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☆ Italian tourism video ridiculed for using footage of Slovenia
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Rome CNN —Italy’s tourism ministry is facing ridicule after an official video to attract tourists to Italy used footage of people in Slovenia drinking Slovenian wine. Art historian Tomaso Montanari called the advertising campaign “grotesque” and an “obscene” waste of money, while the video was lampooned by users of Italian social media platforms. Oops – wrong countryThe most controversial footage shows a group of young people smiling on a sunlit patio drinking wine in what is presented as a typical Italian scene. The Armando Testa communications group was not immediately available to comment. Italian Tourism Minister Daniela Santanche, a member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy party, called critics of the video “snobs” and said the depiction of Venus as an influencer was aimed at attracting young people.

☆ Official promo video for Italy tourism features Slovenia
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, April 25 (Reuters) - Italy's tourism ministry has faced ridicule after an official video to attract tourists to Italy used footage of people in Slovenia drinking Slovenian wine. Art historian Tomaso Montanari called the advertising campaign "grotesque", and an "obscene" waste of money, while the video was lampooned by users of Italian social media platforms. The most controversial footage shows a group of young people smiling on a sunlit patio drinking wine in what is presented as a typical Italian scene. The Armando Testa communications group was not immediately available to comment. Italian Tourism Minister Daniela Santanche, a member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's far-right Brothers of Italy party, called critics of the video "snobs" and said the depiction of Venus as an influencer was aimed at attracting young people.

☆ How Anthropic cofounder Daniela Amodei plans to turn trust and safety into a feature, not a bug
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Amodei chatted with Insider about her approach to trust and safety and what the future holds for AI. However, the majority of Anthropic cofounder and president Daniela Amodei's career has been spent trying to prove the opposite: that trust and safety is a feature, not a bug. "It's an organizational structure question, but it's also a mindset question," she told Insider. In 2020, Amodei and six other OpenAI employees, including her brother Dario Amodei, left the company to start rival AI lab Anthropic. Throughout Anthropic's growth, the company has kept an interdisciplinary culture, with employees whose experiences range from physics to computational biology to policywriting, Amodei told Insider.

☆ Taiwan or China? Paraguay's dilemma puts election race in the spotlight
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Lucindaalice Elliott | Daniela Desantis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] Paraguayan presidential candidate Santiago Pena from ruling Colorado Party, attends his campaign rally, in Asuncion, Paraguay April 18, 2023. REUTERS/Cesar OlmedoASUNCION, April 24 (Reuters) - From Paraguayan capital Asuncion to Taipei and Washington, diplomats, officials - and farmers - are closely watching a tight election race that could determine Paraguay's future ties with Taiwan. "How can I deny a relationship that is beneficial for all Paraguayans, a people that need development, need investment, need industry?" China has long argued that democratically-ruled Taiwan is part of its own territory with no right to state-to-state ties, a position Taipei strongly rejects. 'WHEN, NOT IF'Among diplomatic circles in Asuncion there is a sense a switch is inevitable - regardless of the election outcome.

☆ Exclusive: Paraguay opposition leader plans state 'austerity' vs tax hikes on farmers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Daniela Desantis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Soy exports currently face no levies, boosting competitiveness, but the country's diplomatic ties with Taiwan have closed doors to China. Peña, the ruling party candidate, has said publicly he wants to crack down on tax evasion and have more people working in the formal economy. Alegre has criticized Paraguay's current diplomatic relations with Taiwan going back over 60 years, which have made it hard to sell soy and beef to China, a major global buyer. "We are going to solve this based on national interests and of course also based on our alliances in international politics. The current relationship is insufficient, we have a critical position to what we have today," he said.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington called self-ruled Taiwan "an inalienable part of China" and said the one-China principle was an "overwhelming trend" internationally. When Taiwan temporarily averted a split with Honduras after President Xiomara Castro took office in January 2022, U.S. State Department officials remained wary. The Biden administration is also keeping a close eye on tiny Belize for any cracks in its Taiwan relationship. Two U.S. officials said Washington was putting less stock in Taiwan maintaining its diplomatic allies in favor of efforts to increase its participation in international organizations. While denied a seat in the United Nations, Taiwan is a member of the WTO and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

☆ In Paraguay, calls for change test Colorado Party's political machine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Daniela Desantis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ASUNCION, March 28 (Reuters) - Paraguay's ruling Colorado Party - a conservative political machine that has dominated government in Asuncion for some eight decades - could be facing a major challenge at the ballot box next month. Many voters say they feel it is time for something new. Pena may also be impacted by a U.S.-led graft probe into Horacio Cartes, a former Colorado president who led the country from 2013 to 2018. However, the Colorado party retains a powerful election campaign machine and supporter base that goes back generations. Adelina Caceres, director of a public school in the town of Guarambare, on the outskirts of the capital, said she supported the Colorado party mainly because "her grandfather had been Colorado," and despite being often frustrated by them.

☆ The Science Behind Controversial New Weight Loss Drugs Like Ozempic
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

E35The Science Behind Cold Plunges, Explained in Four Minutes Cold plunges and ice baths are all the rage, but does research actually back up claims that they have health benefits? WSJ’s Daniela Hernandez explains what’s known (and what’s not) about the science of cold exposure. Photo: Kerem Yucel/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

☆ Why Fungi Are the Next Big Global Health Threat
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Daniela Hernandez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ ChatGPT is the Myspace of AI: It's fun, but it's far from taking your white-collar job
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Despite excitement around ChatGPT and GPT-4, there are concerns about AI tools taking jobs. "Artificial intelligence may have a role in displacing, or at least reducing, the need for less skilled workers," Lee said. Hope Bradford, senior director of digital transformation at Kelly, a staffing and workforce company, told Insider that AI tools help HR professionals screen candidates. Are white-collar workers' jobs at risk of being cut because of AI tools? While people have found success and the pros of AI tools, there's still uncertainty about their future and fears still loom.

☆ Alphabet-backed Anthropic releases OpenAI competitor named Claude
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Stephen Nellis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

March 14 (Reuters) - Anthropic, an artificial intelligence company backed by Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), on Tuesday released a large language model that competes directly with offerings from Microsoft Corp-backed (MSFT.O) OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT. Large language models are algorithms that are taught to generate text by feeding them human-written training text. Anthropic has taken a different approach, giving Claude a set of principles at the time the model is "trained" with vast amounts of text data. Rather than trying to avoid potentially dangerous topics, Claude is designed to explain its objections, based on its principles. That's one of the reasons we liked Anthropic," Richard Robinson, chief executive of Robin AI, a London-based startup that uses AI to analyze legal contracts that Anthropic granted early access to Claude, told Reuters in an interview.

☆ Take a Plunge Under Antarctica’s Ice, With Robots
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Daniela Hernandez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Glaciologists are using robots to capture close-up views of ice shelves, floating platforms of ice that slow down the flow of ice into the ocean. They can use the measurements robots collect to improve climate models that predict sea-level rise. Icefin/NASA PSTAR RISE UP/Schmidt/Dicheck

☆ ECB confronts a cold reality: companies are cashing in on inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Francesco Canepa | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

"It's clear that profit expansion has played a larger role in the European inflation story in the last six months or so," said Paul Donovan, chief economist at UBS Global Wealth Management. "The ECB has failed to justify what it's doing in the context of a more profit-focused inflation story." Instead, national accounts and earnings reports from listed companies are being used as proxies to paint the inflation picture. "The main story of the risks going forward is still that there's a looming wage-price spiral which should make the central bank even more aggressive in hiking interest rates." loadingloadingEven inside the ECB, labour representatives demanding higher pay for central bank staff have distanced themselves from what they described as the institution's "anti-worker bias".

☆ Ukraine needs much more money from public and private sources for reconstruction: Open Society
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailUkraine needs much more money from public and private sources for reconstruction: Open SocietyDaniela Schwarzer, executive director of Open Society, discusses the Russia-Ukraine war ahead of its one-year anniversary and Germany's policy on Russia.

☆ Inflation Brain: Why You Seesaw Between Splurging and Penny-Pinching
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Daniela Hernandez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

E33What Science Tells Us About the Surge in Strep and Flu This Season Getting the flu can increase the risk of getting a second infection, including strep throat. WSJ’S Daniela Hernandez explains the science behind that, plus what it means for the rest of the winter and how we can protect ourselves from the tripledemic. Illustration: David Fang

☆ Paraguay marijuana festival sets high hopes for legalization
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Cesar Olmedo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/12] Visitors gather near marijuana plants as farmers host a harvest festival to showcase farms that have been converted to produce medicinal cannabis, in Aguerito, Paraguay February 19, 2023. REUTERS/Cesar OlmedoAGUERITO, Paraguay, Feb 21 (Reuters) - A marijuana harvest festival in a region of Paraguay usually known for drug trafficking has sparked hopes from local farmers that legalization could follow that will allow them to grow the plant for medicinal use. They hope the festival will catch the eye of lawmakers, encouraging them to back new legislation to help small farms. Paraguay is already a major global producer of illegally-sold cannabis, exporting largely to neighboring Brazil and other South American countries. Just a handful of labs import cannabis into Paraguay for legal medicinal use, but sell it at exorbitant prices, said Jorge Rolon, the farmers' legal adviser.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) closed 0.1% higher ahead of a slew of economic data due later this week. Telecom Italia (TIM) (TLIT.MI) fell 2.7% as a government-sponsored offer rivalling KKR's bid for the former phone monopoly's prized grid failed to materialise over the weekend. The EURO STOXX index (.STOXXE), which houses major companies in the eurozone, inched down 0.1%. On the economic front, euro zone consumer confidence rose by 1.7 points in February from January, as expected, figures showed. Forvia, the European car parts maker born from Faurecia's (EPED.PA) takeover of Hella (HLE.DE), forecast stable 2023 sales, sending Faurecia nearly 2.3% higher.

☆ European shares flat as Telecom Italia drags eurozone stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Shreyashi Sanyal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) was flat after opening marginally higher. That also boosted oil prices, lifting European energy stocks (.SXEP) by 0.3%. The EURO STOXX index (.STOXXE), which houses major companies in the eurozone, dipped 0.1%. Telecom Italia (TIM)(TLIT.MI) shares dropped 3% as a government-sponsored offer rivalling KKR's bid for the former phone monopoly's prized grid failed to materialise over the weekend. The European autos and auto parts sector index (.SXAP) rose 0.6%.

☆ The Science Behind Cold Plunges, Explained in Four Minutes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Daniela Hernandez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailCelsius opens some withdrawals, and how governments are building blockchain tech: CNBC Crypto WorldCNBC Crypto World features the latest news and daily trading updates from the digital currency markets and provides viewers with a look at what's ahead with high-profile interviews, explainers, and unique stories from the ever-changing crypto industry. On today's show, Daniela Barbosa of Hyperledger Foundation discusses why government agencies are building blockchain networks.

☆ I've donated my hair to charity 4 times, but I probably never will again. Here's what you need to know if you want to do it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Rebecca Harrington | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

I've donated my hair to charity four times, but I don't plan to again because there's less need now. I've donated my hair to charity four times. Human hair wigs usually have to be cut, colored, styled, and fit specifically to the person's head, Hernandez-Salas said. There's just much less demand for human hair wigs than there was years ago. Before she lost her hair, Melore donated it and got a wig from the American Cancer Society all in the same day.

☆ Mexican authorities find bullet-riddled car that missing Ohio man was traveling in and bodies buried nearby
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Mirna Alsharif | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Authorities in Mexico found a car that a 36-year-old Hamilton, Ohio man was traveling in when he went missing in the country at the end of last year, according to officials. The body of a man roughly between the age of 20 to 35 was also found along with the car, according to the attorney general. Gutierrez went missing in Mexico in Dec. 2022 while visiting his fiancé, Daniela Pichardo, in Mexico, NBC affiliate WLWT reported. According to a preliminary forensic analysis, four bodies were found in the burial site near Gutierrez' car, three women and one man, the office of the attorney general said. Gutierrez worked for Champlin Architecture at the time of his disappearance, a spokesperson for the company confirmed over the phone.

☆ Exclusive: Paraguay election race puts Taiwan ties on a knife-edge
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Daniela Desantis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Paraguay is one of only 14 nations globally that retains diplomatic ties with Taiwan and the only South American country to do so. "Paraguay must have relations with China," Alegre said in a recent interview after being named presidential candidate. "We hold this critical position towards relations with Taiwan because we don't think we get enough back from this relationship." Santiago Pena, the Colorado Party candidate, said Paraguay's over six decades of ties with Taiwan would remain intact if he won the April 30 vote. "What we produce is enough for a neighborhood in a city in China, but what interests (Beijing) is us breaking ties with Taiwan.

Among Thursday's highlights were Marina Silva for environment minister and Senator Simone Tebet as planning and budget minister. Lula gave them key positions after they provided crucial endorsements for his narrow Oct. 30 election victory over outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro. One of Brazil's best-known environmentalists, Silva previously held the same ministerial position for five years during Lula's first term as president, overseeing a significant drop in deforestation. "She played an extremely important role in the campaign," Lula said of Tebet, who will oversee Brazil's budget and set up a multiannual plan with goals for the administration. Lula, who had previously disclosed 21 of the future ministers, also tapped other moderate figures to his cabinet in order to secure support in Congress.

☆ Ukraine weighs heavy on minds in Moscow as New Year holiday nears
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Summary This content was produced in Russia, where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine. Asked if the 10-month conflict in Ukraine was affecting her mood, one woman, Maria, replied without hesitation. "A holiday remains a holiday. New Year's Day is Russia's main seasonal holiday, while Orthodox believers also celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7. Jewellery maker Evgeniya, however, said her sales at a seasonal market had sharply increased from last year.

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