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☆ Drugovich replaces Stroll at Aston Martin for F1 testing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Brazilian reserve driver Felipe Drugovich will stand in for injured Canadian Lance Stroll at Formula One testing in Bahrain this week, Aston Martin said on Tuesday. The 22-year-old reigning Formula Two champion will drive the new car first on Thursday morning with Spain's double world champion Fernando Alonso taking over in the afternoon. Stroll, son of team owner Lawrence, was ruled out of the three-day pre-season test after he was injured in a bicycle accident while training in Spain. read moreThe team has not given details about what it called a minor accident but said the driver was expecting to make a quick recovery. Aston Martin also have Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne as a reserve driver but the reigning Formula E champion is due to race in Cape Town, South Africa, on Saturday.

☆ Infected in the first wave, they navigated long COVID without a roadmap
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Julie Steenhuysen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Three years later, at least 65 million people worldwide are estimated to have long COVID, according to an evidence review published last month in Nature Reviews Microbiology. An analysis of thousands of health records by the RECOVER trial found that non-Hispanic white women in wealthier areas were more likely than others to have a long COVID diagnosis. Researchers said that likely reflected disparities in access to healthcare, and suggests that many cases of long COVID among people of color are not being diagnosed. She has since been diagnosed with long COVID and can no longer work. Other infections such as Lyme disease can result in long-term symptoms, many of which overlap with long COVID.

☆ Protests stay strong in Israel as govt forges ahead with judicial changes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] People hold Israeli flags during a protest against Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new right-wing coalition and its proposed judicial changes to reduce powers of the Supreme Court in Tel Aviv, Israel February 18, 2023. The marches have attracted huge crowds on a weekly basis since early January, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government took aim at the Supreme Court. "Here I am, in my armor and my shield, doing my best," said Daniel Guytsabary, 28, amid a crowd that filled a Tel Aviv thoroughfare. Proponents say the Supreme Court needs to be reined in from overreaching into the political sphere. "I'm determined to complete the legislation," Justice Minister Yariv Levin said in an interview with Channel 13 on Saturday.

☆ FAA proposes $175,000 fine against Elon Musk's SpaceX for failure to submit 'launch collision avoidance data' prior to mission last year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The FAA is proposing a $175,000 fine against Elon Musk's SpaceX for failing to submit data. SpaceX launched 53 satellites as part of its Starlink Group 4-27 mission in August 2022. The FAA said that SpaceX is required to submit data at least seven days before an attempted launch. The letter states that SpaceX was required to submit the data at least seven days before the first attempted launch. SpaceX is currently in the final stages of testing of Starship, the world's largest and most powerful rocket, with plans to launch in March.

☆ South Africa's naval exercise with Russia, China raises Western alarm
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Carien Du Plessis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"These exercises are going to be a lightning rod," said Steven Gruzd, of the South African Institute of International Affairs. "South Africa, like any independent and sovereign state, has a right to conduct its foreign relations in line with its ... national interests," South Africa's defence ministry said last month. Russia's defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment, and South Africa's National Defence Force has denied the TASS report. China is now Africa's top bilateral trading partner, but the EU is by far the largest market for South African exports. Domestic critics of South Africa's push to deepen ties with Russia and China say that economic reality alone should be enough to give the government serious pause.

☆ The most dangerous cruise routes, ports, and destinations are in parts of the world where conditions are unpredictable — and help is nowhere nearby, travel analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

But some cruise destinations and routes are prone to dangerous conditions and risky activity. These are some of the most dangerous cruise locations around the world. AntarcticaThe world's southernmost continent is among the most beautiful — and dangerous — cruise destinations, according to Chiron and Klein. Cruise passengers during a lifeboat drill in the Northwest Passage near Nunavut, Canada. National Park Service via APCruise lines avoid dangerous portsWhile rough seas and high winds can make ocean travel dangerous, uncertainties on land pose their own risks for visitors.

☆ South Africa declares national state of disaster over floods
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JOHANNESBURG, Feb 13 (Reuters) - South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared a national state of disaster to enable an intensive response to widespread flooding that has affected seven of the country's nine provinces. Invoking the national disaster act gives the government additional powers, including in the procurement and delivery of goods and services and the ability to bypass restrictions under current law. The national police and defence force may be called on to help respond to the flooding, the statement said. Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster last week over South Africa's power crisis, as daily rolling power cuts are paralyzing businesses. The national disaster act was also invoked in March 2020 to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, and last April to respond to floods in the eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal.

☆ New Zealand's Auckland braces for ex-cyclone Gabrielle impact
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Residents of New Zealand's biggest city were urged on Sunday to prepare for the impact of a storm that buffeted Australia's Norfolk Island overnight. Gabrielle, downgraded to a sub-tropical low pressure system from a Category 2 cyclone, passed over Norfolk Island, its "most destructive winds" missing the island, the Australian outpost's emergency management authority said. Wind and rain were "starting to spread across NZ from the north", with a 133 kph (83 mph) wind gust reported overnight on the country's North Island, MetService said. The storm was on track to lie off Cape Reinga at the North Island's north end on Sunday afternoon, after moving away from Norfolk Island, MetService said. "There is still considerable clean up to be undertaken and it may take a while for services such as power to be restored," Emergency Management Norfolk Island said.

WASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Blue Origin, the private space company founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, was awarded its first interplanetary NASA contract on Thursday to launch a mission next year to study the magnetic field around Mars, the U.S. space agency and company said. Blue Origin has flown previous NASA missions with its smaller, suborbital New Shepard rocket, which can carry research payloads on short, microgravity trips to the edge of space and back. Blue Origin, known for its astro-tourism business for wealthy customers and celebrities, is one of 13 firms NASA chose last year for its Venture-class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare missions (VADR) program. VADR essentially is intended to spur private development of private space launch vehicles by assigning lower-cost NASA science missions to new rockets with an unproven record and higher chance of failure. Blue Origin also declined to discuss financial details.

[1/4] South African President Cyril Ramaphosa speaks during his 2023 state of the nation address in Cape Town, South Africa, February 9, 2023. "We are in the grip of a profound energy crisis," Ramaphosa said in his annual State of the Nation Address to parliament. State electricity utility Eskom is implementing the worst rolling blackouts on record, leaving households in the dark, disrupting manufacturing and hurting businesses of all sizes. Declaring a national state of disaster gives the government additional powers to respond to a crisis, including by permitting emergency procurement procedures with fewer bureaucratic delays and less oversight. Ramaphosa said on Thursday he would appoint a minister of electricity within the presidency to focus solely on the crisis.

That number includes both rocket launches and capsule reentries, and has been steadily climbing. A Falcon Heavy rocket launches the USSF-67 mission on January 15, 2023 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. "Air space is going to be a critical, critical issue," Isom said, calling on new industries to contribute to the cost of air traffic control. A graph of FAA-licensed or permitted commercial space launches (excludes launches licensed by other U.S. government agencies, such as NASA or the Department of Defense). Together they create a moving target for space launches and the commercial airlines eyeing the same air space.

☆ Microsoft calls for 'coalition' to improve Congo's informal cobalt mines
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Congo accounts for three-quarters of the world's mined cobalt supply. "In practice it is virtually impossible for them to completely exclude artisanal cobalt, especially when it is sent to smelters and refiners in DRC and China." Microsoft declined to reply to Reuters' questions about the visit or about its strategy on artisanal cobalt. The issues around artisanal mining are an existential threat to the cobalt industry, according to Marina Demidova, head of communications at the Cobalt Institute. Entreprise Generale du Cobalt, a unit of state mining company Gecamines, was granted a monopoly on artisanal cobalt by government decree.

☆ Brazil just sank its biggest warship into the Atlantic Ocean after failing to sell it for scrap metal. The ship was big enough to carry 39 aircraft — take a look.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Marielle Descalsota | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

ANNA ZIEMINSKI/AFP via Getty ImagesIn March 2021, the Brazilian Navy sold the aircraft carrier as scrap to a shipyard in Turkey. But the ship was rejected by Turkish authorities as it had asbestos, a toxic material often found in 20th century ships. After circling along Brazil's coast for five months after it was rejected by Turkey, the warship was moved into international waters, Time reported. It was a controversial move: Several environmental rights organizations opposed the sinking of the ship because of the asbestos it contained. "The sinking of the aircraft carrier Sao Paulo throws tons of asbestos, mercury, lead and other highly toxic substances into the seabed," Greenpeace said in a statement, per Reuters.

☆ Inside the 'Wormhole,' Relativity Space's monster factory 3D-printing reusable rockets
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The exterior of "The Wormhole" factory. The inside of "The Wormhole" factory in Long Beach, California. A closeup look at one of the company's "Reaper" printers at work. The scale of one of the Stargate "Reaper" printers. A pair of the company's "Reaper" 3D-printers.

☆ S Africa's Kapp on compassionate leave after wife van Niekerk dropped from WC squad
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 1 (Reuters) - The South Africa women's cricket team have given all-rounder Marizanne Kapp compassionate leave after her wife Dane van Niekerk was dropped from the Women's Twenty20 World Cup squad. Hosts South Africa left regular captain Van Niekerk out of the squad on Tuesday after the all-rounder failed to meet fitness requirements. "The leave was granted so she can come back ready to play," South Africa coach Hilton Moreeng told the BBC. "She (Kapp) is part of the World Cup [and] she is committed to the World Cup cause," Moreeng added. South Africa begin their campaign against Sri Lanka in Cape Town on Feb. 10.

☆ Ghostly flying 'whirlpool' that appeared above Hawaii could be leftover SpaceX rocket fuel
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Chris Panella | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Japanese telescope captured footage of the anomaly after a SpaceX navigation satellite launch. "The Subaru-Asahi Star Camera captured a mysterious flying spiral over Maunakea, Hawai`i," the Subaru Telescope said on Twitter on January 19. SpaceX launches a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a pair of television broadcasting satellites at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Michael Weekes Jr./ReutersThis isn't the first time a spiral has been spotted in the sky after a SpaceX launch. The SpaceX rocket is also known for the "space jellyfish" it often paints across the sky as it climbs through the atmosphere.

☆ Eight killed in mass shooting at birthday party in South Africa
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JOHANNESBURG, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Gunmen killed eight people and wounded three others at a birthday party in South Africa's Eastern Cape province, police said, adding that manhunt was underway to find the killers. The latest incident follows a spate of mass shootings last year that shocked the nation. In July, gunmen killed 19 people in random shootings within hours of each other. South Africa has one of the world's highest murder rates, with around 20,000 people killed every year out of a population of 60 million. According to campaign group Gun Free South Africa, there are about 3 million guns registered in the country, though there are many more unregistered.

☆ I moved to Florida for cheaper housing and lower taxes, plus I'm avoiding downsides like traffic and crowds
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Jordan Pandy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Tony Stanol moved to Sarasota, Florida from California and prefers the East Coast oasis. They sold their 3,500-square-foot home in Calabasas for $1.2 million, according to Stanol, and have been renting a 2,400-square-foot home in Sarasota, Florida for nine years. I'm from New Jersey, worked in New York for most of my career, and raised a family in Connecticut. Once my two daughters had graduated and were out of the house, my wife and I were empty nesters in Calabasas. I've been renting in Florida for nine yearsWe sold our house in Calabasas for $1.2 million.

☆ Airbnb's 13 most wish-listed properties in the world for 2023—including an $18 million home
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Celia Fernandez | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Airbnb's most wish-listed new global listings for 2023Modern Smoky Mts Getaway Cabin - Gatlinburg, TennesseeThis cabin is nestled in the Smoky Mountains in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, United States. Luxury Glass Tiny House - Warren, VermontLocated in the heart of the Green Mountains in Vermont, this tiny home is just 200 square feet. AirbnbThis tiny home, with a jaw-dropping view, sits in the heart of the Green Mountains in Vermont. AirbnbThis cabin at Highlands Hideaway in Blue Ridge, Georgia, has three bedrooms, a bunk room, and three full bathrooms. AirbnbThis tiny home in Hawson, South Australia, Australia, was built between 2018 and 2019.

☆ The Man Who Tried to Stop the Space Shuttle Challenger’s Launch
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Rachel M. Mccleary | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration was preparing the space shuttle Challenger for launch on the morning of Jan. 28, 1986. It was an unusually cold morning for Cape Canaveral, Fla.—too cold, warned the engineers of NASA contractor Morton Thiokol, builder of the shuttle’s solid rocket motors. The day before the launch, Thiokol engineers and executives met with NASA officials on a teleconference. A Thiokol engineer reported the anticipated temperature during the following day’s launch time would be around 26 degrees. Erring on the side of caution, Boisjoly, Thompson and other engineers recommended delaying the launch.

☆ My family of 4 spent $600 a night at Disney's Beach Club Resort, and it's one of our favorite hotels
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Kari Becker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

My family of four stayed in a club-level suite at Disney's Beach Club Resort for $600. Themed after a New England-style beach resort, it's located in the Epcot area around Crescent Lake, our favorite resort area to stay in. Here's a look at our recent stay in a club-level suite and why Beach Club has become a top pick for my family. Beach Club is a great resort for groups of all sizesWe'll definitely be returning to Beach Club. After this trip, it's fair to say that Beach Club is one of my family's favorite hotels.

☆ ‘Sopranos’ actor John Ventimiglia’s daughter Odele dies at 25
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Drew Weisholtz | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

Odele Cape Ventimiglia, the 25-year-old daughter of “Sopranos” star John Ventimiglia, has died, her mother announced. “Heartbroken to have to post our darling Odele’s funeral notice,” Brenda Cape wrote on Facebook Jan. 21, while revealing the funeral was scheduled for Jan. 26. “Her sister Lucinda and I have been overwhelmed by the messages of support and love we have received, and your remembrances of how cherished Odele was to so many. Odele was greatly loved, and leaves a huge hole in our lives. Odele is survived by her sister, Lucinda Ventimiglia, mother, Belinda Cape, father John Ventimiglia, and her beloved daughter Shiloh.”Cape wrote that she died on Jan. 12.

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☆ Rent prices have dropped the most in these 5 U.S. metros. Why it's cheaper to rent than buy in many markets
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Kate Dore | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Indianapolis; Carmel, Indiana; Anderson, IndianaMedian rent at the end of 2021: $1,300Median rent at the end of 2022: $1,700Rent increase: 30.8% 2. New Haven, Connecticut; Milford, ConnecticutMedian rent at the end of 2021: $2,250Median rent at the end of 2022: $2,800Rent increase: 24.4% 4. Naples, Florida; Marco Island, FloridaMedian rent at the end of 2021: $5,200Median rent at the end of 2022: $6,448Rent increase: 24.0% 5. Memphis, TennesseeMedian rent at the end of 2021: $1,800Median rent at the end of 2022: $1,695Rent decrease: -5.8% 2. Palm Bay, Florida; Melbourne, Florida; Titusville, FloridaMedian rent at the end of 2021: $2,300Median rent at the end of 2022: $2,200Rent decrease: -4.3% 5.

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