NASA: Debris Field Created by India’s Anti-Satellite Test Threatens the ISS

The International Space Station Image: NASA/Roscosmos India’s first successful test of an anti-satellite weapon has produced an orbiting debris field consisting of at least 400 pieces, according to NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine. This debris now threatens the ISS, he said, calling India’s actions “not compatible with the future of human spaceflight.” Bridenstine made the comments…

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‘Dunkirk’ and the West’s myopia about World War II – The Washington Post

Want smart analysis of the most important news in your inbox every weekday along with other global reads, interesting ideas and opinions to know? Sign up for the Today’s WorldView newsletter. “Dunkirk,” the taut blockbuster by British-born filmmaker Christopher Nolan, is one of the runaway successes of the summer, grossing more than $300 million worldwide…

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Uber executive fired amid reports he obtained rape victim’s medical records | Technology | The Guardian

A top Uber executive who reportedly obtained the medical records of a woman who was raped by her Uber driver was only fired after journalists learned of the incident, it emerged on Wednesday. According to reports on the tech website Recode and in the New York Times, Eric Alexander, the president of business for Uber…

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Facebook distances itself from Marc Andreeseen comments – Business Insider

Stuart Isett/Fortune Global ForumVenture capitalist and Facebook board member Marc AndreessenFacebook and CEO Mark Zuckerberg are speaking out against the comments of board member Marc Andreessen, who infuriated people on Twitter Tuesday night with his comments about the social network’s “Free Basics” program in India. Free Basics provides limited internet services at no cost to people…

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India says yes to net neutrality, no to Facebook’s Free Basics

Indian students gather for a protest against Free Basics in Hyderabad, on Dec. 29.Image: Mahesh Kumar A/Associated Press In a significant move, India’s telecom regulator has banned the differential pricing for different kinds of data according to the principles of net neutrality. This implies that zero-rating initiatives like Facebook’s Free Basics platform, which offers a…

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In Growing Spat, Facebook Claims India Telecom Regulator Blocked Its Emails | Motherboard

  Facebook and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, or TRAI, are engaged in a snippy epistolary argument as the agency prepares to write new policy that would affect Free Basics, Facebook’s discounted internet offering. Now, in the manner of a passive-aggressive spat between roommates, Facebook has accused the agency—or at least, someone within the…

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What Became of India’s Corpse-Eating Turtles? | Atlas Obscura

 Ganges riverbank in Varanasi (image by Jeeheon Cho / Wikimedia) The Ganges is the largest river in India, providing water to more than 500 million people. It also has extremely important religious significance in Hindu culture — personified as the goddess Ganga, Hindu faith holds that bathing in the river can absolve one’s sins, and that anyone who is cremated…

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