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☆ 2,500-year-old toilets reveal that the people of ancient Jerusalem were afflicted by painful stomach cramps and diarrhea
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Archeologists excavated the cesspits below two toilets from Iron Age Jerusalem. At the time, Jerusalem was the capital of Judah — a vassal state under the control of the Assyrian Empire. "Toilets with cesspits from this time are relatively rare and were usually made only for the elite," Mitchell said. The study suggests the "long-term presence" of the disease across the Near East. Indeed, medical texts from the first and second millennium BC describe diarrhea afflicting the Near and Middle East populations.

☆ Archaeologists discover a lost world of 417 ancient Mayans cities buried in remote jungle, connected by miles of 'superhighways,' WaPo reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Scientists in Guatemala have discovered "the first freeway system in the world," The Washington Post reports. Archaeologists have found ancient Mayans built 417 cities interconnected by 110 miles of "superhighways." Historians to rethink what they know of ancient Mayan civilization. The findings have unveiled "a whole volume of human history that we've never known," he told the Post. It allowed the scientists to see ancient dams, reservoirs, pyramids, platforms, causeway networks, and even ball courts, per the study.

☆ Zero Carbon Capital just reached third close on its $37 million fund dedicated to hardware and science-based companies. We got an exclusive look at the LP deck it used to raise from Isomer and Extanti
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Zero Carbon Capital reached third close on its £30 million ($37 million) fund. We got an exclusive look at the 10-slide LP deck the climate tech firm used to raise the funds. UK-based Zero Carbon Capital has closed £13 million, around $16.2 million, of its £30 million, about $37.5 million, second fund. Zero Carbon Capital wants to be the first check to lead pre-seed and smaller seed rounds, with tickets ranging £100,000 to £1 million. Isomer has previously backed hardware funds but Zero Carbon Capital is its first dedicated climate fund.

☆ Oldest-known bat skeletons shed light on evolution of flying mammals
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A few other fossil species from around this time still have that claw, but it's been lost in most living bats," Jones added. This species was closely related to two other bat species whose fossils were previously found at the same locale - Icaronycteris index and Onychonycteris finneyi. This indicates there was a greater diversity of species early in the history of bats than previously appreciated. The fossils represent the oldest-known bat skeletons - both very complete and well-preserved. The only older bat fossils are isolated teeth and jaw fragments from places including Portugal and China, dating to about 55 to 56 million years ago.

☆ Explainer: Why is Britain joining a trans-Pacific trade pact?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Alistair Smout | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Here are some details of the agreement as Britain seeks post-Brexit trade wins in geographically distant but faster growing economies. HOW MUCH DOES BRITAIN TRADE WITH CPTPP? Britain says that exports to CPTPP countries were worth 60.5 billion pounds in the twelve months to end-Sept. 2022. David Henig, Director, the UK Trade Policy Project, said that only Malaysia and Brunei weren't covered by existing FTAs, and they only account for 0.33% of UK trade. GEOPOLITICAL FACTORSWhile the long-term benefit for Britain's economy is set to be modest, Britain has other reasons for joining the bloc.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Britain had agreed to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), in a move his office said was the biggest trade deal since Brexit. Britain has been looking to build global trade ties following its departure from the EU in 2020 and has looked to pivot toward geographically distant but fast-growing economies. The overall impact of the trade deal is set to be modest. Japan has asked the U.S. to return to the trans-Pacific trade pact after Washington in 2017 formally withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, the predecessor to the CPTPP. Japan's chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said it was "desirable" for the U.S. to rejoin the trade pact and Tokyo would persist in pressing Washington to become a member.

LONDON, March 17 (Reuters) - Hedge funds are watching growing U.S.-Chinese geopolitical tensions and have spotted ways to trade them. Taking a short position on investment grade bonds would make up for losses on long positions elsewhere, he said. If tensions were resolved, being caught with a negative view on Chinese stocks would not be beneficial, and therefore she would not short Chinese AI firms but invest in U.S. ones instead. "The most sensitive commodity to a break down in trade between China and Russia and the West is graphite," he added. "Supply chains are already shifting to Penang, and they are receiving investment from both China and the U.S.

☆ Brazilian researchers find 'terrifying' plastic rocks on remote island
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Sergio Queiroz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] "Plastic rocks" found on Trindade Island in the state of Espirito Santo is seen at the laboratory of the Federal University of Parana, in Curitiba, state of Parana, Brazil March 7, 2023. REUTERS/Rodolfo BuhrerTRINDADE ISLAND, Brazil, March 15 (Reuters) - The geology of Brazil's volcanic Trindade Island has fascinated scientists for years, but the discovery of rocks made from plastic debris in this remote turtle refuge is sparking alarm. Melted plastic has become intertwined with rocks on the island, located 1,140 km (708 miles) from the southeastern state of Espirito Santo, which researchers say is evidence of humans' growing influence over the earth's geological cycles. Trindade Island is one of the world's most important conservation spots for green turtles, or Chelonia mydas, with thousands arriving each year to lay their eggs. The only human inhabitants on Trindade are members of the Brazilian navy, which maintains a base on the island and protects the nesting turtles.

☆ UK's National Cyber Security Centre reviewing TikTok risks, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Britain's National Cyber Security Centre is reviewing whether Chinese-owned video app TikTok should be banned from government phones, security minister Tom Tugendhat said on Tuesday. TikTok has come under increasing focus over fears that user data could end up in the hands of the Chinese government, undermining Western security interests. "That's why I've asked the National Cyber Security Centre to look into this. Last week, the White House backed legislation to give the administration new powers to ban TikTok and other foreign-based technologies if they pose national security threats. And we will always do that and take whatever steps are necessary to make sure that happens," he added.

☆ Factbox: Britain calls out Russia, China in updated foreign policy review
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, March 13 (Reuters) - Britain published an update to its foreign policy framework on Monday, which announced increases in defence spending and labelled China as a challenge while citing Russia as the most acute threat to Britain's security. The new strategy towards Russia will focus on denying it any benefit from invading Ukraine; contesting Russia's "malign" influence globally and degrading the country's capabilities threatening Britain, including preventing access to critical technology and materials. Britain said Russia's growing cooperation with China and Iran following the invasion of Ukraine are developments of particular concern. CHINABritain said China poses an "epoch-defining challenge" with implications for almost every area of government policy and the lives of British people. NUCLEAR PLANRecognising the growing importance of nuclear to its security, energy and economy needs, Britain said it would publish a Defence Nuclear Strategy later this year.

☆ British Prime Minister Says China Presents ‘Epoch-Defining’ Challenge
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Paul Beckett | Max Colchester | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

China poses an “epoch-defining systemic challenge” to the U.K. and its allies, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Sunday, as the U.K. government said it would spend an extra $6 billion on its nuclear-armed submarine fleet and replenishing munitions stockpiles to bolster support for Ukraine and deter an increasingly assertive China. “It’s a country with fundamentally different values to ours, and I think over the last few years it’s become increasingly authoritarian at home and assertive abroad,” Mr. Sunak said of China, during an interview. “Its behavior suggests it has the intention—but also its actions show it is interested in reshaping the world order and that’s the crux of it.”

☆ Britain's Sunak boosts defence spending to try to silence critics
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Elizabeth Piper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

With his government unveiling the update to Britain's national security and international policy, Sunak, on a visit to the U.S., will also set out an "ambition" to increase defence spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product in the longer term. He said his previous increases to defence spending showed he was a man of his word, and described the new commitments as a "strong and positive statement". COUNTERING CHINAMeeting U.S. President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Sunak will want to underline that the increase in spending will only bolster the AUKUS pact. Instead, Britain will seek to engage China and be robust in defending the things it cares about, he said. The island, increasingly concerned about the threat from China, was left out of the earlier document which was published in 2021.

☆ More than 3.2 million Calico Critter toys recalled after deaths of two children
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

New York CNN —More than 3.2 million Calico Critters toys that were sold in a set with a baby bottle and pacifier accessories are being recalled because they pose a serious choking hazard for small children, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said Thursday. From United States Consumer Product Safety CommissionThis recall involves all Calico Critters flocked animal figures and sets sold with bottle and pacifier accessories. The bottle accessories were sold in yellow, pink, blue and orange colors. The pacifier accessories were sold in yellow, orange, pink, dark pink, blue and teal colors. The agency said consumers should immediately take the recalled bottle and pacifier accessories away from children and contact the company for instructions on how to submit a photo of the recalled bottle and/or pacifier accessory, along with contact information and other instructions to receive a free replacement accessory.

☆ Galaxies spotted by Webb telescope rewrite understanding of early universe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

These galaxies, one of which appears to have a mass rivaling our Milky Way but 30 times more densely packed, seem to differ in fundamental ways from those populating the universe today. "The leading theory is that an ocean of dark matter filled the early universe after the Big Bang," Labbe said. "This dark matter - we don't know what it is actually is - started out really smooth, with only the tiniest of ripples. These ripples grew over time due to gravity and eventually the dark matter started to collect in concentrated clumps, dragging hydrogen gas along for the ride. "Their explosion set off the chain of events that formed subsequent generations of stars," Labbe said.

☆ Three Years Into Covid, We Still Don’t Know How to Talk About It
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Jon Mooallem | Photographs Ashley Gilbertson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +53 min

It will play out and reverberate for years or decades, Hagen told me. “The pathological normal,” Hagen calls it: a patchwork of homespun, bespoke realities, each one invested in a different story about what exactly happened when Covid ruptured the story of our lives. garb.”More than once, life seemed to be attaining “an uncanny resemblance to normal life,” as one man put it. But because we don’t totally understand where that experience has delivered us, we don’t know the right gloss to give it. “The days are strange,” one public-school teacher told Milstein toward the end of his first interview, in May 2020.

☆ Fossilized eggs reveal new secrets about one of the world's largest dinosaurs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Kamakshi Gupta | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

More than 250 eggs of one of the largest dinosaurs ever to walk the Earth have been found in 92 hatcheries in central India, according to a team of paleontologists that made the discovery. Paleontologists have been able to identify six different types of eggs from the 256 they found during excavations between 2017 and 2020, the study said. The eggs were found in the Lameta formation, a sedimentary geological formation in central India known for fossil discoveries. “The presence of many nests in the same area suggests these dinosaurs exhibited colonial nesting behavior like many modern birds,” the study added. “But the close spacing of the nests left little room for adult dinosaurs, supporting the idea that adults left the hatchlings (newborns) to fend for themselves.”

☆ Being ready for anything is top priority for 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Peter Thal Larsen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

In the past three years, the world has been rocked by a string of unexpected and epoch-defining events. Anyone trying to think about what 2023 will bring is confronted by a staggering array of possibilities. Watch whether the United Arab Emirates, which hosts the COP28 climate conference in November 2023, distances itself from the OPEC oil cartel. Encumbered by lower stock prices and pricier financing, merger activity will remain subdued in 2023. Follow @peter_tl on Twitterloading(This is a Breakingviews prediction for 2023.

☆ China continued to reject Marvel movies in 2022, and the country's box office plummeted 36%
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

China's box office dropped 36% in 2022 compared to the previous year. Chinese film officials also continued to reject many Hollywood releases, particularly Marvel movies. China's box office dropped 36% to $4.35 billion in 2022, according to Deadline, which cited figures that China's Film Administration released to state media. The 2022 North American box office rose to an estimated $7.5 billion, according to Comscore, a 64% increase from the previous year. To make matters worse for its box office, China also didn't have a local smash hit last year, like it did in 2021 with "The Battle at Lake Changjin."

☆ Trump loves to hate the 'fake news media.' But his political team subscribes to the New York Times, the Washington Post, and other mainstream outlets.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Save America PAC is subscribed to the New York Times and the "thoroughly disgusting" Washington Post, among other outlets. Trump's Save America PAC subscribed to the New York Times, the "thoroughly disgusting" Washington Post, and even Insider. During the 2021-2022 election cycle, the Save America PAC purchased multiple $17 subscriptions to the New York Times, $40 subscriptions to the Financial Times, and a $75 subscription to the Washington Post. The Save America PAC did not respond to Insider's request for comment. On December 14, for example, the Save America Joint Fundraising Committee blasted out a text message from the former president.

☆ Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI dies at 95
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Corky Siemaszko | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican," the statement said. Benedict was the longest-living pope, having surpassed Pope Leo XIII in September 2020. "We must think about what Pope Benedict said — 'It's the epoch of sin against God the Creator,'" Francis said at a gathering of Polish bishops. Unlike most priests, Benedict logged little time in parishes. In 2005, his first year as pope, he was accused in a lawsuit of having personally covered up a priest's abuse of three boys in Texas.

☆ China’s Xi gets a warm welcome from MBS in Riyadh
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Saudi state TV showed a grand ceremony laid out for the Chinese leader, as bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler known as MBS, received him at Al-Yamamah Palace. Chinese and Saudi Arabian flags dotted the premises as members of the Saudi Royal Guard lined up with swords and played music. The two leaders smiled warmly and looked on for photographs, a contrast to the atmosphere of US President Joe Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia earlier in the year. Xi landed in the capital Riyadh on Wednesday, where he was received by Saudi Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Riyadh Region, and Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, Minister of Foreign Affairs. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman fist bumps US President Joe Biden upon his arrival at Al Salman Palace, in Jeddah in July.

The meeting between the global economic powerhouse and Gulf energy giant comes as Saudi ties with Washington are strained by U.S. criticism of Riyadh's human rights record and Saudi support for oil output curbs before the November midterm elections. China, the world's biggest energy consumer, is a major trade partner of Gulf oil and gas producers. Saudi Arabia is its top oil supplier and state-run Saudi Aramco has annual supply deals with half a dozen Chinese refiners. While economic ties remain anchored by energy interests, bilateral ties have expanded under the Gulf's infrastructure and technology push, part of diversification plans that have gained importance as the world turns away from fossil fuels. Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies have said they would continue to expand partnerships to serve economic and security interests, despite U.S. reservations about their ties with both Russia and China.

☆ 'If I committed suicide, it's not real': Elon Musk reassures the public he's not suicidal for a second time this year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk attended a Twitter Space Q&A with more than 100,000 listeners on Saturday. This is the second time in 2022 that Musk has alluded to his mysterious death. In a Saturday Twitter Space, Musk hosted a live Q&A on the "Twitter Files" bombshell dropped on Friday. According to Twitter, 1.8 million total tuned in to the Twitter Space interview. In the Q&A, Musk also suggested Twitter favored Democrats over Republicans in its censorship.

☆ Prehistoric giant sea turtle newly discovered in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Now, scientists have discovered a previously unknown species — the largest sea turtle found in present-day Europe ever to be identified. The unusual animal’s presence in this part of the prehistoric world revealed that giant turtles were more common than previously thought, according to the study. With these finds, the scientists observed more features not previously seen in any living or dead turtle species. Before this recent discovery, all prehistoric giant marine turtle discoveries were part of the same lineage as Archelon. Fragments of a giant turtle's pelvis and carapace are shown at the excavation site in northern Spain.

☆ Parents beware: Dangerous, recalled toys are still on sale
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The 37th annual “Trouble in Toyland” toy safety report by Washington-based US Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) warned parents to be especially mindful of this hidden danger. PIRG said that in October it was able to buy more than 30 recalled toys from several US-based online sellers, noting that it is illegal for retailers and online marketplaces to sell toys that have been recalled. “None of the other sellers flagged, stopped or sent a warning about any of our other purchases of recalled toys,” the report said. Consumer watchdog group US PIRG warns that dangerous recalled toys are still available for purchase online. The recall covered a variety of the plush duck characters, including Accident Duck, Business Duck, Fishing Duck, Police Duck, PGA Duck, One Day Pay Duck, Heisman Duck and Lifeguard Duck.

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