JAPAN AIMS TO PUT A PERSON ON THE MOON BY LATE 2020S

Japan on Tuesday revised the timetable for its space exploration plans  to land a Japanese  on the moon by the second half of the 2020s.

 “Space is not just a border that gives people hope and dreams of economic society in terms of our economic security,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said at a meeting to finalize the plan.

According to the preliminary schedule of the plan, Japan intends to participate in the Artemis program, one of U.S. led initiative aimed at bringing astronauts back to the moon, bringing the first non-American to the moon.

The plan also outlines Japan’s ambitions to launch a probe to explore Mars in 2024 and find ways to generate solar power in space.

Neighboring China is also aiming to become a major space power by 2030 and also plans to land astronauts on the moon, increasing the possibility of an Asian space race.

In May, China became the second country to put a rover on Mars two years later.

After the landing of the first spaceship on the other side of the moon, his space exploration goals were announced a week after Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa returned to Earth after 12 days on board the International Space Station and became the first space tourist to travel to Earth is ISS in more than a decade.

Source: Tech Crunch

WATCH: WORLD RINGS IN NEW YEAR UNDER COVID CLOUD

Happy New Year İn Advance To Everyone

The world began  on Friday with the inauguration of 2022 after another turbulent and pandemic-ridden year, limited by new restrictions, a rising number of cases, and a slight glimmer of hope for better times.

 The first Olympic Games without spectators and  the  dreams of democracy from Afghanistan to Myanmar to Hong Kong are being smashed by authoritarian regimes.

But it was the pandemic, now entering its third year, that once again dominated  most people’s lives. More than 5.4 million people have died since the coronavirus was first reported in central China in December 2019, and countless more have fallen ill, exposed to outbreaks, bans, bans and an alphabetical spaghetti of PCR testing, LFT and RAT.

The year 2021 began with hope when life-saving vaccines were used in around 60 percent of the world’s population, though many of their poor still have limited access and some of the rich believe the coups are part of an unclear plot.

When it came to an end, the appearance of the Omicron variant caused the number of  new cases of Covid-19 to rise to more than a million for the first time, according to an AFP balance sheet.

France became the last country to announce on Friday that Omicron is now its dominant coronavirus strain. In the UK, the US and even Australia, a long-standing haven from the pandemic, the variant’s prominence is generating new record cases.

Parts of the Pacific nation of Kiribati were the first to greet the New Year from 1000 GMT.

In San Francisco, the festivities have been canceled or reduced again  as infections increase.

One notable exception, however, was South Africa, which was the first country to report Omicron  in November, where the curfew was lifted to allow the festivities.

Health officials said  a drop in infections over the past week shows the current wave has peaked, crucially without a significant increase in deaths. Sydney, Australia’s largest city, has also opted for fireworks that will light up the city, port, despite being one of the fastest growing cases in the world.

The country’s Conservative government says its decision to abandon a “Covidzero” approach was based on vaccination rates and increasing evidence that Omicron is less lethal.

Tens of thousands of night owls were expected to populate Sydney Beach, although AFP journalists said the city was quieter than normal at nightfall.

“I’m just trying to focus on the positive things that happened this year instead of thinking about all of the bad things that happened,” said Melinda, a 22-year-old medical student.

Howard, part of an enthusiastic but smaller than usual crowd waiting at the Opera House for the show to begin.

Despite numerous infections in the United Arab Emirates, Dubai is planning fireworks at the Burj Khalifa, the  tallest tower in the world.

Meanwhile, the northern Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah is trying to break two world records with  huge fireworks.

“Just a wish” In Rio, the celebrations on Copacabana Beach will take place in a reduced format, although many night owls are still expected.

“People have only one wish to leave their homes, to celebrate life,” said a 45-year-old waiter on Copacabana Beach said Francisco Rodrigues.

Some Brazilians are more careful, like Roberta Assis, a 27-year-old lawyer. “This is not the time for big meetings,” he said. The authorities in Seoul are showing similar caution and instead prohibit viewers from ringing the traditional midnight bell.

In India, fearing a repetition of the devastating surge in the virus  that overwhelmed the country in April and May, cities and states have imposed assembly restrictions and Delhi put a curfew at 10 p.m. Mumbai police put nighttime bans on people on Friday Enact visiting public places such as city beaches and boardwalks, which are usually popular attractions in the New Year, with two-week restrictions.

The health organization warned of difficult times, saying Omicron could lead to “a tsunami of cases”.”This … will continue to put immense pressure on exhausted health workers and health systems that are on the verge of collapse,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

But the restrictions have again led to frequent, loud and sometimes violent protests against the blockade, vaccinations and the government. Experts and non-experts alike hope that 2022 will be remembered as the new, less deadly phase of the pandemic.

“Be better for everyone,” said  Oscar Ramirez, a 31-year-old Sydney night owl. “Everyone in the world needs a big change.


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Source: Tech Crunch

Experts warn Omicron ‘blizzard’ to disrupt U.S. for next month

Omicron

Health experts warned Americans on Thursday  that a rising tide of COVID19 cases, led by the Omicron variant, threatened major disruptions in their lives, from schools to shopping, and urged them to prepare now for a challenging month.

The United States had a record seven-day average of new cases, with more than 290,000 new infections reported daily, a Reuters tally showed.

According to the record, at least 18 states and Puerto Rico have set pandemic records for new cases. Maryland, Ohio and Washington, DC also saw record hospital admissions as  U.COVID hospital admissions rose 27%.

The increase is due to an increase in vacation travel as New Years celebrations are yet to come and  schools grapple with students returning to classrooms after the winter break.

“We will see the number of cases in this country rise so dramatically that it will be difficult for us to keep everyday life going,” said Dr. Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert from the University of Minnesota, told MSNBC.


“Next month is going to be a viral blizzard,” he said. “It is putting pressure on society as a whole. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease official, said Wednesday that cases are likely to increase by the end.

” He and other U.S. health officials  said early data shows Omicron appears less severe, but they have continued to push for vaccines, masks, and physical distance.

Services, schools and retailers among others in the coming weeks. “We have to be very careful not to underestimate Omicron too much,” said Dr. Peter Hoetz, an infectious disease expert at Baylor College of Medicine, told CNN.

It is also worrying that healthcare workers are being marginalized with their own COVID cases  as well as less effective therapies, said Hoetz.

“We are at a pretty serious time. As early as early 2020, 825,663 people  in the United States have died of COVID, the data showed, with the latest wave of hospital admissions for the unvaccinated being driven.

” President Joe Biden announced new news this month. plans to tackle the Omicron-powered wave, including federal reinforcements to hospitals and more testing, but some experts say it’s too little and too late.


So far, however, the economy appears to be stable, even if some economists are cautioned. While air traffic was largely disrupted and stores closed and events canceled in some troubled areas, other measures  such as the Christmas sales were maintained.

The labor market is also  holding up: the new applications for state unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level in the pandemic era, the Ministry of Labor announced on Thursday. small businesses, he said he expected the first week of January to be slower than Omicron’s forecast.

“The rest of January will likely depend on state and community health policies and epidemiological data,” Greenberg told Reuters. Keys, especially for working parents, with systems in Washington and New York promising to stay open with further testing.

Education Minister Miguel Cardona admitted the problem was staffing  but urged schools to take measures to keep the children in classrooms. Unlike last year’s closings, “we now have better tools. They should stay open, ”he told MSNBC, adding that federal funding continues to be available to increase staffing levels and testing.

In the meantime, some universities have postponed their next semesters or have gone online. “We have light at the end of the tunnel,” said Osterholm. “But now you have to duck.

Source: Tech Crunch

South Africa lifts curfew as it says COVID-19 fourth wave peaked

South Africa  lifted the nightly curfew at 4 a.m. The course of the pandemic,  vaccination rates in the country and available capacity in the health sector, according to a press release from Mondli Gungubele, Minister of the Presidency, South Africa is currently at the lowest of its five phases of alert.

 “All indicators suggest that the country may have passed the peak of the fourth wave at the national level,” said a statement from the special cabinet meeting  on Thursday.

Health ministry data showed an increase in the number of newly discovered cases  in the week ending Jan.


Health ministry data showed an increase in the South Africa was the hardest hit country in Africa during the pandemic, with around 3.5 million infections and 91,000 deaths in  both cases.

In addition to lifting  restrictions on public movement, the government said meetings will be limited to no more than 1,000 people indoors and no more than 2,000 people outdoors.

It also ruled that liquor stores would be allowed to operate beyond 11 p.m. (2100GMT) could revert  to full licensing terms, which is a welcome boon for merchants and businesses hard hit by the pandemic and looking to recover over the holiday season.

The Omicron variant is highly transferable, there were lower hospitalization rates  than in the previous waves, “said the cabinet, adding that the use of masks in public places was still mandatory. Masking when required is still a crime in South Africa.

Source: Tech Crunch

Truck driver’s 110-year sentence reduced after US outcry

Kim Kardashian,

A truck driver, Rogel Aguilera Mederos, whose 110-year prison term caused outrage over a fatal accident, had his sentence reduced to 10 years on Thursday. More than 4.5 million people, including reality TV star Kim Kardashian, called for a reduction in Rogel Aguilera Mederos’s sentence.

Aguilera Mederos, a Cuban immigrant, was moving lumber in April 2019 when his brakes failed on a downhill stretch and he was not using an emergency route. Exit ramp.


His runaway truck crashed into traffic, killing four people and injuring several others.

Aguilera Mederos was convicted on 27 counts, including multiple homicides, by a jury, and a judge sentenced him to 110 years’ imprisonment, which he believed was the minimum mandatory under Colorado law.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis acted Thursday  to reduce what he said was “arbitrary and unfair” earnings.

“The length of his 110-year sentence is simply not proportionate to his actions or the sentences imposed on others for similar crimes,” he wrote in a letter to Aguilera Mederos.

“There is an urgent need to correct this unjust judgment and restore confidence in the uniformity and fairness of our criminal justice system, and as a result, I have decided to commute your sentence now 5 years.

Source: Tech Crunch

HERE’S WHY EMMA WATSON ALMOST QUIT HARRY POTTER

 

Emma watson


The original trio from the Wizarding franchise, Harry Potter, are expected to return to the silver screen next New Years Day in the 20th anniversary special when they return to Hogwarts.

 In the reunion special, two of the movie’s lead actors, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, spoke about how they were on the verge of leaving the series after season five, responsible for his childhood fame during his adolescence.

 Best known for their characters  Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, Watson and Rupert Grint made the reveal during the  special Harry Potter reunion show for the 20th anniversary.


“You were considering retiring. I never told you about it, ”Rupert joked with Emma about the days before.

 At that time, she revealed how solemnly she  wanted to leave the character: “Yes. I think she was scared.” I don’t know if you ever felt like it reached a tipping point where you said, ‘This is now forever,’ “revealed Watson.” Fame had finally come home in a big way. 

“At some point there was Grint agrees that he also had his moments of contemplation  where he would insist “what life would be  if I called it a day.” Radcliffe, aka Harry Potter, added to the conversation, saying, “Never really.

” He talked about it. I think we had it at our own pace. We were then in the moment. “However, the female lead in Harry Potter believed that” no one had to convince her to stay, “except for the love and appreciation of the fans.

Source: Tech Crunch

Fortnite Servers Go Down, Millions Of Gamers And Their Parents At Wit’s End

 


The tragedy today hit millions of houses around the world, as one of the most popular online games in the world was offline several hours.

Fortnite, which has more than 350 million players worldwide, was offline for several hours due to an unknown technical issue.
The time for parents, whose play-obsessed offspring is at home during the winter holidays and devoting themselves to their passion for hours, couldn’t have been worse.
Developer Epic Games posted on Twitter that their team is investigating an issue with the game’s servers: “Fortnite is currently unavailable and players will not be able to log in while we are investigating an issue.
We will provide more information when we have a solution to get the services back. “.” The problem has  been fixed and the game is back to working.
“Fortnite game servers are back online and  Winterfest continues! The problem occurred when Players were unable to log into the game. Several reported receiving a warning: “You are not authorized to play Fortnite.

Epic Games was also having problems.Of course, the large player base had time.
Pro Fortnite player Sypher PK joked that he could potentially run for president since his favorite time has gone.

Source: Tech Crunch

Elon Musk reveals who bitcoin's creator Satoshi Nakamoto might be

 

Musk.MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images

Elon Musk seems to agree with many that hyper-secret cryptocurrency expert Nick Szabo could be Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious creator of the digital currency Bitcoin. 

“You can watch ideas evolve before Bitcoin was launched and see who wrote about those ideas,” Musk told artificial intelligence researcher Lex Fridman on a podcast posted Tuesday when asked what he thought about the real ones Identity of Nakamoto thinks. 

The Tesla billionaire said that while he “obviously” doesn’t know exactly who created Bitcoin, Szabo’s theories seem central to the creation of cryptocurrency. “It seems that Nick Szabo is probably responsible for developing these ideas more than anyone,” he said. “He says he’s not  Nakamoto, but I’m not sure it’s neither here nor there. 

But he seems to be  responsible for the ideas behind Bitcoin more than anyone. Bitcoin was first proposed by Satoshi Nakamoto in October 2008. , a pseudonym for what people thought it could be. 

In 2014, a team of linguists examined Nakamoto’s bitcoin whitepaper along with the writings of Szabo and 10 other potential creators. They found the results undeniable. “It’s mind-boggling,” said the researchers, adding that none of the other possible writers were anywhere near as good.

A 2015 New York Times report also identifies the invention of bitcoin in Szabo, who has spoken publicly about the history of bitcoin and blockchain technology but  repeatedly  claims that he is the anonymous inventor of the digital asset. Another reason it is associated with Bitcoin is because of its origins. of the  cryptocurrency “Bit Gold” in 1998.

Source:Yahoo News

Source: Tech Crunch

Elon Musk sells another $1 billion in Tesla shares, nearing 10% target

Elon Musk

Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, stands in the foundry of the Tesla Gigafactory during a press event.

Elon Musk sold another $ 1.02 billion in Tesla Inc. stock, moving closer to his goal of reducing his stake in the electric car maker by 10 percent. US Securities and Exchange Commission. 

Musk has been selling Tesla shares since asking his Twitter followers in November if he should sell some of his stake. Musk said in a tweet last week that he was “almost done” cutting his Tesla stake by 10 percent. The latest sale brings Musk’s total number to about 15.6 million shares, for about $ 16.4 billion. 

You would have to sell around 17 million shares to get rid of 10 percent of your stake, provided your exposure excludes exercisable options.

>Tesla gained 2.3 percent in pre-market trading in the United States. The stock has gained 54 percent this year. It’s unclear whether the November poll  had anything to do with Musk’s plans. Options towards the end of the year and drew up a business plan for selling stocks ahead of his tweet. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk has net worth of $ 278.9 billion, up nearly 80% this year.

Source: Tech Crunch

Elon Musk Sells Another $1 Billion in Tesla Shares to Prep for Largest Tax Bill in History

 

Elon muskPatrick Pleul | picture alliance | Getty Images

According to financial documents released Tuesday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk sold 934,090 company shares valued at around $ 1.02 billion not to fund a McMansion on Mars.Musk said he is preparing to pay the biggest tax bill in history.

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With an estimated value of more than $ 275 billion, Musk is the richest person in the world.
As ProPublica revealed in a report earlier this year, Musk has not yet paid large sums of money in personal taxes, given that they alone pay taxpayers’ income or share taxes as soon as they do.

After exercising options to purchase nearly 1.6 million Tesla shares at an exercise price of $ 6.24 per share (given to him in his 2012 compensation package), Musk’s stake in Tesla rose to more than 177 million shares.

Now Musk is expected to face the largest  individual tax bill in US history, with state and California income taxes estimated at $ 11 billion, according to CNBC
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After Musk was named  “Person of the Year” by Time Magazine, Senator Elizabeth Warren tweeted that the government should “amend the rigged tax code so that the person of the year actually pays taxes and stops taking advantage of everyone else.”

Source: Tech Crunch