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India's oil trade, in response to the turmoil of sanctions and the Ukraine war, provides the strongest evidence so far of a shift into other currencies that could prove lasting. MTS had facilitated some Indian oil non-dollar payments, the trade sources said. An Indian refining source said most Russian banks have faced sanctions since the war but Indian customers and Russian suppliers are determined to keep trading Russian oil. "As it is, the government is not asking us to stop buying Russian oil, so we are hopeful that an alternative payment mechanism will be found in case the current system is blocked." Similarly, many banks from Russia have opened accounts with Indian banks to facilitate trade.

☆ Fed’s reluctance to go green will cost the Earth
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

WASHINGTON, March 7 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Central banks don’t think they can do much about the environment. The U.S. Federal Reserve has done even less, arguing it should not tackle climate change without an explicit order from Congress. In a 2021 survey by Invesco, 63% of responding central banks said addressing climate change fell within their mandate. Central banks aren’t best equipped to lead the green transition, anyway. There’s also a valid concern that focusing on climate change could water down the Fed’s mission to fight inflation.

☆ Ukraine, Neighbors Sign Pact on Prosecuting the Crime of Aggression
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Ian Lovett | Oksana Grytsenko | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

International prosecutors including U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, third from left center, met to discuss the international response to aggression against Ukraine. LVIV, Ukraine—Representatives from seven countries agreed Saturday to establish an international center for prosecuting the crime of aggression, which they hope will be a first step toward going after the top Russian officials responsible for invading Ukraine. At a summit in Lviv that brought together leaders from across the Western world, officials from Ukraine, the Baltic states, Poland, Romania and Slovakia signed the agreement to create the new center in The Hague.

☆ A reality TV star who posted an explicit video of him and his ex-girlfriend on OnlyFans without her permission was jailed for almost 2 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

OnlyFans and reality TV star Stephen Bear was sentenced to 21 months in prison for "revenge porn." The "Ex on the Beach" contestant shared an explicit video of his ex-girlfriend without her consent. The video was filmed on CCTV at his home without her knowledge and was later posted on OnlyFans. The platform deactivated his account the day after Harrison reported the video, per The Sun. Users can report if explicit content of them has been shared online and ask the center to remove it.

☆ Meta is cracking down on revenge porn targeting children on Instagram and Facebook by funding a new tool to remove explicit images
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Meta is cracking down on revenge porn targeting children under the age of 18 on its platforms. It funded a new tool removing explicit images online, released by a child protection organization. Over 20 million images of child sexual abuse material were found on Facebook and Instagram in 2020. Users can select images and videos on their devices that they don't want to be posted online or that have already been posted online. It also detected over 20 million images of child sex abuse on Instagram and Facebook in 2020.

☆ ‘Take It Down’ Tool Helps Young People Remove Explicit Online Images
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Ginger Adams Otis | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Meta’s Facebook and Instagram platforms are among the initiative’s participating apps. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children launched a tool Monday that allows young people to remove explicit images of themselves that appear online, or block such photos from being shared. The platform, known as Take It Down, allows young adults from anywhere in the world to submit an anonymous report about explicit or intimate images of themselves posted on certain online spaces. Young adults who are over 18 but appear in imagery taken when they were underage can also submit a report to have the images removed from certain platforms, according to the center, a nonprofit.

☆ Meta launches a tool to proactively prevent sextortion of teens
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Meta is taking steps to crack down on the spread of intimate images of teenagers on Facebook and Instagram. To create a hash of an explicit image, a teen can visit the website TakeItDown.NCMEC.org to install software onto their device. Meanwhile, President Biden demanded in his latest State of the Union address more transparency about tech companies’ algorithms and how they impact their young users’ mental health. Meta recommends teens who have multiple copies of the image or edited versions make a hash for each one. “There’s no one panacea for the issue of sextortion or the issue of the non-consensual sharing of intimate images,” Davis said.

☆ A Senate hearing on drug trafficking shows how meaningless the world 'cartel' has become
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Steven Dudley | Insight Crime | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

During a recent Senate hearing on fentanyl trafficking, lawmakers and officials used the word "cartel" 90 times. InSight Crime analysisA Sinaloa Cartel leadership chart from November 2015 with "El Chapo" Guzmán and two of his sons, Ivan Archivaldo and Jesus Alfredo. The Sinaloa Cartel, for instance, has at least three major poles of power, each of which is controlled by different leaders. Sinaloa cartel chief Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman arrives in New York after his extradition in January 2017. Milgram, for instance, pointed to the DEA's laser focus on the Sinaloa Cartel and the CJNG as the path to success.

☆ Mexico Congress approves law giving armed forces airspace monitoring duties
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Mexico's Congress on Wednesday approved a law giving the nation's armed forces a dominant role in airspace surveillance and defense, a measure proponents say is vital to national sovereignty and security. The reform was sent to Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to be signed into law after being approved by the Senate, which is dominated by the ruling Morena party. Mexico's defense ministry will now have under its command a new National Center for Surveillance and Protection of Airspace to monitor airspace and "inhibit and counteract" air operations that threaten national security, according to the document approved by legislators. Opposition senators condemned the law and argued it weakens the civil authority in charge of airspace navigation and bolsters a military that has grown stronger under Lopez Obrador. "Today the Armed Forces co-governs with Lopez Obrador," opposition Senator Emilio Alvarez said during debate on the matter.

☆ Flu vaccine was 68% effective at preventing hospitalization in children but less protective for seniors this season
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Paquita Bonillo, 84 years old, receives the fourth dose of Covid-19 and flu vaccine in the garden of the Feixa Llarga nursing home on September 26, 2022 in Barcelona, Spain. The flu vaccine has been 68% effective at preventing hospitalizations in children but has been less protective for seniors this season, according to preliminary data released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The vaccine was 35% effective at preventing hospitalization for seniors in one study, and 42% effective in a second analysis. The flu hit early this season, as the weekly hospitalization rate peaked in December and has declined since then, according to CDC data. More than 100 children have died from the flu this season.

☆ Hong Kong unveils budget, promising 'abundant opportunities' as city recovers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Sumathi Bala | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Pedestrians pas stores in Hong Kong, China, on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022. Hong Kong wants to become an international center for virtual assets as the city seeks to bolster its status as a global financial hub following the disruptions caused by the pandemic. "I believe that Hong Kong's economy will visibly recover this year, and I remain positive," Chan said during his budget speech. Hong Kong's economy is expected to see a rebound of 3.5% to 5.5% in 2023, after shrinking 3.5% in 2022, Chan said. Hong Kong closely followed China's strict zero-Covid policy until the middle of 2022 when the city began to ease some of the restrictions.

☆ Dozens of civil rights groups are demanding the company that runs AP classes stand up to Ron DeSantis
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

30 civil rights groups demanded the College Board stand up to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The College Board is facing criticism over the rollout of the AP African American studies course. Ron DeSantis after the botched rollout of the company's AP African American Studies course. DeSantis initially rejected the AP African American Studies course in January. But according to reporting from The New York Times, the College Board had repeated contact with DeSantis' administration to discuss the AP African American Studies' course curriculum.

☆ Fact Check-Claims of ICD-10 codes used to track unvaccinated individuals missing context
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The codes in an individual’s medical record, like all personal health information, are protected by U.S. privacy law and could only be analyzed at the group or population level uncoupled from individual identities, medical experts told Reuters. Yet users are sharing news of the 2022 update as evidence that governmental agencies will now be tracking unvaccinated individuals who go to the hospital or see a doctor as part of a “surveillance program,” with comments implying that users think they will be personally identified. All medical providers covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) have used the codes since at least 2015, according to the CDC (here), (www.cdc.gov/nchs/icd/icd10.htm ). Reuters Fact Check debunked a similar claim about ICD-10 code Z28.20 used to place unvaccinated individuals in education camps (here). ICD-10 codes are not new, and the COVID-underimmunized codes added in 2022 are not used to track individuals for reasons other than monitoring vaccination status to assess vaccine efficacy and analyze mortality data.

☆ Lawmakers show rare bipartisan unity in pursuing protections for kids online
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee found rare alignment at a recent hearing about how Congress can help protect kids from online harms. They're speaking out in support of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which would require sites likely to be accessed by kids 16 or younger to maintain certain privacy and safety protections by default. "We must and we will double down on the Kids Online Safety Act," Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who co-sponsored the bill with Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said at the hearing. Though lawmakers have shared similar goals in other discussions around regulating tech, when it comes to protecting kids online, they're more united in the types of action they want to see take place. However, a bill that recently passed the state's House of Representatives removed that provision, instead allowing for consumers to sue social media companies that knowingly cause harm.

☆ Bernie Sanders says teachers should be paid at least $60,000 — and thinks that money should come from higher taxes on the wealthy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Bernie Sanders wants teachers to make a minimum of $60,000, and to pay for it with taxes on wealthy estates. Sanders' proposal to address that is higher pay, offset with changes to the estate tax. But one of the primary reasons is the pathetically low pay teachers receive. Sanders' plan to pay for higher teacher salaries hinges on the estate tax, which he wants to make both broader and higher. But Sanders thinks it's necessary to deal with the state of teacher pay, noting that childcare workers fare even worse, making less than doggy daycare workers.

☆ Elon Musk said he fears a single world government could lead to the 'collapse' of civilization while speaking at a World Government Summit
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Elon Musk spoke at the World Government Summit via video link on Wednesday. He warned that a "single world government" could lead to the collapse of civilization. "If we are too much of a single civilization, the whole thing may collapse," he said. "If we are too much of a single civilization, the whole thing may collapse," Musk said. At Wednesday's conference, Musk also encouraged politicians to "speak authentically" on social media, and said he plans to find a new Twitter CEO by the end of the year.

☆ Telescope video shows part of the sun breaking off and forming a vortex, making scientists scratch their heads
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Video from a NASA telescope shows part of the sun breaking off and swirling around its north pole. More plasma is building up to liftoff at the sun's north pole, which is a once-a-decade event. She added that the telescope footage appeared to show a solar prominence — a large, bright filament extending out from the sun, but anchored to the solar surface. More extreme activity is building on the sun's north poleOn Friday morning, more plasma appeared to be swirling at the solar north pole. Cool plasma building at the surface of the sun's pole appears to be getting ready to lift off, or erupt, into space.

Turkey’s two main fault zones — the East Anatolian and the North Anatolian — make it one of the most seismically active regions in the world. Magnitudes of major earthquakes since 1900 Map showing the East Anatolian and North Anatolian fault zones in Turkey. The 7.8-magnitude earthquake at 4:17 a.m. local time, and the unusually large 7.5-magnitude aftershock nine hours later, both were in the East Anatolian Fault Zone. The East Anatolian zone encompasses the area where there is movement of the Anatolian Plate relative to the Arabian Plate to the southeast. The North Anatolian zone is where there is movement of the Anatolian Plate and the Eurasian Plate to the north.

☆ Fact Check-Eight cooler years cannot be extrapolated to draw conclusions on long-term global warming
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

SHORT TERM FLUCTUATIONSGlobal surface temperatures are heavily influenced by annual Pacific Ocean patterns known as El Nino and La Nina, and collectively as ENSO (El Niño–Southern Oscillation). A large El Nino event followed by a La Nina can “lead to a temporary ‘pause’ in global temperatures over timescales of a decade or so”, Hausfather said. This is “what we are now seeing after the 2015/2016 super El Nino event”. Whenever there is a trend with variability like global temperatures, “you can isolate cherry-picked intervals and claim that something has paused or accelerated, but this is not appropriate”, Colose said. Temperature data for the past eight years do not reflect long-term trends, experts say, and longer-term data clearly show a continuing rise in overall global temperatures.

An advisory committee to the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday raised doubts about shifting toward a yearly Covid booster for most adults and children, saying too many questions about the virus still remain unanswered. The FDA convened its Vaccine and Related Biology Products Advisory Committee to discuss how the Covid vaccines may change moving forward. On Monday, the agency published briefing documents proposing annual Covid shots that target the latest variants of the virus — an approach similar to the yearly flu shot. Some committee members said they would prefer to make multiple yearly meetings on the Covid vaccines the norm. In a unanimous vote, the committee recommended using the bivalent formula in all Covid vaccines moving forward, not just for booster shots.

The Biden administration is proposing to allow people to check off Hispanic or Latino as their race. Currently people of such origin are included in the white category, something people in the MENA category have advocated to be changed for three decades, the proposal states. "The nation does periodically examine how it asks about race and ethnicity and the ways we report out those findings can be important," Mark Hugo Lopez, director of race and ethnicity research for Pew Research Center, said Thursday. The Census Bureau defines Hispanic or Latino as an ethnicity, not a race. For example, people could check white and then check boxes for Italian, German or other countries of origin and also check American Indian or Hispanic or Latino and then check Mexican or Mexican American or Puerto Rican and others.

☆ VA says it exceeded goal for housing homeless veterans last year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Aaron Gilchrist | Aaron Gilchrist Is An Anchor For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

The Department of Veterans Affairs announced Thursday that it surpassed its 2022 goals for housing veterans experiencing homelessness. Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough set a goal of housing 38,000 veterans by the end of last year. The number of veterans experiencing homelessness in the U.S. has decreased by 11% since January 2020 and by more than 55% since 2010, according to the VA. The method prioritizes getting veterans into housing, then providing support services, including health care and job training, as well as any needed mental health or substance dependency interventions to help veterans stay in housing. Veterans experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness can call the National Center for Homeless Veterans at 877-4AID-VET (877-424-3838).

However, Congress in its last session in December didn’t reach an agreement, and finance chiefs say they hope the topic will be revisited. “That’s a 20 percentage point increase in tax for Yelp, so obviously very meaningful for us,” Mr. Schwarzbach said. The higher costs due to the law change will factor into investment decisions going forward, Mr. Schwarzbach said. The tax change has an impact on the company’s net income, Mr. Schwarzbach said. The San Francisco-based company reported R&D expenses of $75.8 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with $69.4 million a year earlier.

☆ Foundation empties coffers to fund Black paper in Baltimore
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

She and Brandon Soderberg, a former Baltimore City paper editor, had tried to launch a new paper, the Baltimore Beat, but the publishing company that supported it pulled the plug. Decades ago, the Holofceners left Baltimore for the suburbs, like thousands of other white families, leaving the city with a depleted tax base. The large grant is an attempt to counter the idea that “any giving is good giving,” Holofcener says. “There’s a real opportunity for us to engage.”The problem was that none of the cousins actually had any say over how the family foundation doled out money. Instead, the pause gave the paper and the family time to thoroughly nail down their plans.

☆ Philly’s newly ID’d ‘Boy in the Box’ gets grave marker at 70
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

The family lived down the street from the potter’s field where the boy was first buried, and placed flowers there on holidays. It’s a confluence of great detective work, cutting-edge science and the careful art of genealogical research, retired city detective William Fleisher said in his graveside remarks Friday. “It is a big part of our city’s history, a big part of the Philadelphia Police Department’s history. So this is everybody’s victory.”Police now believe the boy lived in West Philadelphia, miles across town from where his body was found. “This has been our whole lives, with this boy, our whole entire lives, since we were children,” said Kim Augustine, 56, Braxton’s sister.

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