Новости за 20.04.2024

Beijing (AFP) April 18, 2024
A former deputy governor of China's central bank has been accused of receiving large bribes during his time as a high-ranking official, state media said Thursday, the latest development in a decade-long crackdown on corruption. Fan Yifei first came under investigation in November 2022 for "suspected violations of discipline and law", a term typically used in cases of alleged graft. Chine

London (AFP) April 18, 2024
Scotland's government said Thursday it would abandon its target to reduce carbon emissions by 75 percent by 2030 after the UK's climate change advisory committee described it as "beyond credible". The announcement was greeted with outrage by environmental groups. The UK Climate Change Committee (CCC) last month sharply criticised Scotland for repeatedly failing to achieve its climate tar

Barcelona (AFP) April 18, 2024
Spain's northeastern region of Catalonia will install a floating desalination plant in the port of Barcelona to guarantee fresh water supplies amid an intense drought, regional authorities said Thursday. Catalonia had considered importing fresh water by boat but David Mascort, the regional government's environmental chief, told a news conference that a "floating desalination plant is a more

Paris (AFP) April 18, 2024
Two sons of the world's richest man Bernard Arnault on Thursday joined the board of LVMH after a shareholder vote, further cementing the family's control on the French luxury goods giant. The pair joined their elder siblings on the board of directors of the company, which houses brands such as Dior and Louis Vuitton, meaning four of Bernard Arnault's five children now sit on the board. A

Baghdad (AFP) April 18, 2024
Iraq has signed several memoranda of understanding in the energy sector during Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani's visit to the United States, with Baghdad unveiling Thursday plans to boost electricity production. Sudani met US President Joe Biden Monday and on Wednesday oversaw the signing of a series of agreements, including one aimed at rehabilitating power plants and optimising the u

Quito (AFP) April 18, 2024
Parts of Ecuador were facing power cuts of up to 13 hours on Thursday amid an electricity crisis sparked by a drought that has left key hydroelectric reservoirs nearly depleted. A government decree ordering workers to stay home went largely ignored, with buses running as usual in the capital Quito, where traffic lights were out in some areas due to blackouts. The electricity crisis come

Paris (AFP) April 18, 2024
French cosmetics giant L'Oreal reported a year-on-year increase in first-quarter sales on Thursday as activity in Europe and emerging markets offset "sluggish" conditions for beauty in China. Sales in the first three months of the year climbed by 8.3 percent to 11.24 billion euros (around $12 billion), despite its North Asia market falling by almost four percent to 2.7 billion euros. The

San Francisco (AFP) April 19, 2024
Meta on Thursday introduced an improved AI assistant built on new versions of its open source Llama large language model for powering the technology. Meta AI is smarter and faster due to advances in publicly available Llama 3, the tech titan said in a blog post. "The bottom line is we believe Meta AI is now the most intelligent AI assistant that you can freely use," Meta co-founder and c

London, UK (SPX) Apr 16, 2024
Vertical Future, a specialist in vertical farming technology and production based in the UK, has been awarded a new grant of GBP 1.5 million to undertake the second phase of the "Autonomous Agriculture for Space Exploration" project. The program is set to adapt Vertical Future's controlled-environment-agriculture systems for use in prototype Low Earth Orbit growing systems aboard the first comme

London, UK (SPX) Apr 19, 2024
New research indicates that high levels of plastic pollution are lethal to the embryos of various marine species. This study tested the impact of new PVC pellets-used in the initial production stages of many plastic items-on the developmental processes of seven diverse marine species, encompassing all major oceanic superphyla. The results showed that exposure to elevated concentrations of

London, UK (SPX) Apr 19, 2024
Momentick, a leader in emissions intelligence, has successfully raised $6.5 million in seed funding to enhance its emission intelligence algorithm and extend its market reach. The investment round was spearheaded by Chartered Group Japan and TAU Ventures, with additional contributions from private investors. Methane, primarily found in natural gas, is an odorless and colorless gas that can