arSnippets : Apr 17, 2017

An experimental rocket exploded injuring 4

Wash. Post

Northwest Organization of Rocket Engineers

is made up of students and faculty

who design and test rockets

On Apr. 13, in Moscow, Idaho,

its members were gathered

in a school parking lot

- to test a new fuel design

for the rocket engine

Since it was a slow-burning fuel,

there was no reason to believe

that it would blow up

But when it was ignited,

it caused an explosion in the device

- a 1 foot long metal pipe of 1" diameter

The explosion injured 4 students;

They are now recovering well

University: Idaho students alert

after rocket fuel explosion

An 8 months old baby weighing 38 pounds

FOX NEWS

Chahat Kumar, an 8 month old

Indian baby, weighs 38 pounds

Her weight was normal at birth but

she started to gain weight at 4 months

For an 8-month old baby,

she has a few uncommon conditions :

- breathing & sleeping problems

due to her extreme weight

- an appetite of a 10-year old,

she cries when she is not fed

Doctors don't know the cause of

her extreme appetite

- abnormally thick skin that

prevents drawing of blood samples

Her parents have been advised to

take her to a specialist in a big hospital

- but they can't afford a costly treatment

8-month-old baby weighing

38 pounds baffles doctors

British woman was stabbed to death in Israel

Wash. Post

Apr. 14, Jerusalem, Israel

A Palestinian man fatally stabbed

a British woman Hannah Bladon, 21

- when she was traveling in

a light-rail train near Old City

Hannah died after being taken to a hospital

Hannah was a Univ. of Birmingham student

- who arrived Jerusalem

as part of an exchange programme

with the Hebrew University

The attacker had

a history of mental health issues

The killing is the latest in a spate of attacks

by Palestinians since Oct. 2015

Israel's response to such attacks is also

criticized for being too heavy-handed

Woman fatally stabbed in Jerusalem

amid Good Friday gatherings

Toyota - robots to help the aging population

Reuters

Japan's population is aging faster

than any other country

In 2015, 26% of its population

was aged 65-yrs or more

This has led to :

- an increased demand for

care services for the elderly people

but very few able-bodied adults

available to look after them

- a dwindling demand for cars

as older drivers stop buying cars

To keep their elderly people on the move,

- Japanese carmakers are shifting focus

to robots & handicap assistants

F.e. Toyota has invested $1B for

a robotics center & AI research

Japan automakers look to robots

to keep elderly on the move

Toyota WW-1000 - helps paralyzed person walk

Reuters

Toyota Motors unveiled "Welwalk WW-1000"

- a walk-assist robot that helps

people with lower limb paralysis

Welwalk WW-1000 is a robotic leg brace :

- a motorized frame fits on the leg

below the knee

- a harness supports the upper body

- a motor bends the leg below the knee

Sensors detect the movement and

- help synchronize with patient's steps

Toyota will rent out 100 such devices

to hospitals in Japan

- at an initial cost of $9,000

- plus $3,200 / month

Japan automakers look to robots

to keep elderly on the move

Medtronic recall - StrataMR valves & shunts

Reuters

Cerebrospinal fluid ( CSF ) acts as

a cushion for the brain

When excess CSF accumulates in the skull,

the condition is called hydrocephalus

This increases pressure inside the skull

It can cause :

- headaches - sleepiness - nausea

- vomiting - mental illness - coma

Adjustable valves & shunts implants

can manage hydrocephalus

StrataMR adjustable valves & shunts

is one such device from Medtronic

But the devices manufactured

from Oct. 2015 to Nov. 2016

are causing under-drainage of CSF

Hence, Medtronic is recalling these devices

Medtronic recalls devices used to

manage fluid build-up in the brain

US will send troops to train Somalia's army

Wash. Post

The U.S. military will send

40 regular U.S. troops to Somalia

The deployment of troops is for

logistics training of Somalia’s army

to better fight al-Shabaab

- an al-Qaeda linked extremist group

This is the 1^st time regular U.S. troops

are deployed there in 2 decades

The U.S. pulled out of Somalia in 1993 after :

- 2 of its helicopters were shot down there

- and bodies of Americans were dragged

through the streets

Deploying troops to Somalia, highlights

a more interventionist approach by Trump

- He always criticized Obama for

becoming bogged down in foreign wars

US sends dozens of troops to

Somalia, 1st time in decades

Google's keyboard - is now auto-multi-lingual

PC Magazine

Gboard is Google's keyboard app

for Android & iOS devices

Gboard for Android is now multilingual :

> It can auto-detect the language

you're typing in

- No need to explicitly

switch to another language

> Translation to another language is

available in the Gboard app

- No need to go to Translate app

The Gboard also provides :

> auto-suggestions for emoji & GIFs

> a new auto-correct feature

- it suggests a correction by

looking at the last 2 words typed

Translate on the Fly With

Google's Keyboard Update

A Chinese jet seen on Woody island in SCS

Reuters

A Chinese fighter jet 'J-11' was spotted

on a Chinese-held Woody Island

in the South China Sea

It was seen in a satellite image

taken by a U.S. think tank on Mar. 29

More fighters were believed

to be in hangers nearby

Similar deployments are also expected

in the Spratly islands

- as military facilities

had been completed there

The deployments bolsters the U.S. claims

that China is heavily militarizing SCS

Earlier, China denied such claims saying

- defense equipment had been placed

to maintain "freedom of navigation"

China fighter plane spotted on

South China Sea island: think tank

Berkshire cuts stake below 10% in Wells Fargo

Bloomberg

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is among

Wells Fargo’s major shareholders

- Its stake climbed to 10% in 2016

In 2016, it applied to the Fed Reserve

to further expand its stake in the bank

But U.S. rules have long curtailed

the influence of outsiders on banks

As per a Fed rule, a stake above 10%

could subject Berkshire to

being declared a bank holding company

- This would bring increased regulation

To comply with Fed,

Berkshire is cutting its stake below 10%

- It has sold 7.13 mn shares of Wells Fargo

- It plans to divest an extra 1.87 mn

in the near future

Berkshire Cuts Wells Fargo Stake

to Get Below Fed's Limit

A baby is born on a flight at 42,000 ft.

The Telegraph

Apr. 7

On a Turkish Airlines flight

from Guinea to Burkina Faso

Nafi Diaby, a 28-weeks pregnant traveler

went into labor

The flight crew rushed to help her and

Nafi delivered a girl Kadiju at 42,000 ft.

After the plane landed, both

Nafi & Kadiju were taken to a hospital

The baby, Kadiju can get her nationality from

- her mother or father

- or, the country in whose airspace the

plane was flying when she was born

- or, the country where the plane

was registered, i.e. Turkey

Cabin crew help deliver

baby at 42,000 feet

Baby extreme appetite

8-month-old baby weighing 38 pounds baffles doctors