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An environment conference opened in Nepal on Friday to discuss global climate change, including the impact on the highest Himalayan peaks where snow and ice are melting.The three-day conference in Kathmandu titled, “Climate Change, Mountains and the Future of Humanity,” is expected to include discussions of critical climate issues.“From the lap of Sagarmatha (Everest), the world’s highest peak, we send this message loud and clear that to protect the mountains is to protect the planet. To protect the mountains is to protect our seas. To protect the mountains is to protect humanity itself,” Nepal Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli told participants at the opening meeting.Nepal is home to eight of the tallest mountains in the world including Mount Everest. A high level of glaciers melting in the Himalayan mountains because of global warming has raised signficant concerns. Melting snow and ice have exposed the mountains and increased the risk of rock slides, landslides and avalanches.Scientists have warned the Himalayan mountains could lose up to 80% of their glaciers if the Earth warms in coming decades or centuries. They say flash floods and avalanches also could become more likely in coming years, in part because of climate change.“The tragedy is that the Himalayas are facing an unprecedented stress test in real time today, exposing not only the fragile nature of our mountain ecosystems but also a glaring evidence of the lack of meaningful global climate action,” Nepal Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba said. “As a mountainous country with high disaster risk vulnerability, Nepal faces a stark predicament.”Nepal has experienced a series of severe weather events in the recent past with devastating impacts on people and their livelihoods, Deuba said.“Floods and glacial lake outbursts have caused large-scale destruction and damage, and droughts, water scarcity and forest fires have brought untold suffering to the people across the country,” she said.Ministers from neighboring India, Bhutan, and Maldives are attending the conference.Organizers have said they intend to publish a Kathmandu declaration after the discussions end Sunday. Binaj Gurubacharya, Associated Press
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On Friday, cable companies Charter Communications and Cox Communications announced that theyve agreed to merge. Charter will acquire Cox in a deal valued at $34.5 billion. This is one of the biggest deals of the year. Charter, known more widely by its brand Spectrum, is one of the largest television communications operators in the country. The proposed transaction will result in Charter acquiring Coxs commercial fiber and managed IT and cloud businesses, and Cox will contribute its residential cable business to Charter. The joint press release noted that the merger will create an industry leader in mobile and broadband communications services, seamless video entertainment, and high-quality customer service delivering powerful benefits for American employees, customers, communities, and shareholders. Charter CEO Chris Winfrey said, This combination will augment our ability to innovate and provide high-quality, competitively priced products, delivered with outstanding customer service, to millions of homes and businesses. Cox will own around 23% of the combined entitys fully diluted shares, the companies said. As part of the deal, the combined entity will assume Coxs estimated $12 billion in outstanding debt. Charter (NYSE: CHTR) stock was up around 2.58% in early trading on Friday. Cox is a privately held company. Heres what to expect from the merger The deal is expected to close at the same time as the previously announced Liberty Broadband merger. The combined company will change its name to Cox Communications within a year of the deal closing. Spectrum will become the consumer-facing brand in the areas currently served by Cox. Winfrey will continue to serve as CEO. The combined company will remain headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, and plans to maintain a significant presence at Coxs campus in Atlanta. Cable companies struggle to retain pay-TV subscribers Why is this strategic merger being announced? Cable companies have experienced dwindling pay-TV subscriber rates as customers cut the cord by canceling cable subscriptions and switching to streaming services. As a result, the industry has invested heavily in broadband and mobile. According to the latest cord-cutting monitor report from analyst firm MoffettNathanson, Charter has continued to lose pay-TV customers along with the rest of the industry. In Q4 of 2024, the cable giant lost 123,000 cable subscribers. Collectively, the cable industry is expected to continue to shed pay-TV subscribers in the coming years, declining from 67.7 million subscribers at the end of last year to 51.5 million by 2028, according to MoffettNathansons projections. The firm says the growth of streaming services that replicate the cable bundle won’t be enough to offset the downward trend. Charter will acquire Coxs existing six million subscribers if the deal closes as planned. The planned merger awaits approval from Charter shareholders and regulators. The proposed deal will further test regulators’ appetite for large mergers in the Trump era. A decade ago, Comcast and Time Warner Cable (TWC) abandoned their proposed $45.2 billion combination amid concerns from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
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Midway while sailing across the Pacific with just his cat named Phoenix, Oliver Widger reflected on why he thinks his many followersmore than a million on TikTok and Instagramare drawn to his story of quitting his 9-to-5 job and embarking on a journey from Oregon to Hawaii.“The world kind of sucks and, like, I don’t think I’m alone in how I felt with my work,” Widger, 29, told The Associated Press on Wednesday via Zoom. “You can be making $150,000 a year and you still feel like you’re just making ends meet, you know what I mean? And I think people are just tired of that and working really hard for nothing and want a way out.”People are inspired by someone who found a way out, said Widger, who is among a growing number of people who have undertaken such voyages in recent years.Being diagnosed four years ago with a syndrome that carried a risk of paralysis made him realize he hated his job as a manager at a tire company, a job requiring him to be clean-shaven and wear pressed shirts. He heard about people who sailed from California to Hawaii and decided that was the life for him.He abruptly quit his job with “no money, no plan” and $10,000 of debt.“I knew one thing: I’m buying a sailboat,” he recalled. “I’m sailing around the world.”He liquidated his retirement savings, taught himself to sail mostly via YouTube and moved from Portland to the Oregon coast, where he spent months refitting the $50,000 boat he bought.Now, Widger is harnessing the power of social media to fund his round-the-world sailing dream.Since he set sail in April, followers have been tuning into his “Sailing with Phoenix” social media posts to view videos of him and his feline first mate battling the waves and bouts of seasickness, enjoying dazzling sunsets, recounting tricky boat repairs or just reflecting on life at sea.As he discussed his journey with the AP, a netted bag carrying bottled water and snacks swung wildly over his head as the boat rocked.He recalled highlights of the voyage so far, including marveling at the speed dolphins cut through the water and finding flying fish on the deck. There have been stretches when there were no birds in sight for days. It can be a struggle to sleep when the boat is creaking while being buffeted by waves or to steady a boiling pot for the MREs he has been subsisting on.There have been harrowing moments like when a rudder failed and the boat tilted sideways in the surf for three hours as he made repairs, and the time he locked himself in the engine compartment and pried his way out with a wrench.Widger acknowledged he is relatively inexperienced as a sailor, but he has implemented safety measures and communication backup plans, including a satellite phone and an emergency beacon.Lt. Cmdr. Jesse Harms of the U.S. Coast Guard in Hawaii hasn’t been following the journey closely, but said he is relieved to hear Widger has the Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon, known as an EPIRB.It’s a critical tool for rescuers to locate a mariner’s position during an emergency, especially in the Pacific, the largest ocean, Harms said.Widger’s journey provides a good opportunity to educate the public about sailing safety, such as the importance of wearing a personal flotation device whenever topside on the boat, monitoring the weather closely and registering emergency tools like the EPIRB, Harms said.“That’s a really critical piece for anybody that’s getting motivated by his story to go set off on their own adventure,” Harms said.Until his arrival, likely in Honolulu, Widger is making sure everything is in place to avoid Phoenix having to undergo Hawaii’s animal quarantine. A mobile vet will sign off on Phoenix’s health when they arrive, he said.Widger wasn’t aware of the deadly danger of cat feces to the endangered Hawaiian monk seal, but he has been keeping all his trash, including kitty litter, on board. Even though he said he is legally allowed to throw it overboard, seeing so much plastic in the ocean motivates him not to.In addition to managing the practicalities of daily life on a boat, he is coping with going viral in the middle of the ocean by creating social media content and making decisions about merch his fans want to buy.He credits it all to his neck issue, which “shook up my world and it changed my perspective on everything.” He also hopes he can be an inspiration for anyone who’s in a rut.“Everything I’ve done I thought was impossible,” Widger said. “Sailing around the world is such a ridiculous dream. Whatever your dream is, just go, just do it.” Jennifer Sinco Kelleher, Associated Press
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