Two men to stand trial for chopping down Sycamore Gap tree
London, Dec 9: It was neither Britain’s biggest tree nor its oldest. But the majestic sycamore that stood for 150 years along a stretch of Hadrian’s Wall in northern England was one of the most beloved.
Perched symmetrically in a dip between two hills, the Sycamore Gap tree had been the site of first kisses, wedding proposals and even a place where the ashes of loved ones were scattered.
When local residents and admirers woke to the news last fall that it had been cut down in the dark of night, they wanted to know why and who could have committed such a senseless act.
On Monday, prosecutors are expected to start providing those answers.
Two men are scheduled to go on trial in Newcastle Crown Court on charges related to toppling the tree and damaging the ancient wall built by Emperor Hadrian in A.D. 122 to protect the northwest frontier of the Roman Empire. Little has been said about the case, including a possible motive, to protect the integrity of the trial and rights of the accused.
Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, have pleaded not guilty to two counts each of criminal damage. Prosecutors said the value of the tree exceeded 620,000 pounds (USD 790,000) and damage to the wall was assessed at 1,100 pounds (USD 1,400).
“The prosecution say the tree was deliberately felled on Sept 28 last year and the resultant fall damaged Hadrian’s Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site,” Brown said. (AP)
‘Polarisation’: Merriam-Webster’s word of the year
Washington, Dec 9: The results of the 2024 US presidential election rattled the country and sent shockwaves across the world – or were cause for celebration, depending on who you ask. Is it any surprise then that the Merriam-Webster word of the year is “polarisation”? “Polarisation means division, but it’s a very specific kind of division,” said Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster’s editor at large, in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press ahead of Monday’s announcement.
“Polarisation means that we are tending toward the extremes rather than toward the centre.” (AP)
220,000 students register for matriculation exam in Myanmar
Yangon, Dec 9: About 220,000 students registered for the nationwide matriculation examination of Myanmar for the academic year of 2024-2025, state-run media reported on Monday.
The number of students registered to take the exam for the 2024-2025 academic year increased compared to the previous academic year, reports Xinhua.
In the 2023-2024 academic year, over 120,000 students sat for the exam, out of which more than 74,000 passed, it added.
The nationwide matriculation exam for the 2024-2025 academic year will be held from March 17 to March 22, 2025, according to the Department of Myanmar Examinations. (IANS)
Nobel Peace Prize winner urges Putin to understand destructiveness of nuke weapons
Oslo, Dec 9: Terumi Tanaka, a survivor of the US atomic bombings of Japan and the representative of an organisation that won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, called on Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday to stop making nuclear threats.
The 92-year-old spoke at a news conference in Oslo, Norway, a day before a ceremony where he is to deliver a lecture on behalf of Nihon Hidankyo, an organisation of survivors of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that won this year’s prize.
Asked by a reporter if he had a message for Putin, Tanaka said that the Russian leader’s repeated nuclear threats convinced him that Putin must not understand how devastating the use of nuclear weapons would be.
He said that his organisation’s message to Putin – which he said had also been conveyed to the Russian leader directly – is that “nuclear weapons are things which must never be used.” “I don’t think he has even thought about this or understood this. Therefore, he is able to say these kind of things. So I think that how we can change his way of thinking is what we need to do to have him really understand what these are,” he said through a translator.
The first US atomic bombing killed 140,000 people in the city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. A second on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, killed another 70,000. Japan surrendered on August 15, ending WWII. (AP)