We must chip away at smuggler business models – border chief
The UK’s first border security commander has pledged to keep “chipping away” a people smugglers’ business models until they are no longer profitable.
The mutant frogs of Chernobyl: Scientists say the exclusion zone could be SAFE for humans – as study reveals bizarre black amphibians live just as long as their green counterparts
By MICHAEL HAVIS FOR MAILONLINE Published: 05:05 EST, 20 November 2024 | Updated: 08:43 EST, 20 November 2024
British Business Bank on the performance of its £130m Investment Fund for Wales
The British Business Bank’s £130m Investment Fund for Wales (IFW) deployed £10m of capital to support the growth of indigenous firms in its maiden year as it looks to accelerate deal flow. The economic development bank of the UK Government launched the fund last November, alongside similar funds to back the scaling-up plans of businesses…
Jerry Hopkins: Good books
Vacations, the Sabbaths, holidays and time-off are good for us. We need times away from the routine and regular labors of life that we might return to those with new vision, vigor and vitality. For those involved in education and related activities, these breaks are usually set aside as vacation times when we can get away to rest and refresh. Our family has not often taken extended vacations. One summer several years ago we took a week. We drove up to Branson, Missouri to be together for a few days, enjoy some special events, and to do some shopping. The important thing about the trip was the time that we spent together, talking, eating, enjoying one another. As families we need such recreation times and especially to talk with one another, to gain deeper understanding and greater appreciation for intellectual things.One day we were shopping in a specialty store when I was drawn to a display of books by the author Harold Bell Wright. The name was familiar, but I didn’t remember anything about him. One of the books aroused some interest and seemed to be familiar, but I didn’t recall its significance immediately. That book was The Shepherd of the Hills. I picked up this “Collectors Edition” of the book and leafed through it, reading some, glancing through the biographical information included in the newly re-issued volume. I bought the two books displayed — That Printer of Udell’s and The Shepherd of the Hills.In the evening I began reading The Shepherd of the Hills that had seemed so familiar. As I read the book, memories began to come of an earlier time. As a young person in the eighth grade I had a teacher who encouraged me to read. Mrs. Mildred Randolph believed in reading and she often insisted that her students read good books, encouraging us to think about what such books taught. Most important she encouraged us to write, not just to read, but to write about what we read. In the summer after my eighth grade experience, I often rode my bicycle along the country lanes in the foothills of the Cumberland Mountains in Kentucky. One of the roads along which I traveled frequently that summer lived my teacher. I stopped occasionally to visit with her and share my reading.This was vacation time, but it should not be, Mrs. Randolph insisted, a time when we did not read, think and write. We should continue reading and thinking through the summer, particularly we should write. One of the books that she loaned me that summer of 1960 happened to be The Shepherd of the Hills. She insisted that I read this book and that I think about it, particularly that I write something about its message. Somewhere in my files I have a young person’s report on this book that I read in the summer of 1960 because my teacher insisted that I needed to read a “good book.” I recall that she specifically said that we should not waste our time during the summer by not reading and thinking. She again insisted that we should write something. You need to read “great books” and this is one of those books that you ought to read and profit from. Now, many years later, I was again reading this book with new eyes, new understanding, and a deeper appreciation for the message of the author.#placement_588539_0_i{width:100%;margin:0 auto;}At the first reading I didn’t know very much about the author Harold Bell Wright. All I had was the hardback book loaned to me by my teacher. I took her counsel and I read the book. It was a well-crafted story and powerful in its lessons. The setting was the Ozark Mountains in Missouri. This was important for me because I lived in the mountains of eastern Kentucky. There are similarities that all mountain peoples share wherever they are. Through the years I have come to appreciate other books about the mountains — The Trail of the Lonesome Pine, Night Comes to the Cumberland, Cold Mountain, Heaven is a Long Way Off, The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come, To the Far Blue Mountains, The Thread That Runs So True, The Enduring Hills, and many other similar books and novels. The authors of these varied stories come from different backgrounds, a variety of experiences and varied cultural settings, but all are in some way associated with the mountains and their unique environment.Wright’s story was published in 1907 presenting the lives, loves and hardships of the people living in the Missouri Ozarks in the late 1800s. This unique and inspirational story became an immediate bestselling book. It became so popular that people began travelling to the area of Branson so eloquently presented in Wright’s novel. Reenactments of the story began in the early 1920s, staged on the homestead of the main characters near the log home known as “Old Matt’s Cabin.” In time the growing crowds and curiosity seekers resulted in Old Matt’s Barn being opened as a gift shop. Guided tours were initiated, and ultimately a play was inaugurated. This story has intrigued people for well over 100 years now.In light of these memories at this time of Thanksgiving when we once again have some “time off” from life’s routine work and labor, I would like to join my old teacher’s urging to read, to think and to write about what we read. This is how we can grow and gain great truth in life’s journey and how we can ultimately profit more from our community conversation. I would like to encourage you to join me in reading, writing and sharing what we learn with one another. This is one of may reasons why I write these columns and share what I’m thinking.I would like to hear from those who enjoy such novels and books about the mountains. If you have read the novel and have some thoughts about it, I would appreciate you sharing your thoughts about The Shepherd of the Hills with me. Share your ideas and views about the mountains with me.
Turkmen language university receives books as a gift from the Chinese Embassy in Ashgabat
The Turkmen National Institute of World Languages named after Dovletmammet Azadi received book publications as a gift from the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Ashgabat. This was reported by “Turkmenistan: Golden Age”.
At the ceremony, representatives of the PRC diplomatic mission presented textbooks, teaching aids, dictionaries, collections of works and poems of outstanding Chinese poets to teachers of the Department of Oriental Languages and students studying in the Chinese language and literature specialty.
The language university was visited by Advisor to the Ambassador of the PRC to Turkmenistan Zhong Hua, First Secretary Qian Wei, Attaché Chang Min and Li Jiangyin.
During the meeting, speeches were made on the friendly and comprehensively developing relations between Turkmenistan and China.
At the end of the event, the participants expressed confidence that the donated literature will expand the students’ opportunities in learning the Chinese language, the source notes.
‘Defending Banned Books’ guest authors talk censorship, politics
Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our newsletter here.
A Syracuse University student-led panel hosted authors Julie Berry and Seamus Kirst for a discussion about the political implications of book banning and censorship
Throughout Tuesday night’s “Read Between the Lines: Defending Banned Books” discussion, both authors shared their personal experiences with literary censorship and said the reasons for book removal often mask deeper political and social tensions. The event was organized by members of SU’s CAS 100: Religion, Science and Politics course.
“I think there are people being force fed this nonsense rhetoric about dangers that don’t really exist, and they’re rising up in this righteous, protective parental angst to try to take action. How do we move the conversation past (this)?” Berry said. “It’s getting us nowhere.”
Berry’s historical fiction novel about World War I, “Lovely War,” was one of over 1,600 books Florida’s Escambia County School District pulled from its library shelves for containing “sexually explicit” content. Berry said her book was targeted for its frank examination of racism; while its sexual content wasn’t vital to the plot, the racist treatment depicted in the American military was, she said.
Worker with two key skills needed to look after UK’s strangest tourist attraction
A museum has a new job opening but with an usual specification. The Blue Town Heritage Centre on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent is on the hunt for a ‘chief scorpion wrangler’ to monitor Britain’s largest scorpion colony. The museum, which sits opposite the historic Sheerness Dockyard where the sea scorpions have resided for…
India hopes for tech prowess under Trump leadership
Homepage > News > Business > India hopes for tech prowess under Trump leadership
Donald Trump’s victory as the 47th president of the United States of America has bolstered hopes for India’s technology ambitions, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, quantum computing and manufacturing for technology infrastructure.
“Had a great conversation with my friend, President @realDonaldTrump, congratulating him on his spectacular victory. Looking forward to working closely together once again to further strengthen India-US relations across technology, defence, energy, space and several other sectors,” India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, wrote in an X post.
In June, the national security advisors of two of the world’s biggest democracies met in India to assemble the next chapter of their technology partnership. The aim is to ensure that the U.S. and India stay at the bleeding edge of innovation and improve coordination with like-minded nations to deliver secure, reliable and cost-competitive technology solutions. Both countries will pursue quantum, AI and high-performance computing collaboration, according to a joint fact sheet.
India and the U.S. technology partnerships come at a time when two of the world’s biggest economies are in a trade war, which started in January 2018, when Trump began setting tariffs and other trade barriers on China. Simultaneously, the Narendra Modi-led Indian government has been reportedly positioning India as an alternative for global tech companies looking to reduce dependency on China for their supply chains.
“There was already a reordering of supply chains which was taking place (globally). It is very likely that this will get accelerated after the election result in the U.S.,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said while explaining what the second term of Trump’s presidency would mean for India.
“I’ll be very candid with you, that some of this will be somewhat disruptive, but we in India perceive it as an opportunity because having kind of missed the manufacturing bus in the 1990s, early 2000s, we do think that this reordering of supply chain gives us a sort of second bite of the apple. And maybe this time around, starting with Apple, we are doing better than we were doing earlier,” Jaishankar said.
India has already lured suppliers for major U.S. corporations like Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL). About 25% of all iPhones are expected to be made in India by 2028, from only 5% to 7% of Apple’s manufacturing in January 2023. On the other hand, Google has started production of its first batch of made-in-India Pixel 8 smartphones.
“The third aspect pertains to the digital side, and the digital side now pretty much covers everything,” Jaishankar said.
“What has been happening and will continue to intensify is about trust, and what accompanies the digital aspect of a product or service or technology will come under greater scrutiny… Digital payment platforms, for example, would become, in a sense, much more valuable,” the foreign minister added.
India is now the seventh-largest services exporting country globally, and ranks second in the world in telecommunication, computer and information services exports. Among services exports, software/IT services and business services exports have increased, supported by India emerging as a hub for Global Capability Centers (GCCs). GCCs are offshore facilities that multinational corporations use to manage business operations and processes.
“At last count, we have about 1,800 Global Capability Centers in India, which, between them, generate about $150 billion worth of exports. We see this trend intensifying,” Jaishankar said.
A bold tech alliance
The India-U.S. tech partnership has announced its aim to unlock $90 million in joint funding over five years for the U.S.-India Global Challenges Institute, fostering university and research collaborations on semiconductor technology, critical and emerging technologies, and more.
“We will see, under Trump, India and the U.S. unleashing a bold tech alliance, primed to shake up connectivity and security,” Raj Kapoor, founder of India Blockchain Alliance, told CoinGeek.
India and the U.S. will partner to deploy cost-effective Open RAN (ORAN) technology at scale, including a $5 million USAID Edge Fund grant to Qualcomm and Mavenir to test its ORAN stack in India with telecom service provider Bharti Airtel. Qualcomm will add $9.4 million to the project.
“With a $5 million boost from USAID’s Edge Fund and a hefty $9.4 million pledge from Qualcomm, they’re testing out ORAN tech with Bharti Airtel to make mobile networks faster, more secure, and greener. I see that only as a beginning,” Kapoor added.
The two countries also intend to invest nearly $5 million in funding for research projects on next-generation telecommunications, connected and autonomous vehicles and machine learning, through the National Science Foundation and India’s Department of Science and Technology.
The U.S. and India have announced a semiconductor partnership between General Atomics and 3rdiTech to co-develop semiconductor design and manufacturing for precision-guided ammunition and national security electronics.
“A powerful semiconductor partnership between General Atomics and 3rdiTech, aiming to co-develop cutting-edge chips for precision-guided ammunition and critical security tech will now roll on a fast track. It’s a game-changer for defense electronics, bringing the best of both nations’ tech prowess. And the innovation juggernaut keeps rolling. Quantum, AI, and high-performance computing are next in line,” Kapoor added.
Watch: ‘Disruptive’ blockchain can be useful for India
title=”YouTube video player” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen >
India hopes for tech prowess under Trump leadership
Homepage > News > Business > India hopes for tech prowess under Trump leadership
Donald Trump’s victory as the 47th president of the United States of America has bolstered hopes for India’s technology ambitions, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, quantum computing and manufacturing for technology infrastructure.
“Had a great conversation with my friend, President @realDonaldTrump, congratulating him on his spectacular victory. Looking forward to working closely together once again to further strengthen India-US relations across technology, defence, energy, space and several other sectors,” India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, wrote in an X post.
In June, the national security advisors of two of the world’s biggest democracies met in India to assemble the next chapter of their technology partnership. The aim is to ensure that the U.S. and India stay at the bleeding edge of innovation and improve coordination with like-minded nations to deliver secure, reliable and cost-competitive technology solutions. Both countries will pursue quantum, AI and high-performance computing collaboration, according to a joint fact sheet.
India and the U.S. technology partnerships come at a time when two of the world’s biggest economies are in a trade war, which started in January 2018, when Trump began setting tariffs and other trade barriers on China. Simultaneously, the Narendra Modi-led Indian government has been reportedly positioning India as an alternative for global tech companies looking to reduce dependency on China for their supply chains.
“There was already a reordering of supply chains which was taking place (globally). It is very likely that this will get accelerated after the election result in the U.S.,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said while explaining what the second term of Trump’s presidency would mean for India.
“I’ll be very candid with you, that some of this will be somewhat disruptive, but we in India perceive it as an opportunity because having kind of missed the manufacturing bus in the 1990s, early 2000s, we do think that this reordering of supply chain gives us a sort of second bite of the apple. And maybe this time around, starting with Apple, we are doing better than we were doing earlier,” Jaishankar said.
India has already lured suppliers for major U.S. corporations like Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL). About 25% of all iPhones are expected to be made in India by 2028, from only 5% to 7% of Apple’s manufacturing in January 2023. On the other hand, Google has started production of its first batch of made-in-India Pixel 8 smartphones.
“The third aspect pertains to the digital side, and the digital side now pretty much covers everything,” Jaishankar said.
“What has been happening and will continue to intensify is about trust, and what accompanies the digital aspect of a product or service or technology will come under greater scrutiny… Digital payment platforms, for example, would become, in a sense, much more valuable,” the foreign minister added.
India is now the seventh-largest services exporting country globally, and ranks second in the world in telecommunication, computer and information services exports. Among services exports, software/IT services and business services exports have increased, supported by India emerging as a hub for Global Capability Centers (GCCs). GCCs are offshore facilities that multinational corporations use to manage business operations and processes.
“At last count, we have about 1,800 Global Capability Centers in India, which, between them, generate about $150 billion worth of exports. We see this trend intensifying,” Jaishankar said.
A bold tech alliance
The India-U.S. tech partnership has announced its aim to unlock $90 million in joint funding over five years for the U.S.-India Global Challenges Institute, fostering university and research collaborations on semiconductor technology, critical and emerging technologies, and more.
“We will see, under Trump, India and the U.S. unleashing a bold tech alliance, primed to shake up connectivity and security,” Raj Kapoor, founder of India Blockchain Alliance, told CoinGeek.
India and the U.S. will partner to deploy cost-effective Open RAN (ORAN) technology at scale, including a $5 million USAID Edge Fund grant to Qualcomm and Mavenir to test its ORAN stack in India with telecom service provider Bharti Airtel. Qualcomm will add $9.4 million to the project.
“With a $5 million boost from USAID’s Edge Fund and a hefty $9.4 million pledge from Qualcomm, they’re testing out ORAN tech with Bharti Airtel to make mobile networks faster, more secure, and greener. I see that only as a beginning,” Kapoor added.
The two countries also intend to invest nearly $5 million in funding for research projects on next-generation telecommunications, connected and autonomous vehicles and machine learning, through the National Science Foundation and India’s Department of Science and Technology.
The U.S. and India have announced a semiconductor partnership between General Atomics and 3rdiTech to co-develop semiconductor design and manufacturing for precision-guided ammunition and national security electronics.
“A powerful semiconductor partnership between General Atomics and 3rdiTech, aiming to co-develop cutting-edge chips for precision-guided ammunition and critical security tech will now roll on a fast track. It’s a game-changer for defense electronics, bringing the best of both nations’ tech prowess. And the innovation juggernaut keeps rolling. Quantum, AI, and high-performance computing are next in line,” Kapoor added.
Watch: ‘Disruptive’ blockchain can be useful for India
title=”YouTube video player” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen >
‘Bomb cyclone’ kills 1 and knocks out power to more than 700,000 in Washington state
Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreA deadly “bomb cyclone” has ripped through Washington state, killing at least one person, downing trees and power lines, and leaving hundreds of thousands without power.What was forecast to be one of the strongest storms in the northwest US in years struck on Tuesday evening, lashing the Pacific Northwest – a region covering Washington, Idaho and Oregon – and Northern California with heavy rain and high winds.In northwest Washington, strong winds downed trees, striking homes and power lines and littering debris across roads.Almost 710,000 homeowners and businesses in the state were without power as of Wednesday morning, with King and Snohomish counties the worst impacted areas.In Lynnwood, a woman was killed when a large tree fell on a homeless encampment on Tuesday evening, South County Fire said in a statement on X.Over in Seattle, a tree fell onto a vehicle, temporarily trapping a person inside before emergency services rescued them, the Seattle Fire Department reported.Damaged tree and downed power lines during a major storm on November 19 in Seattle