19th global ophthalmology summit

The United States is engaging with India over the issue of Ukraine and this will continue in the upcoming Quad summit in Japan next month, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters here. “We have had a number of engagements, as you know, with leaders in India about our approach to supporting the Ukrainians in this war, whether that is sanctions and the enormous sanctions package we’ve put in place or, of course, the assistance we’ve provided. We will convey the same sentiments in this meeting,” Psaki said. She was responding to a question on the Quad summit in Japan in May and how the issue of Ukraine would be raised or discussed. The Quad comprises Japan, India, Australia and the United States and the US Administration has said President Joe Biden will be meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi there. “This meeting is several weeks away, so a lot can certainly happen. And as you know, other members of Quad have also been vital partners and supporters of the … [Read more...] about US to Keep Engaging with India On Ukraine, to Continue During Upcoming QUAD Summit: White House

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Four European Union countries plan to build North Sea wind farms capable of producing at least 150 gigawatts of energy by 2050 to help cut carbon emissions that cause climate change, Danish media reported Wednesday. Under the plan, wind turbines would be raised off the coasts of Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark, daily Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten said. The project would mean a tenfold increase in the EU's current offshore wind capacity. “The North Sea can do a lot," Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen told the newspaper, adding the close cooperation between the four EU nations "must start now.” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo are scheduled to attend a North Sea Summit on Wednesday in Esbjerg, 260 … [Read more...] about Reports: 4 European nations to build North Sea wind farms

After inflation hit a 40-year high of 9 per cent today, Conservative MPs, including some ministers, are again pointing the finger of blame at the Bank of England and its governor Andrew Bailey for raising interest rates too slowly. Worryingly, some senior Tories are even raising the question of whether the Bank should lose its operational independence on monetary policy,  threatening the 25-year consensus since Gordon Brown ceded the politicians’ control of interest rates to the Bank. Liam Fox, the former cabinet minister, argues the Bank should stick to its “day job” of hitting the government’s 2 per cent inflation target, rather than worrying about political matters such as climate change (though Rishi Sunak added that to the Bank’s mandate last year). Fox said : “There is a distinct feeling that those who should be protecting us from the debasement of our currency, the erosion of our earnings and the devaluation of our savings, have had their minds too much … [Read more...] about Giving the government control over interest rates would be a disaster

South Korea's ongoing sex crime crisis forms the focus of a gripping new Netflix documentary— Cyber Hell: Exposing an Internet Horror. The latest program reveals just the tip of the iceberg of sex crimes in the Asian country, which can be traced back to a "deep-rooted gender inequality " and an increase in gender-based violence, Boram Jang, East Asia Researcher at Amnesty International, told Newsweek. "According to the Korean Institute of Criminology and Justice, violent crimes such as murder, robbery and arson are generally decreasing in Korean society, but crimes involving sexual violence are steadily rising," Jang said. Released on Wednesday, the new Netflix documentary follows the exposé of a sexual abuse scandal that saw dozens of women—including minors—allegedly being blackmailed into capturing non-consensual , sexually explicit images and videos of themselves. The footage was shared and sold via online chat rooms—known collectively as the "Nth Room"—on … [Read more...] about ‘Cyber Hell’ only scratches surface of South Korea’s sex crime crisis

A NASA spacecraft on Mars is headed for a dusty demise. The InSight lander is losing power because of all the dust on its solar panels. NASA said on May 17 that it will keep using the spacecraft’s seismometer to register marsquakes until the power peters out, likely in July. Then flight controllers will monitor InSight until the end of this year, before calling everything off. “There really hasn't been too much doom and gloom on the team. We're really still focused on operating the spacecraft,” said Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Bruce Banerdt, the principal scientist. Since landing on Mars in 2018 , InSight has detected more than 1,300 marsquakes; the biggest one, a magnitude 5, occurred two weeks ago. It will be NASA's second Mars lander lost to dust: A global dust storm took out Opportunity in 2018. In InSight's case, it's been a gradual gathering of dust , especially over the past year. NASA's two other functioning spacecraft on the Martian surface — rovers Curiosity … [Read more...] about NASA’s InSight Mars lander to run out of power due to dusty solar panels

Disruptive humans have played a major role in wiping out at least 187 species of birds since 1500. Two natural enemies – rodents and cats – have almost been as lethal. According to the State of the World’s Birds, a global study on the status of avian species, introduced mammals or invasive predators are the primary driver of extinctions of localised bird species. While rodents have been linked to the extinction of 52 bird species, cats have accounted for 40. “At least 187 avian extinctions have been confirmed or suspected since 1500 [baseline year for the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature], 90% of which pertain to endemic insular species concentrated on the Hawaiian Islands, mainland Australia and islands, the Mascarene Islands, New Zealand, and French Polynesia,” the study says in the section on patterns and trends of extinctions. The birds that vanished from these islands belonged to 109 taxa or taxonomical groups, most of them (33) in the Hawaiian … [Read more...] about Together, rodents and cats wiped out 92 species of birds, says study

The statement issued by Sri Lanka’s newly appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was nothing short of an intimation, nay confirmation, of the apocalyptic economic crisis that the island nation confronts. The numbers thrown by Mr Wickremesinghe are self-explanatory of the mess that he will need to clean up to put Sri Lanka back on track. Government revenues cover only 40 per cent of the expenditure being incurred. The fiscal deficit is around 13 per cent of GDP. The foreign exchange reserves are virtually non-existent. According to Wickremesinghe, “It is a challenge for the treasury to find USD 1 million.” Petrol stocks are down to just one day. Sri Lanka is looking at power cuts of around 15 hours a day because a quarter of the electricity is produced from oil which the government has no money to buy. There are huge shortages of medicines. Shortages of virtually every other commodity, including food, are inescapable. With the government being “compelled to print money” to pay … [Read more...] about India Must Lead Quad Effort to Pull Out Sri Lanka from Clutches of China’s Debt Trap Diplomacy

Thailand on Thursday received 200,000 doses of India-made Covovax vaccines as part of a flagship initiative of the Quad grouping to help countries combat the coronavirus pandemic. The vaccine doses were handed over to Thai Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul in Bangkok by India’s Ambassador to Thailand Suchitra Durai, Australian envoy Allan McKinnon, Japan’s Nashida Kazuya and US Charge d’Affaires James Wayman, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. “The consignment comprising 200,000 doses of Made in India, Covovax vaccines was presented to Anutin Charnvirakul, Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Public Health of Thailand on April 21 in Bangkok,” it said. This is the second consignment of vaccines delivered by India under the Quad vaccine partnership, after the inaugural supply to Cambodia on April 12. The Quad vaccine partnership was announced by leaders of the four-nation grouping at their first summit on March 12 last year. The MEA said the vaccine doses … [Read more...] about Thailand Gets India-made Covid Vaccine Covovax Under Quad Initiative

Tesla CEO Elon Musk gave the strongest hint yet Monday that he would like to pay less for Twitter than his $44 billion offer made last month. Musk told a Miami technology conference that a viable deal at a lower price would not be out of the question, according to a report by Bloomberg News, which said it viewed a livestream video of the conference posted by a Twitter user. Also at the All In Summit, Musk estimated that at least 20 percent of Twitter’s 229 million accounts are spam bots, percentage he said was at the low end of his assessment, according to the report. The appearance came a few hours after Musk began trolling Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, who posted a series of tweets explaining his company's effort to fight bots and how it has consistently estimated that less than 5% of Twitter accounts are fake. In all, the day’s events bolstered theories from analysts that Musk either wants out of the deal or is seeking a lower price, largely due to a huge decline in value of … [Read more...] about Elon Musk Hints at Paying Less for Twitter Than His $44 Billion Offer

The country’s largest domestic budget carrier IndiGo on Wednesday announced the appointment of Pieter Elbers as its Chief Executive Officer, replacing incumbent Ronojoy Dutta. The 71 year-old Dutta, who came to helm the airline in January 2019, has decided to retire on September 30, after guiding the airline through the turbulent Covid period, IndiGo said in a statement. Elbers’ appointment, which is subject to regulatory approvals, will be effective from on or before October 1, it said. Since 2014, Elbers (52) has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Air France KLM Group, the airline said. “We are thrilled to announce the appointment of Pieter Elbers as the Chief Executive Officer of the company. India promises to be the last bastion of enormous growth globally and given Elbers’ deep understanding of the business, his legendary leadership qualities coupled with his energy and passion, … [Read more...] about IndiGo Appoints Pieter Elbers as New CEO as Ronojoy Dutta Set to Retire; Details Here