Bird flu hits McDonald’s breakfasts in Australia

Bird flu hits McDonald’s breakfasts in Australia
People stand in front of a temporary closed McDonald's in Shimbashi district of Tokyo on March 15, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 02 July 2024
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Bird flu hits McDonald’s breakfasts in Australia

Bird flu hits McDonald’s breakfasts in Australia

CANBERRA: Good luck getting a late-morning McMuffin in Australia.
McDonald’s has cut breakfast service timings by 1-1/2 hours, the company said, after a shortage of eggs caused by bird flu outbreaks that have led to the slaughter of about 1.5 million chickens.
“Like many retailers, we are carefully managing supply of eggs due to current industry challenges,” McDonald’s said on Facebook, adding that from Tuesday it would stop serving breakfast at 10:30 a.m. instead of the usual time of midday.
“We are working hard with our Aussie farmers and suppliers to return this back to normal as soon as possible,” the fast food company said.
Australia is battling outbreaks of several strains of highly pathogenic avian influenza that have struck 11 poultry facilities, most of them egg farms, in its southeast since May.
None of the strains are the H5N1 variant of bird flu that has spread through bird and mammal populations worldwide, infecting billions of animals and a small number of humans.
Fewer than 10 percent of Australia’s egg-laying hens have been affected and authorities say they are successfully containing the virus, but several retailers have set limits on the number of eggs customers may buy.
There has been some disruption to egg supply, with shelves in some stores emptying toward the end of the day, Rowan McMonnies, the managing director of industry body Australian Eggs, said last week.
“Consumers can be assured there’s still over 20 million hens under the care of hundreds of egg farmers across Australia that will continue to work hard to ensure there’s eggs on shelves,” he added.
Bird flu spreads to farmed animals from wild birds. The 2024 infections are Australia’s 10th outbreak since 1976, each contained and eradicated, the government has said.


Partial remains of British climber believed found 100 years after Everest ascent

Partial remains of British climber believed found 100 years after Everest ascent
Updated 11 October 2024
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Partial remains of British climber believed found 100 years after Everest ascent

Partial remains of British climber believed found 100 years after Everest ascent
  • The expedition found a foot encased in a sock embroidered with “AC Irvine“
  • The pair, who were seeking to become the first people to conquer Everest, were last seen around 245 meters from the summit before they disappeared

LONDON: The partial remains of a British mountaineer who might — or might not — have been one of the first two people to climb Mount Everest are believed to have been found a century after their ascent of the world’s highest peak, according to an expedition led by National Geographic.
Ahead of the release of a documentary film, the television channel said Friday that the expedition found a foot encased in a sock embroidered with “AC Irvine” and a boot that could be that of Andrew “Sandy” Irvine, who disappeared at the age of 22 along with his co-climber, the legendary George Mallory, near Everest’s peak on June 8, 1924.
The pair, who were seeking to become the first people to conquer Everest, were last seen around 800 feet (245 meters) from the summit before they disappeared. Their fate has been debated by climbers and historians alike, with some postulating that they had stood atop of the world before heading down and disappearing.
Mallory’s body was found in 1999 but there was no evidence that could point to the two having reached Everest’s summit at 29,032 feet (8,849 meters).
There is still no such evidence, though the apparent discovery of Irvine’s remains could narrow the search for a Kodak Vest Pocket camera lent to the climbers by expedition member Howard Somervell. For mountaineers, it’s the equivalent of the Holy Grail — whether there is photographic proof on that camera to show that the two did reach the summit before Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953.
The sock and boot were found at a lower altitude than Mallory’s remains, on the Central Rongbuk Glacier below the North Face of Mount Everest.
“This was a monumental and emotional moment for us and our entire team on the ground, and we just hope this can finally bring peace of mind to his relatives and the climbing world at large,” said climb team member and National Geographic explorer Jimmy Chin.
Chin did not say exactly where the remains were found because he wants to discourage trophy hunters. But he’s confident that other items — and maybe even the camera — are nearby.
“It certainly reduces the search area,” he told National Geographic.
The Irvine family has volunteered to compare DNA test results with the remains to confirm his identity.
His great-niece and biographer, Julie Summers, said she reacted emotionally when she found out about the discovery.
“I have lived with this story since I was a 7-year-old when my father told us about the mystery of Uncle Sandy on Everest,” she said. “When Jimmy told me that he saw the name AC Irvine on the label on the sock inside the boot, I found myself moved to tears. It was and will remain an extraordinary and poignant moment.”
The find, made by Chin along with climbers and filmmakers Erich Roepke and Mark Fisher, was reported to the London-based Royal Geographical Society, which jointly organized Mallory’s and Irvine’s expedition along with the Alpine Club.
“As joint organizer of the 1924 Everest expedition, the society deeply appreciates the respect Jimmy Chin’s team has shown Sandy Irvine’s remains and their sensitivity toward Sandy’s family members and others connected to that expedition,” said Joe Smith, director of the society.
The partial remains are now in the possession of the China Tibet Mountaineering Association, which is responsible for climbing permits on Everest’s northern side.


Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sex trafficking trial set for May 2025

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sex trafficking trial set for May 2025
Updated 11 October 2024
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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sex trafficking trial set for May 2025

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sex trafficking trial set for May 2025

NEW YORK: Music mogul Sean Combs is set to go on trial for racketeering and sex trafficking on May 5, 2025, a judge said in a court hearing Thursday.
The rapper known as “Diddy” will remain incarcerated, said federal judge Arun Subramanian, after he was indicted last month on three criminal counts that allege he sexually abused women and coerced them into drug-fueled sex parties using threats and violence.
Combs has twice been denied bail, as prosecutors have voiced concerns of witness tampering. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
As he entered the courtroom, Combs, wearing a light-colored wrinkled shirt and pants, greeted his mother and children who were attending the hearing.
Prosecutor Emily Johnson said there was still more evidence to explore, noting that 96 electronic devices had been seized in March and that more charges were possible.
Allegations have been building against the Grammy winner since last year, when singer Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, alleged Combs subjected her to more than a decade of coercion by physical force and drugs as well as a 2018 rape.
A spate of similarly lurid civil lawsuits since have painted a picture of Combs as a violent man who used his celebrity status to prey on women.
And in a bombastic announcement, lawyers said more than 100 people who say Combs assaulted or exploited them — some of them children — were planning more legal action.
The explosion of allegations against him has highlighted a culture in the music industry that many people contend allows for a wider pattern of rampant sexual misconduct.


BBC Weather app wrongly shows 18,995 mph wind speeds in Britain

BBC Weather app wrongly shows 18,995 mph wind speeds in Britain
Updated 10 October 2024
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BBC Weather app wrongly shows 18,995 mph wind speeds in Britain

BBC Weather app wrongly shows 18,995 mph wind speeds in Britain
  • App malfunction suggested winds were 150 times stronger than Hurricane Milton currently battering Florida

LONDON: Britons woke up to alarming news on Thursday, with the widely used BBC Weather app forecasting winds 150 times stronger than Hurricane Milton, due to a data malfunction.
With television news channels showing Milton smashing into Florida in the United States, the unprecedented winds forecast on the BBC Weather app prompted many people to turn to social media for an explanation.
“Go home BBC weather app, you’re drunk. It’s about 37mph,” said one X user, posting under the username Larky McRory, next to a screenshot of the app showing wind speeds of 18,995 mph.
Hurricane Milton was registered as a Category 3 hurricane in Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (195 kph).
BBC Weather sought to reassure the public that they did not in fact have to brace for hurricane winds, with a post on X saying that the weather was more likely to be a typical autumnal day of cold air and blustery showers.
“Don’t worry folks, there isn’t a hurricane on the way today for Scotland, and Edinburgh isn’t going to see wind gusts of an impossible magnitude of 17246mph!,” BBC Scotland Weather said on X. “There is a major error in the data being ingested into the app.”
A banner announcement on the app said: “We’re experiencing issues with our forecast data. We’re working to resolve it.” BBC Weather noted some temperatures were also displaying wrongly and apologized.
The malfunction prompted some social media users to recall the moment in 1987 when Britain’s then leading weather presenter, Michael Fish, reassured viewers that reports of a brewing hurricane were not accurate, just hours before hurricane-force winds hit the country.


TikTok is designed to be addictive to kids and causes them harm, US states’ lawsuits say

TikTok is designed to be addictive to kids and causes them harm, US states’ lawsuits say
Updated 09 October 2024
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TikTok is designed to be addictive to kids and causes them harm, US states’ lawsuits say

TikTok is designed to be addictive to kids and causes them harm, US states’ lawsuits say

More than a dozen states and the District of Columbia filed lawsuits against TikTok on Tuesday, saying that the popular short-form video app is designed to be addictive to kids and harms their mental health.
The lawsuits stem from a national investigation into TikTok, which was launched in March 2022 by a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from many states, including New York, California, Kentucky and New Jersey. All of the complaints were filed in state courts.
At the heart of each lawsuit is the TikTok algorithm, which powers what users see on the platform by populating the app’s main “For You” feed with content tailored to people’s interests. The lawsuits note TikTok design features that they say addict children to the platform, such as the ability to scroll endlessly through content, push notifications that come with built-in “buzzes” and face filters that create unattainable appearances for users.
“They’ve chosen profit over the health and safety, well-being and future of our children,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said at a news conference in San Francisco. “And that is not something we can accept. So we’ve sued.”
The latest lawsuits come nearly a year after dozens of states sued Instagram parent Meta Platforms Inc. in state and federal courts for harming young people and contributing to the youth mental health crisis by knowingly and deliberately designing addictive features that keep kids hooked on their platforms.
Keeping people on the platform is “how they generate massive ad revenue,” District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb said in an interview. “But unfortunately, that’s also how they generate adverse mental health impacts on the users.”
The legal challenges, which also include Google’s YouTube, are part of a growing reckoning against social media companies and their effects on young people’s lives. In some cases, the challenges have been coordinated in a way that resembles how states previously organized against the tobacco and pharmaceutical industries.
TikTok, though, is facing an even bigger obstacle, as its very existence in the US is in question. Under a federal law that took effect earlier this year, TikTok could be banned from the US by mid-January if its China-based parent company, ByteDance, doesn’t sell the platform by then. Both TikTok and ByteDance are challenging the law at an appeals court in Washington. A panel of three judges heard oral arguments in the case last month and are expected to issue a ruling, which could be appealed to the US Supreme Court.
In its filings Tuesday, the District of Columbia called the algorithm “dopamine-inducing,” and said it was created to be intentionally addictive so the company could trap many young users into excessive use and keep them on its app for hours on end. TikTok does this despite knowing that these behaviors will lead to profound psychological and physiological harms, such as anxiety, depression, body dysmorphia and other long-lasting problems, the district said.
TikTok is disappointed that the lawsuits were filed after the company had been working with the attorneys general for two years on addressing to the issues, a spokesman said.
“We strongly disagree with these claims, many of which we believe to be inaccurate and misleading,” the TikTok spokesman. Alex Haurek, said. “We’re proud of and remain deeply committed to the work we’ve done to protect teens and we will continue to update and improve our product.”
The social media company does not allow children under 13 to sign up for its main service and restricts some content for everyone under 18. But Washington and several other states said in their filings that children can easily bypass those restrictions, allowing them to access the service adults use despite the company’s claims that its platform is safe for children.
The District of Columbia alleges TikTok is operating as an “unlicensed virtual economy” by allowing people to purchase TikTok Coins – a virtual currency within the platform – and send “Gifts” to streamers on TikTok LIVE who can cash it out for real money. TikTok takes a 50 percent commission on these financial transactions but hasn’t registered as a money transmitter with the US Treasury Department or authorities in the district, according to the complaint.
Officials say teens are frequently exploited for sexually explicit content through TikTok’s LIVE streaming feature, which has allowed the app to operate essentially as a “virtual strip club” without any age restrictions. They say the cut the company gets from the financial transactions allows it to profit from exploitation.
The 14 attorneys general say the goal of their lawsuits is to stop TikTok from using these features, impose financial penalties for their alleged illegal practices and collect damages for users that have been harmed.
The use of social media among teens is nearly universal in the US and many other parts of the world. Almost all teens ages 13 to 17 in the US report using a social media platform, with about a third saying they use social media “almost constantly,” according to the Pew Research Center.
High school students who frequently use social media more commonly have persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, according to a new survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted last year in which about 20,000 teenagers participated.
Also on Tuesday, 22 other states including Alabama, Colorado, Florida and Michigan filed an amicus brief urging a Tennessee court to force TikTok to produce documents related to a multistate investigation that those attorney general offices say TikTok is withholding or destroying.
When TikTok failed to produce the requested information last year, 46 states including Minnesota filed an amicus brief in support of Tennessee. The amicus brief they filed Tuesday supports Tennessee’s continued efforts to compel TikTok’s compliance.
Last week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued TikTok, alleging the company was sharing and selling minors’ personal information in violation of a new state law that prohibits these practices. TikTok, which disputes the allegations, is also fighting against a similar data-oriented federal lawsuit filed in August by the Department of Justice.
Several Republican-led states, including Nebraska, Kansas, New Hampshire, Kansas, Iowa and Arkansas, also previously sued the company, some unsuccessfully, over allegations it is harming children’s mental health, exposing them to “inappropriate” content or allowing young people to be sexually exploited on its platform.


Duo wins Physics Nobel for key breakthroughs in AI

Duo wins Physics Nobel for key breakthroughs in AI
Updated 08 October 2024
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Duo wins Physics Nobel for key breakthroughs in AI

Duo wins Physics Nobel for key breakthroughs in AI
  • The pair will receive their prize, consisting of a diploma, a gold medal and a $1 million cheque, from King Carl XVI Gustaf in Stockholm

STOCKHOLM: American John Hopfield and British-Canadian Geoffrey Hinton won the Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday for pioneering work in the development of artificial intelligence.
The pair were honored “for foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks,” the jury said.
“This year’s two Nobel Laureates in Physics have used tools from physics to develop methods that are the foundation of today’s powerful machine learning,” the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences said in a statement.
Hopfield, 91, a professor at Princeton University, was spotlighted for having created “an associative memory that can store and reconstruct images and other types of patterns in data.”
The jury said Hinton, a 76-year-old professor at the University of Toronto, “invented a method that can autonomously find properties in data, and so perform tasks such as identifying specific elements in pictures.”
“I’m flabbergasted... I had no idea that could happen,” Hinton told reporters via a phone interview as the winners of the award were announced in Stockholm.
The pair will receive their prize, consisting of a diploma, a gold medal and a $1 million cheque, from King Carl XVI Gustaf in Stockholm on December 10, the anniversary of the 1896 death of scientist Alfred Nobel who created the prizes in his last will and testament.
Last year, the Nobel Prize in Physics went to France’s Pierre Agostini, Hungarian-Austrian Ferenc Krausz and Franco-Swede Anne L’Huillier for research using ultra quick light flashes that enable the study of electrons inside atoms and molecules.
The Nobel season continues this week with the announcement of the winner, or winners, of the chemistry prize on Wednesday — followed by the much-anticipated prizes for literature on Thursday and peace on Friday.
The Economics Prize winds things up on Monday, October 14.
Awarded since 1901, the Nobel Prizes honor those who have, in the words of prize creator and scientist Alfred Nobel, “conferred the greatest benefit on humankind.”