Austria and the US said Saturday they were investigating reports of US diplomats and other officials in Vienna falling sick with health problems similar to the so-called “Havana syndrome”.US senators in May said that the government was investigating an apparent increase in mysterious directed-energy attacks, amid new reports of potentially brain-damaging incidents inside the US.The still unexplained attacks have caused sickness and even brain damage in US diplomats and intelligence officials in Cuba, China, Russia and other countries.Moscow is suspected to be behind them, even if the mechanism for them has yet to be explained. Scientists have theorised that the…
Author: Mike Harrison
A UK doctor said that country’s health secretary Sajid Javid has given incorrect advice about lateral flow tests (LFTs) while announcing his test result for coronavirus disease (Covid-19). Javid posted a video message on Twitter, saying he took a lateral flow test as he was feeling “groggy” and was tested positive for the virus.“If like me you might feel a bit groggy or you think you might have come into contact with someone who is positive, please also take a lateral flow test too,” he added.Rachel Clark, an NHS doctor, said that LFTs are for those without symptoms, urging people…
The UN humanitarian chief in Afghanistan appealed for USD 850 million Thursday to help the war-torn country cope with the impact of the Taliban offensive, protracted malnutrition for a third of the country, a severe drought, and the return of 627,000 Afghans this year, most of them deported from neighbouring Iran.Ramiz Alakbarov told reporters at UN headquarters after a virtual briefing from the capital of Kabul that at least 18 million Afghans are in need of assistance and the UN plan is to provide help for at least 15.7 million of them.But he said the UN’s USD 1.3 billion appeal…
President Joe Biden said Saturday that the Justice Department intends to appeal a federal judge’s ruling deeming illegal an Obama-era program that has protected hundreds of thousands of young immigrants from deportation and he renewed his calls for Congress to create a permanent solution.He said in a statement that Friday’s decision was “deeply disappointing,” and although the judge’s order did not affect those already covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, it ”relegates hundreds of thousands of young immigrants to an uncertain future.”The program has allowed thousands of young people who were brought illegally into the United States…
Two Nasa instruments have tracked the record-shattering temperatures in the Pacific Northwest and US Southwest amid reports of another heat wave developing this weekend which is set to bake western US and Canada. Nasa’s Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) aboard the Aqua satellite captured the progression of the heat dome during an unprecedented heat wave across the southwestern US from July 1 to July 12.In the seven-second clip shared by Nasa, the animation shows surface air temperature anomalies. The hottest areas, which experienced surface air temperatures of more than 5.6 degrees Celsius above average, are shown in pink. Another Nasa instrument,…
The newly-appointed UK health secretary has backed Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan to remove almost all restrictions on July 19 amid a raging third wave of Covid-19. By hindustantimes.com | Written by Kunal Gaurav, Hindustan Times, New Delhi PUBLISHED ON JUL 17, 2021 06:52 PM IST UK health minister Sajid Javid on Saturday said he has tested positive for coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and is currently self-isolating at home along with his family. In a video message posted on Twitter, Javid said he took a lateral flow test which has come out positive and is currently waiting for the results of…
Alec G., Tech Times 17 July 2021, 09:07 am (Photo : Unsplash) Facebook now lets people in groups become “experts,” which then amplifies their posts substantially. The basis comes from the idea of getting “knowledgeable experts” who then can serve as authoritative figures. The move is seen as an attempt for Facebook to divert possible blame and work to users instead of themselves. Facebook Gives More Power To Its Users The people who run the communities on Facebook now have the authority to promote individuals within its group to gain the title of “expert.” Then, the individuals dubbed as experts can…
Meteorologists were stunned this week when three successive thunderstorms swept across the icy Arctic from Siberia to north of Alaska, unleashing lightning bolts in an unusual phenomenon that scientists say will become less rare with global warming.“Forecasters hadn’t seen anything like that before,” said Ed Plumb, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Fairbanks, speaking about the storms that started on Saturday.Typically, the air over the Arctic Ocean, especially when the water is covered with ice, lacks the convective heat needed to generate lightning storms.But as climate change warms the Arctic faster than the rest of the world, that’s changing, scientists…
Afghanistan on Saturday demanded full security for its diplomats in Pakistan following the abduction and torture of the daughter of the Afghan ambassador by unidentified persons in Islamabad.The development came against the backdrop of strained ties between the two countries and Afghanistan’s accusation that the Pakistan government isn’t doing enough to nudge the Taliban to join peace talks to find a political settlement.The Afghan foreign ministry summoned Pakistani ambassador Mansoor Ahmad Khan in Kabul to lodge a strong protest over what it described as a “grave incident”. The ministry called on the Pakistan government to take “immediate action to identify…
Russian aircraft makers say they will present a prospective new fighter jet at a Moscow air show that opens next week.The new warplane hidden under tarpaulin was photographed being towed to a parking spot across an airfield in Zhukovsky, outside Moscow, where the MAKS-2021 International Aviation and Space Salon opens Tuesday. Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to visit the show’s opening.Russian media reports said that the new jet has been built by the Sukhoi aircraft maker in a programme of development of a light tactical fighter.Unlike Russia’s latest Su-57 two-engine stealth fighter, the new aircraft is smaller and has…