It’s not quite the metaverse, but Meta is launching its virtual world

211209103222 03 meta launches horizon worlds social vr 120921 super tease

The company formerly known as Facebook said Thursday that Horizon Worlds, a free app for socializing in VR that has been long in the making, is now open to anyone 18 and older with a Quest 2 headset in the United States and Canada. Horizon Worlds is not a fully fleshed-out metaverse. That hard-to-define concept … Read more

PM Modi leads nation in paying tributes to Gen Rawat, 12 others killed in IAF chopper crash

photo

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the country’s top military brass on Thursday paid homage to India’s first Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika, Brig LS Lidder and 10 more defence personnel at the Palam air base after their bodies were brought to Delhi in a military aircraft. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, … Read more

Pollutants Tied to Changes in Ratio of Boys to Girls Born

Dec. 9, 2021 — The season of conception does not affect whether more boys than girls are born, nor do temperatures in the environment, a large study reveals. Similarly, researchers found no connection with a location’s violent crime level, unemployment rate, or major events like Hurricane Katrina. But certain chemical pollutants were related … Read more

U.S. FDA authorizes Pfizer/BioNTech booster for 16- and 17-year-olds

photo

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday authorized booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine from Inc and BioNTech SE those aged 16 and 17, as public health officials have urged Americans to get the additional shots on concerns about the new Omicron variant of the virus. The emergency use authorization (EUA) will allow 16- … Read more

GM exec: Cruise to start autonomous taxi service next year

photo

General Motors’ Cruise autonomous vehicle subsidiary plans to start running a fully autonomous taxi service in San Francisco next year. Doug Parks, GM‘s product development and purchasing chief, told analysts Thursday that he has ridden in a Cruise vehicle with no driver and the company is very close to deploying the service. “The technology is … Read more

Uyghur tribunal rules that China ‘committed genocide’ against the Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities

210122111910 file china flag kashgar 2019 super tease

“The tribunal is satisfied that the PRC [People’s Republic of China] has affected a deliberate, systematic and concerted policy with the object of so-called ‘optimizing’ the population in Xinjiang by the means of a long-term reduction of Uyghur and other ethnic minority populations to be achieved through limiting and reducing Uyghur births,” Geoffrey Nice, who … Read more

Success of farmers’ stir ‘victory of democracy’, says Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal

photo

As farmers decided to end their stir against the three farm laws on Thursday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal termed it as a “historic success” of the farmers’ movement and “victory of democracy”. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of 40 farm unions, that had been leading anti-farm law protests at Delhi borders … Read more