Brief World News Update – Taipei Times

The Bureau of Meteorology in Australia has announced that the El Nino weather event has officially ended, bringing relief to many regions that have been experiencing hotter and drier conditions. This weather phenomenon, which began last year after a period of La Nina, has now transitioned back to neutral conditions. While some forecasters have predicted the possibility of a La Nina forming later this year, the bureau remains uncertain about this outcome.

El Nino typically brings warmer and drier weather to eastern Australia and Southeast Asia, while a La Nina has the opposite effect, bringing wetter conditions to the Americas. The switch between these two phases is driven by sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean.

Meanwhile, in the United States, NASA has confirmed that a mysterious object that crashed through the roof of a Florida home last month was a piece of space junk from the International Space Station. The cylindrical object, weighing 0.7kg and measuring 10cm tall, was a metal support used to mount old batteries on a cargo pallet for disposal. The homeowner, Alejandro Otero, expressed disbelief at the incident but was grateful that no one was hurt.

In another news story from the United States, Hannah Gutierrez, the chief weapons handler for the movie Rust, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Gutierrez was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for mistakenly loading a live round into a gun used by actor Alec Baldwin on set. Baldwin’s trial is set for July, as he faces a charge of involuntary manslaughter as well.