Near-Earth Objection Scientists are not at all pleased with the growing number of satellites clogging up Earth’s lower orbit — and it’s making the job of tracking killer asteroids way harder. Nearly three-quarters of experts identified as "planetary defense experts" by the Apollo Academic Surveys group responded that they are at least "moderately concerned about […]
Robots can be used to assess children’s mental well-being, study suggests
Robots can be better at detecting mental well-being issues in children than parent-reported or self-reported testing, a new study suggests.
The Cheat Way To Perfectly Split an Oreo
Believe it or not, much research has been done in how to perfectly split Oreos with an even amount of cream on both sides. Early studies suggested it simply wasn’t …read more
Onbar – “Good”
From brain to body to synthesis, Onbar turns the phrase “feel good” into its very own sound. In the company of two dear friends and musical magicians — Patrick Hizon and Orion-Song == this Bay Area trio finesse a groove we find comfort and familiarity in. Concocting a sound conjuring the nostalgia of early 2000s […]
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Mysterious whale wallet now holds 50% of the Smooth Love Potion supply
Join Our Telegram channel to stay up to date on breaking news coverage A mysterious whale wallet address has accumulated billions of Smooth Love Potion (SLP) tokens. SLP is the in-game cryptocurrency that powers one of the largest blockchain gaming networks, Axie Infinity. Mysterious whale accumulates 50% of SLP supply The mysterious whale wallet now […]
The post Mysterious whale wallet now holds 50% of the Smooth Love Potion supply appeared first on Tech Talk.
These Are The Countries Most In Debt To China
These Are The Countries Most In Debt To China
According to World Bank data analyzed by Statista, countries heavily in debt to China are mostly located in Africa, but can also be found in Central Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific. As Statista’s Katharina Buchholz details below, as the new preferred lender to low-income countries, China now holds 37 percent of these nations’ debt. Just 24 percent of the countries’ bilateral debt comes from the rest of the world in 2022.
You will find more infographics at Statista
The "New Silk Road" project, which finances the construction of port, rail and land infrastructure across the globe, has created much debt to China for participating countries. At the end of 2020, of the 97 countries for which data was available, Pakistan ($77.3 billion of external debt to China), Angola (36.3 billion), Ethiopia (7.9 billion), Kenya (7.4 billion) and Sri Lanka (6.8 billion) held the biggest debts to China. The countries with the biggest debt burdens in relative terms were Djibouti and Angola, followed by the Maldives and Laos, which has just opened a debt-laden railway line to China. The President of the World Bank, David Malpass, called the level of debt many countries once again hold “unsustainable” in January.
The Paris Club used to hold the majority of low-income countries’ debt before it was restructured and largely forgiven after the turn of the millennium for qualifying, developing countries. Whether such a process will be available for Chinese debt is unclear. As of 2020, China had officially lent around $170 billion to low and middle-income countries, up from just around $40 billion in 2010.
Chinese loans have higher interest rates than those from international institutions like the International Monetary Fund or The World Bank or bilateral loans from Paris Club countries, and also have shorter repayment windows. Their setup is closer to commercial loans concerning their conditions of repayment, confidentiality as well as their objectives of funding specific infrastructure projects instead of pursuing development goals in general.
The Covid-19 pandemic has now complicated the already difficult repayment of Chinese loans even more. According to the Financial Times, the country had to renegotiate loans worth $52 billion in 2020 and 2021 – more than three times the amount that met this fate in the two previous years. One such case was Sri Lanka – also among China’s biggest debtors – which in May was the first Asian country in two decades to default on its debt.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 08/31/2022 – 21:40
Sneaky fake Google Translate app installs crypto miner on 112,000 PCs
Dressed up as legitimate desktop software, this sneaky malware has infected thousands of machines across 11 countries, forcing them to unknowingly mine Monero (XMR).
NASA’s Webb Telescope Captures Hypnotizing Swirls Of “Phantom Galaxy”
NASA’s Webb Telescope Captures Hypnotizing Swirls Of "Phantom Galaxy"
NASA’s $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has provided an even deeper look into the cosmos, revealing the clearest view of the Phantom Galaxy, more formally known as M74, located around 32 million light-years away from Earth.
"Webb’s sharp vision has revealed delicate filaments of gas and dust in the grandiose spiral arms of M74, which wind outwards from the center of the image. A lack of gas in the nuclear region also provides an unobscured view of the nuclear star cluster at the galaxy’s center," NASA and the ESA wrote in a statement.
Combining data from the Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based observatories, both space agencies pieced together a crystal-clear view of the Phantom Galaxy.
The Phantom Galaxy has been a significant focus for astronomers studying the origin and structure of galactic spirals. The new spacecraft with infrared technology allows astronomers "to pinpoint star-forming regions in the galaxies, accurately measure the masses and ages of star clusters, and gain insights into the nature of the small grains of dust drifting in interstellar space," NASA and ESA said.
"Now we have a broader (and even more beautiful!) understanding of the galaxy M74!
"These Hubble and NASAWebb views show the power of observing in different wavelengths. Hubble’s optical vision highlights older stars near the center and younger, bluer stars in the spiral arms," NASA tweeted this week.
In July, NASA released the first images of JWST’s findings since the spacecraft was launched into deep space last December. Though still operational, JWST has already been struck by tiny meteoroids, causing significant uncorrectable damage to the craft’s infrared technology.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 08/31/2022 – 23:00
Black and white Fine Art Photography
Someone should make AI that makes storyboards for movies with characters that do not change.
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