New Mystery Monolith Appears in Nevada Desert

Las Vegas police spotted the reflective shape during a search and rescue mission over the weekend in a hiking area an hour north of Sin City. - AFP
Las Vegas police spotted the reflective shape during a search and rescue mission over the weekend in a hiking area an hour north of Sin City. - AFP
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New Mystery Monolith Appears in Nevada Desert

Las Vegas police spotted the reflective shape during a search and rescue mission over the weekend in a hiking area an hour north of Sin City. - AFP
Las Vegas police spotted the reflective shape during a search and rescue mission over the weekend in a hiking area an hour north of Sin City. - AFP

A mysterious shiny monolith has appeared in a Nevada desert, the latest other-worldly installation to materialize in recent years across North America and Europe.

Las Vegas police spotted the reflective shape during a search and rescue mission over the weekend in a hiking area an hour north of Sin City.

"We see a lot of weird things... but check this out!" the force posted Monday on social media, AFP reported.

The rectangular structure is the latest to baffle the internet after they began appearing in places around the globe in 2020.

The first monolith, which was discovered in the Utah desert as the world was grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic, quickly caught international media attention.

Many noted the object's similarity to alien monoliths that trigger huge leaps in human progress in Stanley Kubrick's classic sci-fi film "2001: A Space Odyssey."

There have since been sightings in the Netherlands, in Poland, Romania, Canada and Britain, sparking the inevitable websites dedicated to tracking them.

The Nevada find, which the police posted on their social media feed on X, generated a bevy of comments ranging from awestruck speculation to the downright dismissive.

"Clearly Aliens!" wrote user @NWK1WAYS.

"Let's crack it open may be prizes inside," suggested @Nstynick.

"Are we really gonna do this whole thing again?" asked a weary @cdharris19. "Just remove the trash, find who dumped it, and fine them."



Southern China Suspends Ferry Services as Storm Brings Winds, High Waters to Coastal Regions

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, coconut trees hit by typhoon Yagi along a road in Haikou, south China’s Hainan Province, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. (Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, coconut trees hit by typhoon Yagi along a road in Haikou, south China’s Hainan Province, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. (Xinhua via AP)
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Southern China Suspends Ferry Services as Storm Brings Winds, High Waters to Coastal Regions

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, coconut trees hit by typhoon Yagi along a road in Haikou, south China’s Hainan Province, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. (Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, coconut trees hit by typhoon Yagi along a road in Haikou, south China’s Hainan Province, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. (Xinhua via AP)

Parts of coastal southern China suspended ferry services as a major storm passed into the South China Sea, bringing high winds and heavy waves to much of the region.

The storm was downgraded Wednesday from Typhoon Man-yi, which left seven dead in the Philippines and worsened the crisis caused by back-to-back storms that battered the disaster-prone nation.

It is now categorized as a low-pressure area lingering south of China’s Hainan Island, according to the Hong Kong Observatory, which said its maximum sustained winds were a relatively mild 40 kilometers (25 miles) per hour.

Climatologists have predicted a greater frequency of such storms, but better preparedness and early warning systems in the Asia Pacific nations most affected have helped mitigate some of the most dire consequences.

Higher sea temperatures caused by a warming climate are increasing the amount of moisture in the air and extending the typhoon season from its usual annual end point of September. Europe, particularly Spain, and the southeastern United States have also experienced devastating storms in recent weeks.