Non-IT News Thread
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Biden expands US investment ban on Chinese firms
US President Joe Biden is set to ban Americans from investing in dozens of Chinese tech and defence firms with alleged military ties.
The new executive order will come into effect on 2 August, hitting 59 firms including communications giant Huawei. The list of firms will be updated on a rolling basis. The move expands an order previously issued by ex-President Donald Trump. Even before the official announcement, China suggested it would retaliate. Under the new order, US investors will be banned from buying or selling publicly-traded securities for other companies including the China General Nuclear Power Corporation, China Mobile Limited and Costar Group. It expands the previous list from 31 firms to include surveillance companies and is aimed at ensuring "US persons are not financing the military industrial complex of the People's Republic of China," one White House official said. -
Nicaragua opposition figure Chamorro put under house arrest
Police in Nicaragua have placed opposition presidential hopeful Cristiana Chamorro under house arrest.
Prosecutors have accused Ms Chamorro of money laundering, which she denies, and demand she be barred from running in November's election. Ms Chamorro is seen by many in the opposition as their best hope of defeating President Daniel Ortega, who is expected to run for a fifth term. Her mother defeated Mr Ortega in the 1990 presidential poll. The arrest is the latest in a series of measures which the opposition says are aimed at crushing its chances of defeating the government in the upcoming election. -
Srebrenica massacre: UN court rejects Mladic genocide appeal
Former Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic has lost his appeal against a 2017 conviction for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The UN court upheld the life sentence for his role in the killing of around 8,000 Bosnian Muslim (Bosniak) men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995. The massacre, in an enclave supposed to be under UN protection, was the worst atrocity in Europe since World War Two. It is not yet clear where Mladic will serve the rest of his sentence. The five-person appeals panel found Mladic had failed to provide evidence to invalidate the previous convictions against him, although the presiding judge dissented on almost all counts. However, the Appeals Chamber also dismissed the appeal brought by the prosecution, which had sought a second conviction against Mladic over crimes committed against Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats in some other areas during the war. -
California jury awards $15m over lost fertility clinic eggs and embryos
A California jury has awarded $14.9m (£10m) to five patients who lost frozen eggs or embryos in a 2018 storage tank failure at a fertility clinic.
The cryogenic tank malfunction at the Pacific Fertility Center in San Francisco ruined some 3,500 eggs, embryos and other genetic material. The jurors found a tank production defect was largely to blame. This is the first case to see an award for victims of a fertility clinic freezer problem, lawyers say. Three women and a couple will share the nearly $15m award after losing their frozen eggs and embryos, respectively. The tank manufacturer, Chart Industries Inc, will pay 90%, with the clinic being held liable for the remaining 10%. A Chart-made tank at the centre lost liquid nitrogen for a short period of time, which led to the destruction of some frozen material, the centre said. -
@mlnews said in Non-IT News Thread:
California jury awards $15m over lost fertility clinic eggs and embryos
A California jury has awarded $14.9m (£10m) to five patients who lost frozen eggs or embryos in a 2018 storage tank failure at a fertility clinic.
The cryogenic tank malfunction at the Pacific Fertility Center in San Francisco ruined some 3,500 eggs, embryos and other genetic material. The jurors found a tank production defect was largely to blame. This is the first case to see an award for victims of a fertility clinic freezer problem, lawyers say. Three women and a couple will share the nearly $15m award after losing their frozen eggs and embryos, respectively. The tank manufacturer, Chart Industries Inc, will pay 90%, with the clinic being held liable for the remaining 10%. A Chart-made tank at the centre lost liquid nitrogen for a short period of time, which led to the destruction of some frozen material, the centre said.The crucial missing part in the text above is that the manufacturer knew that product had a defect but didn't do anything about it. So they had it coming...
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@pete-s said in Non-IT News Thread:
@mlnews said in Non-IT News Thread:
California jury awards $15m over lost fertility clinic eggs and embryos
A California jury has awarded $14.9m (£10m) to five patients who lost frozen eggs or embryos in a 2018 storage tank failure at a fertility clinic.
The cryogenic tank malfunction at the Pacific Fertility Center in San Francisco ruined some 3,500 eggs, embryos and other genetic material. The jurors found a tank production defect was largely to blame. This is the first case to see an award for victims of a fertility clinic freezer problem, lawyers say. Three women and a couple will share the nearly $15m award after losing their frozen eggs and embryos, respectively. The tank manufacturer, Chart Industries Inc, will pay 90%, with the clinic being held liable for the remaining 10%. A Chart-made tank at the centre lost liquid nitrogen for a short period of time, which led to the destruction of some frozen material, the centre said.The crucial missing part in the text above is that the manufacturer knew that product had a defect but didn't do anything about it. So they had it coming...
Yeah, that makes it all make a lot more sense.
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Biden and Putin praise Geneva summit talks but discord remains
The presidents of the US and Russia have praised their talks in Geneva but have made little concrete progress at the first such meeting since 2018.
Disagreements were stated, said US President Joe Biden, but not in a hyperbolic way, and he said Russia did not want a new Cold War. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Mr Biden was an experienced statesman and the two "spoke the same language". The talks lasted four hours, less time than was scheduled. Mr Biden said they did not need to spend more time talking and there was now a genuine prospect to improve relations with Russia. The two sides agreed to begin a dialogue on nuclear arms control. They also said they would return ambassadors to each other's capitals - the envoys were mutually withdrawn for consultations in March, after the US accused Russia of meddling in the 2020 presidential election. -
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@black3dynamite said in Non-IT News Thread:
While I agree with him, why is this "news"? I have a coworker that believes the vaccine is something nefarious, but ignores the billions of people who have/are getting vaccinated as proof and only takes these random articles as proof that something is amiss.
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'Living fossil' fish may live for up to a century
A "living fossil" fish can live for an impressively long time - perhaps for up to a century, according to a new study.
The coelacanth was thought to have a life span of around 20 years, but new estimates suggest it is a centenarian of the ocean, alongside sharks. French researchers studied marks on the scales of museum specimens - much like tree rings tell the age of trees. They believe the fish reproduces only in late middle age and can be pregnant for as long as five years. Slow-growing fish that produce few young are particularly vulnerable to extinction pressures, such as climate change and overfishing. -
@dustinb3403 said in Non-IT News Thread:
@black3dynamite said in Non-IT News Thread:
While I agree with him, why is this "news"? I have a coworker that believes the vaccine is something nefarious, but ignores the billions of people who have/are getting vaccinated as proof and only takes these random articles as proof that something is amiss.
Are you referring to the abundance of issues so much that the CDC is investigating it?
https://www.today.com/today/amp/tdna219593
Imagine what they are not saying about it.
I seen that the risk of having vaccine related issues is far greater than having covid related issues, for young people.
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Giant rhino fossils in China show new species was 'taller than giraffe'
A new species of the ancient giant rhino - among the largest mammals to walk on land - has been discovered in north-western China, researchers say.
The Paraceratherium linxiaense, which lived some 26.5 million years ago, weighed 21 tonnes - the equivalent of four large African elephants. The hornless creature's head could also reach 23ft (7m) to graze treetops, making it taller than a giraffe. The new findings were concluded from fossils discovered in Gansu Province. In a study published in Communications Biology journal on Thursday, scientists said that analysis of the fossils - found near the Wangjiachuan village in 2015 - pointed to an entirely new species that was different to other known giant rhinos. -
Mapping quest edges past 20% of global ocean floor
The quest to compile the definitive map of Earth's ocean floor has edged a little nearer to completion.
Modern measurements of the depth and shape of the seabed now encompass 20.6% of the total area under water. It's only a small increase from last year (19%); but like everyone else, the Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project has had cope with a pandemic. The extra 1.6% is an expanse of ocean bottom that equated to about half the size of the United States. The progress update on Seabed 2030 is released on World Hydrography Day. -
Covid: Vaccines running out in poorer nations, WHO says
A large number of poorer countries receiving Covid-19 vaccines through a global sharing scheme do not have enough doses to continue programmes, the World Health Organization has said.
WHO senior adviser Dr Bruce Aylward said the Covax programme had delivered 90 million doses to 131 countries. But he said this was nowhere near enough to protect populations from a virus still spreading worldwide. The shortages come as some nations in Africa see a third wave of infections. On Monday, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called for an end to vaccine hoarding by wealthier countries as his government scrambled to curb a steep rise in cases. On a continental level, only 40 million doses have been administered so far in Africa - less than 2% of the population, Mr Ramaphosa said. To address this, he said his government was working with Covax to create a regional hub to produce more vaccines in South Africa. -
Turkmenistan's capital tops list of most expensive cities for expats
The capital of Turkmenistan in Central Asia has been named as the world's most expensive city for foreign workers.
Ashgabat, a city of about one million people, topped a 2021 cost-of-living survey by consultancy firm Mercer. The ranking puts Ashgabat above last year's priciest city, Hong Kong, which was placed second, followed by Beirut in Lebanon and Tokyo in Japan. The annual report ranks 209 cities based on the cost of expenses such as housing, transport and food. Mercer said it evaluated more than 200 goods and services for the report, which is designed to help companies and governments around the world determine how much they should pay expatriate employees. -
Clues to how birds migrate using Earth's magnetic field
The mystery of how birds migrate long distances over land and sea is a step closer to being cracked.
By studying robins, scientists have found clues to how birds sense the Earth's magnetic field. Just as you might reach for a magnetic compass to find which way is north or south, birds are thought to have an in-built "living compass". A chemical in the eye that is sensitive to magnetism could be proof of this theory, according to a new study. Peter Hore, professor of chemistry at the University of Oxford, said it could be that birds can "see" the Earth's magnetic field, although we don't know that for sure. -
Starbucks Japan launching local Frappuccino flavors in all 47 prefectures for 25th anniv.
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of its entry to the Japanese market, Starbucks Coffee Japan Ltd. will release special, exclusive local versions of its Frappuccinos in all 47 prefectures from June 30.
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Canada: Hundreds of unmarked graves found at residential school
An indigenous group in Canada says it has found hundreds of unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school in Saskatchewan.
The Cowessess First Nation said on Wednesday that the discovery was "the most significantly substantial to date in Canada". However the group did not specify the exact number of graves found. It comes weeks after the remains of 215 children were found at a similar residential school in British Columbia. Such compulsory boarding schools were run by the Canadian government and religious authorities during the 19th and 20th Centuries with the aim of assimilating indigenous youth. -
Miami building collapse: 159 missing, officials say
The number of people listed as missing after the collapse of a 12-storey building in the US city of Miami has risen to 159, officials say.
Four people are known to have died. The mayor of Miami-Dade says they "still have hope" of finding survivors. Search teams working around the clock have reported hearing people banging beneath the debris. What caused the 40-year-old building to collapse early on Thursday morning remains unclear. At least 102 people have now been accounted for, but it is uncertain how many were in the building when it came down. Dozens of people have been evacuated from what is left of the structure. -
On sale: $125,000 balloon trips to the edge of space
If you're trying to avoid airborne viruses, heading to a near vacuum might not be the worst idea.
A Florida company is planning to fly passengers to the edge of space in a high-tech version of a hot air balloon, with a pilot and up to eight travelers riding in a pressurized capsule suspended from an enormous blimp. Human space flight company Space Perspective is now taking reservations on its Spaceship Neptune for flights in early 2024, with tickets priced firmly in the once-in-a-lifetime bracket at $125,000 per person. The refundable reservation deposits are tiered, with higher down payments needed for Year One flights and decreasing for later bookings.
