Tuesday, March 26

Author: Michael Kitching

Spotify Releases First Hardware With Car Thing
News, Tech

Spotify Releases First Hardware With Car Thing

Music streaming service Spotify has released its Car Thing in the United States. The device should make it easier to use Spotify in your car if you are a Premium member.   Car Thing is the streaming giant's first hardware device. It is a music player and smart assistant that you have to mount on your car's dashboard. After a test period, the device is now widely rolled out in the United States for the first time. In October, the device was tested to several subscribers, but Spotify now says that Americans can now buy the device for ninety dollars. You will need a Premium subscription to the streaming service to use it. The device also works via a link with your smartphone, which in turn must have access to WiFi or mobile data. Car Thing basically allows you to listen to Spotify in...
London Wants Action Against Russian News Channel RT
News, Russia, UK

London Wants Action Against Russian News Channel RT

British Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries wants media regulator Ofcom to take action against Russian news channel RT.   She has concerns that the channel could spread disinformation about the current crisis in Ukraine, reports The Times newspaper. According to Dorries, RT in Britain has previously violated rules that the British government has drawn up for the media. The news channel RT considers the minister's move to be a completely unjustified interference with the free media.
EU Also Wants to Hit Russian Organisations and Companies with Sanctions
Europe, News, Russia

EU Also Wants to Hit Russian Organisations and Companies with Sanctions

Individuals and organisations, and companies involved in the Russian recognition of two renegade Ukrainian regions should fear European sanctions.   According to insiders, the EU countries are working on a list of hundreds of people and 'entities'. They are also thinking about banning the trade in Russian government bonds, news agencies DPA and Reuters report. For example, the sanctions could hit Russian banks that play a role in Ukraine's separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. Eligible persons include members of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, who has pushed for and agreed to recognise both regions and the rebel leaders. EU citizens and companies are no longer allowed to do business with them, and they can no longer access assets stored in the union. In addition, se...
Truth Social Expected to be Fully Operational by the End of March
News, Tech, US

Truth Social Expected to be Fully Operational by the End of March

Donald Trump's new social network, 'Truth Social', can already be downloaded in the (American) App Store of Apple.   For the time being, it is not known when the app will also appear in the Google Play Store, but it is expected that 'Truth Social' will be fully operational by the end of March. The network comes in response to the ex-president's ban on Twitter, among other things. "We're going to start opening the app to people on Apple this week," Devin Nunes, head of Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of the new network, said during an interview with Fox News. "I think we will be fully operational by the end of March, at least in the US." "Trump presented truth Social" as an alternative to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, from which he was barred after the storm...
US Ambassador Expects Russian Invasion Any Moment
News, Russia, Ukraine, US

US Ambassador Expects Russian Invasion Any Moment

The US has reiterated its assessment that Russia could invade Ukraine at any moment. US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said ahead of the UN Security Council consultations on Ukraine that there appears to be evidence that an invasion is imminent.   Therefore, foreign Minister Antony Blinken addresses the powerful body and has changed his travel plans. The US government has been saying for some time that the Russians are ready to invade. They are said to have brought in new troops recently. Moscow denies and says it is pulling troops away from the border with Ukraine. The Security Council meets for annual consultations on implementing the so-called Minsk agreements. In 2015, they led to a truce between the government in Kyiv and the pro-Russian separatists ...
Twitter Bans Porn Accounts in Germany
Europe, Germany, News, Tech

Twitter Bans Porn Accounts in Germany

Twitter is gradually banning accounts with pornographic content. This is done at the request of German authorities who do not want minors to see inappropriate material. But the lack of age control also plays a role.   Erotic material on social media remains a tricky topic. At Meta (specifically Facebook and Instagram), it is not allowed. Nudity or pornography is allowed on Reddit or Twitter, but that is not appreciated everywhere. Wired notes that at least 60 accounts have been closed to the German public since the end of 2020. The exact number is unknown. Anyone who wants to view the account from Germany will see that they have been blocked for legal reasons. It's one of the rare occasions when a major tech platform addresses such questions. This is partly due to requests from th...
Russia Successfully Launches Unmanned Cargo to ISS Space Station
News, Russia, Tech

Russia Successfully Launches Unmanned Cargo to ISS Space Station

Russia successfully launched an unmanned cargo spaceship to the International Space Station from the Baykonur spaceport on Tuesday, the Russian and US space agencies, Roscosmos and NASA, announced.   At 4.25 am UK time, a Soyuz 2.1a launch vehicle took off. Nine minutes later, it put the Russian cargo Progress MS-19 (Progress-80 according to the American classification) on a trajectory to the ISS. The automatic connection to the Russian Pojsk module is scheduled for Thursday at 08:06 am Belgian time. The spaceship has about three tons of cargo, consisting of food, drinking water, fuel and experiments. Roscosmos has yet to set a return date, according to NASA.
Russian Parliament Discusses Recognition of Republics in Ukraine
News, Russia, Ukraine

Russian Parliament Discusses Recognition of Republics in Ukraine

On Tuesday, the lower house in Russia will decide whether it will ask President Vladimir Putin to recognize separatist regions in eastern Ukraine as independent states. However, the Russian news agency Interfax reported Monday a vote on this has been postponed by 24 hours.   According to a source, the parliamentarians are presented with two options about the areas in the Donbas. One asks Putin to recognize the so-called People's Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk directly, while the other requires consultations with the foreign and defence ministries and other government agencies. The plan to recognize the regions as independent was presented in parliament in mid-January by 11 parliamentarians, including the leader of the Communist Party. They said this move is necessary to protect r...
Danish Police Find Missing Woman’s Body Parts
Denmark, Europe, News

Danish Police Find Missing Woman’s Body Parts

Near the Danish city of Aalborg, the police found body parts of a young woman who had been missing for several days.   Police inspector Frank Olsen said this to TV channel DR on Thursday evening. The body parts were in a wooded area north of Aalborg. The find indicates that 22-year-old Mia Skadhauge Stevn was the victim of a brutal crime. Stevn has been missing since Sunday. She was last seen on CCTV footage when she got into a dark car on Sunday evening. Earlier this week, the police arrested two men in connection with her disappearance. Both suspects have been formally charged with murder, but maintain that they are innocent. One of them is currently in custody, and the other has been released.
French President Reverses Nuclear Power Plant Expansion
Europe, France, News

French President Reverses Nuclear Power Plant Expansion

On closer inspection, France is going to invest heavily in nuclear energy. President Emmanuel Macron presents major plans to build more nuclear reactors in eastern Belfry.   Nearly five years ago, Macron gradually got rid of nuclear power plants in the country, but now 50 billion euros is being pumped into the construction of six new EPR-type plants to start with. The six should be ready in 2045. But according to Macron, it doesn't stop there. After that, eight more are to be built between 2050 and 2065 for an estimated 100 billion euros. The ambitious approach is partly inspired by the intention to emit fewer greenhouse gases, the increasing demand for energy, and the significant decrease in nuclear energy production in recent years. Twelve of the 56 existing nuclear reactors are...