Prince Harry and Meghan will no longer use their HRH titles and will not receive public funds for royal duties, Buckingham Palace has announced. The couple will also no longer formally represent the Queen. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex intend to repay £2.4m of taxpayer money for the refurbishment of Frogmore Cottage, which will remain their UK family home, the statement added. The new arrangement comes into effect in spring this year, the palace said. The statement comes after the Queen held talks with the couple on Monday about their future, following their announcement that they wanted to “step…
Author: mediahitman
Each year, more than 6,500 cases of bladder cancer, roughly five percent of all cases in Europe, are found to be attributable to exposure to trihalomethanes (THMs) in drinking water – and it’s all perfectly legal. For a study of countries’ water quality, the EU28 became the EU26, as adequate data for Bulgaria and Romania could not be obtained. Nevertheless, the project covered 75% of the total EU population, and a reading of its findings is ominous. THMs are a class of molecule that appear as a by-product of the disinfectants used to clean drinking water. When chlorine, the main chemical…
The European Commission has revealed it is considering a ban on the use of facial recognition in public areas for up to five years. Regulators want time to work out how to prevent the technology being abused. The technology allows faces captured on CCTV to be checked in real time against watch lists, often compiled by police. Exceptions to the ban could be made for security projects as well as research and development. The Commission set out its plans in an 18-page document, suggesting that new rules will be introduced to bolster existing regulation surrounding privacy and data rights. It…
Xenobots — tiny, biological robots swarms designed by a computer — are upon us. What does the birth of these strange not-quite-alive creatures mean for robotics — and for us? Mankind has been imagining advanced robot technology for a long time — pop culture is full of Terminators, Cylons, and Droids. But in fact, these humanoid designs show a distinct lack of imagination. Why have we always assumed that robots would be designed to have the same basic form as us: slightly ungainly primates trotting about on two feet, perhaps even toting a gun? The latest models make that particular…
Was it the asteroid or colossal volcanic eruption that initiated the demise of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. This has been a bit of a “to and fro” argument of late, but now a group of scientists has weighed in with what they claim is the definitive answer. “It was the asteroid ‘wot dun it’!” Prof Paul Wilson told the BBC. His team’s analysis of ocean sediments shows that huge volcanoes that erupted in India did not change the climate enough to drive the extinction. Volcanoes can spew enormous volumes of gases into the atmosphere that can both cool…
Puerto Rico’s top emergencies manager has been sacked after video emerged of a warehouse full of supplies dating back to the devastating Hurricane Maria that hit the island in 2017. Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced said she wanted answers within 48 hours over the undistributed aid. Sacked director Carlos Acevedo said no-one had been denied “any of the items” found in the warehouse. Since 2017, Puerto Rico has been hit by a series of hurricanes and earthquakes. The island is still recovering from Hurricane Maria, a category-five storm that devastated parts of the Caribbean in September 2017. In Puerto Rico alone,…
Facebook has issued a cease and desist notice to an Israeli firm that claims to be able to subconsciously alter people’s behavior. The Spinner charges a fee to “subconsciously influence” targets by exposing them to online posts “disguised as editorial content”. But Facebook has objected to the start-up using its services to achieve this. And the tech giant has barred the firm and its chief from using Facebook or Instagram for any reason. In response, the Spinner’s co-founder and chief operating officer Elliot Shefler told the BBC that it would continue to sell targeted online campaigns and refused to rule…
The voice actor who plays the Indian character Apu in The Simpsons has said he is stepping down from the role, following years of controversy. White actor Hank Azaria has performed the voice of the Indian convenience store owner since the character was created in 1990. But the character has been accused of reinforcing racial stereotypes. It was not immediately clear if Apu would get a new voice or be dropped from the cartoon. “All we know there is I won’t be doing the voice anymore, unless there’s some way to transition it or something,” Mr Azaria told the website…
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday has agreed to take up a dispute that questions whether an electoral college member is bound by the state to support the presidential candidate chosen by the popular vote. The top court granted a petition to review a pair of cases—from Washington state and Colorado—that will decide the enforceability of state laws that threatens to penalize a presidential elector if they refused to vote for the candidate they pledged to support, commonly referred to as “faithless electors.” The Supreme Court’s decision, expected later in the year, will likely have ramifications on this year’s presidential…
The US Department of Agriculture has announced new rules for school lunches, which could see the fruit and veggies championed by Michelle Obama replaced by pizza and fries. The changes were announced on ex-First Lady’s birthday. USDA Deputy Under Secretary Brandon Lipps revealed the changes on Friday. Aimed at reducing food waste, the new rules will allow schools to cut the amount of fruit and vegetables served at breakfast and lunch, effectively freeing them up to make up the calories with pizza, burgers, fries and snacks. Food industry lobbyists have been pushing for such changes since the beginning of Donald…
Authorities at major airports in New York and California will screen passengers traveling from the Chinese city of Wuhan gripped by the outbreak of a new deadly pneumonia-like virus, which has since spread to Japan and Thailand. Starting Friday, passengers from Wuhan who arrive at San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles’s main international airports will undergo screening for the symptoms of a novel coronavirus (2019-nCov) that broke out in the Chinese city last month. Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will carry out the checks, along with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents. The illness…
US officials may put an end to a civilian drone programme because of their concerns about the unmanned aerial vehicles that are made in China. The officials are apparently worried that the Chinese-made drones could be used to spy on people in the US. After a volcano exploded in Hawaii in May 2018, US scientists used drones to save a man from the lava: “Follow the drone,” they said. He made it through the jungle. Drones save people. They also map terrain, survey land and inspect pipelines. The scientists use drones for these and other purposes on a daily basis,…
Africa’s largest trading partner, China, which has invested heavily in Zimbabwe in recent years, has reached a currency swap agreement with the country aimed at strengthening trade. The deal, which follows a visit by Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi to the capital, Harare, will make it easier for Chinese businesses in Zimbabwe to move their funds out of the country. A currency swap involves exchange of money in one currency for an equal amount in another currency, and companies doing business abroad often use it to get more favorable loan rates. “We have entered into a currency swap arrangement; what…
Twenty-one members of the Saudi military are being expelled from the US after a cadet carried out a mass shooting at a air base last month. The servicemen are not accused of aiding the 21-year old Saudi Air Force lieutenant. But US Attorney General William Barr said the cadets were found to have had jihadist material and indecent images of children in their possession. Three sailors were killed and eight wounded in the 6 December attack. Training for Saudi servicemen was put on hold in the US after the attack. Mr Barr told a news conference on Monday that the…
Scientists have discovered the secret of how the ginkgo tree can live for more than 1,000 years. A study found the tree makes protective chemicals that fend off diseases and drought. And, unlike many other plants, its genes are not programmed to trigger inexorable decline when its youth is over. The ginkgo can be found in parks and gardens across the world, but is on the brink of extinction in the wild. “The secret is maintaining a really healthy defence system and being a species that does not have a pre-determined senescence (aging) programme,” said Richard Dixon of the University…
Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul accused former President Barack Obama of launching many military strikes without congressional approval following President Trump’s ordered killing of a top Iranian general last week. “Well, you know this is not a new trend,” Paul said on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, continuing, “President Obama did hundreds and hundreds of targeted killings without asking for permission. So I think presidents of both parties have been trying to usurp the authority.” Paul did not cite any examples of Obama launching military action without congressional approval, but the Obama administration did order over 500 drone strikes…
Europe’s novel wind-measuring satellite, Aeolus, has reached a key milestone in its mission. The space laser’s data is now being used in operational weather forecasts. Aeolus monitors the wind by firing an ultraviolet beam down into the atmosphere and catching the light’s reflection as it scatters off molecules and particles carried along in the air. The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts says the information is now robust enough for routine use. The Reading, UK-based organisation is ingesting the data into its numerical models that look from one to several days ahead. Forecast improvements are most apparent for the tropics…
The NRA will be handing out 1,000 30-round magazines in the Virginia Capitol City of Richmond Monday as part of the fight against Gov. Ralph Northam’s (D) gun grab. The NRA used a Sunday night tweet to explain that Magpul Industries — a renowned magazine and firearm accessory maker — sent 1,000 magazines to the gun rights organization in order to have them given out to pro-Second Amendment Virginians on Monday. Monday is January 13, the day on which the NRA has asked its members to flood into Virginia Senate meetings and ensure that pro-Second Amendment voices drown out those…