Global Breaking News - Monday, December 23, 2024
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[Misc] 2018 Reuters News - Apr 23 ~ Apr 27
최고관리자 | 18-04-22 06:18
'Urban mining' in S.Korea pulls rare battery materials from recycled tech
폐 가전 제품에서 귀중한 자원을 얻는 한국의 ‘도시 광산’
It's a dirty job, but so-called 'urban mining' has become key to South Korea's vast electronics industry. Workers here extract coveted metals out of lithium-ion batteries from old mobile phones and laptops. China's hunt for overseas cobalt and lithium for electric vehicles has pushed up prices and caused a global shortage of the key metals. The country's largest battery recycler is SungEel HiTech. It processes 8,000 tons per year of spent lithium-ion batteries and metal scraps. From this it produces about 830 tons of lithium phosphate, 1,000 tons of cobalt metal and 600 tons of nickel. "We extract five elements at once. It only costs us to extract cobalt and nickel, but we also recover manganese, lithium, and copper too. That makes it economically feasible." After workers pull batteries from discarded devices, the units are ground into a powder from which individual metals are separated. In 2016 almost a quarter of the country's metal demand was met by such extraction methods. This expert says urban mining cuts costs and the need to import rare metals. "In the electric car era recycled resources are very important for South Korea, as we don't have huge resources." SungEel plans to triple its capacity within two years and expand overseas.
Trump says U.S. having direct talks with North Korea about summit
트럼프, 정상회담 관련 북한과 직접 대화 중이라고 밝혀
"Thank you all for being here. I just want to say that your representatives look right out of a movie absolutely perfect. So I think it is very nice. I am very impressed. It’s great to have both of our representatives with us." "We’ve also started talking to North Korea directly. We have had direct talks at very high levels, extremely high levels -- with North Korea. And I really believe that there is a lot of goodwill, a lot of good things are happening. We will see what happens, as I always say, we will see what happens. Because ultimately it is the end result that counts -- not the fact that we are thinking about having a meeting -- or having a meeting." “But we will see what happens. But I can say this, they do respect us, we are respectful of them and we will see what happens. We will bring up the abductees, we will bring up many different things. I think it’s a time for talking, it's a time for solving problems -- I know that has been a very big factor for you."
Mariah Carey says she has bipolar disorder
머라이어 캐리, 조울증을 앓고 있다고 밝혀
Pop singer Mariah Carey is battling bipolar disorder. In an interview in People magazine the star reveals that for many years she didn't want to believe the diagnosis but is now ready to share. She tells the celebrity magazine: "I lived in denial and isolation and in constant fear someone would expose me. It was too heavy a burden to carry and I simply couldn't do that anymore." Carey says she was first diagnosed in 2001 around the time of the release of her critically panned movie "Glitter." She was hospitalized following an emotional and physical breakdown. In the following years, Carey made herself believe that her mood swings were caused of a severe sleep disorder, but "instead of counting sheep I was constantly working and working… eventually hitting a wall." Carey is suffering from bipolar II form of the disorder, marked by less severe mood swings between depression and hyperactivity. The singer comes forward after a roller-coaster few years that includes her divorce from comedian Nick Cannon, and a short-lived engagement to Australian billionaire James Packer. Carey says she has recently started receiving treatment and is working on a new album that is due out later this year.
Rubber ducks' dirty secret revealed
감추고 싶은 비밀이 드러난 러버 덕
They've been popular bath time companions for generations.But your favorite bath toy may be keeping a dirty secret. When sliced open by researchers in Switzerland, rubber ducks were found to be a haven for bacteria and fungi. "Yeah, we found a thick, slimy matrix... just full of fungi and bacteria. We found up to 1.3 billion bacteria cells in each bath toy." In lab tests over 11 weeks, some bath toys were exposed to clean water and others to dirty bath water, including water containing soap, human body fluids and bacteria. The rubber ducks' warm, humid insides was the perfect environment for some potentially harmful bacteria. "These include Legionella, mycobacterium avium and Pseudomonas aeruginosa; all of these can cause infection of the lungs when they're inhaled. And we also found E. coli which can be an indicator of faecal contamination which might be a cause of gastrointestinal disease." Some bacteria can be good for strengthening the immune system. So should rubber ducks be banished from the bathtub? "We definitely don't want everyone to throw away their rubber ducks and we don't want to ruin bath time. We just want people to be aware that these are biofilms that are potentially harmful, especially for immune compromised people." If you're not willing to throw your rubber duck out with the bathwater, researchers say the next best thing is to boil them regularly and seal up the hole so no water can get in.
Asia sales give LVMH shares a golden glow
루이비통모에헤네시, 아시아 지역 매출 호황으로 주가 급등
All that glitters is gold for LVMH! Shares in the world's biggest luxury group jumped to a record high after it posted booming sales in the first quarter. The dominant force behind the growth was resurgent Chinese appetite for its glamorous brands, which include Christian Dior, Luis Vuitton and champagne house Moet & Chandon. "A bumper first quarter from LVMH which fed off the back of a very strong 2017. It rather appears that the Asian customer has returned in some style." Revenue across all sectors was up 13 percent year-on-year, to almost 11 billion euros. LVMH clothes, watches and handbags were particularly sought-after especially by younger shoppers. And it seems the impact of a crackdown in China on luxury gift-giving some 6 years ago is finally over. "It's a massive market. It's a massive new middle class coming along. It's got all sorts of implications for luxury firms as well. In terms of growth it remains one of the places to be well positioned. And we're seeing from the luxury companies that they are very much benefiting from the strength and speed of Chinese economic growth." The enthusiasm also spread to LVMH's rivals. Shares in Prada and Gucci-owner Kering enjoyed a boost. But the sector remains vulnerable to geopolitical twists and turns with a trade war between the US and China a major sore point.
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