Speed forces

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - After five years of hard work boring dozens of tunnels and building even more bridges to lay more than 400 kilometers of train track, China’s high-speed railway through Laos is on course to launch within the year. State media in China and Laos say service could begin by December. For sprawling China, analysts say the line promises to inject new growth into the country’s backward underbelly by plugging it into some of Southeast Asia’s largest markets and ports. As for tiny Laos, they add, it could boost a heavily resource-reliant economy with more trade, tourists and industry — if at the cost of crippling debt and the growing sway of its giant neighbor. The view from China Part of Beijing’s sweeping Belt and Road Initiative, the $5.9 billion project will connect China’s landlocked Yunnan province to northeast Thailand through northern Laos. It is the first leg of a serpentine line Beijing hopes will one day reach to bustling Singapore via Thailand … [Read more...] about Laos Braces for Promise, Peril of China’s High-Speed Railway

Since its first appearance on the original "Star Trek" series in 1966, the Starship Enterprise has become a symbol for space travel. Recently, an anonymous engineer claimed that an approximation of this iconic ship could be built in the next two decades. But just how close is mankind to zipping through the stars at warp speed? On the website BuildTheEnterprise.org, a self-proclaimed engineer who identifies himself only as "BTE-Dan" suggests that a working facsimile of the iconic ship could be built and launched over the next 20 to 30 years. The ship would require a few modifications, but would look a great deal like Captain Kirk 's famous ship. Built in space, the ship would never visit the surface of any moon or planet, and so would never need to reach the high speeds necessary to escape surface gravity. The engines would be powered by nuclear reactors onboard the ship, and use argon rather than xenon for propellant, saving a few hundred billion dollars in cost. As an added … [Read more...] about Could We Build Star Trek’s Starship Enterprise?

A group of five US senators sent an open letter Wednesday to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos asking questions about Amazon's use of Driver surveillance videos to monitor its delivery van drivers. The program, first reported in February , aims cameras powered by AI from software maker Netradyne at drivers in order to flag safety problems. The senators echoed concerns that drivers have raised over privacy and increased discipline in a job that is already highly demanding. In the letter, Massachusetts Sens. Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren join Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Bernie Sanders of Vermont in commending Amazon for wanting to improve driver safety, but added that they're concerned the camera program could have the opposite effect. (All but Sanders, who is an Independent, are Democrats.) Editors' top picks Subscribe to CNET Now for the day's most interesting reviews, news stories and videos. "Although Amazon may intend for its … [Read more...] about Senators question Amazon on use of cameras to monitor delivery drivers

The livestream on YouTube has ended, but you can re-watch it here. Skoda is getting a head start on the 120 th Paris Motor Show by setting up a sneak preview livestream on its social media account as well as on the official Skod a Storyboard media site. The big debuts will undoubtedly be the two RS models – the Vision RS concept and the production-ready Kodiaq RS. Both have been extensively teased in the build-up to their Paris reveals, with the latter actually leaked in full just a few hours ago as seen below. Update Skoda Vision RS Concept Debuts As Hybrid Hot Hatch Skoda Kodiaq RS Officially Revealed; Full Specs Announced Gallery: 2019 Skoda Kodiaq RS 104 Photos Aside from the RS dynamic duo, Skoda’s booth in Paris will also be the venue where fans will get to Czech out the recently unveiled CNG-friendly and wagon-only Octavia … [Read more...] about See The Skoda Kodiaq RS, Vision RS Sneak Preview Livestream Here:

They’ve had government-mandated quarantine incomes clawed back. They’re told to work in groups while waiting for COVID-19 test results. And they must squeeze into tight quarters that make social distancing impossible. These are some of the most common complaints revealed in a new report as Canadian health officials fight to contain COVID-19 outbreaks among migrant workers’ lodgings and maintain Canada’s food supply chain as the pandemic continues. “While millionaire corporations are being bailed out, migrant worker — the ones that actually grow food— are in crisis,” said the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change report, Unheeded Warnings: COVID-19 and Migrant Workers in Canada , released Monday. “COVID-19 is exacerbating existing injustices that have underpinned the agri-food system for a long time, and about which we have raised multiple warnings.” According to the advocacy coalition for migrant workers, there are at least three major outbreaks in Ontario — Greenhill Produce … [Read more...] about Migrant farm workers ‘in crisis’ amid pandemic, report says

Content for this opinion piece is the shared views of: Pablo Kraus from ecostore; Nada Piatek from Again Again; Florence van Dyke from Chia Sisters; Mike Murphy from Kōkako; and Rich Old from Batchwell. OPINION: As a collective group of New Zealand business leaders, we are in full support of the Climate Change Commission report, but more work is needed and now to tackle our “make-take-waste” culture and close the loop on resource use. The Climate Change Commission, in its draft plan, has advised that Aotearoa needs to fundamentally change the way it deals with and thinks about waste. A transformation to the manufacturing sector will not only reduce emissions but move us from a throwaway culture to one that values our resources. Its plan recommends creating a circular, self-sustaining economy to reduce Aotearoa’s waste emissions. Strengthening product stewardship and a commitment to resource recovery and reuse must be part of this approach. READ MORE: Climate emergency … [Read more...] about More work needed to tackle our ‘make-take-waste’ culture