British Parliament will vote on the Brexit deal before January 21, 2019, the spokesperson of Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday.
Britain’s parliamentarians were scheduled to vote a day earlier, on Monday, to approve or reject May’s Brexit proposal. But fearing rejection of the deal, May announced that she would defer the vote and seek extra assurances from the European Union to make sure the proposal passes through the British Parliament.
Brexit vote before Jan 21, 2019
Saudi journo Jamal Khashoggi is Time Person of the Year
Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi journalist who was murdered in October at the Istanbul consulate of Saudi Arabia, was named by Time magazine as its “Person of the Year”. The Time magazine has also honoured Philippine journalist Maria Ressa, Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo — currently imprisoned in Myanmar — and the staff of the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland, including five members killed in a June shooting.
Shaktikanta Das is the new RBI Governor
Just a day after Urjit Patel resigned as RBI (Reserve Bank of India) Governor, the Narendra Modi government appointed Shaktikanta Das as the new RBI boss. Das, who served as the economic affairs secretary between 2015 and 2017, has been a strong votary of government’s demonetization exercise. He was the most visible high-profile bureaucrat who openly batted in favour of Modi government’s demonetization exercise, where high-denomination notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 were withdrawn from November 8, 2016.
A blood test can diagnose Alzheimer’s disease
Now a simple blood test can diagnose or predict Alzheimer’s disease much before the symptoms appear. The blood test developed by scientists will run through several validations and subsequent trials before it becomes available in hospitals and clinics.
At present the only definitive way to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease is through brain scans and tests of cerebrospinal fluid that must be collected via lumbar puncture. These tests are cumbersome and expensive yet they provide the most accurate diagnoses for patients.
The new blood test has been developed by researchers at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in the US that could replace these cumbersome procedures.
“A blood test for Alzheimer’s disease could be administered easily and repeatedly, with patients going to their primary care office rather than having to go into a hospital,” Dominic Walsh from Brigham told PTI.
“Our test will need further validation in many more people, but if it performs as in the initial two cohorts, it would be a transformative breakthrough,” said Walsh.
Several diabetics needlessly test blood sugar at home
People Type-2 diabetes may unnecessarily be testing their blood sugar at home, according to the findings of a study. The US-based study found out that individuals whose diabetic symptoms are under control and who do not take medications that cause blood sugar to go down at dangerously low levels, should not test blood sugar at home.
“Many Type-2 diabetes patients not using insulin or other medications at risk of rapid changes in blood sugar levels are testing far more often then they need to be,” said lead study author Dr. Kevin Platt of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in a report published by Reuters.
The study wasn’t a controlled experiment designed to prove whether or how home testing directly impacted blood sugar levels in people with diabetes.
And some patients might still need to test at home, even if they don’t need to do this multiple times daily, said Sheri Colberg a professor emerita at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, who has studied and treated people with diabetes, Reuters said in its report.
Donald Trump feels his impeachment is a ‘real possibility’
US President Donald Trump sees his impeachment as a “real possibility” over finance violations during the 2016 campaign, according to a report published by CNN.
“A separate source close to the White House told CNN that aides inside the West Wing believe “the only issue that may stick” in the impeachment process is the campaign finance violations tied to former Trump attorney Michael Cohen’s payouts to Trump’s alleged mistresses. Impeachment talk has ratcheted up in recent days following a blockbuster filing from prosecutors in the Southern District of New York. In that filing, prosecutors directly alleged for the first time that Cohen was being directed by Trump when he broke the law during the 2016 presidential campaign,” CNN said in its report.
Google launches ‘Journalism AI’ project
Tech giant Google has initiated a project “Journalism AI” to focus on research and training on Artificial Intelligence for use by media persons in generating news stories. Google’s project is in partnership with Polis, the international journalism think-tank at the London School of Economics and Political Science. It is a part of Google News Initiative (GNI).
“As part of ‘Journalism AI’, next year, we’ll publish a global survey about how the media is currently using — and could further benefit from — this technology,” Google said in a statement.
“We’ll also collaborate with newsrooms and academic institutions to create a best practices handbook and produce free online training on how to use AI in the newsroom for journalists worldwide,” said Matt Cooke, Head of Partnerships and Training, Google News Lab.
Google has also introduced Google Earth Studio which is a new animation tool for Google Earth’s satellite and 3D imagery. This tool empowers graphics specialists with new ways to leverage Google Earth imagery for storytelling. “We’re inviting newsrooms around the world to start using the product for the first time,” said Google.
Instagram promotes Vishal Shah as its Products Head
Instagram has elevated its director of product management Vishal Shah as the head of products. Shah’s promotion will be effective immediately, Instagram said. Instagram is the photo-sharing app of Facebook .
Shah had joined Instagram in 2015 and will take over the position previously held by Adam Mosseri, who was appointed as Instagram’s head in October after high-profile exits of co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger in September.
As Instagram’s director of product management, Shah headed consumer, business, and revenue products divisions, including search, explore, Ads, IGTV, and shopping.
Google+ to be shut in April 2019
Technology major Google confirmed that it would shut down its Google+ social media service in April, which is four months ahead of schedule. The revelation came after Google found a software glitch for second time during this year which allowed partner apps to access its users’ private data.
The glitch has affected close to 52.5 million Google+ users across the world. The company had said in October this year that it would shut down the consumer version Google+ in August 2019 as it would be too challenging for it to maintain its unpopular social media platform.
Qatar misses GCC meet at Riyadh
Saudi King Salman, shares a light moment with Kuwait’s ruling Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, at the sidelines of Gulf Cooperation Council meet in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on December 9, 2018. Leaders of the Arab nations, including those boycotting Qatar, met on Sunday in Saudi Arabia’s capital for a regional summit. Qatar’s ruling Emir did not attend the summit amidst ongoing dispute with Saudi Arabia.