EU drafts plan to label gas and nuclear investments as green

Image Credit: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier After years of fighting between governments for truly climate-friendly investments, the European Union has drawn up plans to label some natural gas and nuclear power projects as "green" investments.  The European Commission is expected to propose rules in January to decide whether nuclear and gas  projects are included in the EU's “sustainable finance taxonomy”.  This is a list of the economic activities and  environmental criteria that must be met in order to be labeled as a green investment. By restricting the “green” label to really climate-friendly projects, the system aims to make these investments more attractive for private equity and to  stop “greenwashing”, in which companies or investors exaggerate their eco-friendly credentials.  Brussels has also taken steps to apply the system to some EU funds, which means the rules could decide which projects are eligible for specific public funding.  A draft of the Commission's proposal, seen by Reuters, would label investments in nuclear power plants as green if the project has a plan, resources and location to  dispose of radioactive waste.  In order to be considered green, new nuclear power plants must obtain a building permit before 2045. Investments in natural gas power plants are also considered green if they emit less than 270 g of CO2 equivalent per kilowatt hour (kWh), replace a more environmentally harmful power plant with fossil fuels, receive a building permit by December 31, 2030 and it is planned to switch to low-carbon gases by the end of 2035.  Gas and nuclear  generation would be labeled green as they are "transitional activities" defined as those that are not fully sustainable but  have emissions below the industry average and do not contain environmentally harmful assets. . "Taking into account current scientific advice and  technological progress, as well as the different transition challenges between Member States, the Commission believes that natural gas and nuclear energy play a role in facilitating the transition to a predominantly renewable future,"  the European Commission said in a statement. To help states with different energy backgrounds make the transition, "under certain conditions, solutions that don't look 'green' at first glance can make sense," a commission source told Reuters, adding that the solutions are investments in gas and nuclear power would be subject to "strict regulations".  EU countries and a panel of experts will analyze the draft proposal, which could change, before it is  published at the end of January.  Once published, most EU countries or the European Parliament could vetoed it . The policy has been mired in lobbying from governments for more than a year and EU countries disagree on which fuels are truly sustainable.  Natural gas emits around half of coal's CO2 emissions  when burned in power plants, but gas infrastructure has also been linked to methane leaks, a potent EU adviser had recommended that gas-fired power plants shouldn't be labeled as green investments unless they hit a lower emission limit of 100g CO2e / kWh based on  deep  cuts in deep emissions scientists say are needed to avoid disastrous climate change. Nuclear power produces very low CO2 emissions but the Commission sought expert advice this year on whether the fuel should be deemed green given the potential environmental impact of radioactive waste disposal. Some environmental campaigners and Green EU lawmakers criticised the leaked proposal on gas and nuclear. “By including them… the Commission risks jeopardising the credibility of the EU’s role as a leading marketplace for sustainable finance,” Greens president Philippe Lamberts said. Austria opposes nuclear power, alongside countries including Germany and Luxembourg. EU states including the Czech Republic, Finland and France, which gets around 70% of its power from the fuel, see nuclear as crucial to phasing out CO2-emitting coal fuel power.
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GERMAN FINANCE MINISTER PLEDGES TAX RELIEF FROM 2023

Image Credit: REUTERS/Annegret Hilse Germany's new  government will offer personal and business tax breaks worth at least 30 billion euros ($ 34.1 billion) during this legislative period, Finance Minister Christian Lindner said on Sunday.  “We will relieve people and small and medium-sized businesses by significantly more than 30 billion euros,” Lindner told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper. Noting that the budget for 2022  was drawn up by the previous government under Chancellor Angela Merkel, Lindner said his  2023 plan will include reliefs such as contributions to pension insurance  and the end of an electricity price surcharge. Meanwhile, Lindner, leader of the fiscally cautious Free Democrats (FDP), said he had asked his cabinet colleagues to review the spending projects of their ministries. “We have to go back to sound public finances. We have a responsibility towards the younger generation,” he said. Lindner stated one manner to make financial savings would be to scrap the development of a new authorities terminal at Berlin’s BER airport, set to cost 50 million euros. He recommended a temporary constructing may be used permanently. The minister is likewise making plans a tax invoice to assist organizations deal with the continuing coronavirus pandemic, along with permitting them to offset losses in 2022 and 2023 in opposition to income from previous years. Due to the pandemic, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's ruling coalition agreed to use an emergency clause in the constitution for the third year in a row in 2022 to suspend debt limits and authorize new loans of $ 100 billion euros.  From 2023, the coalition aims to revert to the debt brake rule in the constitution which limits new loans to a small fraction of economic output.
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Japan to help build Bill Gates’ high-tech nuclear reactor in Wyoming: report

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (Jaaa) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. are established to work with the United States, and the Bill Gates Company Company to build a high-tech core reactor in Wyoming, the  Yomiuri newspaper reports on Saturday. The parties will sign an agreement  for JAEA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries beginning in January to provide technical support and data from Japan's own advanced reactors, the report cites several unidentified sources.  Terrapower had initially investigated the possibility of building an experimental nuclear power plant with the state-owned China National Nuclear Corp until it was forced to apply for funds to fund half of the $ 4 billion project. new partners after Donald Trump's administration curtailed nuclear deal with China. The United States is competing with China and Russia, who also hope to build and export advanced reactors.  Japan, on the other hand, has a bitter history of decommissioning its advanced prototype reactor, Monju, in 2016, a project that cost $ 8.5 billion but produced little results and years of controversy. since its inception and has been closed due to public distrust of nuclear power following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.  JAEA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries could not be reached for comment. as their offices were closed over the New Year holidays.
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RedLine Malware alert! Your accounts and passwords saved on Chrome or Edge might be hacked. Know how to check

 Hackers can steal your Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge login password through malware, experts say. Saving the Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge login password  in these internet browsers is a pretty common practice.  Most of us save passwords in Chrome or Edge for convenient logging in next time.  They are generally considered to be quite safe as they are stored in our Google account. This feature is designed to avoid the hassle of remembering login credentials for every site you use.  However, some IT researchers warn internet users, especially employees who work from home, of the risk of  their Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge password being hacked.  Users have been cautioned  against using such features in any internet browser after a recent security breach that compromised a company. According to the security expert AhnLab, an employee working remotely  fell victim to VPN access to his company network. So who is the culprit? How RedLine Stealers stole login details and passwords The employees of this company did their work on a device shared with other people they lived with. Little did you know you were  infected with  malware called the Redline Stealer that steals information.  The malware  steals sensitive account  and password information from various websites, including information required to access the company's VPN. Hackers then used the data to  spy on  private business data.  The scary part is that this malware can get inside the computer or laptop even if you have antivirus software installed Speaking of malware, AhnLab said that while the  credentials stored in browsers are very handy, there is a risk that the credentials of the Counting when malware is present.  Redline Stealer is reasonably priced and can be purchased in shady areas of the internet for only $ 150.  This means that it is difficult to assign the incident  to a specific group. It first appeared  on the Russian Dark Web in March 2020 when the id19 Cov pandemic began to spread, and it works by targeting the database file that stores account and password information. How to avoid Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge malware attack What regular users can do is  use programs from  clean and clear official sources, not some seedy vendors on the internet.  In fact, there were many apps  on the Play Store that had malware hidden in them. Hence, users should be extra careful and do a background scan of those applications or files  they are trying to download. If there is a question, avoid it.  The Metro news portal  reported that the malware was spread across a number of. It spreads methods including phishing emails, misuse of Google ads, and camouflage as a photo-editing program.
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Telegram now has reactions, hidden text, translation and QR codes

Hours before the end of the year, Telegram Messenger announced the 12th and final update of last year that includes responses, the ability to add hidden text, automatic translation of messages, as well as QR codes  the design is configured for.  The reaction is a quick reaction to a message in the form of an interactive or animated emojis, they are always activated in private chats and the usability is configured by administrators for groups and channels:  You can not only allow  reactions yourself, but also set up which emoji  for this function is responsible. You can limit yourself to traditional "likes" or organize votes.  You can change your default reaction to another emoji in Settings. Android: Chat Settings> Quick Response. iOS: Stickers and Emoji> Quick Response.  Administrators can control reactions from their channel or group info page> Edit> Reactions. For more feedback options, try Channel Feedback and our powerful surveys. If necessary, Messenger users received the opportunity to work with a hidden text, for example by explaining films or television series, but without digestion of stage design details. An important innovation is the message translation function. To start this function, you must first activate it in the "Language" menu item of the "Configuration" menu.  To translate a message, all you have to do is touch it (or pinch it with your finger on iOS).  The settings allow you to specify the languages ​​that do not require translation.  The function is available for every Android version  as well as iOS 15+.  For all users who have set up a public link to their profile; now you can  generate a QR code directly in the app; the function is also available for groups, channels and bots.  A QR code symbol appeared next to the public link on which  not only the code itself, but also its design - the required colors and patterns - can be generated. Result, print or share  in another application.  In addition, the right-click menu in the Telegram client for macOS has  new options: Navigation has been improved and animated symbols have been displayed for each element. Finally, some emojis are interactive versions too.
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Washington state to require internet service disclosure when selling house in new year

Moving houses means potentially figuring out new internet connections.Getty Image It's tough to assume home existence with out the net, especially amid the coronavirus pandemic. Now a regulation going into impact in Washington kingdom is acknowledging that.  Starting withinside the new year, home dealers in Washington may be required to percentage their net issuer on signed disclosure bureaucracy that encompass facts approximately plumbing, insulation and structural defects. "Does the belongings presently have net carrier?" the disclosure shape will now ask, together with a area to mention who the issuer is. The regulation would not require dealers to element get right of entry to speeds, pleasant or opportunity providers. The new disclosure is the contemporary in an array of efforts with the aid of using lawmakers throughout the U.S to reply to our growing reliance on domestic net connectivity for work, training and entertainment. That net connection has emerge as even extra important all through the COVID-19 pandemic, which has upended the lives of billions of humans, forcing quarantines and lockdowns as humans alter to a brand new regular of each day existence. Even earlier than the pandemic compelled us to emerge as even extra reliant at the net than we already were, hundreds of thousands of Americans lived in houses that hadn't but been hooked up. The Federal Communications Commission estimates that extra than 14 million Americans lack get right of entry to to baseline broadband speeds, even as the net carrier tracker BroadbandNow pegs the wide variety at toward forty two million. Much of the broadband divide is in extra rural components of the u . s ., however it additionally disproportionately hits traditionally low-earnings and numerous communities. Even before the pandemic forced us to rely on the Internet even more  than before, millions of Americans were living in unconnected households. The Federal Communications Commission estimates that more than 14 million Americans do not have access to benchmark broadband. Speeds, while Internet service tracker BroadbandNow estimates the number at around 42 million. Much of the broadband gap exists in more rural parts of the country, but it also affects disproportionately low-income and heterogeneous communities. The US government has pledged $ 65 billion to expand broadband access under its $ 1.2 trillion bill on infrastructure investment and employment. When buying a home, internet connections were generally not treated with the same care as water, electricity, or HVAC systems. While the new Washington state rule doesn't require detailed internet connection details, it does make connections a potential ground for termination of a sales contract. within three days of receipt of the disclosure documents, unless you have waived your right to participate.
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The world welcomes 2022 with muted celebrations as COVID-19 cases surge

Fireworks light up the sky over Sydney Harbour as the clock strikes midnight on January 01, 2022 in Sydney, Australia. BROOK MITCHELL / GETTY IMAGES The world rings in 2022 with silent celebrations for another year as the coronavirus pandemic, now fueled by the rapidly spreading variant of Omicron, continues to disrupt daily life around the world. , forced many cities to tone down  or cancel the celebrations altogether. Times Square in New York City was still hosting an event, but it only allowed a small fraction of the typical crowd, and all attendees over  5 years old who did not qualify for an exception were required to be fully vaccinated and wear face masks. Cities like Atlanta and San Francisco canceled the typical celebrations. In New Zealand, one of the first cities to open the New Year, a play of light  replaced  traditional fireworks. Australia continued with its seven-minute fireworks display over  Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Sydney Opera House, but limited access to central Sydney, the Associated Press reported. Earlier this week, Dr. Anthony Fauci told Americans not to attend large gatherings on New Year's Eve. "What I would suggest to people  is not to  go to very big parties of 50 to 60 people where people whistle and all that. Something like partying and  the vaccination status of  people around that area is not known," said Fauci.
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