The Int'l Man's Hot Links Archive 2021: Jan 1 - June 30

Hot Links Archive 2021 (1): January 1 - June 30

• Coronavirus: A-Z - everything you need to know | Face Masks - "2700+ Coronavirus COVID-19 Advice, News & Resources." UPDATED DAILY!
• Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases - by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
• CORONAVIRUS GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TRACKER - "Governments are taking a wide range of measures in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. This tool aims to track and compare policy responses around the world, rigorously and consistently."
• TIME's COVID-19 US vaccine tracker - "A guide to the coronavirus vaccination rollout and what you need to know about the authorized vaccines."
• Climate Change - "Check out all about climate change: 500+ evidence, facts, information, news, reviews and resources."
• Our world in data - "Research & data to make progress against the world’s largest problems."
• Delta variant is forcing officials to rethink US Covid-19 measures, even for the vaccinated - "With the more contagious Delta variant, some officials are issuing new mask guidance."
• Is it time to ditch the daily Covid stats? - "MPs and scientists say publicising infections and deaths every day 'frightens' people and numbers are 'useless' now jabs have cut risk."
• Kim Jong-un: North Korea in ‘great crisis’ after Covid lapses - "Kim Jong-un has berated top officials over lapses which caused an unspecified 'great crisis' related to Covid-19, North Korean state media report."
• Commemorating Princess Diana’s 60th Birthday With Unforgettable Iconic Photos - "On July 1, 2021, Princess Diana would have turned 60 and two decades after her tragic death in a car accident near the end of summer 1997, she still holds an exalted place on the altar of the most admired people in the world, her status secure as a style icon - as is her legacy of having forever changed the British monarchy."
• How can a building just collapse? - "On Thursday, the partial collapse of a residential building in Surfside, Florida, left 11 dead and 150 still unaccounted for. While we await answers about what caused this tragedy, we are left asking the question: What could cause a building simply fall down?"
• Up to 410 million people at risk from sea level rises - study - "Majority of land at risk from a 1-metre sea level rise is in the tropics, research finds."
• 5 Asian countries account for 80% of new coal power investment - "China, India, Indonesia, Japan and Vietnam plan to build more than 600 coal power units."
• World's highest hotel opens in China - "J Hotel Shanghai Tower: World's highest hotel opens in China."
• AirCar: Convertible 'flying car' takes to the sky - "The hybrid car-aircraft, AirCar, is equipped with a BMW engine and runs on regular petrol-pump fuel."
• Rare celestial event detected for 1st time - "'Pac-Man' in space: Black holes gobble up neutron stars in first evidence of a rare celestial event."
• Canada heatwave: Bears take a dip in record breaking temperatures - "A mother bear took her cubs for a swim in British Columbia, as temperatures reached 46.6C (116F), a record breaking high for Canada."
• Yacht or not? A close-up of the rise in residential 'superyachts' - "Somnio is the first vessel of her kind, in reality a residential cruise ship, that echoes the lines of vessels from the superyacht industry."
• an ancient roman mystery solved - "Turkey's mysterious 'portal to the underworld'. The ancient city of Hierapolis has long hidden a poisonous secret in its mysterious 'Gate to Hell'. But modern science has finally uncovered the truth behind the Roman myths."
• ‘It just doesn’t stop!’ Do we need a new law to ban out-of-hours emails? - "During the pandemic many workers have felt more under siege than ever from work emails that arrive at all hours. Could the legal right to disconnect help?"
• Now is not the time to abandon all Covid caution - "Scientists say the Delta variant should make the government think twice about resting all its hopes on vaccines."
• Masks upgrade cuts infection risk, research finds - "The quality of face masks healthcare workers wear makes a huge difference to their risk of coronavirus infection, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust research has found."
• Mixing Covid vaccines offers strong immune protection - study - "Oxford researchers say having AstraZeneca then Pfizer jabs is almost as potent as two shots of Pfizer."
• Vaccine inequality: how rich countries cut Covid deaths as poorer fall behind - "Developed countries are seeing the benefits of quickly vaccinating their populations, but concerns remain about the unequal share of global vaccine supplies."
• Health risks from heat waves send a climate alarm - "While snow and rain pose their own challenges, outdoor heat exposure is hard to escape, even with a hat, water, and lightweight clothing. While thoughts of summer may conjure up images of pools, beaches and vacations, what we often forget is that outdoor heat exposure is a major health risk that goes far beyond sunburns."
• Facebook's value rises above $1tn for first time - "A US federal court has dismissed two separate anti-trust lawsuits filed against Facebook."
• Five Stunning Portuguese Cities To Visit After Lisbon - "There’s no denying that Lisbon is a pretty spectacular destination in itself, but for a truly memorable vacation, it’s best to explore more than just one municipality. Fortunately, Portugal is packed with a wide variety of fascinating cities stretching from the outskirts of Lisbon up to the northern reaches of the country. As you plan your next voyage to the westernmost edge of Europe, don’t miss out on these charming - and often underrated - cities."
• Stasi spied on Roger Moore while he filmed James Bond film in Berlin - "Secret documents reveal East Germany's secret police were poised to arrest the star while he filmed Octopussy at Checkpoint Charlie."
• For Your Eyes Only Is Essential James Bond Viewing For Its 40th Anniversary, But Good Luck Streaming It - "June 24th 1981 marked the UK premiere of Roger Moore’s fifth James Bond film, For Your Eyes Only. In a stretch that saw Moore’s 007 embrace modern fashion, as well as a light hearted sensibility to the character, this comparatively gritty entry sometimes finds itself lost in the shuffle."
• Diamonds have gone digital - "A new generation of consumers are doing much more than keeping luxury coffers full, they’re changing the entire jewellery world."
• Jennifer Aniston Spills Her Self-Care Secrets - Including How She Gets That Glow - "Glowing skin and gorgeous hair have been Jennifer Aniston’s signatures since her Friends days. Lucky for us, she’s spilling exactly how she gets so radiant: Collagen."
• 2021 Mercedes-Benz S580 Resets the Flagship - "The ninth generation of the big Benz introduces tech and comfort we didn't know we needed."
• China's latest mega-airport is officially open - "China's long-awaited Chengdu Tianfu International Airport has officially begun operations, offering travelers a new gateway to the home of giant pandas."
• World's largest yacht unveiled: Somnio will be a floating condo for the super-rich - "Super-rich will be able to buy £8million apartments on the world's largest yacht: Stunning 728ft-long £430m 'floating condo' will have 39 ultra-luxury onboard homes."
• How I inadvertently became a vinyl nerd - "I don't consider myself an audiophile. For years, my primary pair of headphones were just the wired earbuds that came with my phone. I’m hard-pressed to tell the difference between MP3 and FLAC. Yet, I recently bought a U-Turn Audio Orbit Plus turntable, a pair of Kanto YU4 speakers and several vinyl records on eBay. How did this happen?"
• Why it’s so hard to put boundaries on our time - "Even before Covid-19, the lines between our work and private lives were blurring. As we edge out of the pandemic, why does setting better boundaries still feel so tough?"
• Concrete: The material that defines our age - "There is so much concrete in the world that at some point this century it will 'outweigh' all living matter. In the latest in our Anthropo-scene series, we explore the material's global reach, occasional beauty, and unimaginable scale."
• A Beginner's Guide to Some of Rolex's Most Intriguing Submariner Variants - "Collecting watches can get complicated. It only gets worse when looking at models with a long lineage and multiple updates. The longer time passes, things like service/Franken parts, fakes, and DIY jobs can find their way into a specific reference you’re after. And it only gets foggier if the brand you’re dealing with has a century-old history."
• A look back at the evolution of iPhone hardware with GRID frames [Gallery] - "It has been 14 years since the first iPhone was introduced by Steve Jobs, and a lot has changed since then. Each generation of the iPhone has brought unique advances that are sometimes hard to notice, but that have made a difference when we look back at the past. And that’s what I did with GRID frames."
• L.A. Condo Market Hits New Heights With Sale Of Presidential Penthouse - "The Presidential Penthouse at The Wilshire, one of the most exclusive developments along the Wilshire Corridor, has traded hands for $10.3 million. The $2,240 a square foot paid by the buyer is the the second-highest amount paid for a condominium this year, records show."
• The So-Called Delta Plus Variant of COVID-19 Is Dangerous But Appears Unlikely to Be a Game-Changer - "As if the already worrisome Delta variant, first identified in India, wasn’t concerning enough, now there’s Delta Plus. The latest variant of SARS-CoV-2 was announced by Indian health officials in late June, and labelled by the Indian government as a variant of concern."
• Australia's Covid complacency - "Sydney in lockdown, borders shut and hardly anyone vaccinated. How long can Australia go on like this?"
• ‘Health systems should be prepared’: doctors brace for tsunami of long Covid - "The pain that can't be seen. As the debilitating post-viral condition affects millions around the world, medical experts are scrambling to nail down what causes it - and how to treat it."
• Sufferers of chronic pain have long been told it’s all in their head. We now know that’s wrong - "In the first of a series looking at chronic pain and long Covid, Linda Geddes explores the growing realisation that pain can be a disease in and of itself - and the pandemic could be making it worse."
• Cruising was a Covid disaster. Now it claims to be the 'safest vacation available' - "The world's cruise ships were once titans of the oceans, raking in billions in profit as their city-sized passenger populations traveled across the globe. There's a lot riding on cruise ships remaining virus-free, navigating the red tape, restoring their reputation and returning safely to the seas."
• A billion new trees might not turn Ukraine green - "t was an ambitious signal of green intent when Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky declared this month that a billion extra trees would be planted within three years, and a million hectares would be reforested in a decade."
• Climate Change Is Destroying My Country. The Nations Causing It Must Help - "Islands like the Bahamas are paying the price for wealthier nations’ emissions - an injustice crying out for a global remedy."
• Scandinavia's serene 'islands of peace' - "Europe's most cooperative islands? Surrounded by sea and forest, the 6,700 islands of Åland are idyllic, but Åland's peacefulness runs deeper than its setting."
• Today’s Crypto Fanatics Could Learn a Lot From Isaac Newton’s Money Mishaps - "Since January, U.S. financial markets have been on a tear, a wild ride that began as the Biden administration completed its first full week in power. Five months later, the benchmark Dow and the wider S&P indexes have reached record highs, while individual assets have behaved…well, exuberantly, most spectacularly in the sudden 1,200 percent rise and 40% drop in the price of Dogecoin, a cybercurrency initially launched as a joke."
• Tour de France spectator causes massive crash - "French authorities open investigation after Tour de France spectator causes massive crash."
• 5 Reasons Why You Need A Rolex & 5 Reasons Why You Don’t - "Are you in camp Yea or Nay? We decided to sum up the reasons why people love discussing Rolex."
• How to improve posture & relieve pain with your breath - "In the first article of our series, we established why breathing is your superpower, impacting virtually all aspects of your health and wellness. In this second installment, we take a closer look at how breathing can improve your posture, enhance your mobility, and relieve common aches and pains. I also share the same positional breathing exercises used by Yankees All-Star outfielder Aaron Judge and other professional athletes."
• Palm Jumeirah, Dubai's iconic man-made islands, turns 20 - "Those islands make up Dubai's iconic Palm Jumeirah -- a man-made, palm tree-shaped archipelago home to luxury hotels, pristine beaches, and nearly 80,000 people."
• A look inside Buckingham Palace's $500 million refurbishment - "The Queen has a whopping £369 million ($514 million) budget to refurbish her London pad -- a figure that may seem excessive when she spends most of her time at Windsor Castle these days. This week, the Queen's royal accounts for the past financial year were published, revealing £31.6 million ($44 million) had been spent on the renovation in the past 12 months, up from £16.4 million ($23 million) the year before."
• Matt Hancock’s secret affair with aide Gina Coladangelo is exposed after office snogs while Covid raged on - "Mr Hancock, 42, and millionaire lobbyist Gina were caught on camera in a steamy clinch at his Whitehall office."
• Conan O’Brien Ends Late Night Run, Will Ferrell & Jack Black Join Series Finale - "After nearly three decades, the host's late night run came to an end Thursday."
• John McAfee obituary - "Controversial antivirus software pioneer who entered US politics and became a fugitive from justice."
• AppleTrack leaderboard - Kang: 97.1% accurate. "A mysterious but spot-on source sharing news on Weibo, Kang knows exactly what Apple is working on. To the tee."
• Will vaccines protect us against the Delta variant? - "The virus’s behaviour will be a key factor in how it affects the UK and the wider world, with further mutations almost certain."
• A petition to make Jeff Bezos stay in space has more than 120,000 signatures - here’s how it got started - "With less than a month to go before Jeff Bezos embarks on his 'greatest adventure' with a trip to space, more than a few people here on Earth are making it known they’d prefer it if the wealthiest man on the planet takes a one-way trip and remains in orbit."
• There Is Only One Other Planet In Our Galaxy That Could Be Earth-Like, Say Scientists - "It’s you and me, Kepler-442b. What does it take for an alien exoplanet to host life as we know it? A lot, as it turns out."
• Someone Made A James Bond Deepfake With Jim Carrey Replacing Pierce Brosnan & It’s Wild - "Today’s entry into the world of deepfakery is one that takes the cake, as someone substituted Pierce Brosnan with Jim Carrey in The World is Not Enough, and the results are absolutely wild."
• Pierce Brosnan Admits Being Asked Who Should Play James Bond Next Is 'Sometimes Wearisome' - "The Irish actor starred as Agent 007 from 1995 to 2002."
• Liam Neeson Reveals Ultimatum He Received from Natasha Richardson About Potential James Bond Role - "Neeson, 69, recently revealed he was considered to portray James Bond in the '90s, but that his late wife was not keen on the idea."
• Ghislaine Maxwell began to share ‘little black book’ with Epstein as early as the 1980s - "New documentary reveals sex offender used socialite for access to her famous and rich friends years from the 1980s onwards."
• Speed test: How much faster is iPhone 12 compared to the original iPhone? [Video] - "iPhone has become an incredibly powerful device over the last fourteen years and the early days of the smartphone’s experience can feel like ancient history. Now a new speed test looks to quantify how much faster the iPhone 12 is compared to the original iPhone."
• How to turn off iPhone 12? Here's the mysterious button combination - "Long-pressing the side button on current iPhones only reveals Siri, instead of an option to turn off the phone. We'll show you the trick."
• iOS 15 beta hands-on: 300+ changes and features [Video] - "The initial iOS 15 developer beta has been available for two weeks, and I have a lot to share after some extended hands-on time with this massive release. iPhone users are in for a treat thanks to such features as tag support for the Notes app, Focus modes with customizable Home screens, and major updates to Accessibility. Watch our hands-on video walkthrough as we explore more than 300 of the top iOS 15 features."
• How to enjoy Apple Music Spatial Audio on third-party headphones - "Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos songs are available at no extra charge with your Apple Music subscription. Apple advertises it as being supported by any AirPods, including the original generation. However, in my experience, the effect is most pronounced when using large over-ear headphones but you don’t need the pricey AirPods Max. You can enjoy Apple Music Spatial Audio on headphones like the Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones - here’s how ..."
• He bought a cheap house in Italy. This is what happened next - "Italy's cheap homes bonanza continues to lure hundreds of interested buyers, despite the pandemic. But what happens once someone takes the plunge and invests their (small) chunk of change in a crumbling corner of a remote town?"
• China's changes through one man's lens - "In July, the Chinese Communist Party will celebrate 100 years since its founding. Yan Zhigang has spent four decades photographing the streets, and the people, of China."
• How Cartier has maintained its timeless appeal for nearly two centuries - "Pierre Rainero of Cartier International gives us an insight into the appeal of the luxury maison's timepieces."
• LVMH opens $894 million luxury shopping destination in Paris - "When Samaritaine Paris Pont-Neuf opens its doors on Wednesday for the first time since closing in 2005 for safety reasons, it will become the newest luxury department store on the Parisian landscape. While Galeries Lafayette is best known for its theatrical balconies and Neo-byzantine glass dome, and Le Bon Marché bills itself as the world's oldest continually operating department store, Samaritaine Paris Pont-Neuf's big draw will be its location."
• Stories to save the world: the new wave of climate fiction - "Now more than ever, novelists are facing up to the unthinkable: the climate crisis. Claire Armitstead talks to Margaret Atwood, Amitav Ghosh and more about the new cli-fi."
• Generational amnesia: The memory loss that harms the planet - "As each new generation inherits the world, vital knowledge is forgotten. In the latest in our Wise Words series, Richard Fisher explores the language that has emerged to describe that phenomenon."
• Yellowstone: report reveals extent of climate threat to oldest US national park - "Researchers say temperatures, already the highest in the past 20,000 years, could increase by up to 10F by 2100."
• Are these Gucci’s most sustainable sneakers yet? - "Gucci unveils three trainer styles, the ‘Basket’, ‘New Ace’ and ‘Rhyton’, crafted using Demetra, a new alternative to animal leather that has taken two years to create."
• The newest Aston Martin pays homage to the marque's oldest surviving model - "The A3 Vantage Roadster is named for the third car made by the firm 100 years ago."
• Panasonic turned its $30 million Tesla investment into a $3.6 billion windfall - "At the same time, it's ready to make a 'large investment' in Tesla's latest cells."
• Berlin’s No 1 digital detective agency is on the trail of human rights abusers - "Investigators in Germany are using Google Earth, YouTube clips and social media posts to bring political crimes to the courts."
• Princess Charlene WON'T return to Monaco for her 10th wedding anniversary next week because she's undergoing 'multiple procedures' for an infection she contracted in South Africa - "The royal, 43, hasn't been seen in Monaco since January, but her husband Prince Albert and their six-year-old twins Princess Gabriella and Hereditary Prince Jacques visited her in South Africa earlier this month."
• Who needs COVID-19 boosters? - "The immunocompromised might be first."
• The Oxford vaccine: the trials & tribulations of a world-saving jab - "Amid bemusement from scientists at the deluge of often undeserved criticism, the Guardian pieces together the story behind the vaccine’s successes and failures."
• Italy moves to halt overtourism before travel restarts - "Its founder calls it 'the biggest shakeup in Italy' in the past decade, it's been hailed as a 'vital way to combat overtourism,' and now it's ready: the region of Tuscany has taken the first step towards becoming one giant gallery."
• Italy has a new way to combat overtourism - "Enter the Uffizi Diffusi project. Meaning 'scattered Uffizi,' it's a reimagining of Italy's 'scattered hotel' concept, in which individual 'rooms' are located in different houses of a village. In this project, artworks stored in the Uffizi's deposit will be put on show throughout the surrounding area of Tuscany, turning Italy's most famous region into one big 'scattered' museum."
• Rome's Colosseum opens its underground for the first time in its history - "It is not only the first time in 2,000 years that the area -- described as the 'heart' of the building -- has been open; since the underground levels, or 'hypogea,' were where gladiators and animals waited before going into combat, this is the first time in the monument's history that the public has ever been allowed in."
• Deserted Dubai Airport terminal comes back to life - "After retaining its crown in 2019 as the world's busiest airport for international passengers, by early 2021 the effects of the pandemic had left many of its corridors and gates standing empty, like other such facilities around the world."
• Monaco’s curfew lifted from today, Saturday June 26 - "HSH Prince Albert has decided to continue the easing of coronavirus restrictions, the Government said in a press release late on Friday."
• 10 of the world's best hotels for when it's time to splurge - "From tropical island escapes from the Maldives to Hawaii, to glamorous urban getaways in Sydney and Hollywood and Singapore, we're dreaming of -- and saving for -- these post-pandemic splurges."
• Isles of Scilly: The exotic island paradise off the coast of England - "Atlantic Grey seals just meters away, rare in many places but not here on the Isles of Scilly, an isolated archipelago off the UK's Cornish coast, slung out into the middle of the Atlantic."
• Meet 'dragon man,' the latest addition to the human family tree - "The well-preserved skullcap, found in the Chinese city of Harbin, is between 138,000 and 309,000 years old, according to geochemical analysis, and it combines primitive features, such as a broad nose and low brow and braincase, with those that are more similar to Homo sapiens, including flat and delicate cheekbones."
• a film franchise like no other - "F9: How the Fast & Furious films define the 21st Century. A series that began 20 years ago with a modest thriller has morphed into an gleefully OTT action-soap opera. It perfectly represents how cinema has changed."
• EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE PENTAGON’S UFO REPORT - "For those who feel abducted by the recent UFO hype, this one’s for you."
• Trump Organization could face criminal charges in New York next week - "The Manhattan district attorney has informed lawyers for Donald Trump that criminal charges against the Trump Organization are possible, a lawyer for Trump confirmed on Friday."
• Chipolo's One Spot isn't quite an AirTag, but at least it has a hole - "By looking less premium, it might do a better job."
• The tragic love story behind Jackie Collins' house - "The year after British novelist Jackie Collins died following a private battle with breast cancer in 2015, a listing went up for her 21,784-square-foot house -- an 8-bedroom Beverly Hills property inspired by the clean lines and Pop Art color blocking of David Hockney's pool painting 'A Bigger Splash.'"
• Driven By Detail: Pair Your Bespoke Ferrari With A Bespoke Ferrari Model - "In a first-of-its-kind collaboration, customers buying their new Ferrari dream-car can now also order an exacting 1:8 or 1:12 bespoke model replica (or even multiple replicas) of their exact car as easily as ordering any other factory option."
• A New Bronze Age: Tudor Goes Full Bronze On The Case And Bracelet Of The Black Bay Fifty-Eight - "Tudor has been mixing things up with metals lately. The Black Bay Fifty-Eight collection was launched in 2018 as a steel sports watch, but Tudor came out with a solid gold case earlier this year, followed by a rare sterling silver model. Now it is going full bronze, not just on the case but on the bracelet as well."
• U.S. COVID-19 Outbreak Is Still Bad - And It Could Get Worse - TIME Magazine.
• 27 Cheapest Places To Travel This Summer - "As more and more Americans are getting vaccinated, they are traveling in droves. According to the travel app Hopper.com, searches for hotels are up a whopping 130% since the beginning of 2021, and AAA is predicting that the travel volume for the upcoming the Fourth of July holiday could be the second-highest on record. But here’s the rub: Cheap travel and cheap flights are a thing of the past and there aren’t many travel deals out there right now, since high demand comes with high prices."
• Rembrandt’s Night Watch uncropped by AI 300 years after it was trimmed - "A marriage of art and artificial intelligence has enabled Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum to recreate parts of the iconic 'Night Watch' painting that were snipped off 70 years after Rembrandt finished it."
• 'Hotels on rails': Plans for new network of European sleeper trains unveiled - "Just a few years ago, it looked as though European sleeper trains were on their way to becoming a thing of the past as services were continually cut back."
• Watch the Windows 11 event in under 8 minutes - "Get a closer look at the future of Windows."
• Microsoft announces Windows 11, with a new design, Start menu & more - "A new version of Windows is officially on the way."
• See Ferrari's new plug-in hybrid - "Ferrari's latest hybrid supercar, the 296 GTB, can only travel up to 15 miles on its electric motor, but can hit top speeds above 205 mph."
• On Road With The Aston Martin Vantage F1 Edition - "Fast & Luxurious: Driving On Road And Track In The Aston Martin Vantage F1 Edition."
• US billionaires don’t pay tax & our politicians don’t seem bothered - "Fifteen years of tax information on thousands of plutocrats is one of the biggest stories of the decade. And yet ... crickets."
• Billionaire Peter Thiel amasses $5bn tax-free nest egg in retirement account - "Billionaire Peter Thiel, one of the founders of PayPal, has used a retirement account designed to help ordinary Americans save for their golden years to amass a $5bn tax-free nest egg, according to records obtained by ProPublica."
• New type of ancient human discovered in Israel - "Researchers working in Israel have identified a previously unknown type of ancient human that lived alongside our species more than 100,000 years ago."
• The Britney Spears conservatorship case explained - "US pop star Britney Spears has called for an end to the 'abusive' management of her business and personal affairs, telling an LA court: 'I want my life back'."
• I have ‘pandemic brain’. Will I ever be able to concentrate again? - "When lockdown hit, I became distracted, unfocused - and overwhelmed. But there are ways to recover."
• How the pandemic got us addicted to longing - and why it’s bad for us - "Neuroscience suggests our brains are wired to crave what we don’t have. Dopamine (known as the happy hormone) is released not when we get what we want, but when we anticipate getting it. Our brains release more dopamine planning a vacation than taking it. Even thinking about touch you crave can trigger the release of dopamine in the reward system."
• RANSOM NOTES - Ransomware funds more ransomware, so how do we stop it?
• Mystery of the wheelie suitcase - "How gender stereotypes held back the history of invention. Why have some brilliant innovations - from rolling luggage to electric cars - taken so long to come to market? Macho culture has a lot to answer for."
• Just 10% of the world has been vaccinated - "The United States has fully vaccinated more than 45% of its population against Covid-19, official data shows, but just 10% of the world's population -- around 782 million people -- is fully inoculated, according to Our World in Data. The figures highlight the persistence of global inequality in access to vaccines, which are highly effective in preventing illness and death, and will help economies recover from the pandemic."
• Is it safe to travel this summer? A medical expert explains - "As more people get vaccinated and coronavirus infection rates drop in many parts of the world, people are traveling again in larger numbers."
• Why 2021’s heat waves are so brutal - "A heat dome makes drought and fire worse in the West."
• You Can Buy More Things Than Ever With Crypto. Here’s Why You Shouldn’t - "You can buy more things than ever with cryptocurrency these days, from video games to new furniture. But should you?"
• IPCC steps up warning on climate tipping points in leaked draft report - "Scientists increasingly concerned about thresholds beyond which recovery may become impossible."
• Most new wind & solar projects will be cheaper than coal, report finds - "Almost two-thirds of renewable energy schemes built globally last year expected to undercut coal costs."
• Cloud spraying & hurricane slaying: how ocean geoengineering became the frontier of the climate crisis - "Around the world, dozens of ingenious projects are trying to ‘trick’ the ocean into absorbing more CO2. But critics warn of unforeseen consequences."
• Microsoft joins Apple in the ultra-exclusive $2T company club - "Demand for Microsoft's products has soared since the pandemic forced many people to stay home."
• $125,000 balloon trips to the edge of space - "A Florida company is planning to fly passengers to the edge of space in a high-tech version of a hot air balloon, with a pilot and up to eight travelers riding in a pressurized capsule suspended from an enormous blimp."
• World’s Largest Jet Returns To The Skies After 10 Months - "The world’s heaviest and longest operational aircraft, the Antonov An-225, made its first flight in almost a year on Tuesday. The 84 meter giant of the skies took off from Kyiv’s Gostomel Antonov Airport on Tuesday evening (local time). At the time of publication, the plane is winging its way east over West Asia."
• $7.8 Million Patek Philippe Silk Road Watch Claims World Record - "Watch fans will recognise the watch as 'The Silk Road,' so dubbed for its depiction of the Eurasian landmass. It’s also the first of 11 Ref. 2523 models, and it’s one of only three with the Eurasian design. The watch has a cloisonné enamel dial. Two crowns are used on the watch - one to wind it and the other to control the city ring. The city ring allows the wearer to calculate the current time in 40 cities, all of which are listed on the watch’s circumference. Powering the watch is a Swiss 'time only' 12-ligne movement (cal. 12-400), which was personally modified by Louis Cottier, who invented the world time system."
• The Best New Watches, From Panerai’s Sustainable Diver to Breguet’s Double Tourbillons - "From ultra-thin movements to recycled materials, the best new watches put a premium on innovation."
• This Trio of Ultra Rare Royal Oak Watches Could Fetch Close to $600,000 at Auction - "Antiquorum will sell the three Audemars Piguet examples at Monte-Carlo’s Hôtel de Paris on July 21st."
• Baselworld Announces Return, Sets 2022 Dates - "It's now in head-to-head competition with Watches & Wonders."
• Britney Spears speaks out against 'abusive' conservatorship at hearing - "US pop star Britney Spears has spoken out against her conservatorship at a court hearing in Los Angeles."
• James Bond's French haunts give licence to thrill - "For James Bond aficionados, the boardroom murder of a disobedient member of Ernst Stavro Blofeld's crime syndicate SPECTRE is part of 007 mythology. Less well known is that the brutal scene, as written by Ian Fleming in Thunderball, takes place in the heart of the French capital: on the third floor of number 136 Boulevard Haussmann, to be precise, a short walk from the BBC office."
• How to decode a food label - "The information on a processed food label may seem obvious, but there's often more to decipher than first appears."
• What your digital body language says - "The digital body language cues you send - or don't send. Online, as in real-life, it's not just what you say - but how you say it."
• Diana Ross’s best looks - "Stop! In the name of style." As the Supremes singer prepares to release her first new album in 15 years, we look back on her effortless, classic fashion.
• Apple Daily - was a Traditional Chinese tabloid-style newspaper in Hong Kong in publication from 1995 to 2021. Founded in 1995 by Jimmy Lai, it was once one of the best-selling Chinese newspapers in Hong Kong. In June 2021, the government of Carrie Lam forced the closure of the journal in Hong Kong by conducting a high-profile raid and the arrest of company executives on 17 June 2021; and the asset freeze order issued by the Secretary of Security Bureau John Lee for allegedly violating the national security law. The paper was unable to continue operational existence due to the freezing of the local bank accounts of the journal as well as the personal accounts of proprietor Jimmy Lai.
• Timeline of events leading to the closure of Hong Kong’s Apple Daily - "Key moments in the recent history of territory’s largest pro-democracy newspaper."
• Delta Plus: Scientists say too early to tell risk of Covid-19 variant - "India has classified a new variant of the coronavirus first identified in Europe as a 'variant of concern', but it's too early to really tell."
• Covid vaccine map: how are countries around the world doing? - "More than 2bn Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered worldwide. Find out which countries are vaccinating the most."
• Trump wanted to send infected Americans to Guantanamo Bay, book says - "Washington Post reporter Dan Diamond analyzes a new book that says former President Donald Trump repeatedly suggested sending Americans infected with Covid-19 to Guantanamo Bay."
• World gained 5.2m millionaires last year in Covid crisis - report - "Wealth gap has widened as rich cash in on rising shares and house prices, says Credit Suisse."
• Why This Week’s ‘Strawberry Moon’ Will Be So Low, So Late And So Luminous - "June’s full Moon is the lowest and the latest to rise of 2021. It also happens to be one of the brightest full Moons of the year. Here’s why - and also why it’s not going to be red like a strawberry, but a beautiful orange color that’s sure to stun."
• Lab analysis of Subway tuna sandwiches fails to identify tuna DNA - "New York Times commissions test of 60in worth of tuna sandwiches but researchers were unable to pinpoint a species."
• Why the Queen never wears beige - "Decoding the Queen's colorful style."
• The Scandinavian way to zero-carbon construction - "Cities like Oslo, Helsinki and Copenhagen are working to clean up one of the world's most high-emission industries."
• How Scandinavians Celebrate Midsummer Eve - "Many Danes and Norwegians follow centuries-old traditions by creating and lighting bonfires. Some say it kept the lands fertile, while others were convinced it would keep away witches."
• Elephants' 500km-trek across China baffles scientists - "Elephants are by nature fiercely intelligent beasts and experts who study them day in day out already know a great deal about them."
• The real urban jungle: how ancient societies reimagined what cities could be - "They may be vine-smothered ruins today, but the lost cities of the ancient tropics still have a lot to teach us about how to live alongside nature."
• Which iMac Is Your iMac? Intel Vs. M1 Desktops Compared - "When Apple first announced it would switch to processors of its own design for Macs, and that the transition to fully replacing its Intel-based computers would take two years, it also introduced a period of uncertainty for those who needed to buy a new Mac sooner rather than later. Go ahead and get an Intel-based Mac now? Or wait for just the right Mac with an M1 chip to be released? "
• Inside Cara Delevingne's fun-filled LA home - "The floor plan of Cara Delevingne's home probably looks more like a tabletop board game than a structurally sound blueprint. From a fiery-red poker room to a therapeutic ball pit and walk-in closet for costume party emergencies, every inch of Delevingne's home appears to be designed with one thing in mind: fun."
• Test-Driving The 2021 Porsche Panamera GTS - "2021 Porsche Panamera Preview: What’s New For 2021. Porsche’s entire lineup consists of performance-oriented cars apart from the Panamera which is meant to take on the likes of the 4-door Mercedes AMG GT63, Audi RS7, and BMW M8."
• Why career breaks hit your confidence so hard - "Time off from work - of any length - can shake your faith in your capability. Here's why you feel unsteady, and what you can do about it."
• The treasure inside beer lost in a shipwreck 120 years ago - "Long-forgotten yeast strains are being sought out from shipwrecks, abandoned breweries and other locations in the hope they could be put to good use if resurrected."
• America may never be the same after Covid - "America is heading into a best of times, worst of times summer as the longed-for promise of deliverance from Covid-19 is tempered by spasms of violent crime, economic false starts and unexpected obstacles on the road to freedom."
• US Covid deaths dip below 300 a day for first time since March last year - "Approaching milestone of 150 million Americans vaccinated but Biden falls short of target to send 80m doses abroad."
• Windmills of your mind: viral Covid jab ‘hack’ placebo effect at best, say doctors - "TikTok users have posted videos of themselves swinging their arms after vaccination to prevent aches."
• World's most expensive cities for expats in 2021 revealed - "Ashgabat in Turkmenistan is the most expensive city in the world for overseas workers, according to this year's Mercer Cost of Living Survey."
• Great Barrier Reef should be listed as 'in danger', Unesco says - "The Great Barrier Reef should be put on a list of World Heritage Sites that are 'in danger' over harm caused by climate change, Unesco says."
• ‘The next pandemic’: drought is a hidden global crisis, UN says - "Countries urged to take urgent action on managing water and land and tackling the climate emergency."
• Bill & Melinda Gates divorce throws spotlight on money manager - "The management of Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates fortune has drawn little scrutiny, but the couple’s announced split is casting a spotlight."
• Frank Sinatra hated being linked to mobsters - "Frank Sinatra hated reports linking him to the Mafia - and believed that the only reason he was portrayed in the media as mobbed up was anti-Italian sentiment, his former road manager Tony Oppedisano told Page Six."
• iPhone 13 name off-putting, say Apple fans; iPhone (2021) better - "The iPhone 13 name would be off-putting to some 18% of iPhone and iPad users, who would describe themselves as triskaidekaphobic - that is, having a fear of the number 13."
• What are floating breakfasts & why have they become so popular? - "While these breakfasts have become more common on resort menus over the last five years, the coronavirus pandemic has made them more popular than ever as hotel guests are avoiding buffets and communal dining rooms."
• 8 ways to get back lost fitness & motivation - "The pandemic has left many of us feeling tired, out of sorts and beaten. But it is possible to get your exercise rhythm back. Here’s how."
• Why single people smell different - "There is a wealth of psychological and biological information stored in our scent, but for some reason we choose to ignore it."
• What makes the ultimate Hollywood power couple - "The ultimate Hollywood power couples. The apparent reunion of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez has prompted mass jubilation. They are in a lineage of star romances that the world has fallen for, writes Christina Newland."
• Climb Aboard This 376-Foot-Long LaFerrari-Inspired Superyacht - "Project Enzo - the code name for the 376-foot-long superyacht that Lürssen just launched at their facility in Germany - is perfect for several reasons. First, it seems to pay homage to Enzo Ferrari, the legendary Italian race car builder whose name is synonymous with speed, style, performance, uncompromising quality, and unmitigated sex appeal. It’s also a nod to a specific Ferrari design—the LaFerrari supercar—that inspired the Italian superyacht designers Nuvolari–Lenard when they created the exterior and interior lines."
• Sotheby’s To Accept Crypto For 101-Carat D-Flawless Diamond - "The gem in question is 'The Key 101.38,' a pear-shaped diamond of 101.38 carats with flawless clarity and D-color, the highest color and clarity grades for a colorless diamond. Along with fiat, the auction house will also accept bitcoin and ethereum as payment for the gem."
• Rifkin’s Festival movie review: Woody Allen at his most lacklustre & derivative in Spain-set feature - "It wouldn’t be a Woody Allen film without a character who’s a surrogate for the director. Wallace Shawn plays Mort Rifkin but is really not up to the task. The observations about life the 85-year-old Allen has his characters regurgitate throughout feel tired. If this is the best he has to offer, he should retire."
• 1,000,000,000 vaccine doses administered - "China has administered more than 1 billion Covid-19 vaccine doses."
• The slow transitions of a lingering pandemic - "COVID-19 is ebbing in some parts of the world."
• How COVID-19 Vaccination Became a Climate Metaphor - "Climate advocates say failure to share vaccines could signal to developing countries that wealthy nations will leave them behind on climate."
• UN blasts world leaders for failing to seal $100bn-a-year deal on climate - "Financial aid ‘critical’ to help developing countries limit fossil fuels - and make Cop26 a success, says UN."
• INTERACTIVE: Meet 7 defenders of the big lie - "Assault on democracy. Paths to insurrection."
• New Princess Diana death details - "The REAL reason Diana was in Paris on night of crash: Princess delayed return to Britain to avoid Tory backlash over landmines campaign, former aide reveals."
• The Lazarus heist: How North Korea almost pulled off a billion-dollar hack - "In 2016 North Korean hackers planned a $1bn raid on Bangladesh's national bank and came within an inch of success - it was only by a fluke that all but $81m of the transfers were halted, report Geoff White and Jean H Lee. But how did one of the world's poorest and most isolated countries train a team of elite cyber-criminals?"
• iOS 15 hidden features - 11 changes that make your iPhone better - "Meet some of the smaller iOS 15 enhancements that will impact how you use your iPhone."
• High stress may make ‘broken heart syndrome’ more likely, study finds - Condition also known as takotsubo cardiomyopathy is brought on by an acute emotional shock
• ‘Let’s consider the type of food we eat, not fixate on calories’ - "The scientist and broadcaster, Giles Yeo, discusses the drawbacks of calorie-counting and BMI in measuring obesity, and how our growing understanding of genetics is leading to new treatments."
• International Day of Yoga: Muted celebrations due to Covid-19 - "People in India and around the world are marking the seventh International Day of Yoga. But celebrations have been scaled down this year due to the coronavirus pandemic."
• 50 Best Movies on Netflix Right Now - "The sheer volume of films on Netflix - and the site’s less than ideal interface - can make finding a genuinely great movie there a difficult task." The New York Times.
• Can NFTs work for luxury jewellery? - "The NFT debate is now running through the market for diamonds and luxury jewellery. Royal jeweller Asprey plans to issue NFTs, but others are staying away - for now."
• Icecap diamonds - "The Hardest Asset Is Now Liquid." Non-fungible Token Hard Asset Diamond Investment. Safely add diamonds to your investment portfolio via blockchain technology.
• 2021 Mercedes-Maybach S 680 - "New car fit for a billionaire." The buyers of these opulent machines will almost never sit in the front seats, we find out just how the top one per cent get around.
• New Leica-Branded Smartphone Features the Biggest Phone Camera on the Market - "The phone comes equipped with a massive 20-megapiexel, 1-inch sensor."
• Brazil hits 500,000 deaths amid 'critical' situation - "The number of deaths related to Covid-19 has passed 500,000 in Brazil, the second-highest in the world, as experts say the outbreak could worsen amid slow vaccination and the start of winter."
• Even Vaccinated People Are Nervous About Going Back to 'Normal.' Here's How to Cope - TIME Magazine.
• Our world in data - "Research & data to make progress against the world’s largest problems."
• iPhone bug 'breaks' your WiFi when you join an oddly-named network - "You can fix it, but only with some hassle."
• iOS 15: Here’s everything new with the Notes app - At the beginning of June, Apple previewed iOS 15 during its WWDC21 keynote. Although most of the company’s focus was on FaceTime and iMessage, the Notes app is receiving a handful of new features with the upcoming operating system. Here’s our roundup of everything new with it.
• Apple Music is becoming the best streaming service - "Spatial Audio is changing everything on Apple Music, at no extra cost."
• unlock your iPhone/iPad’s passcode instantly - "iToolab UnlockGo allows you to easily bypass the iPhone passcode and gain full access to the device. It works on the following scenarios, and all kinds of passcodes are fully supported."
• How To Read A Watch Bezel - "Bezel utility doesn’t strictly count as a complication, as it works independently of the movement inside of the watch. The following article encompasses how to read a watch bezel."
• Why You Suddenly Need To Delete Google Maps On Your iPhone - "Forget this year’s punchy headlines pitching Tim Cook against Mark Zuckerberg - it’s arguably now Google as much as Facebook that’s in Apple’s sights. This has serious implications for 1-billion-plus iPhone users as the fight for your data and your loyalty has suddenly intensified. This is the context behind recent updates from Apple and Google. And this is why it’s time to start deleting apps - including Google Maps."
• Inside Cristiano Ronaldo’s $25m Private Jet - "The first one to arrive at training and the last one to leave, Cristiano Ronaldo always goes the extra mile to keep on top of his game. This mentality translates across the superstar’s life. As the footballer continues to break records during the Euro 2020 tournament, we thought we’d take a look at the private jet he flies."
• Why you've never had 'real' sushi - "Funazushi: The fermented predecessor of modern sushi. For the past 18 generations, one family has preserved a 400-year-old recipe showing how sushi once tasted, and it doesn't use raw seafood, but fish aged for three years."
• 3 Different Types Of Suits | Off The Rack, Made To Measure, Bespoke - He Spoke Style. YouTube 10:54.
• Forget SUVs. These auto makers think tiny electric cars are the next big thing - "Americans have long had a love affair with big SUVs that can carry more people and stuff than they usually need to transport and go much further than most of us drive in a day. But now there's a number of start ups that are betting they can sell car shoppers on vehicles that offer the exact opposite."
• Police interviewed Prince Charles over ‘plot to kill Diana’ - "Former Met chief reveals he questioned prince as a witness in 2005 about note written by princess."
• THE RISE OF CARDANO. WILL IT CONTINUE GROWING? - "The turmoil of market fluctuations in May had affected every cryptocurrency. Bitcoin prices started plummeting with Etherum following its trail. However, did you know Cardano was standing strong against the turmoil? On May 13th, Cardano reached a high of US$2.10 whereas the front runners - Bitcoin and Ether dropped down to US$46,800 and US$3500 respectively. Overall, since 2019, Cardano is up over 1,700%."
• The Rosenbergs were executed for spying in 1953. Can their sons reveal the truth? - "Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were sent to the electric chair for being Soviet spies, but their sons have spent decades trying to clear their mother’s name. Are they close to a breakthrough?"
• Hands-on: Snapback Slim Air wallet packs a dedicated AirTag slot & can hold 6 cards & cash - "AirTags are here and the accessory market around the new item tracker is expanding quickly. While there are lots of keychains, cases, and other similar options to attach an AirTag to things, we haven’t seen as many wallets that are compatible with it. With a super minimal design, the Snapback Slim Air wallet for AirTags caught our eye, here’s our review."
• Four unhelpful myths about dementia: ‘Our bleak view is often unjustified’ - "Enduring myths lead to an undue anguish and reluctance to seek help for dementia. If you’re aware of them, prevention and delay are possible."
• ‘There are viruses just waiting in the wings’: how do we stop the next pandemic? - "Understanding the connection between humans, animals and the environment is key to planning for future pandemics, experts warn."
• In hunt for Covid’s origin, new studies point away from lab leak theory - "Amid the heavily politicised debate, a lot of evidence now points to a natural spillover event – but other causes cannot be ruled out."
• The Telegram Billionaire & His Dark Empire - "Telegram is one of the world's most popular chat apps - and possibly the most dangerous. There is little regulation of the platform, which is popular with criminals and terrorists. Who is the mastermind behind it?"
• ‘Would you like a ski room with that?’ On board the new superyachts - "Banja spas, jacuzzi islands, helipads and centrifuges... Here’s the spec on what’s hot right now."
• 5 Maserati MC20 Prototypes Caught In Front Of Ferrari Factory - "Here's something you don't see every day. The MC20, Maserati’s 'brilliant in-house effort,' is a model we have been waiting for for quite long. The Italian brand finally has a proper two-seater, mid-engine sports car with a killer V6 engine, roomy cabin, and striking design. Like it or not, it’s going to be Maserati’s flagship model for at least several years."
• Which Is Porsche’s Acceleration King, The Taycan Turbo S Or The 911 GT2 RS? - "Whereas the Taycan hit 62 mph (100 km/h) in 2.67 seconds, the GT2 RS needed 3.26 seconds. However, the 911 was much quicker from 62 mph - 124 mph, setting a time of 5.36 seconds compared to the 6.36 seconds of the Taycan."
• Porsche Announces Plethora Of Updates To Its Infotainment Tech - "Software is becoming a vital part of the automotive experience as automakers further digitize the automobile, an essential middleman in how we interact with our cars. Car companies big and small are introducing new infotainment software, voice assistants, and smartphone apps. Porsche is no different, today introducing Porsche Communication Management 6.0 - a suite of software goodies designed to help occupants tailor their driving experience."
• The best DACs for Apple Music Lossless in 2021 - "All the equipment you need to listen to hifi audio wherever you are."
• ‘I put my life savings in crypto’: how a generation of amateurs got hooked on high-risk trading - "Online trading apps are drawing in novice investors willing to risk everything on volatile stocks. Do they really know what they’re doing?"
• Daniel Craig's personal trainer explains how James Bond star got his 007 bod - "Daniel Craig has often been hailed for his physique while playing James Bond and Simon Waterson has spoken about how he helped the actor achieve it."
• ‘Just don’t show her body!’ Netflix makes a true crime show with a difference - "A Murder in West Cork delves into the killing of Sophie Toscan du Plantier – but this doc makes her more than a victim. Its creators discuss how they fused intrigue with empathy."
• Elon Musk announces he is selling his last home a little more than a year after vowing to 'rid himself of all possessions' - "A little more than a year since his vow last May to sell nearly all of his possessions, and 'own no house,' billionaire CEO Elon Musk appears to be nearing his goal, announcing Monday that he plans to sell his last remaining home."
• Crazy rich Indian mansions: from Mukesh Ambani’s Antilia to Shah Rukh Khan’s Mannat & Gautam Singhania’s JK House - "Take a peek inside 5 of the country’s most OTT luxury homes."
• Earth is trapping ‘unprecedented’ amount of heat, Nasa says - "Scientists from agency and Noaa say Earth’s ‘energy imbalance’ roughly doubled from 2005 to 2019 in ‘alarming’ way."
• In North Korea a packet of coffee costs $100, and that's a problem for Kim Jong Un - "North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has bigger problems than the United States right now. He needs to feed his people, and his options are not good."
• The tragedy behind Italy's famous pasta dish - "What's Italy's best pasta sauce? That's the kind of question that can start a fight in the home of spaghetti and tortellini."
• Drinking straw device is instant cure for hiccups, say scientists - "Sipping water through an L-shaped ‘suction and swallow tool’ cured 92% of attacks, according to study."
• More than half of Europe’s cities still plagued by dirty air, report finds - "Data shows only 127 of 323 cities had acceptable PM 2.5 levels despite drop in emissions during lockdowns."
• Previous Covid infection may not offer long-term protection, study finds - "Research found marked differences in immune response of medical staff six months after contracting virus."
• 30 most bizarre lines from Donald Trump's interview with Sean Hannity - "Out of office and having shut down his revolutionary communications site blog, former President Donald Trump has lost much of his ability to drive the daily national political conversation."
• One of the world's largest diamonds has been unearthed in Botswana - "The 1,098-carat stone, believed to be the third largest 'gem-quality' diamond ever found, was presented to President Mokgweetsi Masisi on Wednesday."
• tech uses augmented reality to give surgeons 'superpowers' - "A new medical device collaboration is giving surgeons 'x-ray vision,' by fusing digitally enhanced images directly into the microscope of a surgical device."
• You Can Get iOS 15’s ‘Live Text’ On Your iPhone Now - But Not From Apple - "As revealed earlier this month in Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, the next versions of iOS, macOS and iPadOS 15 this fall include a feature called Live Text, which looks remarkably useful. It lets you search for text in an image via the Photos app, copy that text and then paste it into another document."
• Robert Altman’s 20 best films - ranked! - "From The Long Goodbye to Short Cuts, Altman’s innovative movies have influenced a generation of film-makers. With the re-release of Nashville and a BFI tribute, we rank the work of one of America’s greatest directors."
• Michael Caine photographed by Terry O’Neill - in pictures - "One of the UK’s most acclaimed actors, Michael Caine has been captured over the decades by his collaborator and longtime friend, photographer Terry O’Neill."
• 10 of the best piers & promenades in the UK - "Seaside strolls are all the better for a classic, characterful pier or the views and attractions of a waterside prom."
• Apple AirTags UX teardown: The trade-off between privacy & user experience - "Apple’s location devices - called AirTags - have been out for more than a month now. The initial impressions were good, but as we concluded back in April: 'It will be interesting to see these play out once AirTags are out getting lost in the wild.'"
• The surprising origin of sushi - "Funazushi: the fermented predecessor of modern sushi. For the past 18 generations, one family has preserved a 400-year-old recipe showing how sushi once tasted, and it doesn't use raw seafood, but fish aged for three years."
• The truth about processed foods' environmental impact - "Processed food conjures up images of giant, resource-guzzling factories - hardly good for the planet. But could processing actually help reduce food's carbon footprint?"
• The clever folds to keep letters secret - "Hundreds of years ago, people developed ingenious methods to secure their letters from prying eyes - and they did it with only paper, adhesive and folds."
• The Supper at Emmaus: A coded symbol hidden in a masterpiece - "Caravaggio's The Supper at Emmaus features a snag in a wicker basket that mirrors an underground Christian emblem, writes Kelly Grovier."
• Jacob & Co. Teams With Universal Pictures, Produces $580,000 Fast & Furious Twin Turbo Watch - "Swiss watch brand Jacob & Co., whose motto is 'inspired by the impossible' has teamed with Universal Pictures’ Fast & Furious movie saga to create a limited-edition Fast & Furious Twin Turbo watch."
• Vacheron Constantin Just Opened Its Biggest Store in the World in New York City - "Inside you'll find vintage pieces, ultra-rare one-of-a-kinds and plenty of classics like the American 1921."
• How iOS 15 transforms the way we think of iPhone updates - "Users who fear iOS updates now have an alternative."
• The 8 Beatles B-sides that were better than the A-sides - "The single is a curious thing for us in the 21st century. With streaming services now our primary way of discovering new music, the idea of picking up your favourite band’s new single from your local record store is the stuff of nostalgia-hued dreams. What’s perhaps even more alien is that those single releases always came with a B-side, an essential component to the vinyl releases that have since become a treasured piece of musical history."
• Princess Diana's Voice Coach Promised He Wouldn't Write a Book Until William & Harry Were Married - "It's a biography almost 25 years in the making. Princess Diana's voice coach Stewart Pearce is finally opening up about his experience working with the late royal in the new book Diana the Voice of Change. But he's only publishing it after keeping a decades-long promise to the Princess about when he'd share their story."
• Diana The Voice of Change Paperback - Amazon.com.
• The film Stanley Kubrick compared to "a child's drawing on a fridge" - "Eventually, Stanley Kubrick’s debut film, Fear and Desire was completed, much to the dismay of the director himself, who denounced his work as 'a bumbling amateur film exercise' and a 'completely inept oddity'."
• 2022 Porsche 911 GT3 Touring is definitely the one to get - "No wing? No problem. Driving the new Porsche 911 GT3 is pure bliss. It's sharp and visceral, unfiltered yet refined. The GT3 is truly a benchmark for sports cars, and its new Touring package should make this 911 totally sublime."
• Hacking bitcoin wallets with quantum computers could happen - but cryptographers are racing to build a workaround - "Within a decade, quantum computing is expected to be able to hack into cell phones, bank accounts, email addresses and bitcoin wallets."
• CureVac COVID-19 vaccine - was a COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by CureVac N.V. and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). The vaccine showed disappointing results in its Phase III trials with only 47% efficacy.
• With an empire of handbags & cognac, Bernard Arnault elbows past tech titan Jeff Bezos to top world’s richest list - "French luxury mogul Bernard Arnault isn’t sending anybody into outer space, but his fortunes sure are taking off."
• CDC now calls coronavirus Delta variant a 'variant of concern' - "The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now calls the Delta variant of the novel coronavirus, also known as B.1.617.2, a 'variant of concern.'"
• What are the Delta variant symptoms? - "The Delta variant of Covid-19, first identified in India, has changed how the virus is spreading, and the measures governments have to take to stop it. It has also changed the symptoms with a headache, sore throat and runny nose now the most commonly reported."
• Amazon’s COVID-19 test is now available to consumers - "The test was originally used for Amazon employees."
• New drug cuts deaths among patients with no Covid antibodies - "Oxford University trial reports cocktail of manmade antibodies reduces fatalities by a fifth."
• Scientists convert used plastic bottles into vanilla flavouring - "Production of chemical could help make recycling more attractive and tackle global plastic pollution."
• Trump insists he’s writing ‘book of all books’ but big publishers unlikely to touch it - "Figures at major houses said book might stoke ‘staff uprising’ and it would be ‘too hard to get a book that was factually accurate’."
• 5 summer books & other things to do at home - "Whether you’re looking for a distraction or just spending a lot more time at home, you can’t beat reading a book." Gates Notes. The Blog of Bill Gates.
• ASTON MARTIN DBX VS BENTLEY BENTAYGA VS LAMBORGHINI URUS VS PORSCHE CAYENNE - TopGear.
• Eat a banana! Get off Twitter! How to be more productive at work - "Finding it hard to get things done? Here are some expert strategies to get on top of your job."
• Wealth secret of the super rich revealed: be born into a rich family - "The 10 richest dynasties, such as those behind Walmart and Mars, grew their net worth by $136bn during the pandemic, report finds."
• Want to stick to your budget? Open six bank accounts - "Dividing money up lets you keep track of it, says financial adviser Victoria Devine, and while six may seem a lot, each has a purpose."
• Apple wants owners of old iPhones, iPads to download important update. Check details - "Apple has released a new software update for older iPhones. The update brings some important security features. The company recently rolled out the iOS 12.5.4 update for older iPhones and iPads. Apple has stated that 'this update provides important security updates and is recommended for all users.'"
• Tim Berners-Lee is selling the original code for the World Wide Web as an NFT - "The World Wide Web's inventor is selling its original code as an NFT. Comprising over 9.500 lines of code, the files contain the basis of the languages and protocols underpinning the internet as we know it: Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and Universal Document Identified (URI)."
• Is the great digital-nomad workforce actually coming? - "Are we actually on the brink of remote workers scattering across the globe en masse - or are predictions of the new, great digital-nomad movement overblown?"
• The Top Whiskies Of 2021 According To The International Whisky Competition - "The International whisky Competition officially put out the results of this year’s competition. This year, the competition took place in Estes park, Colorado, where a professional tasting panel made of whisky, beer, and wine experts blind tasted each whisky using a 100-point scale system."
• Meet All Elite Wrestling’s Tony Khan, The Next Lord Of The Ring - "With AEW, the 38-year-old CEO has built the first real threat to Vince McMahon’s WWE in more than two decades. Inside the billionaire vs. billionaire smackdown."
• Cristiano Ronaldo makes history at Euro 2020 as Portugal beats Hungary - "Cristiano Ronaldo became the greatest goalscorer in the history of the European Championship finals after netting a brace in Portugal's 3-0 win against Hungary on Tuesday."
• Cristiano Ronaldo snub wipes billions off Coca-Cola’s market value - "Portugal captain rejects bottles in Euro 2020 press conference. Soft drink company’s share price drops by 1.6%."
• IKEA & Sonos built a speaker into a piece of wall art - "The 'picture frame WiFi speaker' arrives on July 15th for $199."
• Lego has created an Adidas sneaker, complete with laces & a shoebox - "Sneaker fans can add yet another new product to their collection, although this shoe is not one to wear. The announcement comes a week after the company launched a 2,079-piece model of a typewriter with moving keys. In recent weeks Lego has also debuted its first ever LGBTQ-themed set."
• Princess Margaret's 1954 Rolls-Royce Phantom Is on the Auction Block - "Some crown jewels come with V8 engines! A rare Rolls-Royce Phantom IV limousine built for Princess Margaret is going up for auction at Sotheby's on June 19, 2021."
• Airbnb reportedly pays tourist $7m after rape - "Airbnb paid a tourist $7m after she was allegedly raped at knifepoint at a rental property in New York City, according to media reports."
• Boxer Sugar Ray Leonard Seeks $46.5 Million For Mansion In Los Angeles - "Boxer Sugar Ray Leonard is hoping for a knockout in the real estate market. He recently relisted his Pacific Palisades estate for $46.5 million, tapping a trio of agents, including luxury real estate specialist Drew Fenton of Hilton & Hyland, to handle the sale."
• The dish that defines Brazil - "Where a meal without beans is incomplete. In Brazil, poverty, colonisation and modernism turned beans into the culinary symbol of this continent-sized nation."
• Lexus J201 Concept: Luxury Branding Meets Extreme Overlanding - "Test-Driving The Lexus J201 Concept. 'How the experimental becomes the experiential.' That’s how Lexus describes the J201 Concept."
• Delta variant of Covid spreading rapidly & detected in 74 countries - "Concerns over impact on poorer countries, while richer governments try different containment measures."
• Delta variant Covid symptoms ‘include headaches, sore throat & runny nose’ - "Researchers warn that UK’s most widely established variant may be mistaken for milder illness."
• Coronavirus outpacing vaccine effort, says WHO, after G7 doses pledge - "Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus joins other health figures in criticising G7 countries for offering too little, too late."
• Novavax Covid vaccine has efficacy of 90%, say manufacturers - "UK has ordered 60m doses of vaccine that is also critical part of effort to vaccinate developing world."
• Rich countries urged to come up with detailed plans to cut emissions - "Laurence Tubiana, a key player in 2015 Paris summit, says UK and others must explain how they will achieve climate goals."
• Bitcoin and the wealthy - "The very rich are adding fuel to the bitcoin boom but many are wary of a bubble."
• Bitcoin price back above $40,000 after Elon Musk comments - "Tesla CEO says transactions made in digital currency will resume once crypto mining is greener."
• OAD Top restaurants - "The Lists 2021." Opinionated About Dining is the only dining survey that factors experience into its rating system.
• Lexus Unveils Long-Awaited NX, Other 2022 Rides, At Their Texas Headquarters - Forbes.
• 10 of Ferrari's Weirdest, Most Wonderful One-Off Creations - "There are Ferraris, and then there are these super-rare - and in some cases, super-secret - projects."
• Twitter might let you ‘unmention’ yourself from tweets - "The features are meant to 'control unwanted attention' on the platform."
• Some iOS 15 features require an iPhone XS or newer, here they are - "With the end of WWDC21, all new betas launched and installed, we’ve been discovering almost daily new features coming to the Apple devices. While iOS 15 supports iPhones all the way back to the iPhone 6s, there are some features exclusive to the iPhone XS or newer."
• World’s Best Islands: Why SÃo Miguel In Portugal’s Azores Belongs On Your Travel Wish List - "Among a certain set of travelers, there’s an understanding that the harder a place is to reach, the better it is. Let the masses stay in the gateways, the thinking goes. If we press on for one more flight (or drive or ferry), the rewards will be great. At least the bragging rights are."
• Phillips Sets Four World Records At Its Biggest Asian Watch Auction Ever, Totaling Nearly $25 Million - "The vintage watch craze continues. Phillips just held its biggest watch auction ever in Asia, for a total of $24,650,748. The top four lots in the Hong Kong Watch Auction XII were Patek Philippes - no surprise there - but the next six pieces at the top of the sale were smaller or independent brands. There were no Rolexes in the top ten."
• John Lennon once asked Stanley Kubrick to direct The Beatles in 'The Lord of The Rings' - "We’re always surprised to find out something we didn’t already know about John Lennon. The iconic figure of the bespectacled Beatle has been so relentlessly pawed over that it feels unimaginable that any stone has been left unturned - yet somehow, it still happens, and the landmark singer leaves us with another tidbit to share ..."
• Great strides: how Annie Hall’s ‘dad pants’ conquered the world - "After a year of loungewear and dressing from the waist up, these tailored but informal trousers have won over everyone from Kendall Jenner to the Duchess of Cambridge."
• An oyster: they can hear the breaking waves - "To eat an oyster raw is to eat it alive."
• BEATS STUDIO BUDS REVIEW: APPLE EARBUDS THAT EMBRACE ANDROID - "Beats tried to do a lot at once - probably too much - with its new earbuds."
• 21 unusual ways to quit smoking, from changing your teeth to taking more showers - "If patches, hypnosis and self-help books don’t work, maybe it’s time to think laterally. Readers reveal the unlikely methods that encouraged them to kick the habit."
• Ned Beatty: the good ol’ boy who made playing the ordinary guy look easy - "From his breakthrough in Deliverance to a memorable turn in Toy Story 3, the authenticity of Beatty’s middleman gone bad made him the perfect co-star – and often stole the show."
• Empty Rolex boxes are fetching pretty sums online as TikTok drives demand - "According to a report in The Sunday Times, Louise Eccles discovers how 'piles of empty boxes and paper carrier bags' from designer labels are selling for hundreds of pounds online."
• Special, electric Rolls-Royce SRH gets serviced in Goodwood - "Back in 2017, Rolls-Royce announced the unveiling of a very special car, one of the best projects the people in Goodwood ever made. This was the Rolls-Royce SRH, a special, electric car, developed for St. Richard’s Hospital in Chichester (hence the name)."
• G7 leaders promise one billion vaccine doses - "Leaders of the major industrial nations have pledged one billion Covid vaccine doses to poor countries as a 'big step towards vaccinating the world', Boris Johnson has said."
• The Great American COVID-19 Reopening, in 5 Charts - "The COVID-19 pandemic has affected just about every meter of culture and industry except, possibly, the weather. The charts below demonstrate its multifaceted impact, shown against the backdrop of reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S., scaled to fit the range of values in whatever is being graphed."
• Why are women more prone to long Covid? - "While men over 50 tend to suffer the most acute symptoms of coronavirus, women who get long Covid outnumber men by as much as four to one."
• Swiss voters reject key climate change measures - "Switzerland's policy on fighting climate change has been thrown into doubt after voters rejected key measures in a popular vote."
• George Clooney Recalls How Batman And Robin's Flop Indirectly Led To Him Becoming A Movie Star - "It had been a year and I’d gotten killed for doing Batman and Robin. I got Batman and Robin and I understood for the first time, because quite honestly when I got Batman and Robin, I was just an actor getting an acting job. And I was excited to play Batman. What I realized after that was that I was going to be held responsible for the movie itself, not just for my performance or what I was doing. And so I knew that I needed to focus on better scripts. The scripts was the most important thing. You can’t make a good film out of a bad script. It’s impossible."
• Concorde is back with a Boom, if we can bear it - "The speed and convenience of supersonic flight will come at an environmental price."
• Why You Should Never Use Google Chrome On Your iPhone, iPad Or Mac - "Chrome has been under fire for its 'creepy' new tracking technology for some time, but now we have a more detailed technical analysis of the very serious risks to users and an update from Apple that highlights exactly why Chrome is such a privacy nightmare. Apple users should certainly not be using Chrome on any of their devices."
• 7 new security features Apple quietly announced at WWDC - "While a two-hour (!) Keynote, usually filled with emoji, speaks out about security, the company also quietly introduces some new security and privacy-focused features at the WWDC developer session. did. Here are some of the most interesting and important ones."
• 'Test your security skills with our nightmare password generator' - The Verge.
• Speeding up an old iPhone in the time it took to drink a cup of coffee - "There are three tweaks that I suggest. These are the ones I turn to because they are the least noticeable for the user. I could suggest more drastic things. -- like turning off background app refresh -- but those can have a detrimental effect on usability."
• How to customize your iPhone’s app icons - "You can add your individual style to your homepage."
• The Maldives is auctioning off 16 private islands to the super rich - "At 10am local time on June 24, the Maldives government is auctioning off 16 of its 1,190 islands, to tempt foreign investors into helping to boost a tourist economy that has been hit hard by the pandemic. There are no reserve prices for the islands, each of which comes with a 50-year lease."
• Monsters or a must? Venice tussles with return of cruise ships - "The arrival of the MSC Orchestra has rekindled tensions over the pros and cons of the giant vessels."
• a fix for sky-high CEO pay? - "The push to penalise big corporations with huge pay gaps. CEO pay is soaring. Average pay is stagnating. Some campaigners are pushing to shrink the gap - or make companies pay up."
• Why the world’s most fertile fishing ground is facing a ‘unique and dire’ threat - "China’s Pacific fishing fleet has grown by 500% since 2012 and is taking huge quantities of tuna."
• New Zealand houseplant sells for $19,200 in online bidding war - "Bids for the 'very rare white variegated Rhaphidophora Tetrasperma' closed Sunday night, rising in the last four minutes as bidder 'foliage_patch' battled the eventual winner, tagged 'meridianlamb'."
• How fraudsters exploited our fears during the pandemic - "There are a few basic psychological tricks that phishing attacks and phone scams attempt to use against us - and the pandemic has provided the perfect environment for them."
• BMW patent reveals upcoming electric motorcycle could make history as an industry first - "BMW Motorrad may not have arrived very early to the electric motorcycle party, but the company is making up for it now with what could become an industry-first electric motorcycle with a driveshaft."
• A BLUEPRINT FOR PREVENTING ANOTHER PANDEMIC - "TIME polled 73 experts on how to mitigate the next health crisis. The responses offer a plan to build a more prepared world."
• There's a new ocean now - can you name all 5? - "On World Oceans Day, National Geographic cartographers say the swift current circling Antarctica keeps the waters there distinct and worthy of their own name: the Southern Ocean."
• G7 Want to Save the World from Climate Change. But Are They Willing to Pay for It? - "Climate change has finally cemented its place at the top of the agenda for international diplomacy in recent months, and with President Joe Biden in office, all members of the group of seven - the U.S., Italy, France, Germany, the U.K., Canada and Japan - are aligned on the urgency of the current moment for the first time. In a pre-summit gesture in May, the group agreed to end their financing of overseas coal projects - a long-awaited goal that will sharply reduce prospects for the dirtiest fossil fuel."
• How Whales Can Teach Us to Be Better Humans - TIME Magazine.
• Clamour for wealth tax grows after revelations about super-rich’s affairs - "Data leak published by ProPublica fuels calls to tighten up system which sees ultra-wealthy pay little or no tax."
• How Jeff Bezos’ obsessions built Amazon - "Jeff Bezos is set to beat fellow billionaires Elon Musk and Sir Richard Branson into space when he shoots off next month aboard one of his own Blue Origin rockets, the latest example of his trademark single-minded nature and competitiveness."
• Become a photography pro by unlocking the iPhone's hidden camera features - "These features are perfect for those looking to expand their photographic creativity, without spending a extra dime."
• World Travel: An Irreverent Guide by Anthony Bourdain - Amazon.com.
• Anthony Bourdain Doc Director Morgan Neville on How He Balanced Tragedy & Joy in ‘Roadrunner’ - "Documentarian Morgan Neville didn’t know Anthony Bourdain personally, but he felt the globe-trotting chef and author was a kindred spirit. 'In many ways, we were doing the same kind of work,' says the Oscar-winning director, whose raw and personal documentary 'Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain' premieres Friday at the Tribeca Festival ahead of a theatrical opening on July 16."
• Five Frank Lloyd Wright-designed homes you can now rent in the US - "These are among the most iconic buildings in modern American design – the perfect place to hit snooze or have breakfast in bed."
• The World’s Best Superyacht Shipyards - "We highlight the top yards crafting the most spectacular yachts on the planet."
• Popular pointy-toed shoes led to increase in bunions in medieval times - "Various authorities tried to limit the popularity of the shoes but without much success."
• Floyd Mayweather Drops Fortune in Birkin Bag shopping spree - TMZ.
• THE ONLY ONE EVER MADE: ROLLS-ROYCE PHANTOM II SPECIAL BROUGHAM BY BREWSTER - "The Rolls-Royce you see here is a one-off build that was tailor made for American architect C. Mathews Dick in the early 1930s by famed American coachbuilding company Brewster & Co."
• Gangrene, Hearing Loss Show Delta Variant May Be More Severe - "The coronavirus variant driving India’s devastating Covid-19 second wave is the most infectious to emerge so far. Doctors now want to know if it’s also more severe."
• Bill Gates: Stop shutting down nuclear reactors & build new nuclear power plants to fight climate change - "As some nuclear power companies continue to shut down nuclear reactors for reasons ranging from economic woes to safety concerns, Bill Gates is bullish on nuclear power as a clean energy solution to climate change."
• The Private Jets Of Formula One - "Aviation and Formula One have had a strong relationship since the beginning. Several key figures in the sport have shared their love for aircraft over the decades. As drivers gear up for the French Grand Prix later this month, we thought we’d look at some of the private jets they fly in."
• 5 Standout Yachts From This Year’s Venice Boat Show - "New launches from Ferretti Yachts, Azimut, Tecnorib, Wally and Nerea show the range of Italy's builders. Plus, what better setting than Venice for a boat show?"
• ‘Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain’: Film Review - "Oscar-winning director Morgan Neville tackles chef, author and TV host Anthony Bourdain's complicated life and tragic death in two-hour documentary form."
• A List Of Anthony Bourdain’s Favourite Restaurants Around The World - "To say Anthony Bourdain accrued a fair few favourite restaurants throughout his storied, globe-trotting career would be the understatement of the century. The acerbic chef turned celebrated author and CNN fixture lived to eat, and he had the ultra-extensive log book to show for it."
• Hands-on: Here’s how iPhone’s Live Text OCR works in iOS 15 - "One of the handy new features arriving with iOS 15 is the option to quickly recognize text and select, copy, paste, lookup, and more in both the Camera and Photos app. Let’s looks at how iPhone Live Text OCR works from photos to screenshots and handwriting too."
• How to install the watchOS 8 developer beta on Apple Watch - "Eager to test out everything arriving with watchOS 8 like the new Mindfulness app, Focus mode, Photo watch faces with Portrait mode, multiple timers, AssistiveTouch, and more? Read along for how to install watchOS 8 developer beta."
• From War Time To Watch Time: The Tank Behind The Cartier Tank - "How the first modern tank inspired the last word in elegance."
• The ethereal legacy of David Lynch show 'Twin Peaks' 30 years on - "'I have no idea where this will lead us, but I have a definite feeling it will be a place both wonderful and strange,'” speaks Agent Dale Cooper, the fervent detective that leads David Lynch’s dreamlike mystery. It’s a line that well foreshadows both the flourishing future of the iconic series, as well as the influential changes that such a programme would have on the landscape of serialised television. 30 years after the release of its final episode the reverberations of Lynch’s ethereal series can still be felt."
• Twin Peaks Series Trailer - YouTube 5:30.
• Azimut’s New 125-Foot Trideck Flagship Brings the Outdoors in With 4 Terraces - "Azimut’s Grande Trideck is not only the Italian builder’s new flagship, but it represents a new way of moving between the interior and exterior spaces. The 125-footer was a collaboration between Azimut’s internal team and an all-star cast of outside designers: Alberto Mancini created the exterior, residential designer Achille Salvagni fashioned the interior and Pierluigi Ausonio did the naval architecture for the hull."
• Bill Gates: the man with the golden Porsche - "It turns out that Bill Gates was not the only one keeping a close eye on the comings and goings at the office car park."
• McDonald's french fries, carrots, onions: all of the foods that come from Bill Gates farmland - "Gates does not appear to count his farming investments as the nation’s largest farmland owner as part of his broader strategy to save the climate."
• Jeff Bezos is going to space for 11 minutes. Here's how risky that is - "Jeff Bezos can have anything. He could circle the globe in a private jet or sail it forever in a fleet of megayachts. He could afford to buy a the whole NFL; he could buy an archipelago for his family and friends; he could buy over 65,000 Bugatti Chirons (base price $2.9 million), even though only 500 are being built. As the world's richest person, the possibilities are endless. But Bezos appears ready to risk it all for an 11-minute ride to space."
• Wealthiest Americans’ tax avoidance - the shock report’s most striking details - "A new investigation by ProPublica shows in some years men such as Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk paid no federal income tax."
• Kim Jong Un's new appearance raises questions - "How Kim Jong Un's weight could have geopolitical consequences."
• Green for hugs, red for no touching: US events introduce pandemic color coding - "Event hosts are using stickers, lanyards or bracelets to differentiate who is comfortable with what kind of touch."
• Takeaway food and drink litter dominates ocean plastic, study shows - "Just 10 plastic products make up 75% of all items and scientists say the pollution must be stopped at source."
• The world's 'coolest' street revealed by Time Out - "The global media brand has rounded up what it calls the 'world's coolest' streets, as selected by some 27,000 city residents from across the globe."
• Tune in for Tesla's Model S Plaid delivery event at 11:15 PM ET - "An EV capable of 0 - 60 MPH in under two seconds will be unveiled at Tesla's Fremont factory tonight."
• 22 best Apple Watch faces - how to get & customize watch faces - "Need some inspiration? Give your watch a facelift with these top picks."
• Apple announcements at WWDC show augmented reality is still its ‘next big thing’ - "Apple released several new augmented reality tools and technologies for software makers during its annual WWDC conference."
• Apple’s new health features bring new focus to elder care technology - "Walking steadiness and data sharing could be useful for older adults."
• Immerse yourself in your very own Dover beach for £1 - "There may be little prospect of a foreign beach holiday this year but never fear - you can buy your own beach near the White Cliffs of Dover for £1."
• How the next supersonic jets can succeed where Concorde failed - "Supersonic planes halve the time it takes to fly from New York to London, from seven hours down to 3.5 hours, but such airliners were abandoned following Concorde's final flight in 2003. Concorde had become financially unworkable after a high-profile crash in 2000, combined with excessive ticket prices, high fuel consumption, and increasingly high maintenance costs."
• How to train your personality to re-enter the world - "The pandemic has kept us from our workplaces, and changed our personalities as a result. As we dive back in, we can take steps to empower ourselves back to normal."
• 10 delicious ways to make the most of watermelon - "There’s nothing more refreshing than a chunk of cool, juicy watermelon - but even the smallest fruit generates a lot of leftovers. Here’s how to turn them into quick and easy salads, granita, gazpacho ..."
• Fargo review - Coen brothers’ snowbound noir is still a work of gleaming brilliance - "The Coens’ rereleased thriller about a pregnant police chief investigating a bungled kidnapping is a noir without cynicism; a macabre black comedy with purity at its core."
• Acropolis now: Greeks outraged at concreting of ancient site - "Installation of new pathway and lift has been criticised by archaeologists and called ‘a scandal’."
• Navalny backers see cautionary tale in Russian raids on Jehovah’s Witnesses - "Analysis: members of religious group declared extremist in 2017 have faced arrests, surveillance and prison."
• A 'ring of fire' solar eclipse will light up the sky on Thursday - "Some people in the Northern Hemisphere will be able to catch the first of two solar eclipses this year on June 10."
• How To Photograph The Solar Eclipse This Week With Smartphones, Cameras & Telescopes - "Want a picture of the solar eclipse? Early this Thursday, June 10, 2021 the Sun will rise partially eclipsed in the U.S. and Canada - and in a narrow, rather remote area of Canada, Greenland and Siberia it will appear as a 'ring of fire' annular solar eclipse."
• G7 leaders will call for fresh WHO inquiry into Covid origins, leaked communique suggests - "Statement indicates leaders will also commit to delivering a billion vaccine doses and plans to tackle forced labour."
• Inside Bill Gates’ naked pool parties, affairs and friendship with Jeffrey Epstein - "Bill Gates seemed like the ultimate computer geek - but a very different picture of the Microsoft founder has emerged since announcing his divorce."
• EU Digital Covid Certificate: Everything you need to know - "How travel will look in the near future is the question on everyone's lips, and as Europe begins to reopen its borders to travelers from outside the continent, the European Union has announced the launch of its EU Digital Covid Certificate -- set to allow freedom of movement around the bloc."
• Woman claims she found a bone-chilling item in her purse after a night out: 'A new thing for ... women to worry about' - "A woman issued a warning after claiming she found a Tile tracker in her bag at the end of an evening spent at a restaurant."
• ‘Claims could run into billions’: the interests at stake if Olympics in Japan were cancelled - "IOC officials have avoided any mention of the commercial forces driving the Tokyo Games towards their 23 July opening date."
• These new Barbies are made from ocean-bound plastic - "Mattel is launching a new line of Barbies made from plastic that would otherwise become ocean waste."
• Texas Republican asks: can we fix the moon’s orbit to fight climate change? - "‘I’d have to follow up with you on that one,’ says forestry official Jennifer Eberlien to bizarre question from Louie Gohmert."
• Solving the puzzle of long covid - "Why long Covid will be a long haul. Many months after their initial infection, some Covid-19 patients are still suffering. More than a year since the pandemic began, what will the long-term effects of long Covid be?"
• How processed foods became so unhealthy - "From putrid water to fizzy cola, food processing gave us preservation, consistency and innovation. So how did it become associated with unhealthy food?"
• The new culture of surprise days are off - "Can pop-up work holidays help workers de-stress? All over the world, companies are adding spontaneous days off for employees who are burned out from overwork during the pandemic. Can these holidays help?"
• Why it is no longer cool to be a crazy rich Asian in China - "For years, China's glamorous rich have been known to be ostentatious, showing off their luxury cars and handbags online - often to the envy of their followers. But increasingly, any kind of wealth flaunting - intentional or otherwise - is being met with hostility and disdain."
• What a Croc! Why has Balenciaga ruined the world’s most practical shoes? - "It’s not just plastic clogs that are being elevated right now - flip-flops, trainers and hiking boots all have heels right now. And just when we were all yearning for comfort."
• Meet The Aircraft Of The Future: Socially Distanced Double-Decker Cabins - "Imagine traveling in a plane which uses the cabin more efficiently, gives passengers more legroom and spaces them physically further apart. Think double-decker cabins where people sleep in bunks above seated passengers. Or two-tier rows of seating, some high and some low."
• An obscure service provider briefly broke the internet Tuesday. It could happen again - "A giant chunk of the internet briefly broke on Tuesday because of an outage at a company most people have probably never heard of before. Reddit, CNN, Target (TGT), Amazon (AMZN), a UK government website and countless others all went dark after a technical issue at cloud service provider Fastly (FSLY)."
• Fastly says single customer triggered bug behind mass internet outage - "Flaw was introduced in May and lay dormant until a customer updated their settings, firm says."
• The world's most livable cities in 2021 - "Auckland came out on top on The Economist Intelligence Unit's Global Liveability Index of 140 cities around the world thanks to its success in containing the pandemic quickly, enabling restrictions to be lifted early on."
• THE 50 MOST INNOVATIVE FINTECH COMPANIES IN 2021 - "Many of the startups on Forbes’ sixth Fintech 50 list were big pandemic winners, as Americans sped up their migration to buying and banking online and some of those stuck at home jumped into online trading of stocks and crypto."
• 25 Richest Americans reportedly paid ‘true tax rate’ of 3.4% as wealth rocketed - "ProPublica investigation shows how little US super-rich, including Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, reportedly paid between 2014 and 2018."
• ProPublica: Many of the uber-rich pay next to no income tax - "The rich really are different from you and me: They’re better at dodging the tax man."
• Tax details of US super-rich allegedly leaked - "Details claiming to reveal how little income tax US billionaires pay have been leaked to a news website. ProPublica says it has seen the tax returns of some of the world's richest people, including Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Warren Buffett."
• Public grasps threat to ocean even as leaders fail to meet targets, poll finds - "Survey to mark World Oceans Day finds 94% in England and Wales believe the fate of oceans and humans is inextricably linked."
• According to a Microsoft employee, Bill Gates would come to work in a Mercedes but would abruptly drive off from office in a fancy Golden Brown Porsche to meet women - Luxurylaunches.com.
• 5 ways to keep your brain sharp as you age - TIME Magazine.
• Bennifer rebooted! Why is Ben Affleck & Jennifer Lopez’s reunion so cheering? - "They were a tabloid dream, the super-cool fly girl and the eyeliner-wearing Caped Crusader. Now, 17 years on, Ben and Jen are together again. But what do the ultimate 00s couple mean to the TikTok age?"
• 1933 'Double Eagle' just became the world's most expensive coin - "One of the last gold coins ever struck for circulation in the US sold for a record $18.9 million in New York on Tuesday."
• iOS 15 brings back the magnifying glass for accurate text selection - "After being unceremoniously removed in iOS 13, Apple has restored the magnifying glass (loupe) when interacting with text on iOS 15."
• How to opt out of Amazon's bandwidth-sharing Sidewalk network - "Echo and Ring devices in the US are automatically enrolled in the program."
• The powerful new use for cocoa - "The world's largest producer of cocoa, Ivory Coast, has found a new use for the cocoa plant that could power millions of homes."
• Where Wes Anderson films 'accidentally' come to life - "A new book portrays striking locations from Lisbon to Alaska brimming with the great director’s aesthetic appeal."
• A Unique Set Of All Five F.P. Journe Souscription Models To Be Sold By Phillips This Fall - "Oh, and they’re all #001 in each series."
• Apple WWDC 2021: the 15 biggest announcements - "Apple just wrapped up its WWDC 2021 keynote, and it was jam-packed with news and announcements, including our first looks at iOS 15, the new macOS Monterey, big improvements to FaceTime, and more."
• Apple previews iOS 15 at WWDC 2021 - "You’ll get big updates to FaceTime and notifications."
• Apple's 'Find My' network locates iOS 15 devices even if they're off or erased - "While separation alerts let you know if your AirTag-equipped bag gets left behind."
• Can we vaccinate the world against Covid by the end of 2022? - "Achieving herd immunity is possible - and necessary - but requires quick action, say experts."
• US approves first new Alzheimer's drug in 20 years - "The first new treatment for Alzheimer's disease for nearly 20 years has been approved by regulators in the United States."
• Dr. Anthony Fauci says publicly released email about lab leak is being misconstrued - "Earlier this week, news outlets including CNN, BuzzFeed News and The Washington Post obtained thousands of emails Fauci sent and received since the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases became a household name early last year."
• Carbon dioxide in the air at highest level since measurements began - "Despite a massive reduction in commuting and in many commercial activities during the early months of the pandemic, the amount of carbon in Earth's atmosphere in May reached its highest level in modern history, a global indicator released on Monday showed."
• 69 Of The Newest Summer Hotel Openings Around The World - "This summer, during the months of June, July and August, dozens of new hotels will open their doors joining hundreds of others that opened over the past year. As vaccination numbers grow and confidence slowly resumes, the world is eager to travel again. Here’s where to find some of this summer’s newest and most exciting hotel openings around the United States and the world."
• Hawaii bill seeks to gut funding aimed at protecting environment from tourism - "Legislature seeks to strip funding of Hawaii’s largest tourism agency, just as it refocuses on community and environment."
• We are running out of time to reach deal to save natural world, says UN talks chair - "Warning comes amid fears of further delays to Kunming summit, which aims to agree on curbing destruction of ecosystems."
• Why former US president Bill Clinton wants to rule the literary world - "Former President of the United States, Bill Clinton, has teamed up for the second time with author James Patterson. Their first collaboration, a political thriller, sold more than three million copies. The second novel, titled The President's Daughte is a sequel to the first, and will draw on Mr Clinton's time in and out of the White House."
• Why Steve Jobs' 2005 commencement speech is the most watched in history - "Jobs' speech followed three stories from his life: one, in which he tells an anecdote about dropping out of college; another, about the lessons he learned from being fired by Apple in 1985; and lastly, his reflections on death."
• Are you a night owl or morning lark? One may protect you from depression, study says - "Do you bounce out of bed early in the morning full of zest and ready to go? Or do you slap the snooze alarm until the last possible second and drag your tired body to work?"
• What happens when we stop exercising? - "How soon do we become unfit when we stop exercising? It can take months of hard work to build up fitness, but while your strength can quickly fade if you stop exercising, you might not have to start from scratch again."
• The elephant vanishes: how a circus family went on the run - "Dumba has spent her life performing in circuses around Europe, but in recent years animal rights activists have been campaigning to rescue her. When it looked like they might succeed, Dumba and her owners disappeared."
• The iconic rice dish people fight over - "Every West African country has at least one variation of Jollof rice, and it both divides and unites the region."
• Freedom of information act - "The basic function of the Freedom of Information Act is to ensure informed citizens, vital to the functioning of a democratic society."
• Jeff Bezos is going to space on first crewed flight of rocket - "Jeff Bezos will be flying to space on the first crewed flight of the New Shepard, the rocket ship made by his space company, Blue Origin. The flight is scheduled for July 20th, just 15 days after he is set to resign as CEO of Amazon."
• Blue Origin announces that Jeff Bezos & his brother Mark will join the auction winner on New Shepard’s first human flight on July 20th - "Auction bidding is already at $2.8 million with nearly 6,000 participants from 143 countries."
• Climate crisis to shrink G7 economies twice as much as Covid-19, says research - "G7 countries will lose $5tn a year by 2050 if temperatures rise by 2.6C."
• Is the handshake back? How we're greeting each other as the world reopens - "This summer is bringing back a lot of what we used to call 'normal,' including greeting long-lost friends and maskless strangers."
• Melinda Gates' lawyer reveals what he advises billionaires & celebrities not to do when settling a divorce - "Melinda Gates' divorce lawyer told Insider the spouses of very wealthy people sometimes settle for much less than they deserve."
• Apple updates AirTags after stalking fears - "Apple has released a software update for AirTags following concerns they could be used to track people secretly."
• Bitcoin: El Salvador plans to make cryptocurrency legal tender - "El Salvador's president says he will make the Bitcoin cryptocurrency legal tender in the country."
• How Twenty Whiskies Changed The World - "The collection offers up 3 cl (a little over one ounce) samples of the 20 whiskies that have had the most dramatic impact on both the global whisky market."
• Inside a $140,000 watch scam (& how to avoid getting conned yourself) - Time+Tide.
• Even after Madoff’s death, work to unwind epic fraud goes on - "More than 12 years after Madoff confessed to running one of the biggest financial fraud in Wall Street history, a team of lawyers is still at work on a sprawling effort to recover money for the thousands of victims of his scam."
• Why bosses still want us in the office - "Why presenteeism wins out over productivity. If the pandemic has taught us anything about work, it's that we don't need to be pulling long hours in an office to be productive. So, why is presenteeism still so important?"
• Just don’t do it: 10 exercise myths - "We all believe we should exercise more. So why is it so hard to keep it up? Daniel E Lieberman, Harvard professor of evolutionary biology, explodes the most common and unhelpful workout myths."
• Bob Odenkirk: ‘Soon people won’t remember Breaking Bad’ - "He charmed as slimeball lawyer Saul in the drugs drama and its spinoff - but now Bob Odenkirk has gone badass in action thriller Nobody. Has he left his comedy days behind?"
• best streaming boxes & sticks you can buy 2021 - "From dongles to set top boxes, there’s an option for every budget."
• TIME's Next Generation Leaders 2021: Meet the trailblazers - TIME Magazine.
• Celebrity Passengers & Caviar at 55,000 Feet: What It Was Like to Fly Concorde in the '70s - "It wasn't just a jet, it was an exclusive club."
• Ritz-Carlton Just Opened Its First Resort in the Maldives - and It's Absolutely Gorgeous - "Guests can choose from overwater accommodations or a villa nestled into a beach cove. The latter comes with direct access to the island's pristine white-sand beaches, and the overwater villas, which are arranged in an oval shape to represent the flow of island life, surround an epic spa set above the turquoise lagoon. All of the resort's accommodations feature sprawling sun decks and infinity pools overlooking the water, perfect for soaking in the sunshine."
• 14 Years Ago, Steve Jobs Sent The Most Important Email in the History of Business - "A simple, one-sentence email turned Apple into the most valuable business of all time."
• New Warning Issued For Millions Of iPhone 12 Users - "This week the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA) published its findings from a new study into the potential health risks caused by MagSafe, the magnetic charging system Apple built into every iPhone 12 model. JAHA concluded that the iPhone 12 range 'has the potential to inhibit lifesaving therapy.'"
• Inside bill gates' private jet colection - "Bill Gates has caused quite a bit of debate with his private jet travel. The Microsoft founder turned climate activist owns no less than four business jets, which he calls his ‘guilty pleasure’. His collection is worth close to $200 million and features not one but two Gulfstream G650s. What’s more, he has just invested billions of dollars in the world’s largest business jet service provider."
• 9 Books From Elon Musk’s Reading List That Will Change Your Life - "When he’s not building rockets, boring tunnels beneath Los Angeles, or sending cars into space, Elon Musk reads a lot. Here are 9 nonfiction books he thinks we should all read."
• From Junk Bond King To SPAC Whale: How Michael Milken Became A Big Investor In The SPAC Boom - "The big money fueling SPAC mania comes from smart hedge funds - dubbed the SPAC mafia - capitalizing on a 'no lose' trade. No surprise that a fund backed by brilliant billionaire financier Michael Milken owns nearly 125 SPACs."
• Before dying, Bernie Madoff lifted veil on the biggest Ponzi scheme in history - "Business radio personality Jim Campbell releases ‘Madoff Talks,’ which covers 9 years of revealing interviews with the financial mastermind - up to his death in April behind bars."
• Facebook to suspend Trump’s account for two years - " Decision follows oversight board recommendation over ex-president’s post on Capitol attack."
• ‘Nixon is much more serious than Trump’: Michael Dobbs & the tale of the White House tapes - "To some, the president who resigned has become a Shakespearean figure. To most, the successor who was impeached twice will bear no such scrutiny."
• OJ Simpson's lawyer F Lee Bailey dies aged 87 - "Mr Bailey defended a host of notorious clients, including the Boston Strangler and the US army commander at the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War. He was renowned for his dramatic style and his ability to throw reasonable doubt on the prosecution's case. But he was banned from practising law in two states and eventually filed for bankruptcy in 2016."
• NASA is getting serious about UFOs - "NASA's new chief is setting up an effort to further study unidentified flying objects within his first month in office."
• Test-Driving The 2021 Porsche 718 Cayman GTS 4.0 - "2021 Porsche 718 Cayman GTS 4.0: Targeting The Driving Enthusiast."
• Personal Palaces: 4 Homes Fit For Royalty - "After a year-plus of staying at home, it's natural for people to want more space. This collection of properties, from Gothic European chateaus to a Portuguese palace, have precisely that. "
• world's 'biggest & deepest' swimming pool is to be built in the UK. It will descend 164 feet - "The aptly named Blue Abyss pool will be built in Cornwall, south west England, and will hold 42 million liters of water -- equivalent to that of 17 Olympic size swimming pools, or 168 million cups of tea, the company said."
• London ‘sky pool’ among wave of ever more implausible designs - "Controversial creation is latest in what has been described as a ‘golden age’ of swimming pools."
• UN body pushed to demand stronger climate action from Australia to save Great Barrier Reef - "Conservationists lobby World Heritage Committee to demand Australia reduce emissions or risk reef being placed on ‘in danger’ list."
• World leaders ‘ignoring’ role of destruction of nature in causing pandemics - "Ending the destruction of nature to stop outbreaks at source is more effective and cheaper than responding to them, scientists say."
• Covid variants: how much protection do the different vaccines offer? - "While restrictions in England could lift soon, impact of Delta variant on vaccination programme is uncertain."
• Climate tipping points could topple like dominoes, warn scientists - "Analysis shows significant risk of cascading events even at 2C of heating, with severe long-term effects. Ice sheets and ocean currents at risk of climate tipping points can destabilise each other as the world heats up, leading to a domino effect with severe consequences for humanity, according to a risk analysis."
• Climate tech is about to fly commercial - "Boeing, Alaska Airlines, and NOAA team up to measure greenhouse gases mid-flight."
• Secret billionaires: five people you didn't know were super rich - "Forbes and Bloomberg track the net worth of the wealthiest people. But what if we said there were secret billionaires too?"
• United Airlines aims to revive Concorde spirit with supersonic planes - "Company places order for 15 Boom Overture jets capable of travelling twice as fast as modern airliners."
• Is this the brightest color on Earth? - "Why the 'brightest color on Earth' may also be the future of eco-conscious art."
• What to expect from Apple's online-only WWDC 2021 - "Can this really be Apple's 'biggest and best' developer show ever?"
• Apple is updating AirTags to make them less creepy - "An Android app for detecting unwanted trackers is also in the works."
• Apple updates AirTags to address stalking concerns - "Apple will also release an Android app that can detect AirTags."
• The Palace Of Versailles Just Opened Its First Luxury Hotel - "For anyone who’s ever dreamed a dream about spending the night at Château de Versailles, your fantasy has finally been realized this week with the opening of Airelles Château de Versailles, Le Grand Contrôle."
• Why these three items could be worth $37 million - "Rare stamps and a US coin could fetch $37 million at auction."
• Norton 360 antivirus will soon mine cryptocurrency - "It'll initially be available to select early adopters."
• Puppies are born ready to interact with people, study finds - "Rest assured that puppies are primed to communicate with you soon after their birth, says Emily Bray, a post-doctoral research associate at the Arizona Canine Cognition Center at the University of Arizona's School of Anthropology."
• All-cash offers are king in this hysterical real estate market. Here's what you need to know - "In this wild housing market, with 21% fewer homes on the market than last year and demand pushing prices to record highs, the competition for a home is fierce. One thing that can put a potential buyer on the top of the heap is an all-cash offer."
• Hong Kong sets $1.3m parking space price record - "It was one of several spots sold at an ultra-luxury development in the city's affluent The Peak residential area, local media reported."
• Rolls-Royce Boat Tail: the world's most expensive car has arrived - in pictures - "Bespoke vehicle, with only three in existence, is estimated to cost up to $28 million."
• The world's forgotten greenhouse gas - "Emissions of the greenhouse gas commonly known as laughing gas are soaring. Can we cut emissions from its greatest anthropogenic source?"
• The top video streaming services that are worth your money - "Out of the dozens available now, these are our favorites."
• Cannes film festival set for bumper year - "Wes Anderson and Paul Verhoeven among heavyweights facing off for Palme d’Or as Andrea Arnold doc gets long-awaited premiere."
• Basic Instinct defined the erotic thriller - and killed it - "With a new restoration being released, Paul Verhoeven's film has kept the world talking for three decades. Its trick was to push a genre to its absurd limits, writes Nicholas Barber."
• Samuel L Jackson’s 20 best films - ranked! - "Soon to be seen in The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, the actor has a CV taking in dancing losers, choric narrators, a Bible-misquoting killer - and Marvel’s coolest middleman."
• James Bond Writer Warns That Amazon’s MGM Deal Could Dilute Franchise - "John Logan, the Oscar nominated screenwriter whose credits include working on James Bond pics Skyfall and Spectre, has said that Amazon acquiring MGM, with its back catalogue that features the Bond films, makes him worried for the future of the franchise."
• AngÉlique Kidjo on pop, politics and power - "‘Africa has so much talent - we can’t even grasp it’. She’s played with everyone from Tony Allen to David Byrne. Now the Grammy winner is singing with a new generation of African stars, celebrating their continent while confronting its failings."
• An Insider Account of the London Hotel Where Princess Margaret, Prince Philip & Marilyn Monroe All Went Wild - "The hotel’s theatrical connections meant that it hosted a whirl of opening-night parties and awards ceremonies, which by the 1960s were becoming bigger business than the debutante balls. The Savoy scored a coup in hosting the first BAFTAs in the Ballroom, which, unlike today’s marathon ceremonies, conferred only seven awards and kept the program snappy, leaving the dinner as a much larger feature than the speeches. As the banqueting department was a powerhouse of 3,000 private events a year, the range of guests passing through was immense."
• The supersense secret: Steve Biddulph on how to become healthier, happier & more fully human - "The psychologist and author believes we are tapping into only a small corner of our potential. In his latest book, he explains how to harness all our senses and gut instincts."
• Huawei Sure Picked an Odd Time to Launch a New Smartwatch - "The Huawei Watch 3 is here, and as far as smartwatches go, it looks pretty good on paper. It’s just that, on the heels of Samsung giving up on Tizen and partnering with Google for a unified wearable platform, this doesn’t feel like an auspicious time to launch a flagship smartwatch running a proprietary OS."
• 'Get a shot and have a beer': Biden's new glass-half-full strategy woos vaccine skeptics - "The White House's new partnership with Anheuser-Busch offering free beers if the country reaches its goal of getting 70% of adults at least one Covid-19 vaccine shot by July 4 -- almost Prohibition in reverse -- is more than a gimmick."
• Dr. Fauci says he's 'not convinced' Covid-19 developed naturally - "Dr. Anthony Fauci told the Poynter Institute on May 11 that he wasn't totally convinced that Covid-19 developed naturally and that he thinks that more investigation into the origin is needed."
• How the Covid shock has radicalised generation Z - "They have been tested, examined, judged and graded since childhood; told they must excel, compete and succeed. But thanks to Covid-19, across Europe a generation of school and college leavers face a bleak present and an uncertain future."
• EU digital Covid-19 certificates will be open to non-EU international travelers - "The EU digital Covid-19 certificate for travel can be opened to non-EU international travelers, including those from the United States, subject to individual member states' acceptance of proof of vaccination, a negative test result or recovery from Covid infection, an EU Commission spokesperson told CNN on Wednesday."
• The empty office: what we lose when we work from home - "For decades, anthropologists have been telling us that it’s often the informal, unplanned interactions and rituals that matter most in any work environment. So how much are we missing by giving them up?"
• Global inflation hasn't been this high since 2008 - "Price are rising quickly across huge swaths of the developed world, with inflation in countries that belong to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development surging in April to the highest rate since 2008."
• This island is paradise -- but good luck getting there - "Nuku Hiva: This paradise island is one of the remotest places on the planet"
• Climate crisis is suffocating the world’s lakes, study finds - "Falling oxygen levels harming already struggling wildlife and drinking water supplies, say scientists."
• will the tokyo olympics take place despite covid? - "The 2020 Summer Olympic Games are scheduled to take place in the Japanese capital, Tokyo, between 23 July and 8 August. The Paralympic Games are between 24 August and 5 September. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) insists the games will go ahead, even though Tokyo is in a state of emergency."
• Donald Trump has shut down his blog - "The blog disappeared not even a month after launch."
• Bill Gates & Warren Buffett to build new kind of nuclear reactor in Wyoming - "The project in Wyoming - the country’s top coal-producing state - is a small advanced reactor that runs on different fuels to traditional ones."
• ‘I promised Brando I would not touch his Oscar’: the secret life of Sacheen Littlefeather - "In 1973, she made history at the Academy Awards, appearing in place of Marlon Brando, declining his statuette and making a speech about Native American rights. She has been speaking out ever since."
• Christina Hendricks: ‘We were critically acclaimed - and everyone wanted to ask me about my bra’ - "The star of Good Girls discusses Mad Men, sexual harassment and squaring her glamorous reputation with her ‘weird, goofy’ personality."
• The $5 per month Paramount+ Essential plan with ads launches June 7th - "It's replacing the 'Limited Commercials' plan that costs $6 but includes live TV."
• which sports star has the biggest car collection in the world? - "Cristiano Ronaldo and Floyd Mayweather own amazing supercars but none can boast the richest car collection in sport."
• Beyonce, Jay-Z Rumored To Be Owners Of $28M Rolls-Royce Boat Tail - "Sometimes, ordering the small steak for your Friday evening dinner date just doesn't cut it. Similarly, sometimes a standard Rolls-Royce with all its pomp and circumstance doesn't cut it, either. Okay, there's a big difference between getting the $50 steak and commissioning a custom convertible for $28 million, but the motivation is the same. If you got it, flaunt it."
• A day in the life of a flavour inventor - "Without help, flavours don’t always work well or last long. So scientists enlist all manner of agents to impart certain tastes in processed food."
• France's trendy gluten-free food - "The star of legume of southern France. Good for the Earth and our health at a time when plant-based alternatives are moving mainstream, it's easy to appreciate the growing popularity of the unassuming chickpea."
• Louis Vuitton faces backlash for selling scarf inspired by traditional Palestinian keffiyeh - "Diet Prada, a popular Instagram account that seeks to expose wrongdoings in the fashion world, called out the designer in a post on Tuesday shared with its 2.7 million followers."
• 73.11-Carat Fancy Vivid Yellow Diamond Is The Top Lot At Sotheby’s Jewelry Auction - "Sotheby’s New York created a 'Roaring ’20s' theme for its upcoming Magnificent Jewels sale as a celebration to the opening up of the U.S. again after 15 months of closures due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The 94 lots for the June 9, 2021 sale will include white and colored diamonds, Kashmir and Ceylon sapphires, Colombian emeralds and Burmese rubies set into iconic designs signed by heritage jewelry houses."
• Electric Porsche 911 Has A Smartphone-Controlled Tailpipe - "Everrati, a UK-based electric car specialist, this week revealed its latest creation, a 964-generation Porsche 911. The car is powered by a 53kWh battery pack, has a claimed range of over 150 miles, and outputs 500 horsepower."
• Now proven against coronavirus, mRNA can do so much more - "When the final Phase 3 data came out last November showing the mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna were more than 90% effective, Dr. Anthony Fauci had no words. He texted smiley face emojis to a journalist seeking his reaction."
• China confirms first human case of H10N3 bird flu strain - "Man, 41, in Jiangsu, diagnosed on 28 May but risk of avian virus spread is low, says state health agency."
• World Health Organization approves China's Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use - "It is the second Chinese vaccine given WHO approval after Sinopharm was approved in early May."
• ‘Our society is totally nuts’: Fauci emails lift lid on life in eye of the Covid storm - "Communications from America’s top infectious diseases expert shed light on panic and confusion in early stages of pandemic."
• Boris Johnson’s outdone Henry VIII in having his third marriage blessed by the Catholic church - "It seems like double standards when the twice-divorced prime minister can marry in church while other divorcees cannot."
• You Have a Week to Opt-Out of Amazon Sidewalk, Do It Now - "Users of Amazon Ring and Echo have only about a week to opt-out of the tech giant’s sketchy new IoT service, Sidewalk. The feature goes live on June 8th and promises to share an encrypted sliver of your home network with the networks of other nearby Amazon IoT device users as a way to 'improve services.' Unless you specifically tell it not to, Amazon will automatically enroll you in Sidewalk, which - it’s easy to imagine - could lead to some potentially unwanted privacy and security issues down the road."
• Will Gucci’s Digital Bag Disrupt Luxury? - "A digital version of Gucci’s Dionysus Bag with Bee created for the Roblox marketplace has been sold for $4,115 - exceeding the price tag of the physical accessory IRL. The virtual bag was on sale at Gucci Garden, an experience engineered as a collaboration between Kering’s jewel in the crown and the online gaming platform. Here, visitors could meet up, have their avatars try on various branded items, and make purchases."
• A fatty heart puts your health at risk, regardless of your weight. Here's how to avoid it - "While people may assume only those who are overweight have to worry about the impact of a fatty heart, the reality is that thin people can also have this sometimes life-threatening condition."
• The Four Seasons Private Jet Is Flying To Antarctica! - "Four Seasons has a private jet that offers some incredible 'air cruises' around the world. Four Seasons is now headed to Antarctica!"
• Electric Rimac Nevera Can Sprint To 60 MPH In 1.85 Seconds - "Croatian hypercar manufacturer Rimac has revealed the Nevera, a 1,914-horsepower EV named after a Mediterranean storm."
• Innovative 125-Foot-Long Azimut Grande Trideck Unveiled - "The new Azimut Grande Trideck features expansive living areas never seen before on a yacht this size. And thanks to its innovative layout, the 125-foot-long Grande Trideck not only offers four individual outdoor terraces including the sundeck, perfect for secluded sunbathing, the upper deck that features the main outdoor dining area, next, the new Sea View Terrace, floating just a few feet above the water, and down below, the full-height beach area."
• The hidden costs of owning a superyacht - "According to a report by UK-based broker Towergate Insurance, owners are likely to spend at least 10% of the purchase price on the yearly cost of maintaining and operating their yacht."
• These double-decker airplane cabin concepts could be the future of flying - "While the stand-up airplane seats that have been floating around for the past few years have yet to see the light of day, and the airplane seat overhaul that looked to be on the horizon last year in the wake of the pandemic never quite materialized, there are still many designers working to revolutionize the airplane cabin."
• You Can Now Build Your Own Frank Lloyd Wright Building - Right Inside Your Home - "The miniature properties mirror the original architectural design plans of each structure."
• 552-Carat ‘Dancing Sun’ Yellow Diamond Could Fetch $5.5 Million At Auction - "Christie’s New York upcoming Magnificent Jewels auction has a bit of everything: statement diamonds, important contemporary jewels, loose gems and, as always, important signed jewels from heritage jewelry houses. The sale of 143 lots will be held June 8 at Christie’s Rockefeller Center headquarters."
• ‘My hairline threatened my identity so much the ground felt shaky’: why hair transplants are booming - "Celebrity endorsements, new techniques and lockdown have led to rising demand for follicular transplants. But with patchy regulation, are men being exploited when they are vulnerable?"
• WHO renames covid variants with Greek letters - "The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced a new naming system for variants of Covid-19. From now on the WHO will use Greek letters to refer to variants first detected in countries like the UK, South Africa and India. The UK variant for instance is labelled as Alpha, the South African Beta, and the Indian as Delta."
• Apple needs to fix iMessage with iOS 15 - "How Apple can improve iMessage with iOS 15."
• The Suez Canal is being widened. Will it be enough to stop another ship getting stuck? - "The 30-kilometer-long area will be widened by 40 meters (131 feet) to the east and deepened to 72 feet, up from 66 feet, according to the SCA. Plans also include extending the second lane near the Great Bitter Lake, which opened in 2015, by 10 kilometers (6 miles) -- allowing two-way traffic along an 82 kilometer (51 mile) stretch."
• This is how long it takes your body to fall out of shape when you stop exercising - "Getting in shape isn't easy. But after all that hard work, how long do we actually maintain it? Turns out that even the great effort we put into training, taking a bit of time off can mean that we become 'unfit' much faster than it took us to actually get in shape."
• The benefits of being different - "Why 'quirky' people are attractive. There are some universal standards of beauty, so why has evolution not made us all beautiful? When it comes to attraction, originality can pay off."
• How loneliness & creativity can work together - "Artists and writers have long been drawn to solitude - but why is that, and what can we learn from them?"
• Why Jack Bauer Is America's James Bond - "Just as James Bond represents a British archetype in the gentleman spy, 24’s Jack Bauer is the perfect and problematic model of a vengeful American agent."
• 9 2021 Luxury Cars With Advanced Safety Systems - "If you’re shopping for a new luxury car, chances are you don’t want to sacrifice safety for style. Which safety features matter? All of them. Consumer Reports named nine luxury cars with advanced safety systems."
• How do you speak to Queen Elizabeth & other British Royals? - "The guide to royal etiquette according to Prince Charles’ ex-butler Grant Harrold."
• A look back at my favorite Apple products through the decades - "We spend a lot of time here at 9to5Mac looking forward to new products, but sometimes it’s fun to look back at our favorite Apple products, too."
• Christie's to Auction Andy Warhol's Patek Philippe Calatrava 570 - "The watch in question is a Patek Philippe Calatrava 570 owned by Andy Warhol. In his life, it was estimated that the iconic New York City artist amassed over 300 watches with Patek Philippe a staple in his collection. This particular example bears a double-signed dial with the Hausmann & Co. name at the 6 o’clock position. Hausmann & Co., the prestigious watch and clock manufacturer, still resides in the same premises in Rome’s historical center as it did in 1794."
• Fauci warns US has ‘a ways to go’ despite lowest rates in a year - "‘We don’t want to declare victory prematurely,’ expert tells the Guardian while 2021 has seen more global cases than all of 2020."
• Ho Chi Minh: Vietnam to test entire city amid new variant fears - "Vietnam hopes to tackle a new Covid outbreak by testing the entire population of Ho Chi Minh City and introducing new social distancing measures."
• Pacific plunder: Who profits from the mass extraction of its natural resources? - "The extraction of valuable resources from across the Pacific has made companies billions but comes at a sometimes catastrophic cost."
• New 'hybrid' variant detected in Vietnam - "Vietnam has detected a Covid variant that appears to be a combination of the Indian and UK variants and can spread quickly by air, officials say."
• Work is where your laptop is: meet the globetrotting digital nomads - "Worldwide shift to flexible and home working in pandemic has led to rise of new kind of backpacker."
• Why keeping calm & carrying on exercising can help back pain - "When it hurts to walk, bend or even sit, it’s tempting to lie down until your spine sorts itself out. But moving can be the key to getting better."
• Gadgets have stopped working together, and it’s becoming an issue - "Our reliance on technology means ever more devices and apps and ever less interoperability - and the ubiquity of Apple hasn’t helped."
• In big tech’s dystopia, cat videos earn millions while real artists beg for tips - "Instead of paying musicians properly, the likes of Spotify have set up ‘donation’ buttons - thus passing the buck to fans."
• Overconsumption & the environment: should we all stop shopping? - "Over-consumption is at the root of the planet’s environmental crisis. One solution, proposed by author JB MacKinnon, is that we should simply buy less. But would that really work?"
• Are we in charge of our decisions? - "How unconscious forces control our actions. Subliminal messaging and nudge psychology lead us to believe that we can be influenced without us realising, but just how powerful is our unconscious mind?"
• The 'glossy' dream jobs that become nightmares - "We long to land our dream jobs, expecting excitement, fulfillment and fun. But these glamorous positions can turn out to be more drudgery than employees imagine."
• The Indian way to 'maximise value' - "'Paisa vasool' is a mindset that connects an incredibly diverse country, where locals find value in everything and make the most of every interaction."
• The rise of plastic surgery, from ancient Rome to the 'Zoom boom' - "From ancient Egypt to Beverly Hills: A brief history of plastic surgery. "
• Why You Should Stop Using Other People’s iPhone Cables - "'The world’s most dangerous USB cable just got more powerful,' runs the new ad - a serious warning for anyone borrowing an iPhone or iPad cable. If you do plug a cable like this into your device, you won’t know you’ve been attacked until it’s too late."
• $1B feud involving Leonardo's 'Salvator Mundi' reveals dark side of the art world - "It is the biggest legal fight the art world has ever witnessed: a Russian oligarch, who claims he was ripped off buying multi-million-dollar masterpieces, versus a Swiss art dealer who says it was just business."
• Joe Biden Is the First-Ever President to Wear This Historic Watch - "This week, for seemingly no reason in particular, Joe Biden wore an Omega Speedmaster."
• John F Kennedy's watch collection was every bit as suave as his lifestyle - "There are several timepieces that lay claim to the title 'the president’s watch', such as Dwight D Eisenhower’s Vulcain Cricket and, of course, Lyndon B Johnson’s Rolex Day-Date. However, among the most fascinating are the watches that once belonged to President John F Kennedy."
• Weekly travel update: Australia's partial lockdown & Americans warned off Japan - "As the world slowly starts to open back up, CNN Travel is here to help you make plans for 2021 and beyond through these weekly round-ups of travel news."
• The rapid rise of 'red tourism' in China - "In late 2020, she was one of the two people from Sichuan chosen to join the nationwide 'Five Good Guides' program, one of several initiatives from the Chinese government to improve and highlight the country's rapidly booming 'red tourism' industry."
• Boris Johnson plans to sink £200m into new ship of state - "PM says national flagship, a successor to the Royal Yacht Britannia, would promote British trade and industry around the world."
• Africa's political dynasties: How presidents groom their sons for power - "Congo-Brazzaville's President Denis Sassou-Nguesso has appointed his son Denis-Christel as a cabinet minister - a move that has revived media speculation that he has a dynastic succession in mind."
• To rethink your garden, learn Japanese - "Four key horticultural concepts from the people who brought us bonsai."
• 5 James Bond TV shows we'd like to see on Amazon Prime Video - "It’s official - Bond has been bought by Amazon. As part of a merger thought to be worth in the region of $8.45 billion, the tech giant has acquired the rights to every movie under the MGM umbrella. It hasn't said much in terms of specifics when it comes to what this means for Prime subscribers, but in theory it's a huge deal."
• Fitbit may soon be adding snoring detection to its devices - "It’s not available to all users yet."
• WHO Was Wrong About Coronavirus Being Airborne, But Why? - "The World Health Organization recently admitted that Coronavirus is airborne and updated its public health guidance with this statement on how the SARS-CoV-2 virus is transmitted."
• The simple trick Steve Jobs followed to be ‘most productive,’ according to his former executive assistant - "As a former executive assistant to late Apple founder Steve Jobs, Naz Beheshti got an up-close view of what it took for the tech CEO to be successful."
• THE BEST PHONES TO BUY IF YOU’RE A PHONE ENTHUSIAST 2021 - The Verge.
• How to make the Wayback Machine your best friend - "This introduction video provides an overview for how to use the Wayback Machine, including information about searching by URL or keyword, understanding provenance, and saving your own pages, along with other features."
• Bitcoin is tumbling at the end of its worst month in nearly 10 years - "Bitcoin prices (XBT) fell 8% Friday and have plunged about 36% in May - their worst monthly performance since September 2011."
• Rolls-Royce Announces Its Coachbuild Division With the Stunning Boat Tail - "The 1920s and 1930s were the height of the coachbuild era for Rolls-Royce and many other luxury marques. Cars sat on separate chassis, and it was relatively simple to swap bodies—sedans became convertibles, sometimes just for the summer season. But now Rolls is reviving the tradition for the modern 'monocoque' (body and frame together) era. Do you want to design your own Rolls-Royce? It’s once again possible, via a new division of the company."
• The deadly perils of China's booming marathon industry - "62 miles of pain, 21 killed in freezing rain: How China's deadliest marathon event in recent history exposed lax regulation and weak government oversight."
• Alex Rodriguez launches makeup for men -- and it's a growing a trend - "What Alex Rodriguez's new beauty line says about the rise of men's makeup."
• Matthew Perry ‘made everyone uneasy at Friends - "The Reunion’ as he failed to address addiction struggles."
• Could my mum’s toaster help me care for her? - "An emerging technology allows relatives to keep an eye on elderly or vulnerable people living alone by monitoring their electricity usage - but as with all innovations, there is the potential for misuse."
• What Happens After A Watch Is Stolen? Chris Marinello Of Art Recovery Can Help - "Here I’d like to explore the coda of a stolen watch. My curiosity on this subject was piqued when I saw two recent posts on Instagram by Chris Marinello, a lawyer and the CEO and founder of Art Recovery International."
• Did Covid come from a Wuhan lab? What we know so far - "To China’s fury, Joe Biden has ordered a review of rival theories about lab leaks and animal hosts."
• Why on Earth did Amazon spend $8 billion on a zombie studio? - "A Netflix-killer MGM is not."
• Super 'blood' Moon treats stargazers around the world - "The Moon turned orangey-red in colour and appeared larger in the sky across parts of the world on Wednesday."
• 5 Things to Know about Burning More Calories - "Eager to lose weight? Often it is said that it is easier to cut back on calories than to increase energy expenditure with exercise. There’s some truth to this. For example, if you want to cut back on 500 Calories, you need to leave out one big chocolate bar or one Bic Mac. And if you want to burn 500 Cal by exercise, it takes on average 30 minutes tough spinning workout, 45 minutes moderate running or almost 2 hours easy swimming (a 155 lb woman)."
• Number of smokers has reached all-time high of 1.1 billion, study finds - "Governments told to focus on stopping young from taking up habit that killed 8 million people in 2019."
• Investing 0.1% of global GDP could avoid breakdown of ecosystems - "Nature’s financial value must be considered to avoid ‘irreversible’ degradation to biodiversity and land."
• Top 10 US beaches for 2021 from Dr. Beach - "If you're looking to make your travel debut at the top beach in America, the Island of Hawai'i is where you need to go, according to Dr. Stephen Leatherman, also known as Dr. Beach."
• Rolls-Royce will now build you any car you want, but it will cost millions - "If you have the money -- and if Rolls-Royce executives like your idea -- the British ultra-luxury carmaker will build you the car of your dreams."
• Rolls-Royce launches the ‘most ambitious’ car it’s ever created - "Rolls-Royce Motor Cars on Thursday unveiled the Boat Tail, a luxury car built for three 'hand-picked' clients."
• Why the Swedes love 'cosy Fridays' - "Fredagsmys: The unlikely symbol of Sweden’s 'cosy Friday'. Nights out may be back on in many countries, but the Swedish concept of 'fredagsmys' champions spending Friday evenings on your sofa - preferably with tacos."
• Patek Philippe Unveils New Aquanaut Watches - "Patek Philippe isn’t finished releasing its new watches for 2021 just yet. While Watches & Wonders was all about the Nautilus, this month, it turns its attention to the beloved Aquanaut collection."
• Frank Sinatra’s 1970 Maserati Ghibli & Other Celebrity-Owned Cars Going Up For Auction - "Now you can not only channel ol’ Blue Eyes in the car, you can ride around in true Rat Pack style by bidding on the iconic singer’s 1970 Maserati Ghibli, up for auction June 17-19 at Barrett-Jackson. There is no reserve."
• Coronavirus cases, deaths, vaccinations by country - "Covid-19 is continuing to spread around the world, with more than 167 million confirmed cases and three million deaths across nearly 200 countries."
• Biden orders investigation into virus origin as lab leak theory debated - "US President Joe Biden has ordered intelligence officials to 'redouble' efforts to investigate the origins of Covid-19, including the theory that it came from a laboratory in China."
• Covid-19 origin story has massive political consequences - "A growing storm over the origins in China of Covid-19 has explosive political implications for the United States at home and abroad, as well as the dueling legacies of two presidents that will be defined by the pandemic."
• Vaccine tourists are coming to America - "'We have arrived in the US not for the American dream, we are here for the vaccine dream,' 49-year-old Elver Estela told CNN. The businessman had travelled from Peru looking for the Covid-19 vaccine and got his first dose of Pfizer at a vaccination center in Seattle."
• German scientists say they can help improve Covid vaccines to prevent blood clots - "AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson jabs have caused rare blood clots but scientists say they can be redesigned to avoid problem."
• Climate crisis inflicting huge ‘hidden costs’ on mental health - "Vicious circle of climate impacts, trauma and depression must be broken, say scientists."
• Why Amazon just spent more than $8 billion on MGM - "MGM, a classic Hollywood brand synonymous with 'The Wizard of Oz' and Leo the roaring lion, was purchased for $8.45 billion on Wednesday by Amazon (AMZN), a company currently valued at nearly $1.7 trillion. Being gobbled up by a tech behemoth is a fitting finale for a studio that has been whittled down over the last century by one technology disruption after another."
• The Sunday Times Rich List 2021 - "How the Covid pandemic spawned more billionaires than ever." Billionaires are at a record number but how fragile is their wealth? Rich List compiler Robert Watts reports on those who cashed in during the lockdown digital-shopping bonanza and asks when the bubble might burst.
• Leonard Blavatnik named UK's richest person with £23bn fortune - "Sir Leonard Blavatnik has topped the latest Sunday Times Rich List, having seen his fortune swell to £23bn."
• Why the next stage of capitalism is coming - "It's done so much for human well-being, but it's far from perfect. Will capitalism as we know it evolve into something new?"
• Google Reveals Essential New Google Photos Changes - "Google has made it much easier to keep control of your Google Photos storage, just in time for the promised change in storage policy."
• ‘Boxing is a mess’: the darkness & damage of brain trauma in the ring - "Boxing must address the damage done in the ring and a new book by Tris Dixon lays out what’s left after the final bell rings."
• India covid-19 cases top 27 million - The Guardian.
• Indian Covid-19 variant found in at least 53 territories: WHO - The Guardian.
• Scientists are suddenly more interested in the Covid lab-leak theory - "Why scientists are suddenly more interested in the lab-leak theory of Covid's origin."
• Grand jury to consider Donald Trump charges - "Prosecutors in New York have convened a grand jury to decide whether to indict former US President Donald Trump on criminal charges, local media report."
• MacKenzie Scott Gave Away $6 Billion Last Year. It's Not As Easy As It Sounds - TIME Magazine.
• Planes are filling up & tickets are very expensive - "Americans making summer vacation plans are about to find airfare costs are near or even above pre-pandemic levels, according to the nation's major airlines."
• Belarus plane arrest - is it a first? - "Here's a look back at previous incidents where planes may - or may not - have been forced to land."
• How to get planes off fossil fuels - "The fastest ways aviation could cut emissions. From switching the fuel they use to changing flight plans so they produce fewer contrails, airlines are searching for ways to cut their impact on the climate."
• Airships for city hops could cut flying’s CO2 emissions by 90% - "Bedford-based blimp maker unveils short-haul routes such as Liverpool-Belfast that it hopes to serve by 2025."
• Millennials rethink Sicily's €1 home schemes - "In 2019, the Sicilian town of Cammarata made headlines around the world with its daring bid for new residents. There was just one problem. So many people applied for the scheme that the town authorities were overwhelmed. Without staff dedicated to the project, the project stalled -- and then Covid hit. Not a single house was given away."
• Can you 'programme' your brain to think of genius solutions? - "Feel everyone else comes up with all the smart ideas on your team? Data show that, with practice, we can all be bright sparks."
• How your name affects your personality - "The first piece of information strangers learn about most people is a moniker picked for them by their parents. But what you are called can have a surprising impact on how others perceive us."
• iMac M1 24" Teardown - "Is the new M1 iMac just a silly-sized M1 iPad, a detached-keyboard M1 MacBook, an M1 Mac Mini stretched out like pizza dough? We’ll only know by getting inside, however tough that might be. It’s time for a teardown." iFixit.
• The Best Scotch Whiskies For Every Budget - "Siponey Founder Amanda Victoria Picks 21 Superb Bottles."
• Vacheron Constantin Recreates A 100-Year-Old Vintage Watch Using Original Tools & Components - Forbes.
• iOS 14.6 now available with new Apple Podcasts subscriptions - "It’s largely focused on audio improvements. This new OS update will allow Apple Music subscribers to enable lossless audio or Dolby Atmos once it’s available next month, and it also debuts Apple Podcasts subscriptions."
• A vaccine marvel is bringing America back - "America has never been closer to the end of this pandemic, which has inflicted the most universally experienced crisis and assault on national morale since World War II."
• Dr. Fauci says he's 'not convinced' Covid-19 developed naturally - "Dr. Anthony Fauci told the Poynter Institute on May 11 that he wasn't totally convinced that Covid-19 developed naturally and that he thinks that more investigation into the origin is needed."
• Oxygen shortages threaten ‘total collapse’ of dozens of health systems - "Data reveals Nepal, Iran and South Africa among 19 countries most at risk of running out as surging Covid cases push supplies to limit."
• Bernard Arnault Becomes World’s Richest Person As LVMH Stock Rises - "French fashion tycoon Bernard Arnault is the world’s richest person this Monday morning, with an estimated net worth of $186.3 billion - putting him $300 million above Jeff Bezos, who is worth $186 billion, and Elon Musk, worth $147.3 billion."
• In messy UK divorce case, who will sail away with the £250m superyacht? - "Seizing control of the yacht would go a long way towards satisfying a London court’s £450m divorce award in Tatiana Akhmedova’s favour."
• Super blood moon 2021: total lunar eclipse will bring cosmic show across Pacific on Wednesday - "Hawaii will have the best view of May’s full supermoon, followed by California, the Pacific north-west, New Zealand and Australia."
• Move to net zero 'inevitably means more mining' - "The public will need to accept greater mining activity if the world is to meet the challenge of going green."
• Plastic debris on remote islands raises temperatures by 2.5C & threatens turtle populations - "Study of Henderson Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands finds plastic acts as an insulator, making sand hotter and leading to more female turtle offspring."
• What happens with a military jet interception? - "'If a military aircraft intercepts you and gives you command, you obey'. That was the view of one pilot who spoke to the BBC, who said the decision of Belarus to force down a passenger aircraft was 'absolutely reckless'."
• Learjet: Why the legendary plane is no match for today's jets - "Learjet. For generations, the name has been synonymous with business jets, with more than 3,000 of the small private jet planes delivered since the first Learjet 23 flew in 1963. In February this year, Learjet's parent company, Bombardier, announced it's ending mainstream production of the iconic plane, instead refocusing its efforts on its more roomy Global and Challenger business jets."
• Why Kenya is trying to count every single animal - "The great wildlife census will be critical to understanding and protecting the more than 1,000 species which are native to Kenya, some of which have seen alarming population declines over the last few decades, according to scientists. Using GPS trackers, aircraft, camera traps and significant manpower, Kenya's Wildlife Service (KWS) will count everything from the regal giraffe to the endearing cat-sized dik-dik over three months."
• Why we underestimate the power of trees - "The reason wild forests beat plantations. Trees are excellent at taking carbon out of the atmosphere and trapping it in their trunks, roots and leaves. But what if planting them wasn't the solution?"
• 'Irreplaceable' artifacts worth more than $1.4 million stolen from English castle - "Among the stolen artifacts were coronation cups and the gold rosary beads carried by Mary, Queen of Scots when she was executed in 1587 by order of her English cousin, Queen Elizabeth I. Police said the rosary beads are an 'irreplaceable' piece of national heritage."
• La Peregrina: The world's most famous pearl - "It was worn by kings and queens in paintings - and eaten by Elizabeth Taylor's puppy. Matthew Wilson traces a history of La Peregrina - and of pearls in art."
• The gender biases that shape our brains - "The toys we give to children and the traits they are assigned can have lasting impacts on their lives."
• ‘Charlie Bit My Finger’ sold as an NFT, could vanish from YouTube forever - "Collector 3F Music spent $761,000 to possibly ruin a slice of internet history."
• Why people of colour are misidentified so often - "Being confused with someone else can happen to anyone, but in majority-white spaces, it happens to people of colour more often. Why?"
• Kevin Spacey & the rise of uncancel culture - "Does the announcement that Spacey is returning to acting suggest a way back for other Hollywood men who were accused but not convicted of misconduct?"
• Anker's second-gen GaN chargers are smaller & more efficient - "The 65W GaN Nano II can charge the M1 MacBook Pro at full speed."
• WHO & global faith leaders call for fair access to Covid vaccines - "Declaration warns that the world is at a turning point in saving poorer countries from devastation."
• One big question about the end of Covid-19 - "Let's first be clear: variants of the novel coronavirus could evade the reach of current vaccines and prolong the pandemic. Or a new pathogen -- one that is more infectious and more lethal than SARS-CoV-2 -- could emerge at any time. Population growth, along with environmental damage, is pushing us closer to animals in ways that increase the risk of spillover diseases that can spread to humans. The emergence of a new pandemic is an ever-present threat. But a catastrophic pandemic does not have to be inevitable."
• 10 of the biggest yachts in Monaco for this weekend's Grand Prix - "The Monaco Grand Prix marks the beginning of the Mediterranean season and is a headline fixture for those cruising the French Riviera at the turn of spring. After travel restrictions forced organisers to cancel the event last year, the yachts have begun to return to Port Hercules this week to celebrate the Formula One race weekend in true Monte Carlo style - although with reduced capacity in the grandstands. If you're in town for the weekend, keep an eye out for these 10 iconic yachts ..."
• French Luxury Tycoon Bernard Arnault Is Now Tied With Jeff Bezos For Richest Person In The World - "Less than a month after reaching the pinnacle of a $200 billion net worth for the third time in late April, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos can no longer claim to be the richest person in the world. He now has a neighbor at the top spot: French billionaire Bernard Arnault, the head of luxury goods group LVMH, ended the day $800 million richer—with a net worth of $186 billion—after the company’s shares closed nearly half a percent higher in Europe. On the other side of the Atlantic, Amazon stock dropped by a little more than 1% on Friday, shaving $2.3 billion from Bezos’ net worth and placing both men at the $186 billion mark."
• The Apple Watch just took a massive step towards being my favorite running watch - "Finally, the battle with Spotify is over."
• Which processed foods are better than natural? - "Processed food conjures up images of unhealthy meals and snacks that have been mass-produced in factories. But can our intervention actually make some foods better for us?"
• How China Is Cracking Down on Its Once Untouchable tech giants - TIME Magazine.
• The Limits of Luxury Livestreaming - "A year of COVID-fueled digital lockdowns, which have led to the use of live commerce to connect with Chinese consumers, has turned livestreaming from a 'yes-or-no' dilemma to a 'how-to' question for luxury brands. According to Coresight Research, Chinese consumers are expected to spend $300 billion on products featured in livestreaming videos this year."
• Hey pesto! The definitive A-Z of the world’s most versatile ingredient - "The midweek-meal saviour is possibly the most customisable food ever. From salads to sauces and stews, here’s how to get the best from the Italian classic."
• 'Flawless' purple-pink diamond fetches record $29.3M at auction - "A 15.81-carat gem, dubbed 'The Sakura,' fetched $29.3 million in Hong Kong to become the most expensive purple-pink diamond ever to sell at auction. Named after the Japanese word for cherry blossom, it is the largest diamond of its kind to go under the hammer, according to Christie's, the auction house behind the sale."
• Pfizer & AstraZeneca jab offer protection against India Covid variant, PHE finds - "Pfizer vaccine 88% effective against symptomatic disease from the India variant after second dose, AstraZeneca jab 60% effective."
• Mount Everest Covid outbreak has infected 100 people at base camp, says guide - "Austrian expedition leader Lukas Furtenbach says the real number could be 200, despite official Nepali denials."
• Pandemic holds mirror to who Australians really are - and it’s not who we think - "Widespread compliance with rules contradicts notion that we are anti-authoritarian, expert on national identity says. Unlike America’s obsession with individual liberty and certainly at odds with the belief we are an anti-establishment population, Australians have a history of being receptive to bureaucracy."
• Bucket List Travel: How To Book Your Dream Trip Now (And Pay Later) - "Travel is clearly back. According to the TSA, the number of travelers passing through airport security checkpoints has been averaging well above 1 million a day since mid-March, and airlines say that their business has returned to pre-pandemic levels. But not everyone who wants to take that revenge vacation they’ve been dreaming about over the pandemic might have the means - right now, at least. Enter a new solution: Book your bucket list trip now. Pay for it later."
• Bucket List Travel: The Top 50 Places In The World - "What's on your travel bucket list? If you're like most people, the more you travel, the more places you add to your bucket list. So when the editors of the website Big 7 Travel announced the list of the world's top 50 bucket list destinations, we stopped in our tracks and started checking off the boxes."
• The hidden reason processed pet foods are so addictive - "From potently smelly additives to offal concentrates, pet food companies turn to some surprising ingredients in the quest to make kibble delicious."
• Titanic replica now under construction in China - "For those who have always wondered what it would've been like to be a passenger on the Titanic, a theme park in China is set to offer the closest experience one can get."
• Apple's rivals may never be able to catch up to its powerful new chip - "Early in the testing phase of Apple's M1 chipset, a milestone new product for the company, the processor was installed in a batch of Mac computers and given to staffers working on applications that demanded heavy processing power. It was a pivotal moment: the first time Apple had made its own chip for any of its computers, shifting away from years of using a one-size-fits-all option from Intel."
• A visual history of space-age fashion - "Now as a new space race unfolds, this time with a human mission to Mars on the horizon, we take a look back at fashion's enduring love affair with outer space, in which art imitates life forms -- whether alien or astronaut -- and celestial bodies alike."
• See The Top 100 Collector Cars To Include Rare & Exotic Ferraris, Bugattis & Lamborghinis - "One hundred of history’s rarest, most inventive, artistic, sculptural and emotional motor cars are gathered on the pages of a new double-volume book. Authored by husband-and-wife team Charlotte and Peter Fiell, 'Ultimate Collector Cars' features the world’s most significant classic and contemporary cars, almost all of which are in private collections making rare appearances at Concours d'Elegance, Villa d’Este and other such luxurious events."
• Ultimate Collector Cars - Amazon.com.
• Apple says HomePod & HomePod Mini will support lossless audio after future update - "The Apple TV 4K won’t be able to play Hi-Res Lossless at launch."
• Do you have a fear of returning to the office? - "If they want us back, will we go? And how can managers make workplaces more enticing? Emma Beddington wonders if office life will ever be the same again."
• Quiet supersonic jet maker Aerion abruptly shuts down - "It had partners like Boeing and GE."
• Richest nations agree to end support for coal production overseas - "G7 countries reaffirm commitment to limit global heating to 1.5C after nearly two days of wrangling."
• Covid vaccine profits mint 9 new pharma billionaires - "Topping the list of new billionaires are Moderna (MRNA) CEO Stéphane Bancel and Ugur Sahin, the CEO of BioNTech (BNTX), which has produced a vaccine with Pfizer (PFE). Both CEOs are now worth around $4 billion, according to an analysis by the People's Vaccine Alliance, a campaign group that includes Oxfam, UNAIDS, Global Justice Now and Amnesty International."
• IMF pushes G20 states to back $50bn global mass vaccination drive - "Wealthy nation backing for a $50bn mass global vaccination drive could provide a $9tn boost to the world economy, the head of the International Monetary Fund has said."
• No, your Covid jab isn't magnetic - "Videos of people sticking magnets to where they claim they've had the Covid vaccine have racked up millions of views on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram."
• The world's biggest, weirdest music event is back, and we need it more than ever - "Eurovision, the world's campest and occasionally cringeworthiest competition, is back in action a year after its first-ever cancellation."
• Apple iOS 14.6: The Next iPhone Update Includes A Genius New Feature - "Apple’s next iPhone software update is almost upon us, expected in the next week or two - it might even be released in the next few days. But while it won’t be a mega-release like iOS 14.5 was, it will have some neat features. One of them uses App Clips, for Shazam. App Clips, you’ll remember, were announced by Apple last year, and they started arriving with iOS 14.3."
• APPLE TV SIRI REMOTE REVIEW: PUSHING ALL THE RIGHT BUTTONS - "If you’ve got an Apple TV, it’s a must-have upgrade."
• Apple’s excuse for no AirTag in Siri Remote: it’s too thick to easily lose in your couch - "Apple VP Tim Twerdahl answered that burning question in perhaps the most unsatisfactory way imaginable: simply, that the new TV remote’s thick enough you shouldn’t need to worry about that much anymore."
• The Future Of First Class? The Seats Could Be Next To Economy - "Up to now, cabin classes have always stayed very separate. Economy fliers rarely get to see the benefits of first or business class, and while that gives premium passengers plenty of privacy, it can be challenging for airlines in terms of making maximum use of the available space. A concept by South Korean student Sahngseok Lee in partnership with Adient Aerospace suggests that mixing classes together could be a more efficient solution."
• Einstein handwritten letter with E=mc2 equation auctioned - "A letter written by Albert Einstein containing his most famous equation, E=mc2, has sold at auction in the US for more than $1.2m - three times more than had been expected."
• Romanian dictator's airplane listed for auction at $30,000 - "The Rombac 1-11, which was used for the dictator's official flights between 1986 and 1989, is to be put up for auction on May 27 with a starting price of €25,000 (around $30,000)."
• The game that boosts your mind - "'How a $10k poker win changed how I think'. When amateur player Alex O'Brien unexpectedly won an online poker tournament, little did she know that she'd be pitted against one of the game's most controversial players. A stellar team of poker pros offered to train her, and she discovered how poker can transform how you see the world."
• 6 Places that Changed the World - "Visit the sites where history happened." Google Arts & Culture.
• The Italy most Italians don't see - "The Sentiero dei Parchi: A new hiking trail uniting Italy. The country that created the Slow Food movement is now championing slow travel with an ambitious €35m, 13-year plan to connect all of Italy's 25 national parks."
• ‘It has stood the test of time’: was 1971 the greatest year in music? - "In Asif Kapadia’s new Apple TV+ docuseries, the music of the year, and its cultural and political impact, receives much-deserved attention."
• Audi is piloting battery-powered EV fast-charging stations - "Audi has unveiled an interesting high-speed, premium 'charging hub' concept that will allow Audi EV owners to make a reservation for up to 300 kW charging speeds. The stations will be powered by lithium-ion batteries that are themselves recharged at night so they don't impact peak power demands in cities or regions. It plans to pilot the concept in Germany by late summer."
• Real Water, a premium bottled water, recalled amid death & liver illnesses - "A consent decree order stopped the production and distribution of the product whose packaging touted its healthy detoxifying properties."
• Why has Seychelles seen rising case numbers? - "The Seychelles has vaccinated more people per head against Covid-19 than any other country, but has experienced a spike in cases."
• Dogs can better detect Covid in humans than lateral flow tests, finds study - "French trial shows dogs were able to detect presence of coronavirus with 97% accuracy."
• Prince Harry's eight YEARS of therapy - "How royal sought help from 'GPs, doctors and therapists' in his late 20s before entering five years of analysis for fear of losing Meghan and now uses trendy EMDR therapy."
• Social media turns on Harry - "There goes the 'publicity-shy' Prince again! Twitter users accuse Harry of being a 'one-trick pony' whose 'ONLY means of getting interest is by 'b*tching about his family'."
• Summer Vacations Are Selling Out Fast. Here’s How To Outsmart The Crowds - "Demand for travel is sky high but many top hotels, resorts and rental homes are already booked for the season. Here’s where to look and what to book instead."
• Microsoft is finally getting rid of its most-hated product - "Microsoft announced this week that it will end support for Internet Explorer 11 on June 15, 2022. That final nail in the coffin came after years of flirting with IE's demise."
• ‘They killed my best friend for supper!’ - "Gunda, the farmyard film that could put you off eating meat for ever. A sow, two cows and a one-legged chicken are the stars of Victor Kossakovsky’s unique documentary, which Hollywood’s most famous vegan, Joaquin Phoenix, has helped to get the audience it deserves."
• Could humans really destroy all life on Earth? - "The seemingly insatiable human tendency to consume is changing our planet and the life on it, but can we change our behaviour?"
• Climate crisis behind drastic drop in Arctic wildlife populations - report - "Native shorebirds and caribou among species at risk as survival strategies are upended."
• Can the 'right to disconnect' exist in a remote-work world? - "Governments have long been trying to enact laws to give workers the right to log off. But some fear there’s no realistic way these rules can help a newly flexible workforce."
• The coded messages in pop songs - "While a catchy tune can grab our attention, subliminal subversive ideas are often what really connect with us."
• MagSafe PopSockets are here: we tested to see if they stick - "It’s the big question with the magnetic iPhone handles."
• Snap’s new Spectacles let you see the world in augmented reality - "The fourth-gen glasses have built-in AR displays. Snap’s new Spectacles glasses are its most ambitious yet. But there’s a big catch: you can’t buy them."
• Dyson V15 Detect's laser proved my apartment was never really clean - "And likely won't be, for long. Dyson’s newest vacuum isn’t one for subtlety. It has a laser strapped to the front of it for the purpose of highlighting where the dust is hiding."
• New York greenlights floating public pool on the East River - "The proposal, dubbed '+ Pool,' will see a 285,500-gallon public pool built on a floating island. Layers of 'filtration membranes' will make the water safe for swimming while simultaneously cleaning the surrounding river, according to project organizers, who say the pool will clean 600,000 gallons of river water every day."
• World's largest iceberg breaks off from Antarctica - "The world's largest iceberg has calved from Antarctica over the past few days, a giant floating piece of ice close to 80 times the size of Manhattan."
• Climate disasters ‘caused more internal displacement than war’ in 2020 - "Intense storms and flooding triggered three times more displacements than violent conflicts did last year, as the number of people internally displaced worldwide hit the highest level on record."
• Climate change could make overwinter ‘zombie’ fires more common - "Study finds burn area from fires that survive winter varies depending on warmth of summers."
• Bitcoin plunges below $40,000 as China widens its crypto crackdown - "The world's most heavily traded cryptocurrency plunged as low as $30,202 per coin early Wednesday after starting the day around the $40,000 mark, according to data from Coindesk."
• What to know before buying a smartwatch - "Just a couple of years ago, the case for smartwatches wasn’t clear. Today, the wearable world is filled with a bunch of high-quality devices to choose from, and a few key players have pushed themselves to the front of the pack."
• iPad Pro (2021) review: Apple’s hardware may have outpaced its software - "The most powerful iPad ever feels like the beginning of something big."
• China has the world's largest network of high-speed railways - "Past, present and future: The evolution of China's incredible high-speed rail network."
• China skyscraper wobble due to ‘winds, rail lines & warmer weather’ - "Preliminary verdict in Shenzhen suggests combination of factors led to shaking, and finds no safety problems."
• ‘A united nations of crime’: how Marbella became a magnet for gangsters - "The new international crime organisations have made Marbella their centre of operations. And as violence rises, the police lag far behind."
• Tuned Mass Dampers in Skyscrapers - "In many of the world’s tallest skyscrapers, there’s a secret device protecting the building and the people inside from strong motion due to wind and earthquakes. Did you know you can tune a skyscraper just like a guitar?"
• Lewis Hamilton urges Monaco GP to act over lack of overtaking - "‘It needs to change, we have had the same format for years’. Lewis Hamilton has insisted the Monaco Grand Prix must change if it is to appeal to fans. The world champion highlighted the difficulties in overtaking on the narrow streets of Monte Carlo, which boasts a spectacular location but often less than stellar racing."
• Hockney & Van Gogh: How images of nature bring us joy - "In a new BBC Culture series that explores the ways that nature inspires artists, Cath Pound looks at the paintings of the natural world that can soothe and uplift us in difficult times."
• The anxiety that limits your creative genius - "Many professions require you to think flexibly and improvise all day long - but constant pressure to be inventive could be holding you back."
• 5 of Anthony Bourdain’s favourite food destinations - "The co-author of World Travel: An Irreverent Guide reveals the places and dishes at the top of the late chef and food presenter’s list."
• A Nordic drink more desired than beer - "A Finnish drink with a heroic past. In the 16th Century, effervescent sima was a more desired drink than beer and has since become Finland's go-to beverage for ushering in spring."
• ‘Madman ... racist, sexist pig’: new book details Obama’s real thoughts on Trump - "The Democratic ex-president was candid in remarks to donors and advisers, according to Battle for the Soul by Edward-Isaac Dovere. For much of Donald Trump’s presidency, Barack Obama largely abided by the convention that former presidents do not publicly criticize or attack their successors."
• William Shatner at 90, on love, loss & Leonard Nimoy - "‘Take it easy, nothing matters in the end’." His career has taken him from Shakespeare to Star Trek - and soon he will be swimming with sharks on TV. He discusses longevity, tragedy, friendship and success.
• Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop sued as man claims vagina-scented candle ‘exploded’ - "Another day, another close call for Gwyneth Paltrow’s vagina-scented candle. Texas resident Colby Watson is seeking a jury trial and damages of $5m after an incident in which he claims one of Goop’s This Smells Like My Vagina candles exploded on his bedside table."
• Google I/O 2021: the 14 biggest announcements - May 18-20. The Verge.
• The Best Places To Retire In 2021 - "Forbes compared nearly 800 locales in America, on everything from housing costs and taxes to healthcare, air quality and climate change and natural hazard risk. These are the top 25 cities for retirees."
• New York attorney general adds 'criminal capacity' to probe of Trump Organization - "The attorney general office's investigation into the Trump Organization, which has been underway since 2019, will also continue as a civil probe, but the office recently informed Trump Organization officials of the criminal component."
• Trump is facing probes from 5 independently elected investigators - "Five independently elected investigators have turned their attention to former President Donald Trump, a sign his legal woes are mounting as he no longer enjoys the protections once afforded to him by the Oval Office."
• Bill & Melinda Gates tap lawyers from Jeff Bezos’ costly divorce - "Each has added high-powered attorneys who worked on opposite ends of the divorce of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos from his ex-wife Mackenzie Scott."
• Fox News host labels Harry the Prince of Woke Social Justice - "The Duke of Sussex had made his recent comments criticizing the First Amendment in an Armchair Expert podcast episode. Harry had said: 'I've got so much I want to say about the First Amendment as I sort of understand it, but it is bonkers'."
• Now Boris’s £840-a-roll wallpaper is peeling off! - "After being given a pasting for getting Tory donors to pay for gold wallpaper in his Downing Street flat, Boris Johnson faced fresh embarrassment last night - it keeps falling down."
• Chips with everything: how one Taiwanese company drives the world economy - "A Covid-driven global shortage of microchips has put manufacturer TSMC at the heart of the world’s recovery, as well as US-China tensions."
• Galapagos rock formation Darwin's Arch has collapsed - "The top of Darwin's Arch, located in the northern part of the archipelago, fell as 'a consequence of natural erosion,' according to the Ministry of Environment for Ecuador."
• Any amount of alcohol consumption harmful to the brain, finds study - "UK study of 25,000 people finds even moderate drinking is linked to lower grey matter density."
• How overwork is literally killing us - "Alarming new research shows that people working more than 54 hours a week are at major risk of dying from overwork. It’s killing three-quarters of a million people each year."
• Delivery text scams: the nasty new fraud wave sweeping the UK - "It starts with a text about a fee for a parcel ... and can end with criminals emptying your bank account. Victims and experts explain how to avoid it."
• Test-Driving The Porsche Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo - "Porsche’s Taycan in highest specifications remains one of the most exhilarating supercars I have ever experienced and will always be the car that shifted my perception of battery-electric (BEV) from Geekdom to legitimate high-performance. Unlike most other battery-electric vehicles, Taycans are not only blindingly quick sprinters, but agile and therein lies the difference, the edge, the unique experience, the reason to buy."
• The Most Successful Excuses For Getting Out Of A Speeding Ticket - Forbes.
• Here's why AirPods Max don't support Apple Music Lossless - "It’s a limitation of Bluetooth codecs, not Apple’s hardware."
• Kim Jong-un bans skinny jeans over fears 'decadent' fashion could topple regime - "The North Korean dictator is reportedly fearful that 'capitalistic' influences among North Korea's youth could lead to his overthrow - and has brought in measures to stamp them out."
• The Falling Water House - "The documentary film about one of Frank Lloyd Wright's greatest masterpieces. In 1935, Frank Lloyd Wright designed a country house for the Kaufmann family over a small stream in rural southwestern Pennsylvania, 43 miles (69 km) southeast of Pittsburgh, built in 1936 -1939." YouTube 27:07.
• What to expect at Google I/O 2021 - May 18-20.
• Melinda Gates could be angling to change kids’ $10M inheritance in split - "Bill Gates has said his kids will get a 'minuscule' portion of his vast wealth."
• Bill Gates left Microsoft amid affair investigation - "Microsoft was investigating its co-founder Bill Gates over a 20-year-old affair shortly before he stepped down from the company's board last year."
• Billionaire FranÇois Pinault fulfils Paris art gallery dream - "Contemporary collection finds home in former grain exchange 16 years after plan for Seine island failed."
• Long Covid symptoms ease after vaccination, survey finds - "Fifty-seven per cent of people with illness say they were better overall after jab."
• Millionaires who support taxing the rich protest in front of Jeff Bezos’s homes - "Demonstrations organized by Patriotic Millionaires, whose members earn incomes of over $1m or have assets worth over $5m."
• AirTags Can Be Used To Figure Out When a House Is Empty, Researcher Warns - "A security researcher warns that a feature that displays when an AirTag was last seen could give away some sensitive information about its surroundings."
• Boom Supersonic aims to fly 'anywhere in the world in four hours for $100' - "The British-French airliner Concorde, one of only two supersonic jets to have operated commercially, flew from 1969 to 2003 and was ludicrously expensive and an environmental disaster. A fresh bunch of start-ups are working on supersonic and hypersonic projects. Last October frontrunner Boom Supersonic was the first to roll out an actual honest-to-goodness IRL demonstrator aircraft, the XB1."
• How Much Fuel Does A Jet Aircraft Use During A Typical Flight? - "A jet aircraft uses a phenomenal, almost incomprehensible, amount of fuel. For example, a Boeing 747 burns up to one gallon of fuel every second. Yes, every second! That means that during a five-hour flight, a Boeing 747 will burn 18,000 gallons of fuel."
• new 'Big 5' are for shooting with a camera, not a gun - "In the 1800s, when blood sports were more socially acceptable, the term 'Big Five' was coined to refer to the lion, rhino, buffalo, elephant and leopard -- the animals that trophy hunters in Africa considered the most dangerous to hunt on foot."
• World is home to 50bn birds, ‘breakthrough’ citizen science research estimates - "University of NSW study suggests six times as many individual birds as humans but that many species are very rare."
• Rumble in the jungle: what animals would win in a fight? - "And what wild beasts do Americans think they themselves can take on?"
• 'How a $10k poker win changed how I think' - "When amateur player Alex O'Brien unexpectedly won an online poker tournament, little did she know that she'd be pitted against one of the game's most controversial players. A stellar team of poker pros offered to train her, and she discovered how poker can transform how you see the world."
• No new oil, gas or coal development if world is to reach net zero by 2050, says world energy body - "Governments must close gap between net zero rhetoric and reality, says International Energy Agency head."
• Just 20 firms behind more than half of single-use plastic waste - study - "The study looked at approximately 1,000 factories that make the raw materials needed for single-use products. Plastic bottles, food packages and bags are among billions of items that are used once and then thrown away, often ending up in the oceans."
• Greenland ice sheet on brink of major tipping point, says study - "Scientists say ice equivalent to 1-2 metres of sea level rise is probably already doomed to melt."
• Apple Music will offer Dolby Atmos & lossless streaming starting next month - "You won't have to pay extra for either one."
• Apple’s $549 AirPods Max can’t play lossless Apple Music - even when plugged in - "But Apple Music’s new spatial audio feature will work on all AirPods."
• Fake Covid vaccine & test certificate market is growing, researchers say - "More than 1,200 vendors operating in the UK and worldwide, offering false documents for as little as £25."
• Bill Gates’ issues at Microsoft, in private life before divorce from Melinda Gates - "Microsoft founder Bill Gates had a relationship with one of the company’s engineers that was deemed 'inappropriate', it’s been revealed."
• Divorces of the rich and famous: a 1% solution or the start of a trend? - "With such high-profile splits at Bill and Melinda Gates and Jeff and Mackenzie Bezos, some say the wealthy play by their own rules but celebrities often set standards the rest of us follow."
• What the Maldives looked like before mass tourism - "The Maldives: turquoise waters, luminous white sands, gorgeous technicolor sunsets and, of course, luxury. But believe it or not there was a time when the Maldives wasn't one of the most glamorous getaways in the world."
• ‘Catastrophic’: Sierra Leone sells rainforest for Chinese fish plant - "A $55m deal struck by the government of Sierra Leone with China to build an industrial fishing harbour on 100 hectares (250 acres) of beach and protected rainforest has been criticised as 'a catastrophic human and ecological disaster' by conservationists, landowners and rights groups."
• New York gets dizzying new glass elevator ride - "Ever wondered what it would be like to take a glass elevator ride up the side of one of New York's tallest skyscrapers? Well, visitors will soon be able to do just that thanks to Summit One Vanderbilt, a brand new attraction set to open at Manhattan's One Vanderbilt tower this October."
• Israel-Gaza: Why is the region blurry on Google Maps? - "Why is Gaza, one of the most densely populated places in the world, blurry on Google Maps?"
• How humanity has changed the food it eats - "Processed food isn’t just a modern invention, created in factories from artificial ingredients. It is as old as humanity itself and may have helped create our species."
• Why swearing could have a place in the office - "Using graphic language at work has been long frowned upon. But could there be an advantage to peppering your speech with a few strategic expletives?"
• Brighton: The birthplace of the first modern film - "It's 125 years since many landmarks of early cinema were invented - and a British seaside town was the unlikely setting, writes Norman Miller."
• Cloudflare says it’s time to end CAPTCHA ‘madness’, launches new security key-based replacement - "CAPTCHAs are those tests you have to take, often when trying to log into a service, that ask you to click images of things like busses or crosswalks or bicycles to prove that you’re a human. (CAPTCHA, if you didn’t know, stands for 'Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart.') The problem is, they add a lot of friction to using the web and can sometimes be difficult to solve - I’m sure I’m not the only person who has frustratingly failed a CAPTCHA because I didn’t see that corner of a crosswalk in one image."
• Tom Cruise sells Colorado home for $39.5M - "Just two months after listing his Colorado estate for $39.5 million, actor Tom Cruise has sold the 320-acre spread for its full asking price, its listing brokerage told The Post."
• Ohio will give 5 people $1 million each in COVID-19 vaccine lottery - "The US state of Ohio will award cash prizes of $1m to five recipients of Covid-19 vaccines as part of a lottery launched to boost flagging up-take of jabs. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said only adult residents who had had a vaccine would be eligible for the draw."
• How will isolation affect long-term immunity? - "Healthy immune systems work best when exposed to microbes. So what will lockdown have done to our resistance to germs?"
• No alternative to vaccine passports, says Dubai airport boss - "The boss of the world's busiest airport for international passengers has said Covid passports are the only way to restart mass foreign travel."
• You Have Cryptocurrency Questions. We Have Answers - "Cryptocurrency is going mainstream -and becoming increasingly difficult for investors to ignore. Here’s our guide to crypto, and why so many people are talking about it these days." TIME Magazine.
• Torlonia marbles: 'The priceless statues I saw covered in dust and dirt' - "One of the world's most important collections of marble busts and statues from ancient Greece and Rome is on public view in the Italian capital for the first time since World War Two. The BBC's David Willey is one of very few people who had seen them before."
• The Unlikely Watch Collector: Gianni Agnelli - "Grandson of Fiat founder Giovanni Agnelli, Gianni Agnelli became the most influential man in Italy, on both a business and style level. And when it comes to watches, whether choosing the appropriate models or how they should be worn, L’Avvocato showed us the way."
• the guardians most memorable journalism over 200 years - "The Guardian has published more than 5m pieces of journalism since 1821. With the help of staff, readers, supporters and alumni we pick 200 of the most powerful, and ask Guardian staff past and present to reflect on their enduring appeal."
• Could ‘engineered’ coral save the planet’s reefs from destruction? - "London Zoo’s latest exhibition shows how scientists hope to halt the devastation caused by overheated oceans."
• Heir of desperation as Japan wrestles with looming royal succession crisis - "Experts convened to consider changing male-only succession laws amid preponderance of women in the royal family."
• Debenhams' remaining stores to close for the final time as COVID shutdown ends more than 240 years of retail history - "The department store chain, a staple of high streets since 1778, collapsed into administration weeks after the virus fully hit."
• The Seychelles is 60% vaccinated, but still infections are rising. That's not as bad as it sounds - "One of the most vaccinated countries in the world is experiencing a Covid-19 outbreak."
• Fauci gives first interview after CDC mask guidance update - "CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta discusses the CDC's announcement that fully vaccinated people go can without masks indoors and outdoors."
• The hermit kingdom: how a proudly multicultural country became ‘fortress Australia’ - "As Covid wreaks havoc overseas Australia risks regressing culturally and economically if borders don’t reopen."
• People are panic buying homes as prices skyrocket around the world - "House prices soar even as the world suffered its worst slump since the Great Depression. From New Zealand to the United States, Germany, China and Peru, the same phenomenon has taken hold: home prices are skyrocketing, and many buyers are panicking."
• Monica & Rachel's 'Friends' apartment is on Booking.com - "'Friends' fans are being given the chance to crash for a night at Monica and Rachel's apartment. More than a quarter century since Rachel sought refuge with Monica after running out of her wedding to Barry the dentist, 'The Friends Experience' -- a two-story, immersive celebration of the show launched in New York in March -- has teamed up with travel company Booking.com to provide what it calls 'The Ultimate Sleepover.'"
• What to expect from Google I/O 2021 - "The keynote kicks off at 1PM ET on May 18th."
• Passing on your password? Streaming services are past it - "Many of us were taught to share as kids. Now streaming services ranging from Netflix to Amazon to Disney+ want us to stop."
• Apple Music for Android offers more details on upcoming lossless streaming - "Evidence points to two tiers of lossless audio."
• How processed food drives diet-related diseases - "I know the unhealthy eating habits I see are often related to eating too many ultraprocessed foods rich in sugar, salt and unhealthy fats. That's why I was eager to talk to pediatric neuroendocrinologist Dr. Robert Lustig about his new book, 'Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine.'"
• ‘It’s hard to look at’: Donald Trump makes National Portrait Gallery debut - "Photo of ex-president will make way for a painted portrait as gallery says Trump’s team is considering artists."
• 'If you don't marry, come over': JFK love letters to Swedish mistress fetch $88K - "The intimate letters -- addressed to Gunilla von Post, an aristocrat he met weeks prior to his 1953 marriage to Jacqueline Bouvier -- reveal Kennedy describing their time together as a 'bright memory of my life.'"
• Major Rare & Vintage Car Shows Making A Comeback This Spring & Summer - "The car world has seen its share of highs and lows over the past year, but one thing is for certain; automotive events and showcases are roaring back to life this summer, and they’ve had enough time to prepare for a comeback like no other."
• Lottery jackpot 'winner' says she destroyed $26m ticket in laundry wash - "A woman who claims to have purchased the winning ticket in a $26m California Lottery draw says she left it in a trouser pocket and destroyed it in the wash, US media report."
• Shoephoria! The history of footwear - in pictures - "Shoephoria! at the Fashion Museum in Bath showcases 350 pairs of boots and shoes to illustrate their evolution over the last 300 years, demonstrating the creativity and style of shoemakers and wearers."
• People vaccinated against Covid-19 can go without masks indoors & outdoors, CDC says - "People fully vaccinated against Covid-19 do not need to wear masks or practice social distancing indoors or outdoors, except under certain circumstances, the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday."
• More frequent side-effects reported mixing Pfizer & Oxford Covid jabs, study suggests - "Administering one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine followed by one of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine (or vice versa) induces a higher frequency of mild to moderate side-effects compared with standard two doses of either vaccine, initial data from a key UK trial suggests."
• Asia Is Home to 99 of the World’s 100 Cities Facing the Greatest Environmental Challenges - "The many environmental challenges facing the world are far from evenly shared across regions. Of the 100 cities facing the greatest environmental risks, 99 are in Asia, according to a report published today by risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft. Meanwhile, Europe is home to 14 of the 20 safest cities."
• Jeff Bezos & the secretive world of superyachts - "News that Jeff Bezos has bought a 'superyacht' has revived interest in the secretive world of the uber-rich globetrotters who enjoy these ultimate status symbols. Experts say the superyacht industry has been booming for years, even during the global economic slowdown caused by the pandemic."
• Bill Gates hiding out at luxe billionaires’ golf club in California - "An insider said the 65-year-old billionaire Microsoft founder has been holed up at The Vintage Club in Indian Wells, which bills itself as 'one of the United States’ most prestigious and ultra-exclusive private country club communities,' a veritable 712-acre oasis of wealth."
• Global shortage of computer chips could last two years, says IBM boss - "Tech industry struggles to keep up with demand brought on by the reopening of the world economy."
• Wisdom from the greatest commencement speeches of all time - "From Obama to Steve Jobs: The greatest commencement speeches of all time."
• Birkin bags hit record prices even as the world ground to a halt during Covid. Here's why - "The desirability of an Hermès Birkin handbag -- a symbol of rarefied wealth -- is such that not even a global pandemic can dull demand for it. Instead, it has helped fire it up even more. The bags are getting scooped up at record premiums in the pandemic era, according to Birkin resellers. Auction house Christie's says that one of its two highest selling handbags in history is a Birkin made of crocodile skin that went for nearly $390,000 in November (The other was a Kelly bag, also from Hermès, that sold for close to $450,000)."
• Sneakers Unboxed review: Would you pay £99,000 for this self-lacing Nike? - "From battered Vans to box-fresh Adidas, how did sneakers become an $80bn-a-year global industry? This fun show has all the answers - including how to get really fat laces."
• Two paintings by Jean-Michel Basquiat fetched a combined $144 million this week - "'Tonight we took the pulse of the market -- and it is clearly racing'. Despite ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, it was -- almost -- business as usual at New York's spring auctions this week, with two paintings by Jean-Michel Basquiat fetching $144M among other exhilarating sales."
• Pent-Up Luxury Demand Keeps LVMH On Top Of The World’s Largest Apparel Companies - "One year after the pandemic brought a halt to in-person shopping, crowds are lining up outside of Louis Vuitton stores to buy $4,000 handbags in the U.S. and abroad. If the restored hype is any indication, makers of luxury apparel are set to enjoy a lucrative year of post-Covid pent-up demand."
• 'Friends: The Reunion' hits HBO Max on May 27th - "When it hasn't been your year, they'll be there for you."
• ‘Stop drinking fake coffee!’ Your most annoying things about TV - "We asked you to name your pet peeves of the small screen. Here are the things that rile you up - from empty cups to far too easy parking."
• The film that got depression right - "Is Melancholia the greatest film about depression ever made? On its premiere, Lars von Trier's drama starring Kirsten Dunst was marred by controversy. But 10 years on, it stands as a masterpiece about mental illness, writes Sophie Monks Kaufman."
• 17 ways to make the most of asparagus season - "From tarts to salads and soups to puddings, asparagus is one of our most versatile vegetables - and right now it’s at its freshest. Here are some inspiring ideas to try at home."
• From London to Beijing on the old Silk Road - a photo essay - "Taken on a 25,000-mile trip across 16 countries, these images capture cities, landscapes and people along the trading route - and the pre-Covid freedom of cross-border travel."
• Cat jumps from fifth-floor of burning Chicago building, bounces once and runs away - "Feline survives daring leap from apartment in video captured by Chicago Fire Department."
• Covid-19 pandemic was preventable, report says - "Serious failures in WHO and global response, report finds."
• How conspiracy theories led to Covid vaccine hesitancy in the Pacific - "Social media has been flooded with falsehoods about fertility, birth control and surveillance as nations struggle to administer enough doses."
• ‘I said what I said’: Tom Cruise stands by that infamous COVID-19 safety rant - "In December, a shocking soundbite of the Oscar-nominated actor berating the 'Mission: Impossible' production for supposedly violating COVID-19 safety protocols divided the internet."
• THE WORLD'S 10 HIGHEST-PAID ATHLETES - "A record four athletes - including one quarterback and two soccer legends - each earned $100 million or more in the past year."
• Tesla will no longer accept Bitcoin over climate concerns, says Musk - "Tesla has suspended vehicle purchases using Bitcoin due to climate change concerns, its CEO Elon Musk said in a tweet. Bitcoin fell by more than 10% after the tweet, while Tesla shares also dipped."
• $365 billion wiped off cryptocurrency market after Tesla stops car purchases with bitcoin - "Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the electric vehicle maker would suspend car purchases using bitcoin, citing environmental concerns. As much as $365.85 billion was wiped off the entire cryptocurrency market though it did pare some losses. Bitcoin, ether and XRP were all sharply lower. Musk said Tesla will not be selling any bitcoin and intends to use it for transactions 'as soon as mining transitions to more sustainable energy.'"
• Climate emissions shrinking the stratosphere, scientists reveal - "Thinning indicates profound impact of humans and could affect satellites and GPS."
• The expert guide to a horny, healthy summer - "Should you have a lateral flow test before sex? Is it essential to wait until you’re fully vaccinated? Doctors, scientists and other experts answer the big questions."
• World’s Best Golf Courses, Resorts & Vacations, According To New Travel Rankings - "Golf enjoyed a big resurgence in popularity during the coronavirus pandemic, with many courses having record years, and at top resorts, the trend shows no signs of slowing. As Covid-19 vaccination rates continue to increase and travel rebounds, golf’s newfound popularity is expected to remain strong, and many people will be planning golf vacations in 2021 and beyond. Fortunately, a bevy of just released information can help any would-be golfer planning a trip, including one important, informed and all-new ranking of the world’s best golf travel destinations."
• 20 chefs on the best hot sandwiches to make in a hurry - "Languishing in a lunch rut? Extremely bored of omelettes? Here are some super-fast, super-tasty alternatives - from crab crumpets to a roast pepper delight-"
• Secrets Leaked About Jeff Bezos’ New 417-Foot-Long Sailing Superyacht - "Actually, he’s buying a whole fleet of yachts. Not only is Bezos reportedly buying one of the largest sailing superyachts in the world (Superyacht A measuring 469-feet-long and owned by Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko is still the largest). He’s also reported to be buying a 'smaller' support vessel that will follow the big yacht around carrying all the 'toys' (personal submarine, aircraft, various other yachts, cars etc.) that just won’t fit on the mothership. And by mothership, I mean superyacht."
• The Return Of The Dress Watch! - "In terms of dress watches, the first thought for many is of a watch in its purest form: an elegant gold case of modest diameter with a slender profile, leather strap, and two, at the most three, hands."
• Chanel Unveils Restored Apartment at 31 Rue Cambon - "The mythic place with its beige sofa and coromandel screens has been restored by interior decorator Jacques Grange."
• Qantas supermoon flight to nowhere sells out in 'record time' - "Qantas is offering a new 'flight to nowhere' that will give travel-starved Australian residents the chance to admire the late May supermoon and full lunar eclipse from over 40,000 feet in the sky. Tickets for the supermoon flight started at AUS $499 for an economy ticket (US $386), while business class was on sale for $1,499 a pop (US $1,160)."
• Love Lake: Heart-shaped lagoons link up in Dubai desert - "The man-made desert oasis of Al Qudra is home to myriad artificial lakes, surrounded by towering sand dunes and local fauna, making it a top recreation spot for residents of Dubai."
• The secret story of angostura bitters - "To this day, the recipe for Angostura Aromatic Bitters remains a secret, and perhaps nowhere is the legend and lore surrounding it more robust than on the island where it is produced."
• Moscow & Beijing come together on Covid - "China and Russia want to vaccinate the developing world before the West. It's brought them closer than ever."
• One of Italy's most idyllic islands is 'Covid-free' - "Capri, in the Gulf of Naples, is normally known for its upscale visitors. But this year, instead of pitching its luxury hotels and glorious sea views, the authorities are going for a much simpler sale: that every island resident has been vaccinated."
• Why I Bought Bruce Lee’s Watch - "The story behind the martial arts icon’s Seiko is almost as legendary as the man himself."
• Huge diamond deemed 'flawless' could break records - "This rare purple-pink diamond could make $38M at auction."
• These beautiful Italian towns will pay you to work remotely - "In an attempt to lure newcomers, Santa Fiora in Tuscany and Rieti in Lazio will pay up to 50% of the rent of anyone who decides to move and telecommute on a long-term basis."
• Why it’s so hard to work with a creative genius - "Creative geniuses can be both a boon and a bane in the workplace, so getting the most of these extraordinary minds can be slippery for everyone involved."
• The 'infinite' plastic recycling plant - "The way we normally recycle plastics is a downward spiral of waste and degraded materials, but there is another option - turning plastic back into the oil it was made from."
• WiFi vulnerability may leave millions of devices open to 'frag attacks' - "The widespread flaws could be abused by nearby attackers to steal your data."
• What happens when WhatsApp’s new terms start on 15 May? - "Messaging app will begin to turn off features until users agree to Facebook’s updated terms of service."
• Price of gold: DRC’s rich soil bears few riches for its miners - photo essay - "As the value of gold reached new heights last year, those mining it continued to face crippling deprivation and dangerous conditions."
• One in four cities cannot afford climate crisis protection measures - study - "Survey of 800 cities around world finds almost 43% do not even have plan to adapt to impacts of global heating."
• Sprezzatura - What It is, DOs & DON’Ts - "In the age of the iGent and Pitti Uomo, the casual elegance known as sprezzatura has become the Holy Grail for stylish men. But can the pursuit of casual elegance go too far and become simply outlandish? In this article, we’ll explore the limits of sprezzatura."
• U.S. Is Entering a New COVID-19 Vaccination Crisis - "In the past three weeks, every adult in the U.S. has become eligible for COVID-19 vaccines, which are now widely available in most parts of the country. Yet there has been an alarming decline in the number of Americans showing up to get vaccinated, even though less than half of the population has received even a single dose. While data on the progress of the vaccine rollout are difficult to parse given the many moving pieces, this is almost certainly a sign that a large number of adults remain vaccine hesitant."
• WHO says India Covid variant of 'global concern' - "The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the coronavirus variant first found in India last year as a 'variant of global concern'."
• These countries fear they could become the next India - "Some countries in Africa have been relying on a vaccine-sharing initiative to help vaccinate the population. However, supplies are beginning to run out and the World Health Organization says it could open a door to a new wave of Covid-19 infections. CNN's David McKenzie answers your questions from Johannesburg."
• The people who want to keep masking: ‘It’s like an invisibility cloak’ - "More than a year into the pandemic, some people prefer to keep wearing their face mask - even outdoors in public."
• China's population grows at slowest pace in decades - "The average annual growth rate was 0.53% over the past 10 years, down from a rate of 0.57% between 2000 and 2010 - bringing the population to 1.41bn."
• Forests the size of France regrown since 2000, study suggests - "The restored forests have the potential to soak up the equivalent of 5.9 gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon dioxide - more than the annual emissions of the US, according to conservation groups."
• Global renewable energy industry grew at fastest rate since 1999 last year - "New wind and solar power projects in China, Europe and the US spurred 45% rise in capacity."
• Empire State Building's Green Retrofit Was a Success. Will Other Buildings Follow Suit? - "Underneath the Empire State building, a maze of pipes, gauges and steel valve wheels that comprise the building’s chiller plant look as if they might have remained unchanged since President Herbert Hoover turned on the tower’s iconic lights at its opening in 1931. Despite their appearance, those enormous heat exchange machines have been thoroughly upgraded on the inside. They have been gutted and reassembled using much of their original materials as part of an extensive and unprecedented retrofit - launched a decade ago, but ongoing to this day - that saw this Big Apple landmark reworked top to bottom in an effort to save energy and reduce costs."
• NBC refuses to air Golden Globes over lack of diversity - "US cable network NBC is the latest media giant to boycott the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) over a lack of diversity."
• Tom Cruise hands back awards & NBC drops broadcast - "Actor and network join industry figures distancing themselves from Hollywood Foreign Press Association after exposé."
• Do You Suddenly Need To Stop Using Facebook? - "A serious reality check this week for Facebook’s 2.5 billion-plus users. Suddenly, the shockingly personal information the tech giant holds on you cannot be ignored. You may have dismissed the dangers of data harvesting and tracking—but not any more. Worse, behind this week’s stark exposure, there’s a much more serious warning."
• Back up pictures - and don’t forget prints: nine ways to organise your photographs - "Most of us have phones, computers and boxes full to bursting with our snaps - and will probably only ever look at a fraction of them. So how do you work out what to keep?"
• A special thanks to the person who combined the Apple TV remote & an AirTag - "The product that Apple forgot to make."
• Asexuality: The ascent of the 'invisible' sexual orientation - "Long in the shadows, asexuality is finally becoming increasingly visible. It could help young people find themselves and their identities, and change the way we think about sexuality."
• Auction Watch: Patek Philippe Ref. 2499 ‘First Series’ & Independents at Phillips Hong Kong - Sjx.
• Dassault unveils Falcon 10X business jet with world's largest cabin - "Dassault Aviation has taken the wraps off its latest business jet, the Falcon 10X. Still in development, the aircraft won't be built for several years, but the company had a virtual rollout to highlight the design and many of the features of what it claims is the business jet with the world's largest cabin."
• Fauci: It may be time to relax indoor face mask mandates - "Dr. Anthony Fauci says federal guidance on wearing face coverings indoors may change soon."
• Pope adds voice to call for pharma giants to waive vaccine patents - "Francis condemns ‘virus of individualism’ that is hampering global vaccination efforts in message to Vax Live concert."
• Smartphone is now ‘the place where we live’, anthropologists say - "A UCL study has found people around the world feel the same about their devices as they do about their homes. Smartphone users have become 'human snails carrying our homes in our pockets', with a tendency to ignore friends and family in favour of their device, according to a landmark study."
• Melinda Gates has been consulting divorce lawyers since October 2019 - "Melinda Gates began consulting divorce lawyers in October 2019, according to a report - around the same time as her husband's friendship with Jeffrey Epstein was being called into question."
• How many bubbles are in a glass of beer? - "Beer's effervescence affects its flavor. When you pour a glass of beer, a frothy cascade of fizz rises to the top; as more and more tiny bubbles coalesce, they form a nose-tickling layer of foam. At first, that frothy stream of carbonation seems endless. But just how many bubbles can emerge from a glass of beer before it goes flat?"
• Why do we buy into the 'cult' of overwork? - "Overwork culture is thriving; we think of long hours and constant exhaustion as a marker of success. Given what we know about burnout, why do we do give in?"
• 4 fish I would still eat - even after watching Seaspiracy - "The hit Netflix documentary encourages viewers to give up seafood altogether. But when it comes to a sustainable diet, I do believe in a few exceptions."
• The myths that hint at past disasters - "Myths and fables passed down over thousands of years are full of fantastic creatures and warring gods. But they also might contain evidence of environmental disasters of the past."
• Dogecoin’s value tumbles after Elon Musk calls the virtual currency a ‘hustle’ - "Price falls by as much as a third after billionaire’s comments on US comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live."
• It's already possible to hack an AirTag - "The security risks are small, but there's a lot of potential for enthusiasts."
• How private is your Gmail, and should you switch? - "You might be surprised how much Google’s email service - and others - know about you. Here’s how to set some boundaries."
• Apple Shortcuts is great, but it needs a notification toggle - "Apple’s Shortcuts app is a fantastic piece of iOS, a nearly limitless corner of the operating system that lets users automate almost anything they can think of, limited only by imagination and ability to use Apple’s coding system (Federico Viticci’s comprehensive collection on MacStories is a great place to start.) But Shortcuts has an issue so awful it renders it one of the most annoying parts of my phone, instead of one of the most useful: Apple insists on always showing notifications when I do something, and it’s virtually impossible to turn it off."
• Why You Should Stop Using Google Photos On Your iPhone, iPad Or Mac - "Google Photos now stores 4 trillion photos and videos for more than a billion users. Even millions of iPhone, iPad and Mac users prefer it to Apple’s alternative - better search, more features, cheaper storage (at least until June 1). But if you're among them, Google’s latest data harvesting admission and its continued block on a key Apple privacy measure should serve as a serious warning that it’s now time to switch."
• ‘The next decade will be all about heat’: can Athens head off climate crisis? - "Mayor overseeing a green regeneration in city where temperatures can already surpass 40C."
• David Hockney on joy, longing & spring light - "‘I’m teaching the French how to paint Normandy!’"
• The Story Behind the Declaration of Independence's Most Memorable Line - "The Declaration’s most memorable line: 'All Men are created equal [and] are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, ...among [which] are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.'"
• Now open: From the Bahamas to the Leaning Tower of Pisa and more - "It's not been an easy year running a travel news desk. Openings, closings, ever-changing guidance -- there's been a lot for CNN Travel to monitor."
• Huge cruise ships, huge problems in Venice - "The truth about cruise ships in Venice."
• Important New iPhone Feature Is A Blockbuster Success, Report Says - "Apple’s last major software release for iPhone, iOS 14.5, brought with it a cool new feature called App Tracking Transparency (ATT) and a new analysis claims that it’s already proving incredibly popular."
• There's a reason most late night talk show hosts sit behind a desk - "How the late night talk show set became an American icon."
• What are the India, Brazil, South Africa and UK variants? - "Coronavirus is changing or mutating in ways that may help it spread better or resist existing vaccines. Understanding new variants can help governments adjust vaccination programmes and keep the virus under control."
• Mucormycosis: The 'black fungus' maiming Covid patients in India - "Mucormycosis is a very rare infection. It is caused by exposure to mucor mould which is commonly found in soil, plants, manure, and decaying fruits and vegetables. 'It is ubiquitous and found in soil and air and even in the nose and mucus of healthy people,' says Dr Nair."
• 2021 Aston Martin Vantage Roadster: Channeling Bond, James Bond - "Test-Driving The 2021 Aston Martin Vantage Roadster."
• Madoff Talks review: definitive life of an ‘extraordinarily evil’ man - "Jim Campbell exchanged hundreds of emails and letters with the financier whose crimes brought him a 150-year sentence."
• I lost my AirTag and it was found within 30 minutes - but Tile took a whole day - "We put Air Tag and Tile head-to-head to discover which keyfinder was easiest to locate."
• Apple AirTag won’t fit in your wallet? Make your own that will - "DIY your own AirTag."
• One of the Rarest, Early Rolex Submariners Is Heading to Auction This Weekend - "Ref. 6536/1 features a detail rarely seen on Submariners: a depth rating in red script without unit measures."
• Picture of two pandemics: Covid cases fall in rich west as poorer nations suffer - "India’s tragedy could be followed by Africa’s, campaigners warn, as wealthy nations fail to extend vaccines - and decide who will live or die."
• Sinopharm: Chinese Covid vaccine gets WHO emergency approval - "It is the first vaccine developed by a non-Western country to get WHO backing."
• BILL GATES' FAMILY FURIOUS AT HIM - "The Bill and Melinda divorce has been a done deal for months, TMZ has learned, and they had a plan to announce it back in March ... a plan that included renting a remote, private island where the entire family -- with one BIG exception -- could avoid the media once the announcement was made ... sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ."
• See Bill & Melinda Gates' enormous lakefront home - "The Gateses' mansion, called Xanadu 2.0, is a stately pleasure-dome indeed. The sprawling 66,000 square-foot complex sits on Lake Washington in the Seattle area, in the same pampered neighborhood as the home of fellow uber-rich person Jeff Bezos. It's estimated to be worth more than $130 million."
• The Opulent, Futuristic Megamansion of Bill & Melinda Gates Could Be a Hard Sell - "If the compound came to the market, the divorcing pair would have to find a buyer looking for a Seattle home with a trampoline room and 66,000 square feet to dust."
• The White House 'headache' Trump left behind for Biden - "The project that's currently tearing up the White House's South Lawn initially landed on Donald Trump's desk."
• World’s Most Valuable Sports Teams 2021 - "The pandemic has caused a world of chaos for the sports industry, but billionaire owners are thriving, with the average value of the world’s top teams jumping 9.9%, to $3.4 billion."
• I tracked my kid with Apple's Airtags to test its privacy features - "I clipped a keychain with one of Apple's tiny new Bluetooth trackers, AirTags, onto my son's book bag and waved goodbye to him on the school bus. I watched on my iPhone's Find My app as the bus stopped at a light a few blocks down from our street."
• How looking young can shape your career - "Looking like a teenager who has accidentally wandered into the office can make or break your career. Should we want to look youthful - or does it come with a cost?"
• how one drug is turning Syria into a narco-state - "Manufacture of Captagon is a growth industry so big it is starting to rival GDP of flatlining economy."
• How Sony paved the way for modern music production - "One format that you might not even have heard of helped democratize music production."
• WHO Finally Admits Coronavirus Is Airborne. It’s Too Late - "Over a year since declaring Covid-19 a pandemic, the World Health Organization has finally admitted that Coronavirus is airborne."
• Nepal facing ‘human catastrophe’ similar to India’s amid Covid surge - "Country appeals for international help, with vaccines in short supply and a reported 47% positivity rate."
• Japan to extend Covid emergency in Tokyo as Olympics loom - "Government admits restrictions that had been due to end on 11 May have failed to stop rising infections."
• China emissions exceed all developed nations combined - "China emits more greenhouse gas than the entire developed world combined, a new report has claimed. The research by Rhodium Group says China emitted 27% of the world's greenhouse gases in 2019. The US was the second-largest emitter at 11% while India was third with 6.6% of emissions, the think tank said."
• China's huge 'Long March' rocket will fall back to Earth this weekend - "The chances of the 23-ton rocket hitting a populated area are small but not zero."
• Fossil Fuels, Climate Change & India's COVID-19 Crisis - TIME Magazine.
• Travel psychology: Why do we visit the same places over & over again? - "Travelers have different reasons for going back to the destinations they know and love. Sometimes those reasons aren't even things they can put into words -- how a certain place stirs our emotions in a way nothing else can."
• The 'gray divorce' trend: As the Gates split shows, more older couples are getting divorced. Here's why - "After 27 years of marriage, Bill and Melinda Gates have Tweeted out their decision to divorce. Why would two people in a long-standing marriage -- a union that has seen the couple through the making of billions, and the establishment of one of the world's largest foundations -- decide to part ways?"
• Trump social media: Twitter suspends account sharing ex-president's posts - "Twitter has suspended an account sharing posts from former US president Donald Trump's new communications platform."
• What's on Netflix & Amazon this month - May - The Guardian.
• Michelin Announces New York Stars For 2021: 7 New One-Star Restaurants Make The Cut - "After an extraordinarily devastating year for New York City restaurants, the culinary world is once again looking to the stars."
• Rome debuts hot pizza vending machine - "Raffaele Esposito, the 19th century Neapolitan credited with inventing Italy's most famous type of pizza, may be turning in his grave: Rome has a new vending machine which slides out freshly cooked pizzas in just three minutes."
• Stunning footage shows restoration work on Notre Dame - "Two years after a fire devastated the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, CNN's Melissa Bell goes inside the cathedral to uncover the hard restoration work going on behind the scenes?"
• Russia's "eighth wonder of the world" - "Coveted by Russian royalty, the jewel-studded Amber Room disappeared during World War Two. But two clues gave it new life."
• Apple’s Night Shift is no match for the complexities of sleep - "Apple’s Night Shift feature, which it says 'may help you get a better night’s sleep,' doesn’t appear to live up to its claim, according to new research. Because exposure to blue light affects the regulation of sleep cycles, the hope is that Night Shift, which filters blue light from screens after sunset, will make falling asleep easier. But as a recent study shows, sleep is weird and complicated, and a single phone feature likely won’t do much to combat sleepless nights."
• How 'optimism bias' shapes our decisions & futures - "Too much optimism can derail projects and even put your health at risk, say experts - but the right amount can propel you bravely toward success."
• Yellow Brings The Most Green: Colors That Boost A Vehicle’s Resale Value - "The study determined that yellow cars tend to bring back the most bucks, depreciating an average 45.6 percent less than conservative colors after three years. Other standout shades in terms of resale value include bright-and cheerful shades of orange, green, red, and blue."
• Two Pfizer Covid vaccine doses give over 95% protection, shows Israel study - "First research of its kind shows power of vaccines to stem pandemic, cutting hospitalisation, death and infection rates."
• Moderna Reports That Booster Doses of Its COVID-19 Vaccine Appear to Be Effective Against Virus Variants - "In a press release on May 5, Moderna reported the first results of any vaccine maker from studies on booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines, which some experts believe might be necessary in a year or so to keep COVID-19 under control."
• Inside Bill Gates' 1,440 sq ft North Carolina love nest - "Rents on Airbnb as a 'Royal Retreat for Beach Lovers' for $600-a-night."
• Jeff Bezos sets date for space sightseeing flight - "The US entrepreneur's Blue Origin company says it will launch a crew aboard its New Shepard rocket and capsule system on 20 July."
• Amazon Unbound: Jeff Bezos and the Invention of a Global Empire - "From the bestselling author of The Everything Store, an unvarnished picture of Amazon’s unprecedented growth and its billionaire founder, Jeff Bezos, revealing the most important business story of our time." A,azon.com.
• A shortage of these metals could make the climate crisis worse - "The world won't be able to tackle the climate crisis unless there is a sharp increase in the supply of metals required to produce electric cars, solar panels, wind turbines and other clean energy technologies, according to the International Energy Agency."
• Anyone can use this powerful facial-recognition tool - and that's a problem - "If you upload a picture of your face to PimEyes' website, it will immediately show you any pictures of yourself that the company has found around the internet. You might recognize all of them, or be surprised (or, perhaps, even horrified) by some; these images may include anything from wedding or vacation snapshots to pornographic images."
• pimeyes - "Face Search Engine Reverse Image Search." Facial Recognition Search Tool. Upload your photo and find where images with your face appear online. PimEyes is an online face search engine that goes through the Internet to find pictures containing given faces. PimEyes uses face recognition search technologies to perform a reverse image search. Find a face and check where the image appears online. Our face finder helps you find a face and protect your privacy. Facial recognition online system allows you to search by image. PimEyes is a face picture search and photo search engine available for everyone. It is a great tool to audit copyright infringement.
• art detective who hunts stolen Picassos & lost Matisses - "Christopher Marinello has spent three decades finding missing masterpieces, recovering half a billion dollars’ worth of art. He talks about threats from mobsters, tricky negotiations - and bungling thieves."
• The TV shows that reveal the real France - "French TV has never been more popular internationally – but the biggest shows at home reflect a conflicted nation, anxious about its place in the world."
• A bottle of Bordeaux aged in space is expected to sell for $1 million - "The Château Pétrus 2000 was part of an experiment carried out by start-up Space Cargo Unlimited to see how conditions in space affect wine."
• How cities will fossilise - "The modern metropolis will leave a geological legacy that will last for millennia, but as the author David Farrier writes, some things will endure far longer than others."
• Architect Alex Nerovnya Discusses Futuristic Compound Concept For L.A.’s Enchanted Hill - "There are things you can do when a property doesn’t sell: finish major repairs, add new paint or even change up the staging. But what do you do when the property is a massive hilltop? Turn to social media, of course."
• 86m superyacht Seven Seas on the market for first time - "The 86-metre Oceanco superyacht Seven Seas is now for sale for the first time since her launch. The Oceanco yacht for sale, which was launched in 2010, features naval architecture from the boards of Azure Naval Architects and exterior designs by Nuvolari Lenard."
• Zulu King Zwelithini's death: Royals & rebels fight for throne - "The Zulu monarchy in South Africa has been plunged into controversy following the death of King Goodwill Zwelithini and - weeks later - the regent."
• how the Mugler catsuit is shaping pop - "From Billie Eilish to Beyoncé, the Mugler outfit has become the natural successor to Madonna’s bustier."
• world's largest jewelry brand is ditching mined diamonds - "The Copenhagen-based company said it's instead shifting toward the use of diamonds created in labs, which it emphasized have the same 'optical, chemical, thermal and physical characteristics.' The collection, called Pandora Brilliance, is rolling out in the United Kingdom and expected to launch globally next year."
• How to make croque monsieur - recipe - "There may not seem much to ‘master’ with what is in effect just a posh cheese and ham toastie, but a proper croque monsieur requires attention to detail."
• Cowboy’s improved C4 electric bike launches alongside first step-through model - "Cowboy, maker of some of our favorite pedal-assisted electric bikes, is back with two new models for 2021. The Cowboy 4 is a complete overhaul to last year’s Cowboy 3 while the Cowboy 4 ST features the company’s first step-through frame. Both bikes benefit from a new powertrain with 50 percent more torque than last year’s C3 as well as a new integrated 'cockpit' with Quadlock mount that wirelessly charges your phone as you ride."
• Trump launches new 'communications' platform - "Donald Trump has launched a new 'communications' website, which says it will publish content 'straight from the desk' of the former US president."
• Melinda Gates could become world’s second-richest woman - "Lack of prenuptial agreement with Bill Gates could herald $73bn divorce settlement as fears focus on future of couple’s charity."
• How The Gates’ Split Could Stack Up Against The Biggest Billionaire Divorces - "It’s not clear how Bill and Melinda Gates will split their fortune, but here’s what’s happened with some of the other billionaire couples who split."
• Ethereum’s 27-Year-Old Co-Creator Is Now The World’s Youngest Crypto Billionaire - "Vitalik Buterin, who spearheaded the launch of the Ethereum blockchain in 2015, has become the world’s youngest crypto billionaire at age 27. Ethereum’s cryptocurrency, ether, surged past $3,000 for the first time early Monday morning, marking a 325% rise since the beginning of this year."
• Pfizer forecasts $26bn from annual sales of Covid-19 vaccine - "Vaccine will generate 73% more than forecast based on contracts signed until mid-April."
• Then & now: restoring coral reefs in Indonesia - "Indonesia coral reef partially restored in extensive project. Around 40,000 sq m (more than 100,000 sq km) of coral reef has been restored as part of a collaboration between local groups, conservation organisation The Nature Conservancy and private company Sheba."
• The radical coral rescue plan that paid off - "When Hurricane Iris hit southern Belize in 2001, the country's magnificent corals were wrecked. But within 10 years, a radical restoration project brought the reef back to life."
• Rich nations’ climate targets will mean global heating of 2.4C - study - "Rise is a 0.2C improvement on previous forecast but still substantially above goal of Paris climate agreement."
• Carbon offsets used by major airlines based on flawed system, warn experts - "The forest protection carbon offsetting market used by major airlines for claims of carbon-neutral flying faces a significant credibility problem, with experts warning the system is not fit for purpose, an investigation has found."
• Napoleon on St. Helena: the man keeping his spirit alive - "Despite its remoteness, St. Helena is known all over the world for its most famous visitor, who died there 200 years ago. Napoleon Bonaparte -- the first emperor of France, and conqueror of much of Europe -- died at his home, Longwood House, on May 5, 1821."
• Napoleon's incendiary legacy divides France 200 years on - "On a busy street in the centre of Montauban in southern France, with roadworks blasting the pavement nearby, there is a spot earmarked for a new statue of France's last national dictator."
• France still split over Napoleon as it marks bicentenary of death - "President to tread fine line as he lays a wreath to ‘commemorate rather than celebrate’ anniversary."
• Napoleon Bonaparte’s belongings to be auctioned - in pictures - "More than 300 objects relating to emperor are being sold by French auction house Osenat, marking the 200th anniversary of his death."
• The Black Stone of Mecca like you've never seen before - "The images of al-Hajar al-Aswad, or the Black Stone, are up to 49,000 megapixels in size and took more than 50 hours to photograph and develop, the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Saudi Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque said in a press release Monday."
• Why we gloss over great ideas - and invest in bad ones - "Research shows people rarely assess the value of their own ideas accurately - and often jettison the best ones. But there are ways to avoid this mistake."
• They decided to live on a boat permanently - "These people have gone all-in on boat life. Here's how they did it."
• Building for a flooded future: Architects are designing for the new climate reality - "Climate change is making cities more susceptible to flooding. According to a 2019 study, global sea levels are expected to rise between two and seven feet over the course of the century; by 2100, at least 190 million people could be living in areas below the projected high-tide line."
• Moment’s accessory mounts are the best use for the iPhone’s MagSafe yet - "Moment, which is well known for its high-quality phone lenses and cases, has always had a strong focus on creating products for the photo or video creator. And its new line of MagSafe accessories has something for all levels of creativity."
• Biggest coin ever made in Royal Mint's 1,100 year history unveiled - "The enormous coin is too big for one hand alone and took hundreds of hours to produce and polish - measuring 20cm wide and 10 kilograms in weight. The coin, which has been described by Mint as a 'masterwork' and has a denomination of £10,000, took a whopping 400 hours to produce - including four days of polishing."
• Apple releases iOS 14.5.1 with fix for App Tracking Transparency bug - "One week after the release of iOS 14.5, Apple today is releasing iOS 14.5.1 to the public with bug fixes and performance improvements. Apple is also releasing iOS 12.5.3 for older iPhones that are not supported by iOS 14.5."
• Apple releases watchOS 7.4.1 with security improvements - "Following the release of the iOS 14.5.1 update to the public, Apple has just released watchOS 7.4.1 for Apple Watch users. The company doesn’t say exactly what has changed with today’s update beyond mentioning that this version brings security improvements."
• Bill & Melinda Gates divorce after 27 years of marriage - "Bill and Melinda Gates have announced their divorce after 27 years of marriage, saying 'we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple'."
• Daughter Jennifer says $130B split is 'challenging time' for family - "Melinda Gates, 56, files for divorce from Bill, 65, claiming marriage is 'irretrievably broken', court docs reveal and there is NO prenup."
• The Americans hesitant about the Covid vaccine - "Certain demographics in the US, such as African Americans and Republicans, are more hesitant about the Covid vaccine than others."
• Why aren't antiviral drugs as effective as antibiotics? - "Viruses are much more varied, rapidly evolving and hard to access than bacteria - so scientists searching for drug-based treatments have their work cut out."
• Everest Covid outbreak throws climbing season into doubt - "Nepal authorities accused of underplaying seriousness of situation as daily cases soar."
• Prince Charles & Camilla's secret 'Aussie son' Simon - "‘Diana knew’: Charles & Camilla’s secret ‘Aussie son’ reveals little-known fax."
• The joy of a maximalist home - "'Cluttercore' and the joy of a maximalist home. Interiors full of mismatched stuff are a sign of the times. Bel Jacobs explores the trend for creative chaos and intentional clutter at home, and why it makes us feel safe and cocooned."
• Address Beach Resort: The world's highest infinity pool has opened in Dubai - "There are few feelings as liberating as swimming in the open air, below blue skies that stretch all the way to horizon -- and now in Dubai you can do it nearly 1,000 feet above sea level."
• High anxiety: World's longest pedestrian suspension bridge opens in Portugal - "Hidden between rock-strewn mountains covered with lush greenery and yellow flowers inside the UNESCO-recognised Arouca Geopark, the bridge hangs 175 meters above the fast-flowing River Paiva."
• Wearable electronic skin could monitor your health - "Doctors may be just a few years away from tracking your vital signs via electronic skin worn on the body."
• Receding glaciers causing rivers to suddenly disappear - "Global phenomenon known as river piracy demands urgent adaptation from ecosystems and people who rely on their flow."
• Escape to glory: the intoxicating myth of boxing as ‘a way out’ - "My Irish father felt a kind of kinship with the black British boxers of the 1980s and 90s. Boxing, like the world of work my father was in, was overseen by self-serving men getting rich off the work of first - and second-generation immigrants."
• Confusion over masks sparks new political showdown - "America's emerging limbo between a full-blown pandemic and a return to normal is throwing up new public health dilemmas that spark instant political fires -- like a fresh round of grandstanding over mask wearing."
• Are you ready for the Roaring '20s? - "As vaccination rates have soared (even with all the new variants and surges adding some uncertainty to the mix) it's become clear that when the lockdowns finally lift, Americans will be primed for a new Roaring '20s, an exuberance expressed in fashion, art, music -- anywhere we can display the kind of manic joy that comes after a year when the world became very small and quiet."
• America's 1% Got Way Richer During the Pandemic. We Need a Onetime Wealth Tax to Help Rebuild the Country - "he coronavirus has been nothing less than a calamity. But more than a year into the pandemic, it is distressingly clear that although the virus affects everyone, we are not all in this together. Instead, the disease highlights and worsens existing fault lines in American society, especially economic inequality."
• Why You Suddenly Need To Stop Using Google Chrome - "Google dominates the browser market with Chrome - most of you will use it on at least one of your devices. And so the shocking new warnings about Chrome’s 'creepy' new tracking should give you serious reason for concern. It might be time for you to quit."
• How calls for climate justice are shaking the world - "Young activists are breathing new life into the long-running debate over climate justice - the framing of global warming as an ethical issue rather than a purely environmental one."
• How the busiest people get 'deep work' done - "For busy people, finding time for uninterrupted work may feel utterly unrealistic. But there are methods we can use to optimise what limited ‘deep work’ time we have."
• Quit Your Job & Move To An Island: 15 Places So Cheap You Might Not Have To Work - "Remote work is one thing, but why not just quit that day job and move to an island that’s so cheap you don’t have to work and can spend your life on permanent vacation? A new report from International Living - a magazine and website devoted to good-value living, travel, investment and retirement abroad - shows that it might be possible."
• 30 Photos of Anthony Bourdain That Prove He's Always Been a Badass - "Anthony Bourdain's career began in the kitchen. He worked in New York's restaurant world for more than 20 years, starting in 1978 and culminating with his appointment to executive chef of the French restaurant Les Halles. His life as an author, TV personality, producer, and de facto ambassador for Brazilian jiu jitsu didn't begin until the early 2000s. Here's a look at the evolution of Bourdain's career."
• ‘It’s like therapy’: how washing your hair can lift your mood & change your life - "Hairwashing can be a catharsis and a reset, the purifying sluice of water rinsing a bad day down the plughole."
• The sounds that change how we think - "What the sound of your name says about you. The way your name or a word rolls off the tongue can have some surprising effects on the judgements we make."
• Huawei masters the folding phone formula - "Huawei Mate X2: Mastering the folding phone formula."
• Apple is reportedly working on a foldable iPhone for 2023 - "Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said it expects to ship up to 20 million units in the first year."
• iFixit drilled a key ring hole into one of Apple’s AirTags in its latest teardown - "AirTags have a compact design with a user-replaceable battery."
• Dutch couple moves into one of the world's first 3D-printed houses - "A boulder-shaped house made from 3D-printed concrete is ready for its first tenants."
• Rome’s Colosseum to gain hi-tech arena floor - "Retractable floor will allow visitors to see the ‘majesty of the monument’ from its centre, says culture minister."
• Rome Colosseum: Italy unveils plan for new floor with gladiator’s view - "The Italian government has approved a plan to furnish Rome's ancient Colosseum with a new floor, giving visitors the chance to stand where gladiators once fought."
• Will Virgin Galactic ever lift off? - "It’s taken 17 years, with many setbacks and some deaths, and still Richard Branson’s space mission is yet to launch."
• Read Billie Eilish's Vogue cover interview in full - "'It’s All About What Makes You Feel Good': Billie Eilish On New Music, Power Dynamics, And Her Internet-Breaking Transformation."
• The world is seeing its worst Covid crisis so far - "Almost as many cases globally last week as in the first five months of the pandemic combined, WHO chief says."
• Then & now: When silence descended over Victoria Falls - "In our monthly feature, Then and Now, we reveal some of the ways that planet Earth has been changing against the backdrop of a warming world. Here, we look at the effects of global heating on Victoria Falls, one of the natural wonders of the world - and how Sub-Saharan Africa is learning to cope with the climate crisis."
• How to sound more attractive - "Can you make yourself sound more attractive? Many nationalities recognise that there is a tone of voice that is instantly alluring, but do some speakers have an unfair advantage?"
• Midleton Very Rare: What a $45,000 Irish whiskey tastes like - "Presented in a hand blown Waterford Crystal decanter and displayed in a wooden cabinet made from reclaimed whiskey vats, there are just 70 bottles of Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection Chapter Two in the world."
• Ten films to watch this May - BBC Culture.
• America's Highest Paid Actor Purchased A $28 Million Home Through A ‘Pocket Listing’ - And Many Others Are Too - "Pocket listings - homes for sale that aren't made available on major public databases - are used across price ranges, and are gaining traction in this hot market."
• iPad Pro 2021: The New Magic Keyboard’s Sly Little Detail - "The Magic Keyboard is Apple’s name for its super-comfortable, elegantly thought-out QWERTY, found on all the current MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops, supplied with all iMacs and an optional accessory for the iPad Pro and iPad Air."
• Glacial lakes threaten millions with flooding as planet heats up - "More than 12,000 deaths have already been attributed to glacial lake outburst floods worldwide."
• As glaciers disappear in Alaska, the rest of the world’s ice follows - "Mountain glacier melt contributes more than a quarter of extra volume to the world’s oceans, disrupting ancient cycles of creation."
• India records more than 400,000 Covid-19 cases in a single day - "India on Saturday reported 401,993 new coronavirus cases for the previous 24 hours -- the first time the country has surpassed 400,000 cases in a single day."
• Singapore: What's it like in the best place to live during Covid? - "As several countries see a devastating resurgence in Covid cases, one tiny Asian island has emerged as the best place to ride out the global pandemic."
• ‘It’s just the beginning’: Covid push to digital boosts big tech profits - "Apple, Google owner Alphabet, Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft raked in money in first quarter."
• Polar classification scheme sheds light on bold expeditions that never were - "System aims to uncover whether unsupported crossings had no human help and verify accuracy of record-breaking feats."
• iOS 14.5 is out now with new Face ID mask features & Apple’s App Tracking Transparency - "The update is now available for iPhone and iPad."
• iOS 14.5: Update Now Warning Issued To All iPhone Users - "Apple has just released iOS 14.5, along with security fixes for a whopping 50 vulnerabilities, one of which is already being used to attack iPhones."
• Update Your Mac Now: The ‘Worst Hack In Years’ Hits Apple Computers - "Apple Mac users are being urged to update their macOS software now, as they’re at 'grave risk' of hackers exploiting what’s been described as one of the worst vulnerabilities to affect the tech giant’s computers in years in years. Malware that takes advantage of the bug has been hitting Macs since at least January, making patching all the more urgent."
• macOS 11.3 update includes a massive security patch and new emoji - "Even if you’re not into iOS apps or games, it’s probably best to install it ASAP."
• TIME 100 most influential companies 2021 - "Which companies are shaping our future? That’s the question at the heart of our first ever TIME100 Most Influential Companies, a new list - and an expansion of our iconic TIME100 franchise - that highlights businesses making an extraordinary impact around the world."
• April’s ‘pink’ supermoon across the world - in pictures - "The moon is just about as close as it gets to Earth on its orbit, creating a spectacular sight."
• April pink moon 2021: here’s how to take a good picture of the supermoon tonight - "Guardian Australia picture editor Carly Earl explains the dos and don’ts of photographing the celestial spectacle."
• Danish Oscar Winner ‘Another Round’ In Remake Deal With Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way, Makeready & Endeavor Content - Deadline.
• How a hi-tech search for Genghis Khan is helping polar bears - "Researchers are going on a bear hunt, using AI and radar to spot dens and track the threatened Arctic predators."
• ‘Teeth have become the new boob job’: the rise of oral tweakments - "With $55 toothpaste and whitening treatments road-tested on TikTok, looking after your teeth is becoming fashionable. It’s even been rebranded as ‘oralcare’."
• How 'digital intensity' is hurting us - "Is there an antidote to 'digital intensity'? Since the pandemic hit, we’ve been using more digital tools to work longer hours, creating a cognitive load that’s tough on our brains. How do we fix that?"
• Jay Leno Opens Up About Buying A $13.5 Million Newport Mansion & Returning To Prime Time - "It’s common knowledge in real estate circles that Jay Leno and his wife of 40 years, Mavis, bought a Newport, R.I., mansion for $13.5 million in 2017. But the story of how the former Tonight Show host found Seafair, a 15,861-square-foot Louis XIV inspired chateau, is less known."
• Oscar Winners 2021: the complete List | 93rd Academy Awards - "Watch acceptance speeches from the Oscars 2021 winners!" Official Website.
• The Best, Worst & Strangest Moments of the 2021 Oscars - "For the second time in five years, the Oscars ended in mass confusion. When Joaquin Phoenix showed up to present the award for Best Actor, it was widely expected to go to the late Chadwick Boseman for his explosive role in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Instead, it went to The Father’s Anthony Hopkins - who wasn’t in attendance. The camera then cut to a visibly disappointed Questlove, manning his DJ booth, who gave a short speech, and then it was over."
• 'Double mutant': What are the risks of India's new Covid-19 variant - "A new 'double mutant' variant of the coronavirus has been detected from samples collected in India, which has been named B.1.617."
• Oscars 2021: the dresses, the winners, the weird semi-masked ceremony in a train station - live! - "Here’s your invitation to the strangest night of the year, when your virtual enjoyment of the 93rd Academy Awards will be, for once, on equal footing with most of Hollywood."
• How to watch the 2021 Oscars ceremony - "Here's everything you need to know."
• Oscars hit is a masterclass of drunk acting - "Another Round': How a film about a drinking experiment became a life-affirming Oscars hit."
• An Oscars unlike any other to get underway Sunday - "An Oscars unlike any before will get underway Sunday night, with history on the line in major categories and a telecast retooled for the pandemic."
• 41st Golden Raspberry Awards | Razzies - awards ceremony that honored the worst the film industry had to offer in 2020. April 24.
• 2021 World Press Freedom Index - since 1985. "Journalism, the vaccine against disinformation, blocked in more than 130 countries." Reporters Without Borders.
• Jeffrey Epstein’s Palm Beach estate has been demolished - "Developer Todd Michael Glaser bought 358 El Brillo Way for $18.5 million in March, and announced his plans to raze the property."
• When, Where & How You Can See The ‘Super Pink Moon’ Rise This Week, 2021’s Best Supermoon So Far - "Moonrise on Tuesday, April 27, 2021 is going to be a bigger event than average in more ways than one."
• US lifts pause on Johnson & Johnson vaccine - "US health regulators have lifted an 11-day pause on the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Covid-19 jab, but will add a warning label about the potential for extremely rare blood clots."
• Israel Covid-19 deaths drop to zero - "Israel has recorded no new daily Covid-19 deaths for the first time in 10 months, as the country pushes ahead with its speedy vaccination drive. The health ministry said more than 53% of the country's population of about nine million people had received two doses of vaccine."
• Fears Covid anxiety syndrome could stop people reintegrating - "Compulsive hygiene habits and fear of public places could remain for some after lockdown lifted, researchers say."
• how the pandemic took hygiene to a whole new level - "The past year has turbo-charged our relationship with cleanliness, raising expectations and turning many into germophobes. Has it gone too far?"
• An Inside Look At The Luxury Trips In This Year’s 2021 Oscar Gift Bags - "With the Oscars just days away, Hollywood is slowly getting back into its groove of showering A-List celebrities with jewelry, wine, gourmet food, and beauty treatments - but like most of the rest of us celebrities love to travel, and this year the trips they are being gifted do not disappoint. With trips valued at over $25,000 they span the globe and all abide with pandemic protocol to ensure that every star that visits will be safe."
• It's the Oscars 2021 - but how many people have seen the main films? - "It's Hollywood's biggest night on Sunday - the Oscars - when stars are anointed and future classics crowned. Except this year the pandemic, and a longer-term trend away from mass-market movies, mean the nominated films have struggled to cut through."
• iPhone ‘Weak Security’ Wi-Fi Warning: Here’s What It Means - "Have you received a 'weak Wi-Fi security' warning on your iPhone since upgrading to iOS 14? You are not alone, here’s what it means and how to fix it."
• These Billionaires Applaud Biden's Plan To Curb Carbon Emissions - "When President Biden revealed ambitious goals to fight climate change on Thursday, including cutting down greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. by at least 50% by 2030, one of his former political challengers, Tom Steyer, thought 'Today is a great day.' Steyer is one of a handful of billionaires - including Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Mike Bloomberg - who publicly expressed support for Biden’s plan."
• A short history of the world's tallest buildings - "The race skywards began in America, although whether the Equitable Life Building was the world's first skyscraper remains a matter of contention among historians. (Today, the term usually refers to structures over 150 meters, or 492 feet, tall but there was no formal definition in the 19th century.)"
• Meet Cann, The Bestselling Cannabis Beverage That’s Coming Hard At Hard Seltzer - "In the multibillion-dollar battle to create the next White Claw, THC in a can has all the buzz. And Ellen DeGeneres just made this 'weed drink' famous."
• Apple unveils the next generation of Apple TV 4K, making the best device for watching shows and movies even better - "An all-new Siri Remote, innovative color balance technology, and high frame rate HDR deliver the best entertainment experience at home."
• Boris Johnson has a text addiction & it’s bad news for all of us - "The alleged Dominic Cummings leaks may just be a distraction from the bigger issue: we’re led by a man with no self-discipline and a very busy phone."
• Bentley formerly used by THE QUEEN goes on sale at Surrey car dealership for £179,000 - "The 'Barnato green' Bentley Mulsanne has just 2,492 miles on the clock."
• US & China compete to save the world - "The latest area of competition between the US and China: Saving the world."
• What The World's Richest People Are Doing To Fight Climate Change - "A recent UN report found that the richest 1% of the world population account for 15% of emissions. 'The wealthy bear the greatest responsibility in this area,' the report found, referring to changes in consumer behavior prioritizing low-carbon consumption. 'This elite will need to reduce their footprint by a factor of 30 to stay in line with the Paris Agreement targets,' it added."
• Greta Thunberg warns US lawmakers over climate change - "Climate activist Greta Thunberg urged US lawmakers to end fossil fuel subsidies, or face catastrophic consequences in future decades."
• One dose of Pfizer or Oxford jab reduces Covid infection rate by 65% - study - "Analysis of test results from more than 350,000 people finds older people just as protected as younger."
• Our world in data - "COVID-19 Data Explorer."
• Do we still need to wear a mask outdoors? - "Experts weigh in on wearing face masks outdoors. As with most Covid-19 discussion, the evidence on whether it's advisable to wear masks outdoors isn't black and white, and should be based on a variety of factors such as vaccination status and community transmission rates. On Thursday, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said the agency is considering revising its mask guidance. 'We'll be looking at the outdoor masking question, but also in the context of the fact that we still have people who are dying of Covid-19,' Walensky said on NBC's Today Show."
• ALASKA TO OFFER FREE COVID JABS TO TOURISTS THIS SUMMER - "Tourists can get two jabs for free if they stay for 21 days or longer."
• Oscars 2021: Who will win & who should? - "In what promises to be one of the most unusual Academy Awards ceremonies for a long time, there are bound to be a few shocks. Despite that, Nicholas Barber and Caryn James give their predictions for the big categories - and a couple of invented ones."
• 8 Oscar-Nominated Movies & Performances You May Not Have Seen - But Should - TIME Magazine.
• The Movies & Actors That Crashed The Most Cars In Film History - "Car chases and their subsequent destruction have been an integral part of motion pictures since the earliest days of cinema."
• Huge superyacht squeezes down narrow Dutch canals - "It's not every day you see a gigantic superyacht weaving through the narrow canals of the Netherlands. Project 817, a 94-meter (310 feet) vessel built by Dutch shipyard Feadship, was transported from its Kaag Island facility to the North Sea at Rotterdam last week."
• Where you can sunbathe nude or topless around the world - "UK swimwear brand Pour Moi has created a new map revealing the 39 countries that permit topless and nude sunbathing and the 38 countries where it's too risky."
• From supersized to a more natural look: The evolution of breast implants - "Breast implants are more popular than ever. They remain one of the most sought-after cosmetic surgeries in many countries from the United States and Brazil to the UK and China. They're the subject of reality shows and tabloid spreads, a recurrent topic of celebrity culture and a perennial punch line."
• AIRTAG LOCATION TRACKERS ARE SMART, CAPABLE, AND VERY APPLE - "They work super well, and they’re one more thing keeping you on the iPhone."
• How to pick the right mirrorless camera in 2021 - "Selection, prices and technology have never been better."
• ‘Damn! This is a Caravaggio!’: the inside story of an old master found in Spain - "Art dealer Giancarlo Ciaroni attempted to buy painting listed at €1,500 for €500,000 - but discovered bewildered owners already had two offers of €3m."
• Earth Day 2021 - annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EARTHDAY.ORG (formerly Earth Day Network) including 1 billion people in more than 193 countries.
• EARTHDAY.ORG - - "The Official Site." The World Turns to Climate Action. EARTHDAY.ORG is honored that the Biden Administration has decided to convene a global climate summit on Earth Day 2021. Many important environmental events have happened on Earth Day since 1970, including the recent signing of the Paris Agreement, as Earth Day continues to be a momentous and unifying day each and every year. We look forward to being a part of this historic climate summit and making active progress to Restore Our Earth.
• global climate summit 2021 - "Today, President Biden invited 40 world leaders to the Leaders Summit on Climate he will host on April 22 and 23. The virtual Leaders Summit will be live streamed for public viewing."
• Ecological footprint calculator - "How many planets do we need if everybody lives like you?" Global Footprint Network.
• Earth Overshoot Day - "Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year. In 2020, Earth Overshoot Day lands on August 22. We maintain this deficit by liquidating stocks of ecological resources and accumulating waste, primarily carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Earth Overshoot Day is hosted and calculated by Global Footprint Network, an international research organization that provides decision-makers with a menu of tools to help the human economy operate within Earth’s ecological limits."
• Global Footprint Network - since 2003. "Advancing the Science of Sustainability." Global Footprint Network is a research organization that is changing how the world manages its natural resources and responds to climate change.
• 101 Nobel laureates call for global fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty - "Dalai Lama among those to sign letter to world leaders calling for rapid shift to renewable energy."
• How can you reduce your carbon footprint? - "Climate Basics: Your carbon footprint explained."
• An octopus' lessons for climate change - "How to heal in the Anthropocene. In a time of deep planetary change, how do we begin to recover from the trauma of climate change?"
• The Urgent Need to Change the Language We Use to Talk About the Climate Crisis - TIME Magazine.
• US has hit goal of 200m vaccine doses within 100 days, Biden announces - "President says ‘new phase’ of vaccination is focused on encouraging Americans to get their shots as eligibility opens up."
• India sets global record for new covid cases amid oxygen shortage - "India has reported 314,835 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours - the highest one day tally recorded anywhere in the world."
• Buckingham Palace is a 'lot calmer' without Meghan Markle & Prince Harry 'kicking off' over why they couldn't just 'do what they wanted,' source claims - "'One of the main issues with Harry and Meghan when they were part of the working family was their inability to understand how things worked,' a source claimed, according to The Mirror."
• Royal ride: Prince William & Kate Middleton's 2013 Range Rover to sell at auction - and could cost a winning bidder as little as £30,000 - "Range Rover Vogue SE SUV was originally supplied to The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in 2013."
• Find out which countries are welcoming international tourists back - "In the end, it's up to you to decide whether travel to international destinations is a good idea. The health risks are obvious. Variants of the virus have emerged. Nations might change their rules at any time. You may have to adhere to strict curfews and mask mandates. Violations could involve big fines and even jail time. Local health services may be under strain."
• there's a new world's busiest airport - "Seven of the world's top 10 busiest airports in 2020 were in China while the former world's busiest airport -- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in the United States -- fell to No. 2 in the rankings after 22 consecutive years in the top spot. Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in China was the world's busiest airport in 2020, rising to the No. 1 spot from its No. 11 ranking in 2019, according to preliminary figures released Thursday by airport trade organization Airports Council International (ACI)."
• Apple made a big mistake with its new iMacs - "Apple's new iMac is awesome: a technical marvel and a culmination of Apple's stunning engineering achievements over the past several years. It's also ugly as sin. Strangely, Apple has chosen function over form with its new iMacs."
• New iPhone Leak Reveals Apple’s ‘Next Level’ iPhone Upgrade - "Apple could, at last, be ready to upgrade one key iPhone spec that has remained untouched since 2014."
• watchOS 7.4 with iPhone mask unlock feature coming next week, RC now available - "The long-awaited update brings an important feature to users, which is the ability to unlock iPhone models with Face ID using the Apple Watch when wearing a mask."
• Google & Apple attacked on app store 'monopoly' - "Senators have grilled Apple and Google in Washington over 'anti-competitive' behaviour related to their app stores."
• You can now unlock your iPhone with your Apple Watch when wearing a face mask, here’s how - 9to5mc.com.
• The Vibe Will Be Different at This Year’s Oscars - and That’s a Good Thing - TIME Magazine.
• Billionaire Scientist Behind The Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine Has Not Sold A Single Share Of His Booming Stock - "Uğur Şahin, the CEO and scientist behind the first Covid-19 vaccine authorized in the U.S., has not sold a single share of his company’s booming stock during the pandemic, Securities and Exchange Commission filings show."
• Pho: the humble soup that caused an outrage - "When an American blogger controversially dubbed her quick noodle soup recipe 'chicken pho', it shone a fresh light on Vietnam's beloved national dish."
• APPLE’S SPRING LOADED EVENT: THE 8 BIGGEST ANNOUNCEMENTS - "Apple just wrapped up its 'Spring Loaded' event, announcing new iPads, iMacs, and more. It was jam-packed with news from the company."
• Alexa can now tell you where to find a COVID-19 vaccine - "It can help people call vaccination sites."
• Apple quietly reveals that iOS 14.5 will arrive next week - "WatchOS 7.4 and macOS 11.3 are also slated for release next week."
• How to stay safe from more contagious coronavirus variants - Dr. Wen explains - "A coronavirus variant first detected in the United Kingdom is now the dominant variant in the United States."
• Coronapas: The passport helping Denmark open up after Covid - "Football fans will be allowed into stadiums from Wednesday and bars, restaurants and museums are reopening as Denmark takes a big foot forward in lifting its coronavirus restrictions. The big condition for Danes to take advantage of these new freedoms is that they must prove they are infection-free, by showing a coronapas or corona passport."
• A Flight Just Set A Record For Positive Covid-19 Cases - Here’s Why That Will Not Happen In The U.S. - "There is a new record for the number of coronavirus infections traced back to a single commercial airline flight. A whopping 47 passengers who flew on Vistara flight 6395 from New Delhi to Hong Kong on April 4 have since tested positive for Covid-19. That number represents 25% of the 188 passengers on board."
• Inside the Facilities Making the World's Most Prevalent COVID-19 Vaccine - "If you’ve been vaccinated for COVID-19, chances are pretty high that you’re benefiting from a product made by BioNTech. The German biotech company, co-founded by a husband-and-wife team of scientists, developed the vaccine that became not only the first to earn authorization in the U.S. for COVID-19 in December but also the first ever based on a new technology involving the genetic material mRNA."
• The mini Venices around Europe - "If there's one thing we know about Venice, it's that it's unique. What other city is built on water, or packed with its signature flamboyant architecture? It turns out, quite a few."
• 50 Next Awards: World’s 50 Best Names The Future Of Gastronomy - "For 20 years, World’s 50 Best celebrated the hospitality industry with annual rankings of the finest restaurants and bars on the planet. Now the UK-based organization is looking for future stars in the gastronomical galaxy with a new list - 50 Next."
• Audi A6 E-Tron Concept Debuts At Auto Shanghai 2021 - "Audi revealed a new concept car, the Audi A6 e-tron Concept, on April 19 at Auto Shanghai 2021 in Shanghai, China. The A6 e-tron is a battery-electric sedan riding on an all-new vehicle architecture Audi calls 'Premium Platform Electric' or 'PPE,' which will be the basis of at least three future Audi vehicles."
• Sleeping less than 6 hours a night in midlife raises risk of dementia 30%, study finds - "If you're trying to get by on about six hours or less of sleep a night during the workweek, you're setting up your brain for future failure, according to a new study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications."
• Bjork's swan dress: A reviled Oscars outfit that's now iconic - "Bjork's 2001 swan dress is iconic - but did it mark the end of fun on the red carpet? Clare Thorp looks at how the singer refused to play by the rulebook."
• Princess Diana's white jeans outfit will give you major spring style inspo - "Princess Diana's spring outfit is very on trend right now."
• Why good ideas come to those who wait - "How the 'creative-cliff illusion' limits our ideas. We wrongly assume that the best ideas come to us quickly - a cognitive illusion that limits our creativity."
• What to expect from Apple’s ‘Spring Loaded’ event on April 20 - "Unlike a lot of Apple’s events, its spring events tend to be a bit more scattershot: one year might see high-end iPads, another a more education-focused event, or a launch of a comprehensive service strategy. This year, rumors are pointing to a refreshed iPad Pro lineup, potentially with Apple’s first Mini LED panels - which would bring a big jump forward for the company’s tablet displays. But we could also see new AirPods, the company’s long-rumored AirTag trackers, a new iPad Mini, and more." The proceeding should kick off at 1PM ET on Tuesday.
• Non-stop cremations cast doubt on India's counting of Covid dead - "With hospitals full, and oxygen and medicines in short supply in an already creaky health system, several major cities are reporting far larger numbers of cremations and burials under coronavirus protocols than official Covid-19 death tolls, according to crematorium and cemetery workers, media and a review of government data."
• Travel Check: This Is The World On Covid - Forbes.
• From Cruise To Craig: Luxury Vacations Inspired By The Latest Blockbuster Movies - "We’ve endured a year with few chances to go on vacation and few new blockbuster movies to keep us entertained at home. But with borders slowly reopening and those long delayed movies getting new release dates, here’s a rundown of the luxury hotels and locations that will take a starring role alongside Messrs Cruise, Craig, Reeves and Blunt in 2021 and 2022, available now through the Inspiring Travel Company."
• Greta Thunberg condemns vaccine inequality between rich & poor countries - "Climate activist calls for governments and Covid vaccine developers to ‘step up their game’ to address vaccine nationalism."
• Now you can adopt one of Notre-Dame's grotesque stone creatures to help fund rebuilding - "A conservation group is offering members of the public the chance to donate to restore specific artifacts at the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, which was partially destroyed by fire in 2019."
• The invention of whiteness: the long history of a dangerous idea - "Before the 17th century, people did not think of themselves as belonging to something called the white race. But once the idea was invented, it quickly began to reshape the modern world."
• Apple & Parler agreement could restore rightwing platform to App Store - "App was barred over ties to US Capitol attack but companies have discussed content moderation, Apple says."
• How Anthony Bourdain’s Longtime Assistant Made His New Book a Reality - "With 'World Travel,' Laurie Woolever makes it possible for fans to travel with Anthony Bourdain once again."
• China’s most luxurious copycat car is a mix of Rolls-Royce & Bentley - "The new luxury car is called Hongqi H9. The vehicle is here is a special edition known as Forbidden City edition as it pays a tribute to the Forbidden City through its design language. Having said that the design does resemble a lot to Rolls Royce and the Bentleys. The car was showcased at the 2021 Shanghai Motor Show."
• Carbon emissions to soar in 2021 by second highest rate in history - "Global economies forecast to pour stimulus money into fossil fuels as part of Covid recovery."
• ‘Relentless’ climate crisis intensified in 2020, says UN report - "Pandemic had no effect on emissions but made impacts of global heating even worse for millions of people, report says."
• The world capital of the dirtiest coal - "The end of the world's capital of brown coal. Germany is slowly shuttering its prolific lignite mines, which produce the least efficient type of coal. The ghostly towns in the mines' shadows may hold a lesson for how to move on."
• The world's most powerful passports for 2021 - "The gap in travel freedom is its biggest in decades and disparities in vaccination access between countries could make the situation even worse, says a new report. The Henley Passport Index, which has been regularly monitoring the world's most travel-friendly passports since 2006, has released its latest rankings and analysis. As the index doesn't take temporary restrictions into account, Japan is once again top of the leaderboard, with its passport offering visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 193 destinations around the world."
• Covid-19 vaccines: What's happening to unused jabs? - "While some countries are scrambling to get their hands on vaccines, others are left wondering what to do with jabs they've ordered but can no longer use, following concerns over safety."
• Apple iOS 14.5: The Latest iPhone Upgrade Is Going To Be Awesome - "When the next Apple iPhone software, iOS 14.5, is released, it will have a bunch of new features. One, the ability to unlock your iPhone fast using your Apple Watch, is extremely cool, and in these mask-wearing days, can’t come soon enough."
• Covid: trial to study effect of immune system on reinfection - "Oxford scientists will track whether participants are reinfected when re-exposed to coronavirus."
• 12 European football teams to form breakaway 'Super League' throwing elite game into turmoil - "In a joint announcement Sunday night, six English clubs -- Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur -- alongside three teams from Italy -- AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus -- and three from Spain -- Atlético Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid -- laid out plans to form a breakaway competition, referred to in the announcement as the Super League."
• Explainer: how will the new European Super League work? - "Questions and answers on plans unveiled by 12 leading European clubs to launch a breakaway midweek league."
• The Swedish law of wanderlust - "The Swedish constitution allows anyone to ski, cycle, skate, swim or camp almost anywhere in the country."
• ‘Forests are not renewable’: the felling of Sweden’s ancient trees - "Forests cover 70% of the country, but many argue the Swedish model of replacing old-growth forests with monoculture plantations is bad for biodiversity."
• The race for rare earth minerals: can Australia fuel the electric vehicle revolution? - "China dominates supply of the elusive metals, which are vital to modern technology, but finding new sources is becoming a global priority."
• David Remnick: ‘There is no vaccine for climate change’ - "The New Yorker editor on Fragile Earth, a new collection of the magazine’s climate crisis writing, the continuing dangers of Trumpism - and seeing his family for the first time in a year."
• See/Saw: Looking at Photographs by Geoff Dyer review - how to really read a picture - "In these seductively curious essays, Dyer scrutinises images and photographers, unearthing hidden truths and a sense of the uncanny."
• Why long-term workplace trauma is a real phenomenon - "The trust about 'workplace PTSD'. Although some joke about being 'scarred' by past bad jobs, workplace - induced emotional trauma is real - with long-lasting effects."
• The fight to save India's most elusive cat - "The fishing cat is one of India's most enigmatic predators, hunting the waterways of its remaining wetlands and swamps. The efforts to save it may also help save a vital buffer against climate change."
• world's biggest vaccine producer is running out of Covid-19 vaccines, as second wave accelerates - "In India, the world's biggest vaccine producer, millions of people are waiting for Covid-19 vaccines amid a devastating second wave of infections."
• All alone: Queen bids farewell to her husband of 73 years - "Britain's Queen Elizabeth II sat alone through Saturday's funeral of her late husband, Prince Philip, in what was an emotional yet muted affair that took place as a nation healed from a pandemic, and a rift that saw Prince Harry step back from the royal family."
• From Nelly to Doug: nicknames emerge for growing list of Covid variants - "With no agreed naming system, scientists are devising their own nomenclature to fill the gap."
• China & US pledge climate change commitment - "'The United States and China are committed to cooperating with each other and with other countries to tackle the climate crisis, which must be addressed with the seriousness and urgency that it demands,' the statement said."
• World’s Best Venture Capitalist Is Not Who You’d Guess - "In just two days last year, Alfred Lin enjoyed two of the 10 biggest-ever exits among U.S. tech firms. On December 9, food-delivery service DoorDash went public on the New York Stock Exchange; it ended the day with a market capitalization of $60 billion. The next day, home-rental leader Airbnb listed on the Nasdaq, scoring a $79 billion market cap. Those two outcomes alone generated profits - on paper, at least - of more than $21 billion for Lin and his VC firm, Sequoia."
• The new jet-set: Demand for private planes soars as super-rich flyers spend up to £200,000 a WEEK to avoid busy travel routes & delays - "The number of enquiries into private planes rose 150 per cent since February. Wealthy clients are willing to pay so much to avoid lengthy queues at airports."
• Fungi Fashion Is Booming As Adidas Launches New Mushroom Leather Shoe - "The mushroom market is anticipated to reach a value of over $50 billion by 2025, according to Grand View Research, as people increasingly turn to nature for solutions to our late-stage pandemic needs. While some are ingesting mushrooms to support their bodies, others are wearing mushrooms to support the planet - literally."
• Gucci Celebrates 100 Years with Gucci Aria - "This is the collection that has left everyone both speechless and full of thoughts all at once."
• Today's Cryptocurrency Prices by Market Cap - CoinMarketCap.
• How I Am Using My American Express Platinum Card to Save Over $180 While Online Shopping This Year - "Among the perks that convinced me to stick with the Platinum Card is a $30 monthly PayPal credit."
• 2021 Global RepTrak - "The 2021 Global RepTrak 100 is the definitive ranking of corporate reputation for the world’s leading companies. The Global RepTrak 100 showcases how people feel, think, and act towards companies globally. For over a decade, The RepTrak Company has ranked the top 100 most reputable companies to celebrate global reputation leaders."
• UK prepares for funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, longtime consort of Queen Elizabeth II - "Prince Philip, the late husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, will be laid to rest Saturday in an intimate service attended by 30 people including members of the royal family."
• The Secrets of Prince Philip’s Custom-Designed Land Rover Hearse - "Prince Philip’s Custom-Designed Land Rover Hearse, And The Politics Of The Royal Family’s Funeral Procession."
• Worldwide COVID-19 death toll tops a staggering 3 million - "Covid map: Coronavirus cases, deaths, vaccinations by country."
• Doctors home in on cause of blood clots potentially linked with Covid-19 vaccines - "Doctors say they are homing in on the cause of blood clots that may be linked with certain coronavirus vaccines, and said their findings have important implications for how to treat the condition, regardless of whether vaccines cause it."
• What to expect from Apple’s ‘Spring Loaded’ event on April 20 - "Unlike a lot of Apple’s events, its spring events tend to be a bit more scattershot: one year might see high-end iPads, another a more education-focused event, or a launch of a comprehensive service strategy. This year, rumors are pointing to a refreshed iPad Pro lineup, potentially with Apple’s first Mini LED panels - which would bring a big jump forward for the company’s tablet displays. But we could also see new AirPods, the company’s long-rumored AirTag trackers, a new iPad Mini, and more." The proceeding should kick off at 1PM ET on Tuesday.
• This ultra-white paint could cool buildings, cutting the need for air conditioning - "Scientists have developed a light-reflecting 'ultra-white' paint, which they say could negate the need for air conditioning and even reduce carbon emissions, if used on a mass scale."
• The best TV shows of 2021 so far - "From WandaVision to Framing Britney Spears and Call My Agent, Hugh Montgomery and Eddie Mullan pick the year’s greatest programmes to binge right now."
• Turns out Dogecoin is no joke - "Dogecoin is on a run, has escaped the yard, and is headed to the moon."
• French winemakers face devastation after worst weather in 30 years - "One of France's biggest export industries is facing a devastating blow after an unusually severe frost earlier this month damaged vineyards across the country, heaping pain on winemakers already reeling from the pandemic and US tariffs."
• Edward Snowden's NFT sold for $5.5 million at auction for charity - "The proceeds will go to the Freedom of the Press Foundation."
• Taylor Swift breaks The Beatles' chart record - "Taylor Swift has broken The Beatles' long-held chart record for having the fastest run of three number one albums. The US singer scored her hat-trick in a total of just 259 days, beating the Fab Four's 54-year-old record of three chart-topping albums in 364 days. John, Paul, George and Ringo's run was for Help!, Rubber Soul and Revolver."
• Spies vs. scientists on the origin of Covid - "The science: Scientists are coalescing around the idea that Covid-19 probably spread to people through an animal or animals."
• Researchers identify five new cases of ‘double mutant’ Covid variant in California - "It contains two key mutations, which scientists call E484Q and L452R, that have been found separately in other variants but not together in a single strain, according to Dr. Benjamin Pinsky, medical director of Stanford’s clinical virology laboratory, which discovered the new variant in the U.S."
• The Promise Of International Travel: April EU Travel Restrictions, Covid-19 Test Requirements, Quarantine By Country - "The picture across the EU area (plus the U.K.) in April is one of cautious optimism; countries are planning how to emerge from current lockdowns and open up to international travel. The next few weeks will determine how far and fast this can happen and indeed, if it will be uniform across the region."
• Google Earth's new Timelapse feature shows chilling effect of climate change - "Google's latest feature, Timelapse, is an eye opening, technical feat that provides visual evidence of how the Earth has changed due to climate change and human behavior. The tool takes the platform's static imagery and turns it into a dynamic 4D experience, allowing users to click through timelapses that highlight melting ice caps, receding glaciers, massive urban growth and wildfires' impact on agriculture. Timelapse compiles 24 million satellite photos taken from 1984 to 2020, an effort Google (GOOG) said took two million processing hours across thousands of machines in Google Cloud. For the project, the company worked with NASA, the United States Geological Survey's Landsat program - the world's longest-running Earth observation program - the European Union's Copernicus program and its Sentinel satellites, and Carnegie Mellon University's CREATE Lab, which helped develop the technology behind Timelapse."
• Who will walk where in funeral procession & what it tells us about their standing in the Royal Family - "Princes Harry and William are to be separated during Prince Philip's funeral procession, it has today been announced."
• Trading clunkers for electric bikes: France moves to offer financial incentive - "France is offering the owners of old, exhaust-belching cars the opportunity to hand over their vehicles for scrap in return for a 2,500 euro ($2,975.00) grant to buy an electric bicycle."
• From Beethoven’s Ninth to Theme from Shaft: the best exercise anthems - "Soul classics, German film soundtracks and chugging rap - here’s a workout of bangers to get you off the couch."
• Bang & Olufsen's latest speaker designed to look like a book - "The Beosound Emerge has AirPlay 2, Chromecast built-in and Google Assistant."
• Gucci family lashes out at cast appearance in new film - "Ridley Scott biopic tells story of Patrizia Reggiani’s doomed marriage to Maurizio Gucci."
• World Press Photo 2021 winners - in pictures - "We take a look at some of the winning images from the 64th annual photo contest."
• Ferrari Confirms First All-Electric Car Will Arrive In 2025 - "Speaking at the Italian company’s annual general meeting today (April 15), Ferrari chairman and acting chief executive John Elkann finally put a date on the first Ferrari EV."
• Audi just debuted its cheapest electric car - "Audi revealed its new Q4 E-Tron electric SUV Wednesday -- the company's cheapest electric model, with a starting price of $45,000."
• 2021 Bentley Bacalar First Drive Review: Car Zero, The Hero - "Bentley hands over the keys to its Bacalar test unit."
• Mercedes' new electric car has a nap mode & doors that open for you - "Mercedes has unveiled its largest and most luxurious electric car yet. The Mercedes EQS is the battery-powered equivalent of the Mercedes S-Class sedan, the brand's flagship model."
• DJI’S NEW MAVIC AIR 2S COMES WITH ONE BIG UPGRADE - "A much better camera in a familiar body."
• Rebuilding Notre-Dame cathedral... with 1,000 oak trees - "It's been two years since a fire ravaged the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris. Workers are now preparing for the reconstruction phase - with the help of 1,000 centuries-old oak trees."
• Fyre Festival settlement reveals the true cost of schadenfreude - $7,220 a pop - "The 2017 festival became a how-not-to for the events and influencer industries."
• Bitcoin’s Energy Consumption Is A Highly Charged Debate - Who’s Right? - "How much power does bitcoin consume? It is a question that has been debated for years, especially when the price rises. The recent surge to a new high of $58,354 has certainly reinvigorated the debate. The question usually arrives with a slurry of other perennial criticisms: it’s a scam, it’s too volatile for a store of value, it’s failed as a payment vehicle, it’s used for illicit activity, it’s not backed by anything, the dog ate my bitcoin wallet..."
• Married to the job: how a long-hours working culture keeps people single & lonely - "Demanding bosses, impossible workloads, 24/7 email - no wonder many employees feel they have no time outside work to find love."
• Putt Better, Score Better: Golf’s Hottest Trend At The Best Resorts - "There is no bigger trend in golf right now than the explosion of putting courses, and while the original debuted more than 150 years ago, it has taken that century and a half for the concept to become popular. Now top resorts are falling over themselves to add this feature."
• Why some narcissists actually hate themselves - "People who chronically brag and boast are grating - and, at times, repellent. But a surprising truth about narcissists might help us feel unexpected compassion for them."
• Aerial ballet: How airplanes fill up with fuel mid-air - "Imagine you're zooming down the highway at 70 miles per hour and the car's fuel gauge is on its way to empty."
• 2.5 billion T rex walked the earth, researchers find - "Experts calculate the total number of the dinosaurs that lived over 127,000 generations."
• The Pandemic Remade Every Corner of Society. Now It's the Climate's Turn - TIME Magazine.
• What's at Stake in U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry's Trip to China - TIME Magazine.
• Just 3% of world’s ecosystems remain intact, study suggests - "Pristine areas in the Amazon and Siberia may expand with animal reintroductions, scientists say."
• Denmark stops use of AstraZeneca vaccine - "Denmark has ceased giving the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine amid concerns about rare cases of blood clots, the first European country to do so fully."
• Should I worry about side-effects from the Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine? - "Distribution of the one-dose vaccine have been paused in the US while scientists look into a rare blood-clotting syndrome."
• the problem with the pandemic puppy explosion - "Over the past year, dog ownership has surged, and they have brought many of us untold joy. But the lack of proper training or socialisation has led to a growing danger of attacks."
• How can you mistake a gun for a Taser? - "The killing of Daunte Wright, a young black man, in a suburb of Minneapolis in the US, was because an officer mistook her gun for a Taser, according to police."
• Taser Founder & CEO Says Police Won’t Need Guns In Ten Years - "Rick Smith, the cocreator of the Taser and now CEO of the $10 billion market cap nonlethal weapon’s manufacturer, Axon, believes his company will make an electric stun gun that will make the police pistol redundant within a decade."
• Bernie Madoff, infamous Ponzi schemer, has died - "Bernard Madoff, whose name became synonymous with financial fraud, died while serving a 150-year sentence in Federal Prison. He was 82 years old."
• Kanye West Asks for Joint Custody, No Spousal Support in Response to Kim Kardashian's Divorce Filing - "In a filing, Kanye West's attorney lists irreconcilable differences as the couple's reason for divorce."
• Kanye West's $1M Yeezys may be the world's most expensive sneakers - "Described in a press release as 'one of the most prized and sought-after sneakers in existence.' The first Yeezy sneakers ever worn in public by Kanye West are going on sale for over $1 million. The Nike Air Yeezy 1 Prototypes, which the American rapper debuted at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards in 2008, will be among the most expensive sneakers ever to appear on the market, according to Sotheby's auction house, which is organizing the sale."
• The poorly understood power of seaweed - "Algae is a powerhouse for the climate, sending carbon to the seafloor and deacidifying oceans. In Australia, scientists are just beginning to tap its potential."
• WHO calls for 'reality check' as global Covid-19 cases surge for seventh week - "The World Health Organization has warned that the world needs a "reality check" on the state of the pandemic, as countries abandon restrictions despite four weeks of rising deaths and seven weeks of rising cases globally."
• Johnson & Johnson vaccine paused over rare blood clots - "The US, South Africa and European Union will temporarily stop the rollout of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Covid jab, after reports of rare blood clotting."
• How the Johnson & Johnson pause could move the needle on vaccine fears - "More vaccine worries doesn’t mean officials made the wrong call."
• White House scrambles to reassure public after pause on Johnson & Johnson's vaccine - "They went to bed without knowing what precisely the FDA and CDC would say. It wasn't until the news became public around 7 a.m. ET on Tuesday that the West Wing learned the full scope of the decision and gave Biden the rundown: The health agencies were recommending a pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine following exceedingly rare incidents of blood clotting, reported in six patients."
• Sweden has highest new Covid cases per person in Europe - "Figure of 625 new infections per 1m people is many times larger than Nordic neighbours."
• A gold nose pin, boxes of eggs, or a tax rebate: Covid vaccine incentives around the world - "Members of the public are being offered gifts and discounts to encourage vaccine take-up."
• Brain fog: how trauma, uncertainty & isolation have affected our minds & memory - "After a year of lockdown, many of us are finding it hard to think clearly, or remember what happened when. Neuroscientists and behavioural experts explain why."
• Apple will launch new products on April 20 - "Apple is set to host its first product launch of the year next week, and it's expected to announce updates to its iPad Pro, iPad mini and AirPods lines."
• Your iPhone’s Next Software Update Aims to Foil App Trackers and Digital Advertisers. Here’s How - "Apple’s next major software update for the iPhone is set to give users more control of their privacy - and could significantly alter the way advertisers and app developers do business."
• How Celebrity Memoirs Got So Good - "One way to explain this shift is fairly simple: the move toward unfiltered storytelling tracks with the dominance of social media, a tool that has undeniably transformed the celebrity landscape. Gone are the days of the inaccessible, mysterious A-lister of the tabloid era, whose public perception was determined largely by the whims of paparazzi. Now, with platforms like Instagram, access to public figures and the inner workings of their lives are just a screen swipe away - and firmly within their control, making authenticity (or at least the performance of it) the key to attracting a loyal audience."
• Phone wet & won’t turn on? Here’s what to do with water damage (hint: putting it in rice won’t work) - "While many smartphones are advertised as ‘water resistant’, this doesn’t mean they’re immune from water damage."
• Amazon Echo Dot (4th gen) review: Alexa’s new small budget ball - "Smart speaker ditches puck shape but keeps solid sound and function with or without LED clock display."
• Visit 12 Countries In 80 Days On This Trip Around The World - No Flying Required - "Launching in 2023 in honor of the 150th anniversary of the publication of Jules Verne’ Around the World in 80 Days, this epic trip journey across Europe, Central Asia and North America takes just under three months and requires no flying. Specialist travel providers Undiscovered Destinations have just opened bookings for its 2023 Around the World in 80 Days private tour, inspired by the famous fictional journey of Phileas Fogg."
• France to ban some domestic flights where train available - "MPs vote to suspend internal flights if the trip can be completed by train within two and a half hours instead."
• 10 easy, comforting dishes to banish a hangover - chosen by chefs - "Pubs have reopened in England this week. If the excitement has got too much, here are cooks’ tips for the morning after, from mac and cheese to spicy chorizo eggs."
• How to be creative in isolation - "Some people find isolation helps them tackle creative projects, but others find the lack of stimulus leaves inspiration in short supply."
• How a rubber boot can save lives - "The global fight against snake bites. Venomous snake bites are responsible for 138,000 deaths every year around the world, but could some disarmingly simple interventions help to save lives?"
• Patek Philippe Reinvents Its Signature Complication - "Meet The New ‘In-Line’ Perpetual Calendar Ref. 5236P-001." Price: €113,200 / US$130,108.
• Covid pandemic still growing exponentially, WHO says - "World Health Organization says ‘confusion and complacency’ prolonging global situation."
• 2 New Studies Show That the U.K. COVID-19 Virus Variant Is Not Linked to Severe Disease - But Questions Remain - "In two studies published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases and in The Lancet Public Health, respectively, scientists provide comforting news about a new strain of the COVID-19 virus that emerged from the U.K. last December. It has since become the dominant virus in the region, accounting for nearly all of the new COVID-19 cases there - and has recently been implicated in spikes in parts of the U.S., as well as other parts of the world."
• Why You Should Stop Using Your Facebook Messenger App - "If you’re one of the 1.3 billion people using Facebook Messenger, then you need to switch to an alternative. Facebook has suddenly confirmed significant delays with much needed security enhancements to the platform, enhancements that its own executives say are 'essential.' Here’s what you need to know."
• Facebook loophole that lets world leaders deceive & harass their citizens - "A Guardian investigation exposes the breadth of state-backed manipulation of the platform."
• World's wealthiest 'at heart of climate problem' - "The world’s wealthy must radically change their lifestyles to tackle climate change, a report says. It says the world's wealthiest 1% produce double the combined carbon emissions of the poorest 50%, according to the UN."
• City drivers 'should think twice' before buying SUVs - "Research confirms most SUVs are bought by urban drivers. It shows that large SUVs - often known as Chelsea tractors - are indeed most prevalent in places such as Chelsea."
• 3 most wanted watches in the world, out of stock & with year-long waiting lists - "Three wristwatches on the most wanted list are the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 116500, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 15500, and the Patek Philippe Nautilus 5712."
• Big is out? Rolex, IWC, Tag Heuer launch smaller, slimmer watches - "Why some major luxury brands are downsizing, at least when it comes to watch cases."
• Apple could kill the Swiss luxury watch industry - "The industry survived the Japanese-led quartz revolution of the 70s and 80s thanks almost entirely to Swatch – now the likes of Rolex and Audemars Piguet need to find a new champion or risk being rendered obsolete by the Apple and other smartwatches."
• SOTHEBY’S LAUNCHES ITS FIRST EVER NFT AUCTION WITH ANONYMOUS ARTIST PAK - "Last month, Sotheby’s announced plans to collaborate with the anonymous digital artist Pak for its first NFT sale. ‘The Fungible’ collection will go live on Nifty Gateway at 12pm EST today until April 14."
• $8 Million Bentley Dominator Is a Custom-Built Luxury SUV You’ve Never Heard Of - "While the Bentley Dominator is undoubtedly one of the rarest SUVs on the planet, it is proof that money talks. That’s because, throughout the mid-1990s, Bentley didn’t offer a production SUV, just cars. In fact, it took an additional two decades before the ultra-popular Bentayga arrived on the market."
• Hawaiian shirts are returning - but ‘people want to think twice’, says expert - "Celebrities have been spotted wearing the shirts, but they could be seen as ‘embodiments of the history of American colonization’."
• From pencil sharpeners to a $539m lawsuit: how big tech weaponised patents - "In 1842, the US patent office registered 14 designs, including a bathtub and a ‘corpse preserver’. It now handles 35,000 a year. Why did this once sedate world became a corporate arms race?"
• Everglades Jetport: The 'world's greatest airport' that never was - "It was supposed to be the world's largest airport, a glamorous intercontinental hub for supersonic airliners with six runways and high-speed rail links to surrounding cities. But today, it's little more than an airstrip in the middle of nowhere."
• Sonos Roam review: the portable speaker you’ll want to use at home too - "Cheaper wifi speaker has Bluetooth plus Google or Alexa for great indoor and outdoor music."
• A Clash of Wills Keeps a Leonardo Masterpiece Hidden - "The Louvre inspected the 'Salvator Mundi' and certified it as the work of Leonardo da Vinci. But it kept those findings secret after a squabble with the painting’s owners."
• The Rolls-Royce Ghost: A magic carpet ride that costs as much as a house - "Whether you're driving or a passenger, there's no escaping the sense of occasion."
• The genetic mistakes that could shape our species - "New technologies may have introduced genetic errors to the human gene pool. How long will they last? And how could they affect us?"
• Why we define ourselves by our jobs - "We often see our jobs as a defining detail of who we are, yet too closely tying our identities to work can be dangerous. What can we do about it?"
• The perils of a private vaccine market - "Vaccines sell out in Pakistan as the private market opens, raising concerns of inequality."
• Covid-status certificates could lead to deliberate infections, scientists warn - "Immunity certification could foster ‘an erroneous sense of no risk’ in people’s behaviour, according to analysts."
• Top Official Has Admitted That Chinese Vaccines Have Low Effectiveness - "In a rare admission of the weakness of Chinese coronavirus vaccines, the country’s top disease control official says their effectiveness is low and the government is considering mixing them to get a boost."
• Baftas 2021: Nomadland wins big as Anthony Hopkins & Promising Young Woman surprise - "Diverse nominees translate into fairly traditional winners, with Emerald Fennell’s directorial debut taking best British film and Hopkins becoming oldest ever male acting winner."
• Yuri Gagarin: the spaceman who came in from the cold - "Yuri Gagarin belied the West's austere impression of the Soviet Union - a charming, easygoing Russian with a ready smile. The first man in space became a powerful propaganda tool."
• Nasty notes left for Trump staffers came from celebs, not Obama aides, Dave Chappelle says - "When former President Donald Trump first moved into the White House in January 2017, his staffers said they found nasty notes stuffed into the drawers and cabinets - a claim President Barack Obama’s aides fiercely denied."
• Revenge Of The Winklevii - "After losing an epic battle with Mark Zuckerberg over ownership of Facebook and being shunned in Silicon Valley, CAMERON and TYLER WINKLEVOSS are back - this time as budding Bitcoin billionaires at the center of the future of money, the creative economy and quite possibly a new operating model for Big Tech itself."
• ‘She made a pact with God’: why the Queen is not likely to abdicate - "Though she will probably find it hard without Prince Philip, the Queen is unlikely to step down."
• Maria Callas’s tormented life revealed - "Unpublished letters detail famed soprano’s painful relationships with husband, mother and Aristotle Onassis."
• 2022 MERCEDES-BENZ EQS IS A DECLARATION OF MAXIMUM ELECTRIC LUXURY - "A first drive in the automaker’s electrified S-Class sedan."
• Gucci Is Getting Into Serious High Horology With 33 New Models - "Tourbillons, diamonds, stone dials, mechanical movements and more!"
• The perils of long covid - "For many sufferers of long Covid, proving they are sick is a big part of the battle."
• Is vaccinating against Covid enough? What we can learn from Chile & Israel - "Contrasting lessons from the two countries, both with high rates of inoculation against the virus, show the danger is not past."
• The Capitol Attack Was the Most Documented Crime in History. Will That Ensure Justice? - TIME Magazine.
• Prince Philip Was Queen Elizabeth’s 'Strength and Stay.' Their Marriage Was Also Incredibly Complex - "He had been married to Queen Elizabeth II for more than 70 years, since the two wed at Westminster Abbey on Nov. 20, 1947. To outsiders, it looked as if they had the perfect romance, between their fairy tale wedding—the first British royal wedding to be broadcast live—and their shared love for the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Oklahoma! (especially the song 'People Will Say We’re in Love')."
• Watches & Wonders 2021: 8 most covetable new timepieces - "Around this time of year, lifestyle journalists would be regaling watch enthusiasts with tales from Richemont's ritzy Watches & Wonders trade fair (formerly Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, SIHH) at Geneva's Palexpo convention center, and the historic Baselworld, where every other watchmaker, from Alpina to Zenith, is hosted and toasted in the Herzog & de Meuron-designed Messe exhibition complex."
• Saudi Crown Prince MBS Pressed The Louvre To Lie About His Fake Leonardo Da Vinci, Per New Documentary - "A new feature-length documentary set to debut next week on French TV alleges that Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman pressured the Louvre to lie about the authenticity of a painting he had purchased in order to spare him the public humiliation of having spent $450 million on a fake."
• Moscow's palatial Yeliseyevsky food hall closes after 120 years - "Yeliseyevsky Food Emporium, an iconic food hall set in a palace in Moscow, is closing its doors after 120 years in business. It was opened in 1901, in a mansion on Tverskaya Street in the centre of the city belonging to Princess Zinaida Volkonskaya."
• Has the Era of Overzealous Cleaning Finally Come to an End? - "This week, the C.D.C. acknowledged what scientists have been saying for months: The risk of catching the coronavirus from surfaces is low."
• 2 New Studies Point to How AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 Vaccine Is Linked to Blood Clots - "In two papers published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), researchers in Europe provide the most detailed explanation yet for what is behind the clotting side effects reported among people getting vaccinated with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 shot."
• How to fly safely a year into the pandemic - "The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently eased its domestic and international travel guidance for vaccinated people, stating that travelers who are fully vaccinated 'can travel safely within the United States' but noted a greater risk for international travel."
• Is Netflix's Seaspiracy film right about fishing damaging oceans? - "A documentary about the fishing industry's impact on sea life and the oceans has caused a lot of debate."
• A royal love story that lasted decades - "Elizabeth was only 13 when she met Philip. Through the ups and downs, the Duke was the Queen's steadfast companion until his death at age 99."
• Prince Philip: An extraordinary man who led an extraordinary life - "He outlived nearly everyone who knew him and might explain him."
• Prince Philip, husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, dies at 99 - "In his active years, Philip helped set a new course for the monarchy under a young queen, championing Britain itself."
• Duke of Edinburgh's classic sartorial legacy - "Throughout his life, the late Prince Philip proved to be a master of quintessentially British dress codes."
• How Billionaires Got So Rich In 2021 - "The vast majority of the billionaires on this year’s Forbes list hail from these 10 sectors."
• Cartier Reinvents Tank Must, Ballon Bleu & Pasha With New Colors, Sizes And Eco-Friendly Technology - "Cartier is the master of the remaster. Its most iconic collections were created anywhere from 1907 to 2007, and Cartier has continuously evolved them to keep them relevant. The secret to this strategy is to begin with a great design in the first place that lends itself to interpretation and variation without detracting from its basic codes. This year, Cartier applies the formula to the Pasha, Ballon Bleu and Tank Must with new colors, metals, gem applications and eco-friendly technology."
• Countries worldwide hit new records for virus cases, deaths - "Ambulances filled with breathless patients lined up in Brazil as nations around the world set new records Thursday for COVID-19 deaths and new coronavirus infections. The disease surged even in some countries that have kept the virus in check."
• You're vaccinated now, so can you go to a restaurant? What you should know - "Indoor dining and drinking at restaurants and bars is riskier than some other places for a few reasons, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Not only are people from different households gathering in the same space, but you have to take your mask off to eat and drink."
• How US history explains vaccine passport scepticism - "As the pace of vaccination accelerates, governments, corporations and schools have signalled support for so-called vaccine passports - standardised proof of inoculation."
• Can Public Transit Survive the Pandemic? London's New Transport Commissioner Wants You to Believe It Can - "The pandemic has not only caused an immediate fall in ticket revenues for the world’s public transit networks - rail ridership in Barcelona, Moscow, Beijing and New York City at times plummeting 80% - in some cities it also has thrown into question the future of mass urban transportation."
• 3,000-year-old ‘lost golden city’ of ancient Egypt discovered - "Experts say Aten is the largest such city ever found and one of the most important finds since unearthing Tutankhamun’s tomb."
• China’s Digital Currency Is About To Disrupt Money - "A lengthy article in The Wall Street Journal, China creates its own digital currency, a first for major economy, outlines the likely impact of Beijing’s initiative and the strategic possibilities it offers in terms of avoiding US blockades of its companies, how this will boost its role in international transactions, while allowing it to monitor its economy in real time."
• Vacheron Constantin Armillary Tourbillon Planetaria Is Out Of This World - "Vacheron Constantin’s Les Cabinotiers atelier produces one-of-a-kind pieces that demonstrate what it takes to be one of the so called 'Holy Trinity' of Swiss watch brands (the other two are Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet). It isn’t about being the oldest - although Vacheron Constantin, founded in 1755, does have that distinction. It’s about the almost obsessive dedication to perfect craftsmanship and the kind of heritage and know-how it takes to experiment with complicated watchmaking concepts and nail it every time."
• Louis Vuitton Reveals Its Subversive Style With The Tambour Carpe Diem Watch - "Louis Vuitton hosted an unveiling of the fashion house’s latest haute watches at the Place Vendôme salons last month. It was a pandemic-safe preview ahead of the Watches & Wonders luxury fair which streams live from Geneva, starting today."
• The rice of the sea: how a tiny grain could change the way humanity eats - "Lab tests hinted at its tremendous potential: gluten-free, high in omega-6 and -9 fatty acids, and contains 50% more protein than rice per grain, according to Aponiente’s research. And all of it growing without freshwater or fertiliser."
• More billionaires than ever in Palm Beach - "A record 48 billionaires have been identified as having strong residential ties to Palm Beach, according to a Palm Beach Daily News analysis of the list of the world’s richest people released Tuesday by Forbes.com. Last year there were 43 Palm Beach-linked names on the list."
• Anthony Hopkins’ 20 best film performances - ranked! - "Anthony Hopkins has been nominated for a Bafta and an Oscar for his role in The Father. But how does it compare with his performances as Hannibal Lecter, CS Lewis, Odin and an ageing Zorro?"
• Giant monitor lizard freaks out shoppers in Thailand - "A huge Asian water monitor lizard visited a 7-11 in Thailand. A bystander caught shoppers' nervous laughs and screams as the lizard climbed a shelf."
• Khloe Kardashian's bikini photo reminds us that when we weigh in on women's bodies, we all lose - "arlier this week, a candid photo of Khloe Kardashian in a leopard print bikini was mistakenly shared on social media. Her team fruitlessly tried to scrub all traces of the image after it was reportedly posted by one of her assistants."
• 'Satan Shoes' to be recalled as Nike agrees to settle lawsuit - "Nike says the art collective which made 'Satan Shoes' that purportedly contain a drop of human blood in the soles has agreed to issue a voluntary recall as part of a legal settlement."
• Covid-19: The disinformation tactics used by China - "China’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak has been scrutinised since the virus was first detected in Wuhan. In response, Beijing has tried to take greater control of what is said about its role in the pandemic - sometimes with questionable tactics."
• Among the Covid sceptics: ‘We are being manipulated, without a shadow of a doubt’ - "Who are the people who have come to follow wild conspiracy theories about Covid-19?"
• When can we go on a cruise again? - "While it's hard to know exactly when and how the world will reopen, here's what we do know about the future of cruising."
• Beijing now has more billionaires than any city - "The Chinese capital added 33 billionaires last year and now hosts 100."
• Bitcoin could derail China's climate change targets - "Bitcoin mining in China is so carbon intensive that it could threaten the country's emissions reduction targets, according to new research. China accounts for more than 75% of bitcoin mining around the world, researchers said. Bitcoin emissions in China exceed the total emissions of the Czech Republic and Qatar, study says."
• Derek Chauvin trial: What did George Floyd really say? - "Derek Chauvin's defence team claimed that Mr Floyd could be heard saying 'I ate too many drugs' in bodycam footage of the arrest."
• Apple’s Find My network now offers new third-party finding experiences - "The Find My network accessory program enables users to keep track of their belongings in the new Items tab within the Find My app."
• Discover The World’s Most Secluded Island Paradises - "Now that the travel industry begins to bounce back, Internet searches indicate that private islands have been trending as travelers seek out destinations that are safe and secluded."
• Why Chewing gum is banned in Singapore - "Singapore's endless pursuit of cleanliness. These quintessentially Singaporean values have been put to the test during Covid-19, when good public hygiene practice can be a matter of life and death."
• The hydrogen revolution in the skies - "A record-breaking commercial-scale hydrogen plane has taken off in the UK, with more set to join it soon. How far can such planes go in cutting the aviation industry's emissions?"
• best wireless headphones you can buy right now - "And not all of them will break the bank."
• Forbes world's Billionaires list 2021 - "The number of billionaires on Forbes’ 35th annual list of the world’s wealthiest exploded to an unprecedented 2,755--660 more than a year ago. Of those, a record high 493 were new to the list--roughly one every 17 hours, including 210 from China and Hong Kong. Another 250 who’d fallen off in the past came roaring back. A staggering 86% are richer than a year ago. Altogether these billionaires are worth $13.1 trillion, up from $8 trillion in 2020. The U.S. still has the most, with 724, followed by China (including Hong Kong and Macao) with 698."
• Europe’s Billionaires Are $1 Trillion Richer Than A Year Ago - "Bernard Arnault remains Europe’s richest person. Germany leads Europe once again with the largest number of billionaires on Forbes’ 2021 list of the world’s richest. French luxury goods magnate Bernard Arnault keeps his spot as the No. 3 richest in the world, though his $150 billion fortune is nearly double the $76 billion it was a year ago, as a result of a run-up in the value of LVMH shares. Spanish fast-fashion tycoon Amancio Ortega is Europe’s second richest, worth $77 billion. While that is $20 billion more than a year ago, he dropped in rank to No. 11 richest in the world this year, down from No. 6 last year, as others - mostly U.S. billionaires - outpaced his gains."
• Kim Kardashian West Is Officially A Billionaire - "With KKW Beauty and popular shapewear firm Skims, Kardashian West’s net worth increases to $1 billion, earning her a spot on Forbes’ World’s Billionaires List."
• A third of Covid-19 survivors suffer 'brain disease,' study shows - "As many as one in three people infected with Covid-19 have longer term mental health or neurological symptoms, researchers reported Tuesday. They found 34% of Covid-19 survivors received a diagnosis for a neurological or psychological condition within six months of their infection, according to the study published Tuesday in the journal Lancet Psychiatry."
• Brazil daily covid deaths top 4,000 for first time - "Brazil has recorded more than 4,000 Covid-related deaths in 24 hours for the first time, as a more contagious variant fuels a surge in cases. Hospitals are overcrowded, with people dying as they wait for treatment in some cities, and the health system is on the brink of collapse in many areas. The country's total death toll is now almost 337,000, second only to the US."
• US rules out federal vaccine passports - "The White House has ruled out introducing mandatory federal Covid-19 vaccination passports, saying citizens' privacy and rights should be protected."
• Watch and wonders Geneva - April 7-13.
• A History of World Expos in 40 Objects - "World Expos have shaped the course of human history for 170 years, showcasing the world of tomorrow."
• Jordan's royal rift: A family feud erupts - but who's actually involved? - "Jordan and its ruling royal family have long been seen by foreign allies as beacons of stability in the Middle East."
• The harmful ableist language you unknowingly use - "Some of our most common, ingrained expressions have damaging effects on millions of people - and many of us don't know we're hurting others when we speak."
• How some people can end up living at airports for months -- even years -- at a time - "In January, local authorities arrested a 36-year-old man named Aditya Singh after he had spent three months living at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Since October, he had been staying in the secure side of the airport, relying on the kindness of strangers to buy him food, sleeping in the terminals and using the many bathroom facilities. It wasn't until an airport employee asked to see his ID that the jig was up."
• In the 1960s, travelers could fly with their cars - "Car ferries in the skies: The rise and fall of the Aviation Traders Carvair."
• The U.S. Has Had 'Vaccine Passports' Before & They Worked - "The year was 1885. U.S. border officials in the late 19th century did not expect travelers to carry the identification documents that international transit requires today - but they did often require passengers to provide evidence that they had been vaccinated from smallpox."
• France Investigates Secret Mask-Free Restaurants for the Paris Elite - "Champagne, lobster and no masks: That’s what a French TV documentary says is on the menu at one of multiple high-end 'clandestine restaurants' catering to the Paris elite, in violation of nationwide pandemic restrictions."
• Morgan Freeman Stars in COVID Vaccine PSA: 'If You Trust Me, You'll Get the Vaccine' - "'I'm not a doctor, but I trust science,' Morgan Freeman says in a PSA urging Americans to get the COVID-19 vaccine."
• Rita Wilson explains why she & Tom Hanks haven't been vaccinated yet - "'How about hearing this for the first time in your life: 'You're not old enough,'' she said. Back in March 2020, Rita Wilson and her husband Tom Hanks were among the first of a group of celebrities who announced that they had tested positive for Covid-19."
• Mecca to accept only ‘immunised’ pilgrims from Ramadan - "From the start of Ramadan, only Muslims immunised against Covid-19 will be allowed to perform the umrah pilgrimage, Saudi authorities have said."
• Tokyo Olympics: North Korea to skip Games over Covid-19 fears - "The decision puts an end to South Korea's hopes of using the Games to engage with the North amid stalled cross-border talks."
• Why cities emptied by Covid are perfect for modern flÂneurs - "Copying the approach of Baudelaire’s quizzical stroller can help us escape lockdown - even if he needs a little updating."
• Bill Gates is the biggest private owner of farmland in the United States. Why? - "Gates has been buying land like it’s going out of style. He now owns more farmland than my entire Native American nation."
• 'This is a Robbery' & 6 other recommendations if you love an art heist - "Netflix series examines why the world's most expensive art heist remains unsolved."
• Rear-engine jets: Why airlines no longer use rear-engine planes - "Remember them? The McDonnell Douglas DC9, the Boeing 727, the Vickers VC10, the Sud Aviation Caravelle?"
• Can you tell when someone is lying? - "You can't spot a liar just by looking, but psychologists are zeroing in on other techniques that might actually work."
• Theragun's pricey massage gun delivers on its muscle recovery promise - "It was an indulgence, but it was worth it."
• Japan just recorded its earliest cherry blossom bloom in 1,200 years - "Scientists warn it's a symptom of the larger climate crisis."
• Covid Greece: Waiting for the tourists to come back - "All over Europe, people are waiting and hoping to find out whether foreign summer holidays will be possible. Many countries are currently banning or strongly discouraging them, and returning travellers have to quarantine on arrival."
• Why toxic workplace cultures follow you home - "Working outside the office should help de-escalate workplace toxicity. But in reality, dysfunctional workplace culture may actually get worse when you’re at home."
• Meet the Briton leading a Tesla rival who wants to save the planet - "Peter Rawlinson says Lucid, which is about to list for $24bn, has drawn interest from big carmakers."
• Carl Icahn is on a seven-year losing streak, but the market still loves his stock - "n October 2013, when Carl Icahn started selling his large position in Netflix, many believed the vaunted billionaire investor had done it again. The company had successfully transitioned from a DVD-by-mail rental service to video streaming, and Icahn had made a 457% return in just 14 months."
• We’re on the knife’s edge of the pandemic - "Antivirus: a weekly digest of COVID-19 research and development."
• Here's What Will Actually Convince People to Get Vaccinated - TIME Magazine.
• Covid-19 Vaccine Passports Are Coming. What Will That Mean? - "Scores of plans to verify immunity are in the works. But there are even more questions about how they’ll use data, protect privacy - and who gets certified first."
• Egypt mummies pass through Cairo in ancient rulers' parade - "The lavish, multimillion-dollar spectacle saw 22 mummies - 18 kings and four queens - transported from the peach-coloured, neo-classical Egyptian Museum to their new resting place 5km (three miles) away."
• Marwa Elselehdar: 'I was blamed for blocking the Suez Canal' - "Egypt's pioneering ship captain has been targeted over false rumours about her role in the incident. Rumours about Marwa Elselehdar's role on the Ever Given were largely spurred by screenshots of a fake news headline - supposedly published by Arab News - which said she was involved in the Suez incident."
• Dark patterns, the tricks websites use to make you say yes, explained - "How design can manipulate and coerce you into doing what websites want."
• Clubhouse defined a format - now it has to defend it - "The social audio era has arrived. Clubhouse had an incredible year in one most of us would rather forget. The live audio app launched during a pandemic; gained more than 10 million downloads for an invite-only, iOS-only app; and succeeded to the point that most every social platform wants to copy it. Congrats to Clubhouse."
• Here's what to know about the risk of blood clots & the AstraZeneca vaccine - "More and more reports of blood clots from different countries are dripping in, particularly in Europe, where the AstraZeneca vaccine is widely used. Some countries are choosing to suspend the vaccine altogether, while others have limited its use to certain age groups."
• CDC says fully vaccinated people can travel safely in the US - "They’ll still need to wear masks and physically distance from other travelers."
• Deserted islands: Pacific resorts struggle to survive a year without tourists - "Of the handful of countries in the world that managed to stay completely Covid-free, almost all were islands in the South Pacific."
• Exclusive look inside the US supersonic presidential jet - "Exosonic was handed a contract by the Presidential and Executive Airlift Directorate (PE) after impressing the military with its concept for a low-boom supersonic Mach 1.8 twinjet. It's a 31-passenger derivative of Exosonic's 70-passenger commercial airliner concept and is the ultimate in business jets -- luxury leather, oak and quartz fittings, private suites for work and rest, and all at cruise times twice that of existing aircraft."
• Year-round sunshine, pool days & zero taxes: How to move to Dubai & work remotely for a year - "As global business and travel hubs remain largely closed off to the masses, Dubai is making entry easier than ever for international visitors."
• Egypt's ancient rulers to return in mummies' parade - "The lavish, multi-million dollar spectacle will see 22 mummies - 18 kings and four queens - transported from the peach-coloured, neo-classical Egyptian Museum to their new resting place 5km (three miles) away."
• Should you be grateful for a job? - "It's natural to feel thankful that you're employed, especially when jobs are scarce. But is that gratitude actually a misguided emotion?"
• Seinfeld’s Porsche 911 GT3, Other Exclusive Vehicles To Be Auctioned By Bonhams April 10 - "Jerry Seinfeld's auto collection is comprised of (about) 150 exotic, rare and vintage vehicles, well-noted and salivated over by the car-loving public."
• Ten films to watch in April - BBC Culture.
• How & why to buy a projector - "With movie theaters still closed, a projector gives you the next-best experience."
• Should you be grateful for a job? - BBC Worklife.
• Seinfeld’s Porsche 911 GT3 & Exclusive Vehicles To Be Auctioned By Bonhams April 10
• Don't freak out if u get these side effects from Covid vaccine
• Pfizer vaccine has 91% efficacy for up to six months
• Celebrity rush: half of Hollywood has fled to Australia
• 10 spectacular Roman sites that aren't in Italy - Traveller.
• Instagram Rich List 2020 - Hopper HQ.
• When Anna Wintour joined Vogue, she told the editor she wanted ...
• WhatsApp’s Ground-Breaking Feature Suddenly Returns
• How to stay awake & alert at your desk - BBC Worklife.
• The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe. Why did ....
• Pfizer vaccine 100% efficacy against South African variant
• NFTs are suddenly everywhere, they have some big problems
• Venice bans cruise ships from historic centre - BBC News.
• This little-known Japanese fruit now has a cult following
• WHEN UNLIMITED ISN’T: YOUR PHONE PLAN FINE PRINT EXPLAINED
• The benefit of having bad dreams - BBC Future.
• If the Queen has nothing to hide, she should tell us ....
• How procrastination fuels creativity - BBC Worklife.
• US & allies criticize WHO report on Covid-19 origin - CNN.
• It's possible to reach herd immunity, then lose it. Repeatedly
• Archbishop of Canterbury breaks silence on interview
• Apple WWDC 2021 announced as online-only event - Verge.
• Have we got minimalism all wrong? - BBC Culture.
• Google Maps to start showing eco-friendly routes
• Destruction of world's forests increased sharply in 2020
• Mama bear's struggle with cubs looks hilariously familiar
• Google's new experimental app can scan and .... - engadget.
• WHO draft report gives 4 possible sources for Covid
• CDC head warns of 'impending doom' in US - BBC News.
• CDC: Pfizer & Moderna vaccines 90% effective in 'real-world' study
• New Covid vaccines needed globally within a year, say ....
• Keep Your Covid-19 Vaccination Card Safe - Forbes.
• Global treaty needed to protect states from pandemics
• Do 'maximisers' or 'satisficers' make better decisions?
• Largest Companies by Market Cap Total market cap: $85.973 T.
• AMAZON IS BECOMING THE FACE OF AMERICAN INEQUALITY
• The Suez Canal blockage explored in numbers - BBC News.
• The truth about steering gigantic ships - CNN Travel.
• Tracking corona case surges in states across the us
• Industrial Fishing Creates More CO2 Emissions Than Air Travel
• Silversea's 139-day world cruise sells out in one day
• The forgotten medieval fruit with a vulgar name - BBC.
• Forgotten how to socialise? Here's post-lockdown primer

February 19, 2021

• Fauci says we have two powerful tools against covid-19 variants - "'The two ways that we can counter that is one, continue to do the kinds of public health interventions that we talk about all the time,' he said, like the universal wearing of masks, social distancing, staying away from crowded areas and regular hand washing."
• How long can you wait for a second vaccine dose? - "Some vaccine providers have been forced to cancel Covid-19 vaccine appointments due to the winter weather that has ravaged much of the US and caused delays in vaccine deliveries."
• Vaccine diplomacy: west falling behind in race for influence - "While the UK and US strive for herd immunity, Russia and China are leveraging their Covid jabs."
• How covid-19 has changed escapism - "Why escapism benefits from a dose of pandemic reality. TV, cakes, art, even pornography - when recreation is supposed to be an escape, why are we voluntarily looking to stay connected to what stresses us most?"
• 20.5m years of life may have been lost to Covid across 81 countries, study finds - "Data shows Covid has taken far greater toll than flu, to which it is often dismissively compared."
• Bill Gates: 4 Choices in Life Separate the Doers From the Dreamers - "Practice the simple habits that have helped Gates become the world's fourth-richest person."
• Cancel culture: Have any two words become more weaponised? - "A US president is banned from social media. A long-time national science reporter resigns in disgrace after repeating a racial slur. A school district drops the names of famous Americans from its buildings. A congresswoman is punished for spreading conspiracy theories."
• How the Maldives became the biggest 2020 international tourism success story - "The Maldives, an Indian Ocean island archipelago practically synonymous with romance, normally sees north of 1.7 million visitors per year. In 2020, it had around 500,000. And despite the significant decrease, it marks one of the most successful tourism stories amid the pandemic."
• Why travellers fall in love with Italy - BBC Travel.
• The unexpected benefits of surfing - "Surfers and the marine life of the coasts have a lot in common - including that they depend on the ecosystems that make their lives, or sport, possible."
• The next champagne? French bakers want UNESCO designation for baguettes - "The baguette - a mix of wheat flour, water, yeast, salt and a pinch of savoir-faire and as much a symbol of France as the Eiffel Tower - may soon join UNESCO's listing of cultural treasures."
• Japanese website maps neighbourhoods that have noisy children - "Gossiping adults and boisterous children are identified on the Dorozoku map, which has struck a chord in a country known for its quiet."
• Amazon just teased 3 new products. They may never hit the market - "Amazon (AMZN) announced three new Alexa-enabled products on Wednesday: a smart sticky note printer, nutrition scale and cuckoo clock. But there's a catch -- the tech giant will only ship these items if enough people pre-order them."
• AI has remastered Rick Astley's 'Never Gonna Give You Up' in glorious 4K - "Rickrolling will never be the same."
• Christie's first digital art auction leans on blockchain & other buzzwords - "NFT uses blockchain tech to verify ownership of digital collectibles, and Christie's will auction this one off next week."

February 18, 2021

• TIME 100 next 2021: - "Meet the Emerging Leaders Shaping the Future."
• New standards will take the guesswork out of choosing the most effective face masks - "Americans may soon be able to choose between two clearly labeled levels of face mask protection while browsing store shelves. The new national mask standard outlines minimum fit, design, performance and testing requirements for face masks and would require user instructions, package labeling and a permanent tag on the product. ASTM International -- an international standards organization -- spent seven months conducting expedited testing and review and published its guidance on Tuesday. Experts and industry leaders say the new 'Standard Specification for Barrier Face Coverings' has the potential to transform the quality of masks available for personal protection in the American marketplace."
• AstraZeneca's UK Covid-19 vaccines contract revealed - "AstraZeneca's contract to supply the UK with 100 million Covid-19 vaccine doses commits it to making 'best reasonable efforts,' the same language used in its deal with the European Union, which critics blamed for the bloc's faltering inoculation program."
• Mindfulness, laughter & robot dogs may relieve lockdown loneliness - study - "University of Cambridge researchers identify potentially effective interventions to help people."
• US life expectancy dropped a full year in first half of 2020, according to CDC - "Life expectancy in the US dropped a full year in the first half of 2020, according to a report published Thursday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. Experts say that Covid-19 was a significant factor contributing to the decline."
• The curious story behind the pandemic's weirdest chart - "Consumer spending is the backbone of the US economy and accounts for some two-thirds of economic activity. So if Americans aren't using their credit cards, that's a bad sign for the recovery, even though the percentage of credit cards that are delinquent has also gone down."
• How to stay safe in freezing weather - "How to stay safe in freezing conditions. As a blast of winter weather hits Texas and other southern US states, we have rounded up some of the top tips for keeping safe."
• 30 classic Italian dishes that everyone should try - "Italian cuisine -- or some version of it -- has colonized the rest of the world so successfully that there are probably uncharted corners of the Amazon rainforest where you can sit down at a red-and-white checkered tablecloth and order up a plate of pasta and sauce."
• How the controversial corset made a comeback - "From Bridgerton to Gen Z, the sexy undergarment is once again popular. But is it an instrument of torture - or a weapon of empowerment, asks Beverley D'Silva."
• The dark side of working from bed - "What happens when you work from bed for a year. The allure of working from bed is strong - but turning your mattress into your office can trigger a slew of health problems, both psychological and physical."
• Madonna's daughter Lourdes announced as the new face of Marc Jacobs - "ourdes 'Lola' Leon, daughter of pop icon Madonna, is the new face for The Marc Jacobs' Spring 2021 campaign."
• Dinosaurs may have been killed off by a comet instead of an asteroid - "Harvard researchers theorized that a piece of a comet crashed into Earth over 66 million years ago to create the Chicxulub crater, according to a study published Monday in Scientific Reports."
• Can a full moon really make strange things happen? - "Belief in the Moon's power over us is very popular, and it's the basis of the word lunacy. Broadcaster Claudia Hammond examines whether science can help separate fact from fiction in this ancient myth."
• Dogs from Milton Keynes charity trained to sniff out prostate cancer - "Dogs can detect the most aggressive forms of prostate cancer and could help develop a 'robotic nose' to find the disease in the future, a study says."
• Harry Winston Unveils The ‘Winston Pink Legacy’ Ring With 18-Carat Pink Diamond - Forbes.
• Kendall Jenner Announces New 818 Tequila Launch - Here’s What You Need To Know - Forbes.
• McLaren Artura Hybrid Supercar Gets 671-hp, Electric Drive And Computer Chip Embedded Tires - Forbes.

February 17, 2021

• Bitcoin soars past $50,000 for the first time - "Bitcoin topped $50,000 Tuesday, continuing a stunning rise that has sent it soaring about $20,000 this year. Bitcoin passed $20,000 for the first time in December, and it has more than doubled in value in three months."
• Did you survive Covid? Maybe you can thank your Neanderthal ancestors - "Researchers found a genetic mutation that reduces the risk of severe Covid-19 infection by about 22/. It was found in all the samples they took of Neanderthal DNA, and in about 30/ of samples from people of European and Asian origin."
• Apple will only approve COVID-19 vaccination apps verified by health authorities - "It wants to make sure the apps show only verified vaccine records."
• destinations open to travelers vaccinated against Covid-19 - "As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the travel industry, countless destinations around the world are rolling out vaccines to their most vulnerable citizens. Meanwhile, Denmark has announced plans to launch a coronavirus digital passport by the end of February that will act as documentation the holder has been fully vaccinated against Covid-19."
• From Nelly to Doug: nicknames emerge for growing list of Covid variants - "With no agreed naming system, scientists are devising their own nomenclature to fill the gap."
• Why this will be the hottest airplane seat in 2021 - "Premium economy. The two words might seem a weird combination in airline terms, since it's a rare airline where economy seats feel premium these days. But these seats between coach and business class on international flights were heating up even before Covid-19, and as we all start to travel again in 2021, they're set to be a must-fly for many passengers. Why? It's a combination of factors."
• Forbes Travel Guide’s New Five-Star Hotels For 2021 - "The global Covid-19 vaccine rollout offers some hope for 2021, allowing stir-crazy, grounded travelers to start planning their next getaway. To help inspire those next adventures, Forbes Travel Guide presents its 2021 Star Awards for the world’s best luxury hotels, restaurants and spas."
• How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates review - why science isn't enough - "The co-founder of Microsoft looks to science and tech to end climate crisis ... but can nations cooperate?"
• Climate change 'delayed migration of plant-eating dinosaurs by millions of years' - "New study of fossils suggests arrival in northern hemisphere long after meat-eating cousins."
• Heating Arctic may be to blame for snowstorms in Texas, scientists argue - "The wintry weather that has battered the southern US and parts of Europe could be a counterintuitive effect of the climate crisis."
• 'Spy pixels in emails have become endemic' - "The use of 'invisible' tracking tech in emails is now 'endemic', according to a messaging service that analysed its traffic at the BBC's request."
• Drones With Facial Recognition Are Primed To Fly - But The World Isn’t Ready Yet - "Some of the first drones with advanced facial recognition capabilities are being developed by Israeli surveillance companies, as American police consider whether they will soon be adding the controversial technology to their unmanned flying machines."
• Say Hello To The New Porsche 911 GT3 - "Claimed to be 'acoustically impressive', high-revving (to 9,000rpm, no less), and 'also used practically unchanged' in the new 911 GT3 Cup race car, the GT3’s power plant produces 510PS and can crack 62mph (100km/h) in 3.4 seconds in PDK form, or 3.9s with the manual gearbox. Top speed is 199mph for the manual and 198 for the PDK."
• How China is devastating Australia's billion-dollar wine industry - "It isn't just wine. As relations between Canberra and Beijing spiral, many Australian exports, including beef and timber, started encountering obstacles entering the China market, and there's little optimism things will improve any time soon."
• The islands that protect Germany from the North Sea - "A string of tiny islands plays an outsized role in defending Germany's coast from the wild North Sea. As sea levels rise, these islands face their greatest challenge yet."
• How boredom can be a force for good or bad - "As the pandemic stretches on, ‘quarantine fatigue’ is creeping in. Yes, you’re bored - but that may not have to be a bad thing."
• The Himalayan peak off limits to climbers - "Climbing Machhapuchhare is forbidden, a rarity in a country like Nepal that has embraced mountain tourism so enthusiastically that even the world's highest point gets overcrowded."
• 13 Ways Of Looking At A Carnival - "In honor of the year that Trinidad Carnival wasn’t - the annual Caribbean festival was cancelled this year due to the pandemic - Baz Dreisinger pens a personal homage, inspired by Wallace Stevens’s poem '13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird' and lyrics by soca king Machel Montano, to the most life-affirming Caribbean ritual of them all."
• Framing Britney Spears review - a sobering look at sexism & celebrity - "The hit documentary arrives on Sky and Now TV, and explores the feeding frenzy that has surrounded the pop star since she was 10 years old."

February 16, 2021

• Double masks: Should we use them? - "There’s a lot of choice about which type of face covering to wear – and in some countries the advice is changing as we learn more about how the virus spreads. In certain countries a specific type of mask is required in public areas. The BBC's Science Editor David Shukman explains the differences between cloth masks, surgical masks and N95 masks - and looks at whether we should double mask."
• Here's why some Covid-19 numbers keep improving - "(Hint: It's not widespread vaccinations). Kudos to everyone who has been doubling down on mask wearing and social distancing. Health experts say your efforts are paying off."
• Vaccine as good in 'real world' as in trial in Israel - "More data from Israel's vaccination programme is suggesting the Pfizer jab prevents 94% of symptomatic infections."
• Anatomy of a conspiracy: with covid, China took leading role - "The rumors began almost as soon as the disease itself. Claims that a foreign adversary had unleashed a bioweapon emerged at the fringes of Chinese social media the same day China first reported the outbreak of a mysterious virus."
• The superspreaders behind top covid-19 conspiracy theories - "As the coronavirus spread across the globe, so too did speculation about its origins. Perhaps the virus escaped from a lab. Maybe it was engineered as a bioweapon. Legitimate questions about the virus created perfect conditions for conspiracy theories. In the absence of knowledge, guesswork and propaganda flourished."
• B1525: new covid variant with potentially worrying mutations found in UK - "Researchers say 32 cases of B1525 in Britain, with other cases in countries including Denmark, US and Australia."
• Fauci says he worried about getting Covid at Trump White House - "Infectious disease expert tells Axios he had been nervous going there when many were coming down with the virus."
• Bill Gates: ‘Carbon neutrality in a decade is a fairytale. Why peddle fantasies?’ - "After putting $100m into Covid research, the billionaire is taking on the climate crisis. And first he has some bones to pick with his fellow campaigners..."
• Snow in Athens causes Greek authorities to cancel vaccinations - "An unusually heavy snowfall has paralysed Athens in Greece, and led authorities to cancel planned vaccinations."
• Homework & headaches: study shows why remote students are more stressed - "Remote students are more stressed than their peers in the classroom, study shows. The study by NBC News and Challenge Success is one of the first to shed light on differences between students who are online-only and those in classrooms."
• Ivanka Trump & Jared Kushner made millions in Washington. But at what cost? - "Apparently accountable to no one, Kushner and Trump acted as if the normal rules did not apply to them. And in fact, they didn’t."
• Bernard Arnault: Europe's richest man is joining the SPAC craze - "Bernard Arnault, the chairman of luxury goods group LVMH, is the latest billionaire to embrace Wall Street's hot new way to raise money."
• The joy of pancakes: 10 top chefs on their favourite recipes - from apple crepes to duck dosa - "Pancake day is upon us, but don’t feel restricted to sugar and lemon juice. Celebrated chefs, including Heston Blumenthal and Ravinder Bhogal, share their suggestions."
• The joy of pancakes - "The troubled times we live in, and the rise of social media, have created an age of endless conflict. Rather than fearing or avoiding disagreement, we need to learn to do it well."
• What history's bathing rituals reveal about status, purity and power - "In many parts of the world, cleansing one's body has become an individual, daily ritual -- a quick, steamy shower in the morning or a longer bath to unwind at night. But historically, our bathing habits have been imbued with deeper meanings."
• How unseasonal winters affect our minds - "The snowy countries losing their identity. For those who grew up marvelling at snowflakes or hurtling downhill on a sledge, how do you adapt to a world where these joys are growing increasingly few and far between?"
• Why You Should Change This TikTok ‘Phone Tracking’ Setting - "A new warning today for the hundreds of millions of users with TikTok’s app on their phones. If you have your phone number linked to your profile, you should remove it - but, beware, that’s very difficult to do. And while your number is still there, TikTok will use it to track you online. So, here’s what you do now."
• Jaguar will be an all-electric car brand from 2025 - "While the first all-electric Land Rover is coming in 2024."
• France on hunt for centuries-old oaks to rebuild spire of Notre Dame - "Restoring the 96-metre spire, destroyed by fire in 2019, will need up to 1,000 trees between 150 and 200 years old."
• Kim Novak on art, bipolar, Hitchcock and happiness - "‘I had to leave Hollywood to save myself’. Kim Novak starred in Vertigo - voted the best film ever made - but knew she was too fragile for fame. She talks about her tough childhood, the sensitive side of Sinatra and starting again in her forties."

February 15, 2021

• Bill Gates: Solving Covid easy compared with climate - "Fifty-one billion and zero - the two numbers Bill Gates says you need to know about climate. Fifty-one billion is how many tonnes of greenhouse gases the world typically adds to the atmosphere each year. Zero is where we need to get to."
• One Man Owns 7,000 Cars Worth 5 Billion Dollars - "If you asked anyone off of the street what individual has the world’s largest private collection of cars, chances are they will say: Jay Leno. While Jay Leno does have one of the largest private car collections in the world, the current largest collection is held by the Sultan of Brunei, the world’s richest royals, as is reflected by his collection of over 7,000 cars, including McLarens, Koenigseggs, and Porsches - just to name a few. Of course, thousands of cars don’t come cheap, and his collection is worth an estimated 5 billion dollars."
• 55 Greatest James Bond One-Liners - YouTube 10:01.
• NYC financier pays record $122.7M for Donald Trump’s former Palm Beach estate - "New York financier Scott Shleifer, co-founder of Tiger Global Management’s private equity unit, has been revealed as the mystery buyer who splashed out $122.7 million - cash - to buy an oceanfront spec house in Palm Beach that was once owned by Donald Trump. It’s the most ever paid for a Palm Beach estate, or, for that matter, a home anywhere in the state of Florida."

February 14, 2021

• Vaccine stockpiling could prolong crisis - "Warning vaccine roll-out risks prolonging crisis. The Covid-19 pandemic is unlikely to end unless poorer countries can access vaccines, scientists writing in medical journal the Lancet have warned."
• WHO Wuhan mission finds possible signs of wider original outbreak in 2019 - "Investigators from the World Health Organization (WHO) looking into the origins of coronavirus in China have discovered signs the outbreak was much wider in Wuhan in December 2019 than previously thought, and are urgently seeking access to hundreds of thousands of blood samples from the city that China has not so far let them examine."
• Putting the brakes on fast fashion - "Fashion revolves around the latest trends but is the industry behind the curve on the only trend that ultimately matters - the need to radically alter our patterns of consumption to ensure the survival of the planet."
• Trump impeachment trial: Biden warns democracy is fragile - "US President Joe Biden has said his predecessor Donald Trump's acquittal for inciting mob violence is a reminder that 'democracy is fragile'."
• Trump's heaping list of legal problems post-impeachment - "Out of office and without the protections that the presidency afforded him, Trump is now facing multiple criminal investigations, civil state inquiries and defamation lawsuits by two women accusing him of sexual assault."
• The dark side of believing in true love - "Old-fashioned romantics might have the wrong idea about love. Strong beliefs in true love could be blinding you to both the good and bad in your partner, with sometimes toxic results."
• The detail that unlocks the Mona Lisa - "The 1503 painting by Leonardo da Vinci is the world's most famous piece of art. Kelly Grovier explores an overlooked object that offers a different perspective on the masterpiece."

February 13, 2021

• The news around vaccines is positive -- even in the face of variants - "The country now has two authorized vaccines, one from Pfizer/BioNTech and another from Moderna, and this third one -- made by Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Biotech -- appears to be on the cusp of also getting the green light."
• quarantine: what can be learned from mistakes elsewhere? - "From staff having sex with guests, to irons being used for toasties, there are plenty of pitfalls to running Covid quarantine hotels."
• Covid: France says just one jab needed for previously infected - "France's health authority is recommending that anyone previously infected with Covid-19 should only receive one vaccine jab, instead of the normal two doses."
• How to score a COVID-19 vaccine appointment - "The process of finding an appointment can be incredibly frustrating; here are some strategies that may help."
• Vitamin C, zinc don't lessen Covid-19 symptoms, study finds - "Can vitamin C and zinc help you fight off Covid-19? No, not even at high doses, according to the first randomized clinical trial to test the two supplements under medical supervision."
• has lockdown wrecked friendships? - "Fighting over lockdown rules, clashing about coronavirus lies, or just stuck on endless boring Zoom calls: will your mates still be your mates after the pandemic?"
• 'A very dangerous epoch': historians try to make sense of Covid - "Experts say it is not just the pandemic that makes these feel like unusually significant times."
• 'Imperfect messenger' Bill Gates on what needs to change to avoid climate disaster - "New book by Microsoft billionaire plays down impact of flying and driving and calls for focus on steel, meat and cement."
• Bill Gates on the climate crisis: ‘I can't deny being a rich guy with an opinion’ - "In an exclusive extract from his new book, the Microsoft founder explains why we need to cut carbon emissions to zero - even if he is an ‘imperfect messenger’."
• The luxury manmade island concept where homes cost up to $1 billion - "Packing up and moving to an exotic island has been a long-held dream for many globetrotters, but it seems the prospect is becoming even more attractive due to the global pandemic."
• 52 perfect romcoms for Valentine's day in lockdown - "For Richard Curtis it’s Gregory’s Girl, Gurinder Chadha prefers Tootsie and Katy Brand goes for Dirty Dancing. Whatever your relationship status, here are the film and TV romances to curl up with."
• 6 skeletons found at a pirate shipwreck site could point to its fabled captain - "For the pirates of the 18th century, treasure meant gold. But for the investigators at Whydah Pirate Museum in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, treasure could simply mean big rocks -- as long as there are skeletons tucked inside."
• Forests the size of tennis courts - "Hundreds of tiny forests are being planted in towns and cities around the world."
• Why we socially hibernate during winter - "Why winter seems filled with romance. For many people across the world who followed the guidance during the pandemic, this year has meant restricted socialising. Are we choosing to couple-up and stay together instead?"
• How a Murdoch sailed off with Maxwell's yacht - "For years the press titans battled for supremacy and now Rupert Murdoch's ex-wife has bought and refitted Robert Maxwell's boat Lady Ghislaine - named after his disgraced daughter and scene of his death."
• World’s largest superyacht: Everything you need to know about 183m REV - "The crown of world’s largest superyacht is due to be passed on next year - here’s what you need to know about the newcomer 183m REV..."
• 2021 Bentley Bentayga V8 Review: The Ultimate Story Of Automotive Luxury - "The new Bentayga enters the 2021 model year as a model that changes everything that we thought we knew about SUVs."
• ROLLS-ROYCE CREATES BESPOKE KOA PHANTOM - "A Rolls-Royce Phantom is a special automobile, offering luxury a cut above virtually any other car on the road. And in 2017 when collector Jack Boyd Smith Jr. saw the new Phantom at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, he knew one day he would add an example to his collection - although he likely did not realize how long it would take. As with many Phantom buyers, Smith required that his car be unique, so he commissioned a Bespoke Rolls-Royce Phantom Extended and began a process that took three years to complete."
• justin bieber's futuristic rolls-royce wraith by west coast customs - "West coast customs has completely reimagined and transformed a rolls-royce wraith taking cues from the vision next 100 and we can also see some similarities to the BMW vision next 100. the car boasts a brushed metal exterior, covered wheels, and a transparent spirt of ecstasy hood ornament on the front of the car. inside, the car is equipped with an upgraded sound system by JL audio. quite a unique car justin bieber got himself this time."
• Bitcoin Price Prediction 2021: Where Is The Top? - Forbes.
• An Island For Two: The Best Private Islands For Valentine’s Day - Forbes.
• CAN ANYONE MODERATE PODCASTS? - "Apple, Spotify, and the impossible problem of moderating shows."
• Facebook is secretly building a smartwatch & planning to sell it next year - "The device would have messaging and fitness features."

February 12, 2021

• Coronavirus vaccines: How’s my country & the rest of the world doing? - "When it comes to the coronavirus vaccine there is one question most people are asking - when will I get it? A handful of countries have set very specific vaccination targets, but for the rest of the world the picture is less clear."
• Samba & caipirinhas: how to celebrate Rio’s cancelled carnival online - "The world’s biggest party should have started today. Enjoy the virtual version through livestream shows, music and online tours of Rio’s spectacular sights."
• Chinese New Year: What you need to know - "This year Chinese New Year will begin on 12 February. The reason the new year falls at this time is because it marks the start of the lunar new year, which is when there is the start of a new moon."
• Every country's most desired luxury vehicle - "Tesla Model S More 'Desirable' Than Rolls-Royce Phantom: Study."
• 'Putin's palace': Builders' story of luxury, mould & fake walls - "The mysterious 'Putin's Palace' that featured in a viral video by Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny appeared to be full of luxuries gifted to President Vladimir Putin by wealthy friends. But then Russian TV broadcast a completely different report."
• DJI MINI 2 REVIEW: THE PERFECT BEGINNER DRONE - "It looks the same, but it flies and shoots much better."
• Clubhouse app: what is it & how do you get an invite to the audio app Elon Musk uses? - "The exclusive invitation-only social networking app is a hybrid of conference calls, talkback radio and Houseparty."
• The future of diamonds is in recaptured CO2 pollution - "They're a greener, less expensive alternative to conventionally mined stones."
• The Iconic Learjet Will Come To An End After Six Decades Of Defining Private Air Travel - "Time is up for the classic bizjet as Bombardier announces the end of Learjet production at its Wichita plant."
• Dramatic discovery links Stonehenge to its original site - in Wales - "Find backs theory that monument was dismantled and dragged over 140 miles to Wiltshire."

February 11, 2021

• This Video of Jan. 6’s Insurrection Should Be Mandatory - "It was impossible not to feel your pulse quicken as House Democrats pushed the play button on a 13-minute supercut of what transpired on Jan. 6. Barricades fell. Flagpoles became javelins. Windows shattered. Teargas wafted. Police screamed in fear and in agony. People died."
• Trump impeachment: Graphic video shown as ex-president called 'inciter in chief' - "Senators at Donald Trump's second impeachment trial have been shown new dramatic and graphic video of the day his supporters stormed the US Congress."
• see how close the mob got to Mike Pence - "The videos show US Vice-President Mike Pence came within a few hundred feet of the rioters when he was escorted to safety. Senators Mitt Romney and Chuck Schumer had to turn around to avoid the mob."
• Fully vaccinated people can skip Covid quarantines, CDC says - "People who have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus -- right now that means with two doses of either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccine -- can skip quarantine if they are exposed to someone infected with the virus, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday."
• More us state leaders are loosening Covid-19 restrictions - "Experts have warned it may be too soon."
• CDC report: Double-masking can block more than 90 percent of viral particles - "The report is the first from the CDC looking at how well different mask-wearing techniques protect people."
• Double masking can block 92% of infectious particles, CDC says - "Double masking can significantly improve protection, new data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. Researchers found that layering a cloth mask over a medical procedural mask, such as a disposable blue surgical mask, can block 92.5% of potentially infectious particles from escaping by creating a tighter fit and eliminating leakage."
• Get ready for Covid-19 vaccine booster shots at your next physical, experts warn - "The coronavirus has mutated thousands of times since it was first found in humans, but so far the vaccines have been effective against the mutations."
• What the WHO coronavirus experts learned in Wuhan - "The team’s major conclusions seemed to confirm what most researchers had already surmised about the virus. The visit was never expected to definitively pinpoint the origin of the pandemic -an undertaking that, based on others, could take years."
• 'We are desperate for human contact': the people breaking lockdown to have sex - "For nearly 12 months, single people have been unable to form new relationships. With their chances to start a family or find love slipping away, many are now ignoring the rules."
• The greatest security threat of the post-truth age - "The terms 'national security' or 'cyber-security' may be familiar - but what about 'epistemic security'? If societies lose it, they will struggle to tackle some of the most worrying crises of the 21st Century, from pandemics to climate change."
• What would Florence Nightingale prescribe to fight Covid? Fresh air - "The epidemics of the 1800s left Britain with healthier, better-ventilated public spaces. After Covid, we’ll need more of them."
• Why the entire coronavirus would fit in a can of cola - "If you collected up every Sars-CoV-2 virus particle in the world, it would fit inside a soft drinks can."
• What Chinese New Year Animal Are You? How The ‘Year Of The Metal Ox’ Is Dictated By Our Moon’s Orbit - "Friday, 12 February, 2021 is 'Chinese New Year,' one of the globe’s biggest annual celebrations as a fifth of humanity celebrate with rice cakes and dumplings despite it being a mostly virtual event this year."
• Top 10 Busiest air travel Global Routes - "View and interrogate OAG’s ever popular Busiest Routes whenever you need as they evolve and change over time. Including the Top 10 Busiest Global Routes, Top 10 Domestic Routes and International Routes by region."
• UK warns all vacations could be canceled for 2021 - "Booking any kind of summer travel escape became an even bigger gamble for millions of British people on Wednesday as the the government warned that even staycations could be under threat until vaccinations are completed."
• MetaHuman tool lets you craft realistic faces inside a browser - "The new software tool is powered by Epic’s Unreal Engine."
• How to use Snap Camera to become a cat (or anything else) on Zoom - "The Snap Camera app lets you use a bunch of wonderful filters."
• How to reboot your motivation - "How to escape your motivational trough when you’re flagging. Your get-up-and-go has tanked as the pandemic has dragged on. But there are ways to kickstart your motivation - even when it seems like you’ve tried everything."
• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been banned from Instagram - "Instagram on Wednesday took down the account of controversial anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr."
• Rihanna's Fenty fashion brand to close down after less than two years - "Rihanna's clothing line, 'Fenty Fashion House,' is being suspended indefinitely, luxury conglomerate LVMH announced today."
• 10 Rillington Place: a truly horrifying true-crime classic - "Fifty years ago this week, a film about serial killer John Christie was released starring Richard Attenborough. It still sets the standard for true-crime drama, writes Adam Scovell."
• The ‘Schitt’s Creek’ Mansion Hits The Market For $15 Million In Toronto - "The mansion from the series is for sale for $15 million CAD (or approximately $11.8 million USD) and is located in Toronto’s upscale St. Andrew-Windfields neighborhood at 30 Fifeshire Road."
• 20 best Frankenstein films - ranked! - "With Emma Stone lined up to play a female version of the monster in Poor Things, we rate a century’s worth of cinema inspired by Shelley’s novel."
• Relics of the Cold war - at auction - "Hundreds of historical artefacts from the Cold war era are offered for sale at Julien’s Auctions. The lots will include a rare Soviet version of the Enigma encryption machine known as the Fialka, clandestine operative cameras, and radio transmitters and receivers."
• 6 Best Screen Protectors For Samsung’s Galaxy S21 To Keep Your Peace Of Mind - Forbes.

February 10, 2021

• The news on AstraZeneca's vaccine calls for a rethink in vaccination strategy - "Why bad news for AstraZeneca's vaccine is a roadblock on the way out of the pandemic."
• There's hardly any flu this year. Coronavirus restrictions may be responsible - "It's the second week in February, a time of year when influenza is usually sweeping across the country. Yet this year, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports, there's very little influenza activity."
• What you need to know about face masks as protection against coronavirus - "Let's face it: Even as more people get vaccinated against Covid-19, everyone but small children will still need to wear a face mask for the foreseeable future."
• Europe's oldest person survives Covid just before 117th birthday - "Lucile Randon, who took the name of Sister Andre in 1944, tested positive for coronavirus on 16 January but didn't develop any symptoms."
• Trump impeachment: Fact-checking the Senate trial - "Donald Trump is being tried in the Senate, with Democrats alleging he incited the riot by his supporters in the US Capitol on 6 January. But his lawyers filed a 78-page brief on Monday setting out their defence, which prompted a rebuttal from Democrats."
• Confused by Trump's Defense? So Were Republican Senators - "'I thought I knew where he was going, and I didn’t really know where he was going,' said Senator Lindsey Graham about Bruce Castor, the lead counsel for Trump’s defense team, following the Senate’s vote on Tuesday confirming the constitutionality of trying a President when he is no longer in office."
• Healthy Planet, Healthy People. How Slowing Climate Change Saves Lives - "Just because the United States has re-joined the Paris Agreement doesn’t mean that the world is on a path to a better climate future."
• Bitcoin Beats Gold But Doge Beats Everything As Crypto Takes Over - Forbes.
• Tesla’s $1.5 billion bitcoin purchase clashes with its environmental aspirations - "Tesla’s banking on a cryptocurrency that’s inherently inefficient."
• SOME THINGS JEFF BEZOS CAN DO WITH HIS $193 BILLION - "Jeff Bezos announced on February 2nd that he’d be leaving the CEO job at Amazon. In the announcement, he signaled he’d be pursuing his “other passions,” which include the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, and The Washington Post. Here are some suggestions of how Bezos can spend his money, in case he is too busy with his other commitments to come up with ideas on his own."
• 25 Smartest Countries In The World - ranked - "Which people have contributed the most to our advancement as a species? Which does best at school, and which has the highest IQ. All important contributing factors when deciding where to visit next, no doubt. Luckily though, Vouchercloud has done the legwork for you and diligently researched and ranked the top 25 countries in the world by intelligence."
• France begins to confront decades of neglect of incest cases - "Book alleging political scientist Olivier Duhamel sexually abused stepson has led to resignations and calls for changes to age of consent."
• Why relying on productivity tools can backfire - "The explosion in productivity tech means we can track everything from our steps to our to-do list. But should we?"
• The perfect pizza took 2,000 years to make - "The 2,000-year history of Italy's favorite dish."
• The city of sustainable skyscrapers - "Hong Kong, the world's capital of tall buildings, is turning up the dial on high-rise sustainable design, as the city aims for net-zero emissions by 2050."
• New 'future city' to rise in southwest China - "The 4.6-square-kilometer (1.8-square-mile) site outside Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, will be home to multiple new universities, laboratories and offices, according to the architectural firms behind the project, Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) and Gerkan, Marg & Partners (GMP)."
• The world's most misunderstood novel - "The Great Gatsby is synonymous with parties, glitz and glamour - but this is just one of many misunderstandings about the book that began from its first publication."
• Birkin bags were destroyed to make these very expensive sandals - "Irreverent or insane? A $76K sandal cut from real Birkin bags."
• Three New Patek Philippe Twenty-4 Models Round Out 12-Piece Line - "The addition demonstrates Patek Philippe’s commitment to this ladies’ line as a full collection despite the company’s very limited overall production."
• Audi anoints the e-tron GT as its luxuriously geeky flagship EV - "It outputs 522 HP with all-wheel steering and all-wheel drive."
• Audi’s Elegant e-tron GT Transforms From Movie Star To Real Car - Forbes.

February 9, 2021

• How can Covid vaccines be tweaked to tackle new variants? - "Drugmakers are looking at ways to improve their vaccines so they are ready for mutations of the virus."
• Is It Time to Wear a Better Mask for COVID-19? We Asked the Experts - "Face masks are much more than a symbol. Over the last year, we’ve learned that countries and regions that encourage or require masking seem to do better at slowing the spread of COVID-19 than places that don’t, and new evidence suggests that masking may protect both the wearer and the people around them."
• A third of Covid patients put on ventilator report PTSD symptoms - "One in five admitted to hospital but with no ventilation had symptoms such as flashbacks, study finds."
• South Korea launches test for pet cats & dogs - "Pet cats and dogs in the capital city of South Korea will be tested for Covid-19 if they show symptoms, the Seoul metropolitan government has said."
• ‘I thought buying things would make me feel better. It didn’t’: The rise of emotional spending - "Many of us are living for the buzz of the doorbell – spending billions we can’t afford on stuff we don’t need. Here is how to recognise the problem and regain control."
• Underwater Noise Pollution Is Disrupting Ocean Life - But We Can Fix It - "A new paper published in the journal Science titled 'Soundscape of the Anthropocene Ocean' lays out the repercussions, demonstrating that noise pollution can be just as harmful to the ocean environment as other kinds of pollution."
• Has Bitcoin Just Gone Mainstream? - "The US Securities and Exchange Commission reports that Tesla has invested $1.5 billion in bitcoin, citing the interest for greater flexibility in diversifying and maximizing returns on its cash reserves, has prompted many people to rethink their relationship with the cryptocurrency, its potential and its future prospects."
• Hyundai: The carmaker aiming to become a tech firm - "For a few weeks this year, South Korean carmaker Hyundai was dusted with the Apple magic."
• Can The FBI Hack Into Private Signal Messages On A Locked iPhone? Evidence Indicates Yes - "Signal has become the de facto king of secure messaging apps of late, stealing users from WhatsApp and gathering millions of others looking for private forms of communication."
• 5 ways to replace food rewards for fitness motivation - "Positive reinforcement, such as rewarding yourself with a treat, plays an important role in maintaining motivation and perseverance when it comes to reaching your ultimate goals. These small wins can help you stay on track, research has shown. By dividing one large goal into various smaller ones, each step becomes an achievement."
• Watch the 2021 Super Bowl ads (15 videos) - "This year, typical big spenders Budweiser and Coca-Cola are opting out of the Super Bowl. This leaves room for newcomers Uber Eats and Logitech, which both profited during the pandemic, to buy up ad space."
• Why astrology is so popular now - "The anxieties & apps fuelling the astrology boom. So many are newly turning to astrology - but why? A perfect storm of factors has driven a surge in looking to the stars for truth."
• How to make much better home pizzas - from flavour-filled bases to next-level toppings - "Anyone can make pizza from scratch, but these expert tips will make an everyday dish outstanding."
• Royals vetted more than 1,000 laws via Queen’s consent - "Secretive procedure used to review laws ranging from Brexit trade deal to inheritance and land policy."
• Rembrandt & slavery: did the great painter have links to this abhorrent trade? - "No artist is more celebrated for their compassion and empathy. So why has the Dutch master’s work been included in a shocking new show linking art and the slave trade?"
• The betrayal of Britney Spears: how pop culture failed a superstar - "In an effective new documentary, the difficult life of a pop star is examined from family struggles to the toll of being at the mercy of the media."
• Is Tom Hanks part of a dying breed of genuine movie stars? - "At the age of 64, and now entering his fifth decade on our movie screens, Tom Hanks has settled into the role of a movie star who could be called cinema's resident dad. With a reputation for being as nice in real life as you might hope, Hanks has aged into a paternal, white-bearded presence, with the concomitant boomer-friendly roles to go with it."
• Brazilian butt lift: behind the world's most dangerous cosmetic surgery - "The BBL is the fastest growing cosmetic surgery in the world, despite the mounting number of deaths resulting from the procedure. What is driving its astonishing rise?"
• Climate crisis pushing great white sharks into new waters - "Shift is caused by the heating of the oceans and other wildlife is suffering more attacks."
• Pollen season grows 20 days in 30 years as climate crisis hits hay fever sufferers - "Pollen released by plants is also more intense than in 1990 in bad news for those with allergies, research in US and Canada finds."
• Milan: Italy's lost city of canals - "Although not widely known, Milan’s centre was once traced with waterways, not unlike those of Venice or Amsterdam."
• 2021 Cadillac Escalade Sport Platinum Review - "The fifth generation of the Escalade is arguably the most luxurious and most ambitious step forward for this marque in years."
• 7-Screen Laptop Has 1-Hour Battery Life - "Behold, a multitasker’s dream device. This laptop has seven times the average number of screens."
• Amex Just Announced New Travel Card Perks - That Don’t Involve Travel - "The issuer just announced a slew of new benefits designed to help you save money on dining and wireless purchases."

February 8, 2021

• Tesla buys $1.5 billion in bitcoin - "Expects to begin accepting it as a form of payment."
• All the 2021 Super Bowl Commercials: Watch the Full List - "It's that time of year again, when people actually look forward to watching TV commercials."
• Coronavirus vaccine strategy needs rethink after resistant variants emerge, say scientists - "Oxford vaccine shown to have only limited effect against South African variant of coronavirus."
• UK vaccine gambles paid off, while EU caution slowed it down - "French pharmaceutical startup Valneva had big news in September: a government contract for 60 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine candidate. The buyer? The United Kingdom - not the European Union, as might be expected for a company on the banks of the Loire."
• Covid reinfections may be more common than realized. Why isn't the U.S. tracking them? - "Little is known about reinfection rates."
• What do Joe Biden's executive orders do? - "The president has signed a number of executive orders during his first weeks in office, ranging from the pandemic to immigration - here’s what they are."
• Revealed: Queen lobbied for change in law to hide her private wealth - "Monarch dispatched private solicitor to secure exemption from transparency law."
• Donald Trump impeachment trial: what you need to know - "Senate trial begins on Tuesday for ex-president charged with ‘incitement of insurrection’ over Capitol riot."
• The martyrdom of Mike Pence - "As vice-president, he abased himself and his office. In reward, Donald Trump sent a mob to kill him. Now, as another impeachment trial looms, he is cast out from Republican ranks."
• Liz Cheney raises possibility of criminal investigation of Trump for provoking violence - "Republican pointed to former president’s tweet attacking vice-president Mike Pence after Capitol insurrection began."
• Tycoon is ordered to demolish $70 million French palace - "The picturesque Chateau Diter between Monaco and Cannes has been the subject of a 15-year legal battle. In December la Cour de Cassation, France’s highest judicial court, upheld a 2019 appeals court ruling. Now the $79 million chateau must be abolished and the countryside restored to its original state."
• How to build the ultimate superyacht for isolating on board - "One of the unforeseen consequences of being locked down for much of 2020 was that owners spent more time on their yachts - if they could get to them. One-week trips to the boat were being extended to two or three weeks, and some owners even chose to ride out the worst of the pandemic on board. Charters, too, were affected, with brokers reporting that while bookings were down, charterers were taking trips for longer periods."
• Despite huge losses, US airlines are rolling in cash - "The US airline industry just closed the books on the worst year in its history, losing a combined $32 billion excluding special items. Yet it still ended 2020 awash in an ocean of cash."
• How texting makes stress worse - "If group chats give us solace and connection in a crisis, why do some of us feel burnt out and overwhelmed by them?"
• PSA: Don’t post your coronavirus vaccination card selfie on social media - "The temptation to humblebrag about getting vaccinated is understandable but ill-advised."
• Everything you need to know about Clubhouse, the invite-only audio chat app - "The exclusive app was recently valued at $1 billion. The app bills itself as 'drop-in audio chat.' The idea is similar to the chat rooms of the early internet. But instead of instant messaging, it’s real-time audio. Any user can start a 'room' that others can join. Each room has moderators, speakers and listeners. Moderators control who gets speaking privileges, though listeners can 'raise their hand' to ask to speak."
• 'Bingeing free expression': popularity of Clubhouse app soars in China - "US social media platform allows users to discuss sensitive subjects but many fear it could fall foul of China’s censors."
• Fran Lebowitz: 'I am really not a contrarian' - "The writer and raconteur embodied the hip, downtown Manhattan of the 70s. Now she is winning new fans in her friend Martin Scorsese’s documentary series Pretend It’s a City."

February 7, 2021

• US Covid-19 numbers are trending in the right direction but officials warn against Super Bowl gatherings that could fuel spread - "The warnings came from all corners of the country ahead of the big game Sunday, with local and state leaders reminding Americans that despite the hopeful signs in declining numbers of new cases and hospitalizations, now is not the time to let their guards down."
• Covid-19 news is bad, but there's room for optimism - "A new Axios/Ipsos poll finds that 63% of adults say they have had or are likely to get the Covid-19 vaccine as soon as it's made available to them. That's the highest ever recorded by Ipsos."
• Why Britons are breaking lockdown - "Britain is under lockdown. But one year into the Covid crisis, many are unable to keep to the rules."
• Oxford Covid jab less effective against South African variant, study finds - "British drugmaker AstraZeneca said on Saturday that its vaccine developed with the University of Oxford appeared to offer only limited protection against mild disease caused by the South African variant of Covid-19, based on early data from a trial."
• How Dubai is paying the price for letting in tourists - "As tens of thousands of visitors flocked there during its peak year-end season, the virus inevitably caught up with the city despite precautions aimed at limiting its spread. Cases began to rise, nearly quadrupling since November."
• Freedom & fairness: Covid vaccine passport plans cause global unease - "Schemes are in development from Sweden to China, but there are fears around transmission and social unrest."
• The crucial differences in Trump’s second impeachment trial - "In some ways the trial will be a replay of last year’s - but Trump is the first to be tried by the Senate after leaving office, and it will likely be ‘dramatic’."
• Are share-trading apps a safe way to play the markets? - "After investors caused havoc on the markets last week in a battle over the shares of a video-game chain, we explore the promise and pitfalls of the apps they used."
• Will Ikea’s recycling scheme really make it greener? - "The furniture chain is trying to tackle the throwaway culture problem, but it has drawn criticism."
• Here's what happened to Neverland Ranch - "Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch has a new owner. Take a look inside the 2,700-acre estate and what it used to look like."
• Leon Spinks, former world heavyweight champion - a life in pictures - "The boxer, who has died aged 67, pulled off one of the greatest shocks in boxing history by beating Muhammad Ali in February 1978."

February 6, 2021

• When might life in US return to normal? - "It's been a long winter for the US, with hospitals seeing more coronavirus patients than at any point in the pandemic and the average number of daily deaths topping 3,000 for the first time."
• world's worst Zoom call is taking the internet by storm - "Jackie Weaver, Britney Spears and a local coup d'état: A breakdown of the world's worst Zoom call."
• Fake N95 masks have flooded the market. Here's how to tell the difference - "There's one mask guideline that hasn't changed throughout the pandemic -- you definitely should be wearing one. But what happens when you're not sure if your mask is real? N95 masks are considered the gold standard for mask usage, but counterfeit doppelgängers may threaten Americans' safety. Not meeting US safety standards means they may not filter out airborne particles effectively, the agency said."
• Western countries have 'hoarded' Covid vaccines. Africa is being left behind as cases surge - "African nations are being left behind in obtaining Covid-19 vaccines as richer countries stockpile vaccines and prioritize their own populations -- despite a surge in cases and a new variant affecting the continent."
• These European Countries Are Launching Vaccine Passports - "It’s becoming clearer that in the not-too-distant future, international travelers will require some sort of vaccine passport or vaccine certificate, as a growing number of countries get behind the idea. The appeal is that these documents would allow countries to clear travelers upon entry without the need for quarantining and testing requirements."
• Is big tech now just too big to stomach? - "The Covid crisis has turbo-charged profits and share prices. But are the big six now too powerful for regulators to ignore?"
• Billionaire capitalists are designing humanity's future. Don't let them - "Tech barons like Jeff Bezos want to colonize space and our oceans. Their visions of the future aren’t public-spirited or democratic."
• What happens when an Instagrammer designs a superyacht - "With over 350,000 followers on his luxury yacht-focused Instagram account, Denis Suka is already something of an influential figure in the yachting world."
• Calculate the environmental footprint of your food - "Unravelling how the food you eat affects the environment can be tricky, which is why BBC Future has created a Foodprint Calculator to reveal how different choices change the impact you have."
• How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need - by Bill Gates at Amazon.com.
• Luxury Giants Like Louis Vuitton Are Falling for Big Gems - "They get a lot of publicity and customers who otherwise would not have thought of these brands for high jewelry."
• Meghan Markle: Sister Samantha’s book full of wild claims - "We combed through the tell-all from Samantha Markle to find out what the estranged half-sister of one of the world’s most famous women has to say."
• Christopher Plummer, Sound of Music star and oldest actor to win an Oscar, dies aged 91 - "Veteran and respected Canadian actor had a career stretching back to the 1950s, but won his Oscar for best supporting actor for Beginners in 2011."
• Can exercise really release trauma stored in your body? - "Ignore your inner cynic and try bioenergetics, which focuses on repairing damage caused by repressed emotion from the past."
• Scouting Tom Brady’s Multimillion-Dollar Homes - Forbes.

February 5, 2021

• We May Never Eliminate COVID-19. But We Can Learn to Live With It - "When does a pandemic end? Is it when life regains a semblance of normality? Is it when the world reaches herd immunity, the benchmark at which enough people are immune to an infectious disease to stop its widespread circulation? Or is it when the disease is defeated, the last patient cured and the pathogen retired to the history books?"
• Dr. Fauci: UK variant may dominate in US - "The coronavirus variant first found in the UK 'might become dominant' in the US, Fauci says."
• How to prepare for your Covid-19 vaccination - advice from Dr. Wen - "As more people around the world get access to the coronavirus vaccines, many questions remain. Will it work? Will there be side effects? Do I need to rest after I get the vaccine? Can I hang out with my friends and family now?"
• What to Expect After Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine - "For many, the question is now what to expect after getting vaccinated. Here’s what to know."
• Why rituals are important pandemic survival tools - "Even during Covid-19, rituals are crucial, helping us meet important physical, social and psychological needs."
• Mindfulness coach offers tips for maintaining mental health - "Calm app narrator and Head of Mindfulness Tamara Levitt tells CNN's Becky Anderson why limiting stress is an important part of staying healthy during the Covid-19 pandemic."
• The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 US Election - TIME Magazine.
• Michelin’s Top Starred Restaurants 2021 Unveiled, Despite Ongoing Crisis In The Industry - "This year, as the restaurant industry suffers the ravages of the Covid-19 restrictions, the Michelin Guide - that sacrosanct French arbiter (or dictator) of taste whose star- rating system has made and broken chefs for more than a century - has decided to go easy. The guide has been criticized for maintaining its stars rating this year after the brutal losses suffered throughout the industry while its competitors decided to cancel theirs."
• How will 'chipageddon' affect you? - "For the most part they go unseen but computer chips are at the heart of all the digital products that surround us and when supplies run short, it can halt manufacturing."
• Jeff Bezos' business legacy is stunning. But at what cost? - "Bezos leaves behind a company that's created value but has also triggered a national reckoning."
• The race to create the world's next super-app - "Imagine installing just one app that does almost everything - from buying a pizza, hailing a taxi, chatting to your friends and even booking a massage."
• Denmark to build 'first energy island' in North Sea - "A project to build a giant island providing enough energy for three million households has been given the green light by Denmark's politicians."
• Dogecoin takes off after tip by Elon Musk - "Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency which started off as a joke, has jumped in value by 50% after inventor Elon Musk dubbed it 'the people's crypto'."
• Forbes blockchain 50 2021 - "No longer dismissed as a haven for criminals and drug dealers, Bitcoin and blockchain have gone mainstream."
• How Trans Europe Express trains could be making a comeback - "The trains that could transform Europe. Replaced by the patchy and somewhat less glamorous EuroCity brand in 1987, the stylish red and ivory TEE trains were a response to the growth of air travel and the private car in the late 1950s."
• 'I think I’ve written more Sherlock Holmes than even Conan Doyle' - "The ongoing fight to reimagine Holmes. Arthur Conan Doyle’s master detective has been endlessly rewritten. But nearly a century after the author’s death, how new writers portray him remains contested."
• Carly Simon's 20 greatest tracks - ranked! - "As her debut album turns 50, we select the best work by a songwriter with a standout talent for finely drawn character studies."
• Step Inside Serena Williams' Striking Florida Home - "At home north of Miami, Serena Williams holds court in a house designed in collaboration with her sister Venus."
• Meet the Sweetest Leather iPhone 12 Case You’ll Ever See - And Hold - "Smartphone cases serve two functions - one practical, the other personal. The case wraps around slabs of glass, metal or plastic costing close to or even beyond $1,000, protecting it from your fumbly grasp. It also serves as an expression of personality."
• Even you can afford Serena Williams’ gamer chair - "What about the Elmo chair though."
• Tag Heuer Teams With Porsche On New Carrera Chronograph & Partnership - "The luxury Swiss watch brand and the famed German automaker, which have a long racing history together - from Heuer ambassador Jo Siffert driving for Porsche in the 1970s to their current Formula E team - announced a multiyear deal to collaborate on product development and live activations. To celebrate the union, Tag Heuer and Porsche have also unveiled a new timepiece—the Tag Heuer Porsche Carrera Chronograph."
• 2021 Jaguar XF Review: Same Great Drive, Beautiful New Interior - Forbes.
• MUSTANG MACH-E: THE HYPE IS REAL - "Will people saddle up for the ride?"

February 4, 2021

• New Oxford vaccine 'ready by the autumn' to tackle mutations - "A vaccine to tackle the coronavirus variants could be ready to deploy by the autumn should it be needed, the Oxford-AstraZeneca team says."
• Study finds COVID-19 vaccine may reduce virus transmission - "AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine shows a hint that it may reduce transmission of the virus and offers strong protection for three months on just a single dose, researchers said Wednesday in an encouraging turn in the campaign to suppress the outbreak."
• Increasing data suggests UK variant may be deadlier, says CDC director - "Health authorities are still learning about the new coronavirus variants, and whether current health measures are as effective against them -- but data suggests that the B.1.1.7 variant, first identified in the UK, may be deadlier than the original strand."
• Dr. Fauci reveals he often double masks - "During a White House Covid-19 briefing, Dr. Anthony Fauci said that although the CDC has not yet outlined specific guidelines regarding the trend of wearing two masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, he often double masks."
• After the pandemic, how will we heal? - "How to heal the 'mass trauma' of Covid-19. When the pandemic is over, how should we process the memories of what happened? Ed Prideaux discovers counter-intuitive answers from the science of trauma."
• Apple tests new way to unlock an iPhone without removing a face mask - "Some iPhone users will soon be able to unlock their smartphones without needing to remove their face masks in public. There's just one catch: it requires an additional Apple device."
• So you've had your Covid-19 vaccine. Here's what you can (and can't) safely do - "The day has finally come. You've received the second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine currently on the Western market -- Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech or Oxford-AstraZeneca. Does that mean you're free to go about life as you did before the pandemic once immunity kicks in? Sorry, there is no immunity passport yet. There are still safety precautions you need to follow."
• Pandemic has pilots making more mistakes - "Commercial pilots blame pandemic downtime for in-flight mistakes. The steepest downturn in modern aviation history means plenty of airline pilots are spending weeks or months of the coronavirus pandemic idling at home."
• Golden Globes 2021: See the full list of nominees - "Nominations for the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards, celebrating the best in television and film, were announced Wednesday."
• McConnell says Taylor Greene's embrace of conspiracy theories a 'cancer' - "Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Monday blasted Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s embrace of 'loony lies and conspiracy theories' as a 'cancer for the Republican Party.'"
• how you can overdose on mindfulness - "How too much mindfulness can spike anxiety. Stress, anxiety, productivity: mindfulness is often touted as a solution to nearly everything. But research shows that you can actually take meditation too far."
• The perfect novels to read now - "What Jane Austen can teach us about resilience. Her novels may be mischaracterised as romantic escapism, but at their core, they have a lot to say about perseverance - and it makes them perfect reading for now, writes Heloise Wood."
• On The Road With The Porsche Taycan - "Porsche Taycan First Drive: A Classic German Sports Sedan For The Age Of Electrics."
• The Downside to Life in a Supertall Tower: Leaks, Creaks, Breaks - "432 Park, one of the wealthiest addresses in the world, faces some significant design problems, and other luxury high-rises may share its fate."
• Airstream Unveils Ultimate Remote Work Travel Trailer - "Leave it to Airstream, maker of the iconic 'silver bullet' fleet of Airstream travel trailers, to create a mobile office travel trailer, the ultimate in remote working and travel environments."

February 3, 2021

• Why You Should Get Whichever COVID-19 Vaccine You Can - TIME Magazine.
• UK finds more coronavirus cases with 'concerning' mutations - "Tests show they have a mutation, called E484K, that is already seen in the South Africa variant."
• UK variant mutation could be bad news for vaccines - "A mutation that could allow Covid-19 to escape antibody protection has now been found in samples of a rapidly spreading strain in the UK, according to a report Monday by Public Health England. The mutation, called E484K, was already part of the genetic signature of variants linked to South Africa and Brazil."
• Russia's Sputnik V vaccine has 92% efficacy in trial - "Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine gives around 92% protection against Covid-19, late stage trial results published in The Lancet reveal. It has also been deemed to be safe - and offer complete protection against hospitalisation and death."
• Sinovac & Sinopharm - what do we know about the Chinese vaccines? - "It currently has 16 different vaccines at various stages of development, but the current front-runners are from Sinovac and Sinopharm."
• Contagion: How an obsession with the Matt Damon film drove UK's vaccine strategy - "Contagion has been credited as offering an accurate examination of how a global pandemic might play out."
• 52 perfect comfort films - to watch again & again - "Samantha Morton loves The Apartment, while David Baddiel prefers Ratatouille. Film-makers, writers and Guardian readers on the movies they always curl up with."
• What's on Netflix & Amazon this month - February - The Guardian.
• 'A villain again, why not?' - is Jean Reno the greatest Eurobaddie ever? - "He made his name as a hitman in Leon. Now he’s back in a kung fu heist caper set in New York. The art-loving, olive oil-making French actor explains why he loves playing ‘le baddie’."
• US Mint couldn't meet demand for gold & silver coins due to pandemic buying - "Sale of bullion rose 258% as investors raced for safe havens and online activists launched a buying frenzy."
• Jeff Bezos to step down as Amazon CEO, Andy Jassy to take over in Q3 - "Bezos said he will stay engaged in important Amazon projects but will also have more time to focus on the Bezos Earth Fund, his Blue Origin spaceship company, The Washington Post and the Amazon Day 1 Fund."
• Who is Andy Jassy? Amazon’s new CEO ushered in the era of cloud computing - "As Jeff Bezos steps down, Jassy’s promotion suggests web services are central to the company’s future."
• Amazon unveils plans for eye-catching 'Helix' tower at new $2.5B headquarters - "An outdoor amphitheater, public plazas for farmers' markets and a 350-foot-tall tower inspired by a double helix, are among the latest design proposals for Amazon's new headquarters."
• Amazon’s next headquarters is a glass poop emoji covered in trees - "Arlington, Virginia wanted Amazon’s HQ2, and they’re getting this."
• What it's like to have a ski resort to yourself - "The idea of your own ski resort has been close to reality for a lucky few in some mountain regions of Europe this winter because of Covid-19. But with few tourists able to travel, locals and those living nearby have had the run of the mountains, albeit with a costly pay-off in terms of livelihoods and other negatives of a pandemic."
• The Nordic way to destress on Wednesday - "Sweden's workers destress with 'Little Saturday'. As the weeks drag on and individual days lose meaning, embracing a Nordic tradition may give us reason to celebrate, just because."
• Sea level rise could be worse than feared, warn researchers - "Danish team predict possible 1.35m rise by 2100 and highlight issues with previous modelling."

February 2, 2021

• January was America's deadliest month - "At least 95,245 people died from Covid-19. And the situation doesn't look likely to turn a corner anytime soon. Even in a best-case scenario, close to another 200,000 Americans are likely to die between now and May 1, according to a new projection from the University of Washington."
• What we know about the South African variant of Covid - "Experts say 501Y.V2 variant is more infectious and resistant to vaccines, though there are no signs that it leads to more severe disease."
• Monoclonal antibodies: 'great hope' in Covid treatments fails against variants - "No leading contender is effective against all the South African, Brazilian and Kent variants."
• Miserable, anxious, depressed: how guide dogs are faring in the pandemic - "Amid lockdowns, their daily activities have been put on hold – and their owners fear they won’t recover from it."
• Here's Everything New on Netflix in February - And What's Leaving - TIME Magazine.
• Inside the Reddit army that's crushing Wall Street - CNN.
• Hedge funds bitching about Reddit can cry me a river - "The irony is delicious. An online flash mob beats Wall Street insiders at their own game."
• Elon Musk just showed how Clubhouse can succeed - "It’s Medium for podcasts."
• Clubhouse - invitation-only audio-chat social networking app launched in 2020. The app gained popularity in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Clubhouse grew significantly in popularity after Elon Musk was interviewed by the GOOD TIME club.
• Nike made a hands-free shoe & you have to see it to believe it - "Nike's newest shoe is 'easy on, easy off' for those who cannot be bothered with the most minor inconveniences, like putting on shoes."
• Travel Photographer of the Year 2020 - in pictures - "From majestic landscapes, intimate animal portraits and intriguing night-time views beneath the ocean’s surface, to glimpses of cultures across the world, the winning images from Travel Photographer of the Year 2020 present a view of life on our planet at a time in which travel has been difficult or impossible."
• my battle to beat a 27-year Diet Coke addiction - "I have been obsessed with the sugar-free soda since I was four, spending £500 a year on up to seven cans a day. This is what happened when I tried to quit."
• Why cooking & baking fill a void - "During lockdown, so many people have run to their kitchens to bake and create. Why does cooking so perfectly fill a hole in our lives?"
• The unexpected ingredients that improve solar cells - "A number of kitchen-cupboard ingredients have found unlikely employment in making solar panels more efficient. Solar cell scientist Jon Major explains why."
• The Smoky Cokey: Why You Should Drink This Scotch Whisky Highball, For Peat’s Sake - "A Smoky Cokey is essentially a highball made with Lagavulin (16 Year or 8 Year, your choice) and Coca-Cola."
• Royal Huisman Unveils An Inspired New Superyacht - Forbes.
• iOS 14.5 tries to solve Face ID’s mask problem with your Apple Watch - "The app tracking transparency controls are also in iOS 14.5, which is in beta today."
• Russian FabergÉ exhibition contains 'at least 20 fakes', expert says - "Andre Ruzhnikov accuses director Mikhail Piotrovsky of ‘destroying the authority of the museum’."
• World needs to kick its coal habit to start green recovery, says IEA head - "Energy watchdog’s Fatih Birol says shift away from coal in key regions needs to be made a global priority."
• Blue whales threatened by ship collisions in busy Patagonia waters - "Endangered giants face potentially fatal encounters with the 1,000 daily fishing vessels moving through main feeding area off Chile, scientists warn."
• Penthouses & poor doors: how Europe's 'biggest regeneration project' fell flat - "Few places have seen such turbocharged luxury development as Nine Elms on the London riverside. So why are prices tumbling, investors melting away and promises turning to dust?"

February 1, 2021

• Biden’s First Three Steps to Getting COVID-19 Vaccines to Every American - "Less than a week after taking office, President Joe Biden announced three major steps to improve the country’s vaccination plans, and his Administration’s COVID-19 response team held its first press briefing."
• How to identify if your symptoms are of the original COVID strain or the new one? - The Times of India.
• 'Crazy and evil': Bill Gates surprised by pandemic conspiracies - Reuters.
• Biden's Biggest Climate Move: Signaling that Fossil Fuels Are Not the Future - "On Wednesday, a day dubbed 'Climate Day' by the Biden Administration, the President sought to end the federal government’s waffling with a flurry of directives that went further than any previous administration."
• Tesla's dirty little secret: Its net profit doesn't come from selling cars - "Tesla posted its first full year of net income in 2020 -- but not because of sales to its customers. Eleven states require automakers sell a certain percentage of zero-emissions vehicles by 2025. If they can't, the automakers have to buy regulatory credits from another automaker that meets those requirements -- such as Tesla, which exclusively sells electric cars."
• Fauci warns of dire death toll as virus mutates - "Can the arrival of new coronavirus variants scare Americans into better pandemic behavior?"
• How the GameStop Trading Surge Will Transform Wall Street - "For years, professional money managers and hedge funds have tsk-tsked about individual investors. They have dismissed them as 'dumb money' and cautioned that so-called 'retail' investors lack the acumen and experience to make the right calls and weather the inevitable storms. That has often been the case, but then came the GameStop phenomenon, when a tsunami of that so-called dumb money flooded parts of the stock market, leaving Wall Street professionals not just scratching their heads but a few of them badly wounded."
• The Inside Story of How Alexey Navalny Uncovered Putin's $1.3 Billion Palace - "Putin’s palace. History of the world’s largest bribe."
• Does 'authentic' Mexican food exist? - "Chicana author Stephanie Elizondo Griest searches through a digitised archive of old Mexican recipes hoping to find the answer to one question: what is 'real' Mexican food?"
• Apple’s Stunning iOS 14 Privacy Move: A Game-Changer For All iPhone Users - "Apple has confirmed a date for the anti-tracking feature to arrive - or at least a timescale. The iPhone maker chose Data Privacy Day (January 28) to announce that ATT will be coming to an iOS 14 update, in 'early spring' 2021."
• Why You Should Never Use This ‘Dangerous’ WhatsApp Setting On Your Phone - "Tens of millions of you are now moving from WhatsApp to Telegram and Signal - with many using these apps for the first time. Beware, though, as this is a serious security issue. The latest threat to your WhatsApp messages may seem to be a useful setting, but it has an alarming, hidden risk. Here’s what you must not do."
• THE PEOPLE WANTED LEGO BIKE LANES & LEGO IS FINALLY LISTENING - "The quest to get one of the most popular toymakers in the world to make a little space for bicycles."
• The mysterious life & death of Robert Maxwell - "Today, Ghislaine Maxwell’s father Robert is remembered mostly for his death. But in his prime he represented power, money, and shocking deceit - and British society ate it all up."
• John Le CarrÉ offered a piece of advice to a struggling novelist. SHE'LL NEVER FORGET IT - WWhen Kate Weinberg met David Cornwell, she was determined not to mention to him the crime novel she was struggling to plot.

January 31, 2021

• Covid-19: How the vaccine will reach your arm - "An unprecedented global scientific effort has led to the development of a number of coronavirus vaccines, which promise to help protect the world's most vulnerable from the devastating disease Covid-19. Find out how those vaccines got from the science lab to people's arms in record time."
• Ikea bought 11,000 acres of forest in Georgia to protect it from development - "The Ingka Group, which owns and operates most Ikea stores, purchased 10,840 acres of land near the Altamaha River Basin, the company announced on January 14. The company has stated its objective to reduce more greenhouse gas emissions than the entire Ikea value chain emits by 2030 while continuing to grow its worldwide business."
• The foods that are carbon negative - "The foods that reverse climate change."
• The real shock of the GameStop mania was that it didn't happen sooner - "The struggling video game retailer GameStop soared as Reddit users egged each other on to buy, cleverly taking advantage of rules in a game that otherwise would have made a number of hedge funds very rich. Then the stock plummeted as online brokerages took the extreme step of cracking down on trading to stem volatility, prompting an outcry, a lawsuit and calls for congressional hearings."
• Idaho man wins lottery for the sixth time - "Bryan Moss, from Meridian, won a $250,000 prize from a Crossword scratch game on Thursday, the Idaho Lottery said in a press release, marking his sixth ever lotto win. However, this marks his first top prize and 'by far the largest,' Idaho Lottery said."

January 30, 2021

• A fight between the EU & UK reveals the ugly truth about vaccine nationalism - "The UN General Assembly in September last year was a pivotal moment in the pandemic, when leaders began to show some unity as global deaths approached a million. They had learned hard lessons from the damage that hoarding protective equipment had done, they said. When a vaccine was developed, the world's most vulnerable would be first in line, they claimed."
• What the Capitol attack, impeachment & GameStop have in common - "The Capitol Attack, Impeachment and GameStop Make it Clear: 2021 Is Shaping Up to Be the Year of the Moderator."
• Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine, how it works & why it matters - "Data about the single-shot vaccine released Friday, and the company is now collating its data to apply to the US Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization."
• Fauci: Getting Vaccinated Is ‘Not A Free Pass’ To Travel - "Despite the rollout of Covid-19 vaccinations across the country, two of the nation’s top infectious disease experts say it’s too early for Americans to be making travel plans."
• From lockdowns to pool parties: how Covid rules vary around the world - "Countries have adopted different rules on business activity, education, socialising and travel."
• 2 Lifesaving Features Could Be Coming To Smartwatches - Forbes.
• World's busiest air route hit by Covid ban - "New travel bans imposed by the United Kingdom limiting arrivals from the United Arab Emirates and other destinations in an attempt to curb the spread of Covid are likely to impact what has become the world's busiest airline route."
• I'm part of the 1%. We need to acknowledge that the deck has been stacked in our favor - "I expected the wealthy would do well under Donald Trump, but not as grotesquely well as those of us in the top 1% have done. From the day Trump won in 2016 to the day he lost in 2020, the stock markets were up at least $12.7 trillion, which means that the top 1% of the 128.5 million US households -- the 1.28 million that own 51% of the stock market -- could each have gotten richer by an average of around $5 million."
• Facebook’s New Oversight Board Is Deciding Donald Trump’s Fate. Will It Also Define the Future of the Company? - "The end of April will be a turning point for former President Donald Trump. That’s when he will learn whether he can regain control of his Facebook and Instagram accounts - and direct access to nearly 60 million followers on two of the world’s largest social media platforms."
• Inside the Reddit army that's crushing Wall Street - "This past week has been a banner one for Reddit's island of misfit investors."
• Dow Plunged 1,000 Points This Week After Reddit Traders Stormed The Stock Market - What Happens Next? - "Despite blowout corporate earnings and more solid news on the vaccine front, the stock market just posted its worst weekly performance in three months after Reddit traders squeezed Wall Street's elite out of billions of dollars, sending prices of heavily shorted stocks up to atmospheric new highs and fueling concerns over market frothiness - but experts seem in broad agreement that the bull market can rage on."
• British royal family documentary, 'banned' for decades, is leaked onto YouTube - "An infamous 1969 fly-on-the-wall documentary about the British royal family, supposedly banned by Queen Elizabeth II for decades for giving the public an overly intimate view of the royals, has been mysteriously leaked onto YouTube. The film provided an unprecedented look inside the royal households and was watched by millions when it first aired on the BBC. But it was subsequently stashed in the corporation's archives, reportedly at the request of Buckingham Palace, and hasn't been aired since the 1970s."
• One of the last privately owned Botticelli portraits has sold for over $92 million - "The 15th-century painting 'Young Man Holding a Roundel' became the most expensive work by the Renaissance artist ever to appear at auction, and the most valuable Old Masters work ever sold at Sotheby's, the auction house announced."
• Finally, I can solve a Rubik’s Cube - "But I needed a Bluetooth-connected cube and an app to get me there."
• The Hedge Fund Genius Who Started GameStop’s 4,800% Rally Now Calls It "Unnatural, Insane & Dangerous" - "In April, Dr. Michael Burry, the hedge fund investor who made millions shorting subprime mortgages during the 2008 crisis and was dramatized by Christian Bale in 'The Big Short,' made a bold play at the depths of the Coronavirus pandemic."

January 29, 2021

• ‘The perfect target’: Russia cultivated Trump as asset for 40 years - ex-KGB spy - "The KGB ‘played the game as if they were immensely impressed by his personality’, Yuri Shvets, a key source for a new book, tells the Guardian."
• Bill Gates: 3 innovations that will help America get ahead of the next pandemic - "Although the Covid pandemic is still raging, the billionaire philanthropist has ideas about how the world can better address the next pandemic."
• You may need to start wearing better face masks - "New coronavirus variants spread more easily than earlier versions of the virus. That means you may need to upgrade your face mask, experts say. What does that mean? Many experts are recommending people wear fitted surgical masks, a cloth mask over a surgical mask, multi-layer cloth masks with a non-woven filter, or a well-fitted N95 mask."
• Double masking for Covid-19 protection: A trend with a purpose - "Layering your face is in -- but not as a fashion statement. It may just save a life."
• Everyday Covid mistakes we are all still making - "Can we do more as individuals to help slow the spread of coronavirus? We ask the experts."
• Many States Don't Know Who's Getting COVID-19 Vaccines. That's a Huge Problem for Equity - TIME Magazine.
• Black Americans receiving Covid vaccines at lower rates than whites - "In every state Blacks were significantly underrepresented among people vaccinated so far, analysis by Kaiser Health News shows."
• South Africa coronavirus variant: What is the risk? - "A new variant of coronavirus that has been circulating in South Africa is now being seen in other countries. All viruses, including the one that causes Covid-19, mutate. There are now many thousands of different versions, or variants, of the pandemic virus circulating. But experts' concerns focus on a small number of these. One is the South African variant called 501.V2."
• Johnson & Johnson one-dose Covid vaccine shown to work - "UK has bought 30m doses of product that could transform world’s immunisation programmes."
• Novavax vaccine shows 89% efficacy in UK trials - "The Novavax jab is the first to show in trials that it is effective against the new virus variant found in the UK, the BBC's medical editor Fergus Walsh said."
• Covid-19 vaccines: Is it OK to get a leftover jab? - "A vaccine dose is left over when a patient who was scheduled to receive a jab fails to show up for their appointment. That creates a dilemma, because vaccines have a limited shelf life. For example, a vaccine made by Pfizer/BioNTech has to be injected within hours of the doses being thawed from sub-zero storage temperatures. Otherwise, they go to waste, depriving someone of immunisation."
• 2020 CORRUPTION PERCEPTIONS INDEX - "180 Countries. 180 Scores. How does your country measure up?" Transparency International.
• 'Long Covid' still puzzles doctors but treatment is possible - "Medical professionals are working to understand more about a condition they are calling 'long Covid,' among patients who experience lingering symptoms months after recovering from coronavirus."
• Tokyo Olympics: Can vaccines save the Games? - "In between a surging pandemic and a global scramble for vaccines, the fate of this year's Olympic Games has become shrouded in uncertainty."
• Ten films to watch in February - "Nicholas Barber chooses 10 of the best films coming out next month, including a thriller starring Denzel Washington, Rami Malek and Jared Leto, Kristen Wiig's latest comedy - and two dementia dramas."
• Signal adds mainstream chat features to lure wider audience - "It not just about secure messaging anymore."
• iPhone ‘Weak Security’ Wi-Fi Warning: Here’s What It Means - "Have you received a 'weak Wi-Fi security' warning on your iPhone since upgrading to iOS 14? You are not alone, here’s what it means and how to fix it."
• How could we make devices that last? - "The combination of enthusiastic amateurs, repair cafes and new laws could help tackle the world's growing mountains of broken electronics."
• ‘Revenge Tactic:’ GameStop's Massive Stock Surge Isn't Only About Making Money - "If you’ve been anywhere close to the financial markets this week, you’ve no doubt seen that the flailing brick and mortar video game retailer GameStop has rocketed in valuation."
• Inside Robinhood, the free trading app at the heart of the GameStop mania - "Robinhood's free-trading revolution helped pave the way to the recent Reddit mayhem on Wall Street. The rise of Robinhood means that the ability to buy stocks, on a whim, is now at everyone's fingertips. Robinhood has opened investing up to the masses."
• Robinhood raises $1 billion, will reopen GameStop stock purchases on Friday - "After freezing purchases of 13 stocks on Thursday, the stock trading service sought cash to continue operating normally."
• 35 Most Anticipated Hotel Openings Of 2021 - "After a year filled with quarantines, lockdowns and sheltering in place, we can’t wait to check into a luxury hotel. Here is Forbes Travel Guide’s definitive list of the hot new places to visit when you travel next."
• Here's what traveling by hyperloop might be like - "Hyperloop high speed transportation is still years away, but a new concept video from Virgin Hyperloop gives a glimpse into the future of high speed transit."
• 2020 Product of the Year Awards | Turntable of the Year - "SME Model 12A Turntable with 309 Tonearm."
• world is at its hottest for at least 12,000 years - study - "Scientists say temperatures globally at highest level since start of human civilisation."
• Split signals end for remnant of Antarctic iceberg A68a - "The once-mighty iceberg A68a looks to be in its death throes. For more than three years, A68a was the biggest iceberg in the world. At its greatest extent, it was about a quarter of the size of Wales - or New Jersey or Israel."
• The Audi A6 Allroad: The Most Well-Rounded Car I Drove In 2020 - Forbes.
• 7 things that make your hi-fi system sound bad (and how to improve them) - "Got talented hi-fi components but your system just doesn't sing? This could be why..."
• No Time to Die has been promoted for 15 months - does anyone care anymore? - "The 25th Bond film is at risk of becoming yesterday’s news."
• Ian Fleming - The Complete Collection - James Bond Book Series with most Signed - "We are pleased to present a set of first edition, first printings of Ian Fleming’s James Bond series, with eleven of the fifteen signed with most inscribed to associates or intimate friends of Flemings." £475,000.00.

January 28, 2021

• Prepare for the next pandemic like a 'war', says billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates - "'We can't afford to be caught flat-footed again,' wrote the Microsoft co-founder and his wife Melinda in an annual missive."
• Covid Performance Index - "Deconstructing Pandemic Responses. What impact have geography, political systems, population size, and economic development had on COVID-19 outcomes around the world?" Lowy Institute.
• How Covid-19 mutations are changing the pandemic - "Understanding what is driving new variants of the coronavirus to appear and what the changes mean will be crucial in our arms race against Covid-19."
• Could post-vaccine life mean we return to normal? Not just yet - "Mass Covid-19 vaccination programs are underway in many countries around the world, offering the first glimmer of hope that life as we knew it could be back within our reach."
• Doomsday clock panel welcomes Biden win but keeps hands at '100 seconds to midnight' - "The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ measure of the world’s vulnerability to catastrophe, remains at 100 seconds to minute."
• Cash injection: could we cure all disease with a trillion dollars? - "Could such a large amount of money end the Covid pandemic? Eradicate disease? Provide universal healthcare and fund vaccine research?"
• How much is an elephant worth? Meet the ecologists doing the sums - "The idea of being able to put a price on nature is dividing opinion, but the financial value of ‘ecosystem services’ is increasingly guiding policy."
• Why swearing is a sign of intelligence, helps manage pain & more - "Polite society considers swearing to be a vulgar sign of low intelligence and education, for why would one rely on rude language when blessed with a rich vocabulary?"
• The 2021 Superyacht Trends You Need To Know - "When it comes to the world of superyachts, we’re seeing greater attention paid to the world that surrounds us; we’re seeing quality of trips prioritised over frequency; we’re seeing privacy valued more than ever before - the list goes on."
• billionaire's 365 ft superyacht TIS - "Take a tour of Lurssen's, Tis yacht. One of the largest giga yachts in the world. This yacht features two helicopter pads, movie theater, elevator, swimming pool, just to name a few. This video was filmed at the 2019 Monaco Yacht Show." YouTube 17:47.
• Electric car goes 0 to 60 in less than 2 seconds - "Could a 258mph electric hypercar help Dubai ditch its gas guzzlers?"
• Joe Biden's tech - what can the president use? - "You might think the world's most powerful man would have access to any gadget he chooses - but when it comes consumer tech, Joe Biden may be sorely disappointed."
• Apple Christmas sales surge to $111bn amid pandemic - "Apple sales have hit another record, as families loaded up on the firm's latest phones, laptops and gadgets during the Christmas period."
• 'Degree inflation': How the four-year degree became required - "How did a four-year degree become compulsory for nearly every job - and could the need to reboot the economy help tackle this problem?"
• Amanda Gorman signs modeling contract after star turn at inauguration - "Already a fashion sensation, the 22-year-old joins IMG Models, the same agency as Gigi and Bella Hadid."
• GameStop's three largest shareholders earn over $2bn amid stock surge - "Shares rise as video game retailer is at the center of a frenzied duel between Wall Street and small investors."

January 27, 2021

• Global Covid cases top 100 million as new strains emerge - "A tally from Johns Hopkins University places the U.S. first in global infections with more than 25 million."
• Biden vows to vaccinate 300m people in US by end of summer or early fall - "Plan to increase vaccine supplies to states and buy 200m more doses and give states more lead time."
• Boris Johnson faces questions over UK Covid death toll - "PM says it is ‘hard to compute the sorrow’ after number of deaths passes 100,000."
• 5 ways the government could have avoided 100,000 Covid deaths - "The UK needs to learn from the lessons of the past year and come up with a concrete plan to avert a disastrous third wave."
• Australia records 10th day of no local COVID-19 cases - "Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt tweeted Wednesday marked the 10th day of no community transmission of COVID-19 Australia wide, adding the country’s success comes at a time when global coronavirus cases have crossed 100 million with the death toll surpassing 2 million."
• Most poor nations 'will take until 2024 to achieve mass Covid-19 immunisation' - "Forecast predicts handful of developed countries fully vaccinated by late 2021 while others race to catch up."
• Lockdown cabin fever? 56 tried, tested & terrific ways to beat the boredom - The Guardian.
• 'Pleasure ripped out': the people suffering long-term loss of taste after Covid - "Those in professions that rely heavily on taste and smell fear the loss of their careers."
• Why You should update your iPhone right now - "Apple is urging iPhone and iPad users to promptly update their operating systems to fix security bugs that may have already been exploited by hackers."
• iOS 14.4 rolls out with Bluetooth audio monitoring - "Apple has fixed security flaws in iOS 14 that may have already been actively exploited -- update your devices ASAP."
• UN global climate poll: ‘The people’s voice is clear - they want action’ - "Biggest ever survey finds two-thirds of people think climate change is a global emergency."
• World Economic League Table 2021 - "Since its first publication in 2009, Cebr’s World Economic League Table (known as the WELT) has established itself as the go to measure of the comparative economic success of different countries."
• world's two richest men are fighting over space real estate - "SpaceX and Amazon (AMZN) - companies run by the two richest men in the world - are sparring over their competing satellite-based internet businesses, with SpaceX accusing Amazon of 'stifling competition' and Amazon accusing SpaceX of looking to 'smother competition in the cradle.'"
• Find out which countries are welcoming US tourists back - "Once one of the world's most powerful travel documents, the might of the US passport has been diminished during the pandemic. With US Covid-19 cases now beyond the 25 million mark, some nations continue to view American vacationers warily."
• Wakayama, one of Japan's most underrated destinations for foodies - "There's no denying Tokyo is one of the world's food capitals. But if you look beyond the Michelin stars and take a deep dive into the origins of Japanese cuisine and the many ingredients that define it, you'll find Wakayama prefecture, south of the city of Osaka, offers an unexpectedly diverse abundance of flavors."
• Is your money harming the climate? - "It might not be the most obvious way of reducing your carbon footprint, but how you save, invest and give away your money can make a difference to the climate."
• Why CEOs make so much money - "It seems like the salaries of big-time CEOs just keep getting bigger. But why do they make so much, and has it always been this way?"
• This College Professor Became An Overnight Billionaire Fighting Covid - "AbCellera Biologics’ Carl Hansen scored big helping Eli Lilly find antibodies to treat symptoms of Covid-19."
• Africa’s Richest People 2021 - Forbes Billionaires’ List.
• the truth about Robert Maxwell - "The author of A Very English Scandal charts the rise, ignominious fall and not-so-mysterious death of the publishing tycoon, who was obsessed with his rival, Rupert Murdoch."
• Alpha 1 is Sony’s new flagship camera with monstrous specs & a $6,500 price - "A new 50.1-megapixel sensor, 10-bit 8K video, Eye AF that works on birds, and more."
• Apple execs discussed not ‘leaving money on the table’ when setting Apple TV subscription fees - "A look inside the Apple TV app economy sheds light on how Apple does business."
• Here Are The Most Fuel-Efficient (Non-Electrified) SUVs For 2021 - Forbes.
• a cultural history of the manicure - "Nail art dates back millennia, taking in complex social codes, cultural appropriation, modern slavery and the sexism of lockdown rules for beauty salons."
• Napoleon’s manuscript on victory at Battle of Austerlitz goes on sale - "Dictated account of military success in 1805 contains several corrections made by the exiled French leader."

January 26, 2021

• Vaccine tourism on the rise as wealthy international tourists eye an opportunity in the U.S. - "Florida has already taken steps to stop the 'abhorrent' flow of scarce coronavirus vaccinations to wealthy line-cutters."
• Everyday activities are more dangerous now that new Covid-19 variants are circulating, expert says - "While the US seems to be heading in the right direction on infection rates -- with 42 states reporting downward trends -- that progress could be erased if variants take hold, Wen said. Preventing that will mean extra vigilance."
• Covid-19 masks: Which mask is best for you & when to use it - "Think of masks as the newest trendy accessory that can save your life -- and the lives of those you love."
• Why some people like wearing masks - "Some people welcome face coverings for reasons ranging from the convenient and expedient to the more complex and psychological. But is this a helpful coping mechanism?"
• The coronavirus 10 times more deadly than Covid - "In northern Kenya, researchers are working to prevent a dangerous coronavirus - Mers - from jumping from camels to humans again. But climate change is making their job more difficult."
• Covid-19: Five days that shaped the outbreak - "A year ago, the Chinese government locked down the city of Wuhan. For weeks beforehand officials had maintained that the outbreak was under control - just a few dozen cases linked to a live animal market. But in fact the virus had been spreading throughout the city and around China."
• ‘Lead by doing’: Bill Gates’ message to global leaders - "US President Joe Biden has had the top job for less than a week but billionaire Bill Gates has wasted no time in getting straight to business about raising the alarm on climate change."
• US billionaires 'have received $1.1tn windfall in Covid pandemic' - "Billions made by richest 660 people could pay for all of coronavirus relief package, says IPS thinktank."
• Covid has made inequality even worse. The only answer: squeeze the super-rich - "It’s not right that the world’s 10 richest people have amassed £400bn since the start of the pandemic while billions struggle."
• Remote workers are flocking to Hawaii. But is that good for the islands? - "While the influx has been a boon for some, it’s also exacerbated an unaffordable housing market and brought back painful memories."
• These Caribbean Resorts Are Welcoming Back Visitors - "The Caribbean Islands have long been resilient. The 30 diverse destinations that make up this idyllic resort paradise have considerable experience in managing disruptions and risks, which has been demonstrated time and time again through hurricanes and other natural disasters. At long last, many of these resorts have re-opened their doors with strict safety guidelines in place and are once again welcoming guests with their renowned red carpet treatment."
• The paradise island inviting you to work from home - "An Edinburgh couple have managed to escape Scotland's long Covid winter - by answering a call from a Caribbean island. The couple accepted the invitation of the Barbados government to live and work on the island for a year on a new visa."
• 8 Solutions for a More Equitable & Sustainable Future - TIME Magazine.
• WhatsApp Backlash - Stop Using Signal Or Telegram Until You Change These 4 Critical Settings - "Telegram and Signal continue to surge following WhatsApp’s privacy backlash—tens of millions of you are now using these messengers for the first time. But, just like WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal have critical settings you must change before you start using the apps. Here’s what you need to do now."
• Twitter launches Birdwatch, a fact-checking program intended to fight misinformation - "The program, currently open to a small group of users, will add context notes to tweets."
• How many of these obscure streaming services have you heard of? - "Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus - there are a dozen that few users would likely recognize. How many people can explain what Xumo, Tubi, Vudu, and Pluto TV are? How about Acorn TV, Ovid, and Popcornflix?"
• The Best Result of the Streaming Boom? America Finally Loves Foreign-Language TV - "So far, the internationalization of TV has been a resounding success."
• Scientists address myths over large-scale tree planting - "Scientists have proposed 10 golden rules for tree-planting, which they say must be a top priority for all nations this decade."
• Like a good deal? Maybe a hagglebot can help - "Earlier this month, the Olympics for hagglebots was held: the 11th annual competition for artificial intelligence (AI) that has been trained to negotiate."
• The Capote Tapes: inside the scandal ignited by Truman's explosive final novel - "He partied with high society America but caused outrage when he spilled their secrets. Ebs Burnough talks us through his new film about Answered Prayers - the ‘smart, salacious’ novel Capote never finished."
• Watch Larry King on the Art of the Interview - "In 2009, TV news legend Larry King sat down with TIME’s Gilbert Cruz to talk about his new memoir, My Remarkable Journey, a retrospective on his 50-year broadcasting career, and to answer questions submitted by readers about his life and work."
• Why You Don't Feel as Fulfilled From Your Job as You Think You Should - "Work Will Not Love You Back is a provocative title for book coming out at a time when many Americans are logging extra hours during the pandemic. But author Sarah Jaffe, whose book hits shelves on Jan. 26, argues that the 'love your work' mantra is a myth of capitalism."
• Dive Into The World’s Largest Superyacht Swimming Pools - "Superyacht Sneak Peek: World’s Largest Superyacht Swimming Pools."
• Concorde successor AS2 takes leap forward with vast new Florida HQ - "The race is heating up to produce the first supersonic passenger aircraft to enter commercial service in more than 50 years. US planemaker Aerion, whose AS2 jet promises to fly New York to London in 4.5 hours, is building a massive new global headquarters in Florida ahead of production beginning on the supersonic craft in 2023."
• How to make Bernie Sanders’ inauguration mittens - "Feel the Bern, not the cold, with your own pair of winter-proof hand warmers - here’s how to stitch them at home."
• Why The Bernie Sanders Meme Sweatshirt Is This Season’s Best Fashion Statement & Staple - "From Michelle Obama in Sergio Hudson raspberry, to Jennifer Lopez head-to-toe in white Chanel, it was hard to pinpoint which style icon shined brightest on Inauguration Day 2021. That is, until the snapshot of Bernie Sanders and his woven mittens took the world by storm."
• World’s Best Whisky - "According To The United Nations Of Fine Spirits."
• A personal trainer app guilt-tripped me into exercising (and it worked) - "It provided me the motivation and accountability I needed."
• Sly Stallone Seeks $130 Million for Beverly Park Estate - "The thrice Oscar nominated and still remarkably pumped 'Rocky' and 'Creed' star, now in his mid-70s, purchased the slightly shy of 3.50-acre spread in the late 1990s for an unrecorded amount and soon custom built a stately pan-Mediterranean mansion that measures in around 21,000 square feet and carries a horse-choking annual tax bill in excess of $125,000."

January 25, 2021

• 'Vaccine passports' may be a golden ticket - "What 'vaccine passports' mean for your summer vacation."
• Fauci says he was the 'skunk at the picnic' in Trump's Covid team - "Public health expert says he could not resign as someone had to push back against ‘nonsense’."
• The megarich have already recovered from the pandemic. It may take the poor a decade to do so - "Nine months. That's how long it took the world's top 1,000 billionaires to recoup their fortunes after the coronavirus pandemic hit."
• The 'coronasomnia' phenomenon keeping you from getting sleep - "Disrupted routines and ongoing uncertainty are contributing to a surge in insomnia. What can we do about it?"
• The information warriors fighting 'robot zombie army' of coronavirus sceptics - "The Anti-Virus website takes on figures like Toby Young and Allison Pearson - and its creators think it has them on the run."
• How China Could Change the World By Taking Meat Off the Menu - "China came by its love of meat only recently; in the 1960s, the average Chinese person consumed less than 5 kg of meat annually. But as in comes soared following Deng Xiaoping’s market-driven “reform and opening” of the late 1970s, consumption rose to 20 kg per capita by the late 1980s and has now reached 63 kg. Today, China consumes 28% of the world’s meat, including half of all pork."
• 10 years on: How the Arab spring unfolded - a visualisation - "An era of uprisings, nascent democracy and civil war in the Arab world started with protests in a small Tunisian city. This is how the unrest grew to engulf the Middle East, shake authoritarian governments and unleash consequences that still shape the world a decade later."
• Does winter make us romantic? - "Why winter seems filled with romance. For many people across the world who followed the guidance during the pandemic, this year has meant restricted socialising. Are we choosing to couple-up and stay together instead?"
• Global ice loss accelerating at record rate, study finds - "Rate of loss now in line with worst-case scenarios of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change."
• Apple warns against putting an iPhone 12 too close to your pacemaker - "MagSafe magnets could interfere with medical implants."
• WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update - "Poorly-executed change to terms of service sends messaging app’s subscribers flocking to competitors."
• British Virgin Islands at a crossroads as outgoing governor decries corruption - "With a judicial inquiry looming and the EU looking to blacklist the territory, the BVI is debating where its future lies."
• All work & low pay: are we too devoted to our jobs? - "Employment today is atomised, casual and unequal, argues US author Sarah Jaffe in her book Work Won’t Love You Back. Here she discusses why the way we look at work needs to change."

January 24, 2021

• How the U.S. botched its covid-19 vaccine rollout - "The U.S. Fumbled Its Early Vaccine Rollout. Will the Biden Administration Put America Back on Track?"
• The UK has the 'highest death rate' in the world - "The United Kingdom currently tops the global list of highest deaths per 100,000 residents, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University (JHU). The country reported its highest ever single day death toll on Wednesday with 1,820 daily new deaths reported, and has been averaging about 1,240 daily new deaths over the last seven days."
• 'Too early to say': scientists unsure if UK Covid variant is more deadly - "Experts say more data is needed but the new evidence should be taken ‘very seriously’."
• ‘A complete massacre, a horror film’: inside Brazil's Covid disaster - "Hospitals in Amazonas state overwhelmed after surge in infections linked to new variant, leaving many without even the most basic supplies."
• Hand sanitizer is hurting children's eyes - "Hand sanitizer is hurting more children's eyes, some severely, study finds. Here's how to protect your kid."
• The Stories Behind Donald Trump’s TIME Covers - "Trump, whose presidency comes to end this week, has always had a fascination with TIME. He first landed on the cover on Jan. 16, 1989, 28 years before his inauguration, with the headline 'This Man May Turn You Green With Envy - or Just Turn You Off. Flaunting it is His Game, and Trump is his Name.'"
• Celebrities & newsmakers are paying tribute to broadcasting legend Larry King - "Larry King built an iconic career interviewing celebrities and newsmakers and many of them paid tribute to the broadcasting legend following his death."
• The strange case of Alibaba's Jack Ma & his three-month vanishing act - "The ebullient tech tycoon embarrassed China’s leaders and went missing. Now he’s back, but seems far less outspoken."
• Is it time to leave WhatsApp - and is Signal the answer? - "The Facebook-owned messaging service has been hit by a global backlash over privacy. Many users are migrating to Signal or Telegram. Should you join them?"
• Jim Haynes: A man who invited the world over for dinner - "Jim Haynes was both an icon and a relic of the Swinging Sixties, an American in Paris who was famous for inviting hundreds of thousands of strangers to dinner at his home. He died this month."
• This restaurant's menu offers bluntly honest descriptions of the dishes - "Feigang Fei, owner of Cuisine AuntDai in Montreal, wants to be honest with you."
• $1 billion Mega Millions jackpot has a winner - "The odds of winning the third-largest jackpot in U.S. history were 1 in 302,575,350."

January 23, 2021

• Wuhan marks its anniversary with triumph & denial - "Wuhan has long since recovered from the world's first outbreak of Covid-19. It is now being remembered not as a disaster but as a victory, and with an insistence that the virus came from somewhere - anywhere - but here."
• As Covid cases spike, Dubai works to keep its economy open - "For an emirate dependent on trade, transport and tourism, vaccination, not lockdown, is key to keeping its economy going."
• Vaccine passports 'essential' for resumption of international travel - "World Tourism Organisation calls for global coordination, standardised certification and harmonised testing protocols."
• Covid hand-outs: How other countries pay if you are sick - "The idea of a flat £500 payment to anyone who tests positive for Covid-19 has been dismissed by the UK government. Health officials had come up with the suggestion in the hope of encouraging people with the illness to self-isolate."
• EU vaccine woes mount as new delays emerge - "AstraZeneca said a production problem meant the number of initial doses available would be lower than expected. The fresh blow comes after some nations' inoculation programmes were slowed due to a cut in deliveries of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine."
• Covid variant found in UK may be more deadly than others, says Boris Johnson - "The new variant was first detected in southeast England and is believed to be between 30 to 70% more transmissible than the previous ones."
• Courtrooms &creditors likely to loom large in Trump's post-presidency life - "Carter campaigned for human rights, Bush painted ... but Trump faces several criminal investigations and a mountain of debt."
• Alexei Navalny: Russia's vociferous Putin critic - "Anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny has long been the most prominent face of Russian opposition to President Vladimir Putin. A bigger counterblast to the authorities: his Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) released a video on YouTube showing a luxury palace by the Black Sea which, according to Mr Navalny, rich businessmen had built for President Putin. The Kremlin dismissed the video as a 'pseudo-investigation'."
• Larry King, legendary talk show host, dies at 87 - "Larry King, the longtime CNN host who became an icon through his interviews with countless newsmakers and his sartorial sensibilities, has died. He was 87."
• Foods that can reduce stress - "Taking control of stress with the foods we eat can help to counter inflammation throughout the body, as well as elevated levels of the hormone cortisol, which can otherwise lead to high blood sugar, increased appetite and weight gain, among other symptoms."
• Bill Gates: Here's a Formula That Explains Where We Need to Invest in Climate Innovation - TIME Magazine.
• Why Bill Gates Is Keen on Private Jets - "The convenience and perceived health benefits of flying private are attracting converts. The companies that service the planes may be even bigger winners."
• Elon Musk announces $100 million prize for new carbon capture tech - "It would be his single largest philanthropic effort to date."
• Boeing says it will make planes able to fly on 100% biofuel by 2030 - "Aviation giant already staged the world’s first commercial flight using 100% biofuel in 2018."
• Electric vehicles close to ‘tipping point’ of mass adoption - "Sales increase 43% globally in 2020 as plunging battery costs mean the cars will soon be the cheapest vehicles to buy."
• Glastonbury Festival fashion history: Remember when Kate Moss wore rain boots? - "Matching a pair of classic black Hunter rain boots with a waistcoat, short shorts and studded belt (and later a glittering tunic), the model was a picture of understated glamor. Below the knee her look was interchangeable with that of a Somerset pig farmer. But above it, she could just have easily emerged from a Chelsea mansion to a well-placed paparazzi ambush."
• Billionaire Casino Mogul Steve Wynn Lists Beverly Hills Estate For $110 Million - "His newly listed Beverly Hills property was built by Guess cofounder Maurice Marciano in the early 1990s. It’s located within a private cul-de-sac in the Benedict Canyon neighborhood, whose residents include Billy Joel and other well-known figures. Wynn bought the property in 2015 and stripped the existing home to the studs and built it nearly from scratch, adding nearly 10,000 feet to the home. He also invested millions of dollars into the landscape design."
• How creating wildlife crossings can help reindeer, bears - and even crabs - "Sweden’s announcement this week that it is to build a series of animal bridges is the latest in global efforts to help wildlife navigate busy roads."
• Rolling Stone seeks 'thought leaders' willing to pay $2,000 to write for them - "Emails from ‘best-known entertainment media outlet’ invite ‘Culture Council’ to pay for chance to publish on website."
• Snow fills Kashmir resort with tourists again - "Snow lies knee-deep in the pastoral town of Gulmarg, or 'meadow of flowers,' on Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau. With its blanket of white, the idyllic hill station is seeing tourists again fill its hotels and ski, sledge and trek its Himalayan landscape." AP Photos.

January 22, 2021

• Inside Joe Biden’s Agenda for His First 100 Days - "When Franklin Delano Roosevelt was sworn in as President on March 4, 1933, a quarter of Americans were unemployed and multitudes were living in shanty-towns. By the end of his first 100 days in office, he had pushed 15 bills through Congress, revamped the financial and agricultural systems, expanded unemployment relief and laid the foundation for economic recovery. Nine decades later, another Democrat, Joseph R. Biden Jr., ascends to the White House at a time of extraordinary crisis. A once-in-a-century pandemic has killed more than 400,000 Americans and erased nearly 10 million jobs. The new President has to contend with climate change, a national reckoning on racial justice and a bitterly divided electorate."
• The huge stakes of Biden's new Covid-19 plan - "President Joe Biden is so far as good as his word to "manage the hell" out of the pandemic, driven by urgency to revive a sickened, struggling nation and the certainty that his entire presidency rests on eradicating Covid-19."
• A New Strain of COVID-19 Is Being Blamed for a Surge in Cases in Brazil. Here's What to Know - "Many hoped the Brazilian city of Manaus had seen the worst of the pandemic, after a first wave of COVID-19 tore through it in spring 2020, forcing authorities to dig mass graves and causing the mayor to break down during television interviews. Yet a new wave of infections has once again driven the city’s health services to a state of collapse this month."
• Biden orders masks to be worn on airplanes, trains & public transportation - "Donald Trump previously blocked a similar effort to require facial coverings while riding or flying."
• Fauci talks 'liberating feeling' serving under Biden versus Trump - "When Dr. Anthony Fauci returned to the White House briefing room on Thursday, he did so without the sour reality of a hostile president watching him from feet away in the Oval Office."
• Loss of smell drives Covid-19 survivors to get creative in the kitchen - "Anosmia — a condition known as 'smell blindness,' or loss of smell — is a common symptom of Covid-19 (and other viruses), and can severely impact people's ability to taste, since the senses are intertwined."
• Emerging evidence suggests new coronavirus variant could be problematic for vaccines - "As researchers around the world race to see if new coronavirus variants will pose a problem for the vaccines, a second study in two days says a variant from South Africa could possibly do just that."
• Africa's long wait for the Covid-19 vaccine - "Africa will have to wait 'weeks if not months' before receiving Covid-19 vaccines approved by the World Health Organization, according to various officials working towards getting doses for the continent."
• WHO platform for pharmaceutical firms unused since pandemic began - "A World Health Organization program for pharmaceutical companies to voluntarily share Covid-19 related knowledge, treatments and technology so they can be more widely distributed has attracted zero contributions in the eight months since it was established."
• The Hill We Climb: the Amanda Gorman poem that stole the inauguration show - "The 22-year-old poet wowed the crowd with her reading during Joe Biden’s swearing-in. Here’s the transcript of her text."
• Here's how much Trump's presidential pension is worth -- if he keeps it - "As of noon today, Donald Trump is entitled to an annual pension of $221,400 and perks worth far more than that."
• No Time to Die, the new James Bond film, is delayed once again - "The film, which stars Daniel Craig as the stylish spy, was set to open on April 2. But MGM announced on Thursday that it would push the action film to October 8."
• 'Fat but fit' is a myth when it comes to heart health, new study shows - "The negative effects of excess body fat on heart health can't be canceled out by maintaining an active lifestyle, according to new research."
• How airbag jeans & high-tech vests could make motorbikes safer - "Balanced on two wheels without a protective shell, riding a motorbike is far more dangerous than driving a car. In the United States, for example, motorcyclists are about 28 times as likely as car occupants to die in a crash. But innovations in airbags could help keep motorcyclists safe."
• The abandoned Soviet nuclear missile base hidden in a Polish forest - "Some call it the ghost town, because for decades it didn't appear on any maps -- a clandestine location that at the height of the Cold War likely concealed a deadly arsenal of nuclear weapons capable of wiping out major Western cities."
• Europe's Star Cities, marvels of Renaissance engineering - "They're scattered all over Europe but their perfect geometrical beauty can only be fully admired when seen from above."
• SAMSUNG GALAXY S21 ULTRA REVIEW: THE REAL DEAL - "More phone, less money."
• Surviving cardiac arrest: what it's like to come back to life - "Last year the Guardian’s Jonathan Watts underwent a lifesaving operation following a cardiac arrest. He tells Anushka Asthana what it taught him about life and death."
• Bezos's Blue Origin 'really close' to flying humans - "Space travel company, which plans to take six people on a sub-orbital flight, completes its 14th mission."
• France passes ‘sensory heritage’ law after plight of Maurice the noisy rooster - "'Living in the countryside implies accepting some nuisances,' Joël Giraud, the government’s minister in charge of rural life, told lawmakers. Cow bells (and cow droppings), grasshopper chirps and noisy early-morning tractors are also now considered part of France’s natural heritage that will be codified in its environmental legislation."
• My voyage through a world of language in just one word: snow - "Missing the wild regions where I have worked, I took a linguistic trip from Asia to the Andes, via Russia and Finland, instead."

January 21, 2021

• Joe Biden inaugurated as America's 46th president - in pictures - "On a day of history in Washington, Joe Biden was sworn in as president of the United States, and Kamala Harris became the first female, first Black and first Asian American vice-president. At 78, Biden is the oldest president to take the oath of office."
• An inauguration like no other: Notable moments of a momentous day - "President Joe Biden's inauguration on Wednesday looked a bit different from past ceremonies ushering in a new administration. The day's historic events navigated heightened security measures in Washington, DC, Covid-19 precautions and the absence of the outgoing President, the first time that's happened in more than a century and a half."
• Biden pledges America will 'engage with the world once again' - "US President Joe Biden will rightly spend his first days in office addressing the myriad domestic crises that he has inherited from his predecessor, Donald Trump. However, the transfer of power in the most powerful elected office in the world usually means a change in foreign policy, too."
• Biden sets to work on reversing Trump policies with executive orders - "In his initial acts as the 46th US president, he signed 15 executive orders - the first to boost the federal response to the coronavirus crisis. Other orders reversed the Trump administration's stance on climate change and immigration."
• Here Are All The Actions Biden Took On His First Day In Office - "After President Joe Biden was sworn into office, his administration immediately began undoing his Trump’s policies and beefing up the federal government’s response to the coronavirus through a slew of executive actions and orders."
• Biden returns US to Paris climate accord hours after becoming president - "Biden administration rolls out a flurry of executive orders aimed at tackling climate crisis."
• Biden's bold pledge to vaccinate 100m Americans in 100 days faces stern test - "If fulfilled effectively, Biden’s promise would strike a significant blow against the coronavirus and give a country battered by the pandemic a major boost after a year of mismanaged response that has seen more than 400,000 people die and more than 24 million infected."
• Beijing sanctions high-ranking Trump administration officials after Biden takes office - "The Chinese government has announced sanctions against outgoing secretary of state Mike Pompeo and 27 other high-ranking officials under former United States President Donald Trump, accusing them of 'prejudice and hatred against China.'"
• Bernie Sanders Rewears Mittens by a Vermont Teacher to the Inauguration - "The lovingly ruffled Vermont senator attended today’s inauguration in a signature pared-back look—what else would we expect from him?"
• How to be self-sufficient in one of the world's richest cities - "For one year, this man is eating only what's grown at Dubai's Sustainable City."
• Elephants counted from space for conservation - "At first, the satellite images appear to be of grey blobs in a forest of green splotches - but, on closer inspection, those blobs are revealed as elephants wandering through the trees."
• Inside 12 Of The Most Amazing Cave Hotels In The World - "There is a particular calm that happens when you first enter a cave hotel suite. The carved out stone walls quickly provide comfort and quiet, reducing the outdoor noise to a minimum."
• How the world embraced consumerism - "Over the course of the 20th Century, capitalism moulded the ordinary person into a consumer. Kerryn Higgs traces the historical roots of the world's unquenchable thirst for more stuff."
• The Philadelphia Story: How an 80-year-old comedy resonates - "The Philadelphia Story was released 80 years ago this month. Gregory Wakeman explores how the comedy deals with sensitive modern issues through the prism of quips, barbs - and sexual tension."
• Gwyneth Paltrow’s vagina-scented candle explodes into flames causing an ‘inferno’ in a woman’s living room - "The candle is described on Gwyneth’s Goop site as 'funny, gorgeous, sexy and beautifully unexpected'."

January 20, 2021

• Viewers' guide to Biden's Inauguration Day: Everything you need to know - "The theme is 'America United,' but Covid-19 and the specter of domestic terrorism are casting shadows over the event."
• Washington prepares for Joe Biden’s inauguration - live - "Joe Biden is to be sworn in as the 46th US president just before 17:00 GMT in Washington."
• On Biden's Inauguration Day, Trump issues pardons - "The batch of 73 pardons and 70 commutations issued in the final hours of his presidency was expected, and is in keeping with a long-standing presidential tradition of exercising clemency powers at the last minute."
• How Trump will hand off the 'nuclear football' to Biden - "The 'football,' which contains the equipment that Trump would use to authenticate his orders and launch a nuclear strike, is carried by a military aide who accompanies the President at all times -- up to the second he officially leaves office on January 20. Typically, the football would be handed off to another military aide standing on or nearby the inauguration viewing stand as Biden takes his oath of office. Additionally, the President is required to carry a plastic card known as the 'biscuit' with them at all times. The biscuit contains alphanumeric codes that are used to positively identify the president, who maintains the sole, legal authority to authorize a nuclear launch."
• 3 presidents who skipped successors' inauguration - "As Trump Plans to Skip Biden's Swearing In, Here Are 3 Other U.S. Presidents Who Dodged Their Successors' Inauguration."
• Donald Trump *did* set at least 1 record as president - "Donald Trump has always been fixated on writing his name into the history books, to ensure his four years as president aren't forgotten. Well, he's done it! Trump ends his term with the lowest average job approval rating -- 41% -- of any president in the last seven-plus decades, according to Gallup. That's four points worse than the next, uh, worst -- Harry Truman, who averaged a 45% job approval score throughout his time in office. Barack Obama averaged 47.9% job approval in his eight years, while George W. Bush averaged 49.4."
• Donald Trump Is on His Way Out of the White House, But Not Our Lives - "Trump will be leaving office as a certified sore loser. Americans now see him as a subpar President - quite an accomplishment for someone who won 74 million votes, a record for an incumbent seeking a second term."
• Trump presidency: A flashback through four turbulent years - "Donald Trump won a surprise victory in 2016 partly because he promised to shake things up. He leaves office with two impeachments and the nation on edge. But his supporters say he kept his promises." Video 5:57.
• Scenes from a presidency - in pictures - "Memorable moments from four years of Donald Trump's time in office."
• The Stories Behind Donald Trump’s TIME Covers - "Trump, whose presidency comes to end this week, has always had a fascination with TIME. He first landed on the cover on Jan. 16, 1989, 28 years before his inauguration, with the headline 'This Man May Turn You Green With Envy – or Just Turn You Off. Flaunting it is His Game, and Trump is his Name.'"
• How will history remember Trump? - "US historians on what Donald Trump's legacy will be."
• Putting the Trump baby balloon in a museum could help make his ideas history - "A display in London will share the spirit of the 2018 protests with a wider audience - and create new chances for change."
• Officials call for more vaccine doses as the US death toll passes 400,000 - "A funeral bell tolled at the Washington National Cathedral 400 times Tuesday, once for every thousand Americans who have died of Covid-19 in the United States."
• Asia Was a Model for How to Deal With COVID-19. Why Is It Lagging in Vaccine Rollouts? - "President Moon Jae-in’s popularity inside the country has been sinking - in part because of frustration over the speed of vaccine rollout. South Korea has yet to authorize the use of a COVID-19 vaccine, or even receive any doses. In a poll last month, 60% of respondents said the government should move faster with inoculations."
• How covid-19 will evolve in the future - "What new Covid-19 variants mean for our fight with the virus. Every time the coronavirus passes from person to person it picks up tiny changes to its genetic code, but scientists are starting to notice patterns in how the virus is mutating."
• Variant might partially evade protection from vaccines or prior infection, early research suggests - "A new study suggests someone might be able to get infected with one of the new variants of the coronavirus even if they've had Covid-19 before or have been vaccinated."
• These coronavirus variants are keeping scientists awake at night - "One, first identified in southeast England, has now shown up in at least 50 countries and appears to be spreading more efficiently than older variations of the virus. Its appearance has frightened political leaders, who have closed borders and imposed travel restrictions in attempts to curb its spread. Others, identified in South Africa and Brazil, haven't traveled as far and wide but show a constellation of mutations that have grabbed the attention of geneticists. And then there is a new variation that's shown up in California that may or may not be driving renewed spread there."
• Limiting air pollution 'could prevent 50,000 deaths in Europe' - "World Health Organization estimates air pollution kills more than 7 million people each year."
• The U.S. Capitol Attacked Reminded Me of the 1979 US Embassy Seizure & What Happens When Extremism Wins - "This is not to say that 1979 Iran is comparable with the 2021 United Sates."
• Why you’re more creative in coffee shops - "If we’re already working in isolation at home, why do we miss working with our heads similarly down in a public setting? Some of the most successful people in history have done their best work in coffee shops. Pablo Picasso, JK Rowling, Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre, Bob Dylan - whether they’re painters, singer-songwriters, philosophers or writers, people across nations and centuries have tapped into their creativity working away at a table in a café."
• Meet Jared & Ivanka’s New Neighbors - Including Tom & Gisele - On Miami’s Billionaire’s Bunker - "Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump may be saying goodbye to Washington, D.C., next week, but they are landing in an enclave nearly as exclusive. In December, the couple closed on a $32.2 million lot on Indian Creek, a luxury island community in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The village’s population was last tallied at 86 people - several of whom are billionaires."
• Jack Ma makes his first public appearance in months - "Jack Ma just made his first public appearance in months as his tech empire continues to face scrutiny from Chinese regulators."
• Why a US gang sailed 20,000 km to break six Irishmen out of an Australian prison - "The Catalpa Rescue: The story behind one of Australia's most incredible prison escapes."
• Police recover 500-year-old stolen copy of Leonardo da Vinci's 'Salvator Mundi' - "A 16th-century copy of Leonardo da Vinci's 'Salvator Mundi,' the world's most expensive painting, has been recovered by Italian police after it was stolen from a museum in Naples."
• China debuts train prototype that can hit speeds of 620 kilometers per hour - "China has revealed a prototype for a new high-speed Maglev train that is capable of reaching speeds of 620 kilometers (385 miles) per hour. The train runs on high-temperature superconducting (HTS) power that makes it look as if the train is floating along the magnetized tracks."

January 19, 2021

• Donald Trump's last full day as US president - live updates - The Guardian.
• Covid world map: which countries have the most coronavirus vaccinations, cases & deaths? - "Covid-19 has spread around the planet, sending billions into lockdown. Find out where the virus has spread, and where it has been most deadly."
• China & WHO acted too slowly to contain Covid-19, says independent panel - "In its second interim report, the Switzerland-based Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response determined that Beijing could have been more vigorous in applying public health measures when cases were first detected in the city of Wuhan, in Hubei province."
• Covid vaccine: WHO warns of 'catastrophic moral failure' - "It accuses richer nations of a 'me-first' approach to Covid vaccine, and hoarding precious supplies."
• More than 60% of all US Covid-19 cases were reported since Election Day - "Now experts warn a variant could further fuel spread."
• Data Show More Women Are Freezing Their Eggs During the Pandemic, Defying Doctors’ Expectations - TIME Magazine.
• The secret to a great inaugural address - "In a political world defined by escalating confrontation, a presidential inaugural is one of the few times we slow down and listen together as fellow citizens."
• Why do we still distrust women leaders? - "Despite strides in women’s representation in powerful roles, a surprising number of people across the world still don’t trust women to lead effectively. These biases are deep-seated - and may be difficult to change."
• Electric car batteries with 5-minute charging times produced - "First factory production means recharging could soon be as fast as filling up petrol or diesel vehicles."
• Why You Should Stop Using Your Facebook Messenger App - "If you’re one of Facebook Messenger’s 1.3 billion users, then the sudden WhatsApp backlash should serve as a stark warning. Yes, Messenger’s data harvesting is significantly more alarming than WhatsApp’s. But, worse, there’s now another serious new problem that may convince you to leave."
• Parler website partially returns with support from Russian-owned technology firm - "Platform popular with Trump supporters is back online, but only carries a message from its CEO, using IP address owned by DDOS-Guard."
• Is bitcoin a scam? - podcast - "In 2013 James Howells threw out a computer hard drive containing bitcoin. Last week he again asked his local council for permission to dig for it at his local dump as he believes it is now worth about £200m. The Guardian’s UK technology editor, Alex Hern, looks at the rise of bitcoin and whether it should be banned." 26:16.
• The truth behind Jackie Kennedy's iconic inauguration outfit - "Remember when Jackie Kennedy wore her famous pillbox hat?"
• Klete Keller: why did an Olympic champion invade the US Capitol? - "The swimmer won gold medals for his country in Athens and Beijing. Then his patriotism took an ugly turn."
• Peloton Is Offering a 60-Day Free Trial Right Now - and Other Ways to Work Out for Free at Home - "We’ve rounded up some ways to get your sweat on for free while we get through this pandemic together and make good on your New Year’s resolutions in the process."
• what an injury taught me about the power of speech - "When I damaged my vocal cords, I was forced to change the way I spoke – and discovered how much our voices reveal who we are."
• 6 Things Everyone Should Know About Quantum Physics - "Quantum physics is usually just intimidating from the get-go. It’s kind of weird and can seem counter-intuitive, even for the physicists who deal with it every day. But it’s not incomprehensible. If you’re reading something about quantum physics, there are really six key concepts about it that you should keep in mind. Do that, and you’ll find quantum physics a lot easier to understand."
• Man 'lived undetected in Chicago airport for three months' - "A Californian man who was 'scared to go home because of Covid' lived undetected in Chicago's O'Hare Airport for three months, according to multiple reports."
• The insect that kills 1m people a year - "The new mosquito bringing disease to North America. The discovery of a novel mosquito on Guantanamo Bay reveals how globalisation is threatening to unleash the next pandemic."
• Michelin awards star to vegan restaurant for the first time in France - "A vegan restaurant in south-west France has won a Michelin star, the first for an establishment serving only animal-free products in France. Restaurant ONA in the city of Ares rewarded after initially struggling to get funding to open its doors."
• How The Wine World Is Changing - "The past year has been an anomaly for most of the players in the wine business this past year. Retail has continued to do very well but the on-premise has suffered, across many channels. However, most bets are off about what lies ahead in 2021."
• Five dishes that define India's diverse cuisine -- and the chefs taking them global - "The term 'Indian cuisine' covers a lot of ground. From the Himalayan peaks in the northern state of Uttarakhand, to the tropical southwestern coast of Kerala, each landscape comes with its own climate, history, trade links and religious customs. And each has a unique food culture."

January 18, 2021

• Trump prepares to issue pardons - "President Donald Trump is preparing to issue around 100 pardons and commutations on his final full day in office Tuesday, according to three people familiar with the matter, a major batch of clemency actions that includes white collar criminals, high-profile rappers and others but -- as of now -- is not expected to include Trump himself."
• Giuliani associate told ex-CIA officer a Trump pardon would 'cost $2m’ - report - "An associate of Rudy Giuliani told a former CIA officer a presidential pardon was 'going to cost $2m', the New York Times reported on Sunday in the latest bombshell to break across the last, chaotic days of Donald Trump’s presidency."
• Melania Trump departing White House with lowest favorability of her tenure - "At 47%, more people have an unfavorable view of the first lady now than at any point since CNN first asked about views of her in February 2016. The poll, conducted by SSRS for CNN, puts Trump's favorable rating at 42%, with 12% of those asked answering they are unsure of their feelings about the first lady."
• Hello, Mr Resident: Is Palm Beach ready for the Trumps to move in? - "Angered by maskless soirees and flouting of local rules, some Floridians will not welcome their Mar-a-Lago neighbour."
• How the White House gets ready for a new president - "The last vestiges of the Trump presidency will be swept away on Wednesday, as the Bidens move into the White House. Desks will have been cleared out, rooms scrubbed clean and the president's aides will be replaced by a new team of political appointees. It's part of the massive transformation that a new presidency brings to the heart of government."
• Covid-19's astounding death toll in the US - "One year ago, Americans could have hardly imagined a pandemic that would kill one person every 30 seconds." Interactive.
• Apple Watch Can Detect Covid-19 Before Symptoms Arise, New Study Shows - "A new study from Mount Sinai Health System in New York, reported by CBS News, has found that smartwatches capable of continuous or frequent heart rate monitoring can detect subtle changes in a wearer’s heartbeat. These changes can signal the wearer has Covid-19 as early as seven days before any symptoms are felt or the infection can be picked up in testing."
• N439K mutation of SARS-CoV-2 may be more infectious & antibody resistant than Wuhan strain - "Researchers investigated the effect of different mutations of SARS-CoV-2 on its binding to the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 using molecular dynamics simulations. They found the N439K mutant binds more strongly than the original Wuhan strain, which may have implications for therapeutics like monoclonal antibodies."
• Brazil approves & rolls out AstraZeneca & Sinovac vaccines - "Brazil's vaccine programme has started later than many of its regional peers. This is despite the severity of its epidemic, and the world's second highest death toll."
• Microsoft, Oracle & other tech giants team up Covid-19 vaccine 'passports' - "Some of the country's biggest tech firms and health care organizations have joined together to help facilitate that return to 'normal.' The group, called the Vaccine Credential Initiative, wants to ensure that everyone has access to a secure, digital record of their Covid-19 vaccination - like a digital vaccine passport - that can be stored in people's smartphones. The records could be used for everything from airline travel to entering concert venues."
• THE VERGE AWARDS AT CES 2021: CAN’T TOUCH THIS - "Rating the all-digital Consumer Electronics Show."
• 20 ways to give purpose to your daily walk - "Has the novelty of a prescribed stroll long since worn off? From tracking animals to uncovering hidden history, here’s how to discover a new world in your neighbourhood."
• Jamie Lynn Spears blames Elon Musk & Tesla for killing her cats - "The actress, singer and sister of Britney Spears said in a since-deleted Instagram video that her cats were run over by a Tesla they never heard coming. Teslas, like other electric cars, run quieter than vehicles with gas-powered engines."
• Britain's 'major crisis' is good & bad news for travelers - "The tourist board is forecasting 16.9 million visits and £9 billion ($12.2 billion) spending for 2021: a mere 41% and 32% of the 2019 figures respectively. But that is, of course, if people come. After all, who'd want to vacation on 'plague island'?"
• What’s the best plan for a radical new workday? - "Work as we know it will never be the same - but are we prepared for a drastic transformation of where and when we do our jobs?"
• Del Monte $20 bill set to sell for nearly $60,000 - barring banana skins - "Rare printing error - or creative addition by bored employee - makes 2004 banknote a collector’s item, auctioneer says."
• Phil Spector, pop producer convicted of murder, dies aged 81 - "Producer who revolutionised music in 1960s with his ‘wall of sound’ dies while serving sentence."
• Havana: a virtual tour through food, music, films & books - "Travel vicariously through the arts, culture and cuisine that give the city its beauty and rhythm."

January 17, 2021

• 15 most notable lies of Donald Trump's presidency - "Trying to pick the most notable lies from Donald Trump's presidency is like trying to pick the most notable pieces of junk from the town dump."
• How unpopular is Donald Trump? - "An updating calculation of the president's approval rating, accounting for each poll's quality, recency, sample size and partisan lean."
• When will Trump go on trial in the senate? - "Trump impeachment: When will he go on trial in the Senate? Donald Trump has been impeached - again. So what now?"
• Israel Is Leading the World in COVID-19 Vaccination. But Palestinians Aren't on the List - "Israel, which has already vaccinated more than 2 million of its citizens, is ramping up COVID-19 shots to 250,000 per day, meaning most Israelis over the age of 16 are on track to have two doses by the end of February."
• How to Spend Your Money to Help Keep Your Favorite Restaurants Afloat - "A new round of economic relief is on its way to the pockets of millions of Americans, with the recent passage of a $900 billion stimulus bill. But there is one industry that, while struggling more than others, has not received any special help in the new bill. That’s the restaurant industry, which has been hit hard recently by another wave of restrictions. Local authorities from New York City to Los Angeles have imposed bans on indoor dining to try and tamp down a surge in coronavirus cases."
• Calling all billionaires: here’s how to keep your superyacht Covid-free - "As the rich and famous isolate on the seas, a new catamaran is designed to keep the virus out."
• Why 1.2 billion people share the same 100 surnames in China - "If you stop a random person on the street in China, there's a pretty good chance their surname would be either Wang, Li, Zhang, Liu or Chen."
• Why your most important relationship is with your inner voice - "Your internal monologue shapes mental wellbeing, says psychologist Ethan Kross. He has the tools to improve your mind’s backchat."

January 16, 2021

• The world marks 2 million coronavirus deaths - "The real toll is likely much higher."
• US expects 'rapid growth' of virus variant - "A highly contagious coronavirus variant first detected in the UK could become the dominant strain in the US by March, health officials have said."
• India begins world's biggest Covid vaccination programme - "Country of 1.3 billion people hopes to vaccinate 300 million citizens by August."
• Japan's suicide rate rises 16% in second wave of Covid, study finds - "Rise in July to October, particularly among women and children, contrasts with decline in first wave."
• Vaccine passports: what are they & do they pose a danger to privacy? - "Race to build app for people to demonstrate Covid jab or a negative test, but rights groups worry about ‘identity checks’."
• The history of Lincoln's chaotic first inauguration - "'Alarmingly Similar.' What the Chaos Around Lincoln's First Inauguration Can Tell Us About Today, According to Historians."
• What if the Web Looked More Like Wikipedia? - "More intriguing than Wikipedia itself was, and remains, the idea at its core: that the Internet can be a place not just for communication and entertainment, but collaboration and truth-seeking."
• the race to complete Trump's wall - "In his final months in office, Donald Trump has ramped up construction on his promised physical border between the US and Mexico - devastating wildlife habitats and increasing the migrant death toll."
• Former Spanish king's ex-lover says she was threatened by spy chief - "Corinna Larsen tells court ‘chilling’ warning to her and her children came on the orders of King Juan Carlos."
• One, two, tree: how AI helped find millions of trees in the Sahara - "Efforts to map the Earth’s trees are growing - and could change our understanding of the planet’s health."
• Should you keep using WhatsApp? Plus five tips to start the year with your digital privacy intact - "We spoke to convicted hacker turned security consultant Kevin Mitnick to find out how to maintain your security online."
• Already shunned from polite society, Ivanka Trump & Jared Kushner face new cold post-insurrection reality - "When Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner shared their decision to pick up and move their family to Washington from New York four years ago, multiple sources who know the couple said the idea was the White House years would allow easy entree to their ambitious next steps: Kushner would become a powerful player in global politics and Trump would become a shoo-in to a higher office of her own."
• The Best Credit Cards of 2021 - "Not all credit cards are created equal. The best card for you depends on your financial situation. Your spending habits, debt balances, and credit score are all important factors to compare against the tools and benefits any individual card offers."
• Syroco vs SP80: The race to create the world's fastest sail boat - "For more than eight years, the world sailing speed record has remained unbroken."
• Apple is reportedly prototyping foldable iPhone screens - "And Touch ID could return to this year’s iPhone under the display."
• Martin Luther King Jr: New documentary on FBI surveillance - "Shortly after Dr Martin Luther King Jr led the march on Washington in 1963, FBI agents were ordered to start following the famed civil rights leader."
• WandaVision is an ode to sitcoms - "The MCU’s first Disney Plus show has a good reason to model itself after the beloved format."
• This Keurig-like machine for soft serve ice cream is what the world really needs - "A new machine called ColdSnap, which looks and functions like a Keurig for soft serve ice cream, has emerged as one of the buzziest products of this year's all-digital CES tech show."
• Lying makes us mimic the body language of the people we are talking to - "When telling a lie, people may imitate the body language of the person they are lying to without realising they are doing it. The discovery might eventually lead to a new form of lie detection test."
• How much of your body is actually you? - "Our bodies are extraordinary. They contain elements that have a commercial value, megabytes of data, and trillions of cells, most of which aren't our own."
• It's 53% alcohol and tastes like fire. Here's how this liquor brand took over China - "Even amid a global pandemic, Kweichow Moutai, the company that makes the eponymous liquor, had a banner year: its stock surged around 70% on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2020. The company, which is part state-owned and part publicly-traded, is China's most valuable firm outside of technology - worth more than the country's four biggest banks. Globally, its market cap has not only surpassed all other alcohol distillers like Diageo and Constellation Brands, but also Coca-Cola, which had long held the crown as the world's largest beverage maker by market cap. Valued at 2.7 trillion yuan, or $421 billion Kweichow Moutai is worth more than Toyota, Nike and Disney, too."

January 15, 2021

• Trump explodes at Nixon comparisons as he prepares to leave office - "In his final days in office, President Donald Trump has found the parts of the job he loved replaced by cold legal warnings, forced video addresses and a shrinking circle of downtrodden aides, all anxiously wondering what life will be like after noon on January 20."
• What to Know About the U.S. Presidents Who’ve Been Impeached - "Impeachment is very rare in the U.S.’s nearly 250 years of history, and none of the three men to have faced it - Presidents Bill Clinton, Andrew Johnson and Donald Trump - have been removed from office. (However, after Clinton and Johnson were impeached, both of their parties lost the next Presidential election.)."
• Sorry, try Obama's house: Secret Service barred from using Ivanka Trump's bathrooms - "Secret Service detail were forced to use porta-potties or neighbors’ bathrooms until government rented them an apartment."
• How effective is a single vaccine dose against Covid-19? - "Pretend it didn't happen - expert advice on how to behave after receiving a single dose of any of the Covid-19 vaccines."
• Fewer Children Died in 2020, Despite the Pandemic - "Experts Are Trying to Figure Out Why."
• Billionaires add $1tn to net worth during pandemic as their workers struggle - "Companies’ attempts at hazard pay have been paltry and fleeting as employees are threatened for protesting working conditions."
• Waldorf Astoria's new Maldives private island costs $80,000 per night - "For those with the means, a private island in a tropical destination is the ultimate place to isolate from the global pandemic."
• Bitcoin Has Climbed Above $40,000 Again - What's Next? - "As the cryptocurrency trades close to the all-time high of more than $42,000 it reached earlier this month on CoinDesk, several market observers weighed in where it will likely go next."
• Got The Blues? Here Are 10 Swedish Hacks To Get You Through Winter - "With travel plans postponed and the cold weather putting a damper on outdoor socializing, winter has most definitely come. This year, instead of giving in to the winter blues, why not take a leaf out of the Scandinavian book? Despite spending half the year in varying degrees of icy cold and darkness, Sweden, Denmark and Norway, along with their Nordic neighbors Iceland and Finland, invariably feature in the top ten of the world’s happiest countries. So, what are they doing right?"
• 2020's biggest fashion trends reflect a world in crisis - "To look back at the year in fashion is to look back at a year of crisis. In the first few months of 2020, as the severity and scale of the coronavirus pandemic became clear, businesses around the world faced incomparable challenges posed by the largest global public health crisis in generations. The fashion industry was not immune."
• Signal Vs Telegram - 3 Things You Need To Know Before You Quit WhatsApp - "As the self-inflicted WhatsApp backlash continues, millions have turned to Signal and Telegram instead. But how much do you know about these rival messengers? Given the headlines, you’d assume they’re both more secure than WhatsApp, right? Actually, wrong. So, if you’re considering a switch, here are three things you need to know."
• SAMSUNG GALAXY S21, S21 PLUS & S21 ULTRA FIRST LOOK - "Samsung’sSamsung’s latest flagships are here: the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21 Plus, and the Galaxy S21 Ultra. The first two - which start at $799 and $999, respectively - mark some of the least expensive flagship phones that Samsung has made in years, while the $1,199 S21 Ultra aims to be not just the top-specced phone in Samsung’s lineup, but also the best phone, period."
• 5 Coolest Things About The Samsung Galaxy S21, S21+ & S21 Ultra - "Samsung has just unveiled its new flagship smartphone series, the Samsung Galaxy S21, S21+ and S21 Ultra. Much was revealed in advance thanks to leaks and Samsung’s early announcements. But here are the bits we didn’t know before."
• Profile: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un - "When Kim Jong-un took control of North Korea at just 27, the world knew very little about him - but a state-sanctioned personality cult was about to swing into action."
• Can reality TV shows help lead the way for inclusivity? - "There are signs the reality-television industry is trying to change following BIPOC cast-member complaints about portrayal and stereotyping. Can it work?"
• Philips Hue module turns any light switch into a smart switch - "There's also a redesigned dimmer switch."

January 14, 2021

• Donald Trump Impeached a Second Time in Historic House Vote - "The House of Representatives impeached Donald Trump on January 13 for a second time, marking the first time in U.S. history that a President has been impeached more than once."
• What happens to impeached presidents? - "President Donald Trump has become the first president in history to be impeached twice by the US House of Representatives - and remains one of just three to have been impeached at all."
• Here's how some of the leading coronavirus vaccines work - CNN Health.
• Covid-19: how & why is the virus mutating? - "The new Covid variant, B117, is rapidly spreading around the UK and has been detected in many other countries. Although it is about 50% more infectious than previous variants, B117 does not seem to cause more severe disease or be immune to current vaccines. Yet it has raised concerns over how the virus may adapt to our antibodies and vaccines in the future."
• We Can't Afford to Wait for COVID-19 Vaccines To Be Rolled Out - "Here’s What We Can Do to Curb the Virus Now. COVID-19 is a preventable illness. Many countries, like Australia, China, New Zealand and Taiwan, have practically ended community transmission of the virus and returned to a near-normal life, and they did so without using a vaccine. If we continue to see rising transmission, it will make it all the more challenging for vaccines to act as a tool that ends the U.S. pandemic."
• WHO Investigators Are Finally Allowed to Land in China in a Bid to Uncover the Origins of the Coronavirus Pandemic - "Following many months of wrangling and repeated rebuffs, a World Health Organization (WHO) team touched down in China Thursday to begin an investigation of the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has so far sickened 92 million people around the world, killed almost 2 million, and derailed the global economy."
• Has coronavirus made us more ethical consumers? - "Kimberley Bird says the coronavirus pandemic has turned her into a more ethical, more environmentally-conscious consumer. And she is far from alone."
• £25,000-a-year private club flying members to UAE & India to get Covid vaccinations - "While the UK is amidst a countrywide Covid vaccination rollout programme, with eligibility determined by age and risk, the super-rich are already skipping the queue and heading overseas for the privilege."
• Top scientists warn of 'ghastly future' for planet as leaders underestimate ecological threats - "The world is on track for a 'ghastly future,' an international group of scientists has warned, with accelerating climate change and biodiversity loss threatening the survival of all of the planet's species unless world leaders face up to the challenge and act urgently."
• You Can Still Use WhatsApp - But Change These 3 Critical Settings First - "If you’re a WhatsApp user, you will have seen the alarming stories warning about the messaging platform’s surprise privacy changes, many suggesting you switch to alternatives. The good news is you don’t need to do that - WhatsApp is still okay to use. The bad news, though, is that you do need to change these critical setting to stay safe."
• The international destinations welcoming US tourists back - "Find out which countries are welcoming US tourists back."
• Venice's new weapon to tackle overtourism - "Venice is watching tourists' every move."
• Transparent TV screens are the cool new tech trend - "TVs seem to get bigger, slimmer and more connected each year. But now, in 2021, you can also see right through them."
• Presenting the Best of CES 2021 winners! - "The cream of the crop in 14 categories, plus Best of the Best and the winner of our People's Choice reader poll."
• THE BEST TECH OF CES 2020: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? - "Which tech made it to our homes, and which will stay only in our hearts."
• What happens to an airplane after it retires - "Recycling an airplane: What's scrapped when an aircraft retires?"
• Amazon faces legal challenge over Prime cancellation policy - "Amazon is being challenged by consumer watchdogs in Europe and the US over its use of manipulative 'dark pattern' design to promote its Prime service."
• The 'megascale' structures that humans could one day build - "What are the biggest, boldest things that humanity could engineer? From planet lifters to space cannons, Anders Sandberg explores some of history's most ambitious visions - and why they're not as 'impossible' as they seem."
• The erotic origins of Italy's most famous sweet - "Italy has a number of age-old pastries that resemble genitalia, like cannoli. But while they may induce a few giggles nowadays, their origins are linked to serious traditions."
• The 21 Best Whiskies You Can Buy Right Now - "Here’s our list of the top scotches you can find and drink without a time machine."

January 13, 2021

• Dishwashing robots & Bluetooth masks: Pandemic products hit tech's biggest show - "Companies big and small showed off their new innovations at the closely watched tech trade show, which kicked off on Monday, many with features tied to life during the pandemic. There's MaskFone, a face covering marketed as having a built-in N95 filter, earbuds and microphone to make calls, and a wearable for the ears called Cove that claims its gentle vibrations regulate anxiety and stress."
• As it happened: New tech unveiled at CES 2021 - "CES press day is over, but there's a lot more to come over the next three days, including keynotes from General Motors, Microsoft and AMD, as well as a presentation by graphics chip specialist Nvidia."
• CES 2021: Is this the world's smartest face mask? - "Gaming company Razer has made what they claim is world's smartest face mask - complete with a built-in microphone."
• US has suffered its worst day ever for Covid-19 deaths - "The US reported its highest daily number of Covid-19 deaths on Tuesday with more than 4,320 fatalities attributed to the virus."
• Ireland has the world's highest Covid-19 rate. How did it go so wrong? - "When Ireland came out of a strict six-week lockdown in December it had one of the lowest levels of Covid-19 cases in Europe. Since then, the situation has dramatically unraveled."
• Japan extends Covid restrictions amid fears for Olympics - "Emergency measures to be expanded to cover more than half of country’s population."
• Sinovac: Brazil results show Chinese vaccine 50.4% effective - "A coronavirus vaccine developed by China's Sinovac has been found to be 50.4% effective in Brazilian clinical trials, according to the latest results released by researchers."
• Trump: 'The 25th amendment is of zero risk to me' - "The US President said invoking the 25th amendment to unseat him is 'of zero risk to me' and called the threat of a second impeachment 'another witch hunt'."
• YouTube suspends Donald Trump's channel - "YouTube has become the latest social network to suspend President Trump."
• How me-me-me-Melania turned herself into the real victim of attack on the Capitol - "Melania Trump was inspired to see such ‘passion and enthusiasm’ around the elections and saved her ire for the ‘unwarranted personal attacks’ on her in the press. It’s typical behaviour for snowflake Trumpers."
• How To Use Signal: The Brilliant WhatsApp Alternative - "Recent WhatsApp news has left many people looking for a secure and private alternative. Enter Signal. Here’s how to use it."
• The Top Ten Countries To Be A Digital Nomad - "Over recent years the concept of remote working has become an everyday reality as technologies have improved and corporate acceptance has become more common. This has only been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and stay-at-home requirements enforced by many countries around the world."
• What Really Happens When There's a 50-50 Split in the Senate? - "Because the Constitution designates the vice president as the president of the Senate, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will hold the tie-breaking vote and all simple majority, party-line stand-offs will likely break for Democrats. That means Warnock’s and Ossoff’s wins open up a host of possibilities for what Democrats may be able to accomplish under the Biden Administration."
• The US is now the focus of global instability - "Donald Trump has few options left but to foment even more chaos both at home and abroad."
• Microfibers from clothing pollute even 'remote reaches' of Arctic, researchers say - "From Norway to Canada, the Arctic Ocean is being polluted by tiny plastic fibers from our clothes."
• record ocean heat in 2020 supercharged extreme weather - "Scientists say temperatures likely to be increasing faster than at any time in past 2,000 years."
• MaskFone - "MASKFONE is the optimal face mask. It provides maximum protection against airborne health risks, while affording a more convenient and serviceable way of taking phone calls and listening to music. Boasting a luxurious aesthetic and exceptional comfort, it’s enjoyable to wear for hours at a time. The built-in microphone and lightweight earbuds, provide crystal clear audio unattainable with any other mask. Equipped with multi-layered protection and 3 included PM2.5 filters, there’s no better alternative to keep you safe." Price: US$49.99.
• Illusion of control: Why the world is full of buttons that don't work - "Have you ever pressed the pedestrian button at a crosswalk and wondered if it really worked? Or bashed the 'close door' button in an elevator, while suspecting that it may, in fact, have no effect whatsoever? You're not alone, and you may be right. The world is full of buttons that don't actually do anything. They're sometimes called 'placebo buttons' -- buttons that are mechanically sound and can be pushed, but provide no functionality."
• Reinventing Goa, India's hedonistic beach hideaway - "In July, as the threat of Covid-19 ebbed, the Goa government declared the popular Indian state open to domestic tourism following months of lockdown."
• Mahjong design 'refresh' reignites debate over cultural appropriation - "Mahjong, the centuries-old Chinese tile game, became embroiled in controversy last week over a debate about cultural appropriation."
• The habit that quits self-criticism - "Why self-compassion - not self-esteem - leads to success. Talking about being kind to yourself may sound like something from a nursery classroom. But even cynics should care about self-compassion - especially if they want to be resilient."
• Why some bike shares work & others don't - "Bicycle share schemes have had huge success in some cities and flopped spectacularly in others - what is it that makes or breaks a bike share?"
• How Powerful Is Your Passport? These Are The Best, Post-Pandemic, In 2021 - "A passport isn’t just a necessity for a two-week break away; it’s as much about a person’s freedom, their right to live and work in other places and in many instances, a better way of life."
• Lost Passwords Lock Millionaires Out of Their Bitcoin Fortunes - "Bitcoin owners are getting rich because the cryptocurrency has soared. But what happens when you can’t tap that wealth because you forgot the password to your digital wallet?"
• Whisky Review: Bushmills, Glenturret, And More. Which Scored A 10? - Forbes.
• Bordeaux-ver the moon: French wine to return from space station after 12 months - "Experts looking forward to tasting some of the 12 bottles of Bordeaux that will splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico via a SpaceX Dragon capsule."
• 11 Zero-Proof Alternatives To Keep You Going Through Dry January - And Beyond - "People usually start the year with the best intentions but find it difficult to keep up with those healthy resolutions. Dry January can be challenging for those of us who enjoy a variety of beverage flavors or prefer to stay away from too much coffee, sugar and artificially flavored drinks. So here are a few suggestions that I have found enjoyable so far, and will remain on rotation moving forward."
• Anna Wintour defends Vogue's controversial Kamala Harris cover - "Editor-in-chief of fashion magazine responds to online accusations of whitewashing and disrespecting the vice-president-elect."

January 12, 2021

• Everything you need to know from the world’s biggest (virtual) tech show - engadget.
• FBI fears armed protests by Trump supporters ahead of Biden inauguration - "US security officials have warned of possible armed protests being held across the country in the days before Joe Biden is sworn in as president."
• Flags, Hate Symbols & QAnon Shirts: Decoding the Capitol Riot - "TIME analyzed videos and photographs shared on social media after January 6, and found that in addition to Confederate flags, the mob paraded with a host of hate symbols, white supremacist banners and QAnon shirts as they descended on the nation’s capital."
• Trump's disastrous end to his shocking presidency - "President Donald Trump is leaving America in a vortex of violence, sickness and death and more internally estranged than it has been for 150 years."
• Facebook targets 'stop the steal' content & says Trump ban may be permanent - "Company places limits on phrase behind false election claims as Sheryl Sandberg says she’s ‘glad’ president was blocked."
• Now that he’s been banned we can say it: Donald Trump was a genius at Twitter - "His behaviour was unbelievably irresponsible - but no politician was better at posting."
• Silencing Trump: How 'big tech' is taking Trumpism offline - "If you ever needed proof of the power of 'Big Tech' then the downfall of Parler on Monday morning is a good place to start."
• Covid symptoms can linger for at least 6 months, new study suggests - "Three-quarters of Wuhan patients hospitalized for Covid-19 still had symptoms 6 months later, Chinese study finds."
• The other virus that worries Asia - "The death rate for Nipah virus is up to 75% and it has no vaccine. While the world focuses on Covid-19, scientists are working hard to ensure it doesn't cause the next pandemic."
• Which Covid vaccine is better? Pfizer v Oxford v Moderna - "The three Covid-19 vaccines are from Pfizer-BioNTech, the University of Oxford and Astra-Zeneca and Moderna."
• US has averaged more than 3,000 Covid-19 deaths a day over the past week - "Health officials had warned the Covid-19 pandemic would make winter one of the most difficult times in US history. That prediction is quickly proving true. December was devastating. And January could be deadlier."
• Moderna thinks its vaccine will protect against the coronavirus for at least a year - "The company will have to test people to see if adding a third dose -- a boost -- might extend protection. Currently, the vaccine is given as two doses about a month apart. Because both vaccines were only invented within the past year, no one knows how long they'll protect people."
• WHO's Covid mission to Wuhan: 'It's not about finding China guilty' - "Scientists express caution about what they may find and the political sensitivity around investigation."
• Bill Gates Makes Bid to Buy World’s Largest Private Jet Operator, Signature - "Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is one of the world’s most famous environmentalists or the biggest hypocrite ever. He could even be both, depending on your perspective on things."
• 10 of the best virtual travel experiences for 2021 - "Travel the world through this new crop of virtual experiences, from online guide walks to film festivals, wine-tasting to birdwatching."
• Ford Mustang Mach-E wins SUV of the Year award - "The Ford Mustang Mach-E won the 2021 North American SUV of the Year Award. The award was presented in an online ceremony Monday along with the North American Truck of the Year and Car of the Year awards."
• Explore 8 of the world’s most sustainable cities - "Paris. London. New York. Our global cities are synonymous with innovation and all things cutting edge - yet as some of the world’s worst polluters, they’re far from future-proof when it comes to climate change."
• These 1960s megastructures pictured a utopian future - "Throughout the 1960s and '70s, starry-eyed architects set their minds to megastructures -- massive, multi-purpose designs that could house communities or even entire cities."
• Why getting a name right matters - "The care we take to get names right is increasingly under scrutiny as Kamala Harris takes office. What message do we send when we get them wrong?"
• Marie Kondo’s New Product Line For The Container Store Will Spark Joy - "Domestic doyenne and TV host Marie Kondo has partnered with The Container Store on her first first-ever line of customizable organizational solutions for the entire home."
• Video games have replaced music as the most important aspect of youth culture - "The global video gaming industry took in an estimated $180bn in 2020 - more than sports and movies worldwide."
• Australia & China GPs postponed in revised F1 calendar for 2021 - "Formula One has confirmed a revised calendar for the start of the 2021 season after the postponement of the Australian and Chinese grands prix. Bahrain now due to stage season opener on 28 March."
• What is bitcoin & why are so many people looking to buy it? - "Cryptocurrency is attracting attention from investors and financial regulators alike."
• Sex and the City Is Nothing Without Samantha Jones - TIME Magazine.

January 11, 2021

• CES 2021: Seven Trends To Watch For At The Virtual Show Where Virtually Anything Is Possible - "CES opens on Monday January 11th and courtesy to Covid-19 this year’s show will be a little different than previous years. Instead of the tech exodus to Las Vegas this year we’ll all be sitting in our offices or at home dialing in to enjoy the annual tech-fest virtually."
• Engadget's live virtual CES stage kicks off Monday at 7:30am ET! - "We'll have three days of programming, culminating with the Best of CES Awards ceremony."
• Covid-19 vaccine could be heading to the black market - "Coming to a black market near you: Covid-19 vaccine. Reports of the rich and connected jumping the line to get vaccinated is just the beginning, experts say."
• mRNA Technology Gave Us the First COVID-19 Vaccines - "It Could Also Upend the Drug Industry."
• January could be the deadliest month of Covidin the US - "It took about 90 days for the United States to reach its first 2 million cases of coronavirus last year. But it took just 10 days to hit 2.2 million cases in 2021, according to data from Johns Hopkins University."
• Vaccine scepticism in France reflects 'dissatisfaction with political class’ - "Past medical scandals involving big pharma and public officials have made many suspicious of vaccines."
• Trump faces imminent prospect of second impeachment - "Donald Trump is facing the shameful, imminent prospect of becoming the first president to be impeached twice as Democrats warn he poses an unacceptable danger to the world after inciting a mob assault on Congress."
• What to expect this week when Congress moves to force Trump from office - "Democrats will pressure Mike Pence to invoke the 25th amendment or take part in a historic second impeachment trial."
• Schwarzenegger rebukes Trump & compares Capitol riot to Kristallnacht - "Ex-Republican governor of California compares US democracy to sword wielded by Conan the Barbarian in video address."
• The Best At-Home Workouts for a Long & Socially Distant Winter, According to Fitness Experts - "This winter it’s expected that many gyms will remain closed, in-person group fitness classes will remain off-limits and shelter-in-place orders will come and go. So trudging to the gym for an hour on the elliptical may no longer be an option. More than anything else, it will require creativity to be healthy and fit."
• Kamala Harris' casual Vogue cover causes stir online - "Kamala Harris' forthcoming appearance in American Vogue has sparked criticism for appearing casual and "washed out," with the Vice President-elect's team blindsided by the magazine's choice of cover."
• How Coco Chanel changed the course of women's fashion - "Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel was one of the 20th century's most influential couturiers. A milliner by training, she moved beyond hats to become a rebel and a trailblazer of the fashion world, creating a new sartorial style that freed women from corsets and lace frills by offering them sailor shirts and wide-leg pants instead."
• Parler is gone for now as Amazon terminates hosting - "The proliferation of violent content on the site pushed Apple and Google to ban it as well."
• Where we are on climate in five charts - "The state of the climate in 2021."
• Prince Charles urges businesses to sign Terra Carta pledge to put planet first - "Magna Carta-style project aims to raise £7bn to ‘bring prosperity into harmony with nature’."
• Paris agrees to turn Champs-ÉlysÉes into 'extraordinary garden' - "Mayor Anne Hidalgo gives green light to £225m-scheme to transform French capital’s most famous avenue."
• 2020 was joint hottest year ever recorded - "Global heating continued unabated despite Covid lockdowns, with record Arctic wildfires and Atlantic tropical storms."
• Europe’s Largest Bank Suspected Of Greenwashing - "A group of investors worth $2.4 trillion suspect HSBC of greenwashing as it continues to fund coal projects despite pledging to go carbon neutral."
• LG imagines a bed with a hidden see-thru OLED TV set - "The future of screens may be see-through."
• US intel agencies must tell all on UFOs in 180 days - "US intelligence agencies have 180 days to share what they know about UFOs, thanks to the Covid-19 relief and spending bill. When President Donald Trump signed the $2.3 trillion coronavirus relief and government funding bill into law in December, so began the 180-day countdown for US intelligence agencies to tell Congress what they know about UFOs."
• Why virtual team-building activities feel agonising - "The words ‘team building’ may stoke fear in our hearts at the best of times, but during a pandemic, they often mean several extra hours on Zoom - something we could all live without."
• Are our personalities set in stone, or can we work on - even improve - them? - "Ask yourself what your ideal personality will be and, with self-awareness and repetitive practice, traits will follow."
• Why it's time to stop pursuing happiness - "Positive thinking and visualising success can be counterproductive - happily, other strategies for fulfilment are available."
• The rise of apocalyptic novels - "In our times of uncertainty, the latest fiction about climate disaster is unsettling - but also strangely comforting."
• Sex & the City to return for new series, stars confirm - "The rebooted show will be called And Just Like That... and will feature the original stars, apart from Kim Cattrall."
• Trevor Noah Picks up $27.5 Million Bel Air Mansion - "The host of 'The Daily Show' bought an architecturally significant home that overlooks the neighborhood country club."
• $160M Beverly Hills mansion could become most expensive house ever sold at auction - "The 20,000-square-foot, 13-bedroom, Villa Firenze is set across more than 9 acres of land in Beverly Hills, and can be accessed via its own private street, according to Concierge Auctions, which is handling the sale. The home is decked out with vaulted ceilings, multiple fireplaces and 25 bathrooms, while the wider estate features three separate guest houses."
• The Wodge: can London's tallest new skyscraper survive the Covid era? - "Nicknamed The Wodge because of its girth, the capital’s tallest ever office has just muscled onto the skyline. But in the age of coronavirus, who wants to jostle for 60 lifts with 12,000 others?"

January 10, 2021

• The 65 days that led to chaos at the Capitol - "Many were taken by surprise by the events in Washington, but to those who closely follow conspiracy and extreme right groups online, the warning signs were all there."
• There's No Single Domestic Terrorism Statute - "But Those Involved in the Riot at the Capitol May Still Be Prosecuted Under These Laws."
• Trump's final days put the country at a dangerous crossroad - "Donald Trump's presidency is in its final, chaotic spiral. But even with the end so near, each hour seems to carry a new threat to America's fragile democracy."
• Does vitamin D combat Covid? - "It’s cheap, widely available and might help us fend off the virus. So should we all be dosing up on the sunshine nutrient?"
• As Mutated Strains of COVID-19 Surface, Can the U.S. Overcome Its Vaccine Rollout Hurdles? - "Twenty million. That was the number of Americans who were supposed to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by now. Instead, more than 5 million people have received a shot, and 17 million doses have been shipped to the states and other jurisdictions that are distributing them to hospitals, doctors and pharmacies."
• Pope's personal doctor dies from Covid-19 complications - "Pope Francis' personal doctor, Fabrizio Soccorsi, has died as a result of 'complications due to Covid,' the Vatican’s newspaper L’Osservatore Romano announced on Saturday."
• Queen Elizabeth & Duke of Edinburgh receive Covid-19 vaccine - "The inoculations were administered by a household doctor at Windsor Castle, a royal source said. To prevent inaccuracies and further speculation, Her Majesty, who 94, decided that she would let it be known that she has had the vaccination, the source added. Her husband is 99 years old."
• How The Rich Partied During Coronavirus Lockdown - "Over the past three to four months, the wealthy have spent millions building their own secret clubs and live music venues, and then flying in musicians and performers for their own version of live entertainment."
• Do You Suddenly Need To Stop Using WhatsApp? - "WhatsApp’s nightmare week has continued to get worse—a backlash against the scale of its data collection quickly followed by its sudden forcing of new terms of service on its users to share their data with Facebook. Agree to this now or delete your account, it has said. And so, as many users look for alternatives, should you do the same?"
• What to Know About Britney Spears, Her Conservatorship & the #FreeBritney Movement - "If you follow Britney Spears on Instagram, you’re probably used to seeing her post a mix of filtered selfies, free-spirited dance videos, inspirational quotes and photos with her boyfriend, personal trainer Sam Asghari."

January 9, 2021

• Twitter permanently suspends Trump's account - "US President Donald Trump has been permanently suspended from Twitter 'due to the risk of further incitement of violence', the company says."
• Twitter is deleting Trump’s attempts to circumvent ban - "Tweets from @POTUS and @TeamTrump have been removed."
• Trump has lost Twitter, his biggest political megaphone. Now what? - "Trump’s banishment is likely to further enrage an already volatile president, but many hailed the move as a long overdue milestone."
• London Declares State of Emergency as COVID-19 Surge Threatens to Overwhelm Hospitals - "Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, declared a 'major incident' in the city on Friday as a surge in COVID-19 cases threatened to overwhelm hospitals, with around 1 in 30 Londoners estimated to be infected with the virus."
• When will international travel return? Here's what we know right now - "There's hope: Summer vacations abroad may happen in a big way this year."
• 2019 List Of The Most Dangerous Airlines In The World - "Many of the world’s most dangerous airlines are banned from flying into both the U.S. and the EU, and if the aviation authorities are telling you this, it’s probably with justified reasoning."
• Google suspends 'free speech' app Parler - "Google has suspended 'free speech' social network Parler from its Play Store over its failure to remove 'egregious content'."
• You Might Be Overshopping Without Even Realizing It - "Here Are the Signs, According to a Financial Therapist."
• England's sleepy 'Scientology town' - "The sleepy Sussex market town of East Grinstead has gained a reputation in recent decades as a hotbed for offbeat religious activity."
• What to expect from an online-only CES 2021 - "It will be very different from years past."
• 22 disasters, 262 dead, $95bn in damages: US saw record year for climate-driven catastrophes - "Report shows US was battered by punishing extreme weather on both the east and west coasts in 2020."
• You Can Become a Smart Investor in 15 Minutes. Here’s Where to Start - TIME Magazine.

January 8, 2021

• How COVID-19 Attacks The Brain & May Cause Lasting Damage - "Early in the pandemic, people with COVID-19 began reporting an odd symptom: the loss of smell and taste. The reason wasn't congestion. Somehow, the SARS-CoV-2 virus appeared to be affecting nerves that carry information from the nose to the brain. That worried neurologists. Their fears proved well-founded - though the damage may come from the body and brain's response to the virus rather than the virus itself."
• Introducing TIME's COVID-19 US vaccine tracker - "A guide to the coronavirus vaccination rollout and what you need to know about the authorized vaccines."
• US Vaccination rate will take 3 years to reach herd immunity - "The slower than projected coronavirus vaccine rollout will take three years for the US to reach herd immunity if we stay at this rate."
• After President Trump Incited a Riotous Mob, Will He Face Any Consequences? - "All of his hostility toward Washington, his disregard and contempt for the country’s democratic traditions, culminated in a violent display of Trump supporters laying siege to the Capitol."
• A visual guide to the storming of Congress - "The US is reeling after supporters of President Trump stormed the Capitol building in Washington DC on the day Congress was meeting to confirm Joe Biden's election victory."
• Trump asking aides & lawyers about self-pardon power - "President Donald Trump has been asking aides and lawyers, including White House counsel Pat Cipollone, about his self-pardon power, multiple sources told CNN."
• Elon Musk's six secrets to business success - "Elon Musk has just become the richest person in the world, overtaking Amazon founder Jeff Bezos."
• world's most powerful passports for 2021 - "The days of strolling into an airport, flashing a passport, then hopping on a flight to wherever one likes are, for now, a distant memory. The Henley Passport Index, which periodically measures the world's most travel-friendly passports, has just released its latest report -- and an analysis of what might lie ahead."
• 2020 in a dead heat for world's warmest year - "New data from EU satellites shows that 2020 is in a statistical dead heat with 2016 as the world's warmest year."
• The 432-year-old manual on social distancing - "In this spookily prescient booklet, people are advised to keep six feet apart, avoid shaking hands and only send one person per household out to do the shopping."
• Kintsugi: Japan's ancient art of embracing imperfection - "Meaning 'joining with gold', this centuries-old art is more than an aesthetic. For the Japanese, it’s part of a broader philosophy of embracing the beauty of human flaws."

January 7, 2021

• Elon Musk is now the richest person in the world, passing Jeff Bezos - "Elon Musk just became the richest person in the world, with a net worth of more than $185 billion. Thursday’s increase in Tesla’s share price pushed Musk past Jeff Bezos, who had been the richest person since 2017 and is currently worth about $184 billion."
• In pictures: Pro-Trump rioters breach the US Capitol on historic day in Congress - "In a stunning display of insurrection, supporters of President Donald Trump breached the US Capitol on Wednesday while Congress was meeting to certify the Electoral College's votes for president and vice president. This was the first time the US Capitol had been breached since the British attacked and burned the building in August of 1814, during the War of 1812, according to Samuel Holliday, director of scholarship and operations with the US Capitol Historical Society. Congress returned to the Capitol in the evening to resume the certification process."
• Here are the 146 members of Congress who voted to support a conspiracy-fueled mob - "The internet is printed in ink, but these names will be chiseled in stone."
• 'Trump blows up US democracy': the world watches on in horror - "Leaders from nations around the world condemn ‘shocking scenes’ unfolding at US Capitol."
• 25th amendment: can Trump be removed from office before his term ends? - "After a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol, there are calls for the president to be relieved of office by impeachment or using the 25th amendment. But how would it work?"
• An unchained Trump threatens more mayhem in his final dangerous days - "America faces 13 days of danger before the departure of an unhinged commander-in-chief who set his mob on the US Capitol in an act of insurrection that shattered a more than 220-year tradition of peaceful transfers of power."
• Trump blocked by Twitter & Facebook - "Donald Trump has been suspended from Twitter and Facebook after tweeting to supporters who attacked the US Capitol."
• Ivanka Trump calls rioters 'patriots', then deletes tweet - "While retweeting her father, President Trump’s tweet, Ivanka Trump addressed the rioters as 'American Patriots.'"
• EU authorizes Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine, paving the way for its rollout next week - "The move finalizes the recommendation of the European Union drugs regulator, who earlier on Wednesday recommended granting the drug a conditional marketing authorization."
• Dr. Fauci says US should have had better coronavirus vaccine rollout - "Federal officials have been struggling to explain why, when they promised 20 million vaccines would have been given to people by the end of the year, only 5.3 million people have been vaccinated nearly a week into the New Year and fewer than 20 million vaccines have even been distributed."
• Misinformation 'superspreaders': Covid vaccine falsehoods still thriving on Facebook & Instagram - "Researchers say big Facebook accounts still condemn vaccines while anti-vaxxers banned from Facebook have fled to Instagram."
• Bill Gates Predicts What 2021 Will Be Like, Alerts Us to Our Immediate Future - "The tycoon has predictions about how the pandemic will evolve throughout this year, and when things could return to normal."
• Kim Kardashian & Kanye West discussing divorce - "Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West are figuring out their future and whether they are going to stay married, according to two sources close to Kardashian West who spoke to CNN."
• Tesla short sellers lost $40 billion in 2020. Elon Musk made more than triple that - "It's hard to imagine anyone has had a better year than Elon Musk did in 2020."
• The photos that made David Bowie an icon - "The pop pioneer was as remarkable in front of the camera as he was behind a microphone."
• How the pandemic could redefine our productivity obsession - "Accelerated changes to work-life routines are leading some people to radically rethink their approach to productivity - and even change the quality of their lives."
• The joys of being an absolute beginner - for life - "The phrase ‘adult beginner’ can sound patronising. It implies you are learning something you should have mastered as a child. But learning is not just for the young."
• These Are The Cars To Be Excited About In 2021 - "Car fans have an awful lot to look forward to over the next 12 months. From pocket-rockets like the Toyota Yaris GR and mass-market electric cars like the Ford Mustang Mach-E, to era-defining hypercars like the Aston Martin Valkyrie, and the joys of a booming restomod industry."
• The Best New Boutique Hotels Opening In 2021 - "There’s much to be said about the virtues of a small boutique hotel. With a charming neighborhood feel and a warm intimacy that’s almost impossible to reproduce in larger properties, these new boutique hotels prove that bigger doesn’t always mean better. Add this selection of the 15 best new small and chic boutique hotels to your travel wish list in 2021."
• You can install Samsung’s latest MicroLED TVs yourself - "Though you probably won't, if you can afford them."
• Global heating could stabilize if net zero emissions achieved, scientists say - "Climate disaster could be curtailed within a couple of decades if net zero emissions are reached, new study shows."

January 6, 2021

• Life without Covid: the nations that have sidestepped the pandemic so far - "A handful of countries - most of them islands, most of them remote - remain coronavirus-free, but life has not remained wholly unchanged."
• One in 50 people in England had Covid last week - "Figure for people outside hospitals and care homes revealed as number of new daily cases in UK tops 60,000 for first time."
• WHO team investigating virus origins denied entry to China - "A World Health Organization (WHO) team due to investigate the origins of Covid-19 in the city of Wuhan has been denied entry to China."
• Silence your inner critic: A guide to self-compassion in the toughest times - "Is your internal monologue friendly, calm and encouraging – or critical and bullying? Here is how to change it for the better."
• Why our pursuit of happiness may be flawed - "It is an emotion linked to improved health and well-being, but is our obsession with being happy a recipe for disappointment, asks Nat Rutherford."
• Why being creative is good for you - "What is the key to creativity, and how does it help our mental health?"
• Why are we learning languages in a closed world? - "Language learning spiked during lockdowns, commercial providers say. But when no-one can travel, and the job market looks unstable, why have people turned toward language now?"
• US election 2020: The people who still believe Trump won - "Weeks after President-elect Joe Biden was declared winner of November's election, there remains a deep mistrust of the electoral process among many ardent supporters of Donald Trump. It reflects a broader sentiment among conservatives, one that has profound implications for the nation and its institutions."
• Apple Watch can double as a vlogging viewfinder - "A great example of working with what you’ve got."
• Electric cars rise to record 54% market share in Norway - "Nordic country becomes first in the world where electric car sales outstrip those powered by other means."
• The gooey 'biscake' eaten by millions - "Alfajores are synonymous with Argentina - the biggest producer and consumer - where they are as central to the national culinary identity as steak and Malbec."
• This floating spaceport in Japan could bring space travel to the city - "The spaceport rises from a floating island, with the skyscrapers of an imagined Japanese metropolis in the background. It's designed to launch tourists on day trips to space, where they will be able to see the building's huge roof -- as well as glimpse the curvature of the Earth and experience zero gravity."
• Welcome To 2030: I Own Nothing, Have No Privacy & Life Has Never Been Better - "Welcome to the year 2030. Welcome to my city - or should I say, 'our city.' I don't own anything. I don't own a car. I don't own a house. I don't own any appliances or any clothes."
• Pomp & romps: how Bridgerton became the most talked about show on TV - "The Regency drama has become one of Netflix’s biggest shows of all time. Four writers explain the secrets of its success - from colourblind casting to equal-opportunities undressing."
• Trump auctions Arctic refuge to oil drillers in last strike against US wilderness - "Sales of drilling rights are the climax to one of the nation’s highest-profile environmental battles."
• North Korea: Kim Jong-un says economic plan a near-total failure at rare political meeting - "Ruler begins second Workers’ party congress by admitting strategy fell short in ‘almost all areas’."

January 5, 2021

• US Covid hospitalizations at record high as Fauci warns 'it will likely get worse' - "US hospitalizations from Covid-19 were at a record high on Sunday, at 125,544, as hospitals struggled to cope and providers made plans to ration care."
• Covid vaccinations: slow start around world brings dose of reality - "Burst of optimism over approvals has been followed by delays, shortages and bureaucratic errors."
• Germany & Denmark consider delaying second Covid vaccine dose - "Frustration at slow progress of EU inoculation programmes continues to mount."
• FDA says people need both doses of coronavirus vaccines - "Anyone who receives the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine must get two full doses, two top US Food and Drug Administration officials said Monday."
• England to enter toughest Covid lockdown since March - "Boris Johnson says restrictions will last at least seven weeks, with schools closing until February half-term."
• Many 'long Covid' sufferers unable to fully work six months later - "Respondents to global survey report 205 symptoms across 10 organ systems after infection."
• Already free of coronavirus, this Pacific Islands country could become the first in the world to be vaccinated - "A cluster of islands in the Pacific Ocean that's one of the few places on Earth entirely free from Covid-19 could become one of the first countries vaccinated against the disease."
• Covid has exposed how incompetent the British state is, from top to bottom - "It’s not just our ministers who are rotten - our whole system of government, from local to national, is at fault."
• The world's safest airlines for 2021 revealed - "There may have been far fewer airplanes in the skies this past year, but if you're looking ahead to future travel, you might take heed of the latest rankings of the world's safest airlines from AirlineRatings.com."
• Why winter weather makes it easier to catch a cold or flu - "Many of us have heard: 'Don't go outside without a coat; you'll catch a cold.'"
• Tanya Roberts: Bond girl & Charlie's Angel still alive, agent says - "US actress Tanya Roberts, best known for her roles in the James Bond film A View to a Kill and the final season of Charlie's Angels, is still alive, her representative has told the BBC."
• How to Set Goals You’ll Actually Achieve - "Whether you want to run a marathon, eat more healthfully or just get off the couch a little more, 'for the majority of people, setting a goal is one of the most useful behavior change mechanisms for enhancing performance,' says Frank Smoll, professor of psychology at the University of Washington. 'It’s highly individual,' he says - there’s no one way to achieve a goal. But these goal-setting strategies will help you stay the course."
• The four keys that could unlock procrastination - "Procrastination gets the best of all of us, to the detriment of our work, happiness and health. But a new theory could provide us with the easiest way to kick the habit."
• Why you can't smell through your television - "We can see, hear and even feel the action as it happens on screen, but odour is still missing from the list of senses that are stimulated for entertainment."
• Nine TV shows to watch in January - "From The Watch to Wandavision and the return of Snowpiercer, Eddie Mullan picks the programmes worth seeing this month."
• The best apps, games & entertainment for all of your new tech in 2020 - "Our favorites for all your new devices."
• 5 Stunning Frozen Waterfalls Around The World - "Waterfalls are sought-after destinations in the summer. Hike to one, and the cascading falls are a reward: They’re not just mesmerizing; the mist will cool you down. But waterfalls also put on a spectacular and almost other-worldly show in the winter months when their falls freeze in time."
• Assange ruling confirms US prisons' grim record, experts say - "London court ruling not to extradite WikiLeaks co-founder cites danger to his mental health and threat of suicide."
• Jack Ma: Chinese tycoon not seen since October - "Alibaba co-founder has fallen out of favour with Beijing, but observers cautious about drawing conclusions."
• Climate crisis will cause falling humidity in global cities - study - "Research says planting trees in urban areas could mitigate rising temperatures."
• Global Warming Already Baked In Will Blow Past Climate Goals, a New Study Says - "The amount of baked-in global warming, from carbon pollution already in the air, is enough to blow past international agreed upon goals to limit climate change, a new study finds."
• Rowan Atkinson 'didn't enjoy Mr Bean' as character is 'stressful & exhausting' - "Rowan Atkinson has celebrated the success of his comic creation, Mr Bean, but has said that playing the character was not as fun as it looked."

January 4, 2021

• 2020 Was a Year of Climate Extremes. What Can We Expect in 2021? - TIME Magazine.
• First patients receive Oxford vaccine - "The newly-approved coronavirus vaccine created by Oxford University and AstraZeneca is being rolled out across the UK today."
• Pope criticizes people going on holiday to avoid Covid-19 lockdowns - "The pontiff said Sunday he was 'saddened' by news reports claiming that people were flying abroad to have fun amid the pandemic."
• Trump tells Georgia election official to 'find' votes to overturn Biden win - "US President Donald Trump has been recorded telling Georgia's top election official to 'find' enough votes to overturn the election result."
• How Nancy Pelosi rose to the top - and stayed there - "Nancy Pelosi has made headlines once more after securing a fourth term as Speaker of the House of Representatives. It marks a new chapter in her nearly 50-year political career with the Democrats - and perhaps her greatest challenge yet."
• Five things you should know about Jeff Bezos - "As 2020 ended, Jeff Bezos's wealth was estimated to be more than $185bn, after he made tens of billions during the Covid-19 pandemic."
• Julian Assange cannot be extradited to US, British judge rules - "Appeal expected against the ruling, which comes after weeks of hearings at the Old Bailey."
• What the Saga of One of the World's Richest Men Reveals About China Under Xi Jinping - "Where Is Alibaba Founder Jack Ma?"
• Bitcoin hits record high on 12th anniversary of its creation - "Bitcoin has surged to a record high amid rising interest from investors and claims that the volatile cryptocurrency is on the way to becoming a mainstream payment method. On Sunday, it hit a new high of more than $34,800, on the 12th anniversary of the bitcoin network being created."
• 15 Ways to Make Your Home Office Space as Comfortable as Possible - "After COVID-19 upended offices across the globe, millions have had to work remotely. And though vaccines have begun to roll out in the U.S., chances are that many will have to continue working remotely well into the new year."
• How the way you think was shaped centuries ago - "Most research on human psychology focuses on Western societies, but the way people in the West think can be traced to changes in family structures in the Middle Ages."
• How '15-minute cities' will change the way we socialise - "A new urban planning model will change the French capital – and could provide a template for how to create stronger local communities and make residents happier."
• WhatsApp Soundly Beaten By Apple’s Stunning New iMessage Update - "WhatsApp, the world’s leading messenger with 2 billion users sending 100 billion messages each day, popularized secure messaging. But if you’re one of the hundreds of millions using WhatsApp on an iPhone, you’re in for an unwelcome surprise when you see Apple’s stunning new iMessage update."
• Bali's beaches buried in tide of plastic rubbish during monsoon season - "Tourist drawcards Kuta and Legian beaches are being overwhelmed by up to 60 tonnes of plastic rubbish every day."
• Rolls-Royce introduces a car for the 'post-opulence era' - "2021 Rolls-Royce Ghost First Drive: Luxury motoring in a ‘post-opulent’ world."

January 3, 2021

• The world in 2021 - how global politics will change this year - "Donald Trump’s departure will alter the face of geopolitics. The climate crisis and Covid response will affect all nations – while others face very particular challenges. Observer correspondents examine the 12 months ahead."
• US Covid death toll passes 350,000 amid vaccine distribution delays - "The Covid-19 death toll in the US passed 350,000 early on Sunday, as experts anticipated another surge in cases and deaths stemming from holiday gatherings over Christmas and the new year."
• Why is Britain delaying second doses of Covid vaccines? - "Health officials say delays in giving a second jab should not affect protection. Others say we shouldn’t be taking the risk. What are the facts?"
• Why Covid-19 hoax theories are so risky - "2020's alternative universe is not going away."
• Generation Z & the Covid pandemic - "The virus has not only changed young people’s day-to-day lives but also their hopes and dreams for the future."
• Larry King has been hospitalized with Covid-19 - "King, 87, has been hospitalized at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for more than a week, the source said. Due to protocols at the hospital, King's three sons have been unable to visit him, according to the source."
• After HIV, Ebola, Covid-19, doctors brace for 'disease' X - "Hunting for 'Disease X. In the Congo rainforest, the doctor who discovered Ebola warns of deadly viruses yet to come."
• These five tips will help you sleep better - "Whether you're dealing with anxiety, fighting an illness, or want to feel your best, a good night's sleep is extremely important. Here are some tips to help you sleep better."
• Bitcoin value surges past $30,000 for first time - "The virtual cryptocurrency hit $30,823.30 at 13:13 GMT on Saturday, just weeks after soaring above $20,000 for the first time. In the past year Bitcoin has almost quadrupled in value thanks to interest from large investors looking for rapid profits. Some analysts think it could rise even further as the US dollar drops further."
• Do we have to age? - "The scientist who believes getting old is a disease that can be treated The scientist who believes getting old is a disease that can be treated."
• The Case for Keto review - why a full-fat diet should be on the menu - "Gary Taubes argues persuasively that ‘those who fatten easily’ should abandon carbs altogether."
• Greta Thunberg at 18: 'I'm not telling anyone what to do' - "Environmental activist says she has stopped buying new clothes but will not criticise those who fly or have children."
• why the driverless car revolution has stalled - "As Uber parks its plans for robotaxis, experts admit the autonomous vehicle challenge is bigger than anticipated."

January 2, 2021

• Tech that can help you stick to your New Year’s resolutions - "Actually deliver on that 'new year, new you' mantra."
• 2020 Tested Us Beyond Measure. Where Do We Go From Here? - "This is the story of a year you’ll never want to revisit." TIME Magazine.
• How 2020 Will Go Down in the History Books, According to Historians - "It’s no question that 2020 has been a historic year for the U.S., but how it will affect the future remains to be seen." TIME Magazine.
• Trump versus the truth: The most outrageous falsehoods of his presidency - "'I have never seen a president in American history who has lied so continuously and so outrageously as Donald Trump, period,' presidential historian Michael Beschloss said."
• US surpasses 20 million Covid-19 cases while experts foresee tough times in January - "The US surpassed 20 million total recorded Covid-19 cases on Friday, hours after the country ushered in 2021 and left behind its deadliest month of the pandemic. The nation also has set a Covid-19 hospitalization record for four straight days. The high counts are a grim reminder that even with 2020 behind us, the pandemic continues to ravage parts of the country. And some leaders warn the worst is still ahead."
• New variant 'raises R number by up to 0.7' - "The new variant of Covid-19 is 'hugely' more transmissible than the virus's previous version, a study has found."
• 8 buildings that will shape architecture in 2021 - "The transformative buildings set to shape the world in 2021."
• Is this the most powerful word in the English language? - "The most commonly-used word in English might only have three letters - but it packs a punch."
• Canada's mysterious lake monster - "For generations, a mythical beast has been said to lurk in the depths of Okanagan Lake. But now a new view on British Columbia’s most revered serpent is taking hold."
• How Nine-Year-Old Ryan Kaji, YouTube’s $30 Million Man, Just Keeps Getting Richer - "A crackdown on child advertising clipped Ryan’s World revenue this year. Hedging YouTube kept him at the head of the pack."
• The Age of Fitness by JÜrgen Martschukat review - why we are obsessed - "Do we think of people who keep fit as more successful? The history and politics of an idea."
• Events horizon: the films, music, art & more to get excited about in 2021 - "From the return of live comedy to a cornucopia of video game releases, it’s going to be a big year for ... pretty much everything."

January 1, 2021

• New Year's celebrations around the world - "We can finally say goodbye to 2020, a messy, tragic year. But because of the coronavirus pandemic there won't be many of the mass celebrations we're used to seeing. Many cities have even canceled their fireworks shows. Here's how cities around the world rang in the new year."
• In pictures: New Year, but not quite as we know it - "Millions around the world have been seeing out 2020 and marking the start of 2021, although the coronavirus pandemic has forced many celebrations behind closed doors."
• Watch Australia's 2021 Sydney Harbour New Year fireworks celebrations - YouTube.
• 2021 - the story of a year in 12 leaders - "In 2021, the world will slowly begin to fight back against Covid. But what else will change as the vaccines are administered? Here are the figures who will shape a vital year."
• 2021 is going to be a nightmare for Europe - "2020 was a terrible year for Europe. 2021 is unlikely to be much better."
• A different world: could 2021 be the best year for a generation? - "With the worst potentially behind us, we can be optimistic that somewhere better lies ahead."
• Covid-19 hospitalizations across the US are the highest they've ever been as nation rings in new year - "As the US ushered in 2021, more than 125,300 Covid-19 patients remained hospitalized -- another record for the fourth day in a row."
• From covfefe to the Mooch: 10 funny moments from the Trump presidency - "Amid four years of corruption, caging children and trashing democracy there were some light-hearted moments - no really."
• 21 places to go in 2021 - "CNN Travel has compiled its list of 21 places to visit in 2021. We're fully aware that some of these destinations may remain off limits for some time to come and that embarking on a trip may not be advisable."
• Backpacking is a rite of passage for many travelers. Covid could end it forever - "Backpacking trips have been something of a rite of passage for young people for almost 70 years. Whether you're setting off around the world, or exploring a particular region, country, or city, taking off with a few belongings and moving from destination to destination remains a hugely attractive prospect for those searching for fun and adventure."
• The benefits of having many lovers - "We often see a relationship as an exclusive understanding between two people. But this norm is increasingly coming under scrutiny as people find other ways to redefine romantic love."
• The Year’s Best Stories On Sustainability In Europe - Forbes.
• Here's Everything New on Netflix in January 2021 - And What's Leaving - TIME Magazine.
• Does the key to anti-ageing lie in our bones? - "Osteocalcin, a hormone produced in the bones, could one day provide treatments for age-related issues such as muscle and memory loss."
• Two weeks with Apple Fitness+ - "A good way to start your fitness journey but not a long-term option (yet)."
• Fresh fears for Tokyo Olympics as host city sees surge in Covid-19 infections - "In the nine months since the first postponement in the modern Games’ 124-year history, Olympic officials have found themselves wrongfooted by the virus at every turn. Far from the communal celebration of sport envisaged by Abe, the harsh realities of Covid-19 have forced them to lower their expectations."
• THE 8TH WONDER OF THE WORLD - "In exchange for billions in tax subsidies, Foxconn was supposed to build an enormous LCD factory in the tiny village of Mount Pleasant, creating 13,000 jobs. Three years later, the factory - and the jobs - don’t exist, and they probably never will. Inside the empty promises and empty buildings of Wisconn Valley."
• The end of plastic? New plant-based bottles will degrade in a year - "Carlsberg and Coca-Cola back pioneering project to make ‘all-plant’ drinks bottles."
• Malena Ernman on daughter Greta Thunberg: ‘She was slowly disappearing into some kind of darkness’ - "A new book by Greta Thunberg’s mother reveals the reality of family life during her daughter’s transformation from bullied teenager to climate icon."
• George Orwell is out of copyright. What happens now? - "Much of the author’s work may have fallen into public ownership in the UK, but there are more restrictions on its use remaining than you might expect, explains his biographer."