Global�Corruption Perception Index:
This year’s Corruption Perceptions Index highlights that the majority of countries are making little or no progress in ending corruption, while further analysis shows journalists and activists in corrupt countries risking their lives every day in an effort to speak out.The index, which ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and businesspeople, uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean. This year, the index found that more than two-thirds of countries score below 50, with an average score of 43. Unfortunately, compared to recent years, this poor performance is nothing new.This year, New Zealand and Denmark rank highest with scores of 89 and 88 respectively. Syria, South Sudan and Somalia rank lowest with scores of 14, 12 and 9 respectively. The best performing region is Western Europe with an average score of 66. The worst performing regions are Sub-Saharan Africa (average score 32) and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (average score 34).
Important mentions:
1.�Nigeria 148
2.�Ghana 81
3.�Kenya 143
4.�Zimbabwe 157
5.�S-Africa 71
6.�Tanzania 103
7.�India 81
8.�Pakistan 117
9.�China 77
10.�Brazil 96
11.�Portugal 29
12.�Mexico 143
India doctors remove world's 'largest brain tumour':
Doctors in India who have removed a 1.8kg (2.2lbs) brain tumour from a 31-year-old man say it could be the largest in the world. The surgery, which lasted seven hours, took place on 14 February at the Nair hospital in the western city of Mumbai. But the procedure was not made public as doctors were not sure until now if it had been successful. "Now it's a matter of recovery but he's out of danger", Dr Trimurti Nadkarni, chief of neurosurgery, told the BBC. Santlal Pal, a shopkeeper from the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, had been living with the tumour for three years before his surgery was carried out. Doctors said Mr Pal had lost his vision because of the tumour but hoped he would regain it as he continued to recover from the operation. His wife told the Hindu newspaper that they had been told by doctors at three different hospitals in Uttar Pradesh that the tumour was inoperable. "Such cases are critical", said Dr Nadkarni, adding that Mr Pal needed 11 units of blood during the operation and after that, he was connected to a ventilator for a few days after the surgery.
Boston Dynamics Gives Another Reason�Robots Will Hate Us:
In one of the scariest moments in the movie Jurassic Park, a pair of intelligent Velociraptors, brought back to Earth by man's hubris, defy an assumption about their limitations: They open a kitchen door. Now imagine that the raptors are real, transformed into headless robot dogs that can negotiate stairs, fling open doors with their robotic claws and generally overcome the puny obstacles offered up by the human technicians at Boston Dynamics. The robotics company posted a video last week, showing two of their yellow SpotMini robots helping each other enter a door. Now the company has released a sequel in which a single 2.5-foot-tall (75 cm robot) robot is controlled by an unseen human driver who directs the robot claw to the door handle and issues a "Go" command.Besides providing nightmare fuel for humankind, and plotlines for the bleak tech world TV show Black Mirror, the robots could also offer more positive benefits. During a natural or human-made disaster, for instance, they could help navigate situations that would otherwise put people in danger.
Ford executive leaves over inappropriate behaviour:
The head of Ford's US operations is leaving the company immediately following an internal investigation into inappropriate behaviour. The carmaker said its inquiry had concluded that some of Raj Nair's conduct had been "inconsistent with the company's code of conduct". Ford did not specify why the investigation was started nor what it uncovered. Mr Nair said in a statement that "I sincerely regret" certain behaviour.Ford President and Chief Executive Jim Hackett said in a statement: "We made this decision after a thorough review and careful consideration. Ford is deeply committed to providing and nurturing a safe and respectful culture and we expect our leaders to fully uphold these values." Mr Nair had been President of Ford North America since 1 July. He was previously head of global product development and chief technical officer. He apologised, without elaborating on the reasons for his going. A spokesman for the US's second-biggest carmaker said the company would not be commenting on the nature of Mr Nair's departure.
Woman credits FaceTime with saving her life after her sister detected signs of a stroke:
Just a week after the Apple Watch aided a mother and son who were involved in a car accident, FaceTime is being credited with helping save a woman's life. As reported by the BBC, a woman was on FaceTime with her sister when she suffered from a stroke. Opokua Kwapong, a New York resident who lives alone, was on a FaceTime video call with her sister Adumea Sapong, who lives in Manchester, when Sapong noticed that something didn't seem right. Sapong explains that Kwapong thought she was "making a fuss," so she decided to reach out to their other sister, who is a doctor. "She thought I was making a fuss so I then conferenced in one of my other sisters, who is a doctor, and she could hear her speaking and could also tell that her speech was slurred. We both told her to call for help straightaway.” Kwapong then hung up and called 911. After hospital scans, she was diagnosed with having a clot on the brain and the stroke has left her paralyzed on her left side.Ms Kwapong, who works as a food scientist, said: “There is no doubt that FaceTime saved my life. If my sister had not noticed that something was not right, then things could have been so different."FaceTime is designed as very straight-forward video and audio calling feature, but as this story exemplifies, even the basic features can be lifesaving.
"Black Panther" Is Also Breaking Box Office Records In Africa:
As you might have heard, Black Panther is a massive, record-breaking box office sensation. Through Monday, the Marvel Studios release has earned $242.2 million domestically, the second-best four-day return ever for a feature film, behind only Star Wars: The Force Awakens.Internationally, Black Panther is also a giant blockbuster, earning $184.6 million through Monday — and that's before the film has premiered in China, Japan, and Russia, three of the biggest markets in the world.The film has become a watershed for movies starring black actors, dismantling the myth in Hollywood that they aren't financially successful internationally. It is also an unprecedented hit for a film set in Africa — in Black Panther's case, the fictional nation of Wakanda, but still emphatically set within the continent.. So it's perhaps not that surprising that Black Panther also broke several box office records in Africa. Disney confirmed to BuzzFeed News that the film earned the third-biggest opening weekend in South Africa (behind 2015's Furious 7 and 2017's The Fate of the Furious), and set new opening weekend records in the film distribution territories of West Africa and East Africa (each consisting of several countries).The amounts of those records are fractions of what Black Panther has earned elsewhere in the world: In South Africa, it was $1.4 million; in West Africa, roughly $400,000, and in East Africa, roughly $300,000.Those figures indicate both how small and how new of a market sub-Saharan Africa remains for Hollywood features. For example, in Nigeria, which features a robust filmmaking industry known as Nollywood, many movies historically premiered either on television or direct to home video, bypassing theatrical distribution entirely. Much like Black Panther's impact elsewhere, however, the film has created a new model for how Hollywood could roll out its feature films in major African markets — and smaller ones, too.
Jennifer Lawrence Offended�by Dress Controversy- "This Is Sexist" :
Earlier this week, the 27-year-old Oscar winner wore a black, plunging Versace Pre-Fall 2018 gown to a photocall for her latest film Red Sparrow in London.Some people on social media criticized her over her outfit, which she wore while posing for photos with her male co-stars, all bundled up in coats amid the near-freezing temperatures."I don't really know where to get started on this 'Jennifer Lawrence wearing a revealing dress in the cold' controversy," she said. "Over-reacting about everything someone says or does, creating controversy over silly innocuous things such as what I choose to wear or not wear, is not moving us forward." Lawrence's femme fatale look at the photocall also corresponds to the persona of her Red Sparrow character; she plays a sexy Russian spy.
Lindsey Vonn’s Dad’s� Brutal Olympic Bronz Medal Smackdown:
To most families, a bronze medal at age 33 - the oldest ever for an alpine skier - would be considered a proud accomplishment, but apparently not to Lindsey Vonn’s father.In an emotional third-place finish in her likely final women’s downhill Wednesday, Vonn fought tears while explaining just how special this medal was to her after finishing behind Italy’s Sofia Goggia and Norway’s Ragnhild Mowinckel. “I wanted to win so much for him,” Vonn, referring to her late grandfather, Don Kildow, said after the race. “But I still think I made him proud. Our family never gives up, and I kept working hard and I’m really proud of this medal. I know he is, too.”Her pride in the event wasn’t replicated by her father, Alan Kildow, who recently reconciled with Vonn after more than a decade of tension and little communication.“It’s great skiing, but it reminds me of something that Buddy Werner used to say,” Kildow told USA Today Sports, referring to a US skier from the 1950s. “He said there’s two places in the race, first and last, and I only want one of them.” Kildow’s criticism of Vonn’s bronze run was centered on her needing to be more aggressive. “Just little, little spots,” he added. “Just not quite risking enough. Not straightening the line out, just the ski was little … not quite carving in some places like it should have. But a great result. A great result.” Speaking after her race, Vonn, who was favoured to win the event, expressed how grateful she was to have her father and family get to see her compete in PyeongChang. Kildow introduced Vonn to the sport at a young age, but the two grew distant after a 22-year-old Vonn married Thomas Vonn in 2007, as outlined in a Sports Illustrated feature. She kept his last name after the couple divorced four years later and, in between then, Vonn won gold in the downhill at the Vancouver Games while Kildow watched from his office in the States.The death of Kildow’s father and Vonn’s grandfather, Don, brought the two emotionally back together last year.
Hearing In Russia Curler Case Cancelled: CAS⚖
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said on Thursday that the hearing in the case of Russian curler Alexander Krushelnitsky had been cancelled and that a decision would be made on the basis of written submissions.CAS said the decision to drop the hearing had been made at the request of the International Olympic Committee, the World Curling Federation and the curler.A decision on the case would be published later on Thursday.
Sevilla 0 Manchester United 0: De Gea ensures Mourinho's men stay level:
