04/23/2018 | UPONSOFT

US Soldier Gets World’s First Penis and Scrotum Transplant

By Uponsci | 04/23/2018 | No Comments | Science

A young military veteran who had his genitals blown off in a blast in Afghanistan has received the world’s most extensive penis transplant.

Surgeons at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, rebuilt the man’s entire pelvic region — transplanting a penis, scrotum and part of the abdominal wall from a deceased donor — in a highly experimental 14-hour operation.

Doctors said Monday he is recovering well and is expected to leave the hospital this week.

The patient, who asked to remain anonymous, is expected to recover urinary and eventually, sexual function.

The scrotum transplant did not include the donor’s testicles, meaning reproduction won’t be possible.

“We just felt there were too many unanswered ethical questions” with that extra step, said Hopkins’ Dr. Damon Cooney.

Three other successful penis transplants have been reported, two in South Africa and one in 2016 at Massachusetts General Hospital. Those transplants involved only the penis and not extensive surrounding tissue that made this transplant much more complex.

The Hopkins patient received an extra experimental step — an infusion of bone marrow from his donor that research suggests may help a recipient’s immune system better tolerate a transplant. Surgeons said this treatment enables the veteran to take one anti-rejection drug instead of several.

A statement from Hopkins included a quote from the patient, saying, “When I first woke up, I felt finally more normal.”
…

Facebook Says It is Taking Down More Material About ISIS, al-Qaida

By Uponsil | 04/23/2018 | No Comments | Silicon Valley

Facebook said on Monday that it removed or put a warning label on 1.9 million pieces of extremist content related to ISIS or al-Qaida in the first three months of the year, or about double the amount from the previous quarter.

Facebook, the world’s largest social media network, also published its internal definition of “terrorism” for the first time, as part of an effort to be more open about internal company operations.

The European Union has been putting pressure on Facebook and its tech industry competitors to remove extremist content more rapidly or face legislation forcing them to do so, and the sector has increased efforts to demonstrate progress.

Of the 1.9 million pieces of extremist content, the “vast majority” was removed and a small portion received a warning label because it was shared for informational or counter-extremist purposes, Facebook said in a post on a

corporate blog.

Facebook uses automated software such as image matching to detect some extremist material. The median time required for takedowns was less than one minute in the first quarter of the year, the company said.

Facebook, which bans terrorists from its network, has not previously said what its definition encompasses.

The company said it defines terrorism as: “Any non-governmental organization that engages in premeditated acts of violence against persons or property to intimidate a civilian population, government, or international organization in order to achieve a political, religious, or ideological aim.”

The definition is “agnostic to ideology,” the company said, including such varied groups as religious extremists, white supremacists and militant environmentalists.
…

Scientists: California Risks Severe ‘Whiplash’ From Drought to Flood

By Uponsci | 04/23/2018 | No Comments | Science

California will suffer more volatile weather this century with a “whiplash” from drought to rain and mounting risks a repeat of the devastating “Great Flood” of 1862, scientists said on Monday.

Climate change, driven by man-made greenhouse gas emissions, would drive more extreme shifts between hot and dry summers and wet winters in the most populous U.S. state, they wrote in the journal Nature Climate Change.

Global warming is making California and other regions with similar Mediterranean-style climates, from southern Europe to parts of Australia, drier and warmer in summer, said lead author Daniel Swain of the University of California, Los Angeles.

In California in winter “an opposing trend toward a strong Pacific jet stream is projected to locally enhance precipitation during the core months of the ‘rainy season,'” he told Reuters.

“Natural precipitation variability in this region is already large, and projected future whiplash increases would amplify existing swings between dry and wet years,” the authors wrote.

They projected “a 25 percent to 100 percent increase in extreme dry-to-wet precipitation events” this century.

California had its worst drought in recorded history from 2010â€”2016, followed by severe rains and flooding that culminated with evacuation orders for almost 200,000 residents as a precaution near the Oroville Dam last year.

The study said major urban centers, including San Francisco and Los Angeles, were “more likely than not” to suffer a freak series of storms by 2060 similar to ones in 1861-62 that led to the “Great Flood.”

The storms swamped the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys, flooding an area 300 miles (500 km) long and 20 miles wide.

Storms washed away bridges, inundated mines and wrecked farms.

A repeat “would probably lead to considerable loss of life and economic damages approaching a trillion dollars,” the study said.

As part of planning, Swain said the state should expand use of floodplains that can be deliberately flooded to soak up rains, such as the Yolo Bypass which protects the city of Sacramento.

The study assumes, however, that global greenhouse gas emissions will keep rising, at odds with the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement under which almost 200 nations agreed to cut emissions to net zero between 2050 and 2100.

“Such a future can be partially, but not completely, avoided” if the world takes tougher action, Swain said. He noted that existing government pledges to limit warming fall well short of the Paris goals.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who doubts mainstream findings that greenhouse gas emissions are the main cause of warming, plans to quit the deal, saying he wants to promote the U.S. fossil fuel industry.
…

UAE to Fund $50.4M Project to Rebuild Mosul’s Grand Al-Nuri Mosque

By Uponent | 04/23/2018 | No Comments | Entertainment

The United Arab Emirates will finance a $50.4 million project to rebuild Mosul’s Grand al-Nuri Mosque, famous for its eight-century-old leaning minaret, that was blown up by Islamic State militants last year, the United Nations said Monday.

Reconstruction and restoration of the mosque and al-Hadba minaret will be in partnership with the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO, Iraq’s culture ministry and the International Center for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), Dubai’s media office said in a Twitter post.

Islamic State demolished the Grand al-Nuri Mosque, which dated to the 12th century, in the final weeks of the U.S.-backed Iraqi campaign that ousted the jihadists from Mosul, their de facto capital in Iraq, last July.

The protracted and fierce urban warfare largely reduced the historic landmarks of Iraq’s second city to rubble.

Paris-based UNESCO said the project would take at least five years, with the first 12 months focused on clearing districts of debris. Other sites including historic gardens will be rebuilt, and the plan includes the building of a memorial and museum.

Mosul needs at least $2 billion of reconstruction aid, which would unblock streets and rebuild destroyed homes among other things, according to Iraqi government estimates. About 700,000 of Mosul’s population, estimated at 2 million before Islamic State seized the city in 2014, is displaced.

It was from the medieval mosque in mid-2014 that Islamic State’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a self-styled “caliphate” spanning parts of Syria and Iraq that the jihadists had overrun in a shock offensive.

The mosque was named after Nuruddin al Zanki, a noble who fought the early crusaders from a fiefdom that covered territory in modern-day Turkey, Syria and Iraq. It was built in 1172-73, shortly before his death, and housed an Islamic school.

By the time renowned mediaeval traveler and scholar Ibn Battuta visited two centuries later, the minaret was leaning.

The tilt gave the landmark its popular name — the Hunchback.

The minaret was composed of seven bands of decorative brickwork in complex geometric patterns that have also been found in Iran and Central Asia.
…

Q&A: Mel Brooks Still Loves Movies, Just Not Streaming Them

By Uponent | 04/23/2018 | No Comments | Entertainment

Mel Brooks is just two months shy of his 92nd birthday and he still carves out time for movie nights with his pal Carl Reiner. The two just recently got together to watch a restoration of the 1938 Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland classic “The Adventures of Robin Hood.”

Classic film and proper presentation are important to the legendary comedian and filmmaker, especially in the age of streaming. This week, Brooks will be on hand to kick off the ninth annual TCM Classic Film Festival at the TCL Chinese Theater Thursday night in Hollywood with a special screening of the first film he ever directed: “The Producers.”

Brooks spoke to The Associated Press about the film, streaming and even “The Last Jedi.” Remarks have been edited for clarity and brevity.

AP: Congratulations on this new restoration of “The Producers.”

BROOKS: I’m very thrilled. TCM, these are people I really admire and I love them and God bless them for keeping all the movies that I grew up with still alive, still available. I don’t think anybody else does it, or does it as well. When they said they wanted to open their festival with the 50th anniversary of “The Producers,” I got very excited.

AP: The film has only grown in esteem too. Why do you think it’s endured?

BROOKS: Oh it’s very simple and it sounds a little egotistical, but it’s because it’s very good. The only test — real test — it’s not critics. It’s never critics. The only test is whether a movie is still around after 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, 40 years and in this case 50 years. So, you know, I know, it must be a good movie or no one would care about it 50 years later.

AP: And Martin Scorsese will be there on opening night too to get the Robert Osborne Award.

BROOKS: He was gracious enough to give me my lifetime achievement trophy at the American Film Institute. I love Marty Scorsese. As a matter of fact, this is a true story, when I was in pre-production on “The Producers,” this is a true story and he will never admit it but he and Harvey Keitel were two little ragamuffins who for some reason followed me around when we were in pre-production 50 years ago. I think they were putting together a movie called “Mean Streets” or something. It was pretty weird. But I really admire him. I admire not only his outrageous talent, “Raging Bull” is magnificent, but I admire his love and dedication to the art of movies. He’s really one of the great moviemakers of our time.

AP: Like Scorsese, you also have an encyclopedic knowledge of cinema.

BROOKS: Yeah well I’m old, that’s the secret. The secret is I’ve lived a long time. There’s a lot of people who love film. I’ve been around, so there isn’t a movie you could name that either I or Carl Reiner couldn’t give you a chapter or verse on.

AP: Do you keep up with current movies? Do you get out to the theater or watch them at home?

BROOKS: I don’t like to watch movies at home. I don’t like to watch movies on TV. I really like going to the theater. I like the community experience, especially if it’s a comedy. I like being in the dark and being transported into different worlds, it’s very important to me. And now there’s a thing that’s replaced it. It’s called streaming. I’m afraid to make another movie because I don’t want it to be seen by millions of people on a telephone. Comedies must be seen by at least 100 people in some kind of theater. It’s really heartbreaking to me. You know, movies are still good. Acting is still good. Directing is still good. Writing is still good. It’s where they’re seen that just really gets me.

AP: Is it a little bittersweet to be celebrating the 50th anniversary of “The Producers” without Gene Wilder and (composer) John Morris?

BROOKS: Yeah. It’s heart-rending but it’s what it is. And I’m glad that there will be a lot of young people in the audience who will actually understand it. I kind of understand “The Last Jedi.” I kind of understand it. There were two or three battle scenes, two big fights where I don’t really know who’s fighting and why they’re fighting, you know? But thank God for “The Empire Strikes Back” because I have something I can refer to. So I know some of the names. I know Han Solo. I know some of the names. But I don’t know why they’re fighting, I don’t really know.

I have a grandson, he’s 13 and he knows all the names. He says to me things like, “If you’ve gone to Jakku you’ve gone too far.” And I say well, “What is Jakku?” and he said, “Well it’s a planet.” I really don’t know these planets anymore. Jakku. Ok. But it’s all right. I’m catching up. Young people like big wild future fights. Fighting in the future. I kind of like it too. It’s better than fighting at 47th and Broadway, you know? Two guys get out of a car? Yeah, future fights are much better than two guys in a car. Anyway, you’ve got to ask me two more questions because I’ve got more things I’ve got to get done today.

AP: Well, I’ll keep it to one big one. What sort of impact do you think you’ve had on American comedy?

BROOKS: One never really sees themselves in relationship to the wide world. It’s rather impossible to judge your impact on moviegoers, your impact on people who like your films or who like your television. It’s serious. When they tell me, I’m glad to hear it, but frankly I’ve got to tell you honestly, I walk past the mirror and I say that’s a cute old guy. I don’t think it’s me! I’m not a cute old guy. I’m still 35, you know? We really can’t see ourselves and judge ourselves in relation to other people.
…

Russian City of Saransk Tests New Arena Ahead of FIFA World Cup 2018

By Uponent | 04/23/2018 | No Comments | Entertainment

Russian soccer teams FC Mordovia and FC Zenit-Izhevsk tested a new football stadium on Saturday, April 21. The Mordovia Arena in the Russian City of Saransk will be one of 12 hosts for the FIFA World Cup this summer. Arash Arabasadi reports.
…

Technology is Latest Trend Reshaping Fashion

By Uponbiz | 04/23/2018 | No Comments | Business

Technology is permeating and changing almost every industry, including fashion. From how clothes are made and purchased to your relationship with what you wear, computing power is reshaping fashion as we know it. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has the details.
…

Janet Jackson Extends Her State of the World Tour

By Uponent | 04/23/2018 | No Comments | Entertainment

Janet Jackson is extending her uber-successful tour with more shows.

The pop icon says her State of the World Tour, which originally wrapped in December, will kick off new dates July 11 in Austin, Texas. Dates have also been added in Rogers, Arkansas; Cincinnati; Syracuse, New York; Hersey, Pennsylvania; Saratoga Springs, New York; Virginia Beach, Virginia; Raleigh; Charlotte; Miami; and Tampa.

Tickets for the new dates go on sale Tuesday.

Jackson’s State of the World Tour, which toured United States and Canada, was a critically acclaimed success.

The singer will also play a number of music festivals this summer, including Essence, FYF, Panorama and Outside Lands.
…

One of Sudan’s Lost Boys Finds a Way to Help Other Refugees

By Uponbiz | 04/23/2018 | No Comments | Business

A cup of coffee is a good way for many to start the day. But it can also do far greater good. Manyang Kher, a former Sudanese child refugee – one of the so-called Lost Boys and now a US citizen – is passionate about helping refugees build a brighter future. And he does it with coffee. VOA’s June Soh talked with the founder of a social enterprise, 734 coffee. VOA’s Carol Pearson narrates her report.
…

Former Sudanese Lost Boy Finds a Way to Help Others

By Uponbiz | 04/23/2018 | No Comments | Business

Manyang Kher was three years old when he arrived at a refugee camp in Ethiopia’s Gambella region. During the 13 years, the South Sudanese native lived there, he observed lots of other children die. From hunger. From cholera. From attempting to flee the camp.

“You fear every day because you may die, too,” Kher says.

Kher is one of the so-called Lost Boys of Sudan, some 20,000 Sudanese children who escaped when their villages were attacked during the 1980’s civil war and made the 1600 kilometer-walk to Ethiopia.

Deeply affected by the camp, he has named his coffee company, 734 Coffee, after the geographical coordinates of the Gambella region: 7˚N 34˚E. Part of his larger humanitarian non profit project, Humanity Helping Sudan, 734 helps the 200,000 South Sudanese refugees still in the region.

“I know these people,” Kher says. “I speak the language; I know the struggles those refugees face every day.”

Kher is dedicating 80% of his coffee proceeds to helping them. “A cup of 734 coffee can buy; this cup can buy, one fishing net.” A fishing net is a dollar. It is also a tool that can help a refugee achieve self-sufficiency.

Kher’s aim is to help refugees help themselves. He wants them to be aid-free.

“That’s why we give fishing nets because they can go to the river and fish for themselves. If you build more community gardens they can grow their own food. If you also build water wells, now you create a community because they can get the water there they can grow their own food there. They can also open their own market there. 200,000 refugees is a market.”

Delicious coffee

At age 16, Kher came to the U.S. as an unaccompanied minor refugee. While he was in college in Richmond, Virginia studying international law, he started Humanity Helping Sudan to raise awareness of the refugees. Now, the group has programs, including 734 Coffee, to help empower the displaced to become self-sufficient.

Kher operates 734 Coffee out of two warehouses in Virginia, but the coffee comes from a co-op of African owned and operated farms in the Gambella region. It is roasted by local, independent coffee roasters in the U.S.

He launched the company last year, selling coffee online, at events and to coffee shops.

Megan Murphy who owns a bakery outside of Washington, serves 734 to her customers at Capital City Confectionery.

“The customers love it,” she says. “Whenever they find out about the project, about the mission, they connect right with it. The coffee tastes delicious, so it’s a win-win on both sides. You get to enjoy coffee (and) at the same time be part of the bigger project.”

Following the sun

When Kher’s South Sudanese village was attacked and burned in the early 1980’s, he was separated from his parents, who he never saw again. He and other orphaned children followed the sun.

“Most people in my village believe that where the sun rises up, there is peace…The children go there and they just keep going.”

Kher and the others chased the sun to the refugee camp, a horrific journey.

“Thousands of boys lost their lives to hunger, dehydration, and exhaustion. Some were attacked and killed by wild animals; others drowned crossing rivers and many were caught in the crossfire of fighting forces,” the International Rescue Committee says on its website.

“Too many children died along the way,” Kher summarizes.

But as he looks around his coffee warehouse, he seems to make some sense of it. “I never imagined I would be in a position to help anyone,” he says.
…

App Helps Traveling Muslims Find a Mosque

By Uponsil | 04/23/2018 | No Comments | Silicon Valley

Muslims who are traveling and looking for a place to pray can now turn to their smart phones for help. A mobile app, called Islamic GPS, helps users find mosques around the world. VOA’s Deborah Block tells us more about this helpful technology.
…

Bloomberg Donating $4.5 Million to Support Paris Climate Accord

By Uponbiz | 04/23/2018 | No Comments | Business

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Sunday he is giving $4.5 million to the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat to cover a U.S. government funding gap for the international Paris climate accord.

Bloomberg’s charitable foundation said the money will support work developing countries are doing to achieve their targets under the agreement as well as “promoting climate action” among cities and businesses.

The 2015 treaty signed by more than 200 nations and entities vowed to curb carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions in order to try to limit global temperature rise.

Former President Barack Obama’s administration was among the signatories, but President Donald Trump said he would pull out of the agreement. Trump campaigned as a booster of fossil fuels and a skeptic of climate change science, and said the Paris accord would cause U.S. businesses to lose millions of jobs.

“This agreement is less about the climate and more about other countries gaining a financial advantage over the United States,” Trump said last year.

Bloomberg made a similar payment last year and pledged to continue the contributions. He told CBS News in an interview broadcast Sunday that Trump is capable of changing his position.

“But he should change his mind and say, look, there really is a problem here, America is part of the problem, America is a big part of the solution, and we should go in and help the world stop a potential disaster,” Bloomberg said.

The United States is among the world’s top emitters of carbon dioxide.

But in late March, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that because of the actions of businesses and local authorities, the U.S. “might be able to meet the commitments made in Paris as a country.”

Guterres appointed Bloomberg as his special envoy for climate action in March. Guterres tweeted Sunday thanking Bloomberg “for his generous support to the United Nations but also for his global leadership on climate action.”

Last year was the third warmest year on record. Scientists increasingly see evidence of climate change in heat waves, storms and other extreme weather.
…

Day: April 23, 2018