Graphic News Schedule (news)

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September 1-30, 2018 -- The World Agenda gives a preview of world events scheduled for September.

WORLD AGENDA: September 2018 interactive (Interactive DUE Aug 23, 14:00GMT)
GN38255 Responsive interactive graphic shows news events in September 2018.
(640px wide by 568px deep)

September 8, 2018 -- The Ocean Cleanup Project aims to gather up millions of tonnes of plastic garbage floating in the Pacific Ocean, using a 600-metre-long sea sieve.

The Ocean Cleanup Project will sail out of San Francisco Bay on a mission to gather up millions of tonnes of plastic floating in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, using a specially designed 600-metre-long sea sieve.

The brainchild of 23-year-old Dutch college dropout Boyan Slat, a giant U-shaped “floater” will stay on the sea surface, while a 3-metre-deep “skirt” dangles below the waterline. Wind and waves push the sieve faster than the current that is propelling the plastic waste, allowing it to corral the detritus for pick up by support vessels. The plastic will then be taken ashore for processing and recycling into new products.

If successful, a fleet of 60 systems is expected to clean up 50% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch every five years. There are four other circulating ocean currents -- gyres -- around the world that also collect plastic garbage and could be treated using the same method.

ENVIRONMENT: Pacific Ocean cleanup attempt (Graphic DUE Aug 22, 16:00GMT)
GN38251 Graphic shows how the Ocean Cleanup system works.
(107mm by 160mm deep)

August 21, 2018 -- Thousands of Venezuelans are continuing to flee their country’s economic and humanitarian crisis, and some migrants are facing increasing hostility from their South American neighbours.

VENEZUELA: Migrant crisis intensifies (Graphic DUE Aug 22, 16:00GMT)
GN38253 Graphic shows
(107mm by mm deep)

September 1-30, 2018 -- The World Agenda gives a preview of world events scheduled for September.

WORLD AGENDA: September 2018 (Graphic DUE Aug 22, 14:00GMT)
GN38254 Graphic shows news events in September 2018. An interactive version of this graphic is also produced each month.
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August 16, 2018 -- President Donald Trump on Wednesday revoked the security clearance of former CIA Director John Brennan, citing a constitutional responsibility to protect classified information. Brennan had become a sharp critic of Trump.

The Associated Press reports that Trump cited “erratic conduct and behaviour” by President Barack Obama’s CIA director as justification for revoking Brennan’s security clearance. Trump also accused Brennan of “lying” and “wild outbursts.”

At a news conference last month in Finland, Trump stood alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and openly questioned U.S. intelligence agencies’ conclusions that Moscow tried to influence the 2016 election in his favour. Afterwards, Brennan criticised Trump’s performance as “nothing short of treasonous” and accused him of being “wholly in the pocket of Putin.”

On Wednesday, Brennan tweeted a response to Trump’s decision to revoke his security clearance: “This action is part of a broader effort by Trump to suppress freedom of speech & punish critics. It should gravely worry all Americans, including intelligence professionals, about the cost of speaking out. My principles are worth far more than clearances. I will not relent.”

U.S.: Trump threat to security clearances (Graphic UPDATED Aug 16)
GN38241 Graphic shows officials who face losing security clearance or have had clearance revoked.
(107mm by 197mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

January 1 - August 25, 2018 -- Graphic shows anniversaries and events on this day in history. Updated now to include the data for weeks 33 and 34 i.e. to August 25 The events and images are the same as on the GN On This Day print graphics GN38183 and GN38184. If you are hosting GN36036 on your own servers (rather than using the embed code supplied by Graphic News), the data in the hypersources folder can be topped up with the data for the separate weeks. These can be downloaded separately in the ZIP.clip file.

The graphic is “audo-updating” so if you look at the graphic tomorrow, it will show a different picture and selection of events to those shown today. This is because the graphic is constructed like an “interactive” graphic, but is not “interactive” in the sense that the viewer can change the events displayed; instead it “interacts” with the clock on your computer or mobile and this determines the selection shown.

The graphic is also responsive so if you view on a mobile phone it will look as good, but different, from the version seen if you view on your larger tablet or computer screen.

If you host the graphic yourself you may wish to substitute some of the events or images to give a more national or local interest. This is easy to do as there are separate files for the images and words for each day in the hyper sources folder. (Instructions available - See below).

HISTORY: ON THIS DAY “interactive” (Weeks 33-34) (Interactive UPDATED Aug 14)
GN36036 Responsive graphic showing anniversaries and events from today’s date in history, changes automatically each day. Come back tomorrow to see anniversaries and events for that date.
(800px wide by 650px deep)

August 8, 2018 -- Australia’s most populous state, New South Wales, is now entirely in drought, as a dry winter has intensified what has been called the worst drought in living memory in parts of eastern Australia.

New South Wales produces around 25 percent of Australia’s
agricultural output.

The latest seasonal update from the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries has placed the entire state in some form of drought following one of the driest winters on record.

The department’s Combined Drought Indicator combines rainfall, soil water, plant growth and drought direction indexes, to classify levels of drought.

It’s the first time in three decades that the NSW landscape has faced similar conditions. Western parts of the state have had their driest period since records began.

With dry conditions forecast to continue for the next three months, farmers had to decide whether to continue the expensive and laborious task of hand-feeding cattle and sheep or sell their livestock.

CLIMATE: Australia's most populous state entirely in drought (Graphic UPDATED Aug 8)
GN38226 Graphic shows combined drought indicator map of NSW.
(107mm wide by 162mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

July 31, 2018 -- A sharp rise in arrivals across the Mediterranean, coupled with falling numbers elsewhere in southern Europe, means Spain has overtaken Italy and Greece as the EU’s chief destination for undocumented migrants.

The UN Migration Agency, reports that 55,001 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea between January 1 and July 25, 2018. That compares to 111,753 over the same period last year, and over 250,000 at this time in 2016.

Spain has overtaken Italy with 20,992 arrivals in the first seven months compared with 18,130 arrivals in Italy.

To tackle Spain the costs of migrant influx, the Madrid government announced that it is to invest 30 million euros to cover the initial costs of managing arrivals on the beaches, from staff to hand out blankets and food to managing the process of identification and determining whether people qualify for asylum.

During two months in office, Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has asserted his liberal credentials by offering to receive hundreds of migrants rescued in the Mediterranean.

But marking a departure in a country that had been reluctant to deploy anti-immigrant rhetoric even during the depths of a downturn following the global financial crisis, Spain’s new opposition leader, Pablo Casado, said it was not possible for Spain to “absorb millions of Africans who want to come to Europe in search of a better future”.

EUROPE: Spain becomes top EU migrant destination (1) (Graphic UPDATED Jul 31)
GN38211 Graphic shows number and migrants arriving by sea in 2018, and comparison with 2017.
(107mm wide by 165mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

July 30, 2018 -- Zimbabwe holds presidential and parliamentary elections in which the top two contenders, President Emmerson Mnangagwa and main opposition leader Nelson Chamisa, have promised to revive an economy ruined under Robert Mugabe’s 37-year rule.

Mnangagwa, nicknamed “the Crocodile”, took over as president after the army ousted Mugabe in a bloodless coup last November. He has pledged to revive a moribund economy, attract foreign investment and mend racial and tribal divisions.

Chamisa, a 40-year-old lawyer and pastor, is a charismatic speaker who is winning over young and unemployed voters frustrated by nearly four decades of Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF) rule.

About 5.5 million people were registered to vote in the southern African nation anxious for change after economic and political paralysis during the nearly four-decade rule of 94-year-old Mugabe.

Thousands of election monitors have fanned out across the country to observe a process that the opposition says is biased against them despite electoral commission assurances that it will be credible.

A record of more than 20 presidential candidates and nearly 130 political parties are participating. If no presidential candidate wins 50 percent of the vote, a runoff will be held on September 8.


POLITICS: Zimbabwe’s first post-Mugabe election (1) (Graphic UPDATED Jul 30)
GN38205 Graphic shows profiles of Emmerson Mnangagwa and Nelson Chamisa.
(107mm wide by 159mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

July 27, 2018 -- The longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century, lasting one hour and 43 minutes, will be visible across wide swaths of the world including Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, South America and the Middle East.

SPACE: Century’s longest lunar eclipse interactive (2) (Interactive UPDATED Jul 25)
GN38170 Interactive graphic shows eclipse path and explainer.
(800px wide by 568px deep)

July 17, 2018 -- Boeing powered ahead of European rival Airbus on the opening day of the Farnborough Airshow. Boeing announced orders worth around $20.4 billion compared to estimated Airbus orders of about $12 billion.

Flightglobal’s order tracker reports that Airbus opened the air show on Monday with a double-deal for A350 widebodies from Sichuan Airlines and StarLux Airlines worth $9.2 billion, and 25 A320neos for Golden Falcon Aviation worth $2.8bn.

Boeing kicked off its order announcements at the show with a commitment from DHL Express for 14 Boeing 777 freighters; while lessor Jackson Square Aviation becomes the 100th Max customer in placing its first direct order, signing for 30 Boeing 737 Max 8s. Both orders total $9.3 billion.

Jet airlines, Qatar Airways and Tarom ordered 80 737 MAXs and five 777s worth a further $11bn.

BUSINESS: Farnborough orders 2018 (1) (Graphic UPDATED Jul 17)
GN38167 Graphic shows order book on day one of the Farnborough International Air Show.
(107mm by 93mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

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August 21, 2018 -- Although the monsoon rains in India’s flood-stricken state of Kerala have eased, more than 200,000 people in relief camps now face the risk of disease.

Twelve days of incessant rains have left at least 186 people dead in Kerala state. Between June 1 and August 19, Kerala received 235cm of rain, 42 percent more than normal. During August alone the increase was 164 percent above normal.

Rescue teams are focused on the town of Chengannur on the Pamba River, where some 5,000 people are feared to be trapped.

DISASTERS: Deadly Kerala floods (Graphic)
GN38252 Graphic shows districts affected and amounts of monsoon rainfall.
(107mm by 107mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

September 2-8, 2018 -- Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries for each day of the week. This week features J.R.R. Tolkien, the Eurofighter Typhoon combat jet, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, Tsar Peter the Great of Russia, a baby boy born to the Imperial family in Japan, the nickname “Uncle Sam”, and Twitter

September 2, 1973: British writer J.R.R. Tolkien, author of the classic fantasy works The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, died aged 81

September 3, 2000: The controversial Eurofighter Typhoon combat jet, being built jointly by Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain, finally began full-scale production

September 4, 1948: Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, who had reigned since 1890, abdicated in favour of her daughter, Juliana. They are pictured above in 1913

September 5, 1698: Tsar Peter the Great of Russia imposed a tax on beards as part of a effort to modernise Russian society following western European models

September 6, 2006: Celebrations erupted in Japan as the Imperial family welcomed the first male baby for 41 years. The birth of the new prince averted a looming succession crisis

September 7, 1813: A New York newspaper, referring to the initials U.S. on barrels of beef for the U.S. Army, coined the nickname “Uncle Sam” for the United States

September 8, 2011: Twitter, launched in 2006, said it had over 100 million active users. As of 2018 that is up to more than 330 million users per month, with 500 million tweets sent daily

HISTORY: On this day September 2-8, 2018 (week 36) (Graphic)
GN38220 Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries on each day for the week.
(Each 52mm wide by 118mm deep packaged as a set)

August 26 - September 1, 2018 -- Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries for each day of the week. This week features a massive eruption of Krakatoa, the 36th president of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson, the world’s longest floating bridge, Michael Jackson, the Grand Hassan II Mosque, monsoon floods in India, Nepal and Bangladesh, and China’s plan to cut troop numbers

August 26, 1883: The massive two-day eruption of Krakatoa began. It killed some 36,000 in Java and Sumatra and the explosion was loud enough to be heard in Australia

August 27, 1908: Lyndon Baines Johnson, 36th U.S. president, was born in Texas. He was sworn in on November 22, 1963, following the assassination of John F. Kennedy

August 28, 1963: The Evergreen Floating Bridge, the world’s longest floating bridge, first linked Seattle and Medina in Washington state. The 2.31-mile bridge was replaced in 2016

August 29, 1958: Troubled superstar Michael Jackson, the “King of Pop”, was born in Gary, Indiana. He died from an accidental overdose of sleeping drugs in June 2009

August 30, 1993: The Grand Hassan II Mosque, North Africa’s largest mosque, with a laser beam aimed at the holy city of Mecca, was dedicated in Casablanca, Morocco

August 31, 2017: The worst monsoon flooding in years killed over 1,200 people in India, Nepal and Bangladesh, with 41 million people directly affected by floods and landslides

September 1, 2003: China announced plans to cut troop numbers by 200,000. Despite the cuts China’s armed forces remain the world’s largest, currently over 2 million strong

HISTORY: On this day August 26-September 1, 2018 (week 35) (Graphic)
GN38219 Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries on each day for the week.
(Each 52mm wide by 118mm deep packaged as a set)

August 21, 2018 -- The diplomatic row between the U.S. and Turkey centres on the detention of U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson and the extradition from America of Turkish preacher Fethullah Gulen, accused of a botched coup attempt in 2016.

Relations between Ankara and Washington began to falter when the United States started arming Kurdish militants in operations against the so-called Islamic State in Syria.

Additionally, in January a U.S. jury found Turkish banker Mehmet Hakan Atilla guilty of helping Iran evade American sanctions. The nearly four-week trial of Atilla, an executive at Turkey’s majority state-owned Halkbank, further strained diplomatic relations between Washington and Ankara.

NATO-member Turkey is also in the process of buying Russian S-400 missile defence systems, incompatible with NATO standards.

Then on August 1, the U.S. Senate voted 87-10 for the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act or NDAA. Tagged onto the NDAA, in response to the S-400 deal, was the prohibition of the delivery of more than 100 F-35 warplanes to Turkey. The bill now goes to President Trump, who is expected to sign it into law.

On August 10, Trump, frustrated with the lack of progress in the Brunson case, announced the doubling of steel and aluminium tariffs on Turkey to 50% and 20% respectively. The lira plunged to $0.16.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly linked Brunson’s release to the fate of Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish Muslim cleric living in the United States whom Erdogan blames for the failed July 2016 coup attempt.

POLITICS: Hostage diplomacy drives Turkish lira crisis (Graphic)
GN38249 Graphic shows fall of lira against the U.S. dollar and diplomatic spats.
(107mm by 120mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

November 6, 2018 -- Democrats must gain at least 23 Republican-held seats to take control of the U.S. House of Representatives in November’s midterm elections.

U.S. MIDTERM ELECTIONS: Key congressional races (Graphic)
GN38242 Graphic shows seats in contention and most competitive races at the U. S. midterm elections.
(107mm by 140mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

August 20, 2018 -- America sold more weapons in the first six months of 2018 than all of fiscal 2017, signing off on $46.9 billion in weapons sales to foreign partners and allies – surging past the 2017 total of $41.9 billion.

The size of the world’s arms market rose by 10% over the five years to December 2017, compared with the previous five years. America’s slice of this expanding pie was 34%, up from 30% in the previous five years. America and its five nearest rivals (in descending order Russia, France, Germany, China and Britain) account for nearly 80% of total sales.

MILITARY: Sales of U.S. weapons soar (Graphic)
GN38243 Graphic compares U.S. military exports to those of other large-scale exporting nations.
(107mm by 155mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

The Benetton family controls Edizione – one of Italy’s most significant business groups – with interests spanning infrastructure, catering, telecoms and finance as well as their well-known clothing brand.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has said the government would start a procedure to revoke licences held by toll road operator Autostrade per l’Italia following Tuesday’s collapse of the Morandi motorway bridge which left at least left 39 people dead.

Edizione, the holding company of the Benetton family, owns a 30.25 per cent stake in Atlantia which itself holds an 88 per cent share in Autostrade per l’Italia.

The Benetton family has said it will fight the Italian government’s attempted seizure of its road-toll assets. Autostrade operates just under 3,000km, or almost half, of the country’s motorway network. The company generated more than €3.7 billion in revenue in 2017, equivalent to 65 per cent of its parent’s annual revenues of €5.7bn.

DISASTER: Morandi Bridge financial fallout (Graphic)
GN38244 Graphic shows ownership of Autostrade, the toll operator responsible for the safety of the Morandi bridge which collapse in Genoa, killing at least 39 people.
(107mm by 148mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

August 16, 2018 -- Drug overdoses killed more than 72,000 U.S. citizens in 2017, a new record driven by the deadly opioid epidemic, according to new analysis.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimate that 72,287 people died from overdoses in 2017, an increase of about 10% from the previous year. Nearly 49,000 deaths were caused by opioids, with the main driver being the dangerous synthetic opioid fentanyl, which killed nearly 30,000 people.

The soaring overdose figures make the drug epidemic more deadly than peak year deaths from HIV, car crashes or gun fatalities, which have never killed as many people in a single year. Nearly 200 Americans died from overdoses every day in 2017.

Across the U.S. deaths have continued to rise, despite efforts to tackle the spread of opioid addiction through education, treatment, and policing.

The surge in fentanyl, synthetically produced and up to 50 times stronger than heroin, has led to a sudden rise in deaths. It is mostly brought into the U.S. from China, and sometimes mixed in with heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine without users knowing it.

The CDC’s statistics are preliminary because some deaths are still under investigation.

HEALTH: U.S. opioid epidemic (Graphic)
GN38240 Graphic charts the alarming acceleration in the use of synthetic opioids resulting in overdose deaths in the United States.
(107mm by 160mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

August 15, 2018 -- The Magic Leap One, under development for years and often derided as fiction by naysayers tired of its non-appearance, has finally arrived.

Magic Leap, the multi-billion dollar augmented reality technology startup, has finally shipped its long-awaited headset – currently only available to a limited number of U.S. software developers.

After years of scathing reports that its rumoured technology was a billion dollar investment scam, the Magic Leap One has proven to be real, and although expensive at $2,295, is impressing developers with its lightweight visor and computing power. But equally it is drawing criticism for its price point and the feeling that this version is just a stepping stone to a finished product still some years away.

The firm’s founder, Rony Abovitz, says the company is looking to raise more financing, and is ready for a long-term battle with rivals Microsoft and Apple, which are developing their own AR headsets.

So far, the company has raised $2.3 billion from the likes of Google, Alibaba, Qualcomm and Warner Bros.

TECH: Magic Leap AR headset (Graphic)
GN38176 Graphic shows how the Magic Leap One device works.
(107mm by 160mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

August 14, 2018 -- The operator of the Morandi bridge in Genoa, which was built between 1963 and 1967 using pre-stressed reinforced concrete technology, was about to launch a €20 million maintenance programme.

Dave Parker, Technical Editor Emeritus of New Civil Engineer, told the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that pier nine collapsed in a matter of seconds. The investigation will concentrate on the foundations of the bridge which carries 25 million vehicles every year.

The quality of the materials could have been affected by the involvement of organised crime in the construction industry in the 1960s. “According to urban myths, the mafia had a huge finger in the pie of the concrete industry back then, charging full price and putting less cement in,” Parker said.

The technology of pre-stressed reinforced concrete used in the construction was the hallmark of Morandi, who died in 1989.

Antonio Brencich, a professor of reinforced concrete construction at the University of Genoa, raised structural doubts about the Morandi bridge.

“It was affected by severe corrosion problems linked to the technology that was used [in construction]. Morandi wanted to use a technology that he had patented that was no longer used afterwards and that showed itself to be a failure,” Professor Brencich told Radio Capitale.

DISASTER: Morandi Bridge collapse (Graphic)
GN38239 Graphic shows details of Morandi Bridge disaster.
(107mm wide by 142mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

August 14, 2018 -- A bridge on a main highway linking Italy with France collapsed in the Italian port city of Genoa during a sudden, violent storm, sending vehicles plunging 45 metres (nearly 150 feet) into a heap of rubble below. A transport official said at least 22 people were killed and eight injured in the tragedy.

A huge section of the Morandi Bridge collapsed over an industrial zone, sending tons of twisted steel and concrete debris onto rail tracks and warehouses below.

Amalia Tedeschi, a firefighter, told RAI state TV that some 20 vehicles, including cars and trucks, were caught up as an 80m (260ft) stretch of the bridge collapsed. She said two people were pulled alive from vehicles in the rubble and transported by helicopter to hospital.

Italy’s transport minister, Danilo Toninelli, called the collapse “an enormous tragedy.”

The disaster occurred on a highway that connects Italy to France, and northern cities like Milan to the beaches of Liguria. It came on the eve of the major holiday of Ferragosto, the high point of the Italian summer holiday season when most cities and businesses are closed and Italians head to the beaches or the mountains, meaning that traffic was heavier than usual on the Genoa highway.

DISASTER: Italian highway bridge collapse (Graphic)
GN38238 Graphic shows location of the Morandi Bridge.
(107mm by 80mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

August 14, 2018 -- A man has been arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences after a car crashed outside the Houses of Parliament in London, injuring two cyclists.

A motorist crashed into pedestrians and cyclists near the Houses of Parliament in London, heightening tensions in a city that has seen four vehicle-based terror attacks in less than 18 months.

Two people were hurt, but authorities said none of the injuries were life-threatening.

Armed police swooped into the area, arresting the driver and cordoning off streets surrounding the heart of Britain’s government. Police appealed to the public to stay away, and Westminster Tube station was closed.

Eyewitnesses described the car as being driven at high speed before hitting carriers. Several suggested it was deliberate.

The area was the site of a terror attack in March 2017, when Khalid Masood ploughed a car into crowds on Westminster Bridge, killing four people. Masood abandoned his car and then stabbed and killed a police officer before being shot dead in a courtyard outside Parliament.

TERRORISM: Vehicle attack on UK parliament (Graphic)
GN38237 Graphic shows the location of the attack.
(107mm by 112mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

August 14, 2018 -- Syrian government troops are gathering on the outskirts of Idlib province ahead of an assault on the final rebel stronghold, controlled by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) and the rival Syrian Liberation Front.

Syrian government artillery and rocket fire have been reported around Jisr al-Shughur, and HTS positions in the province which President Bashar al-Assad has warned will be his military’s next priority.

Reinforcements have been arriving in neighbouring Latakia province just west of Jisr al-Shughur and to the southeast of the region.

Idlib province is, in theory, one of the four “de-escalation” zones agreed by NATO member Turkey and regime supporters Iran and Russia in a bid to reduce violence. The three nations have established military observation posts for monitors around the province.

In practice, the deal aims at securing Syria’s strategic M5 international highway running from Aleppo to the capital, Damascus, and on through Daraa province to Jordan, and the Aleppo-Gaziantep road into Turkey.

HTS, previously known as Nusra Front, is also fighting the hardline Islamist Syrian Liberation Front, made up from a merging of rebel groups Ahrar Al-Sham and Nour Al Deen Al Zinki in February.

Some 2.5 million people -- including more than one million people displaced from other Syrian war zones -- are sheltering in Idlib province.

MILITARY: Syrian troops amass around Idlib (Graphic)
GN38236 Graphic shows locations of de-escalation monitors and Syrian troop buildup.
(107mm by 153mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

August 13, 2018 -- After seven years of brutal civil war Syria’s province of Idlib, which has absorbed many of the 6,000,000 internally displaced people from fighting elsewhere, is itself preparing for the storm.

As each rebel stronghold fell to the Russian- and the Iranian-backed regime of President Bashar al-Assad, hardcore fighters that refused to surrender -- members of Al Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly the Nusra Front) and so-called Islamic State -- have been bussed to the “de-escalation” zone of Idlib.

Now for the residents in Idlib, the battle looms. It began last Thursday with a shower of leaflets dropped over the rural valleys around the capital from helicopters: “Your cooperation with the Syrian Arab Army will release you from the rule of militants and terrorists, and will preserve your and your families’ lives.” Then artillery and rocket fire rained in ahead of the storm.

In a deal at Sochi on the Black Sea in July 2017, Russia, Turkey and Iran agreed to create de-escalation zones in the province. Turkish forces began moving into Idlib last October, and in May they set up observation points around the region.

The United Nations has warned that more than a million refugees could flee to Turkey once the Idlib battle commences, creating a massive humanitarian crisis when Ankara can least afford it, and force Turkish military intervention.

MILITARY: Syrian civil war nears Idlib showdown (Graphic)
GN38235 Graphic shows timeline of notable acievements in the war to date.
(107mm by 164mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

August 10, 2018 -- Jason Statham’s shark movie “The Meg” seeks to rival “Jaws” with its tale of a 20-metre long megalodon shark that reappears off an American beach after being thought extinct for millions of years. A super-shark that swam in the oceans 2.6 million years ago, megalodon was three times bigger than the largest great white, making the prehistoric fish one of the most fearsome predators of all time.

A super-shark that swam in the oceans 2.6 million years ago, megalodon was three times bigger than the largest great white, making the prehistoric fish one of the most fearsome predators of all time.

Most of our knowledge about megalodon comes from its enormous teeth, which which can reach up to 18cm long. The word megalodon means “large tooth”.

Studies reconstructing the shark's bite force suggest it may have been one of the most powerful predators ever to have lived.

According to a work by a team of researchers led by Stephen Wroe
from the University of New South Wales, published in the Journal of Zoology in 2008, the largest great whites have a bite force of up to 18 tonnes, three times that of an African lion and 20 times harder than a human bites.

Megalodon, though, is more impressive. It is estimated to bite down with a force of between 10.8 to 18.2 tonnes.

Fossilised whale bones found with cut marks of megalodon teeth –some even having tips of teeth broken off – are evidence that the pre-historic shark would have eaten animals as large as humpback whales.

Lined with 276 teeth, megalodon jaws spanned 2.7 by 3.4 metres
wide – enough to swallow two adult people side-by-side.

We know that megalodon had become extinct by the end of the Pliocene (2.6 million years ago), when the planet entered a phase of global cooling.

SCIENCE: Megalodon vs great white shark (Graphic)
GN38231 Graphic shows comparative facts between megalodon and the great white shark.
(107mm wide by 182mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

August 8, 2018 -- The Lakhta Centre in St. Petersburg in Russia is set to become Europe’s tallest skyscraper, overtaking Moscow’s Federation Tower. It stands at 462 metres high, making it the 13th tallest building in the world.

RUSSIA: Lakhta Centre skyscraper (Graphic)
GN38228 Graphic shows features of Lakhta Centre skyscraper and comparison with other tall buildings.
(107mm by 140mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

August 9, 2018 -- The row between Saudi Arabia and Canada over human rights threatens to undermine Riyadh’s drive for foreign direct investment (FDI), with impulsive policies raising questions about financial security.

A tweet sent last Thursday by Canada’s Foreign Minister, Chrystia Freeland, calling for the release from prison of Samar Badawi, a human rights activist and her brother, Raif, a blogger who ridiculed the Saudi monarchy -- for amongst other things banning Valentine’s Day -- precipitated fury in Riyadh.

The desert kingdom expelled the Canadian Ambassador, recalled its envoy, froze all new trade and investment, suspended flights by the state airline to Toronto, and ordered 15,000 Saudi students to leave Canada and continue their education elsewhere.

Raif Badawi’s sentence of ten years in prison and a thousand lashes has been described by Sweden’s Foreign Minister, Margot Wallström, as “medieval.”

The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) reported in June that FDI into Saudi Arabia last year amounted to just $1.42 billion, down from $8.14bn in 2015, when Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) became defence minister at the age of only 29.

The Canadian campaign is the latest in a series of disastrous foreign-policy initiatives by MbS -- from the military intervention in Yemen to the air, sea, and land blockade of neighbouring Qatar. MbS also summoned Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, to Riyadh and forced him to resign on Saudi television.

MbS’ strategy of outrage may be to challenge nations that back calls for an international UN investigation of alleged Saudi-led war crimes in Yemen. The UN General Assembly opens next month in New York.

BUSINESS: Saudi-Canada row rattles investors (Graphic)
GN38232 Graphic shows falling FDI since Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) became defence minister in January 2015.
(107mm by 113mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

August 8, 2018 -- Snapchat’s active user base shrunk by three million people in the second quarter of 2018, the company’s first reported decline in users. In the same period, the company’s average revenue per user rose to $1.40, compared with Facebook’s $8.99 per user.



An unpopular redesign of the Snapchat app has likely contributed to the recent downturn. In February reality TV star Kylie Jenner tweeted her disapproval of the redesign, which knocked $1.3bn off parent company Snap’s market value.

Snapchat is described as “a multimedia messaging app” for pictures and messages that are only available for a short time before they become inaccessible.

As of February 2018, Snapchat had 187 million daily active users, compared with Twitter’s 335 million monthly active users.

BUSINESS: The decline of Snapchat (Graphic)
GN38227 Graphic shows how the social media firm is seeing a decline in users and explains the theory behind the fall.
(107mm by 160mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

July 28, 2014 -- 100th anniversary of the start of World War I. The Western Front, the line of trenches from the North Sea to the Swiss border which was deadlocked from the first months of the war in 1914 until shortly before its end in 1918, was the main theatre of the “Great War” -- the first mass global war of the industrialised age.

WWI CENTENARY: Western Front iGraphic (Interactive)
GN32043 Interactive graphic shows key events on the Western Front.
(800px wide by 500px deep )

August 8, 2018 -- Ikea has opened its first store in India, bringing inexpensive Nordic-inspired furnishings and food to the world’s fastest-growing middle class. India’s middle-class market is predicted to soar by more than 560% in value by 2030.

Ikea’s debut comes as India’s homewares and home furnishings sales hit US$12.9 billion in 2017. Ikea has plans eventually to open 25 mega-stores in the country.

The world’s biggest furniture retailer is luring customers with two-seat sofas costing as little as 5,990 rupees ($87.3, €75.3) and 7,990-rupee ($116, €100) double-beds. The Hyderabad store also features a 1,000-seat restaurant serving a mix of Nordic and local dishes, including biryani for 99 rupees ($1.4, €1.2) a portion.

India is poised to overtake the U.S. to become the world’s second-largest middle-class market by 2022. By 2030, India’s middle class consumers will be spending an estimated $10.7 trillion, up from $ 1.9 trillion in 2015.

Homi Kharas of the Brookings Institution says that the trend is clear. In 2015, the top 10 middle-class markets in the world were from the G-7 group (except Canada) and the economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. By 2020, Indonesia will enter the top 10, while Italy will drop out. By 2030, Mexico will join, and France will drop out.

($1 = 68.6850 Indian rupees)

BUSINESS: First Ikea store opens in India (Graphic)
GN38229 Graphic shows planned locations of Ikea store in India and predicted changes in the top 10 middle-class spending nations.
(107mm by 152mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

July 28, 2014 -- Constructed from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire after the First World War, today’s map of the Middle East resulted from the Great Game -- the 19th century strategic rivalry between the British and Russian Empires in Central Asia.

After Ottoman Turkey chose to side with Germany in 1914, Britain and France struck a secret deal to share Ottoman wealth, industrial resources and territories when Turkey was defeated.

The Balfour Declaration of 1917, which led to the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine, led to the first Arab-Israeli War in 1948. This was followed by Arab-Israeli conflicts in 1956, 1967, 1973–74, and 1982.

More than 60 other conflicts in the Middle East have occurred since 1948, claiming more than 1.75 million lives, culminating in the current civil wars in Syria and Iraq.

WWI CENTENARY: New borders of Middle East iGraphic (Interactive)
GN31993 Interactive graphic shows how the map of the Middle East was redrawn.
(800px wide by 600px deep )

July 28, 2014 -- Turkey’s entry into the war on October 29, 1914 immediately prompted Britain to open a new military front in the Ottoman province of Mesopotamia. The Royal Navy was one of the world’s first navies to switch from coal to oil, and the British-Indian expeditionary force sent to Mesopotamia was intended to protect vital oil supplies from Persia and secure Britain’s naval supremacy.

November 11, 2018 -- 100th anniversary of the signing of the armistice ending World War I.

WWI CENTENARY: Mesopotamia campaign (Graphic)
GN31826 Graphic shows how the initially successful campaign turned into one of the most humiliating surrenders in British military history, just three months after the humiliating retreat at Gallipoli.
(163mm wide by 241mm deep)

July 28, 2014 -- 100th anniversary of the start of World War I. November 11, 2018 -- 100th anniversary of the signing of the armistice ending World War I.

The Western Front, the line of trenches from the North Sea to the Swiss border which was deadlocked from the first months of the war in 1914 until shortly before its end in 1918, was the main theatre of the “Great War” -- the first mass global war of the industrialised age.

WWI CENTENARY: Western Front (Graphic)
GN31775 Graphic shows key events on the Western Front.
(266mm wide by 365mm deep)

July 28, 2014 -- The First World War broke out, triggered by the assassination in Sarajevo of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary the previous month. The conflict was centred in Europe but spread to encompass much of the globe over the four years until the guns eventually fell silent on November 11, 1918.

WWI CENTENARY: War timeline iGraphic (1) (Interactive)
GN31935 Interactive graphic shows illustrated timeline of events during World War I and map of the conflict.
(800px wide by 500px deep )

July 28, 2014 -- Centenary of the start of the First World War broke out, triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary in Sarajevo on June 28. The conflict was centred in Europe but spread to encompass much of the globe over the four years until the guns eventually fell silent on November 11, 1918.

In 1914, European nations were linked by a series of diplomatic alliances:Germany/Austria-Hungary/Ottoman Empire form the Central Powers. Britain/France/Russia make up the Triple Entente or Allies. Italy, seeking to gain Austrian territory, enters the war on the side of the Allies in May 1915. Bulgaria, with territorial ambitions in Serbia, aligns with the Central Powers in October 1915.

WWI CENTENARY: War timeline (1) (Graphic)
GN31626 Graphic shows illustrated timeline of events during World War I.
(284mm wide by 415mm deep)

August 31, 2018 -- Kenya’s long-delayed Lake Turkana Wind Power Project, sited at the foot of Mount Kulal, will deliver low cost electricity to the national grid.The massive power plant is the biggest single investment in Kenya’s history, costing approximately $680m. Its 365 wind turbines will provide 310MW of reliable electricity, enough to supply one million homes.

The government of Kenya expects construction of the Lake Turkana Wind Power Station to be completed by the end of August 2018, and that delivery of low cost electricity to the national grid will commence in September.

The project has been held up by the government component, a 428km transmission line to connect the Lake Turkana Wind Power project to the national grid. This has suffered numerous delays, ranging from land management issues with local communities to a key contractor filing for bankruptcy.

The Lake Turkana Wind Power project boasts 365 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 850kW. It will produce a total of 310MW electricity generation capacity, or 15 per cent of Kenya’s installed capacity at present.

The east African nation relies heavily on renewables such as geothermal and hydro power for its electricity supply and is investing in increasing electricity generation to keep up with growing demand for power and to reduce frequent blackouts.

ENVIRONMENT: Kenya’s Lake Turkana wind farm (Graphic)
GN38224 Graphic shows the vast scope of the wind farm and how it links to Kenya’s national grid system.
(107mm by 160mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

August 6, 2018 -- China says it has successfully tested its first experimental hypersonic waverider vehicle. The Starry Sky-2 could potentially be used as a weapon capable of evading current air defence networks.

CHINA: Hypersonic waverider vehicle (Graphic)
GN38225 Graphic shows features of China’s waverider vehicle.
(107mm by 140mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

August 7, 2018 -- The son of Al Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden has reportedly married the daughter of terrorist Mohammed Atta who flew a hijacked airliner into World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001.

In an interview with the Guardian, Osama’s family has claimed that Hamza bin Laden has vowed to avenge his father. Bin Laden senior was shot dead during a dramatic raid by U.S. special forces in the early hours of May 2, 2011.

However, sources close to the bin Laden family denied reports of the marriage. Omar, 37, the fourth son of the former Al Qaeda leader, told London-based Asharq Al-Awsat on Monday (August 6) that his half-brother is married to Maryam Abdullah Ahmad Abdullah -- the daughter of Abu Mohammed al-Masri, an Al Qaeda leader indicted for his role in the August 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.

Hamza is seen by many as a future standard bearer of global jihad, unlike the uncharismatic Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri, who took over the leadership of Al Qaeda after bin Laden’s demise.

As a Saudi descended from prominent families on both his father’s and his mother’s side -- his mother, Khairia Sabar, was a leading child psychologist -- Hamza has the family pedigree to command respect and large donations from Gulf supporters.

Writing in the West Point-based CTC Sentinel, author Ali Soufan points out that Hamza has returned to his father’s rhetoric castigating the House of Saud and calling for regime change in the Kingdom. Hamza could be a highly effective leader at a moment when Al Qaeda affiliates are growing in resources and influence across the Islamic world, and Islamic State is crumbling, with tens of thousands of followers looking for fresh leadership.

TERRORISM: Hamza bin Laden factbox (Graphic)
GN38223 Graphic shows a factbox on Hamza bin Laden.
(107mm by 191mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

August 10, 2018 -- English Premier League season.

Banner shows key players taking part:

Kevin de Bruyne, Manchester City,
Harry Kane , Tottenham Hotspur,
Paul Pogba, Manchester Utd,
Mo Salah, Liverpool,
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Arsenal,
Jordan Pickford, Everton,
Aleksander Mitrovic, Fulham,
Eden Hazard, Chelsea,
Joao Moutinho, Wolves,
Robert Kenedy, Newcastle

EDITORS: Visual shows both a thick and a thinner version of the banner plus an enlargement of the central area.

SOCCER: English Premier League banner 2018 (Photomontage)
GN38222 Photomontage shows selected footballers and managers taking part in this year’s Premier League.
(350mm wide by 62mm deep, and 400mm wide by 120mm deep @ 300 pixels/inch)

August 6, 2018 -- A powerful earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Lombok, killing over 90 people and and prompting an exodus of tourists rattled by the second powerful quake in a week.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the death toll had risen to 91 and more than 200 people were seriously injured. Thousands of homes and buildings were damaged and 20,000 people are in temporary shelters.

The quake, measured at a magnitude 6.9 by the U.S. Geological Survey, struck early Sunday evening at a depth of 10.5 kilometers in the northern part of Lombok.

It was the second deadly quake in a week to hit Lombok. on July 29, a 6.4 magnitude tremor killed 17 people, injured hundreds and briefly stranded several hundred trekkers on the slopes of a volcano.

About 1,000 foreign and domestic tourists were evacuated in boats from the three Gili islands off the northwest coast of Lombok.

Indonesia is prone to earthquakes because of its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin. In December 2004, a massive magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Sumatra island triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries.

DISASTERS: Scores killed in Indonesia quake (Graphic)
GN38221 Graphic shows areas most affected by the earthquake.
(107mm wide by 139mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

August 19-25, 2018 -- Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries for each day of the week. This week features the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the invasion of Czechoslovakia, the U.S. writer and satirist Dorothy Parker, drugs in the Philippines, Mount Vesuvius, and the first CT scan.

August 19, 1930: The two arches of the Sydney Harbour Bridge were joined together after five years under construction. The bridge was eventually opened in March 1932

August 20, 1968: Troops from the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact nations invaded Czechoslovakia to crush the “Prague Spring” reform movement

August 21, 2017: Millions of Americans looked to the sky as a solar eclipse crossed the United States, the first time all 48 mainland states could see an eclipse since 1918

August 22, 1893: U.S. writer and satirist Dorothy Parker was born. On the subject of suicide she wrote: “Guns aren’t lawful; nooses give; gas smells awful; you might as well live”

August 23, 2016: Police in the Philippines said that over 1,900 people had been killed in a crackdown on illegal drugs since Rodrigo Duterte became president on June 30

August 24, 79: Long-dormant Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in volcanic ash and pumice. An estimated 20,000 people died

August 25, 1973: The first scan was made using CT (computed tomography), which uses computer processed x-rays to create virtual “slices” of areas inside the body

HISTORY: On this day August 19-25, 2018 (week 34) (Graphic)
GN38184 Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries on each day for the week.
(52mm wide by 118mm deep)

August 12-18, 2018 -- Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries for each day of the week. This week features the last quagga, the capital of the Khymer Empire, the construction of Cologne Cathedral, the invasion of England by Julius Caesar, Madonna, President Zia ul-Hag of Pakistan, and The Thousand Islands Bridge between the U.S. and Canada.

August 12, 1883: The last quagga, distinguished from other zebras by its pattern of brown and white stripes on the front of the body and plain brown rear, died at a zoo in Amsterdam

August 13, 2007: Satellite imagery revealed that Angkor, the Khmer Empire capital from the 9th to the 15th centuries, covered around 3,000 sq. km, with up to half a million inhabitants

August 14, 1880: The construction of Cologne Cathedral was completed. Building began in 1248 but was stopped in 1473. After a 400-year gap it was completed to the original plan

August 15 54BC: Ten thousand men of the 7th and 10th Roman legions under Julius Caesar landed in southern England, although this initial incursion was unsuccessful

August 16, 1958: Madonna Louise Ciccone was born in Bay City, Michigan. She is the world’s best-selling female recording artist, with global sales of more than 300 million

August 17, 1988: President Zia ul-Haq and the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan were among 32 people killed when their plane exploded after take-off from Bahawalpur airport

August 18, 1938: The Thousand Islands Bridge, in reality five bridges over the St Lawrence River between the U.S. and Canada, was dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt

HISTORY: On this day August 12-18, 2018 (week 33) (Graphic)
GN38183 Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries on each day for the week.
(Each 52mm wide by 118mm deep packaged as a set)

August 6-9, 2018 -- 73rd anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On August 6, 1945, a single American aircraft dropped an atom bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later Nagasaki met the same fate. Japan surrendered within a week, ending World War Two. More than 120,000 of the 450,000 people in the two cities were killed, and a further 100,000 died from radiation-related illnesses in the following years.

HIROSHIMA: Road to the bomb (Interactive)
GN33286 Responsive interactive graphic describes with pictures, video elements and graphics the race to build the bomb, how a nuclear bomb works, and the events that took place. This graphic can be published using the embed code supplied by Graphic News. As it is responsive, adjust the width to the maximum appropriate (and leave the scale factor and height). The graphic will then respond to the width of the monitor.
(800px wide by 600px deep )

August 3, 2018 -- Apple has reached a 13-figure market value of more than $1 trillion – a milestone that highlights how a group of megacompanies has dominated the United States economy.

On Tuesday, July 31, Apple reported strong quarterly earnings, with its profit increasing to $11.52 billion, up nearly a third from the same period a year earlier.

The report helped bolster the company’s stock price; as of August 2, Apple’s shares were trading at $207.39 -- an 843 per cent increase since 1980, when Apple went public at $22 a share.

Many economists talk about the trend toward corporate concentration -- companies growing in size and grasping vast profits. This consolidation is especially pronounced in the technology sector and extends far beyond the stock markets.

Economists are starting to connect the rise of megacompanies to lacklustre wage growth and rising income inequality in the United States. This social and political influence has prompted some lawmakers to demand more regulation to rein them in.

Google was recently fined a record $5 billion by European Union antitrust regulators who accused the tech giant of abusing its market position by forcing mobile phone companies to install Google apps on their phones.

Last week, Facebook reported that its growth was slowing, triggering a 19 per cent plunge in its share value, cutting some $120 billion off the company’s market value in a single day.

BUSINESS: Apple’s $1 trillion milestone (Graphic)
GN38217 Graphic shows top companies by market capitalisation as of August 2, 2018.
(107mm wide by 92mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

August 3, 2018 -- President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a former spy chief installed after Robert Mugabe’s removal in a coup in November, has won Zimbabwe's presidential election after a poll marred by a deadly army crackdown on opposition protests.

With all 10 provinces declared, Mr Mnangagwa won 50.8% of votes, compared to 44.3% for opposition leader Nelson Chamisa.

The election passed off relatively smoothly but its aftermath revealed the deep rifts in Zimbabwean society and the instinctive heavy-handedness of the security forces.

Six people died after opposition protests in Harare on Wednesday over alleged vote-rigging.

The violent crackdown has left in tatters months of careful positioning of Mnangagwa as a pro-business president seeking to end the repressive rule and international pariah status of Mr Mugabe, who ruled for 37 years.

POLITICS: Mnangagwa wins Zimbabwe election (Graphic)
GN38218 Graphic shows presidential results
(107mm wide by 141mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

August 2, 2018 -- Zimbabwe remains on edge as it awaits the result of its presidential election. Hopes of a new era following the ousting of Robert Mugabe were dented after troops opened fire on opposition supporters protesting against alleged electoral fraud.

Three people were killed in the city on Wednesday in clashes between the security forces and supporters of opposition leader Nelson Chamisa. Chamisa says Monday's elections were being rigged to give President Emmerson Mnangagwa victory.

Human rights activists in Zimbabwe are condemning the military crackdown on opposition protesters in the capital, saying it raises questions about whether the current government is any different from that of former leader Robert Mugabe.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) has declared Mnangagwa's Zanu-PF party the winner of the parliamentary election, with a two-thirds majority.

It has not released presidential election results, saying party agents were still verifying the result and there was "absolutely no skulduggery".

The elections were the first since long-time ruler Robert Mugabe was ousted in November.

POLITICS: Zimbabwe parliamentary election result (Graphic)
GN38216 Graphic shows parliamentary results
(107mm wide by 141mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

August 1, 2018 -- A U.S. court has blocked the release of downloadable blueprints to make 3-D printed guns that can go undetected by security screening.

The company behind the plans, Austin, Texas-based Defense Distributed, reached a settlement with the federal government in June allowing it to make the plans for the guns available for download on August 1.

The restraining order from U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik in Seattle puts that plan on hold for now. “There is a possibility of irreparable harm because of the way these guns can be made,” he said.

Eight Democratic attorneys general filed a lawsuit on July 30 seeking to block the settlement. They also sought the restraining order, arguing that 3D guns would be a safety risk.

The company’s website had said downloads would begin August 1, but blueprints for at least one gun, a plastic pistol called the Liberator, have been posted on the site since July 27. A lawyer for the company said he didn't know how many blueprints had been downloaded since then.

Outrage over the administration decision is putting gun control back into the election-year political debate, but with a high-tech twist.

LAW: 3-D printed gun blueprints halted (Graphic)
GN38214 Graphic shows a factfile of 3-D printed guns.
(107mm wide by 157mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

August 1, 2018 -- The number of homicides in Mexico in 2017 was higher than originally thought, with 31,174 slayings – up 27 percent from 24,559 in 2016.

CRIME: Mexican homicide rate soars interactive (Interactive)
GN38215 Interactive graphic compares the 2016 and 2017 homicide rates in Mexico, by state.
(800px wide by 568px deep)

July 31, 2018 -- The number of homicides in Mexico in 2017 was higher than originally thought, with 31,174 slayings – up 27 percent from 24,559 in 2016.

The latest data for 2017 comes from INEGI, the national statistics institute, whereas the previous figure of 29,168 homicides came from the Interior Ministry. The Interior Ministry counts homicide investigations that could involve multiple victims, thus potentially under-representing killings, whereas INEGI visits morgues and public registries to collect information. INEGI surveyed 2,127 civil registries, 688 public ministries and 145 forensic medical services to collect the 2017 data.

At 31,174, the number of homicides now reported is the highest since records began in 1997, including 2011, the worst year of the war on drugs.

The rate for 2017 reported by INEGI -- 25 per 100,000 inhabitants -- is near the levels of Brazil and Colombia at 27 per 100,000.

Alejandro Schtulmann, president of Mexico City-based political risk firm EMPRA, says that in addition to fights between criminal groups for territory, fuel theft from pipelines has turned more violent and extortion cases are on the rise.

Schtulmann warns the country urgently needs to improve state security forces since thinly stretched federal resources often can’t reach all the trouble spots.

CRIME: Mexican homicide rate soars (Graphic)
GN38213 Graphic compares the 2016 and 2017 homicide rates in Mexico, by state.
(107mm by 170mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

July 31, 2018 -- Donald Trump’s former strategist Steve Bannon plans to use a Brussels-based foundation named The Movement to support populist far-right parties in next spring’s European Parliament elections.

“Next May is hugely important,” Bannon told the Daily Beast. “This is the real first continent-wide face-off between populism and the party of Davos. This will be an enormously important moment for Europe.”

The Movement was founded by Mischaël Modrikamen, a Brussels lawyer, and leader of the small right-wing Popular Party in January 2017. Laure Ferrari, a French aide to British MEP Nigel Farage, is one of three directors of The Movement with Modrikamen and his wife.

The Movement’s goal under Bannon is to turn the consensus-minded EU legislature into a battleground that the far right can use to undermine the entire European project. By using The Movement to unite populist parties, Bannon envisions creating a “supergroup” of right-wingers to win as many as 250 seats in the European Parliament.

Parties grouped around Nigel Farage’s Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFD2) and Marine Le Pen-aligned Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) control 81 seats in the 751-member EU legislature. A further 22 populist MEPs include the Sweden Democrats, Spain’s Podema, the Danish People’s Party, Greece’s Syriza and Golden Dawn, and Hungary’s Jobbit.

Since the spring Bannon has toured Europe, cultivating alliances. French far-right leader Marine Le Pen recently met Bannon in London while Matteo Salvini, leader of Italy’s League party and the country’s interior minister met Bannon before and after March’s Italian election.

Other allegiances have formed between Bannon and the Belgian Vlaams Belang, Austria’s Freedom Party, Alternative for Germany, the Sweden Democrats, Geert Wilders’ Dutch Freedom Party, Harald Vilimsky of Austria’s Freedom Party and Czech nationalist Tomio Okamura.

POLITICS: The Movement (Graphic)
GN38212 Graphic shows populist parties in the European Parliament and players in The Movement. N.B. Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National/National Rally is new name for National Front.
(107mm by 159mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

July 30, 2018 -- California is experiencing the worst start to the fire season in 10 years, with entire communities engulfed in the north of the state.

Six people, including two children, died in the so-called Carr Fire in the town Redding, in Shasta County, where more than 38,000 people have been evacuated

The two children, 5-year-old James Roberts and 4-year-old Emily Roberts, were stranded with their great-grandmother, Melody Bledsoe, 70, when flames swept through the family's rural property on the outskirts of Redding.

Two firefighters also died, while the sixth victim, who was not identified, reportedly did not evacuate despite receiving an evacuation warning.

The fire around Redding was among 17 significant blazes in the state on Sunday that had forced roughly 50,000 people from their homes, said Lynne Tolmachoff, a Cal Fire spokeswoman.

About 12,000 firefighters were battling the fires, she said.

Meanwhile officials said another firefighter died fighting a huge blaze to the south near Yosemite National Park. Brian Hughes, 33, was struck by a tree and killed while working as part of a crew removing brush and other fuel near the so-called Ferguson Fire's front lines, national parks officials said.

Some evacuations were lifted but officials said Yosemite Valley, the heart of tourism in the park, will remain closed until Aug. 3.

A big fire continued to burn in the San Jacinto Mountains east of Los Angeles near Palm Springs, but officials lifted evacuation orders for several communities after reporting significant progress by firefighters.

DISASTERS: California wildfires spreading (Graphic)
GN38208 Graphic shows latest location of the wildfires.
(107mm wide by 122mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

July 27, 2018 -- Segway has unveiled a new addition to its line of stand-up scooters, a $400 pair of electric roller skates – each one riding on a single, self-balancing wheel. The device is not without controversy however, and has already been banned from public roads and pavements in UK, in advance of its market launch.

Segway has unveiled a new addition to its line of stand-up scooters –
a pair of electric roller skates with a top speed of 12 kilometres an hour

TECH: Segway self-balancing e-skates (Graphic)
GN38197 Graphic shows how the new Drift W1 e-skates work.
(107mm by 160mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

July 27, 2018 -- Facebook lost as much as $120 billion in value as its share price plunged by more than 19 per cent, following low user growth -- the biggest one-day wipeout of a listed company in U.S. history.

Facebook shares continued to flatline on Friday’s open after the social network reported lower than expected second-quarter earnings and growth.

A second-quarter rise in global daily active users (DAUs) of just 1.5 per cent, from 1.45 billion to 1.47 billion, and flat DAUs in the U.S. and Canada at 185 million disappointed investors.

In Europe, the number of DAUs fell from 282 million to 279 million amid controversial data leaks and fake news scandals.

Facebook has now set the record in single-day losses. In September 2000, as the tech bubble burst, chip maker Intel saw its stock price plunge by more than 20 per cent, knocking $91bn off its market value in a day.

In April 2018 the market capitalisation of Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google’s parent company Alphabet -- collectively known by the acronym Faangs -- plummeted by $86.6bn, while in June 2017, Faangs’ market cap fell by $126bn in two days.

BUSINESS: Facebook plunge (Graphic)
GN38203 Graphic shows Facebook daily active users since 2011 and biggest one-day market capitalization meltdowns.
(107mm by 138mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

July 26, 2018 -- President Trump and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker agreed to work toward “zero tariffs” on non-car industrial goods in exchange for the EU importing more U.S. liquefied natural gas.

U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas in 2017 reached 3,170 million cubic feet (89,703 cubic metres) — the highest on record, worth $11.21 billion.

Exports were larger than imports for the first time in 60 years, and the United States became a net exporter of natural gas, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The United States exported natural gas to 28 countries in 2017, with Europe accounting for just 72,948 million cubic feet (2,066 cubic metres), buying more than 30 per cent of its gas from Russia.

Kremlin-backed Gazprom supplied Europe with 6, 710,000 million cubic feet (190,000 million cubic metres) last year, valued at some $37 billion.

In July, Trump attacked Germany for backing the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that would directly link the country with Russia, bypassing Ukraine’s pipeline system. That would allow the Kremlin to exert political pressure on Eastern and Central Europe by shutting off gas supplies while minimising the impact on the lucrative Western European market.

BUSINESS: EU gas deal for U.S. tariff relief (Graphic)
GN38198 Graphic shows U.S. natural gas exports in 2017 compared with Russian gas exports to Europe.
(107mm by 119mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

July 26, 2018 -- Rolls-Royce is marketing the new Cullinan off-roader as an “all-terrain high-bodied” vehicle, built on the Phantom VIII’s latest aluminium spaceframe, with air suspension key to maintaining traction.

MOTORING: Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV interactive (Interactive)
GN38196 Interactive graphic shows features of the 2019 Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV.
(800px wide by 568px deep)

July 26, 2018 -- Ex-cricket star Imran Khan is on track to become Pakistan’s new prime minister, in an election marred by long delays In ballot counting and accusations of vote rigging.

The latest results show that the party of Khan, who entered politics in 1996 after retiring from international cricket, was ahead in more than 114 of the 272 seats, putting him within touching distance of an unexpected majority.

But the results are being contested by several of his opponents, who have alleged electoral malpractice both before and on polling day. Members of the incumbent Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, as well as the Pakistan People’s party and two other smaller parties, all say their election agents were expelled from some polling stations during the counting process.

Shehbaz Sharif, the head of the PML-N and brother of the jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, as well as Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the head of the PPP and son of the late prime minister Benazir Bhutto, rejected the results.

The winner will face a crumbling economy and bloodshed by militants whose latest attack saw a suicide bomber kill 31 people outside a polling station.

The country has been ruled on and off by the military during its 71-year history, so this election is significant because it is considered the country’s second consecutive democratic transition.

POLITICS: Pakistan election results (Graphic)
GN38195 Graphic shows latest election results.
(107mm wide by 128mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

August 1-31, 2018 -- The World Agenda gives a preview of world events scheduled for August.

Aug 6, U.S.: Washington reimposes sanctions on Iran, targeting the automotive sector and metals trade, 90 days after President Trump pulled the U.S. out of the 2015 nuclear deal.
The EU has responded with measures to preserve economic ties with Iran in a bid to uphold the multilateral accord

Aug 1, U.S.: 3D-printed automatic weapons could flood the streets after gun rights activists won the right to post detailed instructions, including plans, files and 3-D drawings of so-called “ghost guns” online

Aug 22-29, Russia: Shanghai Cooperation Organization states stage multi-nation military exercises in the Ural Mountains. The drills place armed forces from arch-rivals India and Pakistan on the same side for the first time

Aug 20, Greece: Athens will be free to borrow money on the bond market and set its own economic policy after eight years of being forced to implement highly unpopular reforms

Aug 18-Sep 2, Indonesia: Twin hosts Jakarta and Palembang welcome 10,000 participants for the four-yearly Asian Games. New events among the 40-plus sports include rock
climbing and bridge

Aug 21-26, Irish Republic: The World Meeting of Families will bring Pope Francis to Dublin, the first papal trip to Ireland in nearly 40 years

Aug 4, U.S.: NASA’s Parker Solar Probe blasts off to the sun for the closest-ever look at a star. The spacecraft’s observations should answer decades-old questions about the
physics of stars

Aug 24-31, U.S. & Canada: Christopher Nolan’s 2008 movie The Dark Knight, the first feature film shot in Imax format, returns for its 10th anniversary. Heath Ledger, who played Batman’s arch-enemy, The Joker, won a posthumous Supporting Actor Oscar

WORLD AGENDA: August 2018 interactive (Interactive)
GN38186 Responsive interactive graphic shows news events in August 2018.
(640px wide by 568px deep)

July 25, 2018 -- U.S. regulators have approved a simple, one-dose treatment to prevent relapses of Plasmodium vivax malaria. One dose of GlaxoSmithKline’s Krintafel (tafenoquine) prevented relapses in three-in-four patients.

HEALTH: Malaria one-dose treatment interactive (Interactive)
GN38194 Interactive graphic explains how Krintafel disrupts the P. vivax malaria lifecycle.
(800px wide by 568px deep)

July 25, 2018 -- The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most crucial oil transport routes, with a third of global oil tanker traffic -- carrying 18.5 million barrels of crude and condensate -- passing through the strait every day.

On May 8, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that America was to exit the Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Besides, Trump said he would reinstate previously lifted sanctions on the Islamic Republic, including secondary sanctions on countries continuing to trade with Iran.

The Trump administration has demanded that its allies end all imports of oil and gas condensate from Iran by November 4, or else face sanctions, with no waivers to be granted.

So far, other signatories to the JCPOA -- Russia, China, Germany, Britain, and France -- have pushed back against Washington and mostly continued to import Iranian oil, but that position now looks likely to change.

Iran’s oil exports had risen from 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2015, when the JCPOA deal was agreed, to 2.61 million bpd in June 2018. China, India, South Korea, Japan and the EU were the largest importers, taking 1.92 million bpd in June.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has suggested that Iran can severely disrupt oil trade in the Persian Gulf if its own exports are stopped, while the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has threatened to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

At its narrowest point, the shipping route -- used by 14 oil tankers every day -- is only two nautical miles (3.7km) across. Not just oil, but almost a third of global liquefied natural gas supplies also pass through the strait.

The task of keeping the waterway open would fall to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, based in Bahrain. It would have to counter any escalation of tensions by the 125,000-strong IRGC, 90,000-strong Basij militia and special operations Quds force, operating fast attack boats out of a dozen naval bases in the Persian Gulf.

If that strait is blockaded, the world’s daily supply of oil will plummet by more than 30 per cent, and oil prices would immediately spike.


POLITICS: Iran sanctions threat to Hormuz (Graphic)
GN38191 Graphic shows shipping lanes in the Strail of Hormuz and daily Iranian oil exports.
(107mm by 163mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

July 24, 2018 -- Hundreds of people are missing and some are feared dead after a hydropower dam under construction collapsed in southern Laos, causing flash flooding which swept away homes.

The official Lao news agency KPL said the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy hydropower dam in Attapeu province collapsed Monday evening, releasing cascades of water that swept away houses, flooded villages and made more than 6,600 people homeless.

The dam was made by a joint venture led by South Korean companies with Thai and Lao partners, and was still under construction.

Laos is one of the poorest countries in Asia. Electricity from several hydroelectric dams provides a large share of Laos’ export earnings, with Thailand being a major buyer.

KPL said the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy project cost an estimated $1.02 billion. Much of the financing came from Thai lenders.

The dam was built to divert the Houay Makchanh, Xe-Namnoy and Xe-Pian rivers into reservoirs that feed into a 410-megawatt power plant that is due to begin operations in 2019. Only 10 percent of the power generated was to be used locally, with 90 percent exported to Thailand.

Laos is supposed to receive taxes, royalties and other income estimated at $33 billion per year from the dam.

DISASTER: Laos dam collapse (Graphic)
GN38192 Graphic shows location of the Laos dam.
(107mm wide by 131mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

July 24, 2018 -- Rolls-Royce is marketing the new Cullinan off-roader as an “all-terrain high-bodied” vehicle, built on the Phantom VIII’s latest aluminium spaceframe, with air suspension key to maintaining traction.

The Rolls-Royce Cullinan is the biggest, most expensive, heaviest SUV ever; even its name, after the world’s largest diamond, makes a bold statement that it’s the best there is.

Rolls-Royce, the traditional British luxury car maker for the rich and famous now owned by BMW of Germany, lends itself to hyperbole and the company’s representatives aren’t holding back in praise of their own creation.

Rolls-Royce said its first SUV and four-wheel drive vehicle is the most anticipated car of 2018, and quite possibly the most anticipated Rolls-Royce of all time. Cullinan is the most versatile, family oriented, fun-to-drive super-luxury SUV available today. Cullinan is the most technologically advanced, and only purpose-built, luxury SUV in the world.

Owners of the almost as massive Bentley Bentayga SUV might want to argue about the last couple of claims, and throw in a few of their own. The Bentayga is a little more powerful than the Cullinan and could just about outsprint it, but surely the celebrity owners of these massive machines wouldn’t do anything as vulgar as racing each other off the lights? As for the name, the Cullinan diamond was discovered in South Africa in 1905 and is the biggest ever at 3,106 carats. Two large stones from the Cullinan now sit in the British Crown Jewels.

Super-rich high-rollers and politicians are getting bored with being chauffeured around in massive, anonymous, low-slung limousines and now want to ride in huge, high, look-at-me off-roaders. Volkswagen-owned Bentley started the trend with the Bentayga. Expect more entrants soon in the form of the Aston Martin Lagonda Varekai, Mercedes Maybach, and Lamborghini Urus, while the less well off have to make do with top-of-the-range Range Rovers, Porsche Cayennes and Maserati Levantes. It can’t be long until the leaders of the European Union eschew regular limos and show up at their six monthly summit meeting in these massive machines.

If your next SUV has to be a Rolls-Royce you get a 6.7 litre 563hp twin-turbo, 12 cylinder engine which blasts the beast from rest to 60mph (100kp/h) in seconds and on to a 150mph (240kp/h) regulated maximum. The suspension is guaranteed to replicate Rolls-Royce’s famous “waftability”. If you opt for the four-seat version you get a cocktail cabinet between the two rear seats with Rolls-Royce whisky glasses and decanter, champagne flutes and refrigerator. The five seat version dispenses with this luxury item. The rear passengers sit higher than the front ones and can make use of the large glazed area and panoramic glass roof. When you click your car entry key, the Cullinan will lower itself by 40mm to make entry effortless and aid decorum. The back-seat doors are hinged to the rear rather than the usual middle. You can order seats in the trunk which face outwards with a cocktail table so you can watch polo or horse trials. Rolls-Royce boasts about the extended list of high-tech aids to driving safety, but just about every top of the range saloon now has all this, and more.

The first Rolls-Royce Cullinan will be delivered in late 2018, although the company have yet to confirm a date. The company also refuses to reveal details of acceleration, gearbox, or prices, which are expected to start at £250,000 and finish closer to an average £400,000. The biggest market for the Cullinan will be the U.S., followed by China, the Middle East and Britain.

MOTORING: Rolls-Royce Cullinan (Graphic)
GN38190 Graphic shows features of the 2019 Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV.
(107mm by 141mm deep)

July 24, 2018 -- Six plane makers are bidding to supply 110 multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA) to the Indian Air Force, to replace its ageing fleet of MiG-21s and MiG-27s, in a deal that could be worth as much as $15 billion.

The aircraft must be built mainly in India as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” campaign. Making parts and assembling the jets with Indian strategic partners will build a domestic defence industry that can supply more of India’s needs and even export weapons to other nations. 

U.S. defence contractors Boeing and Lockheed Martin are eager to win business from a country that has historically chosen Russian and European suppliers.

Lockheed, with India’s Tata Advanced Systems, has offered to move its entire F-16 Block 70 production line from Greenville, South Carolina, to India and make it the only plant worldwide to produce the latest, advanced F-16 for not only India but also other countries.

Boeing is to team up with India’s only company that manufactures combat fighters, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Mahindra Defence Systems (MDS) to produce its carrier-capable F/A-18 Super Hornet multi-role fighter aircraft locally.

In addition to competition from the Russians, whose MiG planes are the mainstay of the Indian Air Force, the American companies will face stiff competition from European manufacturers seeking the contract.

Sweden’s Saab has struck a partnership with the Adani Group to assemble its single-engine Gripen warplane, while Dassault Aviation, which makes the twin-engine Rafale, has chosen Reliance Defence as its local partner.

The Eurofighter Typhoon and Russian MiG-35 aircraft are also potential contenders.

MILITARY: India’s warplane contest (Graphic)
GN38188 Graphic shows aircraft in contention, partners and vital statistics.
(107mm by 223mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

July 24, 2018 -- The worst forest fires to hit Greece in a decade have claimed the lives of dozens of people near Athens as the authorities there seek international assistance.

The majority of the victims died in their homes or their cars in Mati, a holiday resort 29km north-east of Athens that was devastated by a fast-moving blaze that started at around 5pm local time.

The government has asked other European countries for helicopters and additional firefighters to help tackle the wildfires, which are the worst to hit Greece since 2007, when dozens of people were killed in the southern Peloponnese peninsula.

DISASTERS: Deadly Greece wildfires (Graphic)
GN38189 Graphic shows location of the fires.
(107mm wide by 126mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

August 1-31, 2018 -- The World Agenda gives a preview of world events scheduled for August, including Washington’s reimposition of sanctions on Iran, multi-nation military drills by Shanghai Cooperation Organization states, the Asian Games in Indonesia, and the launch of NASA’s Parker Solar Probe to the sun.

Aug 6, U.S.: Washington reimposes sanctions on Iran, targeting the automotive sector and metals trade, 90 days after President Trump pulled the U.S. out of the 2015 nuclear deal.
The EU has responded with measures to preserve economic ties with Iran in a bid to uphold the multilateral accord

Aug 1, U.S.: 3D-printed automatic weapons could flood the streets after gun rights activists won the right to post detailed instructions, including plans, files and 3-D drawings of so-called “ghost guns” online

Aug 22-29, Russia: Shanghai Cooperation Organization states stage multi-nation military exercises in the Ural Mountains. The drills place armed forces from arch-rivals India and Pakistan on the same side for the first time

Aug 20, Greece: Athens will be free to borrow money on the bond market and set its own economic policy after eight years of being forced to implement highly unpopular reforms

Aug 18-Sep 2, Indonesia: Twin hosts Jakarta and Palembang welcome 10,000 participants for the four-yearly Asian Games. New events among the 40-plus sports include rock
climbing and bridge

Aug 21-26, Irish Republic: The World Meeting of Families will bring Pope Francis to Dublin, the first papal trip to Ireland in nearly 40 years

Aug 4, U.S.: NASA’s Parker Solar Probe blasts off to the sun for the closest-ever look at a star. The spacecraft’s observations should answer decades-old questions about the
physics of stars

Aug 24-31, U.S. & Canada: Christopher Nolan’s 2008 movie The Dark Knight, the first feature film shot in Imax format, returns for its 10th anniversary. Heath Ledger, who played Batman’s arch-enemy, The Joker, won a posthumous Supporting Actor Oscar

WORLD AGENDA: August 2018 (Graphic)
GN38185 Graphic shows news events in August 2018. An interactive version of this graphic is also produced each month.
(163mm wide by 210mm)

July 23, 2018 -- U.S. regulators have approved a simple, one-dose treatment to prevent relapses of Plasmodium vivax malaria. One dose of GlaxoSmithKline’s Krintafel (tafenoquine) prevented relapses in three-in-four patients.

Antimalarial drugs can cure the initial malaria infection, but parasites can get into the liver, hide in a dormant form, and cause recurrences months or years later. A second drug is used to stop relapses.

Krintafel is an 8-aminoquinoline derivative, known as tafenoquine. Data analysed from a total of thirty-three studies -- involving more than 4,000 trial subjects exposed to the 300mg single-dose, and other doses of tafenoquine -- were effective against all stages of the P. vivax lifecycle, including hypnozoites -- the dormant version of the parasite that resides in the liver.

Scientists at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research first synthesised tafenoquine in 1978. In 2008, GSK entered into a collaboration with the not-for-profit drug research partnership, MMV, to develop tafenoquine as an anti-relapse medicine for patients infected with P. vivax.

GlaxoSmithKline plans to apply for approval in Brazil, then other countries where P. vivax malaria is prevalent. It says it will sell the pills at low cost in developing countries.

HEALTH: Malaria one-dose treatment (Graphic)
GN38187 Graphic explains how Krintafel disrupts the P. vivax malaria lifecycle.
(107mm by 151mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

July 19, 2018 -- European aerospace giant Airbus has conducted the first test flight of the giant new Beluga XL, an even bigger version of the company's workhorse transport plane which has been in service since the mid 1990s. Decorated for the occasion as a "whale in the sky", the plane is due to enter into service in 2019.

Beluga XL A330-700L measures six metres longer and one metre wider than predecessor, offering 30% more capacity. Airbus says that at 19 metres tall the plane is as big as a three-storey house and can carry up to 53 tonnes of cargo, the equivalent of seven adult male elephants.

The Beluga XL is big enough to carry both wings of the Airbus A350 simultaneously, from manufacturing sites across Europe to final assembly lines in Germany, France and China.

Despite its remarkable size, the Beluga XL will not be the largest super-transporter ploughing through the skies. Boeing, for example, has its own big beast – the Dreamlifter.
Based on the 747-400, with an enlarged fuselage, it can actually lift a greater weight than the Beluga, but the XL’s wider cross section allows it to carry bigger components.

AVIATION: Airbus Beluga XL (Graphic)
GN38157 Graphic shows details of the Beluga XL aircraft.
(107mm wide by 156mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

July 12, 2018 -- The map of Europe underwent drastic revision after World War I. The defeated Central Powers – Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey – suffered huge territorial losses, and new independent countries were born, from Finland in the north to Yugoslavia in the south.

HISTORY: How WWI changed the map of Europe interactive (Interactive)
GN38152 Interactive graphic shows territorial changes in Europe and peace treaties.
(800px wide by 568px deep)

July 10, 2018 -- Dwindling oxygen levels and forecasts of heavy rain persuaded the authorities to instigate a rescue plan for 12 boys and their football coach trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand. A tiny passageway near a section named the T-Junction proved the main crisis point facing the group towards the end of their risky escape bid.

The boys are being led out one by one, each accompanied by two divers, who carry his air supply. The boys wear a full-face mask, which are easier for novice divers to use than a traditional respirator.

As each boy emerges from the cave system an ambulance transports them to hospital in the city of Chiang Rai.

The death of a former Thai navy diver while on an oxygen supply mission ahead of the rescue highlighted the risks for the boys, who had no scuba diving experience. Some of them did not even know how to swim.

The boys, aged between 11 and 16, and their assistant coach were found inside the Tham Luang cave in northern Chiang Rai province on July 2, after nine days underground. They went missing after setting out to explore the cave on June 23.

RESCUE MISSION: Thailand cave rescue interactive (Interactive)
GN38128 Interactive graphic shows Tham Luang cave system, and details of the rescue effort.
(800px wide by 568px deep)

February 25, 2019 -- Samsung has begun mass production of the world's first foldable smartphone – the Galaxy X. The device will open up to show two internal screens butted close together – forming a tablet-sized computer. It is tipped to be unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, in February 2019.

TECH: World’s first foldable smartphone (Graphic)
GN38117 Graphic details latest rumours and leaks out of Asia about the much delayed project.
(107mm by 160mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

July 5, 2018 -- The map of Europe underwent drastic revision after World War I. The defeated Central Powers – Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey – suffered huge territorial losses, and new independent countries were born, from Finland in the north to Yugoslavia in the south.

HISTORY: How World War I reshaped Europe (Graphic)
GN38108 Graphic shows territorial changes in Europe and peace treaties.
(163mm by 178mm deep)

July 27, 2018 -- The longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century, lasting one hour and 43 minutes, will be visible across wide swaths of the world including Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, South America and the Middle East.

The total phase of the Earth's natural satellite will turn a spectacular red or ruddy-brown color. From start to finish, the entire celestial event will last nearly 4 hours.

The reason this lunar eclipse will be a particularly long one is because the moon will be at its apogee – furthest point from the earth – causing the moon to move slower, so that the eclipse lasts longer.

As an added celestial bonus, around the same time, stargazers may spot Mars at its closest position to Earth in 15 years, making the red planet appear about 10 times brighter than usual.

Unlike with solar eclipses, you need no special equipment to observe lunar eclipses. These latter events, which occur when the moon passes into Earth's shadow, are safe to view directly with the naked eye, telescopes or binoculars.

SPACE: 21st century’s longest lunar eclipse (Graphic)
GN38114 Graphic shows eclipse path and explainer.
(107mm wide by 169mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

July 10, 2018 -- The original illustrated map of The Hundred Acre Wood, which featured in the opening pages of A.A. Milne's “Winnie-the-Pooh”, is to be auctioned at Sotheby’s in London. It featured in the opening pages of A.A. Milne’s much loved book Winnie-the-Pooh, and is expected to sell for up to £150,000. It will go on sale with four other E.H. Shepard illustrations.

Disney’s “Christopher Robin” fantasy comedy-drama movie is released on August 3.

The map is described by auction house Sotheby’s as “probably the most famous map in English literature”, E.H. Shepard’s original 1926 sketch introduced readers to the world of Christopher Robin and his friends, Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger and others, in the original book.

The map also played a starring role in the Disney film “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh”, animated as part of the movie’s opening sequence.

The map will go on sale with four other Shepard illustrations, one of which shows Christopher Robin and Pooh saying their goodbyes, while the others feature Eeyore, Rabbit and a game of Pooh sticks. None of the images have been seen in public for nearly 50 years.

The map illustration was first sold by Sotheby’s in 1968, where it fetched £650, before the auction house sold it again to a private collector two years later for £1,700.

Philip Errington, Sotheby’s senior specialist in printed books and manuscripts, said there was growing collector interest in illustrations, particularly by Shepard.

In 2014, an original ink drawing portraying the characters playing Pooh sticks sold for £314,500, a record for any book illustration sold at auction.

Christopher Robin, a new film based on Milne’s characters, is due to be released by Disney in August.

ENTERTAINMENT: The origins of Winnie-the-Pooh interactive (Interactive)
GN38095 Interactive graphic shows the origins of Winnie-the-Pooh and how he came to be one of the world’s most beloved literary characters, for both children and adults alike.
(800px wide by 568px deep)

July 16-22, 2018 -- British inventor and entrepreneur Richard Browning and his team from Gravity Industries will be giving an aerial demonstration of the Gravity Jet Suit at this year’s Farnborough International Airshow.

AVIATION: Gravity Jet Suit (Graphic)
GN38093 Graphic shows features of the Gravity Jet Suit.
(107mm by 140mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

June 18 - September 23, 2018 -- Artist Christo’s latest large scale work is The Mastaba, an enormous 20-metre-high floating sculpture in London’s Hyde Park.

Christo has created a temporary sculpture in London’s Hyde Park, called “The Mastaba (Project for London, Hyde Park, Serpentine Lake)”. It’s floating on The Serpentine from June 18 (weather permitting) to September 23, 2018, and is Christo's first major public, outdoor work in the UK. The temporary sculpture coincides with an exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery of Christo and Jeanne–Claude’s work, which includes sculptures, drawings, collages and photographs spanning more than 60 years. The sculpture and the exhibition both draw on Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s history of using barrels to create works of art.

Since the late 1960s, Christo has sought a suitable site for a floating Mastaba. The temporary sculpture in Hyde Park consists of 7,506 horizontally stacked barrels on a floating platform. It is 20m high x 30m wide (at the 60° slanted walls) x 40m long. Standard 55 gallon barrels, 59cm x 88cm, have been specifically fabricated and painted for this sculpture. The sides of the barrels, visible on the top and on the two slanted walls of the sculpture, are painted red and white. The ends of the barrels, visible on the two vertical walls, consist of different hues of red, blue, and mauve.

The sculpture’s floating platform is made of high-density polyethylene cubes secured to the lakebed with weighted anchors. A primary steel scaffolding frame is constructed on top of the platform and the barrels are attached to a scaffold sub structure. The total weight is approximately 450 tonnes. The footprint of the sculpture will take up approximately 1% of the total surface area of the lake.

As with all of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's projects, The Mastaba is being funded entirely through the sale of Christo's original works of art. No public money is used for Christo's projects and he does not accept sponsorship.

ART: Christo’s “Mastaba” London sculpture (Graphic)
GN38038 Graphic shows the construction of The Mastaba large-scale art object.
(107mm by 160mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

July 31, 2018 -- April 27, 2018 is the deadline to submit your name to NASA for inclusion aboard its Parker Solar Probe, set to launch in July-August this year.

SPACE: The Parker Solar Probe (Graphic)
GN36312 Graphic explains how to submit your name for uploading to the probe and how the mission will be carried out.
(107mm by 160mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

July 28, 2014 -- Constructed from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire after the First World War, today’s map of the Middle East resulted from the Great Game -- the 19th century strategic rivalry between the British and Russian Empires in Central Asia.

After Ottoman Turkey chose to side with Germany in 1914, Britain and France struck a secret deal to share Ottoman wealth, industrial resources and territories when Turkey was defeated.

The Balfour Declaration of 1917, which led to the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine, led to the first Arab-Israeli War in 1948. This was followed by Arab-Israeli conflicts in 1956, 1967, 1973–74, and 1982.

More than 60 other conflicts in the Middle East have occurred since 1948, claiming more than 1.75 million lives, culminating in the current civil wars in Syria and Iraq.

WWI CENTENARY: New borders of Middle East (Graphic)
GN31946 Graphic shows how the map of the Middle East was redrawn.
(283mm wide by 180mm deep)