Thursday, February 13

Day: September 2, 2016

Samsung halts Galaxy Note 7 sales after battery explosions
ENGLISH, Technology

Samsung halts Galaxy Note 7 sales after battery explosions

    Samsung suspended sales of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone on Friday, just two weeks after the flagship phone's launch, after finding batteries of some of the gadgets exploded while they were charging. Koh Dong-jin, president of Samsung's mobile business, said customers who already bought Note 7s will be able to swap them for new smartphones, regardless of when they purchased them. Samsung is issuing what amounts to its first global recall of the flagship smartphone because it has not found ways to specify exactly which phones may endanger users. Note 7s are being pulled from shelves in 10 countries, including South Korea and the United States. Koh said the company's investigation found that a battery cell made by one of its two battery suppliers caused the phone to catch fir...
Lunch with Theresa May? That will be £3,150
ENGLISH, London

Lunch with Theresa May? That will be £3,150

    The executives will pay for the chance to attend a lunch session with the prime minister, as well as meetings with the chancellor and other ministers. The Conservatives are selling access to Theresa May and other ministers for more than £3,000 a head to corporate executives and lobbyists at their party conference this autumn. The executives will pay for the chance to attend a lunch session with the prime minister and a dinner with the chancellor, as well as more intimate “round table” sessions with ministers relevant to their industry. The practice of charging corporate executives for access to ministers emerged under David Cameron, with the “business day” originally priced at around £1,000 a head for a session with the former prime minister and chancellor. A new corporate...
Italy begs women to have more babies for the sake of the nation, totally embarrasses the nation
ENGLISH, Europe

Italy begs women to have more babies for the sake of the nation, totally embarrasses the nation

    In its battle to get Italians to make more babies, the Italian government has made an embarrassing misstep. Health minister Beatrice Lorenzin recently announced that Sept. 22 would be the country’s first “Fertility Day,” when state-sponsored events in Rome, Bologna, Catania and Padova offer the public information about family planning and encourage parenthood. In anticipation of that special day, the ministry launched a #FertilityDay campaign, with 12 promotional images that quickly went viral in all the wrong ways. Several images have a vaguely threatening tone: “Beauty has no age. But fertility does,” reads one, with an image of a stress-smiling woman thrusting an hourglass into the foreground. “Fertility is a common good,” declares one. “Male fertility is much more vuln...
India upholds law allowing sex with 15 years olds
Asia, ENGLISH

India upholds law allowing sex with 15 years olds

    An Indian high court has upheld a law allowing sex with a woman of 15 if she is married. The age at which a person can consent to sex in India is 18, aside from this exemption. The Ministry of Home Affairs said it did not make sense to change the law because of India's "social realities". India has the largest number of child brides in the world. Around half of girls in India are married before their 18th birthday, according to Girls Not Brides. The umbrella organisation, made up of more than 600 civil society groups, said fewer Indian girls are marrying before the age of 15 than in the past, but rates of marriage have increased for girls between 15 and 18. Critics say the exemption to the age of sexual consent encourages marriages involving girls under 18. But the governm...
Anger at policewoman who parked in disabled bay while she went to get lunch
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

Anger at policewoman who parked in disabled bay while she went to get lunch

    Reports of a Birmingham police officer who parked her patrol car in a disabled bay at a KFC to grab a snack has sparked an angry reaction. The Mail revealed a uniformed officer had received a warning after being caught tucking in at the branch in Heybarnes Retail Park, Coventry Road, Small Heath, last Friday, August 19. It became a divisive issue on social media, with most criticising the officer for parking in one of only two designated disabled spaces. However, she was not without support, with some saying it was a victimless event and police officers have busy jobs. Nicky Cunningham posted on the Mail’s Facebook page: “Nothing better to do? Not a big deal? Yes, yes it is a big deal. When every minute of your life is consumed with pain, your legs don’t work, you struggle...