Skip to main content

TechCrunch

Matrix Resurrections: Why Hugo Weaving Didn't Return As Agent Smith

4 years 9 months ago

Because of this, Hugo Weaving hasn't repeated his iconic role as Agent Smith in The Matrix Resurrections. After nearly 20 years, the Matrix franchise finally returned in 2021, with co-creator Lana Wachowski  at the helm.

While the resulting film  polarized both critics and fans, the backlash is certainly not as harsh as  The Matrix Revolutions, so it may in itself be a Trinity victory, or despite its apparent death, at the end of the revolution. In addition to Neo and Trinity, several other notable characters  from previous Matrix films returned for The Matrix Resurrections, played mostly  by their original actors.

Most notably, Jada Pinkett Smith was the older version of Niobe, the current leader of Io, the human city of the Matrix, who replaced Zion after Neo apparently ended the war between humans and machines.

There are new actors like Morpheus (with Yahya AbdulMateen II replacing Laurence Fishburne) and Agent Smith (with Jonathan Groff replacing Weaving).

Indeed, this is the second time Weaving has not played a major role in a hugely successful franchise, as he refused to return as Red Skull in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame after taking on the role in Captain America: The first Avenger had . 

This case turned out to be pretty bitter as Weaving didn't like his experience  with Marvel, luckily that wasn't the case that he didn't appear on The Matrix Resurrections.

Instead, the absence of weaving boils down to a Hollywood staple: scheduling conflicts. In 2020, when it was time to shoot The Matrix Resurrections, director and co-writer Lana Wachowski was keen to see him  return as Agent Smith.

After a moment's hesitation, Weaving agreed to do just that.

The two parties entered into negotiations to try to get the Matrix Resurrections schedule up and running so  Weaving could complete both projects, but Weaving said Wachowski was reluctant to meet the deadlines Weaving requested.

Weaving doesn't seem to hold up against Wachowski on a personal level, but it's certainly disappointing that it went that way. While Mindhunter's Groff does an excellent job of trying to mimic aspects of Weaving's Agent Smith performance,  his Duke Smith is watched. Keanu Reeves' Neo just doesn't resonate as much as a similar comeback fight between  Smith and Weavings Neo.

However, The Matrix Resurrections is setting up a possible Matrix 5, so maybe the original  version of Smith's Weaving could return for it. Smith's nature as a rogue program within the Matrix makes any  future change in his appearance easy to explain.

Unknown

Washington state to require internet service disclosure when selling house in new year 

4 years 9 months ago

Moving houses means potentially figuring out new internet connections.Getty Image

It's tough to assume home existence with out the net, especially amid the coronavirus pandemic. Now a regulation going into impact in Washington kingdom is acknowledging that.

 Starting withinside the new year, home dealers in Washington may be required to percentage their net issuer on signed disclosure bureaucracy that encompass facts approximately plumbing, insulation and structural defects.

"Does the belongings presently have net carrier?" the disclosure shape will now ask, together with a area to mention who the issuer is.

The regulation would not require dealers to element get right of entry to speeds, pleasant or opportunity providers. The new disclosure is the contemporary in an array of efforts with the aid of using lawmakers throughout the U.S to reply to our growing reliance on domestic net connectivity for work, training and entertainment.

That net connection has emerge as even extra important all through the COVID-19 pandemic, which has upended the lives of billions of humans, forcing quarantines and lockdowns as humans alter to a brand new regular of each day existence.

Even earlier than the pandemic compelled us to emerge as even extra reliant at the net than we already were, hundreds of thousands of Americans lived in houses that hadn't but been hooked up.

The Federal Communications Commission estimates that extra than 14 million Americans lack get right of entry to to baseline broadband speeds, even as the net carrier tracker BroadbandNow pegs the wide variety at toward forty two million.

Much of the broadband divide is in extra rural components of the u . s ., however it additionally disproportionately hits traditionally low-earnings and numerous communities.



Even before the pandemic forced us to rely on the Internet even more  than before, millions of Americans were living in unconnected households.

The Federal Communications Commission estimates that more than 14 million Americans do not have access to benchmark broadband. Speeds, while Internet service tracker BroadbandNow estimates the number at around 42 million.

Much of the broadband gap exists in more rural parts of the country, but it also affects disproportionately low-income and heterogeneous communities.

The US government has pledged $ 65 billion to expand broadband access under its $ 1.2 trillion bill on infrastructure investment and employment.

When buying a home, internet connections were generally not treated with the same care as water, electricity, or HVAC systems. While the new Washington state rule doesn't require detailed internet connection details, it does make connections a potential ground for termination of a sales contract. within three days of receipt of the disclosure documents, unless you have waived your right to participate.

Unknown

Bank accidentally deposits $176 million into people’s accounts on Christmas Day

4 years 9 months ago
A sign hangs from a branch of Banco Santander in London, U.K., on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010.Simon Dawson | Bloomberg via Getty Images

Thousands of people received a surprise gift on Christmas Day this year when European bank Santander accidentally deposited £ 130 million (US $ 176 million) in 75,000 transactions. their salaries doubled while the vendors got more than they expected.

Bank accounts operated by competing banks. "We regret that due to a technical problem, some payments from our corporate customers were incorrectly duplicated in the accounts of the recipients," a Santander spokesman told CNBC.

“As a result, none of our customers have ever been out of their pockets and we will be working hard with many banks across the UK in the coming days to restore duplicate transactions. According to reports, the incident could have dampened the mood of some payrolls on Christmas Day and December 26th.

“It ruined my vacation time thinking I accidentally paid  hundreds of thousands. I thought I did something wrong, "a payroll manager reportedly told the BBC.

Just me and that I would get in trouble at work. The payroll manager added that Santander had not disclosed how companies should explain the second payment to employees, nor provided any information on the reimbursement, according to the report.

He said the fund recovery process  is an industrial process known as the "bank troubleshooting process".

He added that he has started working with other banks in accordance with the procedure and that these banks will try to collect accidental payments from their clients' accounts and that they also have the option of withdrawing funds directly from people's accounts.

Unknown

The world welcomes 2022 with muted celebrations as COVID-19 cases surge

4 years 9 months ago
Fireworks light up the sky over Sydney Harbour as the clock strikes midnight on January 01, 2022 in Sydney, Australia. BROOK MITCHELL / GETTY IMAGES


The world rings in 2022 with silent celebrations for another year as the coronavirus pandemic, now fueled by the rapidly spreading variant of Omicron, continues to disrupt daily life around the world. , forced many cities to tone down  or cancel the celebrations altogether.

Times Square in New York City was still hosting an event, but it only allowed a small fraction of the typical crowd, and all attendees over  5 years old who did not qualify for an exception were required to be fully vaccinated and wear face masks.

Cities like Atlanta and San Francisco canceled the typical celebrations.


In New Zealand, one of the first cities to open the New Year, a play of light  replaced  traditional fireworks.

Australia continued with its seven-minute fireworks display over  Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Sydney Opera House, but limited access to central Sydney, the Associated Press reported.

Earlier this week, Dr. Anthony Fauci told Americans not to attend large gatherings on New Year's Eve. "What I would suggest to people  is not to  go to very big parties of 50 to 60 people where people whistle and all that. Something like partying and  the vaccination status of  people around that area is not known," said Fauci.

Unknown

BlackBerry will die on January 4th — for real this time

4 years 9 months ago

Image Credit:The VergeDear friends, today we are gathered here  to mourn the death of that once beloved monarch of the mobile world: BlackBerry, and yes, I understand that this is not the first time we have heralded the death of the company or its devices (and, for reasons I'll explain below, this probably won't be the last), but this is a very definitive end to older BlackBerry hardware.

As of January 4th, any phone or tablet running BlackBerry's own software will be ie BlackBerry 7.1 or earlier. , BlackBerry 10 or its tablet operating system BlackBerry PlayBook - "no longer works reliably," says the company.

Whether via WiFi or cellular, there is no guarantee that you can make  calls, send SMS, use data, establish an SMS connection or even call the emergency number 911 if you or someone you love is still using an original BlackBerry , we advise you  to carefully but firmly break your hands open for the New Year. As of Jan 4th, it will be little more than a paperweight (although Android BlackBerry devices  will continue to function normally.



However, as mentioned earlier, this may not be the last BlackBerry death we announced. Stocks in the US, but such a famous brand must be squeezed for its last scrap (parent company BlackBerry Limited was in the business of  selling cybersecurity software.

BlackBerry tried to reboot  with a new operating system in 2013. BlackBerry 10 (that failed) and Android devices were made in 2015  (which also failed).

Then in 2016 it began licensing its brand to third party manufacturers like TCL. This is still  the  name of BlackBerry and in 2020, a Texas company called OnwardMobility announced a 5G -BlackBerry device with Android and a full QWERTY keyboard slated to hit the market in 2021.

Well, time is running out (OnwardMobility hasn't released any news or updates on its website since then. J January 2021)

Unknown

New York City ushers in 2022 with ball drop in Times Square

4 years 9 months ago

Revellers gather during the New Year's Eve celebrations in Times Square on Dec. 31, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Jeenah Moon)

New York City welcomed the New Year and said goodbye to 2021  as confetti and cheers swept across Times Square as the New Year's Eve tradition returned to a city ravaged by a global pandemic.

Time zone, and thousands of New Years Eve celebrations stood shoulder to shoulder in a slight chill to see a 6 ton sphere studded with nearly 2,700 Waterford crystals tumble down on a crowd of about 15,000, far fewer than the many Dozen of thousands of night owls.

They usually descend into the world famous square to soak up the lights and excitement of the  New Year's Eve event in the nation's marquee.

The authorities warned on Friday of sprawling celebrations amid rising COVID19 infections of the Omicron variant. Last year's ball throw was closed to the public because of the pandemic.



As the ball fell and euphoria filled the streets, Maya Scharm, a visiting dog trainer  from New Jersey, felt the year 2021 slip away. "It's a symbol of the return to normal," he said minutes past midnight different this year, ”said his partner Brandon Allen.

We already have this feeling of stability. We know what's going on, there's a new variety floating around now, but it's like we've been through it for two years a year.

Confetti lit  by electronic billboards swirled in  on a mild winter night in New York City a light wind. Mary González was standing a few meters behind a crowd and wanted to keep her distance from anyone who was unwittingly carrying the virus.

"I'm glad 2021 is over because it caused a lot of problems for everyone," said González, who was visiting from Mexico City and wanted to enjoy an American tradition. “We hope that 2022 will be a lot better than this year.



The annual fall of the ball occurred as the clock struck midnight and  the New Year rang in, an event generally remembered by the uncorking of champagne, the clink of pints, joyful hugs, and renewed hope for better times at the world's crossroads, and city officials insisted on holding the  New Year's Eve event to demonstrate the city's resilience even amid a coronavirus resurgence, but 2022 starts just like the year before, with the pandemic clouding an already uncertain future.

The question arose of whether the city would have to cancel this year's party as the city had record numbers of COVID-19 cases in the days leading up to it, despite some cities like Atlanta having decided to cancel their own celebrations. They have risen to the  highest level ever, averaging more than 265,000 per day. New York City reported a record number of new confirmed cases, nearly 44,000, on Wednesday and in a similar year.

According to New York State, officials demanded masks and  proof of vaccination from visitors. The organizers initially expected more than 50,000 celebrants, but plans have been cut sharply due to widespread infections.

Unknown

‘Serious’ talk between Joe Biden, Putin sets stage for diplomacy 

4 years 9 months ago

U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin exchanged warnings about Ukraine on Thursday  but were optimistic that diplomatic talks in January could ease rising tensions.

In a 50-minute call, their second conversation this month, Biden said he had to see Russia downsize its military near Ukraine, while Putin said sanctions threatened by Washington and its allies could lead to a break in relations.

"President Joe Biden reiterated that substantial progress in these dialogues can  only be achieved in an environment of de-escalation rather than escalation," said White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said the call created "a good background" for future talks.

The exchanges of heads of state and government laid the groundwork for lower-level engagement between  countries, including a security meeting between the United States and Russia in January 9-10, followed by a Russia-NATO meeting on January 12 and a wider conference that will be attended by Moscow, Washington and other European countries, scheduled for January 13th.


Despite talks about diplomacy, officials on both sides described the tone of the call  as "serious".

And none of the countries detailed any significant progress towards a solution or the outline of an agreement.

In Kiev, leaders worry about the 60,000 to 90,000 Russian soldiers who have gathered in the north, east and south.

Washington wasn't convinced by a report over the weekend that Russia would withdraw about 10,000 soldiers, and officials said they saw little evidence of a reduction.

Airspace for the first time earlier this week, although various types of surveillance aircraft are common in the area.

For his part, Biden reiterated his threat of unprecedented sanctions if Russia chooses to invade Ukraine.


"Joe Biden has taken two avenues," including diplomacy and deterrence, including "serious costs and consequences," said a senior civil servant.

“Both leaders admitted that there are likely  areas where we could make significant progress and areas where agreement may not be possible, and that  upcoming talks would define the outline of each of these categories. Ushakov said Putin "reacted immediately" that any sanction now or later "could lead to a complete severing of ties between our countries".

Moscow's troop deployments over the past two months alarmed the West after the Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula was captured in 2014 and  separatists supported troops on its own soil as it chooses.

Unknown

Truck driver’s 110-year sentence reduced after US outcry

4 years 9 months ago

A truck driver, Rogel Aguilera Mederos, whose 110-year prison term caused outrage over a fatal accident, had his sentence reduced to 10 years on Thursday. More than 4.5 million people, including reality TV star Kim Kardashian, called for a reduction in Rogel Aguilera Mederos's sentence.

Aguilera Mederos, a Cuban immigrant, was moving lumber in April 2019 when his brakes failed on a downhill stretch and he was not using an emergency route. Exit ramp.


His runaway truck crashed into traffic, killing four people and injuring several others.

Aguilera Mederos was convicted on 27 counts, including multiple homicides, by a jury, and a judge sentenced him to 110 years' imprisonment, which he believed was the minimum mandatory under Colorado law.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis acted Thursday  to reduce what he said was "arbitrary and unfair" earnings.

"The length of his 110-year sentence is simply not proportionate to his actions or the sentences imposed on others for similar crimes," he wrote in a letter to Aguilera Mederos.

“There is an urgent need to correct this unjust judgment and restore confidence in the uniformity and fairness of our criminal justice system, and as a result, I have decided to commute your sentence now 5 years.


Unknown

South Africa lifts curfew as it says COVID-19 fourth wave peaked

4 years 9 months ago

South Africa  lifted the nightly curfew at 4 a.m. The course of the pandemic,  vaccination rates in the country and available capacity in the health sector, according to a press release from Mondli Gungubele, Minister of the Presidency, South Africa is currently at the lowest of its five phases of alert.

 "All indicators suggest that the country may have passed the peak of the fourth wave at the national level," said a statement from the special cabinet meeting  on Thursday.

Health ministry data showed an increase in the number of newly discovered cases  in the week ending Jan.


Health ministry data showed an increase in the South Africa was the hardest hit country in Africa during the pandemic, with around 3.5 million infections and 91,000 deaths in  both cases.

In addition to lifting  restrictions on public movement, the government said meetings will be limited to no more than 1,000 people indoors and no more than 2,000 people outdoors.

It also ruled that liquor stores would be allowed to operate beyond 11 p.m. (2100GMT) could revert  to full licensing terms, which is a welcome boon for merchants and businesses hard hit by the pandemic and looking to recover over the holiday season.

The Omicron variant is highly transferable, there were lower hospitalization rates  than in the previous waves, "said the cabinet, adding that the use of masks in public places was still mandatory. Masking when required is still a crime in South Africa.

Unknown

Experts warn Omicron ‘blizzard’ to disrupt U.S. for next month

4 years 9 months ago

Health experts warned Americans on Thursday  that a rising tide of COVID19 cases, led by the Omicron variant, threatened major disruptions in their lives, from schools to shopping, and urged them to prepare now for a challenging month.

The United States had a record seven-day average of new cases, with more than 290,000 new infections reported daily, a Reuters tally showed.

According to the record, at least 18 states and Puerto Rico have set pandemic records for new cases. Maryland, Ohio and Washington, DC also saw record hospital admissions as  U.COVID hospital admissions rose 27%.

The increase is due to an increase in vacation travel as New Years celebrations are yet to come and  schools grapple with students returning to classrooms after the winter break.

"We will see the number of cases in this country rise so dramatically that it will be difficult for us to keep everyday life going," said Dr. Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert from the University of Minnesota, told MSNBC.


"Next month is going to be a viral blizzard," he said. "It is putting pressure on society as a whole. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease official, said Wednesday that cases are likely to increase by the end.

" He and other U.S. health officials  said early data shows Omicron appears less severe, but they have continued to push for vaccines, masks, and physical distance.

Services, schools and retailers among others in the coming weeks. "We have to be very careful not to underestimate Omicron too much," said Dr. Peter Hoetz, an infectious disease expert at Baylor College of Medicine, told CNN.

It is also worrying that healthcare workers are being marginalized with their own COVID cases  as well as less effective therapies, said Hoetz.

"We are at a pretty serious time. As early as early 2020, 825,663 people  in the United States have died of COVID, the data showed, with the latest wave of hospital admissions for the unvaccinated being driven.

" President Joe Biden announced new news this month. plans to tackle the Omicron-powered wave, including federal reinforcements to hospitals and more testing, but some experts say it's too little and too late.


So far, however, the economy appears to be stable, even if some economists are cautioned. While air traffic was largely disrupted and stores closed and events canceled in some troubled areas, other measures  such as the Christmas sales were maintained.

The labor market is also  holding up: the new applications for state unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level in the pandemic era, the Ministry of Labor announced on Thursday. small businesses, he said he expected the first week of January to be slower than Omicron's forecast.

"The rest of January will likely depend on state and community health policies and epidemiological data," Greenberg told Reuters. Keys, especially for working parents, with systems in Washington and New York promising to stay open with further testing.

Education Minister Miguel Cardona admitted the problem was staffing  but urged schools to take measures to keep the children in classrooms. Unlike last year's closings, “we now have better tools. They should stay open, ”he told MSNBC, adding that federal funding continues to be available to increase staffing levels and testing.

In the meantime, some universities have postponed their next semesters or have gone online. "We have light at the end of the tunnel," said Osterholm. “But now you have to duck.

Unknown

Samsung teases Exynos 2200 with AMD’s RDNA 2 graphics coming January 11th

4 years 9 months ago

Image Credit:SamsungSamsung has commenced teasing its subsequent flagship cellphone SoC — predicted to be known as the Exynos 2200 — in advance of a January eleventh statement with a tantalizing tidbit of information: the brand new chipset will function a GPU powered through AMD’s RDNA 2 pics architecture, higher regarded for powering the subsequent-gen pics at the Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, and AMD’s RX 6000-collection pics cards.

Of course, for the reason that the Exynos 2200 may be powering a cellphone, the brand new GPU won’t be magically allowing subsequent-gen pics on par with the maximum effective consoles and gaming PCs.

But it probable will allow a few upgrades in pics, along with something different improve Samsung has up its sleeve for its modern flagship chip.

#PlaytimeIsOver. The gaming marketplace is about to get serious. Stay tuned for the next #Exynos with the new GPU born from RDNA 2. January 11, 2022. pic.twitter.com/0H2MeVUbeS

— Samsung Exynos (@SamsungExynos) December 30, 2021

A successor to the 2021 Exynos 2100, the Exynos 2200 is expected to power some of Samsung's top performing phones in 2022, including the alleged Galaxy S22 and S22 Ultra. Limited to international models of their upcoming flagships, with the US variants presumably configured for the recently announced Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset from Qualcomm.

Fortunately, we don't have to wait long for more details on the Exynos 2200 (or whatever Samsung calls it) as the company promises an official debut on January 11th.

Unknown

WATCH: WORLD RINGS IN NEW YEAR UNDER COVID CLOUD

4 years 9 months ago

Happy New Year İn Advance To EveryoneThe world began  on Friday with the inauguration of 2022 after another turbulent and pandemic-ridden year, limited by new restrictions, a rising number of cases, and a slight glimmer of hope for better times.

 The first Olympic Games without spectators and  the  dreams of democracy from Afghanistan to Myanmar to Hong Kong are being smashed by authoritarian regimes.

But it was the pandemic, now entering its third year, that once again dominated  most people's lives. More than 5.4 million people have died since the coronavirus was first reported in central China in December 2019, and countless more have fallen ill, exposed to outbreaks, bans, bans and an alphabetical spaghetti of PCR testing, LFT and RAT.

The year 2021 began with hope when life-saving vaccines were used in around 60 percent of the world's population, though many of their poor still have limited access and some of the rich believe the coups are part of an unclear plot.

When it came to an end, the appearance of the Omicron variant caused the number of  new cases of Covid-19 to rise to more than a million for the first time, according to an AFP balance sheet.

France became the last country to announce on Friday that Omicron is now its dominant coronavirus strain. In the UK, the US and even Australia, a long-standing haven from the pandemic, the variant's prominence is generating new record cases.

Parts of the Pacific nation of Kiribati were the first to greet the New Year from 1000 GMT.

In San Francisco, the festivities have been canceled or reduced again  as infections increase.

One notable exception, however, was South Africa, which was the first country to report Omicron  in November, where the curfew was lifted to allow the festivities.

Health officials said  a drop in infections over the past week shows the current wave has peaked, crucially without a significant increase in deaths. Sydney, Australia's largest city, has also opted for fireworks that will light up the city, port, despite being one of the fastest growing cases in the world.

The country's Conservative government says its decision to abandon a "Covidzero" approach was based on vaccination rates and increasing evidence that Omicron is less lethal.

Tens of thousands of night owls were expected to populate Sydney Beach, although AFP journalists said the city was quieter than normal at nightfall.

"I'm just trying to focus on the positive things that happened this year instead of thinking about all of the bad things that happened," said Melinda, a 22-year-old medical student.

Howard, part of an enthusiastic but smaller than usual crowd waiting at the Opera House for the show to begin.

Despite numerous infections in the United Arab Emirates, Dubai is planning fireworks at the Burj Khalifa, the  tallest tower in the world.

Meanwhile, the northern Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah is trying to break two world records with  huge fireworks.

"Just a wish" In Rio, the celebrations on Copacabana Beach will take place in a reduced format, although many night owls are still expected.

"People have only one wish to leave their homes, to celebrate life," said a 45-year-old waiter on Copacabana Beach said Francisco Rodrigues.

Some Brazilians are more careful, like Roberta Assis, a 27-year-old lawyer. "This is not the time for big meetings," he said. The authorities in Seoul are showing similar caution and instead prohibit viewers from ringing the traditional midnight bell.

In India, fearing a repetition of the devastating surge in the virus  that overwhelmed the country in April and May, cities and states have imposed assembly restrictions and Delhi put a curfew at 10 p.m. Mumbai police put nighttime bans on people on Friday Enact visiting public places such as city beaches and boardwalks, which are usually popular attractions in the New Year, with two-week restrictions.

The health organization warned of difficult times, saying Omicron could lead to "a tsunami of cases"."This ... will continue to put immense pressure on exhausted health workers and health systems that are on the verge of collapse," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

But the restrictions have again led to frequent, loud and sometimes violent protests against the blockade, vaccinations and the government. Experts and non-experts alike hope that 2022 will be remembered as the new, less deadly phase of the pandemic.

"Be better for everyone," said  Oscar Ramirez, a 31-year-old Sydney night owl. “Everyone in the world needs a big change.


İf you like this post then buy me my first coffee


Unknown

JAPAN AIMS TO PUT A PERSON ON THE MOON BY LATE 2020S

4 years 9 months ago

Japan on Tuesday revised the timetable for its space exploration plans  to land a Japanese  on the moon by the second half of the 2020s.

 "Space is not just a border that gives people hope and dreams of economic society in terms of our economic security," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said at a meeting to finalize the plan.

According to the preliminary schedule of the plan, Japan intends to participate in the Artemis program, one of U.S. led initiative aimed at bringing astronauts back to the moon, bringing the first non-American to the moon.

The plan also outlines Japan's ambitions to launch a probe to explore Mars in 2024 and find ways to generate solar power in space.

Neighboring China is also aiming to become a major space power by 2030 and also plans to land astronauts on the moon, increasing the possibility of an Asian space race.

In May, China became the second country to put a rover on Mars two years later.

After the landing of the first spaceship on the other side of the moon, his space exploration goals were announced a week after Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa returned to Earth after 12 days on board the International Space Station and became the first space tourist to travel to Earth is ISS in more than a decade.

Unknown

GERMANY TO PULL THE PLUG ON THREE OF ITS LAST SIX NUCLEAR PLANTS

4 years 9 months ago

Germany will shut down three of its last six nuclear power plants on Friday, a further step towards  phasing out  nuclear energy by focusing on renewable energies melted in 2011, when an earthquake and a tsunami  in the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl destroyed the coastal power plant 25 years earlier for three and a half decades in operation.

The last three nuclear power plants  Isar 2, Emsland and Neckarwestheim II  will be shut down by the end of 2022, the largest economy with ambitious climate targets and is faced with rising energy prices.

"For the energy industry in Germany, the nuclear phase-out is final," said Kerstin Andreae, managing director of the  energy industry association BDEW.
The six nuclear power plants contributed  around 12% to electricity production in Germany in 2021, as preliminary figures from the BDEW show.
The share of renewable energies was just under 41%, with coal generating just under 28% and gas around 15%.
By expanding the wind and solar energy infrastructure, Germany intends to cover 80% of its energy needs from renewable energies by 2030.
Economic and Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck said on Wednesday that he did not see the anti-nuclear consensus  in Germany weakened. the true end of the nuclear age in Germany.
"We have to say that there will continue to be uranium enrichment plants in Germany like the one in Gronau," said Arne Fellermann, managing director of the  environmental association BUND, to Reuters.

"There is also a research reactor in Garching that is still operated with weapons-grade uranium," Fellermann continues.
When asked about possible job losses, the mayor of Gundremmingen, Tobias Bühler, said that the plant employees were busy  dismantling the reactor after the shutdown.
The shutdown will certainly take another decade or two, ”said Bühler. E.ON estimates the total costs for the decommissioning at 1.1 billion euros (1.25 billion US dollars) per plant.
E.ON set up provisions of € 9.4 billion in 2020 for the nuclear aftercare phase, which includes the decommissioning of the facility, packaging and cleaning of radioactive waste.

The shutdown is expected to be completed in 2040.
The Japanese government on Tuesday presented a plan to dump contaminated water from the paralyzed Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea, angering neighboring countries China and South Korea.

Unknown

XIAN BATTLES COVID-19 IN WORST OUTBREAK TO HIT A CHINESE CITY THIS YEAR

4 years 9 months ago
The Xian Industrial and Technology Center in China reported  more than 100 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, making the number of locally transmitted infections  the highest in any Chinese city this year. Xian reported 155 new local cases on December 29th. December, official data showed.

 This brings the number of local infections to more than 1,100 since the outbreak began on December 9, forcing authorities to lock down the city of 13 million people. It has been since the 23rd. 

"Xian has entered a brisk phase in its fight against the virus," Zhang Fenghu, a city government official, told Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology, two of the world's largest manufacturers of memory chips, before the blockade could affect its chip manufacturing facilities in the area.

Xian is also a major tourist destination, drawing visitors to its collection of terracotta warriors who were buried with China's first emperor more than 2,000 years ago.

The authorities have launched several rounds of  testing across the city to monitor the transmissions. Round six started on Thursday, a day later. Restrictions have restricted access to everyday necessities and many people cannot go out and shop, leaving them dependent on supplies.

Deliveries and the government are working to resolve the issue, a Xian government official said  Wednesday.

WUHAN ANNIVERSARY

A Xian resident surnamed He told Reuters that she tried to order groceries through the online app from Alibaba-backed supermarket chain Freshippo, but was unable to secure many items such as potatoes and cucumbers.

The app posted a message saying "Delivery staff is not available" under many articles. Based on a screenshot you provided. Several boroughs have organized free grocery deliveries to some residential complexes, state media said.

The total supply of essential items in Xian is sufficient, a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce told reporters. Now on its eighth day, it coincides with the second anniversary of the first signs of the coronavirus outbreak in downtown Wuhan. an "unknown cause," according to state media.

In addition, on Thursday, thousands of people left messages on the social media account of the late COVID-19 whistleblower Li Wenliang on the anniversary of the day, also on December 30, 2019, in which he learned of the possibility of a causative virus.

Pneumonia in Wuhan: As of Wednesday, mainland China had reported 101,890 confirmed cases of coronavirus, including  local and imported, with a death toll of 4,636.

Unknown

PFIZER’S COVID-19 SHOT CAUSES MOSTLY MILD SIDE EFFECTS IN YOUNG KIDS’

4 years 9 months ago

İmage Credit: Reuters

Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE's COVID-19 vaccine mainly caused  mild side effects in children ages 5 to 11, according to data published by the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The data showed that some children were affected after the second dose of the vaccine  reported injection site pain and other systemic reactions such as fatigue and headache.

The CDC said it had also received reports of 11 cases of myocarditis, a type of inflammation of the heart, in 511-year-old children  who had received the vaccine. Of these, seven had recovered and four were recovering at the time of reporting.

Myocarditis is a rare side effect after mRNA vaccines.


Notification system for adverse vaccination events  (VAERS).They received 4,249  adverse event reports, of which 97.6% of the cases were not serious, according to the CDC report.

The cases were reported between November 3 and December 19 through VAERS and vsafe, a voluntary smartphone-based security monitoring system for adverse events following COVID19 vaccination, in children in this age group.

The vaccine was approved in the United States  in late October for children ages 5 to 15 and is the only approved vaccine for that age group. 

A separate study by the CDC showed that Pfizer 92's two-dose vaccine was effective against coronavirus infections in teenagers aged 12 to 17 years.

 The observation period for the analysis coincided with the period of dominance of the delta variant  in the United States, the CDC said.

Unknown

SCIENTISTS TO TEST HIGH DEXAMETHASONE DOSES IN COVID-19 PATIENTS

4 years 9 months ago


    İmage Credit: AFP Photo
British scientists will investigate whether higher doses of a cheap and widely used steroid called dexamethasone might work better in severe COVID-19 patients compared to  standard lower doses, they said Thursday. , showed that it was able to save the lives of COVID-19 patients in  a so-called "breakthrough" in the coronavirus pandemic. 

They found that a 6 mg daily dose of dexamethasone,  used to reduce inflammation in diseases such as arthritis, reduced the death rate among critically ill COVID-19 patients in hospitals by about a third.

"Given the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, we can expect  patients  with severe COVID-19 to be hospitalized for a while," said Peter Horby, a professor at Oxford University who co-led the study.

 “So it is very important that we continue RECOVERY to  compare a higher dose of 20 mg  dexamethasone given once a day for five days, followed by 10 mg once a day for  another five days, with the usual low dose treatment.

Process is supported by the UK government and Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates and his ex-wife Melinda French's charity.

Last week,  scientists began investigating GSK and Vir Biotechnology's antibody-based drug COVID19  as a possible treatment for hospital patients.

Unknown

Pluto should be reclassified as a planet, Scientists reclaimed

4 years 9 months ago

 

Photo: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

You know the old motto: Nobody can hear you screaming in space. Unfortunately, being trapped in our rapidly heated rock, we can hear everyone screaming very well, especially those ironically howling about the specifics of space.

Checked in at our degraded friend Pluto, it was  certainly not a planet, despite a decade and a half of complaints from overly engaged astronomy fans (Welcome to the world of pop culture, astronomy fans).

 His appointment lately has primarily sought to compensate everyone, the fact of the matter is that  the International Astronomical Union is still very unlikely to step back on its 2006 decision apparently they raised their hands and gave their goforbroke request from "To hell.

 We not only want Pluto to come back, we want  150 more damn planets to be added to the list."


That's the gist of a new article published in the research journal Icarus that argues that the IAUs are the real Jabronis here, dammit. 

As NBC News breaks it down, the team of scientists claims that the current planetary classification system relies more on outdated astrological methods. (read: pseudoscientific) terminology and should be updated to reflect modernity. A "planet" is by definition "any geologically active body" in space that would not only bring Pluto  into its lap, but also moons such as Europa, Enceladus and Titan, as well as the asteroid Ceres.

A total of around 150 new "planets" will be added to the eight existing ones. Unfortunately, as planetary geologist Paul Byrne explained, all of this backlash to taxonomy often overshadows many of the other really fascinating aspects of these celestial bodies of all sizes. 

"Every time I gave a talk and  put up a picture of Pluto, the first question wasn't about the geology of the planet, but why was it degraded?" he told NBC News. "It stuck with people, and that's a real shame.

Unknown

F.D.A. Plans to Allow 12- to 15-Year-Olds to Receive Pfizer Boosters

4 years 9 months ago

 









The Food and Drug Administration to authorize booster doses of Pfizer-BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds Monday. (Emily Elconin, Reuters)

The United States Food and Drug Administration should receive a booster injection of the Pfizer vaccine up to five months after a second dose from the current six months, the newspaper reported.

 The increase in cases caused by omicrons can be an important tool for millions of children. According to initial data from laboratory studies, the  variant can bypass some of the protection offered by two doses of the PfizerBioNTech vaccine.


But the booster doses of the PfizerBioNTech and Moderna vaccines appear to protect against Omicron, also based on laboratory studies. 

The rapidly spreading variant has resulted in thousands of new COVID19 hospital admissions for U.S. children in the past few weeks, raising new concerns about  the number of unvaccinated Americans under the age of 18

who will do well with the new surge.

 The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  Rochelle Walensky said in an interview with CNN on Wednesday that the agency could receive a call regarding the third dose of the COVID19 vaccine  for children aged 12-15 The vaccine - The CDC's Advisory Committee plans to meet mid-next week to vote on whether to recommend the changes.

 While officials  said the vaccines protect against serious illness and death from Omicron, some children as young as 12 to 15 are now more than six months away from their previous vaccinations.

Unknown

HERE’S WHY EMMA WATSON ALMOST QUIT HARRY POTTER

4 years 9 months ago

 


The original trio from the Wizarding franchise, Harry Potter, are expected to return to the silver screen next New Years Day in the 20th anniversary special when they return to Hogwarts.

 In the reunion special, two of the movie's lead actors, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, spoke about how they were on the verge of leaving the series after season five, responsible for his childhood fame during his adolescence.

 Best known for their characters  Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, Watson and Rupert Grint made the reveal during the  special Harry Potter reunion show for the 20th anniversary.


“You were considering retiring. I never told you about it, ”Rupert joked with Emma about the days before.

 At that time, she revealed how solemnly she  wanted to leave the character: "Yes. I think she was scared." I don't know if you ever felt like it reached a tipping point where you said, 'This is now forever,' "revealed Watson." Fame had finally come home in a big way. 

"At some point there was Grint agrees that he also had his moments of contemplation  where he would insist "what life would be  if I called it a day." Radcliffe, aka Harry Potter, added to the conversation, saying, "Never really.

" He talked about it. I think we had it at our own pace. We were then in the moment. "However, the female lead in Harry Potter believed that" no one had to convince her to stay, "except for the love and appreciation of the fans.

Unknown
Checked
8 minutes 44 seconds ago
TechCrunch
Startup and Technology News
Subscribe to TechCrunch feed