XPost: alt.global-warming   
      
   HSBC bows to green lobby and shuts off coal funding   
   Patrick Hosking, The Times   
   Banking giant HSBC has, reports the Times, "yielded to pressure from   
   environmental campaigners and agreed to set itself firm deadlines to   
   phase out future funding for the vast bulk of the coal industry". It   
   adds: "The bank was due today to issue a promise to abandon financing   
   of all mining for thermal coal and of coal-fired power stations by   
   2030 in the EU and other OECD countries and by 2040 in the rest of the   
   world." The Financial Times says the bank "fended off a shareholder   
   revolt ahead of its annual general meeting after a $2.4tn coalition of   
   big investors agreed to back the bank's climate change plans". It   
   explains: "Under the HSBC board-backed resolution, the bank will   
   commit to setting short and medium-term science-based targets to align   
   its financing of companies with the Paris Agreement, which seeks to   
   limit global warming. This will start with oil, gas, power and   
   utilities companies in 2021, before being expanded to other sectors in   
   2022. HSBC said it would also phase out the financing of companies   
   involved in coal-fired power and thermal coal mining by 2030 in the EU   
   and OECD, and by 2040 elsewhere." The Guardian also has the story.   
      
      
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   France's Space Force Conducts First Military Drills Against Space-Based   
   "Threats"   
   The Debrief, 10 Mar 2021   
   Alongside the US Space Force and German space command, France's space   
   force conducted its first military drills in outer space to counter   
   threats from space based objects. The head of France's newly created   
   Space Command, Michel Friedling, said the drills were a "stress test of   
   our systems" and said they "were a first for the French army and even a   
   first in Europe."   
      
   [Miniflu!]   
   Virus drove record US death rate in 2020, CDC finds   
   POLITICO, 11 Mar 2021 0:27Z   
   The US death rate increased by 15% last year as a result of the   
   Covid-19 pandemic, making it the deadliest year in recorded US history,   
   the Centers of ...   
      
   [Record!]   
   Brazil Covid deaths top 2,000 in 24 hours   
   Yahoo News, 10 Mar 2021 22:23Z   
   Brazil registered a record 2286 deaths from Covid-19 in the past 24 hours,   
   the health ministry said Wed, as a worrying surge pushed the figure   
   past 2000 ...   
      
   [Freeforall:]   
   At least 10 hacking groups using Microsoft software flaw -...   
   Thomson Reuters Foundation, 11 Mar 2021 03:26Z   
      
   Convalescent Plasma For COVID-19 Turns Out To Be A Bust   
   NPR/Shots - Health News, 10 Mar 2021 15:24Z   
   Infusing blood plasma from people who have recovered from COVID-19 into sick   
   patients looks good on paper. But studies of the treatment haven't found ...   
      
   Bacteria know how to exploit quantum mechanics, study finds   
   Phys.org, 10 Mar 2021 18:24Z   
   A group of scientists at the University of Chicago discovered that certain   
   bacteria deliberately use the rules of quantum mechanics to save their   
   photosynthetic ...   
      
   'Unethical and un-Australian': NSW govt faces pressure from within own   
   ranks over Sydney rezoning   
   ABC News, 11 Mar 2021 05:38Z   
   The NSW govt faces increasing pressure from within its own ranks to   
   fairly compensate Western Sydney residents impacted by infrastructure   
   projects, including the under-construction international airport.   
      
   Switch flipped on Australia's largest community-owned solar farm   
   ABC News, 11 Mar 2021 05:49Z   
   Around 260 homes are now being powered by Australia's largest   
   community-owned solar farm, which opened today in Canberra's east.   
      
   Australia's closest neighbour has been plunged into a COVID crisis   
   ABC News, 11 Mar 2021 05:49Z   
   Even as many countries around the world are reaching what they hope is the   
   beginning of the end of the pandemic, a new coronavirus tragedy is just   
   starting to unfold on Australia's doorstep.   
      
   App used for COVID-19 check-ins goes down across NSW   
   ABC News, 11 Mar 2021 06:08Z   
   The primary smartphone app used for COVID-19 check-ins in NSW is   
   experiencing an "unplanned outage", the state govt confirms.   
      
     Government walks back COVID-19 vaccination rollout targets, blames   
     production and supply issues   
     ABC News, 11 Mar 2021 04:40Z   
     The head of the Dept of Health blames uncertainty around local   
     production and international supply issues as the govt appears set to   
     miss its stated vaccine rollout targets.   
      
   Perseverance Rover's SuperCam Science Instrument Delivers First Results   
   Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 11 Mar 2021 0:26Z   
   Data from the powerful science tool includes sounds of its laser zapping a   
   rock in order to test what it's made of. The first readings from the   
   SuperCam instrument ...   
      
   IceCube Detection of a High-Energy Particle - Antineutrino of "Unmistakably   
   of Extraterrestrial Origin"   
   SciTechDaily, 10 Mar 2021 16:26Z   
   A visualization of the Glashow event recorded by the IceCube detector. Each   
   colored circle shows an IceCube sensor that was triggered by the event; red   
   circles ...   
      
   TX attorney general threatens to sue Austin officials if they don't lift   
   local mask mandates   
   CBS News, 11 Mar 2021 04:22Z   
   TX' attorney general on Wed threatened to sue officials in Austin   
   and Travis County if they did not lift local mask mandates. The announcement   
   comes ...   
      
   Ghost Towns of Fukushima Remain Empty After Decade-Long Rebuild   
   Bloomberg, 10 Mar 2021 16:34Z   
   Laid waste by a nuclear disaster a decade ago, Japan's Fukushima is still   
   struggling to recover, even as the govt tries to bring people and jobs   
   back to ...   
      
   Norilsk Nickel pays Russia $2.5 bn in damages over Arctic oil spill   
   ABC News, 10 Mar 2021 14:20Z   
   The environmental cost of a massive oil spill in Russia's Arctic region may   
   continue to be felt for decades but the company responsible has now paid out   
   $2.5 bn to Russia for the damage it casued.   
      
   FBI releases footage of person who allegedly placed pipe bombs in Washington   
   ABC News, 10 Mar 2021 15:19Z   
   The FBI releases CCTV footage of a hooded figure placing pipe bombs around   
   Washington DC the night before the Capitol Hill riots, as part of a public   
   plea for assistance in identifying the culprit.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)