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☆ Ukraine is losing 10,000 drones a month to Russian electronic-warfare systems that send fake signals and screw with their navigation, researchers say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A new report estimates that Ukraine is losing roughly 10,000 drones every month. A sophisticated electronic warfare system is among Russia's biggest strengths, researchers said. Patton Rogers said that while the figures are "likely" overestimated, they underline just how effective Russia's electronic warfare has become at countering Ukraine's extensive use of drones. Sophisticated Russian systems such as the Shipovnik-Aero jamming station are hard to detect and can imitate other signals, the researchers said. But by the summer of 2022 it was clear that Russia's electronic warfare and air defense capabilities had ramped up, as Insider's Alia Shoaib reported.

☆ China's exports to North Korea surge in April
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, May 20 (Reuters) - China's exports to North Korea soared in April from a year earlier, with wigs and fertiliser among major shipments, Chinese customs data showed on Saturday. Chinese outbound shipments to the isolated country surged 69% year-on-year to $166 million in April, data released by China's General Administration of Customs showed. The top export items in terms of value were processed hair and wool used in wigs, worth about $11.6 million, and diammonium hydrogen phosphate, a widely used fertiliser, worth $8.84 million. In January-April, Chinese exports to North Korea leapt to $603 million from $270.59 million a year earlier, according to the customs data. North Korea has long suffered from food insecurity and South Korea's DongA Ilbo newspaper reported in mid-February that Pyongyang's food crisis may have deteriorated.

☆ Thailand elections: Opposition parties won a landslide in elections but forming a government is not guaranteed
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Pheu Thai, the main opposition party that has been a populist force in Thailand for 20 years, came second. “This is an unmistakable frontal rebuke, a rejection of Thailand’s military authoritarian past. Move Forward’s predecessor the Future Forward Party won the third most seats in the 2019 election. In the short term, that decision ended the threat from the Future Forward Party. But some also went on to create the Move Forward party that swept to victory in the popular vote on Sunday.

☆ ‘Silo’ Review: A Sci-Fi World Within Brutalist Walls
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( John Anderson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

David Oyelowo, Geraldine James and Will Patton Photo: AppleTV+The day may come when creators of speculative fiction conjure a world in which humanity’s conflicts have been resolved, its needs met, its dreams realized. A day when viewers will be inspired to look forward to Earth’s destiny with hope rather than dread. A day when our imaginations will be piqued by the thought that light rather than darkness is at the end of the tunnel. But as the occupants of “Silo” would be apt to say, “We know that day . But “not this day.”

☆ There's big problems with the way the Kremlin drone incident went down, and war experts say Russia 'likely staged' it
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

However, a US think tank has said it was "likely" a Russian false flag operation. As military experts told Insider, many details of the incident — and ultimate responsibility for it — remain unconfirmed as of Thursday. The think tank pointed to geolocated images of Russia installing advanced Pantsir surface-to-air missile defense systems around Moscow earlier this year. The Russian defense ministry is also working to further bolster these capabilities by year-end. The Russian Defense and Foreign Ministries did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

☆ China approves safety of first gene-edited crop
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, May 4 (Reuters) - China has approved the safety of a gene-edited soybean, its first approval of the technology in a crop, as the country increasingly looks to science to boost food production. Shunfeng claims to be the first company in China seeking to commercialise gene-edited crops. Several additional steps are needed before China's farmers can plant the novel soybean, including approvals of seed varieties with the tweaked genes. Getting gene-edited crops onto the market is expected to be faster however, given fewer steps in the regulatory process. Aside from the United States, Japan has also approved gene-edited foods, including healthier tomatoes and faster-growing fish.

☆ Details in the drone incident the Kremlin says aimed to assassinate Putin 'don't quite add up.' Experts have 3 theories on what happened.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | Sophia Ankel | Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Russia claimed Wednesday that Ukraine tried to assassinate Putin with a drone attack at the Kremlin. James Patton Rogers, a military historian and adviser to NATO on drones and warfare, said that "there's a few things that don't quite add up in this situation." Its ability to fly comparatively low, and slowly, would potentially help it evade some radar, Patton Rogers said. Claiming that Ukraine tried to assassinate Putin would potentially "open up a new norm in the war," Patton Rogers said. Patton Rogers said he hasn't "seen any indication" that such groups have the capacity to use drones in their attacks.

May 2 (Reuters) - International law firm Squire Patton Boggs said on Tuesday it has hired partner Lian Yok Tan for its energy and infrastructure practice in Singapore. Tan joins from K&L Gates, where she was global co-head of the energy, infrastructure and resources practice, Squire Patton Boggs said. Barry Stimpson, Squire Patton Boggs’ Singapore office managing partner, said in a statement that Tan has connections across the Asia Pacific, particularly in Indonesia, which will help the firm secure new clients. On Monday, Squire Patton Boggs became the latest law firm to set up an office in Dublin. In March, the firm signed a cooperation agreement with The Law Office of Looaye M. Al-Akkas for a new office in Riyadh.

☆ My grandfather hid the emotional toll of World War II from his family for decades
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Chloe Melas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

CNN —For decades after returning home from World War II, my grandfather did not talk about his wartime experiences. Frank Murphy, the grandfather of CNN's Chloe Melas, after he was captured and taken a prisoner of war by the Nazis in 1943. Everyone could see the physical toll of war on his body, but we didn’t know about his invisible wounds. After World War I, it was “shell shock”; post-World War II it was known as “combat fatigue,” and after Vietnam it was called “post-Vietnam syndrome.” In 1980, the American Psychiatric Association officially recognized it as post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. “When your grandfather and my grandfather served in World War II, they didn’t talk about it,” Paul Rieckhoff, founder and CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, told me.

☆ China records world's first human death from H3N8 bird flu, WHO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

All of the cases have been in China, with the first two cases reported last year. Sporadic infections in people with bird flu are common in China where avian flu viruses constantly circulate in huge poultry and wild bird populations. Though rare in people, H3N8 is common in birds in which it causes little to no sign of disease. There were no other cases found among close contacts of the infected woman, the WHO said. Monitoring of all avian influenza viruses is considered important given their ability to evolve and cause a pandemic.

☆ Digging Into a $344 Billion Investing Mystery
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Jason Zweig | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

For the cost of notarizing a single document—probably $10 or less—you can declare yourself one of the biggest financiers in history. That’s about all it takes to file private investment offerings at the Securities and Exchange Commission under what’s called Regulation D. Judging by Form D filings purportedly made by a man named Stephon Patton, the SEC won’t stop you.

Filing taxes may not be the most exciting part, but it's important to understand how marriage affects your taxes. Avoid any potential surprises come tax season with these essential steps for filing taxes as a newlywed. Editor's Rating 4.2/5 A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star Editor's Rating 4.5/5 A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star Editor's Rating 4.6/5 A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star Learn more On TurboTax's website Learn more On H&R Block's website Learn more On Tax Slayer's website1. Filing jointly can potentially increase the monthly payments if one spouse is enrolled in an income-driven repayment plan. However, if you don't have the means to do that, Lee recommends comparing your options with tax filing software to find which filing status offers the largest refund and the lowest tax liability.

Ganfeng said in a response to Reuters that no discussions on a floor price had taken place. Zhicun Lithium, one of the top lithium carbonate producers in China, was also represented at the meeting, said four of the people, but could not be reached for comment. It is not clear how long the companies, which account for over half China's lithium carbonate output, will follow the floor price. However, some buyers were sceptical that producers would stick to the floor price, given the sluggish demand. "If we don't buy, someone will eventually drop the price," said a lithium carbonate buyer briefed on the decision.

☆ Americans love to buy more car than they need. It's making electric cars more expensive.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

But Americans love SUVs and trucks, and they're going to have to pay for them in the near term. A lot of prospective EV buyers just haven't yet found the types of EVs they're looking for. They don't necessarily need more luxury electric sedans — they want the trucks and SUVs they're used to. A recent study found most car-buyers don't want to spend more than $50,000 to go EV, but they also want electric trucks and SUVs that inherently cost more. Bigger vehicles are often just more expensive, largely because they require bigger batteries — the most expensive part of these new EVs.

Spot lithium carbonate prices assessed by Fastmarkets fell to 260,000 yuan ($38,079.06) per tonne this week, less than half the price quoted last November. Five analysts polled by Reuters last month had expected the price would drop to 300,000 yuan by the end of this year. "The unprecedented price cuts among traditional auto makers will eat EVs' market share in the short term, hitting lithium demand further," said Vicky Zhao, a Beijing-based senior analyst at Fastmarkets. Lithium prices in the United States and Europe have also fallen, albeit less sharply, amid rising but still tight supplies and a stronger outlook for EV sales. ($1 = 6.8279 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Siyi Liu and Dominique Patton; Editing by Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China's pig farms battle new surge in African swine fever
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Dominique Patton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"Data from swine fever virus testing companies show that the number of positive detections exploded after the new year holiday. "We guess that the current swine fever infection area in northern production areas may be reaching 50%," it added. We feel it hasn't ended yet, that's the problem," he said, declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of disease outbreaks in China. HARD TO ASSESSChinese farms typically do not report disease outbreaks to the government, making it challenging to get an accurate picture of the extent of the infections. Though not as serious as in 2019, the disease could reduce production by more than 10%, Huachuang analyst Xiao Lin told Reuters.

☆ New York bike path attacker spared death penalty after jury deadlocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Jane RosenbergNEW YORK, March 13 (Reuters) - Sayfullo Saipov, the man convicted of killing eight people in an attack on a Manhattan bike path in 2017, was spared the death penalty on Monday after a federal jury deadlocked on whether he should be executed. Saipov's case is the first federal death penalty trial since President Joe Biden, a Democrat, took office in 2021 after pledging during his campaign to abolish capital punishment. Jurors agreed that other aggravating factors weighed in favor of the death penalty, including that Saipov planned his attack in advance and carried it out to support Islamic State. Patton said in his closing argument that the death penalty was "not necessary to do justice." Prosecutors sought the death penalty despite U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland's July 2021 moratorium on federal executions so the Department of Justice could review its use of the punishment.

Rystad Energy sees the global market deficit of lithium shrinking to around 20,000 to 30,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) this year, from 76,000 tonnes LCE in 2022. Out to 2025 it expects lithium supply to grow on average by 34% a year against an annual demand growth rate of 25%. MINERS UNFAZEDThe decline in lithium prices in China, the world's biggest consumer, has hit lithium producers overseas. LITHIUM CARBONATE SINKSThe price decline has been sharp. "A lithium carbonate price of 200,000-300,000 yuan per tonne is where both upstream and downstream will feel comfortable," said Rystad's Zou.

☆ Australian exporters rekindle China ties amid diplomatic thaw
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Lewis Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Australian business leaders are following the political signals. Fortescue Metals (FMG.AX) founder Andrew Forrest, BHP (BHP.AX) head Mike Henry and Tim Ford, chief executive of tariff-hit winemaker Treasury Wine Estate (TWE.AX), have scheduled visits to China in March. At least 15 vessels carrying Australian coal were bound for China last week as traders bet already-reduced trade barriers will fall further. "People are starting to get on the front foot," Grain Trade Australia Chief Executive Pat O'Shannassy told Reuters. A shipment of Australian coal diverted to Vietnam last week after waiting at a Chinese port for five days without unloading.

☆ China warns of consequences if U.S. escalates balloon incident
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING, Feb 19 (Reuters) - China warned the United States on Sunday it would "bear all the consequences" if it escalated the controversy over a Chinese balloon that the U.S. military shot down this month. Beijing will "follow through to the end" in the event "the U.S. insists on taking advantage of the issue", the foreign ministry said in a statement. A U.S. military jet on Feb. 4 shot down what Washington calls a Chinese spy balloon after it had crossed North America. China's statement followed a meeting between top diplomat Wang Yi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. Reporting by Dominique Patton; Editing by William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China warns U.S. to suffer 'consequences' if it escalates balloon incident
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Bird flu alarm drives world towards once-shunned vaccines
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Sybille De La Hamaide | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

"That's why every country in the world is worried about bird flu," French agriculture minister Marc Fesneau said. But the fear of trade restrictions remains centre stage for countries reluctant to vaccinate poultry against bird flu. Bird flu can also mutate rapidly and reduce the efficacy of vaccines while programmes are costly and time consuming, as shots often need to be administered individually. Ceva said it was using the mRNA technology used in some COVID shots for the first time in poultry vaccines. The global market for bird flu vaccines would be about 800 million to 1 billion doses per year, excluding China, said Sylvain Comte, corporate marketing director for poultry at Ceva.

"Star Trek: Picard" is back for its third and final season. Stewart previously played the character on seven seasons of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and in four theatrical Star Trek films. Check out the trailer for 'Picard' season 3In the third season, Picard reunites with many of his former crewmates from "The Next Generation," including characters played by Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, and Michael Dorn. How to watch 'Star Trek: Picard' season 3You can watch "Star Trek: Picard" season 3 exclusively on Paramount Plus. You can watch "Star Trek: Picard" for free if you sign up for a trial to Paramount Plus.

☆ Biden wants EV chargers on every 50 miles of highway. That misses a key piece of the electrification puzzle.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But to boost EV adoption, not all chargers need to be on highways, experts say. The goal is to put 500,000 public EV chargers on US roads by 2030, up from about 130,000 currently. EV chargers need to meet people where they're at. Studies suggest that a lack of reliable and functional EV charging is one of the biggest factors standing in the way of consumer EV adoption. Of note, however, is that a majority of EV charging can technically be done at home.

☆ It's time for automakers to take EV charging seriously or risk missing out
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

They've depended on third-party charging firms like ChargePoint, EVgo, and Electrify America to provide EV buyers with public plugs. Many automakers even offer their EV customers free charging through partnerships with these networks. For EV buyers attracted to brands with free public charging deals, the promises don't always seem to live up to expectations. The argument could be made that a majority of EV charging can be done at home — but many prospective EV buyers live in multi-family buildings without access to a garage plug. Mercedes recently announced the launch of its own charging network in an attempt to catch up to Tesla.

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