"Today, very few know what regulatory and lobbying problems the containers had to face before becoming a standard in the transportation of goods. An innovation full of controversy 60 years ago, and considered illegal by many, with a regulator deciding on its viability, seems nowadays as something natural that we cannot imagine life without."
"A day after the U.S. leader slammed Islamabad for harboring terrorists in a New Year's Day tweet, Pakistan's central bank announced that it will be replacing the dollar with the yuan for bilateral trade and investment with Beijing. With a steady stream of Chinese capital under its belt, Pakistan may no longer be receptive to American threats, the most recent of which involves Washington cutting off security assistance."
"Attorney General Jeff Sessions has pulled off something that would have been unthinkable just a few years back: he managed to rally Republican lawmakers behind weed."
"The Free Republic of Liberland wishes you a happy new year."
"Zuckerberg outlined two areas of technology that he wanted to research in 2018: encryption and cryptocurrencies. He said both technologies led to decentralised power, which Zuckerberg saw as a positive move. Zuckerberg wasn't explicit in his post about Facebook's plans regarding cryptocurrencies. He didn't say the company would add bitcoin as a payment option, for example. But it shows that one of the world's most powerful companies is looking closely at the technology."
"In a memo sent to U.S. attorneys Thursday, Sessions noted that federal law prohibits the possession and sale of marijuana, and he undid four previous Obama administration memos that advised against bringing weed prosecutions in states where it was legal to use for recreational or medical purposes."
"The government has blocked popular messaging services like Telegram and Signal, in addition to several internet networks. Yet despite censorship and civil unrest, the Iranian bitcoin community is growing rapidly. Iranian customers protested outside local branches in 2017, demanding deposits because they worry some of the country’s largest credit institutions are on the verge of collapse. Meanwhile, Iranians remain politically ostracized from most international businesses and financial institutions. Part of the inspiration behind the Iranian revolution in 1979 was a belief that the Shah’s regime perpetuated economic inequality."
"The New York Times reported that China will temporarily allow foreign companies to not pay tax on their earnings. The exemption will 'promote the growth of foreign investment, improve the quality of foreign investment and encourage overseas investors to continuously expand their investment in China,' China’s Finance Ministry said in a statement Thursday. However, those companies must invest those earnings from the exemption in areas being promoted by the Chinese government, like technology and mining. The exemption is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2017."
"Youth unemployment in the eurozone has been stuck between 19% to 25% for the past eight years. In Spain and Greece, it's north of 40%. The bleak numbers underscore the uphill battle many young Europeans face in finding jobs that match their aspirations and education. Legions of young people have grown frustrated. Many are still living at home, while others have left their families and moved to new countries in search of work."
"Not only would a US blockade be an act of war, but it is one that would be responded to with retaliation from Pyongyang. Assuming even a single North Korea missile is able to penetrate America’s missile defence shield which according to recently consulted experts, only has a success rate of about 50%, millions of Americans would die as a result. If more people in the United States were exposed to this vital information about the provocative antics of their own government, it is highly likely that millions more Americans would join Russia and China in calling for an immediate de-escalation of tensions on the Korean peninsula."