From the Auction of Saddam's Gallows to the Delivery of Purchased Goods by Drone

In the weekly program 'Chahar Konj', interesting news from various countries around the world is gathered in fields such as science, social issues, politics, and the environment. 'Chahar Konj' is broadcast every Thursday at 7:30 PM Iran time on Radio Farda. You can listen to its repeat every Friday at 12:30 AM, 6 AM, and 1 PM Iran time. The gallows from which Saddam Hussein, the former dictator of Iraq, was executed, has now found many buyers from Iran and Kuwait to Israel. The website 'Al-Arabi Al-Jadid' reported that the current owner of this gallows is a person named 'Muwafaq Al-Rubaie', a former national security advisor of Iraq. According to Mr. Al-Rubaie, this gallows has several serious buyers: two Kuwaiti merchants, an Iranian religious organization, and a wealthy Israeli family. The site reported that Mr. Al-Rubaie received an offer equivalent to seven million dollars for the sale of this gallows. Human rights activists criticized this auction and stated that if such a deal goes through, the income should be deposited as public capital into the treasury of Iraq. Small drones have started delivering goods to customers in China. The company 'Alibaba', one of the major internet companies in Asia, is leading this distribution method and has announced that it has distributed ginger tea packages for the first time using experimental drones in three cities: Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou in China. Alibaba stated in its blog that this technology allows for faster delivery of goods to customers. Bloomberg reported that the success of this plan will increase the commercial use of these drones in China, while only one-fifth of China's airspace is permitted for civilian use, with the rest controlled by the Chinese military. Other major companies like Amazon and Google have also conducted this experience on a smaller scale and in a more limited manner, but not to the extent of Alibaba. For example, one of these small drones was supposed to deliver a shipment of tea packages to the China World Trade Center in Beijing in less than an hour, where another courier would receive the package from the drone and deliver it to the customer. One of the universities in Britain has dedicated a room for students to rest and nap for the first time in the country. According to 'Daily Mail', the pioneer of this plan is the University of Norwich in England. This room is equipped with surveillance cameras, soundproof walls, and thick curtains to prevent light from entering, and students can use eye masks and antimicrobial pillows to rest on comfortable sofas. This room is open every day from noon until 6 PM, and students in need of sleep can reserve a section of this room in advance and rest for 40 minutes. According to one of the senior students at the University of Norwich, students usually study a lot and suffer from lack of sleep at night, while living in crowded houses with roommates, which deprives them of the benefits of sleep. A sleep expert told Daily Mail that establishing this room is a good idea, and a short rest can increase individuals' efficiency by 20 to 25 percent. Previously, James Madison University in Virginia, USA, had allocated such a space for student sleep. Scientists in Mongolia are examining the mummified body of a 200-year-old monk who has not only remained intact but is believed by some Buddhists to still be alive and merely in a deep meditative state. Published images of this monk show him sitting in a lotus position. In the lotus position, the feet are placed on the opposite thighs. This sitting position is common in Hindu yoga tradition and resembles the lotus flower. Sitting in the lotus position is essential for proper breathing during meditation (introspection) and achieving physical stability. The Daily Telegraph reported that the gray-colored body of this Buddhist monk was discovered last week in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, and has been transferred to the National Forensic Medical Center for further examination. An expert in Buddhist art at the University of Ulaanbaatar described the monk's sitting position and hand placement as indicative of him being in prayer, and for this reason, he stated that this monk is alive and is in a deep meditative state according to ancient Buddhist monk traditions. Some Buddhist scholars also believe that this 200-year-old monk has entered a trance known as 'Tukdam', a type of meditation that transcends the boundaries between life and death. According to a Buddhist doctor, if a person can remain in this trance for more than three weeks—which is rare—the person's body shrinks, and ultimately only hair, nails, and clothing remain. Local media in Mongolia reported that a man has been arrested on charges of stealing the monk's body from a cave with the intention of selling it. Driverless cars in Germany will soon be regulated under traffic laws, and necessary predictions for potential accidents involving these vehicles will be included in the law. The Guardian reported that the German transport minister stated that given that in the coming years, driverless or robotic cars will be present on the highways of the country, the existence of related regulations is also essential. Accordingly, a committee consisting of researchers, industry experts, and political figures has been formed to prepare the necessary legal framework before the international auto show in Frankfurt, Germany, which is set to take place in about seven months. Current regulations do not allow driverless or robotic vehicles on German roads because of an agreement signed by Germany along with 72 other countries about 46 years ago, which stipulated that vehicles must always be operated by humans. Among the issues raised is who will be responsible in the event of a computer failure in the vehicle and an accident, or how these vehicles should be insured. Currently, one of the busiest highways in Germany, known as 'A9' in Bavaria in the south of the country, is set to be used for testing these driverless vehicles. The German automotive industry has been working on robotic cars for years, and it is expected that the first batch of these vehicles will enter the market by 2020.