U.S. stocks, the dollar, and government bonds were down in Wednesday’s midday trading as many analysts said investors have been shaken by a series of controversial actions and comments from President Donald Trump. The major U.S. stock indexes fell 1.1 percent or more.

The faltering markets follow Trump’s firing of the FBI chief, sharing secrets with top Russian officials, and allegations that the president may have tried to block an investigation into actions by a top aide who was fired.

Stocks had risen to a series of record highs after Trump’s election, as investors bet that his promises to cut taxes and regulation would boost economic growth and corporate profits.

Investors may have second thoughts, though, after legislative efforts to repeal and replace a health care law stalled, and the tax cut agenda is tangled in political bickering.

Even Trump’s Republican allies say calls for congressional and other investigations of the administration’s actions are a distraction and a worry for lawmakers trying to move his agenda forward against determined opposition from Democrats.
…

From: MeNeedIt

Scientists say they have identified the “sea monster” that washed ashore on an Indonesian beach.

The badly decomposing carcass measures over 15 meters long and baffled scientists since it washed up on Seram Island last week.

Marine biologists now believe the carcass is a dead baleen whale, largely because of a visible skeleton, which would rule out speculation that the creature was a giant squid.

“Giant squid are invertebrates and there are clearly bones visible, so I am very comfortable saying it’s some type of rorqual whale,” said Regina Asmutis-Silvia, executive director of Whale and Dolphin Conservation in an interview with the Huffington Post. “Certain species of baleen whales (rorquals) have ‘ventral grooves’ which run from their chin to their belly button. It is stretchy tissue that expands when they feed.”

Alexander Werth, a whale biologist at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia agrees with the assessment after seeing photos of the carcass on social media that showed the nearly amorphous carcass surrounded by blood in the water. He added that the carcass probably stinks “to high heaven.”

“That’s yet another reason you don’t want to be close to these things, not because it’s a scary, spooky creature, but [because] it would just be releasing some pretty foul, noxious gases,” Werth told Live Science.

Locals have asked the government for help in removing the whale.
…

From: MeNeedIt

Ashin Wirathu, the Burmese Buddhist monk known for whipping up anti-Muslim sentiment in Myanmar, is the subject of a new documentary airing at France’s renowned Cannes Film Festival, which starts Wednesday.

By filmmaker Barbet Schroeder, “The Venerable W” will appear in a special screening at one of the most prestigious cultural events in the world, marking the culmination of Wirathu’s journey from an obscure rabble-rouser to international infamy.

But his path to notoriety abroad points to questions back home about how much of a role the media have played in fueling his rise. Some believe he has been given too much of a platform for his hateful views or that coverage of his activities merits a more thoughtful approach.

Media attention for anti-Muslim views

“He has been famous because of the interviews and because of the posts in the local media,” said Thitsa Hla Htway, secretary of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Myanmar.

He urged journalists to not report his more repugnant musings and to report on more diverse issues.

“What I want to stress is that they should just stay away from him and his popularity will go down. There are many important issues in Myanmar which are more important than him,” he said.

In and out of prison

This wasn’t the feeling five years ago, when Myanmar was emerging from military rule and grappling with ascendant Buddhist nationalist forces in the form of the 969 movement and Ma Ba Tha, the Committee to Protect Race and Religion.

Sentenced to prison for 25 years in 2003 for inciting violence, Wirathu was released in an amnesty in 2012, the same year that saw the first of several deadly riots to plague the country’s transition to democracy from nearly five decades of military rule.

‘Time magazine’ interview

Though Myanmar has long struggled to contain religious enmity, the story was not often heard outside of the country due to its isolation. That changed with a 2013 TIME magazine issue that put Wirathu on the cover and sought to explain the man’s connection to the mayhem.

The initial coverage was revealing, but over the years, Wirathu was interviewed by countless journalists, including the author of this article. Doubt crept into the worthiness of the enterprise for many journalists.

Social media star

But his following on social media is enormous, his posts can be inflammatory, and the fact that he has not faced strong pushback implies he has connections.

Thiha Saw, the director of the Myanmar Journalism Institute, said he credits Wirathu’s rise more to the explosion of internet access that has occurred in recent years. He added that mainstream media outlets in Myanmar have been cautious about not giving Wirathu an unnecessary amount of exposure.

Supported military

But his level of influence remains an open question. He supported the military-backed ruling party in a 2015 election contest against Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, which won easily. This past March, Wirathu was hit with a ban on giving sermons for one year.

Even so, he was allowed to travel to a part of northern Rakhine State this month that has been largely closed off to observers since Rohingya militants attacked border posts in October, killing nine and setting off a crackdown that has resulted in accusations of possible crimes against humanity.

British journalist Oliver Slow, the chief of staff for the weekly magazine Frontier Myanmar, said in his personal opinion there needs to be a mix of scrutiny and restraint in the reporting.

Journalists want more scrutiny of Wirathu

“I think obviously he [Wirathu] needs to be heavily scrutinized. His group and the people behind him have the potential to cause massive issues, so I think it’s important to be reporting on him and what they are doing,” Slow said. “But I think we pretty much know all his views now, they’ve been aired for the past four or five years. His views on Muslims, his views on religion, have been so well aired, I just don’t really see any benefit any more of interviewing him.”

Matthew Smith, executive director of the NGO Fortify Rights, said in an email he isn’t persuaded by arguments the media has disproportionately fueled Wirathu’s rise to power, even if Wirathu has benefited from the attention.

“Wirathu is a populist demagogue with a considerable following and powerful connections behind the scenes,” Smith said. “But he and his followers have unarguably used international media attention to their advantage, to build their prominence and advance nationalist and racist narratives.”

Smith wants more investigative coverage of Wirathu.

“We see the occasional profile piece and don’t find those terribly helpful. Most foreign readers, particularly in the West, regard Buddhism as a tranquil religion of peace, so editors have endless fodder in stories of an extremist monk who preaches hatred.”

Schroeder, the filmmaker, did not immediately respond to a request for an interview sent through his production company.

 
…

From: MeNeedIt

A computer virus that exploits the same vulnerability as the global “ransomware” attack has latched on to more than 200,000 computers and begun manufacturing digital currency, experts said Tuesday.

The development adds to the dangers exposed by the WannaCry ransomware and provides another piece of evidence that a North Korea-linked hacking group may be behind the attacks.

WannaCry, developed in part with hacking techniques that were either stolen or leaked from the U.S. National Security Agency, has infected more than 300,000 computers since Friday, locking up their data and demanding a ransom payment to release it.

Researchers at security firm Proofpoint said the related attack, which installs a currency “miner” that generates digital cash, began infecting machines in late April or early May but had not been previously discovered because it allows computers to operate while creating the digital cash in the background.

Proofpoint executive Ryan Kalember said the authors may have earned more than $1 million, far more than has been generated by the WannaCry attack.

Like WannaCry, the program attacks via a flaw in Microsoft Corp’s Windows software. That hole has been patched in newer versions of Windows, though not all companies and individuals have installed the patches.

Suspected links to North Korea

Digital currencies based on a technology known as blockchain operate by enabling the creation of new currency in exchange for solving complex math problems. Digital “miners” run specially configured computers to solve the problems and generate currency, whose value fluctuates according to market demand.

Bitcoin is by far the largest such currency, but the new mining program is not aimed at Bitcoin. Rather it targeted a newer digital currency, called Monero, that experts say has been pursued recently by North Korean-linked hackers.

North Korea has attracted attention in the WannaCry case for a number of reasons, including the fact that early versions of the WannaCry code used some programming lines that had previously been spotted in attacks by Lazarus Group, a hacking group associated with North Korea.

Security researchers and U.S. intelligence officials have cautioned that such evidence is not conclusive, and the investigation is in its early stages.

In early April, security firm Kaspersky Lab said that a wing of Lazarus devoted to financial gain had installed software to mine Moreno on a server in Europe.

A new campaign to mine the same currency, using the same Windows weakness as WannaCry, could be coincidence, or it could suggest that North Korea was responsible for both the ransomware and the currency mining.

Kalember said he believes the similarities in the European case, WannaCry and the miner were “more than coincidence.”

“It’s a really strong overlap,” he said. “It’s not like you see Moreno miners all over the world.”

The North Korean mission to the United Nations could not be reached for comment, while the FBI declined to comment.
…

From: MeNeedIt

Pregnant women who come down with the flu are at greater risk of illness requiring hospitalization. A new study found that in resource-poor countries, flu vaccination reduced the risk of illness to mother and baby.  

An estimated 40 percent of the world’s population lives in subtropical and tropical zones, where influenza sometimes circulates year-round. Yet influenza vaccine is rarely used.

Mark Steinhoff is director of the Global Health Center at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in Ohio. He said the influenza virus, which is often mild in healthy people, can result in hospitalization of pregnant women.  

With a growing fetus pressed up against their lungs, Steinhoff says, women with the flu can have trouble breathing.  He also said a pregnant woman is  more susceptible to illness as the growing baby siphons off her natural defenses.

But in a first-of-its-kind study, Steinhoff and colleagues found vaccinating women year-round in a developing country, Nepal near the Indian border, dramatically reduced the incidence of influenza in mothers and benefited their babies.

The study was published in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases.

“It reduced disease in the mothers and in the infants by about 60 percent reduction in the second year. It’s really quite remarkable. But it also reduced the rate of low birth weight — that is, kids born less than 2.5 kilos. It reduced that by 16 percent,” said Steinhoff.

Babies benefited from the shots because they received antibodies against the illness from their mothers while in the womb.

The study

The study ran between April 2011 and September 2013 and involved a total of 3,693 mothers between the ages of 15 and 40.   

There were two phases of the trial, with one group of women being vaccinated in the first year and a different group of pregnant women the following year.  Half of the women received a placebo.

Because influenza in some countries can circulate year-round, there’s no particular flu season as in more temperate climates. The women were therefore vaccinated at various times with a shot that contained three inactivated flu strains. Each group was followed for up to 180 days to see whether they developed fevers and body aches.

Steinhoff said the benefits of influenza vaccination have long been known in the United States and other Western countries.

“The vaccine you know was developed many years ago. It was known to be safe. There were no bad reactions to it,” Steinhoff said.

He said it’s up to individual countries to decide whether they want to launch influenza vaccination campaigns for pregnant women. In the meantime, he said, researchers will be obtaining additional data on year-round immunization programs in developing countries.
…

From: MeNeedIt

Longtime late-night host David Letterman has been honored with the nation’s top prize for comedy.

The Kennedy Center announced Tuesday that the 70-year-old Letterman is this year’s recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. He is the 20th humorist to receive the annual prize, which began in 1998. Last fall, he delivered a warm tribute on stage at the Kennedy Center as his frequent guest, Bill Murray, accepted the award.

Letterman hosted more than 6,000 episodes of late-night television, starting in 1982 with NBC’s “Late Night with David Letterman.” He moved to CBS in 1993 and hosted “The Late Show” until his retirement two years ago.

Letterman’s irascible, independent streak inspired fierce loyalty from fans and critics.
…

From: MeNeedIt

It looks like the time has finally come for residents across Africa to start using their most abundant natural power source. While building power plants and transmission lines takes years and costs much more, installing solar panels is quicker and more affordable for individual home owners, businesses and farmers. VOA’s George Putic reports.
…

From: MeNeedIt

One of the effects of progressive muscle diseases like cerebral palsy is muscle stiffness. There are drugs and therapies that are supposed to help but gauging their effectiveness is challenging. Now there’s a high-tech way that may help provide relief for patients. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports.
…

From: MeNeedIt

Cybersecurity experts warn that hundreds of thousands of computer users across the globe remain vulnerable following a large-scale virus attack in recent days. The so-called ‘ransomware’ virus struck governments and companies around the world, as Henry Ridgwell reports from London.
…

From: MeNeedIt

Katy Perry has announced her upcoming album will be titled “Witness” and will be released on June 9.

Perry has also announced an extensive tour of North America to promote the release.

The singer’s website says Perry’s first tour since 2015 begins Sept. 7 in Columbus, Ohio, and has dates listed through Feb. 5. Anyone who buys a ticket will receive a copy of the album.

Two singles have been released from “Witness” so far: “Chained to the Rhythm” and “Bon Appetit.” Perry hinted at the album’s name earlier this month by wearing a headpiece that spelled out the word “Witness” on the red carpet at the Met Gala.

Perry is set to perform on the season finale of “Saturday Night Live” this weekend.

 
…

From: MeNeedIt

Historic rivals China and Vietnam are working on substantive agreements that could cover trade, investment and maritime resource sharing despite a bitter sovereignty dispute that had snarled relations less than a year ago.

The Communist neighbors are inching toward new trade and investment ties that analysts say would help shore up overall relations. Some believe the two might later approach stickier topics such as joint use of disputed waters or humane treatment of each other’s fishermen. The two countries still contest sovereignty over tracts of the vast, resource-rich South China Sea east of Vietnam and southwest of Hong Kong.

Prospects of some kind of agreement came into focus during Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang’s visit to China, which ends Monday. He suggested the two sides work on complementing each other’s trade and investment advantages with a view toward improving overall relations, state media from Hanoi said.

“President Quang is in China, and China promised a lot,” said Yun Sun, senior associate with the East Asia Program under Washington-based think tank the Stimson Center. “From an economic point of view, it is certainly practical and beneficial for Vietnam to have some sort of deal, but then again I think this still relatively early to tell.”

In a meeting with Quang Thursday, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for more cross-border economic cooperation zones and joint infrastructure building, according to  China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported. China pledged to “mitigate” its trade deficit with Vietnam and increase direct investment, Sun said.

“Talking probably does help lower tensions and improve the odds of things happening,” said Alaistair Chan, an economist covering China for Moody’s Analytics.

The Vietnamese president suggested China finalize rules on opening the Chinese market for farm products, dairy and seafood, media outlet vietnamnet.vn said. He also called on China to make more “preferential loans” and urged a working group to develop renewable energy investment projects that play on China’s strengths and demand in Vietnam, the Vietnamese news report said.

On Friday companies from both countries signed agreements on milk distribution, tourism and rice processing.

China is the largest trade partner of Vietnam, with imports and exports worth about $72 billion last year. Vietnam also calls China one of the top 10 investors in the country.

But both countries are likely to hedge on letting outsiders invest in infrastructure, a possible source of direct investment, Chan said. “If they can get there purely on trade and stay away from investment, a touchy subject in both countries, I think that’s probably where they can get their quickest gain,” he said.

China and Vietnam stepped up dialogue after July 2016, when a world arbitration court ruled that Beijing lacked a legal basis to claim more than 90 percent of the sea, a boon to rival claimants in Southeast Asia: Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines. China responded to the ruling by seeking one-on-one dialogue with each country. Vietnam was one of the most hostile toward China before the court ruling.

Beijing and Hanoi dispute sovereignty over much of the 3.5 million-square-kilometer sea, including two chains of tiny islets. Beijing’s go-ahead for a Chinese oil rig in contested waters set off a clash in 2014. The two countries also still face distrust fanned by centuries of political rivalry as well as a border war in 1979.

Both countries stake their fast-growing economies on export manufacturing. Vietnamese companies resent China for using their larger production scales to sell goods in bulk at relatively low prices.

Relations got a lift in September when the Chinese premier and Vietnamese prime minister agreed to manage maritime differences. Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong the two countries get along with a visit to China in January.

Another boost came as China emerged last year as the top single-country source of tourism for Vietnam. About 2.2 million Chinese visited Vietnam from January to October. Chinese tourists have reshaped the economies of Hong Kong and Taiwan over the past decade.

Agreements on managing disputed tracts of the South China Sea may come later if the two sides keep getting along, experts say.

Vietnam and China have agreed to an “informal” median line in the tract of sea where their claims overlap, said Carl Thayer, Southeast Asia-specialized emeritus professor of politics at The University of New South Wales in Australia. They might eventually work on expanding joint exploration for oil under the seabed and a way to ensure “humane” treatment of fishermen, he said.

“It’s to stop the ramming, boarding, seizing fish catches and radio equipment and in the old days taking them hostages for money,” Thayer said. Under a human treatment agreement, he said, “If you find them, you report them to the other side and return them rather than bash them up and take everything.”
…

From: MeNeedIt

Florida’s Indian River lagoon is considered the most biologically diverse estuary in the Northern Hemisphere. But it is facing a serious threat to the plants and animals in its waters. The water’s surface is increasingly dotted with thousands of dead fish, manatees, birds and other creatures. Faiza Elmasry has more about the problem, the cause and the solution. VOA’s Faith Lapidus narrates.
…

From: MeNeedIt