IMPORTANT
| | | The G-Word | Biden Accuses Putin of Genocide Speaking at an Iowa ethanol plant, President Joe Biden said that Americans’ ability to fill their tanks shouldn’t “hinge on whether a dictator declares war and commits genocide a half a world away.” Asked later whether he’d meant to use the G-word, Biden said, “Yes, I called it genocide. It has become clearer and clearer that Putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of ... being able to be Ukrainian.” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded, “Calling things by their names is essential to stand up to evil.” Meanwhile, the mayor of Mariupol announced an estimated 21,000 civilians have been killed in the besieged port. (Sources: NPR, Global News) |
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| | | | | Inundated | Floods in South Africa Kill at Least 59, Toll Expected to Rise Heavy downpours have battered the province of KwaZulu-Natal since the weekend, triggering flash floods that have swept away bridges, roads, vehicles and homes. At least 45 people have lost their lives in the province’s largest metro of eThekwini and 14 more have been confirmed killed elsewhere. The toll could be much higher, as some parts of the province have not yet been reached by emergency response teams. Dr. Imtiaz Sooliman from the humanitarian relief group Gift of the Givers said his organization would focus on “informal settlements, houses in low-lying locations and the non-insured.” President Cyril Ramaphosa will visit KZN today. (Sources: Daily Maverick, ENCA) |
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| | | Person of Interest | Manhunt Continues for Brooklyn Subway Shooter New York City police have named a person of interest in Tuesday morning’s attack that injured at least 23 people, five of them critically. They said keys to a U-Haul van were found on the train with the shooter’s belongings, which included a handgun, ammunition and a hatchet. The van was rented by Frank James, 62, who had previously posted rants about race and violence on YouTube, as well as criticisms of NYC Mayor Eric Adams’ policies on public safety in the subways. Police have offered a $50,000 reward for information that leads to the gunman’s arrest. (Source: NYT) |
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| | | Never a Dull Moment | Musk Sued by Twitter Shareholders Over Delay in Disclosing Stake A class-action suit filed in Manhattan accused Tesla CEO Elon Musk of “materially false and misleading statements and omissions.” The group of former shareholders says Musk’s failure to reveal his 9.2% stake in Twitter before the federal deadline of March 24 cost them potential profits. When Musk revealed his investment on April 4, Twitter shares rose 27%, from $39.31 to $49.97. Lead plaintiff Marc Rasella sold 35 shares for $1,373 (an average price of $39.23) between March 25 and 29. Musk, the world’s richest man, is worth $265.1 billion according to Forbes’ real-time list. (Source: Reuters) |
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| | | Briefly | Here are some things you should know about today: A fine day. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson defied calls to quit after he and Rishi Sunak — the country’s leading Treasury official — were fined for breaking their own COVID-19 lockdown rules by attending Johnson’s birthday party. (Source: The Guardian) Gotcha! Ukraine’s security service announced that they’d arrested pro-Russian politician Viktor Medvedchuk, who’d been on the run since Russia invaded on Feb. 24. (Source: BBC) Crackdown. El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele announced that more than 10,000 suspected gang members have been arrested since a state of emergency was declared after 87 people were killed one weekend in late March. (Source: Al Jazeera) |
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| Comfort from the ground up | | | | Cariuma's low-tops look good and feel great - and they do all of that with consciously-sourced materials while working with ethical factories and recycled packaging. You get a cool-classic look that turns heads, and the inner satisfaction of doing the right thing with your new kicks. Plus, they plant a pair of trees in the Brazilian rainforest for every pair you buy. Just for the OZY family: $15 off your pair. Just use the code OZY2022, but do it now -- these have sold out before, and will sell out again. Shop Now |
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INTRIGUING
| | | | | Earth 2.0? | China’s on the Hunt for a Habitable Exoplanet Beijing has sent robots to Mars and the moon and it’s even built its own space station. Now the Asian superpower has its sights set on a far loftier goal. Later this month, China will release details of its first mission to discover exoplanets — planets that orbit stars outside the solar system. The mission will scour the outer reaches of the Milky Way in the hopes of finding an Earth-like planet orbiting in the habitable zone of a star similar to the sun. Given the right conditions, experts say, such a planet could harbor liquid water — and perhaps even life. (Source: Nature) |
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| | | Handy! | Microchip Implants Let You Pay With Your Hand Never know where your purse is? While it may sound like something from a sci-fi movie, British-Polish firm Walletmor has been implanting payment chips into people’s hands since last year. The tiny chips, about the size of a grain of rice, use near-field communication, the same contactless payment system in smartphones. While we’ve been putting chips into our pets for decades, 49% of Europeans said they wouldn’t chip themselves. And as for the other 51%? The procedure “hurts as much as when someone pinches your skin,” says happy customer Patrick Paumen, and “the reactions I get from cashiers are priceless!” (Source: BBC) |
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| | | Bird of Pray | Salisbury Cathedral’s Famous Falcon Migrates to Guernsey Osmund, one of four peregrine falcon chicks who became an internet sensation during the first COVID lockdown in 2020, has been spotted over 100 miles away on the island of Guernsey. Named after St. Osmund, the first Bishop of Salisbury, he’s the only of the siblings (who were raised under the watchful eye of a webcam atop the cathedral tower in southern England) to be spotted since flying the nest. Peregrines usually stay within 60 miles of their birthplace, and Ed Drewitt, who ringed Osmund, said he’d never heard of a peregrine from the area making it to the Channel Islands. (Source: The Guardian) |
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| | | Blast From Beyond | Declassified Data Confirms PNG Meteorite Came From Another Star System A memo from the U.S. Space Command has confirmed that a small meteorite that blazed through the skies above Papua New Guinea in 2014 came from far beyond our solar system. A 2019 study argued that the fireball’s speed and trajectory proved with 99% certainty the object was interstellar — but because some of the data used in the calculations was classified, the paper was not peer-reviewed. The recent admission makes this the first interstellar object ever recorded in our solar system, predating the discovery of ‘Oumuamua by three years. Scientists are considering scouring the seafloor for shards. (Source: Live Science) |
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| | | Winners and Losers | High Drama in Soccer’s Champions League Quarterfinals The first two quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League saw defending champions Chelsea and six-time winners Bayern Munich knocked out. Chelsea almost pulled off a remarkable comeback against 12-time champs Real Madrid, surging to 3-0 lead that would’ve been enough to overturn their 1-3 first-leg loss. But Real equalized in the 80th minute and Karim Benzema provided the fatal blow in extra time to take the tie 5-4 on aggregate. At the Allianz Arena in Munich, an 88th-minute equalizer by Villareal’s Samuel Chukwueze was enough to knock Bayern out 2-1 on aggregate. Villareal will play their first semifinal since 2006. (Sources: BBC, CBC) |
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| ABOUT OZY OZY is a diverse, global and forward-looking media and entertainment company focused on “the New and the Next.” OZY creates space for fresh perspectives, and offers new takes on everything from news and culture to technology, business, learning and entertainment. Curiosity. Enthusiasm. Action. That’s OZY! |
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