Non-IT News Thread
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World needs to declare 'climate emergency' - UN
The UN secretary general has called on all countries to declare a climate emergency.
António Guterres was speaking at a virtual summit on the fifth anniversary of the Paris climate agreement, He criticised rich countries for spending 50% more of their pandemic recovery cash on fossil fuels compared to low-carbon energy. Over 70 world leaders are due to speak at the meeting organised by the UK, UN and France. Mr Guterres said that 38 countries had already declared a climate emergency and he called on leaders worldwide to now do the same. -
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Mitch McConnell: Top Trump ally breaks silence to congratulate Biden
A top member of US President Donald Trump's Republican Party, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, has congratulated Joe Biden on winning the presidential election last month.
Senator McConnell spoke after the electoral college formally confirmed Mr Biden's victory over Mr Trump. The Democrat won 306 electoral college votes to Mr Trump's 232. President Trump still refuses to concede, making unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud. Relations with the Senate, currently controlled by the Republicans, will be crucial to Mr Biden's presidency. He visited Atlanta, Georgia, to campaign for the Democrats in next month's Senate run-off elections. Two seats will be decided on 5 January and could determine whether or not his party takes control of the chamber. Democrats already control the House of Representatives. After Monday's confirmation of Mr Biden's victory, three world leaders whose refusal to congratulate the president-elect had been commented widely, did so on Tuesday: Russia's Vladimir Putin, Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro and Mexico's Andrés Manuel López Obrador. -
@mlnews said in Non-IT News Thread:
Mitch McConnell: Top Trump ally breaks silence to congratulate Biden
A top member of US President Donald Trump's Republican Party, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, has congratulated Joe Biden on winning the presidential election last month.
Senator McConnell spoke after the electoral college formally confirmed Mr Biden's victory over Mr Trump. The Democrat won 306 electoral college votes to Mr Trump's 232. President Trump still refuses to concede, making unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud. Relations with the Senate, currently controlled by the Republicans, will be crucial to Mr Biden's presidency. He visited Atlanta, Georgia, to campaign for the Democrats in next month's Senate run-off elections. Two seats will be decided on 5 January and could determine whether or not his party takes control of the chamber. Democrats already control the House of Representatives. After Monday's confirmation of Mr Biden's victory, three world leaders whose refusal to congratulate the president-elect had been commented widely, did so on Tuesday: Russia's Vladimir Putin, Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro and Mexico's Andrés Manuel López Obrador.It's incredibly sad that this is headline worthy. Any other time in our election history would this have been done and over with weeks ago.
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@warren-stanley Even older, my 1987 Commodore Amiga 1000 did real time ray tracing as its demo when you first bought it. That was its claim to fame.
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@scottalanmiller good times!
I had an a500, 1MB Ram Expansion. Amiga Boing and Juggler demos blew my mind.
Pov-Ray overnight renders of very simple (static) scenes I'd build - were not uncommon.
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China's Chang'e-5 mission returns Moon samples
China's Chang'e-5 mission has returned to Earth with the cargo of rock and "soil" it picked up off the Moon.
A capsule carrying the materials landed in Inner Mongolia shortly after 01:30 local time on Thursday (17:30 GMT, Wednesday). It's more than 40 years since the American Apollo and Soviet Luna missions brought their samples home. The new specimens should provide fresh insight on the geology and early history of Earth's satellite. For China, the successful completion of the Chang'e-5 venture will also be seen as another demonstration of the nation's increasing capability in space. -
Climate change: 2021 will be cooler but still in top six warmest
UK Met Office scientists are forecasting that 2021 will be a little cooler around the world, but will still be one of the top six warmest years.
The La Niña weather phenomenon will see temperatures edge down but greenhouse gases will remain the biggest influence. Researchers say the world will likely be around 1C warmer than the pre-industrial era. It will be the seventh year in a row close to or above this mark. According to Met Office projections, the Earth's temperature for 2021 will likely be between 0.91C and 1.15C above what they were in the years from 1850-1900 with a central estimate of 1.03C. The 2021 forecast is slightly lower than in recent years, due to the onset of the La Niña event in the tropical Pacific. A La Niña develops when strong winds blow the warm surface waters of the Pacific away from South America and towards the Philippines. -
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Saw this on Parler about the Rose Bowl
https://thehill.com/homenews/news/531063-rose-bowl-moving-to-texas-due-to-virus-restrictions -
@EddieJennings said in Non-IT News Thread:
Saw this on Parler about the Rose Bowl
https://thehill.com/homenews/news/531063-rose-bowl-moving-to-texas-due-to-virus-restrictionsThe follow-up new article will be how the Rose Bowl in Texas directly relates to a spike in cases - Texas refuses mask mandate and encourages all businesses to operate at full capacity.
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Covid: Flights shut down as EU discusses UK virus threat
EU officials are discussing a joint response to a new, more infectious Covid-19 variant in the UK, which has sparked travel bans by many countries.
Canada and India joined European states in blocking flights from the UK while Europe-bound train services via the Channel Tunnel have been halted. The new variant is said to be up to 70% more transmissible, but there is no evidence that it is more deadly. There is also no proof to suggest that it reacts differently to vaccines. Two meetings are taking place in Brussels on Monday - one involving health ministers and another with the EU's crisis response team. But no decision is expected until Tuesday, when EU ambassadors meet. -
Coronavirus spreads to Antarctic research station
Coronavirus has reached the Antarctic continent, which had so far been free of Covid-19.
The Chilean army has reported 36 cases at its Bernardo O'Higgins research station on the Antarctic Peninsula. The 36, 26 of whom are military personnel and 10 maintenance workers, have been evacuated to Chile. The news comes just days after Chile's navy confirmed three cases on a ship which had taken supplies and personnel to the research station. The news means that Covid cases have now been recorded on all seven continents. The Sargento Aldea arrived at the research station on 27 November and sailed back to Chile on 10 December. Three of its crew tested positive upon their return to the Chilean naval base in Talcahuano. -
@mlnews said in Non-IT News Thread:
Coronavirus spreads to Antarctic research station
Coronavirus has reached the Antarctic continent, which had so far been free of Covid-19.
The Chilean army has reported 36 cases at its Bernardo O'Higgins research station on the Antarctic Peninsula. The 36, 26 of whom are military personnel and 10 maintenance workers, have been evacuated to Chile. The news comes just days after Chile's navy confirmed three cases on a ship which had taken supplies and personnel to the research station. The news means that Covid cases have now been recorded on all seven continents. The Sargento Aldea arrived at the research station on 27 November and sailed back to Chile on 10 December. Three of its crew tested positive upon their return to the Chilean naval base in Talcahuano.Wow... can't even keep the penguins safe. . . Humans SUCK!
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@DustinB3403 said in Non-IT News Thread:
@mlnews said in Non-IT News Thread:
Coronavirus spreads to Antarctic research station
Coronavirus has reached the Antarctic continent, which had so far been free of Covid-19.
The Chilean army has reported 36 cases at its Bernardo O'Higgins research station on the Antarctic Peninsula. The 36, 26 of whom are military personnel and 10 maintenance workers, have been evacuated to Chile. The news comes just days after Chile's navy confirmed three cases on a ship which had taken supplies and personnel to the research station. The news means that Covid cases have now been recorded on all seven continents. The Sargento Aldea arrived at the research station on 27 November and sailed back to Chile on 10 December. Three of its crew tested positive upon their return to the Chilean naval base in Talcahuano.Wow... can't even keep the penguins safe. . . Humans SUCK!
Definitely on occasion. Pretty miraculous also.
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Wonder Woman 1984: 'Surprisingly robust' US debut for film sequel
The sequel to 2017's superhero hit Wonder Woman has opened in US cinemas, generating "surprisingly robust" ticket sales, according to one industry paper.
Variety said Wonder Woman 1984's $16.7m (£12.3m) debut was "the biggest opening weekend haul in the coronavirus era". The Warner Bros film was made available on the HBO Max streaming service on the same day it opened in more than 2,000 cinemas in the US and Canada. Its distributor said HBO Max's viewing hours had tripled as a consequence. According to Warner Media, nearly half of the platform's retail subscribers viewed Wonder Woman 1984 when it became available on Christmas Day. It said HBO Max's total viewing hours on 25 December were more than three times that of a typical day in the previous month. -
Croatia earthquake: Seven dead as rescuers search rubble for survivors
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake has struck central Croatia, with reports of many injuries and at least seven deaths.
A 12-year-old girl was killed in Petrinja, the prime minister said as he visited the town. Five people died in the nearby town of Glina, his deputy said. A seventh victim was found in the rubble of a church in Zazina, state media reports. Petrinja's mayor said around half the town had been destroyed and people were being pulled from the rubble. The earthquake could be felt in the Croatian capital Zagreb, in neighbouring Bosnia and Serbia, and as far away as Italy. One woman was pulled alive from the rubble of the town hall in Petrinja, Croatian media reported. -
Covid: New lockdown for England amid 'hardest weeks'
Everyone in England must stay at home except for permitted reasons during a new coronavirus lockdown expected to last until mid-February, the PM says.
All schools and colleges will close to most pupils and switch to remote learning from Tuesday. Boris Johnson warned the coming weeks would be the "hardest yet" amid surging cases and patient numbers. He said those in the top four priority groups would be offered a first vaccine dose by the middle of next month. All care home residents and their carers, everyone aged 70 and over, all frontline health and social care workers, and the clinically extremely vulnerable will be offered one dose of a vaccine by mid-February.
