Indonesia’s new Parliament elects 1st woman Speaker

Jakarta: Indonesia’s new Parliament elected the country's first female speaker of the House of Representatives after being sworn in on Tuesday amid sometimes-violent protests against several new or proposed laws, including one that weakens the country's anti-corruption agency. Puan Maharani, a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, the largest party in Parliament known by its Indonesian initials PDIP, was unanimously elected House speaker. AP

Rome offers free Metro travel to plastic recyclers       

Rome: Rome is trying to become more environmentally friendly by offering free Metro tickets to travellers who re-cycle plastic bottles using machines set up in three of the Italian capital’s stations. The initiative, which was launched in July, has proved so popular that 3,50,000 bottles have been recycled. It will soon be extended across the Metro network and run until July 2020. The machines process 20,000 bottles daily, and on average customers carry between 15 and 20 bottles at a time. Reuters

US opera singer Jessye Norman dies at 74  

Washington: American opera singer Jessye Norman died on Tuesday at the age of 74 after suffering complications from a 2015 injury. Norman died in a New York hospital of septic shock and multiple organ failure related to complications from a spinal cord injury four years ago. Norman, a soprano, was born in Georgia and spent much of her early career in Europe before making her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1983. As one of the most popular opera singers of the 1980s and 1990s, she sang at the presidential inaugurations of Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. Reuters