Author: natixis-ezine

Paris 2024 Olympics, Paralympics mascot is a smiling hat

natixis-ezine

Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

Mascots of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, right, and Paralympics Games, a Phrygian cap, jump during a preview in Saint Denis, outside Paris, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022. The soft bright red cap, also known as a liberty cap, is an updated version of a conical hat worn in antiquity in places such as Persia, the Balkans, Thrace, Dacia and Phrygia, where the name originates, in modern day Turkey. It later became a symbol of the pursuit of liberty in the French Revolution and is still worn by the figure of Marianne, the national personification of France since that time. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

By MASHA MACPHERSON and THOMAS ADAMSON Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — The mascots for the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics have been revealed — a Phrygian cap.

The soft red cap, also known as a liberty cap, is an updated version of a conical hat worn in antiquity in places such as Persia, the Balkans, Thrace, Dacia and Phrygia, a place in modern day Turkey where the name originates. It later became a symbol of the pursuit of liberty in the French Revolution — and is still worn by the figure of Marianne, the national personification of France since that time.

The Olympic cap is triangular in shape, and comes complete with friendly smile, blue eyes, tricolor ribbon and big colored sneakers.

The Paralympic version features a prosthetic leg that goes to the knee — the first time such a mascot sports a visible disability, organizers said. Continue reading

Sam Bankman-Fried’s downfall sends shockwaves through crypto

natixis-ezine

Read time : 5 mins

Level : Advanced

Signage for the FTX Arena, where the Miami Heat basketball team plays, is visible Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022, in Miami. Sam Bankman-Fried received numerous plaudits as he rapidly achieved superstar status as the head of cryptocurrency exchange FTX: the savior of crypto, the newest force in Democratic politics and potentially the world’s first trillionaire. Now the comments about the 30-year-old aren’t so kind after FTX filed for bankruptcy protection Friday, Nov. 11 leaving his investors and customers feeling duped and many others in the crypto world fearing the repercussions. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Sam Bankman-Fried received numerous plaudits as he rapidly achieved superstar status as the head of cryptocurrency exchange FTX: the savior of crypto, the newest force in Democratic politics and potentially the world’s first trillionaire.

Now the comments about the 30-year-old Bankman-Fried range from bemused to hostile after FTX filed for bankruptcy protection Friday, leaving his investors and customers feeling duped and many others in the crypto world fearing the repercussions. Bankman-Fried himself could face civil or criminal charges.

“I’ve known him for a number of years and what just happened is just shocking,” said Jeremy Allaire, the co-founder and CEO of cryptocurrency company Circle. Continue reading

Schools clash with parents over bans on student cellphones

natixis-ezine

Read time : 6 mins

Level : Intermediate

Students at the Washington Junior High School leaving classes for the day, use the unlocking mechanism to open the bags their cell phone were sealed in during the school day, Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022, in Washington, Pa. Citing mental health, behavior and engagement as the impetus, many educators are updating cellphone policies, with a number turning to magnetically sealing pouches. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

By BROOKE SCHULTZ Associated Press/Report for America

Cellphones — the ultimate distraction — keep children from learning, educators say. But in attempts to keep the phones at bay, the most vocal pushback doesn’t always come from students. In some cases, it’s from parents.

Bans on the devices were on the rise before the COVID-19 pandemic. Since schools reopened, struggles with student behavior and mental health have given some schools even more reason to restrict access.

But parents and caregivers who had constant access to their children during remote learning have been reluctant to give that up. Some fear losing touch with their kids during a school shooting.

Shannon Moser, who has students in eighth and ninth grades in Rochester, New York, said she felt parents were being pushed away when the Greece Central School District this year began locking away student phones. There’s a form of accountability, she said, when students are able to record what goes on around them.

“Everything is just so politicized, so divisive. And I think parents just have a general fear of what’s happening with their kids during the day,” Moser said. She said she generally has liberal views, but many parents on either side of the political divide feel the same way. Continue reading

Twitter users can soon get blue check for $7.99 monthly fee

natixis-ezine

Read time : 5 mins

Level : Advanced

People walk outside Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, Friday, Nov. 4, 2022. Employees were bracing for widespread layoffs at Twitter on Friday, as new owner Elon Musk overhauls the social platform. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

By BARBARA ORTUTAY Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Twitter has announced a subscription service for $7.99 a month that includes a blue check now given only to verified accounts as new owner Elon Musk works to overhaul the platform’s verification system just ahead of U.S. midterm elections.

In an update to Apple iOS devices available in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the U.K., Twitter said users who “sign up now” for the new “Twitter Blue with verification” can receive the blue check next to their names “just like the celebrities, companies and politicians you already follow.”

But Twitter employee Esther Crawford tweeted Saturday that the “new Blue isn’t live yet — the sprint to our launch continues but some folks may see us making updates because we are testing and pushing changes in real-time.” Verified accounts did not appear to be losing their checks so far. Continue reading

European Central Bank pushes banks to speed up climate work

natixis-ezine

Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

FILE – A light installation is projected onto the building of the European Central Bank during a rehearsal in Frankfurt, Germany, Dec. 30, 2021. Inflation hit a new record in the 19 countries that use the euro currency, fueled by out-of-control prices for natural gas and electricity due to the war in Ukraine, the European Union statistics agency Eurostat reported Monday, Oct. 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank is warning that many of the financial institutions it oversees are moving too slowly to shield themselves and Europe’s banking system from the impact of climate change, and it is setting new deadlines to meet those requirements.

The ECB said some progress had been made but that a review of 186 banks published Wednesday showed change was uneven and that “the glass remains half full,” top ECB official Frank Elderson said in a blog post on the central bank’s website.

The Frankfurt, Germany-based central bank for the 19 countries that use the euro currency set deadlines for banks to meet climate requirements by the end of 2024. Continue reading