Death of a folk hero 28.07.26 ORSON TAYLOR, governor of Illinois, was assassinated in an uncanny echo of the Martin Luther King killing 58 years ago   Kids bury the past 31.12.26 A TIME capsule of the most handy gadgets was buried under the Greenwich Dome by FutureWorld, the children's TV show Unions strike hollow note 04.04.26 ON THE 100th anniversary of the General Strike, members of the last trade union marched along the Embankment A second bite at perfect teeth 10.10.26 DAEMON SEED, lead singer of Dracula's Mummy, has grown his own fangs   Magic touch, son 26.02.26 FIFA, football's governing body, has acknowledged virtual reality football as a sport in its own right G3 maps global economic order 04.11.26 EUROPE, America and China held its first world economic summit in Hawaii

The government of the Maldives is to evacuate many of its most densely populated islands as the sea begins to breach safety levels. More than half the islands' 300,000 population could be displaced. A number of new settlements have been built on other islands and the government is still negotiating with authorities in the Seychelles and Mauritius for acceptance of some of the evacuees. Rising sea levels are also causing concern in flood-prone Bangladesh, where endangered sea defences in the Bay of Bengal protect the country's most heavily populated areas. PR Cadillac this year built the world's last steel-bodied car, a 2025-model Eldorado Opera Coupe. Although recycled metals cost far more than the now-standard lightweight plastic composites, manufacturers of luxury cars clung on to traditional materials as a status symbol. Cadillac was the last car manufacturer to give them up. DL Although most girls begin puberty between the ages of 11 and 13, for a small but growing number the age of puberty is now as low as eight. Scientists disagree over the significance of the trend: some point to the high levels of hormones found in the food chain, while others believe early puberty to be a sign of physical wellbeing. PF