Study: Climate change already causing suicides in India as crops fail

Berkeley — Climate change has already caused more than 59,000 suicides in India over the last 30 years, according to estimates in a study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) that suggests failing harvests that push farmers into poverty are likely the key culprits.

University of California, Berkeley, researcher Tamma Carleton discovered that warming a single day by 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) during India’s agricultural growing season leads to roughly 65 suicides across the country, whenever that day’s temperature is above 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit). Warming a day by 5 degrees Celsius has five times that effect.

While high temperatures and low rainfall during the growing season substantially impact annual suicide rates, similar events have no effect on suicide rates during the off-season, when few crops are grown, implicating agriculture as the critical link.

This study helps explain India’s evolving suicide epidemic, where suicide rates have nearly doubled since 1980 and claim more than 130,000 lives each year. Carleton’s results indicate that 7 percent of this upward trend can be attributed to warming that has been linked to human activity.

Lebanese direct descendants of biblical Canaanites: study

dailystar.com.lb - BEIRUT: Modern Lebanese people are directly linked to the biblical Canaanites, according to a study from scientists at the Lebanese American University and Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute that was published Thursday. “This is the first time we used ancient DNA dating to about 3,800 years ago to confirm that there is a continuity of people living in Lebanon and in the Levant in general,” co-author Pierre Zalloua told The Daily Star.

“The archaeological remains directly support what we have previously been saying,” the LAU dean of graduate studies and research added.

Published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, the study concluded that the Lebanese are direct descendants of the Bronze Age Canaanite population. The Biblical people would later be known as Phoenicians, made famous by their technological advancements, including one of the world’s first alphabets.

The discovery linking the ancient Canaanites with the modern Lebanese was made after DNA samples were extracted from human remains found in Lebanon’s southern city of Sidon.

Zalloua, who has been involved in the research for over a decade, told The Daily Star that he had collected a hundred samples “across the Lebanese community,” to compare the ancient and modern genomes.

The LAU professor confirmed that links to the Bronze Age Canaanites were not specific to a particular area of Lebanon or sect, but rather spanning across the country and region.

“We sampled different cultural and religious backgrounds to have a mix that is a good representation of the entire Lebanese population,” he said. “The overwhelming majority of people in Lebanon are shown to have one common origin.”

“What we find in our study is that 90 percent of the ancestries you find in modern-day Lebanese derive from this [Canaanite] population,” lead author Marc Haber from the WTSI told The Daily Star.

“When I say 90 percent ancestry though, it does not mean 90 percent of Lebanese are descendants of Canaanites,” he explained. “Rather, 90 percent of almost every Lebanese person’s genome is derived from this Bronze Age population.”

The ancient DNA samples used in the study were taken from 160 burials discovered over the preceding 19 years in an excavation site in Sidon.

“It was the petrous bone that gave such magnificent results,” Zalloua said. “The bone located above the cheek. It’s a very robust bone that is very rich in cells and not porous at all, so it preserves DNA much better than other parts of the body,” he added.

According to a WTSI media release, Haber commented that the successful extraction of DNA from ancient remains was lucky in Lebanon’s climate.

“It was a pleasant surprise to be able to extract and analyze DNA from 4,000-year-old human remains found in a hot environment, which is not known for preserving DNA well,” he said.

Chris Tyler-Smith, a geneticist and an author of the paper, added that the results were essential in uncovering the history of the extinct population.

“Genetic studies using ancient DNA can expand our understanding of history, and answer questions about the likely origins and descendants of enigmatic populations like the Canaanites, who left few written records themselves,” he said in the WTSI media release. “Now we would like to investigate the earlier and later genetic history of the Near East, and how it relates to the surrounding regions.” (ontinueReading

After North Korea Test, South Korea Pushes to Build Up Its Own Missiles

via newsreportonline.com - Missile analysts remain uncertain and even doubtful that North Korea has cleared all the technical hurdles to build a reliable nuclear-tipped ICBM. But the test on Friday night left little doubt that the country, although cut off from most of the global economy and hit with several rounds of United Nations sanctions, was getting closer to its goal of arming itself with long-range missiles that can deliver nuclear warheads to the United States.

South Korea fears that by building nuclear missiles that can reach major American cities, North Korea is trying to weaken the United States’ resolve over whether to intervene on the South’s behalf should war break out on the Korean Peninsula.

On Saturday, Mr. Moon called for strengthening South Korea’s deterrence capabilities, while stressing the importance of the military alliance with the United States.

“We must actively look for measures to secure our military’s own forces to deter and effectively deal with North Korea’s nuclear threats,” Mr. Moon said after an emergency meeting of his National Security Council on Saturday.South Korea wants to build ballistic missiles that can deliver more powerful payloads to targets in North Korea, including the location of its leadership and its missile and nuclear sites, most of which are hidden deep underground, defense officials here said. A key hurdle to the South Korean ambition has been a treaty the South signed with Washington in the 1970s in return for American help in building its missiles.

Under the deal, South Korea is allowed to build ballistic missiles with a range of up to 497 miles but is barred from tipping them with warheads weighing more than 500 kilograms, or half a ton, because of concerns about a regional arms race. South Korea wants to double the upper limit of the payload to a ton, officials here said.

(South Korea can already load warheads weighing up to two tons on ballistic missiles with shorter ranges, but those missiles cannot reach key missile bases in northern North Korea.)

The South Korean demands reflected growing regional jitters over how the North’s growing missile capabilities may affect Washington’s defense commitment to its allies in the region. On Saturday, Mr. Moon warned that the latest North Korean test could lead to “a fundamental change in the security structure in Northeast Asia.”

“U.S. policy for 21 years has been to prevent this day from coming, and now it has,” said Adam Mount, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress in Washington, referring to the North’s ICBM test on Friday.

“North Korea didn’t test an ICBM to launch a bolt from the blue against Washington; they’re hoping to split the United States from its allies.”

Barry Pavel, director of the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security, said North Korea could use a nuclear-tipped ICBM capability to “target the United States and deter U.S. security cooperation with its close Asian allies.”

“Once it is assured that it has a ‘nuclear shield,’ North Korea is likely to act much more aggressively in every other area of its foreign and military policies,” said Mr. Pavel. In “Rolling Back the Growing North Korean Threat,” the Atlantic Council’s memo to Mr. Trump published last month, Mr. Pavel and the co-author Robert A. Manning said that such North Korean aggressions could include “increasingly dangerous provocations and the sale of weapons of mass destruction to other nations and terrorist groups for much-needed cash.”

Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson on Friday reaffirmed that the United States “will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea nor abandon our commitment to our allies and partners in the region.” At the United Nations Security Council, Washington is urging China and Russia to agree to a new set of economic sanctions against North Korea, including severely curtailing the country’s access to oil supplies from the outside.

China and Russia supply nearly all of North Korea’s oil imports and also host tens of thousands of the North workers. A bulk of the workers’ earnings end up in the coffers of the North Korean leadership, according to human rights groups and defectors. (ontinueReading

Is Venezuela Becoming a Cuba-Style Dictatorship?

Bloomberg - True to his threat, Venezuela’s president, Nicolas Maduro, will proceed with an election on July 30 that will start the process for convening a constituent assembly to consider changing the country’s constitution. His adversaries oppose the move as an illegal power grab, predicting that Maduro will stack the assembly with his supporters and move the country closer to a dictatorship. International opposition is building. U.S. President Donald Trump warned of “strong and swift economic actions” if Maduro proceeds with his plans. The head of the Organization of American States has called for fresh presidential elections and Spain’s former prime minister has tried to broker a compromise.

1. How is this expected to work?

Unless Maduro withdraws the proposal at the last minute -- either because of pressure from within his own party and the military or an agreement with the opposition -- voters will be asked to select 545 delegates who will make up the constituent assembly and re-write the constitution. But what’s not on the ballot is just as important as what is. Voters are not being asked if they even want the assembly, which polls say only about 20 percent of Venezuelans support. With the opposition boycotting the process altogether, all the names on the ballot presumably are Maduro supporters, and only about 25 of them are known politicians. If the vote goes forward, the government can’t lose.
2. What does Maduro most want to change in the constitution?

Since announcing his plan to convoke “la constituyente” in May, Maduro has been vague about what he wants to achieve or why the country needs it, other than to say the body will be a “grand dialogue,” an “encounter,” and an opportunity for Venezuelans to “live in peace and end the violence.” He’s also said the opposition will be defeated once and for all. Just three days ahead of the vote, Maduro called on the opposition to open a new dialogue, but his adversaries aren’t likely to go along: Past offers to engage in talks have resulted in the government refusing to make any concessions. Finance and oil officials, meanwhile, have hinted that they want to use the process to increase the already heavy role of the state in the country’s economy. The only thing certain is that, once convened, Venezuela will wake up to a different country, and no one really knows what comes next.

3. Does this mean Venezuela could soon be a dictatorship?

The constituyente would certainly represent an escalation of recent steps in that direction. Once convened, it will preside over all other branches of government, and it alone will be able to determine how long it should remain in power. Analysts expect Maduro to quickly use the body to force out Luisa Ortega Diaz, the public prosecutor who has emerged as his fiercest critic from within the ruling socialist party. Critics also worry that the new assembly could delay scheduled regional and presidential elections that most polls show the government couldn’t win. (ontinueReading

PropagandaWatch: Venezuela crisis: A starving country is fed up with Maduro and the miserable failure of socialism

Jeff Bezos: Amazon founder is world's new richest man

BBC - Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has overtaken Bill Gates to become the world's richest person, worth $91.4bn (£70bn).

A 2.5% rise in Amazon shares on Thursday means Mr Bezos's wealth has now eclipsed the Microsoft co-founder by $1.4bn, according to Forbes.

Mr Bezos, 53, owns about 17% of the shares in Amazon, whose value has now exceeded $500bn.

The online retailer reports second quarter results after Wall Street closes on Thursday.

For the first three months of this year Amazon's sales jumped 23% to $35.7bn. The company expects a rise of 16% to 24% for the quarter to June.

In recent years Mr Bezos has focused on his Blue Origin space rocket business and the Washington Post newspaper, which he bought in 2013.

Soaring technology stocks have fuelled huge growth in the worth of entrepreneurs such as Mr Bezos and Facebook founder Mark Zuckberberg, 33, who is now worth $72.6bn according to Forbes. (ontinueRading

Electric cars win? Britain to ban new petrol and diesel cars from 2040

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2040 in an attempt to reduce air pollution that could herald the end of over a century of reliance on the internal combustion engine.

Britain's step, which follows France, amounts to a victory for electric cars that if copied globally could hit the wealth of oil producers, as well as transform car industry jobs and one of the icons of 20th Century capitalism: the automobile itself.

The mayors of Paris, Madrid, Mexico City and Athens have said they plan to ban diesel vehicles from city centers by 2025, while the French government also aims to end the sale of new gasoline and diesel vehicles by 2040.

The British government has been under pressure to take steps to reduce air pollution after losing legal cases brought by campaign groups. Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives had pledged to make "almost every car and van" zero-emission by 2050.

"There should be no new diesel or petrol vehicles by 2040," environment minister Michael Gove told BBC Radio. The ban would only apply to conventional rather than hybrid vehicles that have both an electric and combustion engine, Gove's ministry said.

There is a mountain to climb, however.

Electric cars currently account for less than 5 percent of new car registrations in Britain, with drivers concerned about the cost and limited availability of charging points and manufacturers worried about making expensive investments before the demand is there.

"We could undermine the UK’s successful automotive sector if we don’t allow enough time for the industry to adjust," warned Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

Hawes said there were only 12,000 public charging points in Britain and new power infrastructure would be needed, as well as steps to ensure the power network could cope with large numbers of people seeking to charge vehicles at the same time. (ontinueReading

Serbia's president urges nation to resolve Kosovo relations

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia must resolve its relations with its breakaway former province of Kosovo in order to move forward, Serbia's president wrote in an opinion piece Monday.

In the op-ed article in the high-circulation Blic daily, President Aleksandar Vucic urged a lasting solution for the problem that has been a source of tensions in the Balkans since the 1998-99 war.

"It is important now, more than ever, that we all find an answer together," said Vucic, who has called for an all-nation discussion on the sensitive issue of the future of ties with Kosovo. "That (answer) should be permanent, rule out conflict as an option and benefit everyone in this region."

The mostly ethnic Albanian Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 with western backing. Supported by Russia, Serbia has vowed never to recognize the split.

Under European Union pressure, FYR Serbia and Kosovo have agreed to participate in EU-mediated talks on normalizing ties in order to advance their efforts to join the bloc. But Serbian nationalists want to ditch the EU bid and turn to Russia to avoid ever recognizing Kosovo, which many in the country consider the cradle of the Serbian nation.

Vucic — himself a former extreme nationalist in the 1990s' war era who now says Serbia should join the EU — said "we must at least try to resolve the Kosovo knot and not hide and leave the toughest burden to our children."

"All the paths of political cooperation and economic cooperation would be open for Serbia," he added. "And the door of the European Union as well." (ontinueReading

A Wisconsin company will let employees use microchip implants to buy snacks and open doors

theverge.com - A Wisconsin company called Three Square Market is going to offer employees implantable chips to open doors, buy snacks, log in to computers, and use office equipment like copy machines. Participating employees will have the chips, which use near field communication (NFC) technology, implanted between their thumb and forefinger. It’s an extension of the long-running implantable RFID chip business, based on a partnership with Swedish company Biohax International. The vending kiosk company, also known as 32M, will “chip” employees at a party on August 1st. (According to an email to The Verge, chips and salsa will be served as snacks.) Around 50 people are supposedly getting the optional implants.

NFC chips are already used in a couple of workplaces in Europe; The Los Angeles Timesreported on startup workspace Epicenter’s chip program earlier this year. In the US, installing them is also a form of simple biohacking. They’re essentially an extension of the chips you’d find in contactless smart cards or microchipped pets: passive devices that store very small amounts of information. A Swedish rail company also lets people use implants as a substitute for fare cards. 32M CEO Todd Westby is clearly trying to head off misunderstandings and paranoia by saying that they contain “no GPS tracking at all” — because again, it’s comparable to an office keycard here.

Chip implants are far from common, and although Westby speculates on a future where RFID chip technology is used for “your passport, public transit, all purchasing opportunities,” a lot of people might prefer those chips in the form of jewelry or a smartphone component. In an office environment, employers can already monitor most of the data that they could collect through these chips, but in a larger environment, a device you couldn’t easily remove could raise privacy concerns. Still, this is a good sign for biohacking enthusiasts who are already interested in the tech; I have an NFC chip, for example, that I’ve been trying fruitlessly to use as an office keycard for years. The US has also been lagging behind Europe on adopting this kind of tech, so it’s cool to see it make its way to an American company — even if it’s mostly an interesting experiment on both continents. (ontinueReading

Texas: 8 dead, about 30 injured found in hot semitrailer in 'human-trafficking' incident

abcnews.com - Eight people were found dead and close to 30 others injured inside a brutally-hot semitrailer parked in a Walmart parking lot in San Antonio, Texas.

Police described the incident as an apparent "human trafficking crime."

Authorities became aware of the truck overnight after a Walmart employee, who had been approached by someone who had been in the truck asking for water, notified police of the interaction, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said this morning at a press conference, alongside other officials from the city.

Inside the semitrailer, authorities found eight dead bodies, as well as 20 other people who were in "extremely critical condition or very serious condition," and eight others suffering lesser injuries like heat stroke and dehydration, San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood told the press this morning.

There were 38 people inside the truck in total, McManus said, and Hood added that at least two of them were "school-age" children.

The truck had no working air-conditioning system, and temperatures topped 100 degrees Fahrenheit, Hood said. McManus added that the truck's pass lacked access to water.

"They were very hot to the touch," Hood said of the people found inside.

The driver of the truck was arrested and could face federal and state charges, according to police. The driver's name was not given at this morning's press conference.

"We're looking at a human-trafficking crime here," McManus said.

Meanwhile, surveillance video from the store showed that a number of vehicles entered the parking lot and "picked up lots of folks that were in that trailer that survived the trip," McManus said.

Some of the people who had been in the truck also ran into the woods, he said. The area was searched, and another attempt will be made in the morning, the officials said.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement has also been called in to help investigate the incident, officials said.

San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood, who stood alongside McManus at the press conference, said firefighters arrived on the scene at 12:26 a.m. local time, and began pulling the people out of the truck. The injured were taken to different hospitals, some by helicopter, he said.

Authorities said they still don't know the origin of the truck, or how long it had been parked at the Walmart, and that the search for such details are part of an active investigation currently underway.

The officials said more details about the victims, including their genders and ages, would be released in a future briefing.

While he called it a "horrific tragedy," the police chief said the discovery "is not an isolated incident. This happens quite frequently ... fortunately there are people who survived, but this happens all the time,” he said. (ontinueReading

California man sues after lottery officials refuse to pay $5M prize because underage son bought ticket

via fox25boston.com - A man is suing the California Lottery Commission, claiming officials refused to pay a $5 million prize because his underage son purchased the ticket.

Ward Thomas sent his 16-year-old son into a Mobil gas station in Long Beach to exchange winning scratcher tickets for more tickets in October, the Los Angeles Times reported. The store employee did not ask the teen for ID, the suit alleges.

The son handed the tickets to his father, who discovered that evening that one of the tickets was a big winner. Thomas validated that the ticket was a $5 million winner at a 7-11 store and at a California Lottery district office, the suit claims.

But the lottery commission never made a payout to Thomas. The suit alleges that the lottery commission withheld the prize money because his underage son bought the ticket. One has to be at least 18 to participate in the state's lottery. The lottery commission reviews all jackpot winning tickets, including reviewing security footage from the purchase point. The state and lottery commission are accused of failure to discharge a mandatory duty.

Thomas also names the gas station as a defendant, claiming there were no signs stating that one had to be 18 to purchase lottery tickets, even if they were purchasing on behalf of someone else who was of age. The gas station is accused of breach of express and implied contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, fraud, negligent misrepresentation and negligence, according to lawsuit documents.

Thomas is seeking more than $50,000 in general damages.

U.S. to ban Americans from traveling to North Korea

usatoday.com WASHINGTON — The Trump administration will ban American citizens from traveling to North Korea, U.S. officials said Friday, following the death of university student Otto Warmbier who died in June after falling into a coma in a North Korean prison.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson decided to impose “geographic travel restriction” for North Korea, the officials said, which would make it illegal to use U.S. passports to enter the country. They said the restriction would go into effect 30 days after a notice is published in the Federal Register, but it was not immediately clear when that would be. There was no announcement in Friday’s editions of the government publication.

The officials were not authorized to publicly discuss the decision before it is announced and spoke on condition of anonymity. Two tour operators that organize group trips to North Korea said they had already been informed of the decision.

It wasn’t clear how many Americans the move will effect, as figures about how many Americans go to North Korea are difficult for even the U.S. government to obtain. The U.S. strongly warns Americans against traveling to North Korea, but has not until now prohibited it despite other sanctions targeting the country. Americans who venture there typically travel from China, where several tour groups market trips to adventure-seekers. (ontinueReading

Trump ends covert CIA program to arm anti-Assad rebels in Syria, a move sought by Moscow

washingtonpost.com - President Trump has decided to end the CIA’s covert program to arm and train moderate Syrian rebels battling the government of Bashar al-Assad, a move long sought by Russia, according to U.S. officials.

The program was a central plank of a policy begun by the Obama administration in 2013 to put pressure on Assad to step aside, but even its backers have questioned its efficacy since Russia deployed forces in Syria two years later.

Officials said the phasing out of the secret program reflects Trump’s interest in finding ways to work with Russia, which saw the anti-Assad program as an assault on its interests. The shuttering of the program is also an acknowledgment of Washington’s limited leverage and desire to remove Assad from power.

Just three months ago, after the United States accused Assad of using chemical weapons, Trump launched retaliatory airstrikes against a Syrian air base. At the time, U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, said that “in no way do we see peace in that area with Assad at the head of the Syrian government.”

Officials said Trump made the decision to scrap the CIA program nearly a month ago, after an Oval Office meeting with CIA Director Mike Pompeo and national security adviser H.R. McMaster ahead of a July 7 meeting in Germany with Russian President Vladimir Putin. (ontinueReading

PR China holds live fire drills amid border dispute with India

(CNN) - The Chinese government has issued a warning to neighboring India to withdraw its troops from the disputed Doklam border area to "avoid further escalation of the situation."

The comments, made by Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang during a regular press briefing Tuesday, come amid what has become an increasingly bitter and entrenched border dispute between the two nations.

The stand-off, now entering into its fifth week, centers on a thin strip of land in the tri-junction with Bhutan. Though not a part of Indian territory, the area is close to the 'chicken's neck,' a strategic corridor that serves as a vital artery between Delhi and its far northeastern states.

The dispute appears to have escalated in recent days, say analysts, with both Beijing and Delhi looking to consolidate their positions. On Monday, China conducted live-fire drills in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau close to the site of the current stand-off. The aim of the drills, according to reports in Chinese state media, was to improve troops' "combat capability in similar locations."

An increasingly bellicose domestic media environment has further added to the sense of intractability surrounding the dispute, with press reports from both sides calling on leaders to protect the "sovereignty" and "honor" of their respective nations.

A widely circulated op-ed published by the Chinese tabloid the Global Times Tuesday, urged India to back down or "face the consequence of an all-out confrontation."

The commentary repeated unconfirmed reports in the Indian press that Indian troops are now stationed at the border area and have set up logistical support. "In response, China must continue strengthening border construction and speed up troop deployment and construction in the Doklam area," said the op-ed.

The Doklam dispute is the latest in a long-running series of territorial flare-ups between India and China. In 1962, the two countries engaged in a bloody border war and skirmishes have continued to break out sporadically in the decades since.

"I'm not sure how this situation de-escalates, not just because of the media hype on both sides, but also because China may not have an interest in de-escalating," said Yvonne Chiu, Assistant Professor at the Department of Politics at the University of Hong Kong.

"Unlike flashpoints in the South and East China Seas, a small conflict with India can be better contained because it is less likely to draw the involvement of other major powers in the region (such as the US)," added Chiu.

The conflict, if contained, could potentially serve several useful purposes, said Chiu, including "better establishing one of its regional territorial claims, giving its domestic audience something to cheer for, and giving its military some practice."

The dispute began on June 16, when China accused Indian border guards in the northeastern state of Sikkim of crossing into its territory in southwestern Tibet, in an attempt to obstruct the construction of a new mountain road. India has not denied its troops were present in the area. According to a statement released by the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Indian personnel "approached the Chinese construction party and urged them to desist from changing the status quo."

This was followed by a formal compliant, or demarche, issued by the Bhutanese government that accused China of constructing a road "inside Bhutanese territory" in "direct violation" of its territorial treaty obligations.

India and Bhutan have maintained historically strong relations. Bhutan co-operates closely with India in determining its foreign policy, and the Indian Army is involved in the training of its armed forces.

China, which does not have formal diplomatic ties with Bhutan, has repeatedly denied that it has violated any treaties and has called India's involvement in the issue "utterly unjustifiable." (ontinueReading
* * * *

Related: What's Driving the India-China Standoff at Doklam?

India low caste leader elected president in boost for Modi coalition

Strength!: Walmart Apologizes After a Listing on Its Site Featured a Racial Slur

fortune.com - Walmart prompted controversy on Monday July 17 after a third-party product description on its website contained a racial slur.

The mega-retail chain published a description for a wig cap that listed its color as "Nigger Brown." The post sparked a reaction on Twitter.

"Umm, @Walmart we need to have a chat," the comedian Travon Free wrote.

Walmart apologized for the use of the racial slur on Monday, calling it "appalling." The retailer did not share the name of the vendor (for obvious reasons) that was selling the wig cap.

"We are very sorry and appalled that this third party seller listed their item with this description on our online marketplace," Walmart said in a statement posted on Twitter. "It is a clear violation of our policy and has been removed, and we are investigating the seller to determine how this could have happened."

Walmart eventually took the listing for the wig down from its page. Jagazi Naturals, a United Kingdom-based company listed as the wig cap seller, said that it had nothing to do with the listing.

"The real JAGAZI is a 100% black company for black people. People have often used our brand name to try and sell their products. Please be aware. Very sorry for all the distress this has caused. We are feeling the pain here as well," Jagazi said in a statement. (ontinueReading

Elon Musk Says Artificial Intelligence Is the ‘Greatest Risk We Face as a Civilization’

via fortune.com - Appearing before a meeting of the National Governor’s Association on Saturday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk described artificial intelligence as “the greatest risk we face as a civilization” and called for swift and decisive government intervention to oversee the technology’s development.

“On the artificial intelligence front, I have access to the very most cutting edge AI, and I think people should be really concerned about it,” an unusually subdued Musk said in a question and answer session with Nevada governor Brian Sandoval.

Musk has long been vocal about the risks of AI. But his statements before the nation’s governors were notable both for their dire severity, and his forceful call for government intervention.

“AI’s a rare case where we need to be proactive in regulation, instead of reactive. Because by the time we are reactive with AI regulation, it’s too late," he remarked. Musk then drew a contrast between AI and traditional targets for regulation, saying “AI is a fundamental risk to the existence of human civilization, in a way that car accidents, airplane crashes, faulty drugs, or bad food were not.”

Those are strong words from a man occasionally associated with so-called cyberlibertarianism, a fervently anti-regulation ideology exemplified by the likes of Peter Thiel, who co-founded Paypal with Musk.

Part of Musk’s worry stems from social destabilization and job loss. “When I say everything, the robots will do everything, bar nothing," he said.

But Musk's bigger concern has to do with AI that lives in the network, and which could be incentivized to harm humans. “[They] could start a war by doing fake news and spoofing email accounts and fake press releases, and just by manipulating information," he said. "The pen is mightier than the sword.”

Musk outlined a hypothetical situation, for instance, in which an AI could pump up defense industry investments by using hacking and disinformation to trigger a war.

“I’m against overregulation for sure,” Musk emphasized, “But man, I think we’ve got to get on that with AI, pronto.”

Musk’s comments on AI only took up a small part of the hour-long exchange. He also speculated about the future of driverless cars and space travel, and mourned that meeting the sky-high expectations surrounding him was "quite a difficult emotional hardship" and "a whole lot less fun than it may seem." (ontinueReading

UK: Surgeons find 27 contact lenses lodged in woman's eye: 'She just thought it was old age'

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independent.ie - Surgeons were "shocked" to find 27 contact lenses in a woman's eye before performing an eye operation.

The 67-year-old was scheduled for cataract surgery when the operating team discovered a "blueish mass" of 17 contact lenses in her eye.

Upon further inspection at Solihull Hospital, England, the team found a further 10 individual lenses.

Rupal Morjaria, specialist trainee opthalmologist, told Optometry Today: "None of us have ever seen this before.

"It was such a large mass. All the 17 contact lenses were stuck together. We were really surprised that the patient didn’t notice it because it would cause quite a lot of irritation while it was sitting there."

Ms Morjaria said the patient, who had been wearing disposable contact lenses for 35 years, didn't report any symptoms in relation to the missing lenses in her pre-operative assessment.

"The patient was quite shocked. When she was seen two weeks after I removed the lenses she said her eyes felt a lot more comfortable. She thought her previous discomfort was just part of old age and dry eye."

Amazon Antitrust Concerns Emerge in Washington and Wall Street

via bloomberg.com - Amazon.com Inc.’s expansion plans, including its agreement to buy Whole Foods Market Inc. for $13.7 billion, are raising hackles in Washington -- and Wall Street is taking notice.

A U.S. lawmaker has called for hearings on the proposed deal to consider its ramifications for shoppers and workers. Hedge-fund manager Doug Kass has taken a short position on the fast-growing online retailer, saying government antitrust concerns will erode its value. In June, Goldman Sachs issued a note questioning whether tech stocks are overpriced and whether investors have overlooked the risks associated with potential government regulatory issues.

Still, Amazon’s shares have gained 34 percent this year, rising to $1,003.21 at 2:01 p.m. Friday in New York. Experts and analysts have largely dismissed antitrust threats for the world’s largest online retailer because the company doesn’t have large market concentration in any one product category and it has a track record of helping keep prices low for shoppers. A key legal question is whether Seattle-based Amazon has grown to the point of discouraging innovation from competitors.

“There’s a concern Amazon might be getting too big,” said Michael Carrier, antitrust expert at Rutgers University School of Law in New Jersey. “The odds are the Whole Foods acquisition will go through, but these political winds will create a bit of a fight.”

U.S. Representative David Cicilline, a Democrat from Rhode Island, on Thursday wrote a letter to the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee requesting hearings about Amazon’s Whole Foods acquisition, saying the deal was part of a wave of consolidation that has “decreased wages and resulted in gross inequality in the workplace.”

“Amazon’s proposed acquisition of Whole Foods raises important questions concerning competition policy, such as how the transaction will affect the future of retail grocery stores, whether platform dominance impedes innovation, and if the antitrust laws are working effectively to ensure economic opportunity, choice and low prices for American families,” Cicilline wrote.

CVS Health Corp. is based in Rhode Island and analysts have speculated that Amazon could use Whole Foods’ retail locations to launch a pharmacy business.

Also on Thursday, Kass, owner of Seabreeze Partners Management Inc., announced in a blog post that he was shorting Amazon due to risks of antitrust issues. “My understanding is that certain Democrats in the Senate have instituted the very recent and preliminary investigation of Amazon’s possible adverse impact on competition,” he wrote.

Amazon’s purchase of the grocery retailer is expected to be completed later this year. Whole Foods would be the biggest acquisition in the e-commerce giant’s history and represents a dramatic shift in its business model from selling items online to luring shoppers into stores. (ontinueReading

Related: Amazon deal for Whole Foods wins U.S. regulatory, shareholder approvals

One year later, the Turkish coup attempt remains shrouded in mystery

via Washingtonpost.com - “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark,” Shakespeare once famously observed. The same can be said about Turkey at the one-year anniversary of the attempted coup d’état on July 15, 2016. The coup was an amateurish effort at best and fizzled out quickly, but not before some 290 people were killed.

The events of that evening are unclear, confusing and contradictory, and the information that has been revealed so far is conflicting and hardly believable. From the beginning, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan assiduously claimed that followers of the Pennsylvania-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, a former close ally of his, had mounted the coup attempt.

Almost immediately, a massive wave of purges followed, presumably in an attempt to cleanse the state and society of Gulenist elements. By now, some 150,000 public servants have been fired, and more than 50,000 citizens have been jailed without even a pretense of due process. The charge is always the same: membership in an armed terrorist organization. Those purged have lost access to their livelihood, retirement accounts, housing and the right to ever again hold a job in the public sector. To date, those jailed include more than 150 journalists. Six thousand people have been fired from universities.

Very few details have emerged about the coup, as the government has tried to keep a tight lid on information. What we do know, however, raises a great number of suspicions. First and foremost, fewer than 9,000 soldiers were out on the street that night, most of them unaware of what was going on. Yet, almost immediately, the government fired some 149 generals and admirals representing 46 percent of the general staff of the Turkish military. In addition, many colonels and majors, most of them staff-level officers, were also purged.

If so many were implicated in the coup, then how come so few soldiers were mobilized? The speed with which these officers were dismissed and the absence of any due process indicate that lists had been readied well before the coup attempt.

Most of the officers shared a pro-Western viewpoint. Many were actually serving abroad in NATO installations or as military attachés. They were all recalled, and a great number of them were arrested upon arrival. Their arrests have turned into jail sentences, as few have had an indictment or seen a judge. Even officers who were away on vacation at the time of the coup were accused of complicity.

The Turkish military knows how to stage a coup. It has four successful and two unsuccessful examples to look back on. But this time, instead of the traditional early morning hours when civilians are mostly at home, the organizers chose the late evening hours on a Friday when a vibrant city such as Istanbul is teeming with cars and people enjoying night life. Soldiers were sent to block traffic on the Bosporus bridge — inexplicably, only in one direction. They never bothered to occupy the seat of government or capture its leaders, such as the prime minister and other high-ranking officials. Soldiers chose the state TV station, a poorly watched outlet, to spread their message. The order to the military as a whole was signed by a low-ranking general who had little credibility.

There were other anomalies. By his own admission, the head of Turkish intelligence, Hakan Fidan, who reports to the president, got wind of the coup attempt sometime around 4 o’clock that afternoon. (There are indications that the agency may have learned about the coup even earlier.) Instead of informing the president and other government leaders, Fidan chose to meet with the chief of staff of the armed forces around 6 in the evening. The two of them took no measures to prevent the coup from taking place or to summon the chiefs of the different branches to an emergency meeting. The only action taken was to order a ban on all military flights over Turkey.

Erdogan has said he only found out at 9:30 in the evening, and then from his brother-in-law, not from any state official. When the air force commander was informed by phone that all military aircraft had been grounded, he simply returned to a wedding he was attending. Similarly, the navy commander did not think that conditions warranted his absence from another wedding that night.

Then there is the question of the bombing of the Turkish parliament by F-16s that were also used to buzz the capital. The minimal damage done to the parliament buildings is inconsistent with the munitions that an F-16 packs. Why bomb the parliament building on a Friday evening when it is not in use?

This is not to say that Gulen followers were not involved in the coup attempt. Some Gulenists were seen in and around military bases. If they were involved, it is also very likely that Gulen himself was aware. Still, given the clumsiness with which the whole operation was executed and the lackadaisical initial response by those who could have prevented it, there is a distinct possibility that this from the beginning was an effort at entrapment.

Simply put, what finally transpired was a counter-coup that enabled Erdogan to rid Turkey of his opponents. In the process, he has denuded the military of its fighting abilities, imprisoned some of the best and the brightest, not to mention tens of thousands of innocents, and institutionalized a paranoid style of politics, where allies are enemies and critics are traitors. In the end, this will not serve Turkey well. (ontinueReading

A year after vote, UK unveils bill to make Brexit a reality

washingtonpost.com LONDON — There’s no divorce without paperwork.

Just over a year after Britons voted to leave the European Union, the U.K. government on Thursday unveiled the first piece of legislation to make it a reality — a 62-page bill that opposition politicians are already vowing to block.

The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill aims to convert some 12,000 EU laws and regulations into U.K. statute on the day Britain leaves the bloc. That is scheduled to be in March 2019.

All those rules can then be kept, amended or scrapped by Britain’s Parliament, fulfilling the promise of anti-EU campaigners to “take back control” from Brussels to London.

The government says the bill will ensure continuity — law on the day after Brexit will be the same as on the day before. Brexit Secretary David Davis said the legislation will allow Britain to leave the EU with “maximum certainty, continuity and control.”

But opponents of Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative government fear the legislation gives officials powers to change laws without sufficient scrutiny by lawmakers. They worry the government could water down environmental standards, employment regulations or other measures brought to Britain through EU law since it joined the bloc in 1973.

Contentiously, the bill gives the government powers to fix “deficiencies” in EU law by what’s known as statutory instruments, which can be used without the parliamentary scrutiny usually needed to make or amend legislation. Such powers are often referred to as “Henry VIII powers” after the Tudor king’s bid to legislate by proclamation.

Andrew Blick, a politics lecturer at King’s College London, said such executive powers are “a very sensitive subject” and likely to face opposition.

“Henry VIII powers have been used before, but here they apply to a very, very wide range of law,” Blick said.

The powers are temporary, expiring two years after Brexit day. Even so, Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon branded the bill a “naked power grab.”

Charles Clark, partner consultant at law firm Linklaters, said the sheer number of legal changes needed — 800 to 1,000 by the government’s estimate — meant Brexit could be “a mind-blowingly complicated logistical exercise.”

“My worry is we will be faced with death by statutory instrument,” he said. “It’s going to be very expensive in terms of parliamentary and public time, and business time.”

The bill also states that Britain will no longer enforce the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights after Brexit. Officials say similar protections are offered by other measures including the European Convention on Human Rights, which Britain will still adhere to. (ontinueReading
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Related: Tony Blair says Brexit must be stopped to halt harm to UK

Brazil's Lula Sentenced to Prison on Corruption Charges

Bloomberg.com - Brazil’s former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was convicted of graft and money-laundering for his part in the country’s sweeping corruption scandal, potentially removing him from the political scene just as his prospects of returning to the presidency were gaining momentum.

Sergio Moro, the lead judge in the multi-billion dollar corruption probe known as Carwash, sentenced Lula to nine and a half years, according to a document from the federal court in Parana state. The judge has not asked for the former president’s immediate arrest. Lula’s lawyers could not be reached for comment.

The guilty sentence delivers a major setback to Lula’s intentions of leading the Workers’ Party back to power in the 2018 election. The 71-year-old former labor leader remains one of the most popular presidents in Brazilian history and he had managed to consolidate his position in recent months as the front-runner for next year’s race. If his sentence is upheld on appeal, he will become ineligible to run. The conviction of the left-wing leader comes just days before a lower house vote on whether to put President Michel Temer on trial for corruption.

Graft investigations had been drawing closer to Lula for over a year, as prosecutors filed charges against him in five separate criminal cases, which range from allegations of influence peddling to accepting perks from companies in exchange for government favors. The former president has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and said the accusations are part of a campaign to discredit him. After today’s sentence, he faces four more trials.

"Lula is on his way to ineligibility," said David Fleischer, professor emeritus at the University of Brasilia. "It changes the whole political spectrum if he can’t run."

Brazil’s real and benchmark stock exchange accelerated gains after the decision was announced and were up 1.4 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively, in afternoon trading in Sao Paulo. Meanwhile, Brazil’s five-year credit default swap spread, a gauge of investor risk perception, dropped to the lowest in nearly two months. (ontinueReading

Washington: Seattle City Council approves income tax for high-earning residents, people outraged

- The Seattle City Council unanimously approved a new city income tax for high-earning residents on Monday July 10.

"We are here not to tax ordinary working people; we’re here to tax the rich," Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant said at the city council meeting.

Under the ordinance, wealthy residents would pay a 2.25 percent tax on income in excess of $250,000 for individuals and in excess of $500,000 for married couples who file taxes jointly.

Supporters estimate between 10,000 and 11,000 people would be subject to the tax, based on past Census Bureau data.

The city estimates the income tax will raise about $140 million a year.

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray called the ordinance a "fight for economic stability, equity, and justice.”

“Seattle is challenging this state’s antiquated and unsustainable tax structure by passing a progressive income tax,” Murray said in a statement.

Supporters say the tax would provide a progressive revenue stream to pay for crucial city needs such as affordable housing, transit, homeless and other services. They also want to test the legality of an income tax in Washington state.

"We also know that when Mayor Murray signs this into law on Friday, we will have won a battle, but the war will just be beginning," said Katie Wilson, secretary of the Transit Riders Union.

Supporters referenced an expected legal challenge since opponents say the tax is illegal and unconstitutional. At issue, the uniformity provision in the Washington state constitution, which states “taxes need to be uniform upon the same class of property.”

Since the 1930's, the court has ruled that income is property, meaning the city’s plan wouldn’t be legal unless the State Supreme Court reinterprets the law.

Both supporters and critics acknowledge Washington has a very broad definition of property, as defined by the current law.

"The word 'property' as used herein shall mean and include everything, whether tangible or intangible, subject to ownership," reads Article VII of the state constitution.

Murray and other ordinance supporters said the city welcomes that legal challenge, expecting this to potentially serve as a test case before the Supreme Court.

"Our Supreme Court may be the final word on Seattle’s proposed high earners income tax, but remember this is the same court that has held our state legislature in contempt for failing to adequately fund public education," said City Attorney Pete Holmes.

It's unknown when a suit could be filed or who would bring it forward.

Supporters of the tax said that the measure entered disputed legal territory. Even if the case was expedited, it could take over a year before the case is settled, and possibly longer before the city would get revenue.

Critics claim it could spur people to move outside city limits.

"This illegal and undesired income tax will lead to business owners and community leaders leaving the city for a more favorable business climate," said King County Republican Party Chair Lori Sotelo.

Critics also warn that the tax would be increased and expanded over time.

"Starts out as a tiny tax, then becomes a huge tax on the people," Washington state GOP Chair Susan Hutchison said. (ontinueReading

Israel backs Hungary, says financier Soros is a threat

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's foreign ministry has issued a statement denouncing U.S. billionaire George Soros, a move that appeared designed to align Israel more closely with Hungary ahead of a visit to Budapest next week by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Soros, a Hungarian-born Jew who has spent a large part of his fortune funding pro-democracy and human rights groups, has repeatedly been targeted by Hungary's right-wing government, in particular over his support for more open immigration.

In the latest case, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has backed a campaign in which Soros is singled out as an enemy of the state. "Let's not allow Soros to have the last laugh" say billboards next to a picture of the 86-year-old investor, a campaign that Jewish groups and others say foments anti-Semitism.

Soros, who rarely addresses personal attacks against him, has not commented on the billboards. But Hungarian Jewish groups and Human Rights Watch, an organisation partly funded by Soros, have condemned the campaign, saying it "evokes memories of the Nazi posters during the Second World War".

Many posters have been defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti, including the words "stinking Jew" written in magic marker.

Israel's ambassador to Hungary issued a statement denouncing the campaign, saying it "evokes sad memories but also sows hatred and fear", an apparent reference to Hungary's part in the deportation of 500,000 Jews during the Holocaust.

But hours after the ambassador made his comments over the weekend, Israel's foreign ministry issued a "clarification" saying that Soros was a legitimate target for criticism.

"In no way was the statement (by the ambassador) meant to delegitimize criticism of George Soros, who continuously undermines Israel's democratically elected governments," said foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon, adding that Soros funded organisations "that defame the Jewish state and seek to deny it the right to defend itself".

A spokesman for Soros's Open Society Foundations did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (ontinueReading

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Related: Netanyahu accused of supporting antisemites over Soros campaign

Australia: Great Barrier Reef Avoids UNESCO's 'In Danger' Status: Is This A Good Thing?

via techtimes.com - The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has decided that the massive coral bleaching that has been happening to the Great Barrier Reef is not enough to consider it "In Danger."

The Australian government is celebrating UNESCO's decision and calls it a "big win" for the continent, but things may not be as well as it seems.

According to Federal Environment Minister Josh Freedenberg, they have received reports that the government's Reef 2050 plan — an integrated government strategy aimed at improving the Great Barrier Reef's condition — has been showing positive results.

"Of course coral bleaching has been significant but we've also seen the health of the reef be encouraged in the years leading up to the most recent bleaching event," he expressed.

However, there is still a big possibility that avoiding the "In Danger" status may or may not be helpful for the reef's restoration.

Some believe that UNESCO decided against labeling the Great Barrier Reef as "In Danger" in order to help the Australian government avoid embarrassment. By doing so, tourism in Australia would also be able to avoid a negative impact on its tourism sector, which could also affect the nation's economy.

"It supports more than 69,000 Queensland jobs, provides billions of dollars into the Queensland economy each and every year," Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.

This is because, once the reef is added to the list of world heritage sites "In Danger," the government would have to take drastic actions to save the reef and may even be forced to limit or close off the site for tourism.

Since Premier Palaszczuk already revealed that the Great Barrier Reef supports the livelihood of thousands of people in Queensland, one can only rightly assume that any move to limit tourism in the reef would affect at least 69,000 people. (ontinueReading

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Related: Great Barrier Reef: Reports of its demise have been exaggerated locals claim

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Macron hopes to convince Trump on climate, calls Paris conference

- Paris will host a second climate change conference on 12 December with particular emphasis on finance , French President Emmanuel Macron announced at the end of the G20 talks in Hamburg on Saturday. He hopes to convince US President Donald Trump to change his mind on fighting global warming, he added.

"On 12 December [...] I will organise a new summit in order to take new action for the climate, including on the issue of financing," Macron said, noting that the date is the second anniversary of the Cop21 Paris climate agreement.

It will attempt to facilitate the payment of private and public finance promised during those talks, he said.

It will also "identify projects that can be financed and will represent a concrete advance".

The G20 final statement noted the US's decision to pull out of the Paris deal but insisted that "the leaders of the other member states confirm that the Paris accord is irreversible".

Macron said that there could be no going back on climate questions, warning that the accord could not be taken "à la carte".

Asked if he hoped to change Trump's mind when the US president attends next week's Bastille Day parade in Paris, Macron commented "I never give up hope of convincing, because I think it is a duty [...] it's part of my character.

"So I confirm, I hope to convince him." (ontinueReading

PR China Says South China Sea Research is for Science, Not Sovereignty

Taipei - Chinese scientists are defending the nation's high-tech exploration activities in the South China Sea against criticism, insisting the effort is a legitimate bid to advance science rather than a ploy to bolster China's claims to sovereignty over the contested waterway.

A deep-sea bathyscaphe and an underwater observation network developed by Chinese scientists will gather data on the world’s deepest seas for possible use in tapping minerals, said Lin Qi, assistant researcher with the state-run National Institute for South China Sea Studies in Hainan province.

"You could say to some extent that helps protect our sovereignty claim, but actually the goal of these projects’ designs is not mainly one to show the country’s claim," said Lin, whose institute falls under the central government’s purview.

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Related: China opposes use of freedom of navigation to harm its sovereignty

US: QVC, HSN merging to battle Amazon

via cbsnews.com: NEW YORK - QVC (Qualiy Value Convenience)  and Home Shopping Network, two of the most well-known TV home-shopping hubs, are combining further as they look at aggressive growth by Amazon (AMZN) and consumer shopping habits shifting to internet-based retail.

Liberty Interactive (QVCA), which owns QVC and already owns 38 percent of HSN, will buy the rest of Home Shopping Network for about $2.6 billion in a stock deal.

The buyout comes months after Mindy Grossman left as CEO of HSN to take the reins of Weight Watchers. Under Grossman, HSN worked to build its ecommerce presence and transform itself into a lifestyle network. It now derives half of its revenue from ecommerce, featuring more than 50,000 products on its website along with broadcasting to more than 90 million households.

Both QVC and Home Shopping Network have been dealing with sluggish sales as Amazon dominates the online shopping.

"It has been a tough period," said Rod Little, HSN's chief financial officer and interim head, in a conference call on Thursday to discuss the deal. "We are not happy with the performance. It's part of why we are here today, I guess."

Liberty, which has owned a stake in HSN since 2009, said buying the rest of the company will boost the merged company's ecommerce capabilities, cut costs and offer marketing opportunities, among other benefits.

"The increased scale of this combination will allow us to more effectively compete, we think, in a changing and evolving retail and digital environment," Liberty CEO Greg Maffei said in the call.

QVC CEO Michael George said the combined company will generate $7.5 billion in online sales and $4.7 billion in mobile sales, ranking it behind only Amazon and Walmart (WMT) in terms of the dollar value of ecommerce transactions.

"By combining companies, we believe will be able to accelerate innovation, enhance the customer experience, increase customer value and put ourselves in an even stronger position to help shape and lead the nation generation of shopping," George, who will head the merged business, on the call.

Home Shopping Network's consumer brands include home furnishings vendor Frontgate and home decor and clothing seller Garnet Hill. QVC's properties include apparel seller Zulily and online invitation website Evite.

Liberty, based in Englewood, Colorado, will issue 53.4 million shares of QVC Series A common stock to HSN shareholders. It said Thursday that's the equivalent of paying $40.36 per share for HSN Inc. of St. Petersburg, Florida.

That would be a 29 percent premium to the stock. Shares of HSN surged $10.30, or 33 percent, to $41.60 in morning trading.

The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. (ontinueReading

Volvo Cars to go all electric

- Volvo Cars, the premium car maker, has announced that every Volvo it launches from 2019 will have an electric motor, marking the historic end of cars that only have an internal combustion engine (ICE) and placing electrification at the core of its future business.

The announcement represents one of the most significant moves by any car maker to embrace electrification and highlights how over a century after the invention of the internal combustion engine electrification is paving the way for a new chapter in automotive history.

“This is about the customer,” said Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive. “People increasingly demand electrified cars and we want to respond to our customers’ current and future needs. You can now pick and choose whichever electrified Volvo you wish.”

Volvo Cars will introduce a portfolio of electrified cars across its model range, embracing fully electric cars, plug in hybrid cars and mild hybrid cars.

It will launch five fully electric cars between 2019 and 2021, three of which will be Volvo models and two of which will be high performance electrified cars from Polestar, Volvo Cars’ performance car arm. Full details of these models will be announced at a later date.

North Korea tests missile it claims can reach 'anywhere in the world'

*yawn

(CNN) North Korea claims to have conducted its first successful test of a long-range missile that it says can "reach anywhere in the world."

Tuesday morning's missile test, which was conducted on the orders of the country's leader, Kim Jong Un, reached a height of 2,802 kilometers (1,741 miles), according to state broadcaster Korea Central Television (KCTV).

That's the highest altitude ever reached by a North Korean missile, and puts the US on notice that Pyongyang could potentially hit the U.S. mainland.

The regime appears to have timed the launch for maximum political effect, giving the order to fire on the eve of the July 4 holiday, just days after US President Donald Trump spoke with Japanese and Chinese leaders about the North Korea threat and before this week's G20 meeting.

The fear is that North Korea may one day develop the technology to mount a miniature nuclear warhead on a long-range missile, something analysts say it may have already achieved.

Junk Science: Therapy animals' effectiveness questioned

Less stress? Therapy animals are turning up everywhere — in hospitals, on planes and on college campuses. But is there scientific evidence to back up claims that they alleviate stress and improve the lives of their handlers?

Yale University doctoral candidate Molly Crossman reviewed literature on the subject and found mixed results; the effect of having a therapy animal was sometimes positive, sometimes negative, and often had no effect, The Washington Post reported.

Although funding for studies is growing, the lack of research to prove the correlation between therapy animals and better lives has led agencies like the Department of Veterans Affairs to deny funding for the animals for people who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, the Post reported. (ontinueReading

NASA: No, we don't have child slave colonies on Mars

SFGate.com - NASA denied that it has a child slave colony on Mars after a guest on Alex Jones' "Infowars" channel claimed that agency had kidnapped kids and sent them on a two-decade mission to the Red Planet.

"There are no humans on Mars. There are active rovers on Mars. There was a rumor going around last week that there weren't. There are," Guy Webster, spokesman for Mars exploration at NASA, told The Daily Beast. "But there are no humans."

But of course that's what you'd expect a space agency with a secret interplanetary child slave operation to say, right, Fox Mulder?

Jones' guest Robert David Steele, whose Wikipedia page describes him as a former CIA clandestine services case officer, did not disappoint listeners tuning in Thursday to Infowars' 118 stations for their daily conspiracy theory fix.

"We actually believe that there is a colony on Mars that is populated by children who were kidnapped and sent into space on a 20-year ride," he told Jones. "So that once they get to Mars they have no alternative but to be slaves on the Mars colony."

Besides providing the slave labor, children are also being harvested for their blood and bone marrow, Steele says.

While Jones said he didn't "know about Mars bases," he did take the opportunity to hype his own NASA theories.

"Look, I know that 90 percent of the NASA missions are secret and I've been told by high level NASA engineers that you have no idea, there is so much stuff going on," he said. "But then it goes off into all that, that's the kind of thing media jumps on.

"But I know this: we see a bunch of mechanical wreckage on Mars and people say,

Oh look, it looks like mechanics.' They go, 'Oh, you're a conspiracy theorist.' Clearly they don't want us looking into what is happening. Every time probes go over they turn them off."

Why should we care about any bat guano theory spouted on Infowars? Well, for one reason, Jones has a very powerful fan.

In December 2015, as his campaign was getting started, President Donald Trump told Jones that "your reputation is amazing."

Infowars' Washington bureau chief Jerome Corsi received one-day press credentials to the White House in May and said it would apply for permanent credentials "in about three months," Snopes reported. (onttinueReading

Super Sweet: Canada celebrates 150th birthday with celebrities, crowds, rain

Reuters - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau kicked off celebrations

on Saturday to mark the country's 150th birthday amid heavy security as many citizens braved incessant rains and long delays to reach the main site in the nation's capital.

About 500,000 people were expected to be in Ottawa for the long-anticipated Canada Day festivities, which features a large outdoor celebration in front of the national Parliament, complete with acrobats, fireworks and musicians, including singer Bono and other members of Irish rock band U2.

Trudeau, accompanied by Britain's Prince Charles, shook hands with some of the thousands of revelers who converged on Canada's capital Ottawa for the festivities.

"Canada is a country made strong not in spite of our differences but because of them," Trudeau told the gathering. "We don't aspire to be a melting pot – indeed, we know true strength and resilience flows through Canadian diversity."

Some cities are celebrating in more unusual ways. Toronto, Canada's largest city, will have a giant rubber duck floating in its harbor, while Calgary will have a "living flag" composed of people wearing red and white.

Security was already ramped up in the days ahead of the celebration and party-goers must contend with road closures and concrete barriers across entrances into Parliament Hill, located in downtown Ottawa.

Heavy downpours prompted Ottawa firefighters to pump water off the grounds on Parliament Hill and the Ottawa Fire Service urged citizens to follow safety instructions.

National and local police were also out in force, with security top of mind for many Canadians in the wake of fatal attacks in London, Paris and Germany.

Saturday July 1 marks the 150th anniversary of the day Canada officially became a country. Britain had ruled it before 1867. (ontinueReading