December 18, 2019

California Power Firm To Pay $1.7bn Over Wildfires

December 18, 2019 3:29 pm

A California energy supplier has reached a nearly $1.7 billion settlement with regulators for its role in causing devastating wildfires in 2017 and 2018 that killed more than 100 people in total.

Faulty Pacific Gas and Electric power lines were blamed for sparking last year’s so-called Camp Fire in northern California, the deadliest in the state’s modern history.

Under the draft deal published Tuesday, PG&E shareholders will foot the bill for wildfire-related costs, as well as forest fire-fighting measures and the upkeep of electrical equipment blamed for causing several fatal blazes.

It cannot pass the costs on to ratepayers.

PG&E …

Mega-Fan Campaigns For Princess Leia Star In Hollywood

December 18, 2019 3:28 pm

Dressed in white robes and sporting Princess Leia’s distinctive spiral bun hairstyle, Kristin Grady walks up and down Hollywood collecting signatures on behalf of her idol.

She believes the late actress Carrie Fisher deserves her own star on the Walk of Fame — and hopes this week’s new “Star Wars” film will boost her campaign.

The conclusion to nine films spanning four decades, “The Rise of Skywalker” will be the last to feature Fisher, who appears posthumously in unused footage from previous episodes.

Grady believes it may be Fisher’s last chance to take her place alongside 2,600 stars bearing the …

PSA And Fiat Chrysler Poised To Announce Merger MOU

December 18, 2019 3:27 pm

French carmaker PSA and Fiat Chrysler will on Wednesday announce a memorandum of understanding for a mega-merger to create the world’s fourth-largest auto producer, a source close to their talks said.

The MOU announcement is set to come before the Paris and Rome stock exchanges open for trading, the source added.

Earlier Tuesday another informed source said that PSA’s supervisory board had approved the deal under which shareholders in the two groups would split the capital of the merged firm on a 50/50 basis, without any plant closures.

“PSA’s supervisory board has approved the merger agreement,” the source told AFP …

Tokyo Court Rules On High-Profile Journalist Rape Case

December 18, 2019 3:27 pm

A Tokyo court will Wednesday rule on a damages lawsuit by journalist Shiori Ito, who has accused a former TV anchor with close ties to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of rape.

Ito, 30, is seeking 11 million yen ($100,000) in compensation from former reporter Noriyuki Yamaguchi, claiming he raped her after inviting her to dinner to discuss a job opportunity in 2015.

The case has made headlines in Japan and abroad, as it is rare for rape victims to report the crime to the police — according to a 2017 government survey, only four percent of women come forward.

And …

US Congress Approves Russia-Europe Gas Pipeline Sanctions

December 18, 2019 3:26 pm

The US Senate voted Tuesday to slap sanctions on companies working on Russia’s Nord Stream pipeline, sending a bill to President Donald Trump that is sure to antagonize European nations counting on the project’s natural gas.

The measure, inserted into a huge annual defense spending bill, passed 86 to eight after easily clearing the House of Representatives last week.

It aims to halt further construction of the $10.6 billion pipeline being built under the Baltic Sea and is set to double shipments of Russian natural gas to Germany.

The German-Russian Chamber of Commerce said last week the pipeline was important …

Entertainment

The 2010s In Entertainment: Binge TV, Disney And Music

December 18, 2019 3:22 pm

Every year brings an avalanche of lists about pop culture — best films, best books, best albums. Attempting to define a decade in the world of entertainment is, at best, daunting.

But hey, we are going to give it a try.

Here are some of the key trends that emerged in the 2010s in television, film and music, from the explosion of scripted series to a new generation of divas whose empires transcend the concert stage.

– Generation streaming –

AFP/File / Lionel BONAVENTURE, Chris Delmas, Emmanuel DUNANDStreaming platforms such as Spotify, Netflix and Amazon Prime have revolutionized how
…

CRISPR, Gravity, Water On Mars: A Decade Of Discoveries

December 18, 2019 3:21 pm

From finding the building blocks for life on Mars to breakthroughs in gene editing and the rise of artificial intelligence, here are six major scientific discoveries that shaped the 2010s — and what leading experts say could come next.

– Are we alone? –

 

NASA/AFP/File / HONASA’s Curiosity Mars rover, seen here, discovered rounded pebbles on the Red Planet — new evidence that rivers flowed there billions of years ago

We don’t yet know whether there was ever life on Mars — but thanks to a small, six-wheeled robot, we do know the Red Planet was habitable.

Shortly

…

US, UK Approve Roche’s $4.3bn Purchase Of Spark

December 18, 2019 3:21 pm

Swiss pharmaceuticals giant Roche said it had received the necessary approval from competition authorities to acquire US gene-therapy group Spark, after the two companies reached a multibillion-dollar deal earlier this year.

Founded in 2013, Spark Therapeutics specialises in a new and growing segment of medicine for genetic diseases such as blindness, haemophilia, and neurodegenerative conditions.

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) “unconditionally cleared Roche’s pending acquisition of Spark”, the Swiss company said in a statement on Monday.

“All antitrust approvals required to complete the offer have now been received,” it said, after confirming earlier Monday that Britain’s Competition and Markets …

Trump, Syria & Facebook: The Volatile Cocktail Of The 2010s

December 18, 2019 3:18 pm

The Arab Spring gave way to bloodletting in Syria, a refugee exodus and surging jihadist violence. Obama gave way to Trump. The United Kingdom chose to Brexit. And for many around the world, while the 2010s began with hope for a more equitable world, they end with a slide towards nationalistic populism.

The following is a look at some of the people and events that shaped the past decade:

– America divided –

The United States will begin the 2020s with Donald Trump in the Oval Office, as a president of a country riven by political, societal and economic discord …

Boeing Says To Halt 737 MAX Production Next Month

December 18, 2019 3:17 pm

Boeing said Monday it would temporarily suspend production of its globally grounded 737 MAX jets next month as safety regulators delay the aircraft’s return to the skies after two crashes.

The decision confirmed investor fears that the company’s recovery from the crisis is dragging on longer and creating more uncertainty for Boeing than executives anticipated.

Boeing’s travails since March have weighed on the US economy, holding down American manufacturing output, trade and sales of durable goods while damaging the company’s performance on Wall Street’s benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average.

In a statement, the company said it would continue to pay …

Jordan, A Blockbuster Location For Hollywood

December 18, 2019 3:17 pm

The lunar landscape of Jordan’s Wadi Rum valley gets a starring role this week when the next and final episode of the Star Wars saga opens to global audiences.

The spectacular desert, with its shimmering red sands, majestic dunes and stunning rock formations was also where Peter O’Toole was filmed riding his horse in the 1962 epic “Lawrence of Arabia”.

From Matt Damon in “The Martian” to Will Smith in Disney’s “Aladdin”, Jordanian authorities have worked to ensure the country’s diverse landscape features in some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters.

“When you travel to locations everything changes inside of you,” Smith …

Instagram Says Will Fight Misinformation With Fact-Checks

December 18, 2019 3:15 pm

Instagram on Monday went global in its fight against misinformation, making alliances with fact-checkers around the world to expose deception in shared photos or videos.

The Facebook-owned social platform launched a fact-checking program in the US early this year.

“Today’s expansion is an important step in our ongoing efforts to fight misinformation on Instagram,” the service said in an online post.

“Photo and video based misinformation is increasingly a challenge across our industry, and something our teams have been focused on addressing.”

Instagram began working with third-party allies in the US to help identify, review and label bogus posts.

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