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Global Health: South Sudan Halts Spread of Crippling Guinea Worms

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South Sudan Halts Spread of Crippling Guinea Worms Photo A woman with scars on her leg left by two Guinea worms in Terekeka, South Sudan. Only 30 infestations were recorded worldwide last year, an enormous achievement since 1986, when there were an estimated 3.5 million cases in 21 Asian and African countries. Credit Mariah Quesada/Associated Press South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, appears to have stopped Guinea worm disease within its borders, the country’s health minister announced Wednesday.
“Having known the suffering it inflicted, one is very happy today,” the minister, Dr. Riek Gai Kok, said. “Future generations will just read of Guinea worm in the books as history.”
Dr. Kok made the announcement in Atlanta at the Carter Center, a philanthropy founded by former President Jimmy Carter that leads the effort to eliminate the parasitic worm.
Only 30 worm infestations were detected last year, 15 in Chad and 15 in Ethiopia. When Mr. Carter began the eradication drive in 1986, t..

'Extreme' fossil fuel investments soar to $115bn under Donald Trump presidency, report reveals

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Finance for controversial and highly polluting tar sands projects more than doubled to $47bn in 2017
Funding from big banks for “extreme” fossil fuels jumped by 11 per cent to $115bn (£81bn) in the first year of Donald Trump’s presidency, new research shows.
Finance for controversial and highly polluting tar sands projects more than doubled to $47bn in 2017, a report by a group of environmental NGOs found.
Extreme fossil fuels include those that contribute the most to climate change such as Arctic oil drilling, ultra-deepwater oil extraction, liquefied natural gas export, and coal mining and power.
Read more Bank financing of extreme fossil fuel soars, report reveals While several European banks, including ING and BNP Paribas, pledged last year to cut financing for unconventional fossil fuels, North American banks ramped up their funding, particularly in Canada, the research found.
This reversed much of the progress made on reducing investment in the most carbon-intensive foss..

Startup founder who was rejected 148 times before raising almost £21 million made two small changes to get investors excited

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A different type of entrepreneur might have given up.
And after 148 rejections from investors, no one would have faulted her for throwing in the towel.
But if there's one thing Kathryn Minshew values, it's perseverance – when one approach doesn't work, she's ready to try another.
Read more 9 best books for entrepreneurs Man brings in over $1 million a year running a marijuana B&B Vegan food startups are taking over London ​Minshew is the cofounder and CEO of job-search and career-advice site The Muse. At this point, she and her colleagues have raised nearly $30 million.
But as Minshew told CFP Bobbi Rebell on an episode of the podcast “Financial Grownup,” the site had a rocky start, fielding one “no” after another during their seed round of investing.
In their Series A round, Minshew told Rebell, she was more deliberate about the way she pitched investors. She found that two strategies in particular helped her.
1. She pinned all of her first meetings with in..

Coca-Cola to close sites in Milton Keynes and Northampton affecting almost 300 jobs

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Company said cuts will allow it to improve productivity and create greater efficiency in the UK
Coca-Cola has announced that it is closing sites in Milton Keynes and Northampton, affecting almost 300 jobs.
The global drinks company’s European arm on Wednesday said that it had concluded a 55-day period of consultation with employees and their representatives and that it had decided to move ahead with the proposals to close the manufacturing site in Milton Keynes and the distribution centre in Northampton.
Closures will take place next year and will affect 288 roles.
“We want to stress that this is not a reflection on the performance or professionalism of our colleagues at these sites,” a spokesperson for Coca-Cola European Partners said.
The spokesperson added that the group is committed to supporting all those affected throughout the process of closure and beyond, by offering training and development opportunities.
“In addition, there will be redeployment opportunities within ou..

BMW and Daimler, Once Rivals, Join Forces to Fend Off Silicon Valley

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BMW and Daimler, Once Rivals, Join Forces to Fend Off Silicon Valley Photo Combined, BMW’s DriveNow car-sharing service and Daimler’s Car2Go will have four million users, the companies said. Credit Inga Kjer/DPA, via Associated Press FRANKFURT — The German carmakers Daimler and BMW said on Thursday that they will merge their car-sharing businesses as they try to compete better with Silicon Valley companies out to upend the traditional automotive industry.
Daimler, the maker of Mercedes-Benz cars, and BMW said they would put their respective mobility services — an array of apps and services that provide transport options for people who may not own cars — into a joint venture in which they will own equal shares.
The alliance is a major departure for BMW and Daimler, longtime rivals for the affections of affluent car buyers. Along with Volkswagen’s Audi division, the pair dominate the global market for luxury vehicles. Still, they are in danger of being overwhelmed by the superior financi..

Turner Chief Pushes Back on Core Justice Dept. Argument

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Turner Chief Pushes Back on Core Justice Dept. Argument

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If Media Giants Grow, So May Your Bills

The government doesn’t want you to pay too much to watch your shows. That’s why the Justice Department says it is challenging the proposed merger between AT&T and Time Warner.

By ERICA BERENSTEIN on Publish Date March 22, 2018.

Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters.

Watch in Times Video »

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WASHINGTON — The head of Turner Broadcasting on Wednesday pushed back against one of the central arguments of the government’s case to block the AT&T and Time Warner merger, saying that his company’s channels would not be used as a weapon against rivals if the deal went through.
The Justice Department has argued that Turner, which is owned by Time Warner, owns “must-have” channels like CNN and TNT that the merged company would use as leverage in negotiations with other cable and satellite TV operators. But John Martin, the chief executive of Turner, told a federal court that his cha..

Mass Die-Off of Whales in Atlantic Is Being Investigated

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Mass Die-Off of Whales in Atlantic Is Being Investigated Photo Workers inspecting a dead humpback whale that washed up on Rockaway Beach in Queens this month. Credit Spencer Platt/Getty Images Humpback whales have been dying in extraordinary numbers along the Eastern Seaboard since the beginning of last year. Marine biologists have a term for it — an “unusual mortality event” — but they have no firm idea why it is happening.
Forty-one whales have died in the past 15 months along the Atlantic coast from North Carolina to Maine. In a news conference on Thursday, officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries said that they had not identified the underlying reason for the mass death, but that 10 of the whales are known to have been killed by collisions with ships.
The agency is starting a broad inquiry into the deaths.
These whales “have evidence of blunt force trauma, or large propeller cuts,” said Deborah Fauquier, a veterinary medical officer at the agency..