News of the weird
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Obituary: The death from old age has been announced of Minnie, the last surviving "astro-chimp" from the early days of the US space program. Minnie, 41, was the only female chimp trained for the Mercury Project in the Sixties, but while her colleague Ham became the first chimp in space in 1961, she never flew herself. She will be buried beside Ham at the Space Center in Alamogordo.
More deaths: According to a report in a Vietnamese newspaper, the country is making encouraging progress in its war against rats. Since a campaign began at the start of the year, an estimated 27.7 million rats have been killed despite a national shortage of snakes and cats, the rat's natural enemies. Rats caused some $6m damage to rice crops last year, when a total of 55 million rats were killed throughout the country.
And finally: Guangzhou city in China has announced plans to start making coffins from paper instead of wood because of a timber shortage. An estimated 12,500 acres of forest is burned in China every year in coffins used for cremations. In future, Guangzhou city plans to allow only foreigners to use wooden coffins.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments