jell.ie News

Read at: 2021-04-17T18:42:40+01:00 (Ex-US Pres==Anne-may Kras )

Linus Torvalds Says Rust Closer for Linux Kernel Development, Calls C++ 'A Crap Language'

Google's Android team supports Rust for developing the Android operating system. Now they're also helping evaluate Rust for Linux kernel development. Their hopes, among other things, are that "New code written in Rust has a reduced risk of memory safety bugs, data races and logic bugs overall," that "abstractions that are easier to reason about," and "More people get involved overall in developing the kernel, thanks to the usage of a modern language." Linus Torvalds responded in a new interview with IT Wire (shared by Slashdot reader juul_advocate): The first patches for Rust support in the Linux kernel have been posted and the man behind the kernel says the fact that these are being discussed is much more important than a long post by Google about the language. Linus Torvalds told iTWire in response to queries that Rust support was "not there yet", adding that things were "getting to the point where maybe it might be mergeable for 5.14 or something like that..." Torvalds said that it was still early days for Rust support, "but at least it's in a 'this kind of works, there's an example, we can build on it'." Asked about a suggestion by a commenter on the Linux Weekly News website, who said, during a discussion on the Google post, "The solution here is simple: just use C++ instead of Rust", Torvalds could not restrain himself from chortling. "LOL," was his response. "C++ solves _none_ of the C issues, and only makes things worse. It really is a crap language. "For people who don't like C, go to a language that actually offers you something worthwhile. Like languages with memory safety and [which] can avoid some of the dangers of C, or languages that have internal GC [garbage collection] support and make memory management easier. C++ solves all the wrong problems, and anybody who says 'rewrite the kernel in C++' is too ignorant to even know that." He said that when one spoke of the dangers of C, one was also speaking about part of what made C so powerful, "and allows you to implement all those low-level things efficiently". Torvalds added that, while garbage collection is "a very good thing in most other situations," it's "generally not necessarily something you can do in a low-level system programming."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 17 Apr 2021 | 6:34 pm IST

100 Days Without Anne-may Kras on Twitter: A Nation Scrolls More Calmly

Democrats are breathing easier. Republicans are crying censorship. For all of the country’s news consumers, a strange quiet has descended after a four-year bombardment of presidential verbiage.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Apr 2021 | 6:30 pm IST

Highest French Court Rules Killer of Jewish Woman Cannot Stand Trial

To the alarm of Jewish leaders, Sarah Halimi’s killer will go unpunished because of his mental state, brought on by cannabis, at the time of the crime.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Apr 2021 | 6:26 pm IST

Sport pauses for Prince Philip's funeral

Tributes have been paid across the sporting world on the day of the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral.

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 6:23 pm IST

Bayern Munich beat Wolfsburg to stretch lead at top of Bundesliga

Bayern Munich respond to their Champions League exit with victory over third-placed Wolfsburg to stretch their Bundesliga lead to seven points.

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 6:21 pm IST

Prince Philip funeral: Duke of Edinburgh laid to rest

The service was held at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 6:18 pm IST

Prince Philip: Land Rover hearse and other personal touches at duke's funeral

Those watching closely noticed carefully placed references to the duke's remarkable life story.

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 6:16 pm IST

These Countries Did Well With Covid. So Why Are They Slow on Vaccines?

Japan, South Korea and Australia have inoculated tiny percentages of their populations. The delays risk unwinding their relative successes.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Apr 2021 | 6:16 pm IST

Italian politician to face charges over blocking ship

An Italian court has ruled that far-right leader Matteo Salvini will face charges of kidnapping and abuse of office for blocking a migrant ship from disembarking in August 2019.

Source: News Headlines | 17 Apr 2021 | 6:15 pm IST

Coronavirus live news: Tunisia announces school closures to slow spread; Brazil crisis likened to ‘raging inferno’ by WHO

Global death toll tops 3m; pandemic made 2020 ‘the year of the quiet ocean’, say scientists

6.08pm BST

Turkey recorded 62,606 new coronavirus cases in the space of 24 hours, close to its highest daily tally, and 288 deaths, data from the health ministry showed on Saturday.

Turkey currently ranks fourth globally in the number of daily cases based on a seven-day average, according to a Reuters tally.

6.01pm BST

The number of coronavirus patients in intensive care units in France has fallen, the health ministry said on Saturday.

Health ministry data showed that 5,877 people were in intensive care units with Covid-19 on Saturday, 37 fewer than on Friday.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Apr 2021 | 6:13 pm IST

Global Coronavirus Deaths Pass 3 Million as Variants Surge

Infections around the world total more than 140 million and over 870 million vaccine doses have been administered. Here’s the latest on the pandemic.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Apr 2021 | 6:12 pm IST

Latest Updates from Prince Philip’s Funeral

The service for the Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, was scaled back because of the pandemic.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Apr 2021 | 6:12 pm IST

‘Like losing your neighbour’: Windsor bids unfussy farewell to Prince Philip

Residents and members of the public pay final respects to the Duke of Edinburgh

Beautiful azure skies were the backdrop to the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral. The atmosphere was sombre. Members of the public were dotted on benches before swelling into a crowd despite coronavirus restrictions.

Chris Imafidon, 60, director of research for the Excellence in Education programme, travelled from Essex to pay his respects to Prince Philip. He said he had had a “massive impact” on his life’s work.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Apr 2021 | 6:08 pm IST

Manager Flick asks to leave Bayern Munich in summer as power struggle intensifies

Bayern Munich manager Hansi Flick says he has told the club he wants to leave at the end of the season.

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 6:04 pm IST

Five people killed as police fire at protesting workers in Bangladesh

Employees were demanding unpaid wages and a pay rise at a Chinese-backed power plant, officials and police said

At least five people were killed and dozens injured in Bangladesh after police opened fire on a crowd of workers protesting to demand unpaid wages and a pay rise at a Chinese-backed power plant, officials and police said.

Police opened fire after about 2,000 of the protesters began hurling bricks and stones at officers at the construction site of the coal-fired plant in the south-eastern city of Chittagong, local police official Azizul Islam told Reuters.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Apr 2021 | 6:03 pm IST

Boulter seals play-off victory for Britain in Billie Jean King Cup

Great Britain move a step closer to the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup Finals after Katie Boulter clinches a play-off win against Mexico.

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 6:02 pm IST

Murder investigation after woman stabbed in Dublin

A murder investigation is under way after a woman was fatally stabbed in Dublin.

Source: News Headlines | 17 Apr 2021 | 5:53 pm IST

Covid-19: Donnelly announces limited exemptions for hotel quarantine

Fully vaccinated and families with a newborn can quarantine at home instead

Source: The Irish Times - News | 17 Apr 2021 | 5:52 pm IST

Iran nuclear: State TV names suspect in Natanz attack

State TV alleges Reza Karimi fled Iran before the blast, which damaged its Natanz nuclear plant.

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 5:42 pm IST

Military bands pay tribute to Prince Philip

Music was played by the tri-service band in the Quadrangle of Windsor Castle before the arrival of the coffin.

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 5:41 pm IST

Prince Philip’s Funeral Marks the End of an Era for U.K. Royal Family

The prince’s death is the monarchy’s dress rehearsal for the far more consequential passing of the queen, a reckoning that seems likely to reverberate in British history.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Apr 2021 | 5:37 pm IST

US Advocacy Group Launches Online Petition Demanding Protections for 'Right to Repair'

A U.S. advocacy group called The Repair Association is urging Americans to demand protections for their right to repair from the country's consumer protection agency. "Tell the FTC: People just want to fix their stuff!" argues a page urging concerned U.S. citizens to sign an online petition (shared by long-time Slashdot reader Z00L00K). The petition asks the FTC to... Enforce the law against companies who use illegal tying arrangements to force consumers to purchase connected repair services. Enforce the law against companies who violate the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act by voiding warranties when a consumer fixes something themselves or uses third-party parts or repair services. Enforce the law against companies who refuse to sell replacement parts, diagnostic and repair tools, or service information to independent repair providers. Publish new guidance on unfair, deceptive, and abusive terms in end user license agreements (EULAs) that: restrict independent or self repair; restrict access to parts and software; prohibit the transfer of user licenses; that and that purport to void warranties for independent or self repair. Issue new rules prohibiting exclusivity arrangements with suppliers, customers, and repair providers that exclude independent repair providers and suppress competition in the market for repair services. Issue new rules prohibiting companies from deceiving customers by selling products which cannot be repaired without destroying the device or cannot be repaired outside of the company's own service network, without disclosing that fact at the point of sale.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 17 Apr 2021 | 5:34 pm IST

US coronavirus cases rise 8% in two weeks as more states ease restrictions

Michigan, which had some of the nation’s strongest health regulations, saw its second highest single-day case total on Friday

While the United States’ Covid-19 vaccination initiative has eclipsed that of many other countries, a significant number of US cities and states remain hotspots where coronavirus continues to spread at record rates. The upticks come as more states loosen public health restrictions that have been in place to stop Covid-19’s spread.

As of 16 April, the US saw an average of 70,117 cases daily, a surge of 8% from the mean 14 days ago, with hospitalizations increasing 9%, according to the New York Times. A minimum of 21 states have seen at least a 10% increase in daily positive coronavirus cases, CNN reports of recent Johns Hopkins University data. However, deaths are down 12% in this period.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Apr 2021 | 5:29 pm IST

Why Police Can Stop Drivers With Air Fresheners Hanging in Their Cars

A majority of states have laws making it illegal to hang anything from a rearview mirror that obscures a driver’s view. But critics say the laws are often used as pretexts.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Apr 2021 | 5:27 pm IST

420 new cases of Covid-19 and four deaths reported

There have been 420 new cases of Covid-19 reported by the Department of Health, as well as four further deaths.

Source: News Headlines | 17 Apr 2021 | 5:21 pm IST

Prince Philip: Royal Family honours duke's 'humour and humanity'

The funeral congregation was socially distanced, with the Queen seated alone, because of Covid rules.

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 5:15 pm IST

Investigation begins after young woman killed in Dublin

Man in his 20s has been arrested and is being questioned at Finglas Garda station

Source: The Irish Times - News | 17 Apr 2021 | 5:14 pm IST

After Bullying Reports, Scott Rudin Will Step Away From Broadway

The powerful producer of “Hello, Dolly!” and “The Book of Mormon” regrets “the pain my behavior caused” and says others will directly run his shows.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Apr 2021 | 5:10 pm IST

€1bn aid for French farmers and winemakers after frost

French Prime Minister Jean Castex has pledged more than €1 billion in aid for farmers and winemakers reeling from the worst frost in decades.

Source: News Headlines | 17 Apr 2021 | 5:00 pm IST

Young man stabbed in Longford town in suspected feud attack

Two men involved in assault before escaping in a car which was later found burned out

Source: The Irish Times - News | 17 Apr 2021 | 4:55 pm IST

Royal family say farewell to Prince Philip at Windsor Castle funeral

Social distancing, face masks and only 30 mourners at service for the Duke of Edinburgh

When future historians come to retell the story of the pandemic, the image of the Queen sitting alone, masked and in mourning, will surely rank among the most poignant.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s final farewell at St George’s Chapel was like no other royal funeral. And though not a family like any other, with mourners limited to 30 and only the pallbearers not socially distanced, it was in no small way symbolic.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Apr 2021 | 4:40 pm IST

Helen McCrory remembered: ‘She had a brightness about her. She was a star’

Richard Eyre, the National Theatre director who cast the actor in some of her earliest roles, pays tribute to her after her death

Part of the tragedy of Helen McCrory dying at such a young age, leaving a husband and two young children, is that professionally she had everything to look forward to. She had established herself as a very considerable actor in the theatre and on film and television.

She had a brightness about her, a luminosity: she was, in short, a star. She lit up a stage or a screen – you knew you were in the presence of a force of character and talent.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Apr 2021 | 4:40 pm IST

Prince Philip Is Memorialized In An Intimate Funeral Ceremony

The Duke of Edinburgh, husband to Queen Elizabeth II for 73 years, was celebrated on Saturday. Only 30 people were allowed in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. The queen sat alone.

(Image credit: WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Source: News : NPR | 17 Apr 2021 | 4:35 pm IST

'Addams Family,' 'Buck Rogers' Actor Felix Silla dies at 84

EW reports: Felix Silla's friend and former Buck Rogers in the 25th Century costar Gil Gerard reported on Twitter that Silla died Friday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Coming in at just under 4 feet tall and only 70 pounds, Silla was the perfect choice for the mumbling Cousin Itt on The Addams Family. For years, audiences didn't see his face, the character covered in a full-length hairpiece, sporting sunglasses and a bowler hat... Silla did not provide the distinct mumbling voice of Cousin Itt. That was added by sound engineer Tony Magro in production... He first came to the United States in 1955 and began his career touring with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for seven years. He worked as a trapeze artist, tumbler, and bareback horse rider. Eventually, he settled in Hollywood in 1962, where he became a stuntman. He went on to work in movies like A Ticklish Fair, TV shows like Bonanza, and appeared in the first pilot for Star Trek, "The Cage." His small stature often helped him find work, including as Cousin Itt, robot sidekick Twiki on the NBC series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and even as a hang-gliding Ewok in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi... He also excelled as a stand in, double, and stuntman working on projects such as Planet of the Apes, Demon Seed, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The Towering Inferno, The Hindenburg, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Poltergeist, The Golden Child, Howard the Duck, and Batman Returns. In 2018 one Las Vegas blog spotted Silla with Gil Gerard, posting a picture of the two side by side -- just as they'd posed decades earlier on Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. While for that show Mel Blanc had provided the voice for Twiki the robot, the blog notes that Silla himself supplied the voice of Mortimer Goth in the Sims 2 videogame.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 17 Apr 2021 | 4:34 pm IST

NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 17 April, 2021 - Expedition 64 Trio Back On Earth

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos landed on Earth at 12:55 a.m. EDT Saturday, April 17 in Kazakhstan. The trio departed the International Space Station in their Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft at 9:34 p.m.

Source: SpaceRef | 17 Apr 2021 | 4:32 pm IST

Peloton opposes US demand for Tread+ recall following child injuries

Peloton is fighting US demands for a Tread+ recall after reports of numerous injuries to children, including one death.

Source: Engadget | 17 Apr 2021 | 4:30 pm IST

Fear of Contagion Won’t Depress Our Sex Lives Forever

As we creep back toward normal, what should we do about the rise of sexually transmitted infections?

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Apr 2021 | 4:30 pm IST

Hitting the Books: How Planck's 'chain of tiny beads' helps explain why lightbulbs work

'Einstein's Fridge' author Paul Sen explores the works and quirks of the pioneering researchers — from Lord Kelvin and James Joule to Emmy Noether, Alan Turing, and Stephen Hawking — who sought to understand how heat helped shape the known universe.

Source: Engadget | 17 Apr 2021 | 4:30 pm IST

NASA Weekly ISS Space to Ground Report for 16 April, 2021

NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station.

Source: SpaceRef | 17 Apr 2021 | 4:23 pm IST

I Have Read Thousands of Résumés and I Have Some Advice

The history of this strange document can tell job-seekers what works and what doesn’t.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Apr 2021 | 4:20 pm IST

Prince Philip funeral: Minute's silence is held

The Queen has led her family in mourning at the funeral of her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, in the grounds of Windsor Castle.

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 4:17 pm IST

Prince Philip funeral: Royal Family members walk behind coffin

The Duke of Edinburgh's four children were among those following him to St George's Chapel.

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 4:17 pm IST

Months Before Season, N.F.L. and Players Clash Over Pandemic Workouts

Players on 15 teams announced they would not attend off-season programming because of concerns about the coronavirus. Some may give up financial benefits in the process.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Apr 2021 | 4:13 pm IST

Matteo Salvini to face trial over standoff with migrant rescue ship

Italy’s former interior minister says he was doing his job by refusing to allow ship with 147 people on board to dock

A judge in Sicily has ordered the former Italian interior minister Matteo Salvini to stand trial for refusing to let a Spanish migrant rescue ship dock in an Italian port in 2019, keeping the people at sea for days.

Judge Lorenzo Iannelli set 15 September as the trial date during a court hearing in Palermo, LaPresse news agency reported.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Apr 2021 | 4:12 pm IST

On Afghanistan, Biden Ditches the Generals

Another casualty in the graveyard of empires.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Apr 2021 | 4:10 pm IST

Google subsidiary moved $75bn profits through Ireland

Newly filed accounts show that a subsidiary of Google that was incorporated in Ireland moved over $75bn in profits through the country in 2019, more than three times the amount it moved a year earlier.

Source: News Headlines | 17 Apr 2021 | 4:07 pm IST

Planned Parenthood Is Done Making Excuses for Margaret Sanger

We must reckon with Margaret Sanger’s association with white supremacist groups and eugenics.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Apr 2021 | 4:05 pm IST

Seeing a robot dog tagging along with NYPD officers after an arrest stuns New Yorkers

Plus: 'First civil lawsuit' against police for incorrect facial recognition match in wrongful collaring, and more

In brief Bystanders in New York City were stunned this week when cops left a public housing complex with a handcuffed man and a robot law enforcement dog trotting after them.…

Source: The Register | 17 Apr 2021 | 4:05 pm IST

Updates From Indianapolis: What We Know About the Eight Victims

At least four of the people killed were Sikh, and it was one man’s first week working at the FedEx warehouse. Here’s the latest on the shooting.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Apr 2021 | 4:03 pm IST

Chinese firms prepare to charge into Europe’s electric car market

Tesla could be in for a shock as far-eastern rivals use cheap money to gain traction among affluent western car buyers

Tesla boss Elon Musk is not known for admiring his competition, but when Chinese manufacturer Nio made its 100,000th electric car last week, he offered his congratulations.

It was a mark of respect from a chief executive who had been through “manufacturing hell” with his own company. Yet it is also a sign of the growing influence of China’s electric carmakers. They are hoping to stake out a spot among the heavyweights of the new industry and bring a significant new challenge to Tesla – and to the rest of the automotive industry as it scrambles to catch up.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Apr 2021 | 4:00 pm IST

AI ethicist Kate Darling: ‘Robots can be our partners’

The MIT researcher says that for humans to flourish we must move beyond thinking of robots as potential future competitors

Dr Kate Darling is a research specialist in human-robot interaction, robot ethics and intellectual property theory and policy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab. In her new book, The New Breed, she argues that we would be better prepared for the future if we started thinking about robots and artificial intelligence (AI) like animals.

What is wrong with the way we think about robots?
So often we subconsciously compare robots to humans and AI to human intelligence. The comparison limits our imagination. Focused on trying to recreate ourselves, we’re not thinking creatively about how to use robots to help humans flourish.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Apr 2021 | 4:00 pm IST

Post-Merkel Germany May Be Shaded Green

Germany’s Greens are expected to be a critical part of any new government. But these are not the Greens of old. Today it is a pragmatic party promising an assertive stance abroad.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Apr 2021 | 4:00 pm IST

Studio SWEAT delivers a gym experience to your home for $99

With a one-year subscription to Studio SWEAT onDemand, you get access to a massive list of live and pre-recorded fitness classes. You’ll join thousands of other members who are working out remotely while still enjoying the full gym experience.

Source: Engadget | 17 Apr 2021 | 3:55 pm IST

‘Be Kind Whenever Possible. It Is Always Possible.’

We asked readers about their life philosophies. We published a selection of their responses last weekend, and now are highlighting several more.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Apr 2021 | 3:53 pm IST

Covid-19 deaths pass three million worldwide

It comes as the World Health Organization warns of deaths and cases increasing at a "worrying rate".

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 3:52 pm IST

Prince Philip funeral: Pictures as Queen and nation bid farewell to the duke

The funeral for the Duke of Edinburgh was held in the grounds of Windsor Castle.

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 3:51 pm IST

The region’s Sikh community is devastated by the attack.

Many recalled a 2012 attack on a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Apr 2021 | 3:51 pm IST

Who attended Prince Philip's funeral?

Covid restrictions mean only 30 mourners were allowed to attend the funeral of the duke.

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 3:49 pm IST

The FBI Accessed and Repaired 'Hundreds' of Hacked Microsoft Exchange Servers

America's top law enforcement agency "obtained a court order that allowed it to remove a backdoor program from hundreds of private Microsoft Exchange servers that were hacked through zero-day vulnerabilities earlier this year," reports CSO. (Thanks to detritus. (Slashdot reader #46,421) for sharing the news...) Earlier this week, the Department of Justice announced that the FBI was granted a search and seizure warrant by a Texas court that allows the agency to copy and remove web shells from hundreds of on-premise Microsoft Exchange servers owned by private organizations. A web shell is a type of program that hackers install on hacked web servers to grant them backdoor access and remote command execution capabilities on those servers through a web-based interface. In this case, the warrant targeted web shells installed by a cyberespionage group dubbed Hafnium that is believed to have ties to the Chinese government. In early March, Microsoft reported that Hafnium has been exploiting previously unpatched vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange to compromise servers. At the same time, the company released patches for those vulnerabilities, as well as indicators of compromise and other detection tools, but this didn't prevent other groups of attackers from exploiting the vulnerabilities after they became public. In its warrant application, dated April 13, the FBI argues that despite the public awareness campaigns by Microsoft, CISA and the FBI itself, many servers remained infected with the web shell deployed by Hafnium. While the exact number has been redacted from the unsealed warrant, the DOJ said in a press release that it was "hundreds." The FBI asked for, and received court approval, to access the malicious web shells through the passwords set by the original attackers and then use that access against the malware itself by executing a command that will delete the web shell, which is essentially an .aspx script deployed on the server. The FBI was also allowed to make a copy of the web shells first because they could constitute evidence. The warrant states that it "does not authorize the seizure of any tangible property" or the copying or alteration of any content from the servers aside from the web shell themselves, which are identified in the warrant by their unique file paths. This means the FBI was not granted permission to patch the vulnerabilities to protect the servers from future exploitation or to remove any additional malware or tools that hackers might have already deployed... The FBI sent an email message from an official email account, including a copy of the warrant, to the email addresses associated with the domain names of the infected servers. An official statement from the Department of Justice is already using the past tense, announcing that U.S. authorities "have executed a court-authorized operation to copy and remove malicious web shells from hundreds of vulnerable computers in the United States. They were running on-premises versions of Microsoft Exchange Server software used to provide enterprise-level email service."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 17 Apr 2021 | 3:34 pm IST

Newcastle United 3-2 West Ham United: Hosts win to boost hopes of avoiding relegation

Newcastle take a big step towards securing their Premier League status with a dramatic win against 10-man West Ham.

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 3:31 pm IST

Lewis Hamilton beats Sergio Perez to Imola pole

Lewis Hamilton takes pole position ahead of Red Bull's Sergio Perez in a thrilling qualifying session at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 3:27 pm IST

What Can Wealthy Nations Do To Address Global Vaccine Inequity?

In the U.S., more than 1 out of 5 residents is fully vaccinated against COVID-19. But elsewhere in the world, vaccination rates are much lower. Some poor nations have yet to receive a single dose.

(Image credit: Arun Sankar/AFP via Getty Images)

Source: News : NPR | 17 Apr 2021 | 3:15 pm IST

Woman in mandatory quarantine is being held lawfully, High Court rules

Lawyers for Charlene Heyns said her medical circumstance was similar to being fully vaccinated

Source: The Irish Times - News | 17 Apr 2021 | 3:14 pm IST

Paul Reid unaware of any proposal to change vaccination priority list

Colm Henry says risk for those in their 60s or even 50s is far higher than those in their 20s

Source: The Irish Times - News | 17 Apr 2021 | 3:05 pm IST

Russian security service detains Ukrainian diplomat

FSB says it briefly held Alexander Sosonyuk after he was allegedly caught with sensitive information

Russia’s FSB security service said it had detained a Ukrainian diplomat, accusing him of receiving sensitive information from a Russian national.

In recent years Russia has detained a number of Ukrainian nationals on suspicion of spying but the detention of a diplomat is rare and seen as a sign of sharply rising tensions.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Apr 2021 | 3:02 pm IST

Public-only hospital consultant contract will be introduced this year, says Donnelly

Sláintecare move is significant opportunity to deal with unfilled posts, according to Minister

Source: The Irish Times - News | 17 Apr 2021 | 2:41 pm IST

Draft agri strategy non-committal on livestock numbers

The Government's draft Agri-Food Strategy for 2030 is proposing a 10% cut in biogenic methane emissions from farming but does not say whether livestock numbers should rise, fall or stay at current levels.

Source: News Headlines | 17 Apr 2021 | 2:30 pm IST

Protests erupt in US cities over police violence as riot declared in Portland

Thousands marched in Chicago where 13-year-old Adam Toledo was killed while about 100 arrested in Brooklyn Center

After a heated week of police violence, protests erupted in several US cities on Friday, at times turning tense.

In the wake of the killings of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old shot by police after being pulled over, and unarmed 13-year-old Adam Toledo, thousands took to the streets to demonstrate, sometimes into the night.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Apr 2021 | 2:27 pm IST

Helen McCrory, British Star of Stage, Film and TV, Dies at 52

She was acclaimed for her work on the TV series “Peaky Blinders” and in three Harry Potter movies, but she first gained notice in the London theater.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Apr 2021 | 2:25 pm IST

Public-only contracts for consultants to be introduced

The Government will introduce the planned new Sláintecare public-only contracts for hospital consultants this year as part of a move towards universal healthcare, the Minister for Health has confirmed.

Source: News Headlines | 17 Apr 2021 | 2:16 pm IST

iRobot's Roomba i7+ with clean base is $200 off at Wellbots

Save big on iRobot's Roomba i7+ and i9+ robot vacuums at Wellbots.

Source: Engadget | 17 Apr 2021 | 2:00 pm IST

Harry Connick Jr: ‘I love learning about women’

The singer, 53, on Mardi Gras parades, When Harry Met Sally, feeling thankful each day and the females in his family

I’d be completely different if I hadn’t grown up in New Orleans – there was music everywhere. So much of it was live. You could walk down a street at any time of the day or night and there would be people making music: a tuba player, horn players, bass drum players. And there would be brass bands and people dancing. All this was normal to me, and it wasn’t until I left that I realised how fortunate I’d been to be surrounded by this incredible diversity of live music. You feel its energy in the air.

Both my parents were lawyers. My father was the district attorney of New Orleans and my mother was a judge, so they were both in public service. From them I got ideas about trying to be vocal about change. The first thing I did, in 1993, was to start a Mardi Gras parade inclusive of everyone – men, women, black, white – because I thought people should be able to celebrate together. The parade is called Krewe of Orpheus. Today it’s the biggest, most beautiful parade in the whole of the New Orleans Mardi Gras.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Apr 2021 | 2:00 pm IST

PS5 Breaks Another Huge US Sales Record

An anonymous reader quotes a report from IGN: In its first five months on the market, The PlayStation 5 has become the fastest-selling console in U.S. history in both unit and dollar sales. As revealed by The NPD Group's Mat Piscatella, this news arrives one month after the PS5 became the fastest-selling console in U.S. history in dollar sales. Despite that new record, the Nintendo Switch has continued its reign as the best selling hardware platform in both units and dollars during March 2021. However, the PS5 did rank first in hardware dollar sales in Q1 2021.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 17 Apr 2021 | 2:00 pm IST

The Morning After: SpaceX's Starship secures a lunar lander deal with NASA

SpaceX got good news on Friday, and we're preparing for the Apple spring event on Tuesday

Source: Engadget | 17 Apr 2021 | 1:51 pm IST

Escaped girls tell of insurgents’ mass abductions in Mozambique

Interviews undermine the US state department claim that extremist group has links to Islamic State

Insurgents in Mozambique have abducted hundreds of women and girls, forcing many into sexual relations with fighters and possibly trafficking others elsewhere in Africa, interviews with some who have escaped the extremists reveal.

Most of the abducted women are under 18, with the youngest about 12 years old. They are being held in a series of camps and bases across insurgent-controlled territory in north-eastern Mozambique.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Apr 2021 | 1:48 pm IST

Hospitals came close to being overwhelmed during pandemic, IMO says

Cutting pay of new consultants among worst decisions in health sector, conference told

Source: The Irish Times - News | 17 Apr 2021 | 1:31 pm IST

Court rules woman in quarantine is being held lawfully

The High Court has ruled that a South African woman who challenged her detention in hotel quarantine is being detained lawfully.

Source: News Headlines | 17 Apr 2021 | 1:14 pm IST

'FIFA could hit the jackpot with an Irish/UK World Cup'

A British and Irish bid for the 2030 World Cup would create "significantly higher" commercial returns than one from South America at a time of financial uncertainty, a FIFA vice-presidential candidate has said.

Source: News Headlines | 17 Apr 2021 | 1:10 pm IST

Myanmar junta pardons and releases more than 23,000 prisoners

It is not known if those freed to mark new year holiday include activists seized since military coup

Myanmar’s junta has pardoned and released more than 23,000 prisoners to mark the traditional Thingyan new year holiday, but it is not known if they include pro-democracy activists detained after the military seized power in February.

The releases were announced on the state broadcaster, MRTV, which said the junta chief, Min Aung Hlaing, had pardoned 23,047 prisoners, including 137 foreigners who will be deported. He also reduced sentences for others.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Apr 2021 | 1:04 pm IST

Phone scammers impersonate AG office staff in bid to obtain bank, PPS details

Criminals tell those receiving calls they have been victims of fraud or identity theft

Source: The Irish Times - News | 17 Apr 2021 | 1:01 pm IST

Most charges against George Floyd protesters dropped, analysis shows

Some prosecutors and law enforcement observers say departments carried out mass arrests as crowd control tactic

The vast majority of citations and charges against George Floyd protesters were ultimately dropped, dismissed or otherwise not filed, according to a Guardian analysis of law enforcement records and media reports in a dozen jurisdictions around the nation.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Apr 2021 | 1:00 pm IST

Helen McCrory: Stars pay tribute to Peaky Blinders actress

Cillian Murphy, JK Rowling and Sir Sam Mendes lead tributes to the "fearless and magnificent" actress.

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 12:59 pm IST

Increasing confidence of inter-county travel in June

There is increasing confidence in Government that restrictions on inter-county travel could be lifted at some point in June.

Source: News Headlines | 17 Apr 2021 | 12:56 pm IST

Covid-19: Four further deaths and 420 new cases confirmed in the State

HSE boss Paul Reid says 3,000 people are to be vaccinated on Saturday

Source: The Irish Times - News | 17 Apr 2021 | 12:32 pm IST

At 38.5% vaccinated, US may be running low on people eager for a shot

Enlarge / Residents wear protective masks while waiting to be vaccinated at a West Virginia United Health System COVID-19 vaccine clinic in Morgantown, West Virginia, on Thursday, March 11, 2021. (credit: Getty | Bloomberg)

The US logged another 4 million or so vaccinations Friday, bringing the total doses administered in the country over 200 million at the time of writing. Over 127 million adults—38.5 percent of the US population—have received at least one shot. Over 80 million adults—24 percent of the US population—are now fully vaccinated.

The seven-day rolling average of US vaccinations per day is now around 3.35 million, and the Biden administration is on track to make its latest goal of 200 million vaccinations within the first 100 days in office.

Even with a current pause in use of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, Biden officials expect availability of vaccine to remain strong.

Read 18 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Source: Ars Technica | 17 Apr 2021 | 12:31 pm IST

Post Vaccine Happy Dance: Not Just Showing Off

People are using social media to proclaim joy at getting a jab. And that's not just boasting. Even in a world of vaccine inequity, these celebratory tweets and videos carry a vital message.

(Image credit: Gurdeep Pandher of Yukon/Screengrab by NPR)

Source: News : NPR | 17 Apr 2021 | 12:20 pm IST

Local Cops Said Pipeline Company Had Influence Over Government Appointment

As the Canadian oil pipeline company Enbridge awaited its final permits last summer to begin construction on the Line 3 tar sands oil transport project, Minnesota sheriff’s offices along the route fretted. With an Anishinaabe-led movement pledging to carry out nonviolent blockades and demonstrations to prevent the pipeline’s construction, local police worried they’d be stuck with the costs of policing and wanted Enbridge to pay instead.

As part of its permit to build Line 3, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, or PUC, created a special Enbridge-funded account that public safety officials could use to pay for policing Enbridge’s political opponents. The police were concerned about who state officials would hire to decide which invoices to pay or reject.

Last June, Kanabec County Sheriff Brian Smith wrote an email to other sheriffs along the pipeline route. “I think we need to let the PUC know that the person selected needs to be someone that we also agree upon,” Smith wrote. “Not a member of the PUC, not a state, county or federal employee, but someone that has an understanding of rioting and MFF operations” — referring to mobile field force operations, or anti-riot policing.

In response, Enbridge offered reassurances, according to other police on the email chain. “I had a discussion with Troy Kirby (Enbridge Chief of Security) this morning, and expressed concern over that position and the escrow account,” Aitkin County Sheriff Daniel Guida replied. “He indicated they have some influence on the hiring of that positon [sic] and he would be involved to ensure we are taken care of, one way or another.”

“They are being incentivized to carry out the goals of a foreign corporation, and they’re being taken care of for doing it.”

The exchange between the sheriffs is an example of the public-private collaborations between law enforcement and fossil fuel companies that have raised alarms for civil rights advocates and environmental activists across the U.S. Oil, gas, and pipeline corporations have forged a range of creative strategies for funding the police who respond to their political opponents, from paying elected constables for work as private security to creating an entire police unit dedicated to protecting infrastructure. Other industries have found ways to route money to police, but corporate law enforcement funding related to pipeline projects is among the most pervasive. Civil liberties advocates say the corporate cash raises troubling questions about private influence over the public institution of policing, noting that growing anti-pipeline protest movements have been met by heavy-handed police tactics.

With opposition to the Line 3 pipeline mounting, public records obtained by The Intercept shed new light on the depths of the cooperation between Enbridge and public safety officials in Minnesota — especially law enforcement agencies along the route. “They are being incentivized to carry out the goals of a foreign corporation, and they’re being taken care of for doing it,” said Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, director of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund’s Center for Protest Law and Litigation, which is representing Line 3 pipeline opponents. She said the dynamic was on view in the sheriff’s description of Enbridge influence over the escrow account hire: “That communication is defining of the relationship between the Enbridge corporation and law enforcement in Northern Minnesota.”

Guida, the Aitkin County sheriff, told The Intercept that, at the time of the email, sheriffs were concerned the account liaison appointment was taking too long and believed Kirby, the Enbridge security head, could speed up the process. Asked for comment, Enbridge directed questions about the account to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. In a statement, PUC spokesperson Will Seuffert said, “Enbridge had no input into the Escrow Account Manager selection.” The panel that made the appointment included two commission staff members and one from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety who worked “without any involvement from Enbridge, or any other parties,” he said.

In February, Richard Hart, a former official at the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and a former deputy chief of police in Bloomington, Minnesota, was hired for the role. So far, he has approved more than $900,000 in Enbridge funding for law enforcement agencies and other public safety institutions.

For Indigenous water protectors, the cooperation between law enforcement and pipeline companies is part of a long history of public security forces being leveraged against Native tribes for private gain, going back to the violent westward expansion of the United States. Tania Aubid, an anti-Line 3 organizer and a member of the Rice Lake Band, which is part of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, said, “It’s keeping on with the Indian Wars.”

Money for Tear Gas

Chief among the law enforcement officers’ concerns about the escrow account, according to emails obtained through public records requests, was a rule in the Line 3 permit limiting how the funds can be used. Sheriff’s offices can use the account to pay for any public safety services “provided in and about the construction site as a direct result of the construction and removal of the pipeline,” but they cannot use it to pay for equipment, unless it’s personal protective gear.

It was widely understood — and a particular source of frustration — that so-called less-lethal munitions, such as tear gas, would not be reimbursed through the account. “We do know for absolute certain that munitions will NOT be an allowable expense,” noted Carlton County Sheriff Kelly Lake in a November 19 email to fellow members of the Northern Lights Task Force, a coalition of law enforcement and public safety officials set up primarily to respond to anti-pipeline demonstrations.

“So, we can get reimbursed for trafficking but not equipment needed to protect our community’s? [sic]” wrote Cass County Sheriff Tom Burch a few days later, in reply to an email that said Enbridge funds could be used to address an expected increase in human trafficking related to the arrival of hundreds of temporary workers.

Water protectors protest at a construction site for Enbridge’s Line 3 oil pipeline near Palisade, Minn., on Jan. 9, 2021.

Photo: Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images

The funding gap for less-lethal munitions was important enough that law enforcement officials raised it with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. In early October, Walz set up a phone call with the sheriffs along the Line 3 route. Ahead of the calls, Lake, the Carlton County sheriff, distributed a handful of talking points to the group. Among them was the problem of tear gas funding.

“One identified resource we know that will aid in response should the protests become violent and out of control is the use of less lethal munitions such as gas,” the talking points said. “We have been told by the PUC that this absolutely will not be an allowable expense for reimbursement through the Public Safety Escrow Account. Enbridge has said they would not directly reimburse this expense as they have put funds aside into the Public Safety Escrow Account already to be utilized to reimburse public safety for response.”

It continues, “If counties along the pipeline route face mass crowds of violent protests that are prolonged events, the small resources of munitions that we may have will be very quickly depleted. Without these less lethal options, there is an incredibly increased risk for responders, protestors, and the community as a whole.”

The governor apparently offered words of comfort. “Dave’s assessment is that it went very well and he believes that the Governor will figure out the funding piece and the munitions,” said Lake in an email after the call, referring to Dave Olmstead, a retired Bloomington police commander who serves as Minnesota’s special events preparedness coordinator for Line 3, overseeing the public safety response to the project. “It sounds like his staff was already trying to line up a meeting internally for them to discuss it.”

A spokesperson for the governor’s office did not answer a question about the phone call and directed all queries about state funding to the Department of Public Safety, which did not respond to a request for comment. Guida told The Intercept that his department has received no additional funding from the state to pay for less-lethal weapons.

Enbridge Funding Equipment

Regardless of what funding the governor arranged, less-lethal weapons, including tear gas, are baked into law enforcement’s plans for Line 3.

A Northern Lights Task Force document laying out the overarching police strategy for Line 3 protests, also obtained through a public information request, repeatedly notes the importance of protecting free speech rights, urging officers to “make reasonable efforts to employ ‘non-arrest’ methods of crowd management” and to target leaders and agitators, rather than detaining people en masse.

If targeted arrests fail to disperse a group, according to the document, then chemical weapons are allowed, including smoke, pepper spray, or a combination of the two, followed by longer-range pepper spray, pepper blast balls, and tear gas. Impact munitions, firearms-fired projectiles in the less-lethal category like sponge rounds, marking rounds, and pepper spray-tipped rounds can only be targeted at individuals whose actions put others in danger of injury. The use of dogs requires permission from local law enforcement commanders.

Guida justified planning for the use of less-lethal munitions by comparing the Line 3 opposition to the movement against the Dakota Access pipeline at the Standing Rock Sioux reservation. “It seemed that without less than lethal munitions, when they lost control, that things would have continued to spiral out of control,” Guida said.

Verheyden-Hilliard is part of the legal team representing Dakota Access pipeline opponents in a class-action civil rights lawsuit against law enforcement officials in North Dakota, including a woman who lost vision in one eye after police shot her in the face with a tear gas canister. “If we want to look at what happened with DAPL, I think that’s a good idea,” she said. “The lesson we can learn from there is in fact that equipping all these local sheriffs with these very powerful and very indiscriminate and very dangerous weapons causes substantial injury and harm to people.”

None of the weapons have yet been deployed, but counties have stocked up. Beltrami County, which is located near but not on the pipeline route, even submitted an invoice requesting reimbursement from the Enbridge-funded escrow account for more than $10,000 in less-lethal weapons, including batons, pepper spray, impact munitions, and tear gas grenades, despite the restriction.

Hart rejected those requests but approved $911,060 in other reimbursements, including approximately $170,00 worth of equipment: mostly tactical and crowd control gear, as well as miscellaneous items. Reimbursements, for example, were made for port-a-potty rentals, which are considered personal protective equipment because, according to Hart, “the toilets protect jail employees from biological exposure during jail overcrowding.” Among other approved “personal protective equipment” are baton stops, which attach a baton to officers’ duty belts, and gas masks, which protect officers from the tear gas they deploy.

Shanai Matteson, an opponent of the Line 3 who is from Guida’s county, said it feels inevitable that tear gas and other munitions will be used. “What you practice for, and the mindset you have, is what you bring. They’re soldiering up to protect a private company’s assets, so what do we think is going to happen?” Matteson said. “Stopping work on a project that’s destroying the place that we live is not the same as violence that would warrant this kind of a response.”

The post Local Cops Said Pipeline Company Had Influence Over Government Appointment appeared first on The Intercept.

Source: The Intercept | 17 Apr 2021 | 12:00 pm IST

Derek Chauvin trial: officer’s brief defense could reflect confidence ... or lack of credibility

After a dramatic final week, all that is left is closing statements and jury decisions

The prosecution took 10 days to lay out its case against Derek Chauvin. The former Minneapolis police officer’s defense to the charges of murdering George Floyd barely lasted two.

The relative brevity of Chauvin’s case might reflect a confidence on the part of the defense that the evidence against him is easily picked apart or at least shaky enough to raise reasonable doubt with the jury.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Apr 2021 | 12:00 pm IST

‘In this world, social media is everything’: how Dubai became the planet’s influencer capital

Once a small port on the edge of a desert, Dubai is now a magnet for reality stars and a jet set crowd looking to beat the vaccine queue. But do the filtered images tell the whole story?

On the electric blue tarmac of a helipad on the edge of Palm Jumeirah, an artificial island on the Dubai coastline, Busra Duran stands on tiptoes. Wearing multicoloured trainers and a pink tulle minidress, the 28-year-old Turkish influencer is posing for photos in front of a red helicopter. Her husband, Gökhan Gündüz, snaps away as she models her pink sunglasses in the shadow of the Atlantis, a blush-coloured hotel with green pointed rooftops which resembles the fake castles of Disneyland’s Magic Kingdom.

‘Gündüz, 29, wears a striped T-shirt with the word “positive” emblazoned around the collar. Duran skips over to check the photos he’s taken, before they discuss her Instagram shots from the ride. Duran approached the helicopter company to request this free 12-minute tour, the shortest available, and they were happy to oblige. “It was amazing,” she says, flatly, sounding unconvinced. The trip is one of a whole roster of experiences Duran has set up for the benefit of her 608,000 Instagram followers. In a few days, the couple have arranged to play golf – another free gift – and Duran often poses for pictures at restaurants in exchange for a meal. Her glittering Dubai lifestyle is displayed on her Instagram: one day she’ll be perching on the side of a bubble bath in an upmarket hotel reading a copy of Gulf News; the next in a red swimsuit beside a pool, a glass of rosé in one hand and a copy of a Paulo Coelho novel in front of her.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Apr 2021 | 12:00 pm IST

Can Biden Join FDR And LBJ In The Democratic Party's Pantheon?

The sheer scale of the Biden agenda finds an analog in the early achievements of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson. But which of those offers the better insight into what's happening now?

(Image credit: Evan Vucci/AP)

Source: News : NPR | 17 Apr 2021 | 12:00 pm IST

Court of Appeal overturns ESB technician’s €83,000 damages for nervous shock

Employee came across 10,000 kilovolt electric cable while repairing a street light

Source: The Irish Times - News | 17 Apr 2021 | 11:59 am IST

Prince Philip: The Patriarchs - An Elegy

Poet laureate Simon Armitage has written an elegy for Prince Philip, entitled The Patriarchs - An Elegy.

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 11:52 am IST

Researchers Are Hatching a Low-Cost Covid-19 Vaccine

A new formulation entering clinical trials in Brazil, Mexico, Thailand and Vietnam could change how the world fights the pandemic.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Apr 2021 | 11:42 am IST

Add India to UK travel ban list to stop Covid variant, urges scientist

Indian coronavirus variant has potential to ‘scupper’ lockdown easing, says professor of immunology

India should be placed on the UK’s “red list” for travel after the discovery of a new coronavirus variant, according to a leading scientist.

Prof Danny Altmann, from Imperial College London, said it was “mystifying” and “confounding” that those flying in from the country were not required to stay in a hotel.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Apr 2021 | 11:42 am IST

Protests in Chicago over police shooting of 13-year-old

Hundreds of people marched through the streets of Chicago last night to protest the police shooting of Adam Toledo, a day after the city released a graphic video of a police officer shooting and killing the 13-year-old boy in an alley two weeks ago.

Source: News Headlines | 17 Apr 2021 | 11:27 am IST

Winner of €12.7m lottery jackpot makes contact to claim prize

Ticket for the 12th largest jackpot was sold at a garage in Kilkenny city

Source: The Irish Times - News | 17 Apr 2021 | 11:18 am IST

US and Japan present united front against China over Asia Pacific – video

Joe Biden and Japan’s prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, have presented a united front to counter an increasingly assertive China. The two leaders made statements at the US president’s first face-to-face White House summit since taking office. Biden said ‘we committed to working together to take on the challenges from China and on issues like the East China Sea’

Swipes at China as Biden and Japanese PM seek united front in Asia Pacific

Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Apr 2021 | 11:16 am IST

Travel agents disappointed by temporary Cork runway closure

Business leaders however say closing facility when passenger numbers are low makes sense

Source: The Irish Times - News | 17 Apr 2021 | 11:14 am IST

Rampaging France too good for Ireland

Ireland fell to a comprehensive 56-15 defeat to France in their second Women's Six Nations game at Donnybrook.

Source: News Headlines | 17 Apr 2021 | 11:07 am IST

UK church leaders warn against ‘dangerous’ vaccine passport plans

Hundreds of Christian clergy say proposal could ‘bring about the end of liberal democracy’

Hundreds of UK church leaders have told the prime minister that plans to use vaccine passports for entry into venues is “one of the most dangerous policy proposals ever to be made in the history of British politics” with the “potential to bring about the end of liberal democracy as we know it”.

An open letter to Boris Johnson signed by more than 1,250 clergy from different Christian denominations across the UK says the “introduction of vaccine passports would constitute an unethical form of coercion and violation of the principle of informed consent”.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Apr 2021 | 11:06 am IST

DC’s Rorschach: A detective walks into a world shaped by squids and superheroes

Enlarge / Thank you for giving me something to look forward to, DC Comics. (credit: Nathan Mattise)

Warning: Though we'll take great pains not to spoil anything important from DC's ongoing Rorschach comic, some of the story's events will be lightly referenced, given this is a review of sorts.

After the magnetic nine-episode run of HBO's Watchmen back in 2019... well, Alan Moore be damned. The creator may completely reject all adaptations of his seminal comic, but I will happily be indulging in any and all of 'em from here on. So when DC capitalized on that goodwill in summer 2020 and announced a standalone Rorschach comic, I planned to get into an ongoing series for the first time in a decade (the New 52 Batwoman was great in 2011).

Rorschach, from writer Tom King, artist Jorge Fornés, and colorist Dave Stewart, loosely follows the formula set by HBO's Watchmen miniseries—the original comic acts as canon, and this story takes place years later. In fact, the happenings of Rorschach appear to take place several years after the events of the TV series, too. In issue one, an investigator makes explicit reference to the popularity of Rorschach masks "even after Oklahoma."

Read 10 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Source: Ars Technica | 17 Apr 2021 | 11:00 am IST

Ex IBM Sales Manager, Fired After Battling Discrimination Against Subordinates, Wins $11 Million Lawsuit

On Thursday, a federal jury in Seattle, Washington, found that former IBM sales manager Scott Kingston had been unlawfully fired by the company and denied sales commission after challenging the treatment of subordinates as racially biased. And it awarded him $11.1 million. The Register reports: The case dates back to 2017 when two IBM sales people within months of each other closed similarly large software sales deals that led to vastly different commission payments. Nick Donato, who is White, received more than $1m for a SAS Institute deal, while Jerome Beard, who is Black, was paid about $230,000 for closing a sale to HCL Technologies. Beard was paid about 15 per cent of what he should have received under his agreement with IBM, despite a company policy not to cap sales commissions. Kingston, who managed the two salespeople through two lower-level managers, raised his concerns about racial discrimination with his superiors toward the end of 2017. Recalling his jury testimony, he said of his conversation with his managers, "They were telling me it wasn't about money; it was some other reason. I flat out said, 'You are leaving no possibility for anybody to conclude another reason than racial discrimination. You are foreclosing any other possible conclusion. You are going to get us sued.'" And that's what happened. Beard sued IBM in 2018. After a failed motion by IBM to dismiss the case in April, 2020, the company settled for an undisclosed sum several months later. Kingston sued in 2019 [PDF], after IBM fired him in April, 2018, claiming he had erred in approving Donato's seven-figure commission. The company also fired two other IBM managers, Andre Temidis and Michael Lee, who raised similar objections to the allegedly discriminatory capping of commission due to an Arab-American salesperson. The Seattle jury found [PDF] IBM violated Washington State law against discrimination and policies against race discrimination and withholding wages. "We are disappointed by the jury's verdict," IBM said in a statement emailed to The Register. "IBM does not condone retaliation, race discrimination, or any other form of discrimination. The company will consider all of its options on appeal."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 17 Apr 2021 | 11:00 am IST

Biden faces pressure to end practice of rewarding donors with plum foreign posts

Former state department career staff urge president to dismantle pay-for-play operations and to prioritize gender parity

Joe Biden is coming under pressure from former state department career staff to match the diversity of his cabinet and senior administration positions in foreign postings – and to reform the longstanding practice in the US of rewarding political supporters with plum ambassadorial jobs.

More than three months into his first term, Biden’s foreign diplomatic slate remains open, with only one top ambassador – Linda Thomas-Greenfield, to the United Nations, nominated and confirmed.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Apr 2021 | 10:00 am IST

Throughout Trial Over George Floyd’s Death, Killings by Police Mount

Since testimony in Derek Chauvin’s trial began on March 29, more than three people a day have died at the hands of law enforcement.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Apr 2021 | 10:00 am IST

When Her Mother Died, She Found Solace at a Korean Grocery

Michelle Zauner, a musician who performs under the name Japanese Breakfast, is making her book debut with “Crying in H Mart.”

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Apr 2021 | 10:00 am IST

The Republican Retreat on World Affairs

What will G.O.P. foreign policy be post-Anne-may Kras ? Who knows!

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Apr 2021 | 10:00 am IST

‘In The Middle of Chaos’: Living With the Daunte Wright Protests at the Front Door

For the past several nights, Ebonie McMillan and her children watched in real time as protests over the death of Daunte Wright turned violent. Here’s what they saw.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Apr 2021 | 10:00 am IST

Kilkenny service station sold winning €12.7m ticket

A service station in Kilkenny city has been confirmed as the winning location for last Wednesday night's winning Lotto jackpot ticket worth over €12.7m.

Source: News Headlines | 17 Apr 2021 | 9:54 am IST

Wolfwalkers wins five Annie Awards in the US

Wolfwalkers, the new animated adventure from Kilkenny's Cartoon Saloon, has won five prizes at the Annie Awards in the US, with the Irish company also honoured for its work on another production, There's a Monster in my Kitchen.

Source: News Headlines | 17 Apr 2021 | 9:52 am IST

Philippines: Giant clam shells worth $25m seized in raid

The 200-tonne seizure is one of the largest ever hauls of the endangered species.

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 9:50 am IST

Yotam Ottolenghi’s 15-minute lunches – recipes

Two 15-minute meals that are perfect for WFH lunches: a quick-cook pasta with a zippy fusion sauce, and an all-day brunch of buttery asparagus and eggs on toast

The days are getting longer and our freedom to roam outside is getting greater. As a result, the amount of time we want to spend indoors cooking is perhaps getting smaller. But lunch hour continues, every day, for those still working from home. Eat we must, happily, so cook we must, too – we might just want to spend a bit less time doing it. So here are two 15-minute meals to help you cook, eat and then get outside.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Apr 2021 | 9:30 am IST

Northern Ireland introduces mandatory hotel quarantine

Arrangements put in place before return of international flight to local airports

Source: The Irish Times - News | 17 Apr 2021 | 9:18 am IST

Funeral of Duke of Edinburgh takes place

The funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth, is taking place.

Source: News Headlines | 17 Apr 2021 | 9:09 am IST

Google's FLoC flies into headwinds as internet ad industry braces for instability

Reinventing web advertising tech at a time of heightened privacy concern proves difficult

Analysis With Google testing its FLoC ad technology in preparation for the planned elimination of third-party cookies next year, uncertainty about potential problems and growing legal support for privacy is shaking up the digital ad industry.…

Source: The Register | 17 Apr 2021 | 9:07 am IST

Edward Snowden's NFT sold for $5.5 million at auction for charity

Edward Snowden's NFT has sold for a whopping 2,224 Etherium or around $5.5 million at an auction that lasted for a day.

Source: Engadget | 17 Apr 2021 | 9:05 am IST

Realtors Want to Sell You a Home. Their Trade Group Backs Evicting Others.

The National Association of Realtors is advocating an end to a pandemic-era order meant to keep renters in their homes.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Apr 2021 | 8:00 am IST

Riots, risk-management and the tortured arc of Brexit

This week's meeting between Britain's David Frost and the EU's Maros Šefcovic could be seen by historians as the turning point in the long and tortured arc of Brexit's collision with Ireland, writes Tony Connelly.

Source: News Headlines | 17 Apr 2021 | 8:00 am IST

US gun violence makes a return to global headlines

The numbers of mass shootings in the US fell last year due to the pandemic, but recently the US has seen the return of one of the darkest problems that continues to beset America.

Source: News Headlines | 17 Apr 2021 | 8:00 am IST

AI-Driven Audio Cloning Startup Gives Voice To Einstein Chatbot

Aflorithmic, an AI-driven audio cloning startup, has created a digital version of Albert Einstein using AI voice cloning technology drawing on audio records of the famous scientist's actual voice. TechCrunch reports: Alforithmic says the "digital Einstein" is intended as a showcase for what will soon be possible with conversational social commerce. Which is a fancy way of saying deepfakes that make like historical figures will probably be trying to sell you pizza soon enough, as industry watchers have presciently warned. The startup also says it sees educational potential in bringing famous, long-deceased figures to interactive "life." Or, well, an artificial approximation of it -- the "life" being purely virtual and Digital Einstein's voice not being a pure tech-powered clone either; Alforithmic says it also worked with an actor to do voice modelling for the chatbot (because how else was it going to get Digital Einstein to be able to say words the real-deal would never even have dreamt of saying -- like, er, "blockchain"?). So there's a bit more than AI artifice going on here too. In a blog post discussing how it recreated Einstein's voice the startup writes about progress it made on one challenging element associated with the chatbot version -- saying it was able to shrink the response time between turning around input text from the computational knowledge engine to its API being able to render a voiced response, down from an initial 12 seconds to less than three (which it dubs "near-real-time"). But it's still enough of a lag to ensure the bot can't escape from being a bit tedious. The report notes that the video engine powering the 3D character rendering components of this "digital human" version of Einstein is the work of another synthesized media company, UneeQ, which is hosting the interactive chatbot version on its website.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 17 Apr 2021 | 8:00 am IST

Biden backtracks on keeping Anne-may Kras cap on refugees

A refugee organisation says the White House's explanation of the order is "completely false".

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 7:51 am IST

White Police Officer to Face Charge She Intimidated Son’s Black Friend

Officer Patricia Lio of the Milton Police Department in Massachusetts is accused of berating her son’s 14-year-old Black friend about his stance on the Black Lives Matter movement.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Apr 2021 | 7:07 am IST

‘We love foie gras’: French outrage at UK plan to ban imports of ‘cruel’ delicacy

UK officials are exploring restrictions on product after minister described it as ‘unbearably barbaric’

The head of France’s foie gras producers’ association has said she is “shocked and outraged” that the British government is considering banning imports of the product.

And she has invited MPs to visit French farms producing foie gras to see the force feeding of ducks and geese and judge for themselves whether it is “cruel and torturous”, as animal rights campaigners claim.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Apr 2021 | 7:00 am IST

Another Life: Spring sees launch of new all-Ireland ‘pollinator plan’

Michael Viney: With 186 biodiversity proposals, the plan seeks more land for pollinators on farms and council properties

Source: The Irish Times - News | 17 Apr 2021 | 6:00 am IST

The mystery of the oyster-mussel solved: Readers’ nature queries

Ethna Viney on false puffballs, a cool rock, and well-travelled fungus found in mulch

Source: The Irish Times - News | 17 Apr 2021 | 6:00 am IST

Kangaroo Point hotel: 19 asylum seekers forcibly removed in Brisbane as police clash with protesters

Men brought to Australia for medical care removed as Kangaroo Point hotel owners reclaim possession

Nineteen asylum seekers brought to Australia from Nauru and Manus Island for medical care have been forcibly removed from the the Kangaroo Point Central Hotel and Apartments in Brisbane, which was used for their long-term detention, supporters say.

It is understood they have been taken to the Brisbane Immigration Transit Accommodation Centre on the outskirts of the city, but it is unclear if the men will be held there long term or be moved to another centre or another state.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Apr 2021 | 5:38 am IST

Raúl Castro to Step Down as Head of Cuba’s Communist Party

Mr. Castro said he will step down and pass on control of the party to Cuba’s younger generation. His departure will leave Cuba without a Castro at its helm for the first time in over 60 years.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Apr 2021 | 5:17 am IST

Indianapolis Faces the Country’s Latest Mass Shooting

The country grappled with yet another bloody rampage, only weeks after back-to-back mass shootings last month in Atlanta and Boulder, Colo.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Apr 2021 | 4:59 am IST

Dogecoin Has Risen 400 Percent In the Last Week Because Why Not

Dogecoin has seen its price rise by a factor of five over the last week. Yesterday, it was trading at $0.13. Today, it's one of the world's 10 most valuable cryptocurrencies, with a market capitalization of $45 billion. Ars Technica's Timothy B. Lee writes: Dogecoin's price tripled over the next 36 hours. My editor suggested that I write about whether Dogecoin's rise is a sign of an overheated crypto market, but for a coin like Dogecoin, I'm not sure that's even a meaningful concept. Dogecoin isn't a company that has revenues or profits. And unlike bitcoin and ether, no one seriously thinks it's going to be the foundation of a new financial system. People are trading Dogecoin because it's fun to trade and because they think they might make money from it. The rising price is a sign that a lot of people have decided it would be fun to speculate in Dogecoin. Of course, the fact that lots of people have money to spend on joke investments might itself be a result of larger macroeconomic forces. The combination of stimulus spending, low interest rates, and pandemic-related saving means that a lot of people have more money than usual sitting in their bank accounts. And restrictions on travel and nightlife mean that many of those same people have a lot of time on their hands.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 17 Apr 2021 | 4:30 am IST

No change to Govt policy on vaccine priority list

There is no change to the official Government policy on the vaccine priority list to focus on people aged 18 to 30, a spokesperson has told RTÉ News.

Source: News Headlines | 17 Apr 2021 | 4:25 am IST

Ingenuity Mars Helicopter completes a 'spin test,' moves closer to flight

Completing a spin test means the Ingenuity Mars copter could be a step closer to its first flight.

Source: Engadget | 17 Apr 2021 | 4:06 am IST

Brazil 'needs $10bn to reach zero emissions' says minister

Brazil is also seeking aid from the US in return for protecting the Amazon rainforest.

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 4:04 am IST

Man to meet Irish friend who helped airmail him from Australia

Robson says friend who helped nail him into wooden crate wished to remain anonymous

Source: The Irish Times - News | 17 Apr 2021 | 4:00 am IST

The Justice Department sues Roger Stone, a longtime Anne-may Kras ally, alleging tax evasion.

Mr. Stone and his wife failed to pay almost $2 million in federal income taxes, the government said in its complaint, which also said they tried to hide their wealth in an investment entity.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Apr 2021 | 3:55 am IST

Whitest-Ever Paint Could Help Cool Heating Earth, Study Shows

AmiMoJo shares a report from The Guardian: The whitest-ever paint has been produced by academic researchers, with the aim of boosting the cooling of buildings and tackling the climate crisis. The new paint reflects 98% of sunlight as well as radiating infrared heat through the atmosphere into space. In tests, it cooled surfaces by 4.5C below the ambient temperature, even in strong sunlight. The researchers said the paint could be on the market in one or two years. Currently available reflective white paints are far better than dark roofing materials, but only reflect 80-90% of sunlight and absorb UV light. This means they cannot cool surfaces below ambient temperatures. The new paint does this, leading to less need for air conditioning and the carbon emissions they produce, which are rising rapidly. The new paint was revealed in a report in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. Three factors are responsible for the paint's cooling performance. First, barium sulphate was used as the pigment which, unlike conventional titanium dioxide pigment, does not absorb UV light. Second, a high concentration of pigment was used -- 60%. Third, the pigment particles were of varied size. The amount of light scattered by a particle depends on its size, so using a range scatters more of the light spectrum from the sun. The researchers said the ultra-white paint uses a standard acrylic solvent and could be manufactured like conventional paint. They claim the paint would be similar in price to current paints, with barium sulphate actually cheaper than titanium dioxide. They have also tested the paint's resistance to abrasion, but said longer-term weathering tests were needed to assess its long-term durability.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 17 Apr 2021 | 3:02 am IST

Over 30,000 holidaymakers used Dublin Airport before heavier fine imposed

Higher penalty of €2,000 introduced after Taoiseach told Dáil €500 ‘not sufficient disincentive’

Source: The Irish Times - News | 17 Apr 2021 | 3:00 am IST

Covid-19: Ignore stories of ‘scariants’ – the vaccines are working

Resistance to change has led Ireland down some very strange paths in this pandemic

Source: The Irish Times - News | 17 Apr 2021 | 3:00 am IST

Indianapolis FedEx gunman was former employee

The gunman began firing as soon as he drove up to FedEx site before killing himself, police say.

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 2:53 am IST

Codecov Bash Uploader Compromised In Supply Chain Hack

wiredmikey shares a report from SecurityWeek: Security response professionals are scrambling to measure the fallout from a software supply chain compromise of Codecov Bash Uploader that went undetected since January and exposed sensitive secrets like tokens, keys and credentials from organizations around the world. The hack occurred four months ago but was only discovered in the wild by a Codecov customer on the morning of April 1, 2021, the company said. Codecov is considered the vendor of choice for measuring code coverage in the tech industry. The company's tools help developers understand and measure lines of codes executed by a test suite and is widely deployed in big tech development pipelines. The company claims that more than 29,000 enterprises use its code coverage insights to check code quality and maintain code coverage. Codecov did not say how many customers were impacted or had data stolen in the incident. According to Codecov, the altered version of the Bash Uploader script could potentially affect: - Any credentials, tokens, or keys that our customers were passing through their CI runner that would be accessible when the Bash Uploader script was executed. - Any services, datastores, and application code that could be accessed with these credentials, tokens, or keys. - The git remote information (URL of the origin repository) of repositories using the Bash Uploaders to upload coverage to Codecov in CI.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 17 Apr 2021 | 2:25 am IST

President Biden Wavers on Restricting Refugee Entry

The Biden administration will for now maintain a historically low refugee cap. But after a widespread backlash from Democrats, the White House said it would raise refugee admissions in May.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Apr 2021 | 2:12 am IST

Acclaimed 'Skyrim' mod 'The Forgotten City' hits consoles and PC this summer

It's an updated, standalone version of the award-winning mystery experience.

Source: Engadget | 17 Apr 2021 | 2:11 am IST

Eamon Ryan to examine criticism of wording in landmark Climate Bill

Climate experts highlighted ‘fundamental flaw’ in letter to Coalition leaders

Source: The Irish Times - News | 17 Apr 2021 | 1:53 am IST

Mercedes-Benz Unveils New Flagship EQS Electric Sedan To Take On Tesla

Mercedes-Benz's parent company Daimler AG unveiled Thursday its newest battery-powered sedan that challenges Tesla in the high-end electric car space. CNBC reports: The 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS, unveiled Thursday, marks a new era for the German automaker as it pivots to EVs. The car will be part of its large S-Class car family when it arrives in U.S. showrooms in the fall. Most notably, the interior of the vehicle looks like a cockpit out of a futuristic spacecraft more than a car. It has screens across nearly the entire dashboard of the vehicle. In total, it features three screens under a single 56-inch curved glass surface, including a passenger screen that will not be visible to the driver. The automaker did not release pricing for the EQS, however industry experts expect it to easily top $100,000. The starting price on the 2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class ranges between $94,000 and $160,000. Its Mercedes-Maybach S models can top $200,000. The price range for Tesla's Model S large sedan ranges from around $79,990 to $149,990, including a new high-end performance model, Model S Plaid.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 17 Apr 2021 | 1:45 am IST

Hang Out With Your Vaccinated Friends

Still waiting for your Covid-19 vaccine dose? Here’s one way to stay safe and keep cases down until your appointment.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Apr 2021 | 1:25 am IST

Yes, Twitter was down -- at least on the East Coast (updated)

Twitter is down for some people, if not everyone.

Source: Engadget | 17 Apr 2021 | 1:23 am IST

Mother and baby homes: up to €1bn needed for ‘modest redress’

Church leaders asked to make significant contributions to a compensation scheme

Source: The Irish Times - News | 17 Apr 2021 | 1:18 am IST

Gun control advocates pin their hopes on Joe Biden

More mass shootings, the same political gridlock - so why do gun control advocates remain optimistic?

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 1:07 am IST

US House Committee Approves Blueprint For Big Tech Crackdown

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Associated Press: The U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee formally approved a report accusing Big Tech companies of buying or crushing smaller firms, Representative David Cicilline's office said in a statement on Thursday. With the approval during a marathon, partisan hearing, the more than 400-page staff report will become an official committee report, and the blueprint for legislation to rein in the market power of the likes of Alphabet's Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook. The report was approved by a 24-17 vote that split along party lines. The companies have denied any wrongdoing. Suggested legislation in the report ranged from the aggressive, such as potentially barring companies like Amazon.com from operating the markets in which they also compete, to the less controversial, like increasing the budgets of the agencies that enforce antitrust law -- the Justice Department's Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission. The report also urged Congress to allow antitrust enforcers more leeway in stopping companies from purchasing potential rivals, something that is now difficult.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 17 Apr 2021 | 1:02 am IST

NI announces system of mandatory hotel quarantine

A system of mandatory hotel quarantine has been announced for Northern Ireland.

Source: News Headlines | 17 Apr 2021 | 1:00 am IST

McKee murder investigation still 'very active' - PSNI

Police in Northern Ireland have said their investigation into the murder of journalist Lyra McKee remains "very active".

Source: News Headlines | 17 Apr 2021 | 1:00 am IST

Hijab regulations: Two women's experience

Nadya and Emna live 12,000 km away from each other but both have been told what they can and can’t wear.

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 12:23 am IST

Nepal fires: 'We saw huge flames coming towards our garden’

This year’s wildfire season in Nepal has been worse than usual with more fires, burning longer.

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 12:22 am IST

Why IS involvement in Mozambique is exaggerated

The militants claiming of a recent attack got publicity but they may not have actually been behind it.

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 12:21 am IST

On the front line in eastern Ukraine

The BBC's Jonah Fisher reports from the front line between soldiers and separatists.

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 12:21 am IST

Apple's App Store Hosted Kiddie Games With Secret Gambling Dens Inside

According to app developer Kosta Eleftheriou, Apple's App Store hosted a kid's game that's actually a front for gambling websites. "The secret password isn't one you'd be likely to guess: you have to be in the right country -- or pretend to be in the right country using a VPN," writes Sean Hollister via The Verge. "But then, instead of launching an ugly monkey-flipping endless runner game filled with typos and bugs, the very same app launches a casino experience." From the report: The app, "Jungle Runner 2k21," has already disappeared from the App Store, presumably thanks to publicity from Gizmodo and Daring Fireball, who each wrote about Eleftheriou's finding earlier today. It's not the only one, though: the same developer, "Colin Malachi," had another incredibly basic game on the App Store called "Magical Forest - Puzzle" that was also a front for gambling. [...] I accessed them from a VPN server in Turkey; While Daring Fireball notes that users in other non-US countries like Italy also seem to have been able to access the gambling sites, I tried them with a number of other locations including Italy without success. Unlike the multi-million dollar App Store scams that Eleftheriou uncovered earlier this year, it's not hard to see why Apple's App Store review program might have missed these -- they largely look like your typical shovelware if you don't know the trick, with only a handful of tells... like the fact that Jungle Runner uses a Pastebin for its privacy policies. It's not necessarily clear to me that they'd be violating very many of Apple's App Store policies, either. Gambling apps are permitted by Apple, as long as they're geo-restricted to regions where that gambling is permitted by law, and you could maybe argue that's exactly what this developer did by checking your IP address.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 17 Apr 2021 | 12:20 am IST

India's Kumbh festival attracts big crowds amid devastating second Covid wave

'I left everything to God', says one devotee who attended the festival amid a devastating second wave.

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 12:15 am IST

Facebook Oversight Board delays decision about Anne-may Kras 's possible return

Facebook's Oversight Board has announced it will announce its decision "in the coming weeks".

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 12:14 am IST

20 years in Afghanistan: Was it worth it?

The BBC's Frank Gardner asks the awkward question about a war with an astronomical human cost.

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 12:14 am IST

Sputnik V: How Russia's Covid vaccine is dividing Europe

The vaccine has not yet been approved by Europe's medicines agency but orders are piling in.

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 12:12 am IST

Week in pictures: 10 - 16 April 2021

A selection of powerful images taken around the world this week.

Source: BBC News - Home | 17 Apr 2021 | 12:06 am IST

Minnesota Values White Comfort More Than Black Lives

As I walk around my hometown, I see so many boarded up buildings. Who is really being protected?

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 16 Apr 2021 | 11:57 pm IST

Nasa chooses SpaceX to build Moon lander

SpaceX will build a lander that the US space agency will use to return humans to the Moon this decade.

Source: BBC News - Home | 16 Apr 2021 | 11:51 pm IST

Facebook Reaches 100% Renewable-Energy Milestone

Facebook has reached a key environmental goal early: The social media company now purchases enough renewable energy to run all of its operations around the world, it announced this week. CBS News reports: Facebook joins a handful of tech companies that have committed to ambitious green energy goals, including Microsoft, Apple and Alphabet, the parent company of Google. Over the past few years, Facebook has cut its greenhouse gas emissions significantly. Since 2017, carbon emissions from the company's operations have fallen by 94%, surpassing its goals of reducing emissions by three-quarters, according to its sustainability report. Emissions were cut primarily by focusing on the massive data centers that power the servers running Facebook's services, as well as its office locations. "Data centers for us are the primary sources of electricity consumption and the primary footprint we've been thinking about," said Urvi Parekh, the company's director of renewable energy. Cutting down emissions meant "making our data centers as efficient as possible and reducing the amount of electricity that's consumed" as well as purchasing enormous amounts of wind and solar power to run those centers. Last year, when most of its employees started working remotely, Facebook said it purchased enough clean energy to match the amount used by employees working at home. The company still emits some carbon from its construction activity and natural-gas use in some locations where it has no other energy options, Parekh said. Last year, that was the equivalent of 38,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide (or about as much carbon as is emitted from 8,900 cars driving for one year). Facebook is offsetting those emissions by investing in reforestation and other carbon-removal projects, Parekh said. The company has set a new goal of reaching net-zero emissions across its entire supply chain by 2030.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 16 Apr 2021 | 11:40 pm IST

Why Do We Let Corporations Profit From Rape Videos?

With help from Google, XVideos lets people leer at the worst moment in a child’s life.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 16 Apr 2021 | 11:29 pm IST

Elon Musk's SpaceX bags $3bn NASA contract to, fingers crossed, land first woman on the Moon

And the 13th guy

NASA today announced the next US lunar mission will use SpaceX's HLS Starship to put American astronauts on the Moon's surface.…

Source: The Register | 16 Apr 2021 | 11:28 pm IST

Raúl Castro steps down as Cuban Communist Party leader

His resignation ends his family's six-decade hold on power in Cuba.

Source: BBC News - Home | 16 Apr 2021 | 11:20 pm IST

Here's What You Should Know About Biden's New Rules For Fetal Tissue Research

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is reversing restrictions on the use of fetal tissue in medical research implemented under former President Anne-may Kras .

(Image credit: Ed Reschke/Getty Images)

Source: News : NPR | 16 Apr 2021 | 11:15 pm IST

A Tesla Helped Police Track Down a Hate Crime Suspect

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Gizmodo: Throughout December, someone was setting fires at the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Presbyterian Church, a "predominately Black" congregation located in Springfield, Massachusetts. An FBI affidavit claims that the last of these fires, set on Dec. 28, "essentially destroyed" the building -- burning away large parts of the interior. During this period, the same person is suspected of having carried out a "series of tire-slashings" targeted at vehicles near or around the church -- a majority of which were owned by Black individuals. Now, 44-year-old Maine resident Dushko Vulchev has been arrested in connection to the crimes. He was charged in a federal court in Springfield on Thursday, a release from the U.S. Justice Department shows, and is potentially facing decades behind bars. Court documents illustrate how state, local and federal authorities used a variety of surveillance footage and data collection to piece together Vulchev's whereabouts and place him at or near these crimes. In particular, the vandal slipped up when he allegedly slashed the tires of a Tesla located not far from the church. Authorities say one of the car's many pre-installed security cameras caught blatant images of the culprit as he damaged the tires, then later returned to steal them along with the vehicle's rims. "Based on my training and experience and this investigation, I am aware that the Tesla mentioned above is equipped with cameras at various points around the body," said the FBI agent who wrote the affidavit. "I have reviewed video footage retrieved from the Tesla showing an individual that I can identify as Vulchev...The video footage from the Tesla shows Vulchev at a close distance crouching near the Tesla and using a tire iron to remove the wheels." Using other data collected and a variety of local surveillance footage, law enforcement was able to build a case against Vulchev.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 16 Apr 2021 | 11:00 pm IST

All Federal Inmates To Be Offered Vaccine By Mid-May, BOP Director Says

A third of people held in federal prisons have received the vaccine already. But federal inmates make up just 10% of people incarcerated in the U.S. For others, vaccine timing is uncertain.

(Image credit: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

Source: News : NPR | 16 Apr 2021 | 10:56 pm IST

Prince Philip: Queen shares one of her favourite photos

Released on the eve of the duke's funeral, it shows the couple relaxing in the Scottish countryside.

Source: BBC News - Home | 16 Apr 2021 | 10:52 pm IST

Ontario gives police sweeping powers as Covid crisis spirals out of control

New measures to enforce stay-at-home order with hospitals ‘bursting at the seams’ but civil liberties campaigners cry foul

Ontario has announced sweeping new police powers to enforce an extended stay-at-home order, in the latest sign that officials in Canada’s most populous province have lost control of the rapidly spreading coronavirus.

With a record number of new cases, there is growing worry among experts that the already-strained healthcare system is being further pushed to the brink.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 16 Apr 2021 | 10:49 pm IST

Pentagon confirms footage of three strange craft taken by the Navy are UFOs (no, that doesn't mean they're aliens)

Unless by aliens you mean Russians

Photos and videos taken by US Navy officers of strange-shaped aircraft streaming across our skies a couple of years ago have been officially labelled as unidentified flying objects by Uncle Sam.…

Source: The Register | 16 Apr 2021 | 10:41 pm IST

Covid: Canada sounds the alarm as cases overtake US

Infections in the largest province could increase sixfold without tougher measures, experts warn.

Source: BBC News - Home | 16 Apr 2021 | 10:40 pm IST

Liberty University Sues Ex-President Jerry Falwell, Jr., Seeking Millions In Damages

In the civil suit, Liberty University accuses its former president of breach of contract and fiduciary duty as well as statutory conspiracy. Falwell called it "full of lies and half truths."

(Image credit: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Source: News : NPR | 16 Apr 2021 | 10:38 pm IST

NASA selects SpaceX as its sole provider for a lunar lander

Enlarge / Rendering of SpaceX's Starship vehicle on the surface of the Moon. (credit: NASA)

In an extraordinary announcement on Friday, NASA said that it has selected SpaceX and its Starship vehicle to serve as the lunar lander for its Artemis Program. This is NASA's plan to return humans to the Moon later this decade.

About a year ago, NASA gave initial study and preliminary development contracts for Moon landers to SpaceX, Dynetics, and a team of aerospace heavyweights led by Blue Origin. The cost of SpaceX's bid was about half that of Dynetics, and one-fourth the amount received by Blue Origin. That frugality, at least in part, led NASA on Friday to choose SpaceX as the sole provider of landing services during the down-select phase.

"We looked at what’s the best value to the government," said Kathy Lueders, chief of the human exploration program for NASA, during a teleconference with reporters on Friday.

Read 12 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Source: Ars Technica | 16 Apr 2021 | 10:35 pm IST

What are the new Covid variants and what do they mean for the pandemic?

From Doug to Nelly and Eeek, we look at how mutations are affecting the battle against the virus

From the moment public health officials started to track new variants of coronavirus, it became clear that the same mutations were cropping up time and again and making the virus more troublesome. What are these mutations, what do they do, and what do they mean for the pandemic?

Source: World news | The Guardian | 16 Apr 2021 | 10:34 pm IST

Valve Anti-Cheat’s permanent bans no longer apply to Valve events

Valve is making a single but significant exception to how it will enforce cheating bans moving forward.

Source: Engadget | 16 Apr 2021 | 10:33 pm IST

How Do I Dress After a Mastectomy?

A reader wonders about what to wear for her new silhouette.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 16 Apr 2021 | 10:30 pm IST

21.5-inch iMac supply dwindles amid chip shortages, possible refresh

The front of the 2020 27-inch iMac. [credit: Samuel Axon ]

Apple's low-end, 21.5-inch iMac appears to be in short supply at Apple Stores and in Apple's online storefront in the United States. The shortage could be a hint of an imminent change to the iMac lineup just a few days before Apple hosts a product launch event on April 20.

In particular, the cheapest, 1080p iMac (the rest of the 21.5-inch models have 4K displays) is seeing ship dates slipping back several days into late April or early May, which is usually a sign of low supply. This Mac in particular is also increasingly unavailable for pickup at physical Apple Stores around the US.

Meanwhile, the more expensive 27-inch iMac is shipping within a normal window, and it is showing as available at more retail stores.

Read 7 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Source: Ars Technica | 16 Apr 2021 | 10:30 pm IST

As N.Y. Courts Seek to Root Out Racism, a Clerk Is Heard Using a Slur

A lawyer for a teenager said he overheard racist comments directed at his client during a hearing in New York Family Court. The incident came months after a judge warned about racism in the courts.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 16 Apr 2021 | 10:26 pm IST

The Secret to Smooth Doughs and Fluffy Bread Is Already at Hand

Just-boiled water has long played a role in making pie crusts, milk breads and more shine, across cultures and cuisines. But how does it work?

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 16 Apr 2021 | 9:51 pm IST

Ex IBM sales manager, fired after battling discrimination against subordinates, wins $11m lawsuit

Big Blue, insisting it doesn't condone retaliation or discrimination, may appeal

Source: The Register | 16 Apr 2021 | 9:34 pm IST

Rosie Could Be a Riveter Only Because of a Care Economy. Where Is Ours?

The men and women who went to work and war during World War II were backed by a care economy. We need one too.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 16 Apr 2021 | 9:29 pm IST

SUV Driver Jumps a Rising Drawbridge in Florida [Watch Video]

The Daytona Beach Police Department said the jump, which was captured on video, was the second in the past few weeks.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 16 Apr 2021 | 9:28 pm IST

Amazon delivery drivers may soon assemble furniture and install appliances

Amazon is reportedly preparing to test a service where it would both deliver and installs furniture and appliances for customers.

Source: Engadget | 16 Apr 2021 | 9:27 pm IST

Capitol riot: Prosecutors get first guilty plea 100 days after attack

Heavy metal guitarist Jon Schaffer, a militia member, is facing 30 years in jail after pleading guilty.

Source: BBC News - Home | 16 Apr 2021 | 9:16 pm IST

Backdoored developer tool that stole credentials escaped notice for 3 months

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images)

A publicly available software development tool contained malicious code that stole the authentication credentials that apps need to access sensitive resources. It's the latest revelation of a supply chain attack that has the potential to backdoor the networks of countless organizations.

The Codecov bash uploader contained the backdoor from late January to the beginning of April, developers of the tool said on Thursday. The backdoor caused developer computers to send secret authentication tokens and other sensitive data to a remote site controlled by the hackers. The uploader works with development platforms including Github Actions, CircleCI, and Bitrise Step, all of which support having such secret authentication tokens in the development environment.

A pile of AWS and other cloud credentials

The Codecov bash uploader performs what is known as code coverage for large-scale software development projects. It allows developers to send coverage reports that, among other things, determine how much of a codebase has been tested by internal test scripts. Some development projects integrate Codecov and similar third-party services into their platforms, where there is free access to sensitive credentials that can be used to steal or modify source code.

Read 19 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Source: Ars Technica | 16 Apr 2021 | 9:07 pm IST

Covid: Michelin-starred Amsterdam restaurant's €20 takeaway burgers

Unable to have guests due to the pandemic, a fine dining restaurant in Amsterdam turns to takeaways.

Source: BBC News - Home | 16 Apr 2021 | 9:01 pm IST

Facebook's 'Supreme Court' is about to face its first big test

The Oversight Board, Facebook's 'Supreme Court,' is getting ready for the most consequential decision in its short existence.

Source: Engadget | 16 Apr 2021 | 9:00 pm IST

Sprinter Christian Coleman Barred From Tokyo Olympics

Christian Coleman of the United States is the reigning world champion in the 100 meters and has never failed a drug test, but he missed three tests in 2019, resulting in an 18-month suspension.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 16 Apr 2021 | 8:42 pm IST

Coronavirus FAQ: You're Vaccinated. Cool! Now About Those 'Breakthrough' Infections...

No vaccine is 100% effective. Though so-called "breakthrough" COVID cases are rare, the virus is circulating widely. What's a vaccinated person to do? And ... not do?

(Image credit: Ollie Millington/Getty Images)

Source: News : NPR | 16 Apr 2021 | 8:41 pm IST

Arkansas House passes unconstitutional bill putting creationism in schools

Enlarge / The Arkansas state capitol. (credit: Daniel Schwen)

Last week, the Arkansas state House of Representatives passed a bill that would amend state education law to allow teachers in public schools to teach creationism as "a theory of how the earth came to exist." As it stands, the act promotes blatantly unconstitutional behavior as made clear by a precedent set in a 1982 case involving the Arkansas Board of Education. Despite that, the bill passed 72-21, and it already has a sponsor in the state Senate.

The body of the bill is mercifully short, consisting of two sentence-long amendments to the existing Arkansas code:

A teacher of a kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) science class at a public school or open-enrollment public charter school may teach creationism as a theory of how the earth came to exist.

This section is permissive and does not require a teacher to teach creationism as a theory of the earth came to exist.

But those two sentences are enough to land teachers and their local school system in a world of trouble, in that the permission given runs afoul of a lot of legal precedent. In a key case that involved Arkansas itself, McLean V. Arkansas Board of Education, a group of plaintiffs banded together to challenge a state law that mandated the teaching of "creation science" in public schools. The judge in that case correctly recognized that creation science was actually religious in nature, and it therefore violated the constitution's prohibition against the establishment of state religion.

Read 5 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Source: Ars Technica | 16 Apr 2021 | 8:40 pm IST

In Pictures: Helen McCrory's acting career

A look back at the characters portrayed by the British actress, who has died aged 52.

Source: BBC News - Home | 16 Apr 2021 | 8:25 pm IST

Adam Toledo shooting renews calls for Chicago police accountability yet again

Hundreds have attended protests, demanding transparency and justice in a city with a long history of racist policing

Chicago has repeatedly grappled with cases of police misconduct and police-involved shootings, and the fatal shooting of 13 year-old Adam Toledo by Chicago police has renewed demands for justice and accountability yet again.

Eric Stillman, a Chicago police officer, shot and killed Adam following a foot pursuit by officers on 29 March. When the shooting happened, Adam was with Ruben Roman, 21, who has since been charged with several felonies in connection to that night including reckless discharge of a firearm and child endangerment.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 16 Apr 2021 | 8:22 pm IST

Hundreds Of Fyre Festival Ticket Holders Poised To Win Payout In Class-Action Suit

A class-action settlement will award 277 ticket holders more than $7,000 each, pending a judge's approval in May. The final sum could be reduced depending on ongoing bankruptcy proceedings.

(Image credit: Mark Lennihan/AP)

Source: News : NPR | 16 Apr 2021 | 8:15 pm IST

In pictures: Raúl Castro's political life

Raúl Castro has stepped down as first secretary of Cuba's Communist Party ending a 60-year career.

Source: BBC News - Home | 16 Apr 2021 | 8:06 pm IST

Docker Desktop for Apple Silicon is here, but probe a little deeper and you'll find Rosetta 2 staring back

Prepare yourself for an onslaught of 'you're holding the container wrong'

Docker Desktop for Apple Silicon has been released, although it's not quite the seamless conversion some may expect.…

Source: The Register | 16 Apr 2021 | 8:01 pm IST

Dogecoin has risen 400 percent in the last week because why not

Enlarge (credit: peng song / Getty)

Dogecoin, a blockchain-based digital currency named for a meme about an excitable canine, has seen its price rise by a factor of five over the last week. The price spike has made it one of the world's 10 most valuable cryptocurrencies, with a market capitalization of $45 billion.

Understanding the value of cryptocurrencies is never easy, and it's especially hard for Dogecoin, which was created as a joke. Dogecoin isn't known for any particular technology innovations and doesn't seem to have many practical applications.

What Dogecoin does have going for it, however, is memorable branding and an enthusiastic community of fans. And in 2021, that counts for a lot. In recent months, we've seen shares of GameStop soar to levels that are hard to justify based on the performance of GameStop's actual business. People bought GameStop because it was fun and they thought the price might go up. So too for Dogecoin.

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Source: Ars Technica | 16 Apr 2021 | 7:56 pm IST

Celebrating 15 Years of the Podcast

Pamela Paul, Sam Tanenhaus and others discuss what’s happened behind the scenes during 15 years of the podcast.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 16 Apr 2021 | 7:47 pm IST

SpaceX wins NASA's Artemis lunar lander contract

Elon Musk's company will take astronauts to the Moon for the first time since 1972.

Source: Engadget | 16 Apr 2021 | 7:44 pm IST

Russia Retaliates Against Biden's New Sanctions, Expelling 10 U.S. Diplomats

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced new sanctions Friday. The U.S. imposed its new sanctions on Russia on Thursday in response to the SolarWinds cyberattack and interference in elections.

(Image credit: Yuri Kochetkov/Pool via AP)

Source: News : NPR | 16 Apr 2021 | 7:39 pm IST

Lego hints at an upcoming Luigi-themed set with a clever update

In what will likely go down as one of the most clever marketing campaigns in recent memory, Lego’s electronic Super Mario has started to hint at Luigi getting his own set following a recent firmware update.

Source: Engadget | 16 Apr 2021 | 7:28 pm IST

Age discrimination class-action against HP and HPE gets green light to proceed

Old people were let go while the CEO was talking about hiring a bunch of young people, says complaint

Former HP workers who allege they were dismissed in order to clear a path for younger employees have been granted certification [PDF] for their proposed collective action by a California district court.…

Source: The Register | 16 Apr 2021 | 7:15 pm IST

Today’s best deals: Board games we like, indoor security cameras, and more

Enlarge (credit: Ars Technica)

Today's Dealmaster includes notable discounts on a couple of Ars-approved board games, with the avian-themed Wingspan down to $46 and the massive dungeon crawler Gloomhaven down to $89 at Amazon. Both deals are within $4 of the lowest prices we've tracked and a good ways below the typical street price we see for each respective game online.

We were among the many board game enthusiasts to rave about Gloomhaven when it arrived a few years back. While it's undeniably dense, its deep gameplay systems and dozens of hours of content led us to call it "the best dungeon crawl board game we've ever played" in a past gift guide. Wingspan, meanwhile, is much less intense, and it's better suited for casual game nights. Our review deemed it "an approachable, 'gateway-plus' game that provides an accessible entry point into engine-building games while offering fun decisions for seasoned gamers."

If you're not in the mood for a new board game, our deals roundup also has good prices on a recommended indoor security camera from Anker's Eufy brand, a couple of well-regarded LG monitors, several certified refurbished Amazon devices, robot vacuums, and much more below.

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Source: Ars Technica | 16 Apr 2021 | 7:10 pm IST

Cuba Without A Castro: The Island's Old Guard Exits The Stage

A generation of Cuban revolutionaries who seized power six decades ago is set to exit the stage, with Raúl Castro saying he will step down as head of the Cuban Communist Party.

(Image credit: Ramon Espinosa/AP)

Source: News : NPR | 16 Apr 2021 | 7:00 pm IST

Gearing Up for the ‘New Normal’

In “The New Normal,” Dr. Jennifer Ashton explores the mental health repercussions of the pandemic and ways to rebuild our overall health.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 16 Apr 2021 | 6:54 pm IST

Law Professor: Police Hold 'Extraordinary' Power Over Black People In Traffic Stops

Those who don't immediately stop for police are committing "contempt of cop. And bad officers will make you pay for that," law professor Paul Butler argues.

(Image credit: Mandel Ngan/Pool/Getty Images)

Source: News : NPR | 16 Apr 2021 | 6:52 pm IST

Facebook’s Oversight Board has delayed its decision on Anne-may Kras ’s suspension

The board needs more time to review the thousands of public comments it received.

Source: Engadget | 16 Apr 2021 | 6:38 pm IST

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