Israel
Prime Minister cuts funding to UN israelnationalnews
Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the Foreign Ministry to cut $2 million from Israel's payments to the UN, in light of the hostile proposals adopted by the UN Human Rights Council last week.
Society
Same-sex Valentine's Day cards are on the shelves at Sainsbury's for the first time home.bt w!
The 'cute' cards have a simple design featuring illustrations of a man and a man, and a woman and a woman, along with the words ‘You + Me’.
Peace
Jimmy Carter to Obama: Before you leave office, recognize Palestinian state cnn
"I am convinced that the United States can still shape the future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict before a change in presidents, but time is very short, " Carter wrote. "The simple but vital step this administration must take before its term expires on Jan. 20 is to grant American diplomatic recognition to the state of Palestine."
Also see Carter's Op-Ed piece: Jimmy Carter: America Must Recognize Palestine nytimes
CRISPR
Chinese scientists use gene-editing techniques in humans for first time cnn
On October 28, genetically modified cells were injected into a patient at the West China Hospital in Chengdu with aggressive lung cancer, according to the scientific journal Nature.
Liao Zhilin, who handles communications for the team, told CNN "everything is going as planned," but would not go into details.
Israel
UNESCO votes: No connection between Temple Mount and Judaism jpost
In a 24-6 vote, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization unesco.org on Thursday gave preliminary approval to a resolution that denies Jewish ties to its most holy religious sites: the Temple Mount and the Western Wall.
Also see Israel Decries UNESCO Vote on Jerusalem Site voanews and Israel suspends ties with Unesco over motion that downplays Jerusalem links theguardian
Creatures
Scientists say they’ve just discovered a new species of whale quartz
The first hints of a new species came from Japan in 1940s, when whalers reported catching an unknown beaked whale. Then, in 2004, a dead whale washed up on an Alaskan shore that looked vaguely familiar. The next hint came in 2013, when Japanese scientists used modern DNA analysis to test old samples and found evidence that indeed this mysterious mammal may be new to us. Then, finally, in 2014, another washed up dead on a shore in Alaska.
Iran
Secret document lifts Iran nuke constraints usatoday
The document is the only secret text linked to last year's agreement between Iran and six foreign powers. It says that after a period between 11 to 13 years, Iran can replace its 5,060 inefficient centrifuges with up to 3,500 advanced machines. Since those are five times as efficient, the time Iran would need to make a weapon would drop from a year to six months.
Also see A Year After Iran Nuclear Deal, What Has Changed? npr w!
Society
Transgender 'woman' arrested for voyeurism in Target changing room washingtontimes
Police responded to a call on Monday from a woman who said she noticed someone reaching over her stall and taking pictures while she was trying on clothes, the Post Register reported. The victim confronted the perpetrator, who ran out of the store.
Also see Transgender 'woman' accused of videotaping 18-year-old in Target fitting room pix11, where at least the police are shown with some remaining sanity:
Smith is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon in Bonneville County and was booked as a male into the Bonneville County Jail bonnevillesheriff on a $30,000 bond.
Peace
Israel-Palestinian peace initiatives are suddenly popping up everywhere washingtonpost
Until a week ago, it seemed the Israeli-Palestinian peace process was a flat-liner. President Obama thought so. In March, he said he wouldn’t seek to jump-start talks — the two sides were too far apart; it was not in the cards.
Global Economy
Connecting everyone to internet 'would add $6.7tn to global economy' theguardian
Bringing internet access to the 4.1 billion people in the world who do not have it would increase global economic output by $6.7 trillion (£4.6tr), raising 500 million people out of poverty, according to a study by PwC.
Babel
This nifty earpiece will translate your conversations in real-time thenextweb v
Working much like the Babel Fish from ‘The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy,’ the Pilot can translate live speech. So, if you have it in your ear and you’re talking to someone who speaks French – you will hear what they say in English and they will hear you in French.
AI
Artificial Intelligence Recreates Nobel Prize-Winning Physics Experiment - In One Hour forbes
“A simple computer program would have taken longer than the age of the universe to run through all the combinations and work this out.”
Google made an insanely high-res camera to preserve great works of art theverge v
"The capture time has been reduced drastically," says Marzia Niccolai, technical program manager at the Cultural Institute. "Previously it could take almost a day to capture an image. To give you an idea, now if you have a one meter by one meter painting, it would take 30 minutes."
Government Tech
UK developing digital driving licence bbc
CCS Insight analyst Ben Wood said: "Security has taken a significant step forward to support digital payments on phones, so the framework is in place for other secure applications, such as a digital driving licence.
There are not many people in the UK that do not carry a smartphone with them every day, so it is a logical next step.
Exosuits, robot arms and mini subs: This is the military's future armytimes
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency filled the courtyard at the Pentagon on May 11 with a variety of exhibitions at its annual DARPA Demo Day, giving the defense community and media a chance to see the next steps to maintain supremacy on the battlefield.
See this article for DARPA’s New Robotic Arm is Straight Out of Terminator v. Note: the video might make some a little uncomfortable. Like me. :)
Self Driving Vehicles
Otto, founded by ex-Googlers, is bringing self-driving technology to trucks techcrunch v
Unlike others, which are designing new vehicles that drive autonomously, Otto focuses on technology that can be fitted into trucks that are on the road now. Rather than eradicating drivers by making them obsolete, the immediate goal is assistance. The duo told Backchannel that, among many things, they aim to let drivers safely take a sleep break while leaving their truck driving autonomously.
3D
3D printer uses lasers to create metallic objects in midair engadget v
...instead of spitting out one layer over another, the machine was designed to ooze out metal that immediately freezes solid. That allows it to print free-form patterns that look like they're suspended in air, like coils. Created by the university's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), the printer uses "ink" composed of silver nanoparticles. A focused laser then heats the material and solidifies it as it comes out.
Shape-shifting modular interactive device unveiled bristol.ac.uk v
Cubimorph is a modular interactive device that holds touchscreens on each of the six module faces and that uses a hinge-mounted turntable mechanism to self-reconfigure in the user’s hand. One example is a mobile phone that can transform into a console when a user launches a game.
Ok...so this looks like blocks...moving around :) To get a 'long view' perspective on the intention of this kind of technology, Create Anything You Want With Programmable Matter v is a good, introduction video of how dreamers dream when they dream of programmable matter.
Society
Supreme Court dodges major decision on Obamacare birth control reuters
The court's action avoided a possible 4-4 split that would have affirmed the lower-court rulings. The justices, shorthanded following February's death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, threw out seven rulings by federal appeals courts around the country that had backed the Obama administration.
Canada Moves to Ban Discrimination Against Transgender People nytimes
The legislation comes at a time of intense debate over transgender rights in the United States, and it fulfills a pledge Mr. Trudeau made during his election campaign last year. The government timed the introduction of the bill to coincide with an International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.
Mexico's president calls for nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage theguardian
The announcement, which coincides with the National Day Against Homophobia in Mexico, came after Nieto met at a roundtable with representatives of LGBT groups.
Abortion
South Carolina passes bill banning abortion after 19 weeks startribune
The legislation will now head to Gov. Nikki Haley's desk. The Republican said in March she will almost certainly sign it, but wants to look at the details once it reaches her desk.
Pope
Pope Francis says Islam and Christianity share an ‘idea of conquest’ washingtonpost
“It is true that the idea of conquest is inherent in the soul of Islam," he said. "However, it is also possible to interpret the objective in Matthew’s Gospel, where Jesus sends his disciples to all nations, in terms of the same idea of conquest."
Yet another reminder that the Pope does not speak for God! Also see Pope Francis: Christianity and Islam must integrate in Europe
China
Pentagon: China Restructures for War freebeacon
The armed forces were reformed with new military regions, a new command structure, and updated strategies to better fight regional, high technology warfare, the 145-page report to Congress says.
Israel
Jerusalem is being divided de facto' israelnationalnews
A number of leftwing NGOs including Ir Amim and Tag Meir have called upon Israeli police this week to bar the annual Jerusalem Day “Rikudgalim” march from parts of the Old City.
Without peace, Mideast extremism will hit Israel,' Abbas warns jpost
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the French initiative for an international peace conference aimed at resolving the Middle East conflict.
“When two sides are invited to a meeting, one cannot present preconditions,” the Palestinian leader said. “It’s the international community that should determine what is right and what isn’t.”
Iran
Head of Iran’s hate cartoon fest equates Holocaust with Israeli actions in ‘Palestine’ timesofisrael
Several cartoons on display focus on Benjamin Netanyahu, with one depicting the Israeli prime minister as a member of the Islamic State jihadist group and holding a sabre in his hand.
Another shows a map of the Middle East with a coffin bearing the word “Holocaust” flattening Palestinians in place of what should be the country of Israel.
See also Iranians say Holocaust cartoon contest not aimed at denial and Israeli leader: Iran mocks WWII Holocaust, prepares another
AI
Preparing for the Future of Artificial Intelligence whitehouse.gov
...the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is excited to announce that we will be co-hosting four public workshops over the coming months on topics in AI to spur public dialogue on artificial intelligence and machine learning and identify challenges and opportunities related to this emerging technology.
AI
MIT develops system that can detect 85% of cyberattacks using artificial intelligence ibtimes.co.uk
Rather than requiring cybersecurity analysts to spend all day analysing huge amounts of data that may or may not be a sign that cybercriminals are attacking a network, AI2 is instead trained to pick out the 200 most abnormal events it has detected during that day.
The human expert looks at the events and picks out which events relate to a cyberattack, and as days pass by, the computer learns how to identify more and more of the events as attacks, accurately, by itself – meaning that, eventually, the cybersecurity analyst might only need to look at 30-40 flagged events per day.
Space
Stephen Hawking announces $100M ‘Breakthrough Starshot’ project to find alien life nydailynews v
The Breakthrough Starshot Project was unveiled Tuesday on the 102nd floor of One World Observatory, where Hawking was joined by Russian billionaire Yuri Milner in announcing the ambitious plan.
Cyborg
Remote-control cyborg beetle developed by scientists independent.co.uk
Researchers have created a 'living drone' by controlling a beetle's movements using electronics.
If there was such a thing as insect-abuse, this would be it: Scientists Turn Beetle Into 'Cyborg' | Video
Life
Embryo cell abnormalities not necessarily a sign that a baby will be born with a birth defect independent.co.uk
An academic who became pregnant with her second child, aged 44, has shown that abnormal cells in the early embryo are not necessarily a sign that a baby will be born with a birth defect such as Down’s syndrome.
Also read Embryos with defective cells 'can still develop healthily'
Pestilence
Questions remain over deadly mystery bacteria in Midwest cbsnews
The bacteria, called Elizabethkingia, does not usually cause illness in humans, but in recent months it has sickened dozens and killed 17 people in Wisconsin and one in Michigan.
North Korea
North Korea tells its people a new famine may come, they again may need to 'eat the roots of grass' latimes
When Kim Jong Un made his first public speech as North Korea's leader in 2012, he stood in front of a massive military rally in the capital’s main square and told the crowd that they would “never have to tighten their belts again.” Kim was referring to his country’s history of poverty and food shortages, particularly a famine in the 1990s in which hundreds of thousands of people — if not more — starved to death.
We Are Ready for ‘Pre-Emptive Nuclear Strike’ on U.S. breitbart
North Korea has once again asserted that it will use its nuclear weapons arsenal against the United States. Unlike previous statements, however, a note from the rogue state’s foreign minister on Monday insisted that North Korea is fully equipped and ready to use a nuclear weapon on the United States, not just willing to do so.
Iran
U.S., France, Britain and Germany Urge UN Action Against Iran Over Missile Tests haaretz
The United States and three allies called for a UN Security Council meeting to respond to Iran's recent ballistic missile tests which they say were carried out in defiance of a UN resolution.
Also Russia says Iran missile tests 'don’t violate' UN resolution
US
US to increase military presence in eastern Europe bbc
The plan demonstrates "our strong and balanced approach to reassuring our Nato allies and partners in the wake of an aggressive Russia in eastern Europe and elsewhere", said Gen Philip Breedlove, the senior US commander in Europe.
Also see US to station armored brigade in Eastern Europe: Pentagon
Russia
Russian Jets Carry Out 23 Sorties Hitting 54 Terrorist Targets in 24 Hours sputniknews
Russian combat jets deployed in Syria have carried out 23 night sorties in the last 24 hours, hitting a total of 54 terrorist targets, the Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday.
Abortion
FDA approves abortion drug label that could undo several state laws bbc
Under the new label, a smaller dose of mifepristone can be used up to 70 days after the beginning of the last menstrual period instead of the 49-day limit in effect under the old label. Also, the second drug can be taken by a woman at home and not be required to be administered at a clinic.
"It looks like this benefits the abortion industry and increases their potential customer base and revenues, but it's not clear that anything here makes it safer for women in the long run, and certainly nothing about a chemical abortion makes it any safer for the unborn child," O'Bannon said.
AI
What Happens When You Combine Artificial Intelligence and Satellite Imagery fortune
Using technology similar to what allows Facebook to recognize faces in photos uploaded to its service, the company sifted through more than 14 billion geospatial images captured by satellite imagery provider DigitalGlobe. The resulting maps reveal the locations of more than 2 billion disconnected people spread across 20 countries, many of them developing nations where even basic mapping data is scarce.
What could possibly go wrong with being able to mine “petabytes of satellite imagery”...?
Tech
Open-source microprocessor phys.org
The new processor is called PULPino and it is designed for battery-powered devices with extremely low energy consumption (PULP stands for 'parallel ultra low power'). These could be for chips for small devices, such as smartwatches, sensors for monitoring physiological functions (which can communicate with a heart rate monitor, for instance) or sensors for the Internet of Things.
Space
Japanese Space Probe Was Smashed Into Five Pieces forbes
JAXA lost contact with Hitomi, or ASTRO-H, on Saturday, when the satellite was due to start operations. Since then, the agency has managed to get two signals from the space probe, one at around 8am EST on Monday and the other at 10.30am EST on Tuesday.
NASA will let you walk on Mars using HoloLens theverge
NASA is teaming up with Microsoft to give you a glimpse of the Red Planet. A new exhibition called "Destination: Mars" will let visitors use Microsoft’s HoloLens augmented reality headsets to take a virtual stroll on Mars, alongside a "holographic" tour guide, astronaut Buzz Aldrin.
Food
Dr Lee Hickey and PhD candidate Adnan Riaz, from the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, have completed the world's first genome-wide analysis of a collection of wheat seeds stored in Russia for more than a century.
