China trimmed another key interest rate Thursday — the second cut this week — after a series of official data painted a gloomy picture of the post-Covid recovery in the world’s second largest economy.
AI created summarization:
- China's central bank cut the key one-year lending rate by 0.1 percentage points to 2.65% on Thursday.
- This is the second rate cut this week, following a surprise cut on Tuesday to the seven-day reverse repo rate.
- The moves are aimed at boosting liquidity in the banking system and making short-term loans cheaper, as officials continue to try to shore up a sputtering economy.
- New government data on Thursday showed that retail sales rose 12.7% in May compared with a year ago, but that was down from 18.4% growth the previous month and less than economists were expecting.
- Industrial production grew 3.5%, in line with consensus estimates, but growth was weaker than in April.
- Urban youth unemployment hit another new high in May, reaching 20.8%.
- The majority of latest economic data are below the already-low consensus, and the latest rate cuts suggest that policymakers clearly feel the urgency to step up policy support.
The giant armoured creature, named Vectipelta barretti, dates back between 66 and 145 million years.
AI created summarization:
- The dinosaur, named Vectipelta barretti, lived between 66 and 145 million years ago.
- It was a plant-eater and had blade-like armour.
- It was discovered in rocks that also contained fossils of other dinosaurs, including Polacanthus foxii.
- Scientists believe Vectipelta barretti was more closely related to ankylosaurs found in China than to P. foxii.
- The discovery sheds light on the diversity of species present in England during the Early Cretaceous period.
- The site where the dinosaur was found is a "hugely important" resource for understanding more about how the dinosaurs went extinct.
Foxconn, which makes over half of the world’s Apple products, seeks its next big growth driver.
AI created summarization:
- Foxconn, a Taiwanese company that makes products for Apple and other tech giants, is betting big on electric vehicles.
- The company is also moving some of its supply chains away from China, as tensions between the US and China rise.
- Foxconn is preparing for the worst-case scenario, such as a Chinese blockade or invasion of Taiwan.
- The company has already begun moving some production lines to Mexico and Vietnam.
- Foxconn is a major player in the global supply chain, and its moves could have a ripple effect on other companies.
Here are some additional details about the company's plans:
- Foxconn has invested $10 billion in a new electric vehicle plant in Taiwan.
- The company plans to produce 1 million electric vehicles per year by 2025.
- Foxconn is also working on self-driving cars and other new technologies.
The company's moves are a sign of the growing importance of electric vehicles and the changing global supply chain. Foxconn is a major player in both of these trends, and its moves could have a significant impact on the global economy.
The deaths of hundreds of wild birds along Mexico's Pacific coast were likely caused by the El Niño climate phenomenon, local authorities said on Thursday, as the country and its surrounding oceans face an intense heat wave.
AI created summarization:
- Hundreds of wild birds have died along Mexico's Pacific coast.
- Authorities initially suspected bird flu, but now believe the most likely cause is warmer oceans resulting from El Niño.
- El Niño is a periodic natural phenomenon that warms the Pacific Ocean, fueling tropical cyclones, floods and rainfall across the Americas and elsewhere.
- Scientists say this year's El Niño is particularly worrying, as coupled with climate change, it is expected to see the world grapple with record-high temperatures.
- Warmer waters are causing fish to swim lower in search of colder waters, which is preventing seabirds from successfully hunting for their food.
- Sea birds have also been found dead on the coasts of Peru and Chile.
- At least six people have died in Mexico as a result of intense heat this warmer season. The deaths of the wild birds and the heat wave are a reminder of the dangers posed by climate change. El Niño is a natural phenomenon, but it is being exacerbated by climate change. This is causing more extreme weather events, such as heat waves, droughts, floods and wildfires. These events are having a devastating impact on people and wildlife around the world.
It is important to take action to address climate change. This includes reducing greenhouse gas emissions, investing in renewable energy and adapting to the impacts of climate change that are already happening.
A semi-trailer truck hit a small bus that was carrying a group of mainly elderly people, police said.
AI created summarization:
Bus crash in Manitoba, Canada
- At least 15 people killed after a semi-trailer truck hit a small bus.
- The bus was carrying about 25 people, most of them elderly.
- Ten other people were injured and taken to hospital.
- The drivers of both vehicles were alive.
- The crash occurred near the town of Carberry, about 170 km west of Winnipeg.
- The cause of the crash is under investigation.
- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson have expressed their condolences.
Previous fatal bus crashes in Canada
- In April 2018, 16 people died after a truck hit a bus transporting a junior hockey team in Saskatchewan.
- In 1997, a bus carrying seniors plunged into a ravine in Quebec, killing 44 people.
With Kyiv and Moscow courting the Global South, the African leaders see a chance to mediate in a war that has hit African countries by disrupting grain and other food supplies and aggravating price inflation.
AI created summarization:
- A group of African leaders arrived in Kyiv on Friday to mediate between Ukraine and Russia.
- The leaders visited Bucha, a town outside Kyiv where Ukraine says Russian occupiers carried out executions, rapes and torture.
- The African leaders are proposing a series of "confidence building measures" to help end the war.
- These measures could include a pullback of Russian troops, removal of Russian tactical nuclear weapons from Belarus, suspension of implementation of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant targeting Putin, and relief from the Western sanctions imposed on Russia.
- Ukraine says its own peace initiative, which envisages the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian land, must be the basis for any settlement of the war. The African leaders' peace mission is a significant development in the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia. The leaders' visit to Bucha and their proposed "confidence building measures" suggest that they are serious about finding a peaceful resolution to the war. However, it remains to be seen whether Russia will be willing to engage in serious negotiations.
Here are some additional details about the African leaders' peace mission:
- The delegation includes leaders from South Africa, Senegal, Zambia, the Comoros and Egypt.
- The leaders are all members of the African Union, which has called for an end to the war in Ukraine.
- The leaders are meeting with both Ukrainian and Russian officials in an effort to broker a ceasefire.
- The leaders are also meeting with humanitarian organizations to discuss the needs of the people affected by the war.
The African leaders' peace mission is a welcome development, but it is important to remember that it is just one part of the effort to end the war in Ukraine. The leaders' efforts will need to be complemented by the efforts of other countries and organizations if there is to be a lasting peace.
I hope so too. I stopped commenting on reddit a while back because it was just such an unenjoyable, unrewarding experience. Felt like users just got their dopamine by being contrarian about anything and everything.
Those users will come here. Best thing we can do is not engage. Just downvote, block, and delete those people from your memory. They aren't worth your energy. Embrace the amiable community instead.
It's been a couple hours without a post, so figured I'd post another favorite of mine. Everyone loves kittens, even the reformed criminals.
Glad to see someone, @PsychoticBananaSplit, took initiative to make this community. I would have, but I have no time to moderate. Cheers! 😻
Also, this little one is not mine. Just one of the cutest I've seen.
Yo Lemmings 👋 I’m Lethal and I play video games for the Internet.
https://lethalfeline.com