Paris (AFP) Sept 23, 2020 Raising Earth’s average surface temperature another degree Celsius will lock in 2.5 metres of sea level rise from Antarctica alone and an extra three degrees see the frozen continent lift oceans 6.5 metres, scientists warned Wednesday. These devastating increases in the global waterline – enough to cripple coastal cities from Mumbai to Miami and displace hundreds of millions of people … Continue reading Antarctica to lift seas by metres per degree of warming: study

London UK (SPX) Sep 23, 2020 Chromium steel – similar to what we know today as tool steel – was first made in Persia, nearly a millennium earlier than experts previously thought, according to a new study led by UCL researchers. The discovery, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, was made with the aid of a number of medieval Persian manuscripts, which led the … Continue reading Chromium steel was first made in ancient Persia

Toulouse, France (SPX) Sep 22, 2020 Airbus has revealed three concepts for the world’s first zero-emission commercial aircraft which could enter service by 2035. These concepts each represent a different approach to achieving zero-emission flight, exploring various technology pathways and aerodynamic configurations in order to support the Company’s ambition of leading the way in the decarbonisation of the entire aviation industry.http://dlvr.it/RhLB3K Continue reading Airbus reveals new zero-emission concept aircraft

London (AFP) Sept 22, 2020 TikTok on Tuesday proposed an alliance with nine other social media platforms to work collectively and rapidly to remove suicide content, following an incident this month when a man killed himself on Facebook. The Chinese-owned app said it had set out its proposal in a letter to the chief executives of Facebook, Instagram, Google, YouTube, Twitter, Twitch, Snapchat, Pinterest and … Continue reading TikTok urges social media alliance against suicide content

United Nations, United States (AFP) Sept 22, 2020 US President Donald Trump told the UN General Assembly on Tuesday that China must be held accountable by the world for its actions over the Covid-19 pandemic. In a recorded message played to the annual meeting of the UN, Trump accused Beijing of allowing the coronavirus to “leave China and infect the world.” “The United Nations must … Continue reading Trump says UN must ‘hold China accountable’ for Covid-19

Buy now pay later, or “BNPL” services are growing in popularity during the pandemic as they enable consumers to pay for purchases over a short time with no interest and a small starting payment. However, money experts urge caution. Similar to credit cards, BNPL services can negatively impact credit scores and land people in debt or collections if not used properly.http://dlvr.it/RhFmN0 Continue reading The Ease and Risk of Buy Now Pay Later Plans

San Francisco (AFP) Sept 22, 2020 Facebook said Tuesday it derailed a network of fakes accounts out of China that had recently taken aim at the US presidential race. The takedown came as part of the social networks fight against “coordinated inauthentic behavior” and marked the first time Facebook had seen such a campaign based in China targeting US politics, according to head of security … Continue reading Facebook says fake accounts from China aimed at US politics

Jiuquan (XNA) Sep 22, 2020 China on Monday sent a new ocean-monitoring satellite into orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. A Long March-4B rocket carrying the Haiyang-2C (HY-2C) satellite took off at 1:40 p.m. (Beijing Time), according to the launch center. The HY-2C, the country’s third ocean dynamic environment satellite, can provide all-weather and round-the-clock observation ohttp://dlvr.it/RhB05K Continue reading China launches new satellite to monitor ocean environment

Geneva, Switzerland (SPX) Sep 22, 2020 Biologists have long considered the origins and continued coexistence of the immense diversity of species found in our environment. How can we explain the fact that no single species predominates? A generally accepted hypothesis is that there are trade-offs, which means that no organism can do best in all conditions. One trade-off that is commonly assumed is that between … Continue reading Biodiversity hypothesis called into question

Beijing (AFP) Sept 22, 2020 A Chinese tycoon who called President Xi Jinping a clown and criticised his handling of the coronavirus outbreak was jailed for 18 years on Tuesday for corruption, bribery and embezzlement of public funds. Ren Zhiqiang – once among the ruling Communist Party’s inner circle – disappeared from the public eye in March, shortly after penning an essay that lambasted Xi’s … Continue reading Chinese tycoon and Xi critic jailed for 18 years for corruption