Geneva (AFP) Oct 30, 2020 The World Health Organization said Friday that international experts had held their first meeting, albeit virtually, with their Chinese counterparts in order to investigate the animal origins of the novel coronavirus pandemic. The WHO has for months been working to send a team of international experts, including epidemiologists and animal health specialists, to China to help probe the animalhttp://dlvr.it/RkpBVQ Continue reading First international, Chinese expert meeting on virus origin: WHO

Hong Kong (AFP) Nov 1, 2020 A top aide to Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai has stepped down after admitting he helped fund a contentious report alleging links between Joe Biden’s son and China, but insisted Sunday his boss had no knowledge of it. The 64-page document by a fictitious author, which was circulated online and seized on by President Donald Trump’s supporters, … Continue reading Aide says Hong Kong media tycoon Lai unaware of Biden dossier

Chicago IL (SPX) Oct 28, 2020 On the night of January 16, 2018, a fireball meteor streaked across the sky over the Midwest and Ontario before landing on a frozen lake in Michigan. Scientists used weather radar to find where the pieces landed and meteorite hunters were able to collect the meteorite quickly, before its chemical makeup got changed by exposure to liquid water. And, … Continue reading “Fireball” meteorite contains pristine extraterrestrial organic compounds

Washington DC (SPX) Oct 28, 2020 To meet the Paris Agreement’s daunting goal of preventing Earth’s average temperature from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above its level in preindustrial times, one of the best options for the energy economy will involve a shift to 100% renewable energy using solar energy and several other clean energy sources. While no one knows exactly … Continue reading Photovoltaics industry can help meet Paris agreement targets

Singapore (AFP) Oct 29, 2020 Singapore will allow visitors from mainland China and an Australian state hard-hit by Covid-19 from next month in a further easing of pandemic border restrictions, authorities said Thursday. Visitors will be required to take a virus test upon arriving in Singapore and will not need to quarantine if they record a negative result when the new rules take effect on … Continue reading Singapore allows visitors from mainland China, parts of Australia

Lusaka (AFP) Oct 28, 2020 Zambia has secured a debt repayment holiday from China, a treasury official said Wednesday, days after the government was declared in default for missing an interest payment on its Eurobond. Africa’s second largest copper producer is one of China’s prominent debtors, owing billions of dollars. Secretary to the Treasury Fredson Yamba said payments due to the China Development Bank on … Continue reading Zambia clinches deal to defer Chinese debt

Washington DC (UPI) Oct 28, 2020 During their 150 million-year existence, pterodactyls and other winged reptiles known as pterosaurs steadily improved their flying abilities. According to a paper published Wednesday in the journal Nature, pterosaurs doubled their flying efficiency over the course of their evolutionary history. Unfortunately, their improved flying couldn’t save them from the extinction event thathttp://dlvr.it/Rkd0ks Continue reading Giant lizards improved their flying abilities over millions of years

Copenhagen (AFP) Oct 28, 2020 Sea ice in the Arctic was at record lows for October, as unusually warm waters slowed the recovery of the ice, Danish researchers said Wednesday. Diminishing sea ice comes as a reminder about how the Arctic is hit particularly hard by global warming. Since the 1990s, warming has been twice as fast in the Arctic, compared to the rest of … Continue reading Arctic sea ice at record low October levels: Danish institute

Washington DC (UPI) Oct 27, 2020 New research suggests vampire bats are better at following CDC guidelines than some humans. When a vampire bat gets sick, they spend less time around other members of the colony, helping to slow the spread of disease, according to a new study published Tuesday in the journal Behavioral Ecology. Scientists had previously observed vampire bats practicing social distancing in … Continue reading Vampire bats socially distance when they fall ill

Rio De Janeiro (AFP) Oct 27, 2020 Major US financial firms are helping fund environmental destruction and indigenous rights abuses in the Amazon with billions of dollars in investments in questionable companies, according to a report published Tuesday. Six top firms – BlackRock, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Vanguard, Bank of America and Dimensional Fund Advisors – have invested more than $18 billion over the past three … Continue reading US firms fund deforestation, abuses in Amazon: report