Globetrotting NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD PAINTING TOILET POWER Waste not
A UK RESEARCH PROJECT funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is developing a toilet unit that transforms waste into clean water. In turn, electricity produced from the waste serves to power the unit, and can leave a little extra to charge a cellular phone, reports
News.com. Aimed at developing countries, the
The prolific con artist
FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS, MARK LANDIS posed as a wealthy collector, donating paintings to museums and art galleries in the US. The problem was, the works were all fakes he had painted himself. But since they were giſts, he was never prosecuted, reports the BBC. Many institutions were embarrassed for having accepted offerings — signed
by Paul Signac and others — that were in fact counterfeits. What ultimately gave Landis away is that he “donated” copies of the same work to many institutions. Aſter being diagnosed with schizophrenia as an adolescent, Landis discovered
his talent for copying in art therapy sessions. He never took more than a couple of hours to finish a piece. Two years ago, in a gesture typical of the art world, the University of
Cincinnati gave an exhibition of Landis counterfeits. Landis was the guest of honour. It opened on April Fool’s Day. — Yan Barcelo
READING HABITS The new book worms
THEY MAY BE HOOKED ON IPHONES, YouTube and Facebook, but when it comes to reading, younger generations still prefer good old paper tomes, says Deloitte’s TMT Predictions 2015 report. A decade aſter the launch of ereaders, sales of ebooks have been slowing or even stagnating, but as of December 2014, sales of paper books had increased by 2% year over year. In the US, 92% of 18-to-29-year-olds read paper books in 2013. In a different survey, nearly half of 16-to-34-year-olds said that “ebooks will
never take the place of real books for me.” One UK survey found that 62% of 16-to-34-year-olds prefer print books over ebooks. Why? They “like the smell” and “want full bookshelves.” — YB
6 | CPA MAGAZINE | MAY 2015 BANKING Boiling over Basel IV
WITH THE PROPOSED NEW REGULATIONS that some are calling “Basel IV,” banks will be restricted in using internal models to determine risk and to calculate their capital requirements, reports Euromoney. Reliance on external credit ratings will also be limited. Bankers, requesting anonymity, called the measures “overzealous and misguided.” Euromoney called them “political dynamite” and said they “threaten sacred cows to national banking systems, from small German banks to large mortgage lenders.” Many bankers were already unhappy with Basel III, which imposed higher levels of reserve capital in banks. Now their frustration has hit new highs — but the final outcome of the proposals remains to be seen. — YB
toilet incorporates a nanomembrane that blocks the waste and pathogens, letting only water molecules through. The collected water is clean enough to be used for washing or irrigating fields and, with just a little more filtering, can even be drinkable. — YB
Sam Cullman/Oscilloscope Laboratories/Courtesy Everett Collection/Canadian Press
Batke/iStock
srpphoto/iStock
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72