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☆ India and China snap up Russian oil in April above 'price cap'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MOSCOW, April 17 (Reuters) - India and China have snapped up the vast majority of Russian oil so far in April at prices above the Western price cap of $60 per barrel, according to traders and Reuters calculations. A G7 source told Reuters on Monday the Western price cap would remain unchanged for now, despite pressure from some European Union countries, such as Poland, to lower the cap to increase pressure on Moscow. The latest data from Refinitiv Eikon suggest Russian Urals oil cargoes that loaded in the first half of April are mostly heading to India's and China's ports. India and China have not agreed to abide by the price cap, but the West had hoped the threat of sanctions might deter traders from helping those countries buy oil above the cap. A G7 price cap coalition official said the sytem was working.

☆ Hydrogen, fully electric, or both? Heavy-duty trucking has some big decisions to make
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Anmar Frangoul | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

In Sept. 2022, it said it would begin testing fuel cell electric trucks in what it called "commercial traffic" from 2025. It's therefore no surprise that alongside hydrogen, battery electric vehicles are also being considered for trucking. Other companies like Scania and DAF are also operating in the battery electric space. "Which zero-emission technology out of battery electric and hydrogen will prevail in the long-haul segment is less certain," T&E adds. Within the EU, for example, efforts are being made to create the conditions that would enable hydrogen trucks to travel long distances.

☆ Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says he's confident he can get costs under control in shareholder letter
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +38 min

Further, as machine learning adoption has continued to accelerate, customers have yearned for lower-cost GPUs (the chips most commonly used for machine learning). While some areas of the economy have struggled over the past few years, Amazon Business has thrived. Some people have never heard of Amazon Business, but, our business customers love it. For years, Amazon customers had asked us when we'd offer them an online pharmacy as their frustrations mounted with current providers. More recently, a newer form of machine learning, called Generative AI, has burst onto the scene and promises to significantly accelerate machine learning adoption.

☆ Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says his letter to shareholders follows one of the toughest economic years in recent memory. Read it in full.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +38 min

☆ The Most Unpredictable Horse Race in the World
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Because horses have so few opportunities to race over the larger fences, many of the horses in the field will have tried them perhaps only once before, or never. A horse who has been successful in ordinary steeplechases may turn out to be unable to deal with the higher fences. Unless entrants have raced in the National before, they will be trying such a long distance for the first time. In most horse races, it is not uncommon for many of the horses to have raced one another several times in recent months, giving a good sense of which ones are better than the others. Most of them race just a few times a season.

☆ Italy's coastguard works to rescue 1,200 migrants drifting at sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The boat in distress with about 400 people on board is pictured in Central Mediterranean Sea in this handout obtained by Reuters on April 10, 2023. Giacomo Zorzi/ Sea-Watch/Handout via REUTERSMILAN, April 10 (Reuters) - The Italian coastguard is carrying out operations to rescue two boats carrying a total of 1,200 people, it said on Monday, after a surge in the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa over the weekend. The other rescue operation by Italian coastguard on Monday was to help a fishing boat carrying 800 people that was located over 120 miles southeast of Siracusa, in Sicily. A spokesperson for coastguard said it would take hours to complete the two ongoing operations because of difficult conditions, including the long distance form the coast. Before these two operations, the Italian coastguard had already rescued around 2,000 migrants since Friday, it said.

☆ NHL roundup: Connor McDavid hits 150 points in Oilers' win
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +12 min

Tomas Hertl scored, and James Reimer made 29 saves for the Sharks, who have lost seven straight against the Oilers. McDavid notched his 150th point when he scored with 1:44 left in the opening period for a 2-1 lead. Jesper Bratt scored the lone goal and MacKenzie Blackwood made 38 stops for the Devils, who had won back-to-back games. Avalanche 4, Kings 3Denis Malgin scored two goals for visiting Colorado in a win against Los Angeles. Alex Nylander, Danton Heinen and Evgeni Malkin each scored a goal and Tristan Jarry made 19 saves for the Penguins.

In turn, transmission lines that can ferry large power loads over long distances with minimal load loss will be key arteries that will enable transition efforts. Roughly 66% of current UHV capacity is in Greater China (36%) and the Indian subcontinent (30%), and around 10% is in North America. Ultra high voltage (UHV) line capacity by regionLatin America looks also set to rapidly increase UHV capacity, especially after 2035, to connect the region's planned solar and wind installations across Brazil, Chile, Peru and Mexico. MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA AND PACIFICWhile currently overshadowed in terms of capacity development by China, India, Europe and North America, other regions will step up their construction of transmission line capacity after 2030. In turn, that extra grid capacity should provide a powerful boost to energy transition efforts in every region, and allow global energy systems to capitalize on growing volumes of renewable energy generation.

☆ Column: Electric grids need major upgrades to aid global energy transition: Maguire
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

LITTLETON, Colorado, March 30 (Reuters) - Modern electricity grids that can optimize clean power production from a constantly changing flux of renewable and fossil energy sources will play a vital role in enabling global energy transition efforts. With renewable energy supplies climbing at a record pace just as global car fleets, households and businesses supercharge electricity demand, robust grids that can bridge both sides of the energy equation will be critical. The global power sector is also a major source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and so is incompatible with international efforts to drive pollution steadily lower from all sectors over the coming decades. Many ambitious grid alteration plans are also running in to stiff opposition from powerful organisations that object to the laying of miles of new transmission lines across open areas. But if renewable energy supplies surge as expected, and if those supplies are to be made available to power-hungry customers, global grids must grow in both scale and density in every major economy - and in record time.

☆ Victor LaValle’s Latest Mixes Horror With a History of the West
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Chanelle Benz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

LONE WOMEN, by Victor LaValleVictor LaValle’s enthralling fifth novel, “Lone Women,” opens like a true western, with a scene of dark, bloody upheaval and a hint of vengeance. When we meet Adelaide Henry, the grown daughter of Black farmers, she is in a daze, dumping gasoline all over her family’s farmhouse. We don’t know why she’s doing what she’s doing, what happened to her family or, most important, what else she has or hasn’t done. Adelaide will soon escape to the harsh beauty of Montana as one of the “lone” women acquiring a homestead of 320 acres from the federal government. If she can survive three years there, cultivating the land and making it habitable, the land will become hers.

☆ Inside Ukraine’s scramble for “game-changer” drone fleet
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Max Hunder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

It is hoping that domestic drone makers like AeroDrone will help it meet its ambitious goals. The government is now working with more than 80 Ukraine-based drone manufacturers, Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov told Reuters. RUSSIAN TERRITORYThe range and potency of Ukraine's drones is a sensitive issue. Danilov, the national security council head, acknowledged Ukraine’s reliance on other countries for more high-tech drone components. "We are trying to fulfil our needs in this sector with domestic production, but we realise that it's unlikely we will be able to fulfil everything," he said.

☆ To escape the rat race, this pair cycled 15,000 km along the route from Finland to Singapore
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Audrey Wan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Valtteri Heinila was working in a startup when he realized he needed a break. With his friend Alvari Poikola, Heinila cycled through 21 countries in eight months, he told CNBC. The men chose Singapore as their goal because it was the farthest point they could cycle to, Heinila said. Valtteri Heinila (left) and Alvari Poikola at the Imperial City of Hue in Vietnam. Valtteri Heinila

☆ BlackRock's Larry Fink said the last few years have dramatically reshaped supply chains. Data — and experts — disagree.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

From the headlines, it's easy to think that supply chains are making a major shift closer to the consumer. "The repeated shocks of the past few years have also dramatically reshaped supply chains," Fink wrote in his highly-anticipated annual letter to shareholders Wednesday. His statements echo those from other top execs and prognosticators, who looked at the last few years and saw inevitable evolution toward more localized supply chains. Before the pandemic, supply chains were largely built with cost as a guiding principle. Is a "dramatic" redesign of supply chains possible?

☆ Sustainable Aviation Fuel No Quick Fix to Greening Air Travel
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Oscar the Grouch is United Airlines’ pitchman for a new advertising campaign touting the environmental benefits of jet fuel made from waste. It can cut emissions by up to 80% compared with conventional jet fuel, depending on the feedstock used. First, the sustainably derived fuel is typically two to four times as expensive as conventional jet fuel. Globally, jet fuel cost can be volatile but was around $2.76 a gallon as of March 3, according to the International Air Transport Association. Hydrogen’s energy density makes it more promising as a jet fuel.

☆ This Chinese kissing device lets you smooch over the internet
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The device, advertised as a way to let long-distance couples share “real” physical intimacy, is causing a buzz among Chinese social media users, who have reacted with both intrigue and shock. To send a kiss, users need to download a mobile phone app and plug the device into their phone’s charging port. After pairing with their partners in the app, couples can start a video call and transmit replicas of their smooches to each other. The kissing device is advertised as a way to share physical intimacy between long-distance couples. While advertised for long-distance relationships, the Chinese device also allows users to pair up anonymously with strangers in the “kissing square” function of the app.

☆ Why it's so hard to build new electrical transmission lines in the U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

Building new transmission lines in the U.S. takes so long — if they are built at all — that electrical transmission has become a roadblock for deploying clean energy. Energy companies that build new transmission lines need to get a return on their investment, explains James McCalley, an electrical engineering professor at Iowa State University. "Someone that benefits more frequent transmission line will pay more than someone who benefits less from a transmission line." transmission lines, energy grid, clean energyGreat River Energy and Minnesota Power are in the early stages of building a 150-mile, 345 kilovolt transmission line from northern to central Minnesota. Engaging with all members of the respective community is a necessary part of any successful transmission line build out, Patel and Johnson both say.

☆ Bird flu spreads to new countries, threatens non-stop 'war' on poultry
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Tom Polansek | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Argentina found the virus in wild birds, while dead swans in Uruguay tested positive. The United States, Britain, France and Japan are among countries that have suffered record losses of poultry over the past year, leaving some farmers feeling helpless. Poultry in the Northern Hemisphere were previously considered to be most at risk when wild birds are active during spring migration. Some experts suspect climate change may be contributing to the global spread by altering wild birds' habitats and migratory paths. Farmers are trying unusual tactics to protect poultry, with some using machines that make loud noises to scare off wild birds, experts said.

☆ Bird flu spreads to new countries, threatens non-stop "war" on poultry
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Tom Polansek | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The United States, Britain, France and Japan are among countries that have suffered record losses of poultry over the past year, leaving some farmers feeling helpless. Poultry in the Northern Hemisphere were previously considered to be most at risk when wild birds are active during spring migration. Some experts suspect climate change may be contributing to the global spread by altering wild birds' habitats and migratory paths. Farmers are trying unusual tactics to protect poultry, with some using machines that make loud noises to scare off wild birds, experts said. Berkowitz said he is bracing for March and April when migration season will pose an even greater risk to poultry.

☆ Patrick Mahomes' wife Brittany Mahomes has built her own sports empire as a professional soccer player, part owner of a women's soccer team, and a fitness guru
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Kelly Mclaughlin | Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | Meredith Cash | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is celebrating his latest win with his wife Brittany. The Kansas City Chiefs selected Patrick in the first round of the NFL Draft in April 2017. Her team won its league in September 2017, according to her Instagram, and by October 2017 she was in Kansas City. I think the people are what we love the most about Kansas City," Mahomes said. He took the Chiefs to their second-consecutive Super Bowl in February 2021, though the team lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

☆ The $54,500 Mercedes EQB is a solid electric SUV for people who think Teslas lack luxury
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Mercedes-Benz EQB 350. It starts at $54,500, and the 2022 EQB 350 Mercedes lent me came out to $58,050, including optional heated seats. The Mercedes-Benz EQB 350. The Mercedes-Benz EQB 350. The Mercedes-Benz EQB 350.

☆ Mercedes' cheapest electric car is more luxurious than a Tesla but with way less range
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

☆ Hoka sneakers: Why these chunky, ugly running shoes are selling like crazy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hoka, which started in 2009 in France as a running shoe for hardcore marathoners, is growing rapidly with casual runners, hikers and weightlifters. “There wasn’t anyone doing what Hoka was doing.”But Hoka carved out a niche in specialty running shops. By 2019, Hoka sales topped $220 million. “We don’t see this as just a running brand,” Deckers CEO David Powers said in October. “This is a running, trail, hike brand that is more like a North Face” than Brooks running shoes.

☆ Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes' wife Brittany Mahomes has built her own sports empire as a professional soccer player, part owner of a women's soccer team, and a fitness guru
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Kelly Mclaughlin | Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is celebrating his latest win with his wife Brittany. The Kansas City Chiefs selected Patrick in the first round of the NFL Draft in April 2017. She also became a part owner of Kansas City's women's soccer team when the National Women's Soccer League expanded to the city in 2020. I think the people are what we love the most about Kansas City," Mahomes said. On Sunday, Mahomes led the Chiefs to victory against the Bengals to secure a slot in the 2023 Super Bowl.

REUTERS/David MdzinarishviliSummary US, Germany promise to send dozens of tanks to UkraineKremlin: this shows West's 'direct involvement' in conflictWar bloggers say Leopard tanks pose challenge for RussiaJan 26 (Reuters) - Russia said on Thursday it saw the promised delivery of Western tanks to Ukraine as evidence of direct and growing U.S. and European involvement in the conflict. "We categorically disagree with this, and in Moscow, everything that the alliance and the capitals I mentioned are doing is seen as direct involvement in the conflict. Until now, both Ukraine and Russia have been relying primarily on Soviet-era T-72 tanks. CONFRONTATIONRussia, which launched the war by invading Ukraine on Feb. 24 last year, has increasingly portrayed it as a confrontation with NATO. Another war blogger, Yuri Kotenok, said Western tanks were no "wonder weapon" but would require a change of Russian tactics.

☆ Sun Cable project: Billionaires' feud over Australia-Singapore cable escalates
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Hilary Whiteman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The proposed Sun Cable project would see a subsea cable stretch from Darwin to Singapore. A statement from Cannon-Brookes’ private investment arm, Grok Ventures, suggested all investors except Forrest’s investment arm Squadron Energy remain committed to the cable. Tim Buckley, director of Climate Energy Finance, says the export of green hydrogen (hydrogen generated from renewable energy) is at least a decade away. “The market for green hydrogen exports has sort of deflated quite dramatically when people realize there’ll be a decade or two before you can actually ship green hydrogen anywhere overseas,” he said. For example, Xlinks plans to run a cable almost as long and powerful from Morocco to the United Kingdom.

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