North Korea may have held a massive military parade around dawn Saturday, according to South Korea’s military, amid expectations it might use the event to unveil a major new weapon.Signs indicate North Korea “mobilized a large-scale amount of equipment and personnel” in the early morning hours of Saturday in Pyongyang’s central Kim Il Sung Square, according to a statement from South Korea’s National Defense Ministry.North Korea had been expected to use the parade to display a new weapon, such as an intercontinental or submarine-launched ballistic missile. At the beginning of the year, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un promised to unveil a “new strategic weapon.”Displaying a weapon at a parade, rather than by staging a test launch, might be a less provocative way for Pyongyang to demonstrate its military capabilities. U.S. President Donald Trump has warned Kim against any major provocations near the Nov. 3 U.S. election.As of mid-afternoon Saturday, North Korean state television had not begun broadcasting the parade, which marks the 75th anniversary of its ruling political party. Often such broadcasts are tape-delayed; other times they are broadcast live.NK News, a Seoul-based website with contacts in North Korea, reported that loud noises could be heard in Pyongyang around midnight. The noises, which included aircraft, heavy machinery, and fireworks, could be heard through early morning, the website reported.South Korean and U.S. intelligence officials have been closely tracking the reports and are trying to determine whether the middle-of-the night event was a rehearsal or the actual parade, according to South Korea’s military.North Korea often holds military parades on major political anniversaries. But it would be unusual to hold a parade in the middle of the night. Doing so might obscure the view of North Korea watchers, who closely monitor such events to see signs of new North Korean weapons development.North Korea has been preparing for the parade for weeks, according to satellite images of a training site on Pyongyang’s outskirts.The event was set to be a major celebration of Kim’s accomplishments of the past five years, although the country is actually facing significant challenges.International sanctions continue to batter North Korea’s economy, after the U.S.-North Korea nuclear talks in 2018 and 2019 failed to reach the point of permitting sanctions relief.North Korea also saw a much worse than usual typhoon and monsoon season, leaving crops devastated and thousands of homes destroyed.Its economy has also been hit hard by strict anti-pandemic measures, including border closures, that have sharply reduced trade with neighbor and economic lifeline China.Faced with such hardships, a parade might be meant to boost national pride and domestic solidarity, analysts say.“This is particularly important when policy errors, natural disasters, international sanctions and the global pandemic have caused the Kim regime to fall short of its economic promises,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.“Due to unmet economic ambitions and unfinished construction projects, the 75th Workers’ Party anniversary is perhaps not everything Kim envisioned. But it is an impressively large gathering during a global pandemic, suggesting North Korean authorities are concerned more with political history and national morale than with preventing a COVID-19 superspreader event,” Easley said.
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A new program in New Orleans, Louisiana is helping people laid off because of the coronavirus to learn new work skills. VOA Correspondent Mariama Diallo reports on how service industry members are being trained to work in the health care industry.
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Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to a cease-fire in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region beginning at noon Saturday.Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made the announcement in Moscow in the early hours Saturday after mediating 10 hours of talks between the two sides.The agreement stated the truce would allow both sides to exchange prisoners and recover the dead. Lavrov said the cease-fire should pave the way for further talks on the settlement of the conflict.The talks between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan were held following an invitation by Russian President Vladimir Putin after nearly two weeks of fighting.On Friday, United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet called for an “urgent cease-fire” in Nagorno-Karabakh, citing a heavy toll on civilians.“It is deeply worrying that in recent days we have seen populated areas reportedly targeted and shelled with heavy weaponry in and around the conflict area,” Bachelet said in a statement.Bachelet’s office said it has received unconfirmed reports that more than 50 civilians, including children, have been killed since the fighting erupted on Sept. 27.The fighting has also claimed the lives of about 400 soldiers and forced thousands of people to flee their homes.Armenian and Azerbaijani forces had previously ignored calls in the past two weeks by the United States, France and Russia for an immediate cease-fire, as fighting escalated to levels not seen since the 1990s.The three countries co-chair the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Minsk Group, which is trying to find a peaceful solution.The predominantly ethnic Armenian territory declared its independence from Azerbaijan in 1991 during the collapse of the Soviet Union, sparking a war that claimed the lives of as many as 30,000 people before a 1994 cease-fire.Peace efforts in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, mediated by the Minsk Group, collapsed in 2010. 
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President Donald Trump is scheduled to host hundreds of people Saturday on the South Lawn of the White House and deliver remarks, a senior administration official confirmed to VOA. This would be the president’s first in-person event since he announced a week ago that he had tested positive for the coronavirus, triggering a multiday hospital visit and aggressive medical treatments for COVID-19.
As first reported by ABC News, the event will feature “remarks to peaceful protesters for law and order” by the president. Trump is expected to deliver his speech from one of the balconies of the White House.The latest update from the president’s physician, Dr. Sean Conley, on Thursday evening said that Trump’s “physical exam has remained stable and devoid of any indications to suggest progression of illness.” Conley’s memo also noted that “Saturday will be day 10 since Thursday’s diagnosis and based on the trajectory of advanced diagnostics the team has been conducting, I fully anticipate the president safe return to public engagements at that time.”
Trump ended his four-day stay at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday and since then his doctors have provided the public with upbeat updates on his condition. Still public health experts question the judgment of holding a public event so soon after his diagnosis.“I would certainly be very cautious and suggest that people err on the side of caution rather than on the side of boldness,” said William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. “I would certainly not recommend that anyone who has recently recovered, even 11 days after having a positive test, be out in any sort of a crowd,” he added.
According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, “available data indicate that persons with mild to moderate COVID-19 remain infectious no longer than 10 days after symptom onset.” But questions remain on the timeline of the president’s illness. While his physicians say that Trump was diagnosed on Thursday, White House officials have refused to say when the president had last tested negative. Questions also remain about the severity of Trump’s illness, particularly as the drugs he was given are generally administered only to those with moderate to severe symptoms.President Donald Trump, center, stands with Judge Amy Coney Barrett as they arrive for a news conference to announce Barrett as his nominee to the Supreme Court, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, Sept. 26, 2020.The Saturday event will come two weeks after a Rose Garden event marking Trump’s nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court. Officials are looking into the Sept. 26 ceremony as a potential source of a coronavirus outbreak. More than 30 staffers and Trump campaign aides have been infected since then, including first lady Melania Trump, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and adviser Stephen Miller.
Two Republican senators who attended the event have also tested positive.
There are also concerns for Trump’s own health if he were to resume public duties too soon. COVID-19 is often unpredictable, with some patients’ condition deteriorating during the second week of illness.
“We would always urge patients who are recovering from an illness that’s as severe as COVID to take it easy and recover gradually for the benefits of their own health and the people around them,” Schaffner said. “Remember, it can have some long-term effects, even in people who have mild symptoms.”
While convalescing, Trump has sought to project the image of an active president on a swift road to recovery, spending some time in the Oval Office every day since Wednesday and releasing several video announcements that highlight his physical well-being.TO MY FAVORITE PEOPLE IN THE WORLD! pic.twitter.com/38DbQtUxEu— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 8, 2020In a telephone interview Thursday night on Fox News, Trump said that he wants to hold a rally in Florida on Saturday and another in Pennsylvania on Sunday. He is scheduled to have an in-person interview with the same network Friday night, where the outlet’s resident medical expert would examine him.
The New York Times reports that the crowd for the Saturday White House South Lawn gathering would include people attending an event elsewhere in Washington, organized by a Trump supporter, Candace Owens. Owens is an activist from the group Blexit, a campaign to urge Black Americans to leave the Democratic Party.
After the Republican National Convention in August, during which Trump delivered his acceptance speech on the South Lawn in front of supporters, he was criticized for using the White House grounds for political purposes.
According to a source with knowledge of the event’s planning, attendees must wear a mask and submit to a COVID-19 screening, which consists of “a temperature check and a brief questionnaire.” 
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The World Food Program has won the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to combat hunger and to improve conditions for peace in conflict areas.The WFP said it was “deeply humbled” to have won.“This is an incredible recognition of the WFP family, working to end hunger every day in 80+ countries,” tweeted WFP Executive Director David Beasley, who described himself as “speechless” in a video posted to the platform.“They’re out there; poor countries, climate extremes, it doesn’t matter, they’re out there and they deserve this award,” he said of his colleagues.The chairwoman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Berit Reiss-Andersen, announced the 2020 laureate at the Nobel Institute in Oslo, where coronavirus restrictions significantly reduced the number of reporters allowed in the room.Bid to focus attentionReiss-Andersen said the committee gave the award to the WFP because it wanted to “turn the eyes of the world to the millions of people who suffer from or face the threat of hunger,” which she described as a “weapon of war and conflict.”U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres congratulated Beasley “and the entire staff” for advancing the values of the United Nations.”I am delighted by the decision of the Nobel Committee to award this year’s Prize for Peace to the United Nations World Food Program,” Guterres said. “The World Food Program is the world’s first responder on the frontlines of food insecurity.”The U.N. chief said he has seen for himself how the men and women of the WFP work “in the most remote and dangerous locations with enormous courage, dedication and competence, serving the most vulnerable of the vulnerable people of this world.”The Norwegian Nobel Committee praised the WFP for its “efforts for combating hunger” and its “contribution to creating peace in conflicted-affected areas.”Attack on cargo boatsOne of those conflict zones is South Sudan, where earlier this week, four WFP cargo boats loaded with food items were attacked. One crew member is missing and presumed dead, and three others suffered gunshot wounds.The U.S. State Department released a statement Friday saying it was “deeply concerned” about the attack. “We express our sympathy to the family of the missing aid worker and wish the wounded a full and swift recovery.” It said humanitarian aid workers in South Sudan and throughout the region “work under extremely challenging conditions to assist some of the world’s most vulnerable men, women and children.”FILE – A man carries a sack of flour distributed by World Food Program staff in Aweil in the northern Bahr el Ghazal state in South Sudan, Dec. 29, 2010.The State Department said this week’s attack was the second assault on humanitarian cargo vessels in the area in the past two months, and it called on the South Sudan government to investigate “fully and expeditiously and provide the security necessary to ensure the safety of aid workers who are delivering critical lifesaving services and assistance.”The boat convoy was headed to Malakal and Melut in Upper Nile state to deliver aid to people displaced by floods when it was ambushed. The vessels were carrying 225 metric tons of food, according to Matthew Hollingworth, WFP country director for South Sudan.“In that ambush one of the vessels was sunk, losing the food we loaded on the vessel,” Hollingworth told South Sudan in Focus. The boat that sank was carrying 50 tons of food.”Every act of violence against humanitarian workers, be it the transporting or delivering of humanitarian services in the country, it slows down our work, it makes our work harder to do and it has a serious impact on South Sudanese citizens,” Hollingworth told VOA.WFP boat convoys in South Sudan have been suspended until the WFP is confident the perpetrators of the latest attack are found and held accountable, according to Hollingworth.Troubled landIn addition to a 5½-year civil war, South Sudanese have had to cope with a deteriorating economy, reduced crop production and a large dependence on imports, which means many do not have regular access to nutritious food.Millions of people in South Sudan face acute food insecurity this year, in part because of the partial lockdown and other measures put in place to fight the coronavirus pandemic.Collapsing oil prices have also hurt South Sudan’s economy as oil accounts for 98.8% of the country’s total exports. Floods and swarms of desert locusts have wiped out millions of acres of crops.The U.N. agency provided assistance to nearly 100 million people in 88 countries last year who were victims of acute food insecurity and hunger, according to the WFP.The agency was created in 1961, following calls from former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower for “a workable scheme” to be devised for providing food aid through the U.N. system.
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Національний банк України встановив на 12 жовтня курс 28 гривень 21 копійка за долар США. Це на 19 копійок менше від максимального за останні два роки значення, зафіксованого 6 жовтня.

На українському міжбанківському валютному ринку ситуація на торгах 9 жовтня була оптимістичною для гривні лише в першій частині сесії, коли національна валюта посилилася до 28 гривень 18–20 копійок за долар. У другій половині дня попит на долар став перевищувати пропозицію, і, за даними Finance.ua, торги завершилися на рівні 28 гривень 23,5–25 копійок за одиницю американської валюти.

Попри зростання цього тижня, гривня все ще перебуває поблизу до найнижчих цього року показників. Близько двох місяців тому, 17 серпня торги завершилися на гривню нижче – на рівні 27 гривень 23,5–25,5 копійки за долар.
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As the Trump administration and Congress argue over the scope of a new stimulus package to boost America’s pandemic-ravaged economy, analysts warn that delays will inflict financial pain on vulnerable populations and may delay an economic recovery once the virus is brought under control.With the presidential election just over three weeks away, the status of stimulus talks in Washington remains tenuous. Earlier this week, President Donald Trump announced he was canceling all negotiations until after the election, a position he subsequently reversed with a call for limited federal aid for a few economic sectors.Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, meanwhile, reiterated her party’s insistence on a comprehensive package to assist struggling businesses, consumers, and state and local governments, adding that discussions would continue.Stimulus ‘unlikely’On Friday morning, however, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said a new stimulus package was “unlikely” to pass the chamber before the November 3 election.The U.S. enacted the largest economic stimulus program in its history in March. The CARES Act injected more than $2 trillion into the economy through direct cash payments to individuals, increased unemployment benefits and forgivable loans to businesses. The program was largely successful in propping up household incomes, even as the unemployment rate reached nearly 15% in April.FILE – Pedestrians walk past a business storefront with closing and sale signs in Dedham, Mass., Sept. 2, 2020.However, the July expiration of the higher payments to the jobless and the extended closure of many businesses have combined to leave millions of American families on the edge of financial ruin and many companies on the verge of bankruptcy, if not already insolvent.Other sources of fiscal stimulus, like interest rate cuts and asset purchases by the Federal Reserve, have largely been exhausted, meaning that getting a stimulus package through Congress is the only hope for an economic jolt in the near term.“The recovery has already lost momentum, and every day [policymakers] delay the next fiscal package being enacted will slow the recovery further,” said David Wilcox, the former director of the Fed’s Division of Research and Statistics, who is now a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. “This is particularly dangerous and concerning at a moment when the Fed has already expended most, not all but most of its ammunition, and it really is not in a position to provide a material further boost to economic activity.”Numbers better, but not goodMeanwhile, the U.S. unemployment rate is at 7.9 percent, and this week an additional 840,000 Americans filed for jobless benefits. Both numbers are declining but remain far above pre-pandemic levels. Continued improvements in the months ahead are far from assured.Job losses resulting from the pandemic shutdown have been concentrated at the lower end of the U.S. income distribution, disproportionately affecting poorer Americans. While jobs in the top income quartile had rebounded to higher than pre-pandemic levels by September, there were still more than 20 percent fewer jobs in the lowest quartile.FILE – Residents wait in line to collect fresh produce and shelf-stable pantry items outside Barclays Center as Food Bank for New York City provides assistance to those in need due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sept. 10, 2020, in New York.Nearly one in three U.S. families with children reported not always having enough to eat in the three months before the CARES Act benefits ran out. And now those families, which come disproportionately from minority groups, have gone more than two additional months without enhanced assistance from the federal government.And while the federal government and some states have taken steps to prevent families who fall behind on rent from being evicted if their income has been affected by the pandemic, renters and landlords nationwide face looming financial disaster as unpaid rent bills pile up across the country.Wilcox, who was speaking at an event sponsored by the Peterson Institute this week, warned that the negative impact on individuals, especially children, could be deep and long-lasting.“We don’t know what the long-term effects will be of concentrated hunger, of disparate health impacts by race and ethnicity, of localized incidence of adverse health effects, of dramatically different access to educational resources, and what seem almost sure to be widening educational attainment gaps across major demographic groups,” he said.Effects on business sectorsBeyond its impact on individuals and families, the pandemic has had a devastating effect on an array of business sectors in the U.S.U.S. airlines were a particular beneficiary of the CARES Act, receiving $25 billion, with the stipulation that they could not furlough or lay off any workers until October 1. With that date past, and no further stimulus funding in sight, airlines have begun to furlough more than 32,000 employees.The broader travel and hospitality industry has been especially hard hit, with occupancy rates at hotels down 31.5% from a year ago.Chip Rogers, president and CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association said, “America’s hotel industry is on the brink of collapse. We can’t afford to let thousands of small businesses die and all of the jobs associated with them be lost for many years.”Small businesses across the country that received forgivable loans from the initial stimulus package have run through those funds, and tens of thousands of small firms have closed, many permanently, since the beginning of the pandemic.The National Federation for Independent Businesses, a small-business trade group, reports that half of small-business owners say they need more financial assistance to continue operating, and that more than 20% believe they will be forced to close in the coming months if conditions don’t improve.In a statement, Kevin Kuhlman, the group’s vice president of federal government relations, said, “Many small businesses and their employees cannot afford to wait — they need Washington to act.”
 
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VOA Connect Episode 143 – Different ways people are continuing their passion, even during a pandemic.
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On Red Carpet this week, a look at how the Kikwetu festival in Kenya brought people together while social distancing during the pandemic. And, from refugee to filmmaker, we bring you an interview with Nigerian Kingsley Emmanuel on his film Lagos to Oslo. The South African hit ‘Jerusalema’ has gone viral with a dance challenge taking over the globe, but is there a film on the way too? These stories and more this week.
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The conviction of a journalist who reported on comments that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen made publicly about COVID-19 is a threat to all reporters covering the pandemic, local media groups say.A Phnom Penh court gave Sovann Rithy an 18-month sentence on Monday but ruled that the journalist, who has been in custody since April, be released for the remainder of the sentence.Kuch Kimlong, a spokesperson for Phnom Penh Municipal Court, confirmed that
Rithy, 31, who runs the news outlet TVFB on Facebook, was convicted of incitement and that he would be released.“The remaining prison term has been suspended as of (Monday’s) verdict,” Kimlong said.VOA Khmer could not reach Rithy or his family for comment.
 
The Cambodian Journalists Alliance, a nonprofit media organization, said it was disappointed by the conviction, but welcomed the court’s decision to suspend the prison sentence.“This is the first time a journalist has been convicted for their coverage related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a threat to the freedoms of Sovann Rithy, as well as other professional journalists who are reporting on COVID-19,” said Nop Vy, executive director of the group.
 The Cambodian Center for Independent Media also warned the conviction could impact the way reporters work.“This sentence can affect the right to freedom (of journalists) and a journalist’s work, since they just report public speeches of the prime minister,” Ith Sothoeuth, media director at the nonprofit, said.Between July and Sept., 15 journalists in Cambodia faced attacks, detentions or court complaints, the Cambodian Journalists Alliance said.Ros Sokhet, publisher of the Cheat Khmer newspaper, and Sok Oudom, owner of the Rithysen Radio News Station, were arrested on similar charges to Rithy and placed in pretrial detention.Oudom’s wife, Nuth Sovanthou, said that a court investigation into her husband’s charges has concluded, but a hearing has not been scheduled.
 
While no official restrictions were placed on the media during the pandemic, access to information was centralized through the Health Ministry, with provincial authorities and medical officials refusing to comment on the COVID-19 situation in their hospitals and provinces.
 
In April, the government voted through a state of emergency law that gives the administration sweeping powers, including prohibiting the publication of news that it determines can cause “panic and chaos.”
 
Domestic and international rights groups criticized the law, which they said was too broad and vague and could allow the government to act without a court order.   
 
The extended powers have not been used against the media, but the government has jailed citizens who voiced criticism of its response to the pandemic. Some were forced to make publicly broadcast apologies and sign agreements to refrain from publishing similar information online.
 Chilling effectThe Rithy verdict and the wider government clampdown on freedom of expression has had an effect on some local journalists.
 
Khan Leakhena, a reporter for the local news website Voice of Democracy, said it was worrying that journalists who reported the news truthfully were being convicted.
 
“If they want to arrest us, even if we publish accurate (information), they can do that because they want to retaliate or target us,” she said.FILE – Women wearing face masks amid the coronavirus pandemic walk with their children outside a hospital with a banner warning about the dangers of the virus, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sept. 29, 2020.In April, Leakhena reported on a Health Ministry spokesperson who asked residents of a Phnom Penh neighborhood to get COVID-19 tests after the virus was diagnosed in two people in the district.The ministry official posted a screenshot of the article on social media and said it was “fake news and spoiling society.” The spokesperson did not point to any specific inaccuracies in the story, and Leakhena stands by her reporting.
 
“At that time, I was concerned that I could be accused of incitement to provoke social chaos. But I have the recorded audio,” she said, referring to her interview with the spokesperson.In Rithy’s case, the journalist was arrested on incitement charges after he reported on comments Hun Sen made during an April 7 press conference, in which the prime minister said motorcycle taxi drivers facing economic hardship should sell their vehicles to buy rice.At the time of the arrest, local police said Hun Sen was speaking in jest and the quote should not have been taken seriously.
 Platform for journalismDays after Rithy’s arrest, the Ministry of Information revoked the media license of Rithy’s news outlet, TVFB, saying in a statement that the owner “published information which contains incitement, affected social security, order and safety.”
 
Chak Sopheap, who heads the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said it was unclear how Rithy’s reporting on Hun Sen’s comments could provoke criminal activity, and said authorities should have relied on the usual channels of dealing with an alleged inaccurate story — requesting a correction — rather than initiating criminal proceedings.
 
“This would be a more appropriate and proportionate response, compatible with international human rights standards, and valuably, it would permit Rithy to continue to play his role as a part of the media,” she said.
 
Rithy is one of a growing number of digital journalists who use Facebook to report on everything from local crime stories to broader national issues, such as the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and human rights abuses.
 
He started TVFB as a Facebook page that covers traffic accidents and crime stories through videos and livestreams. As the page’s popularity grew, Rithy was granted a media license, and went on to cover other issues, including rights abuses.
 
Digital journalists like Rithy often use a selfie stick-mounted smartphone and microphone to report from events as they unfold, such as garment worker protests, demonstrations by victims of forced evictions, or late-night car crashes.
 
The coverage can alternate between independent reportage and analysis to a more government-friendly spin on the day’s events.
 
The existence of such platforms is important in Cambodia, which has limited space for independent journalism and scores 144 out of 180 countries on the World Press Freedom Index, compiled by Reporters Without Borders, where the No. 1 country is most free.This story originated in VOA’s Khmer Service.
 
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Прем’єр-міністр України Денис Шмигаль повідомив, що на сьогодні залишається не розв’язаною проблема з доплатами до заробітних плат медичним працівникам за вересень. За його словами, не відбулися виплати майже в 160 закладах у різних областях.

«Попрошу міністра охорони здоров’я надати інформацію, на її основі уряд буде робити подання на Офіс президента для притягнення до дисциплінарної відповідальності відповідних голів ОДА. Будемо ставити питання звільнення відповідних керівників ДОЗ. Лікарі чекали грошей, при тому, що вони були виділені. НСЗУ підписувала контракти цілодобово і без вихідних. Якщо люди на місцях не хочуть працювати, будемо вдаватися до жорстких заходів», – цитує Шмигаля сайт уряду.

Сьогодні голова уряду скликав нараду з головами державних обласних адміністрацій з участю секретаря Ради національної безпеки і оборони Олексія Данілова щодо ситуації коронавірусом в країні.

5 жовтня в Офісі президента повідомляли, що половина медичних закладів в Україні уже отримала кошти на виплату підвищених зарплат своїм співробітникам за вересень поточного року, вказувалася сума більш ніж у 670 млн грн.

Уряд на засіданні 19 червня ухвалив рішення про доплати до зарплати всім медичним працівникам, які вони отримуватимуть з 1 вересня і до 31 грудня 2020 року. Зокрема, згідно з рішенням, із 1 вересня лікарям мають виплачувати надбавки до зарплат у розмірі 70% від посадового окладу, медсестрам – 50% від мінімальної зарплати, молодшому медичному персоналу – 25% від мінімальної зарплати.
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A flotilla of tourist boats, fishing vessels and yachts is conducting a pioneering survey of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Conservationists have recruited more than 30 boats to help examine up to 150 ecologically significant reefs over the next 10 weeks.The Great Barrier Reef is so vast that as much as 40% of this underwater paradise has never been surveyed. A fleet of private boats has begun inspecting critical parts of Australia’s greatest natural treasure to help establish the impact of climate change, pollution and other threats.The project, coordinated by Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef, aims to “capture large-scale reconnaissance data.”“The Great Reef Census involves a whole load of organizations who work on the reef, from tourism operators to super-yacht owners, to research stations, universities,” said Andy Ridley, the organization’s chief executive. “There is [sic] four universities involved, including University of Queensland and James Cook University. We have had some amazing support from funders, such as the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. But it is a really massive, collective community effort.”Snorkelers and recreational divers will take photographs at specified sites on the reef every 10 meters. The images will be available online for analysis by so-called citizen scientists around the world.Peter Mumby, a professor at the University of Queensland School of Biological Sciences, said the data will be invaluable.“What we are hoping to achieve with the help of the public is to find those reefs that are most important at driving the recovery of the barrier reef to the series of bleaching events that it has experienced in recent years,” he said.Large areas of the Great Barrier Reef have been degraded in recent years by severe bleaching — or loss of the algae that corals host — that give them their vibrant color and much of their energy. It is caused by warmer ocean temperatures and scientists say it is made worse by climate change.The reef stretches for 2,300 kilometers off northeastern Australia. It is about the size of Japan and is the world’s largest coral system. The World Heritage-listed area is home to an array of marine creatures, including 600 types of coral and more than 100 species of jellyfish.
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Former Malian presidential candidate Soumaila Cisse met the country’s transitional president Thursday night for the first time since his release this week by Islamist insurgents in a prisoner swap.Cisse, who had been kidnapped six months ago, did not reveal the nature of his talks with Bah N’Daw and other dignitaries at Mali’s presidential palace, in the capital Bamako.Cisse only spoke of his captivity, saying he was mostly in isolation living under difficult conditions, but that he was not the victim of any physical or verbal abuse.Cisse and three European hostages were freed by Islamic extremists in northern Mali just days after the Malian government released nearly 200 militants despite concerns their release might further destabilize the country.
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