Новости за 02.08.2017

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Ethan Miller/Getty; Skye Gould/Business Insider

This giant has had its moments in the spotlight. In 1999 Qualcomm was the top-performing US stock, up more than 2600%. Residents of its hometown of San Diego know well Qualcomm Stadium, once the home of the Chargers and the Padres.

Though not the household name of Apple or Samsung, Qualcomm has grown its dominance in the mobile market. Chances are good that the device you're reading this on wouldn't exist without Qualcomm.... Читать дальше...

© AFP/File Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV

Beirut (AFP) - A prominent cyberactivist who was detained on the first anniversary of the 2011 uprising that sparked the Syrian civil war was secretly executed nearly two years ago, his widow said.

Bassel Khartabil Safadi, an open-source software developer who put his skills to use to promote free speech during the uprising, was put to death in October 2015, two and a half years after his arrest, Noura Ghazi Safadi said.

That month, rumours had... Читать дальше...

© AFP/File ROSLAN RAHMAN

Tokyo (AFP) - US and Japanese naval forces are searching for an American sailor who went missing during a joint drill in the South China Sea, officials said Wednesday. 

"US Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense-Force ships and aircraft are searching for a sailor from USS Stethem reported missing while the ship was conducting routine operations in the South China Sea" early Tuesday, the US 7th Fleet said in a statement.

"Multiple searches were conducted... Читать дальше...

Thomson Reuters

VIENNA (Reuters) - Two companies and their bosses are under investigation in Austria for suspected serious fraud, environmental offences and financial crimes in relation to the Volkswagen emissions scandal, a spokeswoman for economic and corruption prosecutors said on Wednesday.

VW was plunged into the biggest business crisis in its 80-year history when the cheating scandal was exposed in September 2015. It has cost the company more than $25 billion in fines, compensation and vehicle refits. Читать дальше...

David Becker/Getty Images

• US lawmakers are trying to regulate the internet of things.
• By 2020, more than 20 billion devices will be connected to the internet — but right now, it's incredibly insecure.
• Hundreds of thousands of webcams and other smart-home devices were recently hijacked by hackers, knocking Twitter and PayPal offline.

The internet of things is a massive security nightmare. US lawmakers are finally starting to try and fix that.

A... Читать дальше...

AP Photo/Julio Cortez

Sen. Cory Booker unveiled legislation Tuesday that would remove marijuana from the federal government’s list of controlled dangerous substances, effectively ending a longtime ban on the drug in what would be a sea change for the U.S. criminal justice system.

Booker, a former mayor of Newark, is calling on Congress to legalize marijuana so that minority communities that have been disproportionately punished for low-level drug offenses are treated more fairly.

vox efx/flickr

If you think using an artificial sweetener helps keep your weight down, think again.

Artificial sweeteners combined with a low carbohydrate diet increases overall food consumed, according to a study published in the journal Cell Metabolism.

The finding expands on previous research that explained why artificial sweeteners increase feelings of hunger when consumed chronically.

The study, led by the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences... Читать дальше...

Reuters/Kevin Lamarque

The Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday that it would forgive just over $20 million it is owed by the city of Flint, Michigan, for fighting the lead drinking water crisis that became a national issue during last year's presidential campaign.

"Forgiving Flint's past debt will better protect public health and reduce the costs associated with maintaining the city's water system over time," said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.

The action would... Читать дальше...

Thomson Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday allowed Democratic state attorneys general to defend subsidy payments to insurance companies under the Obamacare healthcare law, a critical part of funding for the statute that President Donald Trump has threatened to cut off.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit granted a motion filed by the 16 attorneys general, led by California's Xavier Becerra and New York's Eric Schneiderman.

President Donald Trump... Читать дальше...

CNN Screenshot

Former Vice President Al Gore said on Tuesday that the Trump administration is "tongue tied" on the climate change, "because the truth about the climate crisis is still inconvenient" for fossil-fuel polluters, who "unfortunately have a lot of influence" over Trump's administration.

Gore told Anderson Cooper in the interview that Trump has "surrounded himself with a rogue’s gallery of climate deniers."

Speaking to Trump's move in June to pull the US out of the Paris climate accord... Читать дальше...

Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters

The threat of cyberattacks is tangible in Ukraine.

It bears the brunt of many hacks that target the wider world, like the recent NotPetya attack. But it also struggles in the face of something more troubling: not once, but twice, parts of the country have been plunged into darkness as a result of hackers taking aim at its energy infrastructure.

These aren’t the kind of hacks that mean tech-savvy folks need to change their login credentials, but precursors to something far more serious... Читать дальше...

The Trump administration is reportedly floating the possibility of investigating affirmative-action practices on college campuses, according to a New York Times report citing internal documents from the US Justice Department's civil rights division.

Alfred Sosa/Christian Science Monitor

AUGUST 1, 2017 —There’s not a snowflake in the sky, but Winter Olympic hopefuls are already flying off ski jumps in Utah, firing up their luge sleds in Lake Placid, N.Y., and cross-country skiing past Vermont cow pastures.

With everything from wet suits to wheels to virtual-reality tools, they’re simulating the challenges they’ll face at the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, next February.

The perseverance and perfection highlighted... Читать дальше...

MLB.com

Cleveland Indians center fielder Austin Jackson made what will likely go down as the catch of the year with one of the best catches you'll ever see.

On a long fly ball to center field at Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox, Jackson leaped in the always tricky bullpen area, robbed Hanley Ramirez of a home run and then fell into the bullpen while holding on to the ball.

Here is the catch:

He timed it perfectly.

Here is the replay:

REUTERS/China Daily

China hasn’t been known for establishing military bases in Africa – or even beyond its immediate sphere of influence.

This is changing following its decision to build a military base in Djibouti on the Horn of Africa. The base will be next door to the United States Africa Command.

China will be able to use the base to improve the way it manages its peacekeeping operations and humanitarian efforts in Africa, as well as its regional maritime operations.

AP

Apple CEO Tim Cook on Tuesday defended his company’s decision to stop offering special apps that let Chinese users circumvent the country’s internet restrictions.

The recent removal of some VPN apps from Apple’s App Store in China has prompted criticism, with some accusing Apple of bowing to pressure from Beijing and placing its business interests above its values.

VPN, or virtual private network, apps allow users to connect directly and securely to the internet, bypassing... Читать дальше...

Industrial metals have rallied this year on healthy demand and lower supply, and bellwether firms in related sectors have reported upbeat earnings and outlooks. We see stability ahead in industrial metals commodities prices but are selective in related stocks and bonds.

The global manufacturing sector is looking pretty good in mid-2017, especially in Europe.

Getty Images/Sara D. Davis

Leaders from over 50 companies including Chevron, BP, ConocoPhillips, Halliburton, Shell, and ExxonMobil sent a letter to Governor Greg Abbott on Monday urging a defeat of the state’s “bathroom bill,” which would discriminate against trans individuals by requiring people to use the bathroom corresponding to the sex on their birth certificate in public schools, universities, and government buildings.

“Any bill that harms our ability to attract top talent... Читать дальше...

REUTERS/Stringer

The Italian mafia may have teamed up with the Islamic State to smuggle crude oil from the Middle East into Italy, an ongoing police investigation has suggested, according to The Times who cited a report by La Repubblica.

The Italian daily noted that the police had found substantial amounts of Libyan and Syrian crude that were greater than some local refineries’ inventories, with sources connected with the investigation saying that crude, “should not have been there.”

Thomson Reuters

The Aztec emperor Montezuma II said that a soldier could march for a whole day on a single cup of cocoa.

But this was not the hot chocolate we would be familiar with today. It was gritty, bitter and often had a fatty scum on top. And if that doesn’t sound unpleasant enough, it was occasionally laced with chilli or human blood.

Modern sweet chocolate – with its added milk powder and sugar – is a product of the industrial revolution. Until fairly recently, chocolate... Читать дальше...

REUTERS/Larry Downing/File Photo

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former U.S. Justice Department official has become the latest lawyer to join special counsel Robert Mueller's team investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election, a spokesman for the team confirmed.

Greg Andres started on Tuesday, becoming the 16th lawyer on the team, said Josh Stueve, a spokesman for the special counsel.

Most recently a white-collar criminal defense lawyer with New York law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell... Читать дальше...

With Obamacare firmly in the crosshairs of Republican lawmakers, the debate around U.S. healthcare is at a fever pitch.

Typhoon Noru is barreling northwest across the Pacific Ocean and taking aim at Japan, and possibly Korea or China, this weekend.

Reuters

A new Pew Research Center poll of nearly 42,000 people across 38 countries found the threat of climate change is nearly as great as terrorism from ISIS.

Sixty-two percent of those polled said that ISIS was a “major threat” to their country, while 61 percent also identified global warming as a major threat.

Concerns about ISIS were concentrated in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the United States, while climate change worries came from 13 countries mostly in Latin America and Africa. Читать дальше...