Beijing (AFP) June 16, 2020 Beijing on Tuesday urged its residents to not leave the city and closed schools again as authorities scramble to contain a “severe” new coronavirus outbreak in the city of 21 million people. The coronavirus resurgence – believed to have started in the capital’s sprawling Xinfadi wholesale food market – has prompted alarm as China had largely brought its outbreak under … Continue reading Beijing imposes partial travel ban, closes schools over virus outbreak

Geneva (AFP) June 17, 2020 The World Health Organization on Tuesday hailed a “breakthrough” steroid treatment for the coronavirus, boosting hopes that pandemic deaths can be reduced, but a growing new cluster in China sparked fears of a second wave of infections. Surging death tolls in the Americas and South Asia, plus a new cluster of cases in Beijing, have raised fresh doubts about how … Continue reading Steroid ‘breakthrough’ raises virus hopes, despite China outbreak

Brussels (AFP) June 16, 2020 NATO is to stockpile medical equipment to prepare for a possible second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, its chief announced Tuesday. The 30-nation alliance is drawing up plans to be be ready if the virus returns strongly, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Some countries struggled to get basic equipment such as surgical masks when the pandemic first swept across … Continue reading NATO to stockpile medical equipment for virus 2nd wave

Washington DC (UPI) Jun 15, 2020 For the last few decades, the effects of global warming have been especially pronounced in West Antarctica. Now, researchers in South Korea have developed an explanation for why the western half of the icy continent is warming faster than the eastern half. Their analysis – published this month in the journal Science Advances – showed a strong link between … Continue reading Western half of Antarctica warming faster than eastern half, new study shows why

Washington (AFP) June 15, 2020 The US Supreme Court delivered a landmark victory for the gay and transgender communities Monday when it ruled that employers cannot discriminate against workers because of their sexual orientation. In a blow to the administration of President Donald Trump, the court ruled by six votes to three that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlaws discrimination … Continue reading US top court in landmark ruling to protect LGBT workers

Washington DC (UPI) Jun 15, 2020 To find nectar-rich flowers and spot the iridescent signatures of would-be mates, hummingbirds must be able to see and recognize a wide variety of colors. According to a new study, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, hummingbirds can even see a diversity of so-called nonspectral color combinations. “When we say nonspectral, we mean a … Continue reading Hummingbirds see ‘nonspectral’ colors humans can only imagine

Istanbul (AFP) June 14, 2020 A 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck Bingol province in eastern Turkey on Sunday, killing one person, officials said. A security guard was trapped after an observation tower collapsed in the Karliova/Kaynarpinar village – the epicentre of the quake, the governor’s office said in a statement. “Unfortunately our security guard stuck under the rubble could not be saved,” it added. Rescuhttp://dlvr.it/RYfS1V Continue reading Quake strikes east Turkey, 1 dead

Beijing (AFP) June 13, 2020 China has mobilised its army and fast-tracked tests in the global race to find a coronavirus vaccine, but its labs also have an image tarnished by past health scandals to overcome. Six months after the first cases emerged in the city of Wuhan, China has moved quickly to develop a vaccine and is involved in several of the dozen or … Continue reading China races to find virus vaccine, put scandals in the past

Beijing (AFP) June 14, 2020 Beijing carried out mass testing for the coronavirus on Sunday after a new outbreak in the city that prompted travel warnings across the country amid fears of a resurgence of the disease. The deadly contagion had been brought largely under control in China through strict lockdowns that were imposed early this year but have since been lifted. But a fresh … Continue reading Mass virus testing in Beijing after new cluster triggers lockdowns

Boston MA (SPX) Jun 15, 2020 About 10 percent of the Earth’s land mass is covered in glaciers, most of which slip slowly across the land over years, carving fjords and trailing rivers in their wake. But about 1 percent of glaciers can suddenly surge, spilling over the land at 10 to 100 times their normal speed. When this happens, a glacial surge can set … Continue reading Tiny sand grains trigger massive glacial surges