In Greece, the island of Agios Efstratios has gone from relying entirely on fossil fuels to generating more than 90 percent of its electricity from renewables in ten months, through an EU-funded project.
On Lundy
A severe water shortage has raised the possibility of evacuating Lundy’s 28 residents. The island off Devon has capped visitors, closed its campsite and imposed strict restrictions. Reserves fell to 13 percent of capacity, enough for one week. Imported water and extraction from a freshwater pool have helped, but that pool is drying up. A new 300,000-litre storage tank has been commissioned.
In Washington
A Justice Department spokesperson says Representative Ilhan Omar’s home was searched as part of an ongoing criminal investigation.
President Trump has agreed to a deal for hundreds of thousands of tonnes of Russian diesel despite a congressional import ban. The agreement has drawn bipartisan criticism.
Separately, Axios reports that Trump has privately expressed doubts about livestreaming the firing-squad execution of the former Army major who murdered 13 people at Fort Hood. The outlet says lawmakers from both parties and advisers inside and outside the White House have pushed back against the idea.
In France
A 14-year-old student has been arrested after a headteacher and teacher were shot at Joseph-Lakanal Middle School in Aubagne, near Marseille, according to the mayor. Their injuries were not considered life-threatening. Police said a third staff member was grazed, and no children were reported injured. France 3 reported that school staff restrained the pupil before police intervened. Prosecutors confirmed the arrest.
In Senegal
Human Rights Watch says security forces have tested people arrested for same-sex conduct for HIV without informed consent, then used positive results to bring additional criminal charges.
In China’s water industry
A Tangshan plant has begun trial production recovering fresh water and chemical feedstock from desalination waste. The South China Morning Post reports that every three tonnes of waste brine yield two tonnes of fresh water and one tonne of concentrated brine for a nearby soda ash factory.
In DR Congo
A report says forces belonging to U.S. security contractor Erik Prince suffered major battlefield losses last month. They have been deployed to secure mineral-rich areas and curb smuggling as the Congolese army fights Rwanda-backed M23 rebels.
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