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☆ Habitat at risk as Ukrainians crowd river seeking respite from war
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Viktoria Lakezina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] People rest on a narrow beach of the Tylihul river that widens into a broad estuary, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Mykolaiv region, Ukraine July 29, 2023. REUTERS/Viktoria LakezinaTYLIHUL ESTUARY, Ukraine, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Kite surfers bounce along the gentle waves. On one hand, we understand that there is no access to the sea and people still want to relax somewhere. But as long as the war goes on and there are few other places to rest, families say they will keep coming. So this is the only place where we can relax after two years of war against Russia," said resident Viacheslav Natalenko.

Persons: Viktoria, Petro Kalinchuk, Inna Tymchenko, Kalinchuk, Viacheslav, Peter Graff, Alex Richardson Organizations: REUTERS, Visitors, National Institute of Ecology, Russia, Viacheslav Natalenko, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Mykolaiv region, TYLIHUL, Mykolaiv, Dnipro

☆ The CEO of Malaysia Airlines, Captain Izham Ismail, went from selling snacks as a child to running a fleet of airplanes
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( Chris Johnston | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Captain Izham Ismail started flying for Malaysia Airlines in 1979 and became its CEO in 2017. Yet despite coming from such a modest background, Ismail went on to become a pilot and then run Malaysia Airlines, one of the world's oldest carriers. Ismail started flying for Malaysia Airlines in 1979, became a captain and a decade later was selected for its senior management training scheme. After running one of its regional carriers and becoming group chief operating officer, Ismail was elevated to CEO of Malaysia Airlines in 2017. Malaysia Airlines has 11,000 staff, down from 35,000 two decades ago, and flies to almost 50 destinations, mostly in Asia, with 106 aircraft that are all leased.

Persons: Izham Ismail, Ismail, it's, —, Captain Izham Ismail, –, Mohd Rasfan, Khazanah, Christopher Mueller, He'd, Sabena, Mat Zain Organizations: Malaysia Airlines, Service, Bournemouth University, Philippine Airlines, MIT, Stanford, Boeing, Netflix, Aer Lingus, Germany's Lufthansa, Malaysian, British Airways, American Airlines . Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways, Emirates Locations: Malaysia, England, Malaysia's, Istanbul, London, Court, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing, Ukraine, Russian, Malaysian, Asia

☆ Giant kites could pull ships across the ocean – and slash their carbon emissions
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Mark Tutton | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —You may have seen kitesurfers in action, harnessing the power of the wind to pull them over the sea. After years of research, they are currently testing the kite on a cargo ship traveling between France and the US. The company has received €2.5 million ($2.7 million) in funding from the EU, and says it already has orders from Airbus and Japanese shipping company “K” Line. He adds that savings will become more pronounced as ships transition to green fuels, which are more expensive than fossil fuels and take up more space, because they are less energy dense. “It’s also a huge enabler for future green fuels,” argues Bernatets.

Persons: Airseas, Vincent Bernatets, “, it’s, Bernatets, Maxime Horlaville, Dr, Richard Pemberton, SkySails, ” Pemberton, Pemberton, It’s, ” Organizations: CNN, Airbus, International Maritime Organization, EU, ”, de Bordeaux, Marine Engineering, University of Plymouth Locations: French, France, Airseas

☆ SpaceX Axiom 2 mission returns from space station
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

This mission, dubbed Axiom Mission 2, or AX-2, launched from Florida on May 21. The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying Axiom Mission 2's four-person crew splashed down off the coast of Panama City, Florida, at 11:04 p.m. A company called Space Adventures brokered several such missions to the space station in the early 2000s, booking rides for wealthy thrill seekers on Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft. The SpaceX capsule transported the AX-2 crew back to Earth after a weeklong mission at the International Space Station. Axiom is one of several US companies gunning to create a new, privately owned space station.

Persons: Rayyanah Barnawi, Peggy Whitson, Whitson, I’m, ” Whitson, John Shoffner, Ali AlQarni, “, ” Barnawi, Barnawi, AlQarni, “ That’s, I’ve, ”, Prince Sultan bin Salman, Biden, axiomspace, Derek Hassmann, it’s, gunning Organizations: CNN, SpaceX, NASA, International, Houston, Crew, Dura, Line Corp, Royal Saudi Air Force, United Arab Emirates Space Agency, Russian Soyuz, Saudi, Space, Soyuz, Government Locations: Panama City , Florida, Gulf of Mexico, Florida, Saudi Arabia, American, Russian, United States

[1/3] A person walks past a show venue of stand-up comedy company Xiaoguo Culture Media Co that has closed its business, in Beijing, China May 19, 2023. "Stand-up comedy has been the last bastion in which people ... can still enjoy entertaining commentary about public life," said Beijing-based independent political analyst Wu Qiang. "After this, the space for stand-up comedy and public expression in general will inevitably keep shrinking." China's comedy scene rose quickly during the COVID-19 pandemic as people spent more time indoors watching viral streamed comedy shows. The most popular were produced by Xiaoguo Culture Media Co, the firm at the centre of the current uproar.

☆ The world's biggest publisher is suing a Florida school district for banning books by writers including Toni Morrison and Khaled Hosseini
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Penguin Random House is suing a Florida school district and board after it banned certain books. Penguin Random House has joined forces with an authors' group to sue a Florida school district after it banned a number of books. Books removed or restricted by Escambia include "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison, "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut, and "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini. All have had books removed from libraries or had student access restricted by the district, PEN America said in a press release. "The book removals and restrictions enacted by the School District and School Board are denying students access to books they would like to read, or chilling such access."

☆ World’s oldest architectural plans date from the Stone Age
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Archaeologists working in Saudi Arabia and Jordan say they have discovered the oldest known architectural plans. The Stone Age hunting traps date back about 9,000 years and are known as kites because of the shape they form. Archaeologists are shown during the discovery of the kite engravings at Jebel az-Zilliyat in Saudi Arabia. Engravings made to scaleThe engraved stone is shown at the JKSH F15 site in Jibal al-Khashabiyeh in Jordan. His colleagues in Saudi Arabia unearthed a larger engraved stone in the region of Jebel az-Zilliyat that was almost 4 meters (13 feet) long.

☆ Penguin Random House and Florida parents sue school district over book bans
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Jo Yurcaba | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A selection of books including "The Bluest Eye," by Toni Morrison, that have been the subject of complaints from parentsPenguin Random House, authors, parents and an advocacy group filed a lawsuit Wednesday against a Florida school district for removing 10 books related to race and the LGBTQ community after a high school teacher complained. In addition to the publishing house, PEN America, a nonprofit group that advocates for free expression in literature, five authors whose books have been removed from the district, and two parents whose children go to school in the district filed the suit against the Escambia County School District and the Escambia County School Board in Pensacola, Florida. "The clear agenda behind the campaign to remove the books is to categorically remove all discussion of racial discrimination or LGBTQ issues from public school libraries. Neither the district nor the school board immediately returned requests for comment. More than 100 other titles are restricted and require parental approval for access.

☆ Desert Monoliths Reveal World’s Oldest Architectural Plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Priyanka Runwal | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Massive prehistoric stone structures found in desert landscapes from Saudi Arabia to Kazakhstan have baffled archaeologists for decades. Each can stretch for up to a few miles, and resembles a kite with tail strings in overall shape. Recent studies have built a consensus that the so-called desert kites were used to trap and kill wild animal herds. Engraved between 7,000 and 9,000 years ago, these representations are by far the oldest known to-scale architectural plans recorded in human history, the team reported on Wednesday in the journal PLOS ONE. They also highlight how carefully planned the desert kites may have been by the ancient peoples who relied on them.

☆ Hurricanes of Data: The Tiny Craft Mapping Superstorms at Sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Porter Fox | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +35 min

The Tiny Craft Mapping Superstorms at Sea Shortly after dawn on Sept. 30, 2021, Richard Jenkins watched a Category 4 hurricane overrun his life’s work. That August, a sister ship, SD 1031, successfully entered Tropical Storm Henri, but only in its early stages. Hurricane research, modeling and forecasting requires many terabytes of data for every square mile the storm passes through, including vitally important sea-level data from inside a storm. The next day, the depression was upgraded to a tropical storm and officially given the name Sam. And four months later, Tropical Storm Megi killed more than 150, wiped out several villages with landslides and displaced more than a million people.

☆ John Blake: The story about race I didn't know how to tell
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( John Blake | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

John Blake, seen here in a second-grade photo, grew up as the son of a White mother and Black father. What I didn’t know was that my community had died long before the Freddie Gray protests. That’s the story I wanted to tell, but I didn’t know how. I didn’t know how to tell Harlow any of that because my story doesn’t fit traditional narratives about race or identity. My white family members didn’t change because I shamed them with an impressive lecture on systemic racism.

☆ Why the producers of 'Queer Eye' and Peacock's 'Swedish Death Cleaning' show believe they're 'in a really good position' to ride out a Hollywood writers' strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

"Queer Eye" creator Scout Productions is betting its time is now, with a Hollywood writers' strike looming. It's working with Kristen Stewart on a "super-gay ghost hunting" reality series, as the star touted it on Instagram. It's also plotting a return to its scripted content roots. "They are very Scout shows in our storytelling process, but they're also shows that fit, that can be international, they can be domestic only. Joel Chiodi, head of documentaries and SVP of strategic development, contended that Scout's content "may not be broad, but we're enough in the mainstream, just pushing a little more."

☆ Britain's post-Brexit asset management revamp eyes liquidity, tokenisation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Until Britain's departure from the European Union in 2020, rules for the UK funds sector were written in Brussels. The sector has fallen short in dealing with stresses in recent years in Britain and elsewhere due to inadequate liquidity, prompting scrutiny globally. "The regulatory framework contains rules around liquidity management. "But the growth of the fund industry means that liquidity management in funds is also relevant to the good functioning of markets," the discussion paper out for public consultation said. The FCA said it wants to see fund managers complying with liquidity stress testing guidelines issued by the EU's securities watchdog ESMA, which will be converted into UK rules.

☆ How unusually mild weather prevented what could've been the first aircraft carrier battle since World War II
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Sebastien Roblin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Argentine jets were poised to strike when the usually turbulent South Atlantic winds took a mild turn. Few of the half-dozen Argentine aviators expected to survive the attack, dubbed "Banzai Night" after the famous Japanese battle cry. Government of ArgentinaIronically, the Veinticinco de Mayo was originally a British carrier named the HMS Venerable launched by the Cammell Laird shipyard near the end of World War II. After a damaging boiler-room fire, the Karel was sold in 1969 to the Argentine Navy which extensively modernized and rebuilt the 25-year-old vessel. The Harrier and the Sea DartSea Harrier jump jets aboard HMS Hermes in the South Atlantic on May 1, 1982.

☆ Cruz Foam makes styrofoam alternative from shrimp shells and food waste
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Meanwhile, companies that ship or sell fragile goods, food or medical supplies that need to stay cold during shipping still need materials with the lightweight, insulating qualities and manufacturability of styrofoam. That's where startup Cruz Foam comes in. Cruz Foam is made from naturally occurring materials including chitin (pronounced like "kite-in") along with starches and fibers diverted from agricultural waste streams. Chitin is a polymer contained in the shells of shrimp and other crustaceans, as well as insect exoskeletons. Besides that, styrofoam products are usually treated with flame retardants and can absorb other pollutants from water around them, increasing the threat to any wildlife that eats or lives amid the discarded styrofoam.

☆ Move over Ben Franklin: Laser lightning rod electrifies scientists
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/4] The Laser Lightning Rod, an experimental lighting protection device that diverts the path of lightning bolts using a high-power laser, is seen in action at the top of Mount Santis in Switzerland in this undated photograph. Scientists now are moving to improve on that 18th century innovation with 21st century technology - a system employing a high-powered laser that may revolutionize lightning protection. With further development, this Laser Lightning Rod could safeguard critical infrastructure including power stations, airports, wind farms and launchpads. In experiments during two months in 2021, intense laser pulses - 1,000 times per second - were emitted to redirect lightning strikes. Houard anticipated that 10 to 15 years more work would be needed before the Laser Lightning Rod can enter common use.

"We are ready to add a number of your nominees to the board promptly and well before the general meetings," Capricorn said in a letter to Palliser posted on its website. Capricorn declined to clarify how exactly the board might change. Madison Avenue Partners, Capricorn's biggest shareholder at around 8%, on Monday separately reiterated its opposition to the board. The shareholder meeting to vote on the board changes is planned for Feb. 1, with a shareholder vote on the NewMed deal "on or around the same date", Capricorn said. "Holding the general meetings so close together deprives any reconstituted Capricorn board of the opportunity to re-assess the merits and terms of the NewMed transaction in parallel with a consideration of a range of other options," the statement said.

☆ Inside the 'Fly Fleet': billionaire Google founder Sergey Brin's growing flotilla of megayachts, boats, and jet skis
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Rob Price | Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

In a quiet harbor in California's Redwood City, 30 miles south of San Francisco, there often sits a gleaming 40-meter yacht flying the flag of the Marshall Islands. Along with Butterfly, which often docks in Redwood City, California, Brin maintains a growing flotilla of yachts, jet skis, and skiffs. To maintain the fleet, Brin employs a 50-person team around the globe, led by the master mariner Mike Gregory. InsiderMany of Brin's smaller water-sports toys — as well as Page's — have been supplied by Kai Concepts, a startup that builds high-tech aquatic vehicles, including foilboards and a kite-propelled boat. While he spends much of his time at his collection of tropical islands around the world, he has sold his superyacht Senses and downsized to an assortment of smaller vessels.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Gilead Sciences, Moderna, Tesla and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A sign is posted in front of the Gilead Sciences headquarters on April 29, 2020 in Foster City, California. Check out the companies making the biggest moves midday:General Mills — General Mills dropped 4.2%, despite reporting better-than-expected revenue and profit for the last quarter. Gilead Sciences — Gilead Sciences sank 2.4% after announcing its Kite unit would acquire biotech company Tmunity Therapeutics. Tesla – Shares of Tesla sank 5.3% after Evercore ISI lowered its price target on them, citing concerns as the stock failed to hold a key level. Arch Capital — The Bermuda-based insurance company rose 2.5%.

LONDON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Capricorn Energy's (CNE.L) third-biggest shareholder, Palliser Capital, has called for a general meeting to set a vote on removing seven Capricorn directors from supervisory roles including the CEO, according to documents seen by Reuters. "We have requisitioned the board of Capricorn Energy ... to convene a general meeting (the "EGM") of the Company," Palliser Chief Investment Officer James Smith said in a Dec. 19 letter to Capricorn shareholders. "The EGM will enable shareholders to vote on resolutions to effect the removal of seven current Capricorn directors and the appointment of six independent, highly-qualified replacement candidates." The directors that Palliser wants to remove include Capricorn Chief Executive Officer Simon Thomson and its chief financial officer, also named James Smith, who both hold executive and supervisory roles. The shareholder meeting to vote on Palliser's resolutions has to take place by Jan. 30, Palliser said.

In 2019, Cambodia supplied 8,571 of the 33,818 research monkeys imported to the U.S., or 25%. In 2021, the number of monkeys from Cambodia more than doubled to 18,870, making up nearly 60% of the 31,844 research monkeys brought to America. Earlier this year, long-tailed macaques and pig-tailed macaques were listed as endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The decades long effort by animal rights groups to derail the monkey trade has made some impact. The incident shined a rare spotlight on the monkey trade, which largely goes on outside the view of the public.

☆ Larry Page, Sergey Brin Post-Google Lives: Investments, Yachts, Islands
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Hugh Langley | Rob Price | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +33 min

Even before their retirement from Google, Page and Brin relied heavily on their respective family offices to bring order to their worlds. The Bay Area headquarters of Koop, Larry Page's family office, is nondescript and gives little indication of the billionaire's empire. Insider; Marianne Ayala/Insider Show less Bayshore Global Management, Sergey Brin's family office, is based in Palo Alto and has a bit more of a public face. Insider; Marianne Ayala/Insider Show lessThe difference in styles holds true for Brin's family office, Bayshore Global Management. The CEO of Page's family office is Wayne Osborne, a former elder in the Presbyterian Church who attended Princeton Theological Seminary.

☆ Lamborghini's last purely gas-powered supercar will be an off-road beast
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The Lamborghini Huracán Sterrato, officially unveiled in Miami Wednesday will be the Italian automaker’s maker’s last purely gasoline-powered supercar. It will also be unlike any Lamborghini supercar before because it’s designed to go off-road. Other Huracán supercars have air scoops on the side but, in this car, the side air scoops are permanently closed. But the concept of the Huracán Sterrato came entirely from inside Lamborghini, said Brokert, as engineers were developing the Urus, Lamborghini’s SUV. Production of the Huracán Sterrato will begin at Lamborghini’s factory in Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy, in February.

☆ From giant kites to foldable wings, here's what container ships could look like by 2050 as companies race to decarbonize their supply chains
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Hannah Towey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Shipping giants are racing to find scalable green alternatives to gas-guzzling container ships. Other shipping giants are betting big on green methanol fuel derived from agricultural waste. Courtesy of VeerBut the real challenge, Fagerheim said, is convincing clients to get onboard with the boat's slower transit time compared to a traditional container ship. By comparison, conventional container ships can handle loads of over 38,000 tonnes. ©PIRIOU / courtesy of TransOceanic Wind TransportBut as more shoppers prioritize sustainability, some big name brands are pledging to use sustainable cargo ships once the designs become a reality.

Two Cambodian wildlife officials were among eight people charged Wednesday with running an international monkey smuggling ring that shipped primates to the U.S. that were poached from the wild and falsely labeled as coming from breeding facilities, federal prosecutors said. Cambodian wildlife officials were paid to help transport the monkeys to the facilities, including the Vanny Bio Research center in Cambodia, the indictment says. One of the Cambodian wildlife officials, Masphal Kry, 46, was arrested Wednesday at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City. According to federal prosecutors in Miami, he personally transported the monkeys to the Cambodian facilities and received payments from the other members of the alleged smuggling ring between December 2017 and this September. “The allegations are alarming — the plundering of wild populations of long-tailed macaques and falsely labeling them as captive-bred in order to bypass regulations,” Kite said.

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