Washington (AFP) Feb 10, 2022 Washington has invoked the environmental provisions of the North American free trade pact to urge Mexico to do more to protect the critically endangered vaquita porpoise, officials announced Thursday. The office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) said it is requesting consultations with Mexico under the Environment Chapter of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA. Whilehttp://dlvr.it/SJn738 Continue reading US calls for talks with Mexico on endangered porpoise

Bissau (AFP) Feb 10, 2022 Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embalo on Thursday accused a former Guinean navy chief with links to the drug trade and two accomplices of being behind a failed coup in the west African nation on February 1. Heavily armed men attacked government buildings in the capital Bissau while Embalo was chairing a cabinet meeting. Embalo, 49, later told reporters that he … Continue reading Guinea-Bissau leader accuses convicted drug baron over failed coup

Buffalo NY (SPX) Feb 09, 2022 At the boundaries between tectonic plates, narrow rifts can form as Earth’s crust slowly pulls apart. But how, exactly, does this rifting happen? Does pressure from magma rising from belowground force the land apart? Or is a rift just a rip, created mainly by the pulling motion of tectonic plates that are drifting away from each other? A study … Continue reading Study: As tectonic plates pull apart, what drives the formation of rifts?

Seefeld, Germany (SPX) Feb 09, 2022 Starting 2022, EOMAP will deliver high-resolution shallow water grids from SDB technology to UKHO, with the first survey covering the waters of Belize. This survey will be the first complete survey of some of these waters, including where uncharted coral pinnacles are currently noted on the chart. “The UKHO is pleased to be continuing our partnership with EOMAP, leveraging … Continue reading EOMAP awarded new survey contract by UKHO

Paris (AFP) Feb 9, 2022 World leaders are under pressure to conclude years of talks on an agreement to protect open oceans that help sustain life on Earth, cover almost half the planet and currently fall under no country’s laws. As plans to protect and restore ecosystems across the world are mainstreamed, conservationists hope an oceans summit in France this week will give fresh momentum … Continue reading Fresh hopes for landmark treaty to rescue ocean life

Beijing (AFP) Feb 8, 2022 Chinese scientists say they have developed a new coronavirus test that is as accurate as a PCR lab test but gives results within four minutes. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests are widely considered the most accurate and sensitive for the virus that causes Covid-19, but they usually take several hours. Some countries have experienced severe backlogs in the face of … Continue reading Chinese scientists say new highly accurate virus test gives results within minutes

Geneva (AFP) Feb 9, 2022 Biases embedded in artificial intelligence systems increasingly used in healthcare risk deepening discrimination against older people, the World Health Organization warned Wednesday. AI technologies hold enormous potential for improving care for older people, but they also carry significant risk, the UN health agency said in a policy brief. “Encoding of stereotypes, prejudice, or discrimhttp://dlvr.it/SJjFk7 Continue reading AI ‘ageism’ could seriously impact elderly health: WHO

Sydney (AFP) Jan 21, 2022 Tonga’s volcanic eruption felt like an “atomic bomb” that shook “the whole island”, an aid worker told AFP on Friday, as the Pacific nation raced to address a drinking water shortage. Almost a week after the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano exploded, unleashing a tsunami and cutting Tonga off from the rest of the world, witnesses are recounting the disaster. On … Continue reading Tonga volcano eruption was like ‘atomic bomb’

Hong Kong (AFP) Jan 21, 2022 Hong Kong’s government Friday warned local animal lovers not to obstruct its ongoing cull of small animals, a policy triggered when hamsters in a pet shop tested positive for the coronavirus. The Chinese city adheres to the mainland’s strict “zero-Covid” policy, in which even the slightest sign of the virus is stamped out with contact tracing, targeted lockdowns and … Continue reading Hong Kong warns animal lovers not to obstruct hamster cull

Paris (AFP) Jan 21, 2022 The open-air booksellers of Paris, a fixture along the banks of the Seine for centuries, are seeing their numbers dwindle after two years of Covid, with stalls going empty thanks to a dearth of local and foreign customers. Tending dark green boxes packed with second-hand works that are often rare or special editions, the dealers enjoy rent-free access but must … Continue reading Paris outdoor booksellers eager to turn page on Covid