While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, March 16
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Moscow says it will try to retrieve the wreckage of a US military Reaper drone that the US says was intercepted by Russian fighter jets.
PHOTO: AFP
Russia races to salvage US drone wreckage in Black Sea
Moscow said on Wednesday it would try to retrieve the wreckage of a US military drone that crashed over the Black Sea in a confrontation Washington blamed on two Russian fighter jets.
Russia also warned against “hostile” US flights as tensions simmered and Moscow denied its Su-27 military aircraft had clipped the propeller of the unmanned Reaper drone.
But Washington was unbowed, with Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin stressing the United States would continue flying “wherever international law allows”, following an apparent de-escalation call with his Russian counterpart.
Mr Austin called on Russia to “to operate its military aircraft in a safe and professional manner”.
Ex-LA mayor wins US envoy post in India amid scandal
REUTERS
Controversial former Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti won his tumultuous bid to become US ambassador to India on Wednesday, filling a key diplomatic position that has been vacant for more than two years.
The 52-year-old Democrat was nominated by President Joe Biden in 2021, while he was still leading America’s second largest city, but the nomination stalled over criticism of the mayor’s handling of sexual harassment allegations against an aide.
Unlike envoys from most countries, ambassadors representing the United States require approval by the Senate to serve abroad, often leading to lengthy delays, although Mr Garcetti’s nomination took even longer than usual.
Scientists create ‘revolutionary’ mice with two fathers
ST FILE PHOTO
Scientists have created eggs using the cells of male mice for the first time, leading to the birth of seven mice with two fathers, according to research on Wednesday hailed as “revolutionary”.
The technique pioneered in the proof-of-concept experiment is a long way from potentially being used in humans, with obstacles including a low success rate, adaptation concerns and wide-ranging ethical considerations.
But the breakthrough raises the prospect of a raft of new reproductive possibilities, including that gay male couples – or even a single man – could have a biological child without needing a female egg.
Rishi Sunak’s swimming pool makes a splash in UK budget
As British finance minister Jeremy Hunt presented the government’s budget in an hour-long speech to Parliament on Wednesday, one tiny announcement made a big splash among opposition lawmakers: new funding for public swimming pools.
Mr Hunt’s £63 million (S$100 million) of funding for pools came days after a media report about Prime Minister Rishi Sunak - the richest-ever occupant of 10 Downing Street - lavishing money on the pool at his private home in northern England.
In the middle of Britain’s worst cost-of-living crisis in generations, special equipment had to be installed to provide enough power for Mr Sunak’s swimming pool at a cost of tens of thousands of pounds, the Guardian newspaper reported.
Benzema guides Madrid past Liverpool to reach quarters
AFP
Karim Benzema struck for Real Madrid to clinch a 1-0 win over Liverpool and qualification for the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday 6-2 on aggregate.
After the wild last 16 first leg clash at Anfield in February left Madrid sitting pretty with a three-goal advantage, Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp said his side only had a 1 per cent chance of turning the tie around.
They stemmed the bleeding at the Santiago Bernabeu but never looked like mounting a stirring comeback of the type they managed against Barcelona in 2019, or AC Milan in the 2005 final.
