News Headlines - 18 August 2018

▽Turkey secures $15 billion investment from Qatar amid US trade tensions

Turkey has secured a $15 billion investment from Qatar that could bolster its economy amid a widening dispute with the United States.
The pledge was announced Wednesday after a meeting between Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara. Qatari state media said the money would go toward economic projects, investments and deposits.

▽Venezuela slams Japan foreign minister's remarks as interference - The Mainichi

Venezuela has slammed Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono over his remarks on the Latin American country's democracy as meddling in domestic affairs, the Venezuelan foreign minister said Wednesday.
The protest came after Kono said Tuesday during a press appearance in Peru with Peruvian Foreign Minister Nestor Popolizio that they had agreed to continue calling for Venezuela to restore democracy with the participation of a wide range of citizens.

▽Okinawa to hold special election Sept. 30 in wake of anti-base governor’s death - Stripes

A special election to choose a replacement for anti-U.S. base Gov. Takeshi Onaga has been set for Sept. 30.
Onaga, 67, died suddenly of pancreatic cancer on the evening of Aug. 8, less than two hours after officials said he would be stepping down temporarily over health concerns.

▽Melting Ice Uncovers 1946 Wreckage of U.S. Plane in Swiss Glacier - The New York Times

After an emergency landing on a Swiss glacier, the group of 12 Americans drank melted snow and survived on rations of one chocolate bar a person until daring pilots shuttled them to safety after five days marooned on the ice.
Relics of that harrowing adventure and the successful rescue of all those onboard, including an 11-year-old girl and the captain’s mother, resurfaced after more than 70 years this month when scorching summer temperatures in Europe caused the glacial ice to recede.

▽Elephants Hardly Ever Get Cancer, And We May Finally Know Their Secret

But when comparing animals of different species, the concept falls down. There is zero correlation between the volume of an animal's body or its relative lifespan and the chance of cancer popping up among all those cells... Elephants are a textbook example. In 2015, researchers estimated their cancer mortality rate stood at just under 5 percent, compared with the 11 to 25 percent for the relatively puny human body.
That study also found a potential clue to the elephant's anti-cancer superpower in the form of a gene called TP53. Like most anti-cancer genes, it makes a product that detects DNA damage and tells the cell to either fix it or close shop.