Two explosions kill six personnel in Sevastopol; drone-hit Russian refinery shuts down as sanctions block repairs. What we know on day 1,634
Continue reading...Self-doubt doesn’t respond to evidence, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith. Rather than disputing it, perhaps you could engage in a different way
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A close friend of mine is suffering with crippling self-doubt and it’s starting to take a strain on our relationship. We’ve been friends for eight years. She is such a bright, bubbly and charismatic person who has an infectious ability to make people laugh and feel welcome; but she also has a really low opinion of herself and, as her friend, I am the one who always gets the brunt of her negative self-talk. After every social event she will message me to ask if I think she has annoyed someone, or that she spoke too much, or that she embarrassed herself. In private conversations she is constantly putting herself down, calling herself fat, apologising for nothing and generally claiming she’s not good enough.
I love her and constantly reassure her that her thoughts have no grounding but, after years of this, I am tired. I’m starting to enjoy our time together less and less, as I never know what mood she will be in or what she will say about herself. I would hate to hear anyone else speak about her in the way she does. I especially hate it when she says these things about herself.
Continue reading...Cernavoda shutdown poses immediate problems for Moldova, which relies on Romanian power to cover its own electricity shortages
Romania has been forced to shut down the last working reactor at its only nuclear plant after drought caused the Danube river to fall to record lows – a rare move that will immediately affect power supplies in neighbouring Moldova.
Drought and record-low water levels have deepened fears of an energy crisis across Europe, which is facing a new summer heatwave.
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Microsoft has been steadily scaling back its China presence, closing at least 15 branch offices and joint ventures over the past five years as Beijing favors domestic software. U.S. export controls also make it harder to grow its cloud and AI businesses, leaving the market with relatively little economic upside. Reuters reports: Microsoft took a major hit from the erosion of trust between Washington and Beijing, the five people said. China has since 2017 pushed the use of domestic software, which Beijing sees as more secure and whose quality is increasingly competitive with Windows and Office. U.S. restrictions, including export controls on advanced technology, have meanwhile hindered efforts to scale Microsoft's lucrative AI and cloud businesses in China.
[...] Microsoft ultimately decided to remain because it had carved out a profitable business servicing Chinese companies like TikTok owner ByteDance, which need Western technology to manage overseas operations, according to three people familiar with the matter. The company also believed that it needed a presence to maintain access to China's world-class engineering talent, two of them said. Microsoft had also cultivated a relationship with the government that is among the deepest of any tech company, its former China head Alain Crozier told Reuters. "Because of the geopolitics ... some days it's a little bit harder, but we never had a crisis," he said.
A Microsoft spokesperson did not address questions about the firm's deliberations on its China business but said it operates in a regulatory "environment that applies to every international supplier" and that it remains committed to the Chinese market. The state of Microsoft's China business reflects market competition, regulatory demands and technological trends, the company said.
[...] Microsoft ultimately decided to remain because it had carved out a profitable business servicing Chinese companies like TikTok owner ByteDance, which need Western technology to manage overseas operations, according to three people familiar with the matter. The company also believed that it needed a presence to maintain access to China's world-class engineering talent, two of them said. Microsoft had also cultivated a relationship with the government that is among the deepest of any tech company, its former China head Alain Crozier told Reuters. "Because of the geopolitics ... some days it's a little bit harder, but we never had a crisis," he said.
A Microsoft spokesperson did not address questions about the firm's deliberations on its China business but said it operates in a regulatory "environment that applies to every international supplier" and that it remains committed to the Chinese market. The state of Microsoft's China business reflects market competition, regulatory demands and technological trends, the company said.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.