‘Robocop’ on patrol at Singapore summit
Singapore: Hi-tech Singapore has deployed an autonomous robot with a swivelling camera for a head and flashing lights to patrol a summit venue – arresting the attention of amused passers-by who stopped to snap selfies. The white, four-wheeled buggy, measuring about five-feet (1.5 metres), trundled around the perimeter of a convention centre in the city-state, providing additional security at a meeting of world leaders. The so far unnamed robot, decked out with flashing blue and red lights, is a prototype reportedly developed by the police, which can transmit a 360-degree picture of the area it is patrolling. It navigates independently on a pre-mapped route and can avoid obstacles, local media reported, citing police. But rather than fearing the long robotic arm of the law, many passers-by were amused by the device, with some mistaking it for a gigantic toy. A handful stopped to snap selfies, while one man marched next to it grinning broadly as it wheeled slowly around near the convention centre. “It’s so cute, it looks like a toy,” said Chinese holidaymaker Ruan Min, taking a picture as her four-year-old daughter chased the robot down the street. Singapore, known for its strict law and order, has rolled out a major security operation to secure this week’s meetings, which are organised by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and attended by 20 world leaders. (AFP)
New Zealand to send recovery team into death mine
Wellington: Body-recovery specialists will enter a New Zealand mine where 29 men died in a 2010 explosion, officials said on Wednesday after years of heated debate about retrieving the workers’ remains. The blast at the Pike River colliery in November 2010 was New Zealand’s worst mining disaster in almost a century. It was triggered by a build-up of methane and the mine was permanently closed amid fears the flammable gas remained, angering the families of the dead who wanted the entombed remains removed. The controversy was so intense that when Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was elected last year she appointed Andrew Little to the specially created portfolio of Minister for Pike River Re-entry. Little announced Wednesday that a plan to go into the mine had been finalised after consultation with mining safety experts from around the world. (AFP)
Florida raccoon rescued from soup can problem
NEW YORK: A veterinary team in Florida rescued a raccoon found with an empty soup can stuck over its head. The Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife said that the raccoon was found in North Fort Myers. “The veterinary team, concerned with his ability to breathe, immediately used a can opener to remove the bottom of the can,” the clinic said in a Facebook post. The team sedated the raccoon so the can could be cut away, but the team found the can easily slipped off once the animal’s body relaxed. The raccoon was found to be uninjured and veterinarians said it would be released once the effects of the sedation wore off. (Agencies)