News

Army of Poland on High Readiness After Invasion in Ukraine
Poland, Europe, News, Ukraine

Army of Poland on High Readiness After Invasion in Ukraine

Poland puts its army on high alert after Russia's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine. All soldiers are called to the barracks, and all leave has been revoked, Polish media reported.   In the border town of Medyka, about 80 kilometres west of Lviv, the air raid siren sounds.   The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls on all Polish citizens to leave Ukraine immediately.
Ukrainian Security Council Declares State of Emergency
Ukraine, Europe, News

Ukrainian Security Council Declares State of Emergency

In light of the escalating conflict with Russia, the Ukrainian Security Council declared a state of emergency for the entire country on Wednesday.   This will initially apply for 30 days, according to the Secretary of the Security Council. The decision implies the possibility of a curfew. It also paves the way for increased police presence and the right to random checks on people and cars. The decision still has to be approved by the Ukrainian parliament, but that is almost a formality. In its first reading, parliament on Wednesday approved a bill to make it easier for Ukrainian citizens to use weapons in self-defence. A second and final second reading will follow very shortly. Russia on Monday recognized the independence of the self-declared "people's republics" of Donetsk and ...
Ukraine Denounces Revival Soviet Union by Moscow
Ukraine, News, Russia

Ukraine Denounces Revival Soviet Union by Moscow

By recognizing two pro-Russian republics in eastern Ukraine, the Russian government has "taken another step towards the revival of the Soviet Union," said Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov.   The government in Kyiv calls for tough sanctions against Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a speech Monday that he would recognize the two separatist regions in the Donbas region and send peacekeepers there. According to Ukraine, a former Soviet republic, Moscow has had military personnel in the area for some time, and the Kremlin is now trying to legalize that presence. Several western countries have announced sanctions. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has indicated that his country remains prepared to consult on the heated conflict.
Ukraine Tensions: United States and Russia Agree to Vladimir Putin-Joe Biden Summit
Ukraine, News, Russia, US

Ukraine Tensions: United States and Russia Agree to Vladimir Putin-Joe Biden Summit

The United States and Russia have "in principle" agreed to a summit between US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. French President Emmanuel Macron proposed the summit after calling Putin for a second time in one day on Sunday.   French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin held another hour of telephone conversations late Sunday evening about the situation in Ukraine. It was their second meeting of the day, and the French government reports after the two leaders also spoke for nearly two hours earlier Sunday in an effort to prevent armed conflict in Ukraine. Just before the first meeting with Putin, Macron had also spent half an hour on the phone with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodimir Zelensky and discussed possible ways to ef...
European Astronauts Want Their Own Ship
Technology, Europe, News

European Astronauts Want Their Own Ship

Astronauts call on the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop their own rockets to launch humans into space. Currently, European astronauts join missions from other countries and companies.   The Association of Space Explorers, the interest group of European astronauts, asks European politicians to invest in their own crew capsules. This will allow ESA to carry out manned flights itself. That is not possible with current missiles. If European astronauts want to go into space, this is currently done by buying seats on rockets from, for example, Russia or the company SpaceX. ESA's own missiles, such as the Ariane 5, do not allow manned flights. According to the interest group, the time has come for Europe to build its own infrastructure around this. "European leaders must urgently d...
Sydney’s First Deadly Shark Attack in Nearly 60 Years
Australia, News

Sydney’s First Deadly Shark Attack in Nearly 60 Years

For the first time in decades, a swimmer in the sea off Sydney has been killed by a shark. The attack took place Wednesday afternoon, local time, in a popular bay in the southeastern suburb of Little Bay. The local police confirmed this on Wednesday.   Police in the state of New South Wales, of which Sydney is the capital, opened an investigation Wednesday afternoon into a "fatal shark attack" on a beach east of Sydney. The victim suffered "catastrophic injuries," a spokesman for the emergency services said. Human remains, and a lot of blood is said to have been found in the sea. Little Bay Beach was closed to the public as officers continued their search. An investigation will be launched to clarify the circumstances of the death. Earlier in the Australian summer day, a bull shar...
NATO Boss: Reason for Cautious Optimism About Russia
News, Russia

NATO Boss: Reason for Cautious Optimism About Russia

NATO sees "reason for cautious optimism" about a peaceful way out of the heated conflict with Russia.   The Western alliance sees favourable signals from Moscow, though Russian military pressure on Ukraine has not yet eased, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said. Russia announced the departure of some of its troops in the border region on Tuesday morning. They would have completed their exercises and returned to their army camps elsewhere in the country. A day earlier, the Kremlin made it clear that it still wants to look for a diplomatic solution.
Western Digital Factory Flaw Renders 6.5 Exabytes of Flash Memory Useless
Technology, News

Western Digital Factory Flaw Renders 6.5 Exabytes of Flash Memory Useless

Storage manufacturer Western Digital has discovered that errors have occurred in two of its factories, resulting in the loss of an enormous amount of flash memory, including used in SSDs.   The company does not provide many technical details, but Western Digital speaks of contamination of certain materials in its factories in Yokkaichi and Kitakami. Both Japanese sites are operated in a joint venture with Kioxia, the former Toshiba. WD says it is still working closely with Kioxia to keep the factories running as smoothly as possible. However, because it concerns the factories mentioned above, The Verge knows that it concerns CiCS 3D NAND flash memory. Together, the two companies account for about 30 percent of the NAND flash memory market. Market analyst TrendForce expects the inc...
Paris Deploys More Than 7,000 Agents Against Freedom Convoy
France, Europe, News

Paris Deploys More Than 7,000 Agents Against Freedom Convoy

At least 7,200 police officers will be deployed in Paris over the weekend to prevent demonstrators with vehicles in a so-called freedom convoy from disrupting traffic. In addition, strict sanctions have been announced, such as high fines, prison sentences and years of driving license revocation.   Since Wednesday, opponents of the corona measures have been driving in trucks and other vehicles in parades to the capital. French media report that other grievances, such as the rise in energy prices and the rise in livelihoods in general, are also driving protesters to Paris. They often get a lot of acclaim along the routes. Authorities in Meaux, northeast of Paris, have banned a gathering of sympathizers in the city on Friday evening. Meaux is on the route of the freedom convoy from ea...
Samsung Comes With New Flagships
Technology, News

Samsung Comes With New Flagships

Samsung has presented its latest high-end devices. In addition to the Samsung Galaxy S22 and S22+, this also includes an Ultra device that should make the Note forget.   The technological focus of the Galaxy S22 and S22+ is on the camera, as was the case with previous editions. As expected, the new version builds on incremental improvements. Both models have a powerful 50MP main camera, 10MP telephoto lens and 12MP ultra-wide angle lens. In addition, intelligent image processing should allow you to take beautiful photos under almost all circumstances. Also at night, with, for example, a Nightography function and a sensor that is 23% larger than that in the S21 model. Even more interesting for those who want to turn their cat into an Instagram model, Samsung reports that Portrait mo...