Frankfurt Am Main (AFP) Jan 5, 2021 A new German campaign by a media group raising awareness of the country’s diversity on Tuesday brought snow front Ahmet sweeping in. Besides Ahmet, Germans will soon see names like Bozena, Chana and Erhan on weather maps as part of a drive to raise awareness of a lack of representation in the media. Each year, Germany gives names … Continue reading Winds of change: German weather maps to herald nation’s diversity

An intense knack for technology throughout middle school and high school where he repaired classmates’ phones and gaming devices set the stage for entrepreneurial success for Adam Zinker, founder and CEO of The Perfect Part. That passion — and a family loan of $4,000 seed money — drove his technology logistics company over the last nine years to become the sixth-largest eBay company in North … Continue reading Winning on eBay the Perfect Part for These Young Entrepreneurs

Rehovot, Israel (SPX) Dec 30, 2020 As the plastic in our oceans breaks up into smaller and smaller bits without breaking down chemically, the resulting microplastics are becoming a serious ecological problem. A new study at the Weizmann Institute of Science reveals a troubling aspect of microplastics – defined as particles smaller than 5 mm across. They are swept up into the atmosphere and carried … Continue reading Plastic is blowing in the wind

Washington DC (UPI) Dec 31, 2020 The majority of military installations have reinstated travel restrictions as COVID-19 case counts spike among military members and the federal government continues its rollout of the vaccine. According to a Pentagon document published this week, 59 of 62 naval bases had travel restrictions reinstated, and 140 of 231 U.S. military installations around the world – or 71% – were … Continue reading Pentagon reinstates military travel restrictions amid vaccine rollout

Rio De Janeiro (AFP) Jan 3, 2021 The number of wildfires in Brazil increased 12.7 percent last year to a decade-high, according to official figures likely to add to pressure on President Jair Bolsonaro’s government over the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. There were a total of 222,798 wildfires across Brazil in 2020, the highest number since 2010, according to the Brazilian space agency, INPE. … Continue reading Brazil wildfires surge again in 2020

Washington DC (UPI) Jan 4, 2021 The planet’s drylands aren’t getting drier as a result of global warming, according to a new study published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change. Scientists found a few key soil moisture-atmosphere feedback mechanisms are preventing Earth’s drylands from becoming more arid. Because a warmer atmosphere can hold more water – accelerating evaporation across arid landscapeshttp://dlvr.it/RpwQxh Continue reading Study: Climate change isn’t causing drylands to get drier

Cairo (AFP) Jan 3, 2021 Egypt has approved the use of a Covid-19 vaccine developed by Chinese pharma giant Sinopharm with its rollout to start later in January, the health minister said. “The Egyptian pharmaceutical authority approved on Saturday the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine,” Hala Zayed said late Saturday, on the local MBC Masr channel. The first batch of the vaccine was delivered in December, with … Continue reading Egypt approves Chinese Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine

Budapest (AFP) Jan 3, 2021 Hungary is unlikely to use Russia’s coronavirus vaccine due to its limited production capacity, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Sunday while criticising the EU’s vaccine acquisition approach. Often at loggerheads with Brussels over democratic standards, Orban has sent experts to monitor vaccine development in Russia and China, and received samples of Moscow’s controversial Sputnik V jab.http://dlvr.it/RpwQrz Continue reading Hungary cools on Russian Covid jab, scolds EU on vaccines

Khartoum (AFP) Jan 2, 2021 Sudan is to join a new round of talks with Egypt and Ethiopia Sunday in a bid to resolve a long-running dispute over a huge Ethiopian dam on the Blue Nile, state media reported. The three countries have held multiple rounds of talks since Ethiopia broke ground on the project in 2011 but they have so far failed to produce … Continue reading Sudan state media say Nile dam talks to resume Sunday

Gjerdrum, Norway (AFP) Jan 2, 2021 Rescue workers on Saturday recovered a fourth body and continued searching for another six people still missing days after a landslide buried homes near Norway’s capital, authorities said. King Harald was due Sunday to visit the village of Ask, 25 kilometres (15 miles) northeast of Oslo, where an intense search and rescue operation has been underway since disaster struck … Continue reading Fourth body found in Norway landslide, six missing: authorities