Chipmaker TSMC Says Supplier Was Targeted in Cyberattack

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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. said Friday that a cybersecurity incident involving one of its IT hardware suppliers has led to the leak of the vendor's company data.  "TSMC has recently been aware that one of our IT hardware suppliers experienced a cybersecurity incident that led to the leak of information pertinent to server initial setup and configuration," the company said.  TMSC confirmed in a statement to Reuters that its business operations or customer information were not affected following the cybersecurity incident at its supplier Kinmax.  The TSMC vendor breach is part of a larger trend of significant security incidents affecting various companies and government entities.  Victims range from U.S. government departments to the UK's telecom regulator to energy giant Shell, all affected since a security flaw was discovered in Progress…


Deadly Heat Waves Like the One in the Southern US Becoming More Frequent and Enduring

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Heat waves like the one that engulfed parts of parts of the South and Midwest and killed more than a dozen people are becoming more common, and experts say the extreme weather events, which claim more lives than hurricanes and tornados, will likely increase in the future. A heat dome that pressured the Texas power grid and killed 13 people there and another in Louisiana pushed eastward Thursday and was expected to be centered over the mid-South by the weekend. Heat index levels of up to 112 degrees (44 Celsius) were forecast in parts of Florida over the next few days. Eleven of the heat-related deaths in Texas occurred in Webb County, which includes Laredo. The dead ranged in age from 60 to 80 years old, and many had other…


Australia to Use Psychedelic Drugs as Approved Medicines

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SYDNEY - Australia on Saturday will become one of the first countries to recognize psychedelic drugs as medicines. In February, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, Australia’s medical regulator, sanctioned use of psychedelics for some mental health conditions. Experts agree that psychedelic-assisted therapies in Australia are in their infancy. Starting Saturday, authorized psychiatrists in Australia will be able to prescribe methylenedioxy methamphetamine – MDMA, the active ingredient in such party drugs as ecstasy or molly -- to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. They will also be allowed to prescribe psilocybin, a compound found in psychotropic "magic" mushrooms, to treat depression that has not responded to other therapies. Susan Rossell, a cognitive neuropsychologist at Swinburne University in Melbourne, is conducting one of Australia’s biggest clinical trials of psilocybin. Preliminary results show significant improvements in…


Chinese, Russian Firms to Build Lithium Plants in Bolivia

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LA PAZ, BOLIVIA - Chinese and Russian companies will invest more than $1.4 billion in the extraction of lithium in Bolivia, one of the countries with the largest reserves of the mineral used in electric car batteries, the government in La Paz said Friday.   China's Citic Guoan and Russia's Uranium One Group — both with a major government stake — will partner with Bolivia's state-owned YLB to build two lithium carbonate processing plants, Bolivian President Luis Arce said at a public event.   Lithium is often described as the "white gold" of the clean-energy revolution, a highly coveted component of mobile phones and electric car batteries.   "We are consolidating the country's industrialization process," Arce said. Bolivia, which claims to have the world's largest deposits, in January also signed an…


Italian Researchers Reach the Edge of Space on Virgin Galactic’s Rocket-Powered Plane

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ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO — A team of Italian researchers reached the edge of space Thursday morning, flying aboard Virgin Galactic's rocket-powered plane as the company prepares for monthly commercial flights. The flight launched from Spaceport America in the New Mexico desert, with two Italian Air Force officers and an engineer with the National Research Council of Italy focusing on a series of microgravity experiments during their few minutes of weightless. One wore a special suit that measured biometric data and physiological responses while another conducted tests using sensors to track heart rate, brain function and other metrics while in microgravity. The third studied how certain liquids and solids mix in that very weak gravity. Virgin Galactic livestreamed the flight on its website, showing the moment when the ship released from…


Meta Oversight Board Urges Cambodia Prime Minister’s Suspension from Facebook

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Meta Platforms' Oversight Board on Thursday called for the suspension of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen for six months, saying a video posted on his Facebook page had violated Meta's rules against violent threats. The board, which is funded by Meta but operates independently, said the company erred in leaving up the video and ordered its removal from Facebook. Meta, in a written statement, agreed to take down the video but said it would respond to the recommendation to suspend Hun Sen after a review. A suspension would silence the prime minister's Facebook page less than a month before an election in Cambodia, although critics say the poll will be a sham due to Hun Sen's autocratic rule. The decision is the latest in a series of rebukes by the…


WHO to Say Aspartame a Possible Carcinogen, Sources Say

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LONDON - One of the world's most common artificial sweeteners is set to be declared a possible carcinogen next month by a leading global health body, according to two sources with knowledge of the process, pitting it against the food industry and regulators. Aspartame, used in products from Coca-Cola diet sodas to Mars' Extra chewing gum and some Snapple drinks, will be listed in July as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" for the first time by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the World Health Organization's (WHO) cancer research arm, the sources said. The IARC ruling, finalized earlier this month after a meeting of the group's external experts, is intended to assess whether something is a potential hazard or not, based on all the published evidence. It does not…


‘Godfather of AI’ Urges Governments to Stop Machine Takeover

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Geoffrey Hinton, one of the so-called godfathers of artificial intelligence, on Wednesday urged governments to step in and make sure that machines do not take control of society. Hinton made headlines in May when he announced he had quit Google after a decade of work to speak more freely on the dangers of AI, shortly after the release of ChatGPT captured the imagination of the world. The highly respected AI scientist, who is based at the University of Toronto, was speaking to a packed audience at the Collision tech conference in the Canadian city. The conference brought together more than 30,000 startup founders, investors and tech workers, most looking to learn how to ride the AI wave and not hear a lesson on its dangers. "Before AI is smarter than…


Cambodia’s Hun Sen Leaves Facebook for Telegram 

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PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA — Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, a devoted and very active user of Facebook — on which he has posted everything from photos of his grandchildren to threats against his political enemies — said Wednesday that he would no longer upload to the platform and would instead depend on the Telegram app to get his messages across.  Telegram is a popular messaging app that also has a blogging tool called "channels." In Russia and some neighboring countries, it is actively used both by government officials and opposition activists for communicating with mass audiences. Telegram played an important role in coordinating unprecedented anti-government protests in Belarus in 2020, and it currently serves as a major source of news about Russia's war in Ukraine.  Hun Sen, 70, who has…


South Koreans Become a Little Younger Under New Law

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South Korea is changing the way it calculates a person's age.  Under a new law that takes effect Wednesday, South Korea is adopting the international method that uses a person's actual date of birth to determine their age.    Under its traditional method, South Koreans are considered to be one year old at birth, including their months in the womb, and become a year older every January 1 regardless of their actual date of birth.  The new law that takes effect Wednesday means all South Koreans will officially become a year or two younger.    Officials say a separate method of calculation that uses the date a person is born and then adds a year each January 1 will remain in effect for compulsory military service, education and the legal drinking age. …


Generative AI Might Make It Easier to Target Journalists, Researchers Say

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Since the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT launched last fall, a torrent of think pieces and news reports about the ins and outs and ups and downs of generative artificial intelligence has flowed, stoking fears of a dystopian future in which robots take over the world.   While much of that hype is indeed just hype, a new report has identified immediate risks posed by apps like ChatGPT. Some of those present distinct challenges to journalists and the news industry.   Published Wednesday by New York University's Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, the report identified eight risks related to generative artificial intelligence, or AI, including disinformation, cyberattacks, privacy violations and the decay of the news industry.   The AI debate "is getting a little confused between concerns about existential dangers versus what…


Southern US Swelters in Brutal, Deadly Heat Wave

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A dangerous and prolonged heat wave blanketed large parts of the southern United States on Tuesday, buckling highways and forcing people to shelter indoors in what scientists called a climate-change supercharged event.  Excessive heat warnings were in place from Arizona in the southwest to Alabama in the southeast, with south and central Texas and the Lower Mississippi Valley worst hit, the National Weather Service said.  Victor Hugo Martinez, a 57-year-old foreman who was leading workers repairing a road in Houston, told AFP: "We can't keep up with it. It's too much, we have like 10 or 12 spots like this right now."  The crew wrapped bandanas around their heads to protect themselves from the blazing heat, with Martinez explaining they made sure to drink plenty of water and take several…


Thousands of Unauthorized Vapes Pouring Into US Despite Crackdown on Fruity Flavors

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The number of different electronic cigarette devices sold in the U.S. has nearly tripled to over 9,000 since 2020, driven almost entirely by a wave of unauthorized disposable vapes from China, according to tightly controlled sales data obtained by The Associated Press. The numbers demonstrate the Food and Drug Administration's inability to control the tumultuous vaping market more than three years after declaring a crackdown on kid-friendly flavors. Most disposables e-cigarettes, which are thrown away when they're used up, come in sweet, fruity flavors like pink lemonade, gummy bear and watermelon that have made them the favorite tobacco product among teenagers. All of them are technically illegal because they haven't been authorized by the FDA. Once a niche market, cheaper disposables made up 40% of the roughly $7 billion retail…


Deforestation Down in Indonesia Amid Increases Elsewhere

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Deforestation rates are near record lows in Indonesia, home to the world's third-largest rainforests. It's one of the few bright spots in an otherwise grim annual report, on the loss of forests worldwide, from the environmental research and policy group World Resources Institute. Overall, the world lost 4.1 million hectares of undisturbed tropical forest last year, an area the size of Switzerland, according to WRI. That's a 10% increase from 2021. The loss of forest released as much planet-warming carbon dioxide as all the fossil fuels burned in India in 2021. Deforestation reverses the CO2 removal function that trees perform. It raises local temperatures and disrupts rainfall patterns. World leaders pledged to end deforestation by the end of the decade during climate negotiations in Glasgow in 2021. "Are we on…


New Quest Aims to Settle Debate Over Which River Is Longest – Amazon or Nile

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Which is the longest river in the world, the Nile or the Amazon? The question has fueled a heated debate for years. Now, an expedition into the South American jungle aims to settle it for good.    Using boats run on solar energy and pedal power, an international team of explorers plans to set off in April 2024 to the source of the Amazon in the Peruvian Andes, then travel nearly 7,000 kilometers (4,350 miles) across Colombia and Brazil, to the massive river's mouth on the Atlantic. "The main objective is to map the river and document the biodiversity" of the surrounding ecosystems, the project's coordinator, Brazilian explorer Yuri Sanada, told AFP.    The team also plans to make a documentary on the expedition.    Around 10 people are known to have traveled…


Nigerian Doctor Backs Out of Vaccine Alliance Leadership

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Muhammad Ali Pate, a Harvard professor who has held top health jobs in Nigeria, has relinquished the top job at the Gavi global vaccine alliance, the organization announced Monday. Pate, a medical doctor trained in internal medicine and infectious disease, was due to assume the helm on August 3, Gavi had announced in February, taking over from U.S. medical epidemiologist Seth Berkley, who had been in charge since 2011. Pate informed Gavi "that he has taken an incredibly difficult decision to accept a request to return and contribute to his home country, Nigeria," the statement said, without further details about the decision. Gavi's Chief Operating Officer David Marlow will instead assume the position of Interim Chief Executive Officer while a search for a new CEO continues. The Gavi vaccine alliance…


Could Australia’s Red Outback Dust Unlock Life on Mars Questions? 

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Researchers from the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration are in Australia carrying out research that will help future missions to Mars. The NASA delegation is looking for the earliest signs of life on Earth that will eventually be compared to rocks brought back from Mars. NASA officials have said that parts of the Pilbara region in Western Australia are like “stepping back in time.” Some areas date to 3.5 billion years old. In the red Outback dust, they have found some of the earliest evidence of life on Earth — fossils of ancient microorganisms encased in rocks. The NASA team plans to compare these terrestrial samples with those brought back from Mars to see if they have any similar characteristics. NASA says it could be well over a decade…


The Next Big Advance in Cancer Treatment Could Be a Vaccine

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The next big advance in cancer treatment could be a vaccine. After decades of limited success, scientists say research has reached a turning point, with many predicting more vaccines will be out in five years. These aren't traditional vaccines that prevent disease, but shots to shrink tumors and stop cancer from coming back. Targets for these experimental treatments include breast and lung cancer, with gains reported this year for deadly skin cancer melanoma and pancreatic cancer. 'We're getting something to work. Now we need to get it to work better,' said Dr. James Gulley, who helps lead a center at the National Cancer Institute that develops immune therapies, including cancer treatment vaccines. More than ever, scientists understand how cancer hides from the body's immune system. Cancer vaccines, like other immunotherapies,…


Wildfire Smog Gives Montreal Worst Air Quality of Any Major City, Says Pollution Monitor

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Forest fires in Canada left Montreal blanketed with smog on Sunday, giving it the worst air quality of any major city in the world, according to a pollution monitor. Quebec province's most populous city had “unhealthy” air quality according to IQAir, which tracks pollution around the globe, as hundreds of wildfires burned across the country. Environment Canada issued smog warnings in several Quebec regions due to the fires, saying, "high concentrations of fine particulate matter are causing poor air quality and reduced visibilities," with conditions to persist until Monday morning The agency urged residents to avoid outdoor activities and wear face masks if they must go outside. Outdoor pools and sports areas have been closed and multiple outside events, including concerts and sports competitions, have been cancelled due to the…


Cocaine Market Booming as Meth Trafficking Spreads, UN Report Says

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Cocaine demand and supply are booming worldwide, and methamphetamine trafficking is expanding beyond established markets, including in Afghanistan where the drug is now being produced, a United Nations report said Sunday. Coca bush cultivation and total cocaine production were at record highs in 2021, the most recent year for which data is available, and the global number of cocaine users, estimated at 22 million that same year, is growing steadily, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime said in its annual World Drug Report. Cocaine seizures have, however, grown faster than production, containing the total supply to some extent, the report said. The upper band of the estimated total supply was higher in the mid-2000s than now. "The world is currently experiencing a prolonged surge in both supply and demand…


Priced Out of Health Care, Some Iraqis Turn to Natural Remedies

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When a pharmacist in Iraq told Umm Mohammed her prescription for a skin ailment would cost about $611, she turned to cheaper natural remedies as some of her relatives had done. In an herbal remedy shop, the 34-year-old mother-of-two found a treatment eight times cheaper. "Pharmacies are a disaster at the moment, poor people turn to medicinal herbs because of the prices," she said. "Who can afford this? Should one die? So you turn to medicinal herbs." Ibrahim al-Jabouri, the shop's owner and a professor of pharmacology, told Reuters that he is receiving customers suffering from various health issues, such as skin diseases, bowel troubles, colon infections or hair loss. While some Iraqis choose alternative treatments out of conviction, others have no other choice as they can't afford the cost…


‘Street Vet’ Seeks Out California’s Homeless to Care for Their Pets

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An elevated train clangs along tracks above Dr. Kwane Stewart as the veterinarian makes his way through a chain link gate to ask a man standing near a parked RV whether he might know of any street pets in need. Michael Evans immediately goes for his 11-month-old pit bull, Bear, his beloved companion living beneath the rumbling San Francisco Bay Area commuter trains. "Focus. Sit. That's my boy," Evans instructs the high-energy pup as he eagerly accepts Stewart's offer. A quick check of the dog reveals a moderate ear infection that could have made Bear so sick in a matter of weeks he might have required sedation. Instead, right there, Dr. Stewart applies a triple treatment drop of antibiotic, anti-fungal and steroids that should start the healing process. "This is…