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☆ Who was Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar?
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-17 | by ( Kara Fox | Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, believed to be one of the architects of the militant group’s October 7, 2023, terror attack and Israel’s most wanted man, was killed in Gaza on Wednesday, according to the Israeli military. He was also viewed as a pragmatic political leader by some: In 2017, Hamas elected Sinwar as the political chief of its main decision-making body, the Politburo, in Gaza. At one of the protests, Sinwar applauded those facing “the enemy who besieges us.”As the group’s political leader, Sinwar focused on the group’s foreign relationships, forging important ties with regional Arab powers. Yahya Sinwar, center, with the late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, left, take part in the funeral of senior militant Mazen Fuqaha in Gaza City on March 25, 2017. The talks involved senior figures from Israel, Hamas, the United States, Qatar and Egypt.

Persons: Yahya Sinwar, Sinwar, ”, Khan Younis, bunkering, Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas ’, Majdal –, Ashraf Amra, Shutterstock Sinwar, Gilad Shalit, “, –, Mazen, Mohammed Salem, Mohammed al, Masri, Mohammed Deif, Al, Marwan Issa Organizations: CNN, Hamas, Islamic University, Open University, European Council, Foreign Relations, Israel, Brigades, US Department of State, European Union Locations: Gaza, Tehran, Al, Ashkelon –, Aqsa, Palestine, Gaza City, Israel, Israeli, Italian, Islam, Iran, United States, Qatar, Egypt, United Kingdom, France

☆ 'Assuming that I'm just a little old lady was your first mistake': Retired boomers are rejecting the idea they're lonely or sad
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Polly Thompson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Helen Brown Helen BrownGetting over the psychological hurdleThe retired boomers told BI that transitioning from working to retirement can be difficult. AdvertisementClive Hook Clive HookHook told BI that the complete loss of structure was the toughest change. Related storiesThere's a misconception that life becomes boring in retirement, Hook told BI. Falconer told BI she revels in saying no to anything she no longer wants to do. I was too young," Feest told BI.

Persons: —, Helen Brown, Brown, Helen Brown Helen Brown, Clive Hook, He'd, Clive Hook Clive Hook Hook, purposeless, Hook, Jackie Harrison, Harrison, It's, Jackie Harrison Jackie Harrison Sandra Falconer, Falconer, Parkinson's, hadn't, Kathy Feest, Sandra Falconer, Sandra Falconer Sandra Falconer, Feest Organizations: Service, Business, WHO, Open University Locations: New Zealand

That prompted an outcry, leading the Israeli military to overhaul the system. But elite reservists are deployed in Gaza, some in units that include professional soldiers. On Monday, Israeli news media reported that an air force reservist was fired for criticizing Mr. Netanyahu in a private WhatsApp group. “Political comments while serving in uniform is against the rules,” an Israeli military spokesman said. Gen. Ari Singer, a former chief reserves officer of the Israeli military.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, ‘, don’t, ’, Erez, “, Mr, Netanyahu, ”, Yagil Levy, ” Sergeant Schnider, Ari Singer, Manuel Trajtenberg Organizations: West Bank, Mr, Military, Open University of Israel, Tel, Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies Locations: Lebanon, Lebanese, Gaza, Brig, Tel Aviv

General view of flood water covering the area as a powerful storm and heavy rainfall hit Al-Mukhaili, Libya September 11, 2023, in this handout picture. As the storm moved along the North African coast, Egypt's authorities sought to calm its worried citizens by telling them Daniel had finally lost its strength. For Greece, the storm that formed on Sept. 4 followed a period of blazing heat and wildfires. Before Storm Daniel struck, hydrologist Abdelwanees A. R. Ashoor of Libya's Omar Al-Mukhtar University had warned that repeated flooding of the wadi posed a threat to Derna. Yet even better-resourced Greece struggled to deal with the power of Storm Daniel.

Persons: Daniel, Storm Daniel, Suzanne Gray, Christos Zerefos, Leslie Mabon, hydrologist, Omar Al, Mukhtar University, Edmund Blair, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: REUTERS Acquire, Ahram, Britain's University of Reading, International Federation of, Red Crescent Societies, Academy of Athens, The Open University, Homes, Thomson Locations: Mukhaili, Libya, Handout, Greece, Derna, ATHENS, LONDON, Thessaly, Britain

☆ Climate change: Parts of tropical rainforests could get too hot for photosynthesis, study suggests
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Some leaves in tropical forests from South America to South East Asia are getting so hot they may no longer be able to photosynthesize, with big potential consequences for the world’s forests, according to a new study. They found that average forest canopy temperatures peaked at 34 degrees Celsius (93 Fahrenheit) but some exceeded 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). This level of warming is not expected under current climate policies, which are estimated to bring 2.7 degrees Celsius of warming above pre-industrial levels. While these figures may seem small, the risk is significant given how critical tropical trees are for life, the climate system and the planet. But, he added, there are more immediate concerns for tropical forests, including deforestation, wildfires and droughts.

Persons: photosynthesize, Christopher Doughty, ” Doughty, Martin Zwick, ”, Kevin Collins, Christopher Still, there’s, it’s, “, Chloe Brimicombe, ” Joshua Fisher Organizations: CNN, Northern Arizona University, Getty, Open University, Science Media, Oregon State University, University of Graz, Chapman University Locations: South America, South East Asia, Nature, Australia, Brazil, ecoinformatics, Mobuku, Uganda, ”, Austria

☆ The world's top alien hunters explain why a Harvard physicist's discovery of 'alien' tech is likely a false alarm
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Adam Barnes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Harvard physicist Avi Loeb announced the discovery of tiny "spherules" at the bottom of the Pacific. But three of the world's top experts on the search for aliens are skeptical the tech is from aliens. The fragments "could be a spacecraft from another civilization, or some technological gadget," Loeb told CBS News. This will constitute independent evidence for the interstellar origin of IM1 in addition to its measured speed," Loeb wrote. Loeb told Insider that, when ready, the team will publish their findings in a scientific paper that will be "shared openly and submitted for a peer-reviewed journal."

Persons: Avi Loeb, Loeb, Dan Werthimer, IM1, aren't, Douglas Vakoch, Vakoch, Monica Grady, Werthimier Organizations: Service, CBS, SETI Research, University of California, Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence, SETI, Center, Object, Sun, Space Command, NASA, DOD, The Open University, HMS Locations: Wall, Silicon, Berkeley, Papua New Guinea

☆ How long you breastfeed may impact your child’s test scores later, study shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Madeline Holcombe | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Whether children were breastfed as infants and for how long may have an impact on their test scores when they are adolescents, according to new research. What the study team found was that there was a modest improvement in test scores associated with being breastfed longer, Pereyra-Elías said. Consequently, the results only show a correlation between breastfeeding and test scores — not causation. The researchers tried to control for many factors that might influence their results, like the mother’s cognitive ability, but they couldn’t account for everything in an observational study, Pereyra-Elías said. The difference this study showed was modest, Pereyra-Elías added, meaning that it does not make a big enough difference on the test scores that it should cause parents worry, Pereyra-Elías said.

Persons: Reneé, Elías, Kevin McConway, McConway, ” McConway, It’s, ”, “, Andrew Whitelaw, Whitelaw Organizations: CNN, Disease, University of Oxford, Open University, University of Bristol Locations: England, United Kingdom

☆ The moon could have up to 297 billion tons of water stored in tiny glass beads on its surface, scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Researchers say glass beads found on the moon's surface could contain billions of tons of water. The scientists say the water was created from solar winds, which blow hydrogen — one of the two elements in water — onto the lunar surface. The glass beads themselves form when small meteorites hit the surface of the moon and melt with material on the surface, per the study. Hu said the water extracted from the glass beads shows promise that it could be used in future lunar missions. NASA also plans to once again send astronauts to the Moon in 2025, 50 years after man last set foot on the lunar surface.

☆ Explainer: Why was the Turkey-Syria earthquake so bad?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Gloria Dickie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A damaged vehicle is seen on top the rubbles after an earthquake in Iskenderun, Turkey February 6, 2023. The epicentre was about 26 km east of the Turkish city of Nurdagi at a depth of about 18 km on the East Anatolian Fault. During the 20th century, the East Anatolian Fault yielded little major seismic activity. But in 1822, a 7.0 quake hit the region, killing an estimated 20,000 people. The East Anatolian Fault is a strike-slip fault.

LONDON — British Prime Minister Liz Truss on Monday ditched her signature plan to cut taxes for the country's top earners after it triggered market turmoil and a huge domestic outcry. The pound rose after the announcement to around $1.12 — about the value it held before the Sept. 23 budget announcements. The dramatic reversal comes just hours after Truss defiantly defended the tax cut and her broader radical economic agenda, saying it was necessary to solve the country’s long-term economic woes. Faced with a growing political rebellion after days of economic chaos, the government said early Monday it was abandoning the plan. The plan to cut taxes for the wealthy was part of a broader "mini-budget" announced soon after the new administration took office.

☆ Rising Covid-19 cases in the UK may be a warning for the US
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Brenda Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —There are signs that the United Kingdom could be heading into a fall Covid-19 wave, and experts say the United States may not be far behind. A recent increase in Covid-19 cases in England doesn’t seem to be driven by a new coronavirus variant, at least for now, although several are gaining strength in the US and across the pond. Spector runs the Zoe Health Study, which uses an app to let people in the UK and US report their daily symptoms. After seeing a downward trend for the past few weeks, the Zoe study saw a 30% increase in reported Covid-19 cases within the past week. In the US, some models have predicted that Covid-19 cases will begin to rise again in October and continue to increase into the winter.

Marie-José Enders says office pets can help lower cortisol levels. Those with dogs are perceived as friendlier, so office pets could improve work relationships too. Office cat Sammie is sat on a desk, waiting to be fed breakfast and given a fresh bowl of water. For bigger companies like Google, it's nothing unusual to take your dog to the office but the same seems to be the case for a lot of Dutch companies too — on LinkedIn, there are currently 75 active vacancies at Dutch companies that mention an office dog. In spite of this, both Jonker and Kusse think office pets are also good for team morale.

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