Sprint to Covid vaccination was equivalent to putting a person on the Moon
Over the past six months, hundreds of millions of people around the world have rushed to follow in the footsteps of a 90-year-old British woman named Margaret Keenan. At 6:30 am on December 8, 2020, Keenan became the first person to receive a Covid-19 vaccine as part of a mass...
Stakeholders fear Pakistan’s proposed media law will stifle Press freedom
Pakistani media stakeholders are calling on the Pakistan government to withdraw a proposed Pakistan Media Regularity Authority (PMDA) ordinance they fear will stop the flow of information in the country and restrict free, independent and responsible media. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate, the Pakistan Federal Union...
Sea transport experiencing boom in ships that fly ‘fake’ flags, pollute environment
Ships transport 90 per cent of the world’s traded cargo, so are crucial to the global economy. But when tankers and other large vessels are demolished, they generate huge amounts of marine pollution, particularly if it happens in countries where environmental regulations for ship-breaking yards are lax. Research now shows...
With over four million people living around it, Lake Kivu a potential deadly natural disaster
If Kivu were to experience a limnic eruption, says limnologist Sally MacIntyre, “it would be completely catastrophic.” And the spread of the lava from Mt Nyiragongo that erupted recently is testimony to the fears expressed by MacIntyre, a researcher at the University of California, Santa Barbara. This isn’t just a...
Recent Mt Nyiragongo eruption has switched attention to the dangers lurking in Lake Kivu
Kivu is no ordinary lake, with dense depths packed with methane and carbon dioxide gas. Its features hold aquatic puzzles, explosive hazards and the capacity to provide valuable energy. The unique makeup of Africa’s Lake Kivu prevents the mixing typically seen in other deep lakes, leading to unusual stratification of...
Is Covid part of superpower germ warfare? Top doctor admits US funded Wuhan virus project
In a Senate hearing late last month, top doctor Anthony Fauci told lawmakers the US granted $600,000 in funding to the Wuhan Institute of Virology over a five-year period, but documents provided by the Department of Health and Human Services Friday show the actual number was a third higher. Reports...
WHO approves a ‘weak’ Chinese vaccine for emergency use against coronavirus
The World Health Organization (WHO) has approved a second Chinese vaccine for emergency use. CoronaVac was found to be 51 per cent effective at preventing Covid-19 in late-stage trials and researchers say it will be key to curbing the pandemic. This overall protection is lower than that provided by the...
When Google’s photo organising service tagged Blacks as ‘gorillas’ it walked AI into Hall of Shame
When a person dies in a car crash in the US, data on the incident is typically reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Federal law requires that civilian airplane pilots notify the National Transportation Safety Board of in-flight fires and some other incidents. The grim registries are intended...
Some Americans refuse to see Covid as a threat, suspect vaccines and institutions
America’s vaccine campaign has collapsed from its previous highs. While at one point in mid-April more than three million people received the shot each day, now only around 1.2 million are – a rate that’s less than half of what it was at the peak. So, the US might not...
NASA sends two spacecraft to Venus roughly 30 years since its last mission
NASA had a surprise in store for planetary scientists on Thursday morning. During a “State of NASA” briefing, the agency announced that roiling, toxic Venus will be the target of the next two missions in its highly competitive Discovery programme. “These two sister missions, both aimed to understand how Venus...
