Hong Kong (AFP) March 18, 2022 Hong Kong’s leader on Friday warned against making “divisive comments” about health workers sent by China to help contain Covid, as tensions over their deployment complicate efforts to control a spiralling outbreak. The finance hub on Friday passed one million coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, with nearly 5,500 deaths recorded in a population of 7.4 million – one … Continue reading Hong Kong leader defends health workers drafted in from China

Shanghai (AFP) March 19, 2022 As many Shanghai residents shelter from Covid at home, a common sight on the megacity’s suddenly subdued streets is the racing, swerving scooters of food-delivery riders. Firms including Meituan, Alibaba-owned Ele.me, Pinduoduo and Dingdong Maicai are struggling to keep up with a rush of orders from sequestered citizens in need of groceries and disinfectants. At a sorting centre in centrhttp://dlvr.it/SM05YJ Continue reading ‘Iron army’ of grocery runners feeds Shanghai as Covid hits

Geneva (AFP) March 18, 2022 International health agency Unitaid said Friday it will finance the introduction of new, long-lasting HIV prevention injections in Brazil and South Africa, providing an alternative to daily pill popping. Taking a drug known as PrEP, normally prescribed to treat AIDS, as a way to shield against the deadly disease has proved a vital tool for those at greatest risk of … Continue reading Unitaid to finance HIV shots in Brazil, South Africa

San Francisco CA (SPX) Mar 17, 2022 Astranis Space Technologies Corp. has announced that the first MicroGEO satellite is ready for launch after successful completion of final testing. Astranis has now completed all major tests necessary for its first MicroGEO spacecraft to be ready to ship to the launch site, including vibration and vibroacoustic tests, final solar array and antenna deployment tests, propulsion system tests, … Continue reading Astranis Space Technologies first MicroGEO Satellite completes final testing

Ngorongoro, Tanzania (AFP) March 18, 2022 For over a century, Tanzania’s Maasai pastoralists have shared the famed Ngorongoro conservation area with zebras, elephants and wildebeests. But now they face the prospect of eviction as their exploding population poses a threat to wildlife. Since 1959, the number of humans living in the World Heritage Site has shot up from 8,000 to more than 100,000 last year. … Continue reading Tanzania Maasai torn over possible eviction from Ngorongoro reserve

New York NY (SPX) Mar 11, 2022 Satellogic Inc. (NASDAQ: SATL), a leader in sub-meter resolution satellite imagery collection, reports it has shipped five satellites to be launched in early Q2 from Cape Canaveral. The launch will be part of SpaceX’s Transporter-4 mission onboard the highly flight-proven Falcon 9 reusable, two-stage rocket, under SpaceX’s Rideshare program. The upcoming launch includes the first deploymenhttp://dlvr.it/SLwbtR Continue reading Satellogic to launch five satellites on SpaceX Transporter-4 Mission

Beijing (AFP) March 18, 2022 China’s southern tech powerhouse Shenzhen has partially eased lockdown measures, after President Xi Jinping stressed the need to “minimise the impact” of the coronavirus pandemic on the nation’s economy. The city of 17.5 million, under full lockdown since Sunday, resumed work, factory operations and public transport in four districts and a special economic zone, Shenzhen’s government said lhttp://dlvr.it/SLw6Ml Continue reading Shenzhen eases lockdown as pandemic gnaws at China economy

Beijing (AFP) March 17, 2022 Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday the country will “stick with” its zero-Covid strategy, state TV reported, as the world’s most populous nation battles its largest outbreak since the early days of the pandemic. The country where the virus emerged in late 2019 has largely kept subsequent outbreaks under control thanks to a combination of strict border controls, lengthy … Continue reading China to ‘stick with’ zero-Covid strategy, President Xi says

Shiroishi, Japan (AFP) March 17, 2022 Four people were reported dead and more than 100 injured in Japan on Thursday after a powerful overnight earthquake rattled large parts of the east coast and prompted a tsunami warning, authorities said. The 7.4-magnitude quake off the coast of Fukushima derailed a bullet train, opened cracks in highways and threw products from shelves in shops. A tsunami warning … Continue reading Four dead after powerful Japan quake rattles east coast

Madison WI (SPX) Mar 15, 2022 Elena D’Onghia has spent her career puzzling over the behavior of the Milky Way’s closest neighbors, the dwarf galaxies known as the Magellanic Clouds. Their story is an epic tale of twirling streams of gas larger than humans can really imagine. But, like most astronomical phenomena, the Magellanic Clouds are far removed from daily life on Earth. A good … Continue reading Scientists, undergraduates team up to protect astronauts from radiation