Armenia celebrated President Joe Biden's
recognition of the massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire during
World War I as genocide on Saturday, as Turkey summoned the U.S.
ambassador and strongly condemned the move.
"Each year on this
day, we remember the lives of all those who died in the Ottoman-era
Armenian genocide and recommit ourselves to preventing such an atrocity
from ever again occurring," Biden said in a statement released on the
annual Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day.
In acknowledging of the
deaths of 1.5 million Armenians as genocide, Biden went further than his
predecessors in the White House after years of careful language on the
issue. The move risks fracturing America's relationship with Turkey, a
longtime U.S. ally and NATO partner.
Armenian
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sent Biden a letter praising his
statement. "I highly appreciate your principled position, which is a
powerful step on the way to acknowledging the truth, historical justice,
and an invaluable of support for the descendants of the victims of the
Armenian Genocide," Pashinyan wrote.
In a tweet, Armenian
President Armen Sirkissian stated that the move "opens new prospects for
US-Armenian relations. It also makes this world a better place!"
Meanwhile, officials in Turkey quickly denounced Biden's remarks and summoned the US Ambassador to Ankara.
In a statement,
Turkey said its foreign minister, Sedat Onal, has told ambassador David
Satterfield that Biden's remarks caused "wounds in ties that will be
hard to repair." Onal also reportedly told Satterfield that Turkey
"rejected it, found it unacceptable and condemned in the strongest
terms."\
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
said, "We have lived together in peace in this land for centuries, we
find peace under the shadow of our crescent and star flag."
Ankara
acknowledges that many Armenians were killed amid clashes in the
Ottoman Empire, but refutes the number of deceased and insists that the
events should not be considered a genocide.
During his 2020 presidential race, Biden's campaign promised
that if elected, "Joe will recognize the Armenian Genocide and make
universal human rights a top priority for his administration so that
such a tragedy can never occur again."
Earlier this week, a group of 100 bipartisan lawmakers signed a letter spearheaded by California Rep. Adam Schiff urging Biden to stand by his word and "recognize the Armenian Genocide."
Americans of Armenian descent also celebrated the move on Saturday. In an Instagram
post, reality TV star Khloe Kardashian wrote, "Thank you for honoring
the stories, the pain, suffering and loss of the Armenian people. Today
we honor our ancestors on Armenian Remembrance Day."
A couple of days ago,Morgan Stanley warned that China's new digital renminbi - the first "central bank digital currency" (or CBDC) - could cement its status as the next reserve currency. But
as government and Wall Street continue their embrace of virtual
currencies that, some say, threaten to blow up the industry status quo
and eliminate the need for banks, corporations are also striving to create the stablecoin of the future, challenging governments' long-held monopoly on money.
Years
after Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg first declared his intention to launch
a transnational stablecoin via Facebook's "Libra" project that would,
he hoped, enable cross-border payments on Facebook's platform, the
Facebook-backed digital-currency project Diem is reportedly planning to
launch its first stablecoin in 2021 as a small-scale pilot, according to an anonymously sourced report from CNBC.
But
Libra, which involved a convoluted plan to launch a stablecoin backed
by a potpourri of fiat currencies, was quickly scaled back after
Facebook's talk about creating a new international financial system to
supplant the dollar apparently rattled too many feathers. What
was left was later spun off as Diem, a re-branding that has given life
to a scaled-back vision of corporate stablecoin dominance.
However, When it finally arrives, Diem won’t come with the same fanfare
and controversy of the original idea envisioned by the social media
giant nearly two years ago.
The person, who preferred
to remain anonymous as the details haven’t yet been made public, said
this pilot will be small in scale, focusing largely on transactions
between individual consumers. There may also be an option for users to
buy goods and purchases, the person added. However, there is no
confirmed date for the launch and timing could therefore change.
"It’s really drifted off the radar in a way that’s quite striking," Michael Casey, chief content officer of the cryptocurrency publication CoinDesk and a former financial journalist, told CNBC.
Facebook
won't play an official role in the launch, which instead will be
overseen by the Diem Association, the Switzerland-based nonprofit which
oversees diem’s development.
In comments to CNBC, financial
journalist Michael Casey said he was surprised at how under-the-radar
the diem project has become. It's almost as if the international
community has forgotten about it, he said. "It really drifted off the radar in a way that’s quite striking," said
Casey, the chief content officer of the cryptocurrency publication
CoinDesk who was one of the first reporters at a major American
newspaper (the Wall Street Journal) to cover the rise of crypto.
The
soft reaction to Diem is also surprising considering how much of a
backlash its predecessor created. "It was such a stunning challenge to
the international order, in that the backlash was just really powerful,"
Casey said.
Diem has lost several senior executives over the past
year, as well as the backing of powerful corporations like Mastercard
and Visa, among many others.
But in the wake of its rebranding, Diem is reportedly in talks with
Swiss financial regulators to secure a payment license, a crucial step
that would place the organization further along the path toward getting
its digital currency project off the ground.
Of course, more
"government sponsored" competitors are in the works: in addition to the
eRMB, the ECB recently concluded a public consultation on a digital euro
and will make a decision this summer, and the Boston Fed is set to
release its initial research in the fall.
With stablecoins seen as
a more practical alternative to bitcoin and ether, we will be closely
watching the rollout of stablecoins as a space where
corporations might win an early victory in the battle to use crypto
technology to seize the money-making monopoly from government - and from
the people.
To sum up, why should readers be
skeptical of Facebook's Diem? Well, Tom Luongo once described it as a
"Trojan Rabbit" that could quietly help Zuck seize the ability to print
money, and launch "the Central Bank of Facebook."
For many people who have lost their significant others, sex dolls
have provided one way to ease the pain of grief and loneliness.
However, sex robot company Lux Botics is taking things one step further – by offering a clone of dead partners using state-of-the-art three-dimensional modeling.
With demand for sex dolls booming amid the ongoing pandemic and lockdowns across the world, Lux Botics is offering “ultra-realistic humanoids” to satisfy the carnal needs of the singles without any other recourse.
The company’s flagship “Adult Companion” model called Stephanie goes for USD $6,000 on the Lux Botics website.
The model includes speech control, facial recognition, a “hyper realistic eyes” option and even the option of implanted real hair, as well as limited AI capabilities.
However, the company also offers the option of creating a facsimile of a lost loved one.
The
company can either create a 3D model through detailed modeling prior to
it being printed in ultra-fine resolution, or it can rely on photos of
the individual.
A mould would then be constructed based on the 3D
model, complete with a robot skeleton. The robot is then painted and
fitted with the lips, nails, eyebrows and other features the customer
chooses.
“We can make robots that talk but we have not made robots that truly walk on their own,” Lux Botics co-founder Bjorn told Daily Star UK.
“We hope to develop this in the near future. We can make a large number of body parts that can move in a realistic manner.”
While the company hasn’t yet created body doubles, Lux Botics is offering the choice to customers.
Since
the start of the pandemic, people have been desperate to cope with the
solitude of self-isolation and lockdown measures. While many have
resorted to traditional measures like purchasing a pet or using dating
apps, sex doll sales have also skyrocketed as people seek an emotional
crutch.
Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images, Getty Images (3)
Foreign-based
actors, principally in China and Russia, are spreading online
disinformation rooted in QAnon conspiracy theories, fueling a movement
that has become a mounting domestic terrorism threat, according to new
analysis of online propaganda by a security firm.
The analysis by
the Soufan Center, a New York-based research firm focused on national
security threats, found that nearly one-fifth of 166,820 QAnon-related
Facebook posts between January 2020 and the end of February 2021
originated from overseas administrators.
An advance copy of the report, which is being released today, was provided to Yahoo News.
“It’s
very alarming,” said Jason Blazakis, a senior research fellow at the
Soufan Center and a former State Department counterterrorism official
who is one of the authors of the report. “We have enough problems
without the amplification of conspiracy theories by foreign actors, and
that foreign impact really does stir up a hornet’s nest.”
The
report injects a new element into the debate about how to counter QAnon —
a bizarre but increasingly widespread conspiracy movement that has
pushed the idea that the U.S. government is secretly run by Satan
worshipers involved in a global sex trafficking ring.
Speaking to lawmakers last week,
FBI Director Christopher Wray expressed concern that the extremist
nature of the movement could lead to violence, citing as an example the
Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol. He said the bureau is preparing a
formal “threat assessment” of QAnon that he expects to share with
Congress “very shortly.”
QAnon conspiracy theorists protest the California coronavirus lockdown in May 2020 in San Diego. (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
Despite
the outlandish nature of QAnon claims, the report also suggests that
adherents to the movement’s conspiracy theories may be far more
prevalent than some previous studies have shown. A new poll of 9,308
U.S. adults, conducted for the Soufan Center by Limbik, a data analytics
firm, found that between 20 and 23 percent of respondents
self-identified as a QAnon believer, member or supporter — figures far higher than in some earlier surveys.
The
numbers became even higher when those polled were asked about specific
issues that QAnon has emphasized. For example, when asked whether they
believe “elites, politicians and/or celebrities are involved in global
pedophile rings,” 35.8 percent said they did, up from 26.7 percent from a
similar sample last December.
Asked whether they believe COVID-19
was created in a lab, 30.6 percent said they did in February compared
to 29.1 percent in December. The survey in February also found that 25
percent supported the actions of the Jan. 6 insurrectionists.
A
man with a Q sign before a campaign rally featuring Donald Trump and
Republican Senate candidate Rep. Lou Barletta in August 2018 in
Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (Matt Rourke/AP)
These
data points, the report concludes, suggest that there may be a
“significant cognitive opening” among the U.S. population “that makes
Americans more susceptible to further radicalization within the QAnon
movement.”
If true, it is an opening that, according to the
report, foreign actors are aggressively seeking to exploit. Limbik,
which uses artificial intelligence and other techniques to sift through
huge volumes of data, analyzed Facebook content that pushed
QAnon-related content and concluded a significant portion was coming
from overseas, apparently for the purpose of sowing societal discord or
distrust about the American political process.
Zach Schwitzky, the
founder of the firm, acknowledged in an interview that identifying
foreign content was not “an exact science” since there is rarely
publicly available account information about individuals or groups who
post on Facebook. But by conducting linguistic analysis of the posts and
logos or photos posted, the firm was able to unmask Russian, Chinese,
Saudi and Iranian actors who were posting messages or stories that
advanced QAnon beliefs about child sex trafficking rings, election
fraud, vaccines and COVID-19 and related issues.
A
Q-Anon conspiracy theorist at a protest at the Oregon Capitol in Salem
in May 2020. (John Rudoff/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
For
much of last year, the report found, Russian actors dominated the
foreign QAnon space on Facebook. But they have been overtaken in recent
months by those based in China as the government there has ramped up its
disinformation efforts in response to increased tensions with the
United States, the report says. From Jan. 1 to Feb. 28, 2021, 58 percent
of foreign-based QAnon posts came from administrators in China — more
than double that from Russian administrators, the Limbik analysis found.
The
Limbik analysis was unable to say whether the Russian or Chinese
administrators posting the material on Facebook were acting as part of a
government operation. But Blazakis, the former State Department
official, said: “Do I think the Russian and Chinese governments have
awareness of this? I think the answer is absolutely yes.” He noted in
particular the “firewall” the Chinese government uses to block foreign
content it disapproves of from penetrating the internet in that country,
while tightly monitoring content within the country.
“In China,
nothing is going to be done without the Chinese government being aware
of it,” he said. “I think there is at a minimum tacit support for the
amplification we’re seeing.”
A Facebook spokesperson said the
company couldn’t comment on the report because it hadn’t yet had a
chance to review it. But the spokesperson said it took “aggressive
action” to stop the spread of dangerous content on its platform last
year by expanding its “Dangerous Individuals and Organizations” policy
to include foreign conspiracy networks. This has resulted in the removal
of about 3,300 pages, 10,500 groups and 27,300 Instagram accounts that
were spreading QAnon content. “We remain vigilant to this evolving
threat so we can stay ahead of it and keep people safe,” the
spokesperson said.
Everyone’s
version of essential workers is different when it comes to vaccinating
the population. Some think health workers should be at the front of the
line, others think teachers.
In Vancouver, sex workers are now getting priority treatment.
The
PACE Society, an organization in the city’s Downtown Eastside which
“provides support, advocacy, and education by, with, and for current and
former sex workers of all genders,” is hosting a vaccination clinic for
sex workers Thursday.
“Enter through the alley,” the poster says.
PACE Society poster for a vaccination clinic for sex workers in Vancouver.
The clinic is for a first shot only and is being presented as a way to “protect yourself and those around you!”
It
was just days ago that police and other frontline responders in Surrey,
a COVID hotspot in the Lower Mainland, were given their first shot of
the COVID-19 vaccine.
“I am pleased to advise you that we have
received approval from the province and Fraser Health for all Surrey
detachment staff (all categories of members and municipal employees) to
receive vaccines on a priority basis,” RCMP Assistant Commissioner Brian
Edwards wrote in a memo to staff.
Like
many other provinces, British Columbia has been allocating vaccine
doses primarily through age ranges with some occupations getting earlier
access. Right now, with some exceptions, vaccination appointments for
the general public are open to those 50 years of age and older, with
those over 40 able to book appointments starting next week.
So far, more than one million residents have received a COVID-19 vaccination.
A sex trade worker is pictured in downtown Vancouver in this file photo.Photo by Jonathan Hayward /THE CANADIAN PRESS
During the
monsoon, a team of scientists from India and China embarked on a fungal
foray in Assam. Over the course of two weeks, they were amazed by the
vast diversity of fungi in the region: hundreds of species of fungi were
spotted, some of which were new to science.
After hearing reports from locals of “electric mushrooms”, they headed to West Jaintia Hills District in Meghalaya. It
was a drizzly night and a local person guided the team to a bamboo
forest, which is part of a community forest, and asked them to switch
off their torches.
A
minute later, the group was awestruck by what they saw: in the midst of
the darkness an eerie green glow emerged from dead bamboo sticks that
were smothered in tiny mushrooms. The fungus emits its own light – a
phenomenon known as bioluminescence.
File
One among the world's 97 glowing species
The new species — named Roridomyces phyllostachydis — was first sighted on a wet August night near a stream in Meghalaya’s
Mawlynnong in East Khasi Hills district and later at Krang Shuri in
West Jaintia Hills district. It is now one among the 97 known species of
bioluminescent fungi in the world.
Interestingly, local residents used the glowing bamboo sticks as natural torches to navigate the forest at night. Steve Axford, a fungal photographer who accompanied the team, set up a small studio and took photos.
Upon
closer observation, the team noticed that only the stipes (stalks) of
the mushroom lit up and they suspected it could be a new species, said
Gautam Baruah, who leads the Rural Futures initiative at the Balipara
Foundation in Assam and is a co-author of the report. A detailed
examination in the laboratory had confirmed their suspicion: it was a
new species from the genus Roridomyces—and the first fungus in this
genus to be discovered from India.
File
This
mushroom was only found growing on dead bamboo (Phyllostachys mannii).
Special elements could be present in the bamboo substrate that this
fungus prefers, said Samantha Karunarathna, senior mycologist at the
Chinese Academy of Sciences and lead author of the report She added that
more research is needed to understand why they grow on this bamboo
species.
Other glowing fungi in India
So
far this mushroom is known from Krang Shuri, West Jayantia Hills
District and Mawlynnong, East Khasi Hills District in Meghalaya.
Only a few species of glowing fungi have been reported from India. Two
have been reported from the Western Ghats, one in the Eastern Ghats, and
one in the state of Kerala, among others. Glowing fungi have also been
spotted in the forests of Maharashtra and Goa (part of the Western
Ghats) but they have not been scientifically reported. Karunarathna
believes the actual number of bioluminescent fungi in India should be
higher.
File
A 2015 study showed that bioluminescence in Neonothopanus gardneri, a large, bright mushroom
that grows at the base of young palm trees in Brazilian coconut
forests, is under the control of a circadian clock. The activity of the
enzymes involved in producing light peaks at night and this regulation
implies that the lights serve a purpose.
Three journalists working with a multimedia news organisation have fled
the military junta and taken shelter in border town Moreh
A forum of Manipur journalists has appealed to the
State government not to send back three of their Myanmar counterparts
who fled the military junta and have taken shelter in border town Moreh.
The
All Manipur Working Journalists’ Union (AMWJU) also asked the
government to give the three journalists a safe passage to the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in New Delhi for seeking official
refugee status under the international convention on refugees.
“As
a journalist body, we are alarmed by the prevailing situation in
Myanmar, especially by the fate of the media and mediapersons in the
country,” a statement issued by AMWJU president Bijoy Kakchingtabam
said.
The
three journalists from Mizzima, a multimedia news organisation in
Myanmar, crossed over to Moreh a few days ago. Manipur-based journalists
said the trio had been apprehensive about being pushed back into
Myanmar by the Indian security forces.
“The
union appeals to the Manipur government to make necessary concessions
to allow the journalists to come to (State capital) Imphal and all
facilities be extended to them so that they can proceed to Delhi to seek
the protection of the UNHCR,” the statement said.
After the coup
in February, the Myanmar military had revoked Mizzima’s licence,
arrested several of its journalists, raided its office in Yangon and
froze its bank account.
The AMWJU alluded to a letter by the
Ministry of Home Affairs to the north-eastern States bordering Myanmar
not to let “illegal migrants” from that country in. “That letter is with
reference to illegal migrants but the Mizzima journalists at Moreh are
obviously refugees seeking asylum within India due to prosecution in
their country,” the union said.
Myanmar lawmakers
More
Myanmar nationals are fleeing to adjoining Mizoram than Manipur.
Officials in Mizoram capital Aizawl said a majority of some 2,200 people
who have crossed over are police and fire service personnel and
teachers.
Among them are 14 lawmakers from ethnic minority groups
in Myanmar. A few of them are members of that country’s Parliament
while the others represent a lower House equivalent to the Assembly of a
State in India.
“People are coming in every day, but we cannot
turn them away on humanitarian grounds. Many are hiding in the jungles
along the border waiting for an opportunity to cross over,” V.L.T.
Bawihtlung, president of Mizo Zirlai Pawl (students’ union), said.
Six
Mizoram districts — Champhai, Siaha, Lawngtlai, Serchhip, Hnahthial and
Saitual — share 510 of the 1,643 km land border that India shares with
Myanmar.
The Manipur High Court's order citied "false affidavit" submission to the Election Commission by Okram Henry
The election of Okram Henry Singh was cancelled by the Manipur High Court
Guwahati: The
Manipur High Court on Thursday cancelled the election of MLA Okram
Henry who was elected from Wangkhei assembly constituency in the 2017
Manipur assembly polls. The judgement was given by a single-bench of
Justice MV Muralidaran to an election petition filed by Yumkham Erabot
Singh, the BJP candidate who contested against the Congress's Mr Henry.
Mr
Singh alleged that Mr Henry "deliberately misrepresented his
educational qualification" and "concealed a criminal case to the
Election Commission of India in his affidavit for the 11th Manipur
Legislative Assembly elections 2017."
The court order citied
"false affidavit" submission to the Election Commission and made the
petitioner, a second-highest scorer in the 2017 elections, as "duly
elected as a member of 15-Wangkhei Assembly Constituency."
In the 2017 assembly election, Mr Henry got 16,753 votes to beat Mr Singh, who won 12,417 votes.
Mr
Singh had cited in the petition that Mr Henry filed his highest
educational qualification as BA from Punjab University in his
nomination, and filed "Class XII from Manipur Public School, CBSE" as
highest educational qualification in his nomination in the 2017
election.
Mr Singh said Mr Henry had not disclosed about a criminal case and a narcotics case against him to the Election Commission.
Mr
Henry, who contested the 2017 election from Congress, is the nephew of
former Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh from Congress. He left
the Congress in August last year after resigning along with five other
Congress MLAs and joined the BJP.
3 Comments In
September last year, Chief Minister N Biren Singh dropped six cabinet
ministers and inducted five new MLAs, including Mr Henry. He held the
portfolios of social welfare, cooperation and MAHUD.
