AFP UK

The NASA Orion spacecraft, on its way to the moon

NASA’s Orion spacecraft was placed in lunar orbit Friday, officials said, as the much-delayed Moon mission proceeded successfully.

A little over a week after the spacecraft blasted off from Florida bound for the Moon, flight controllers “successfully performed a burn to insert Orion into a distant retrograde orbit,” the US space agency said on its web site.

The spacecraft is to take astronauts to the Moon in the coming years — the first to set foot on its surface since the last Apollo mission in 1972. 

This first test flight, without a crew on board, aims to ensure that the vehicle is safe.

“The orbit is distant in that Orion will fly about 40,000 miles above the Moon,” NASA said.

While in lunar orbit, flight controllers will monitor key systems and perform checkouts while in the environment of deep space, the agency said.

It will take Orion about a week to complete half an orbit around the Moon. It will then exit the orbit for the return journey home, according to NASA.

On Saturday, the ship is expected to go up to 40,000 miles beyond the Moon, a record for a habitable capsule. The current record is held by the Apollo 13 spacecraft at 248,655 miles (400,171 km) from Earth.

It will then begin the journey back to Earth, with a landing in the Pacific Ocean scheduled for December 11, after just over 25 days of flight. 

The success of this mission will determine the future of the Artemis 2 mission, which will take astronauts around the Moon without landing, then Artemis 3, which will finally mark the return of humans to the lunar surface. 

Those missions are scheduled to take place in 2024 and 2025, respectively. 

Sharks were the star of the CITES summit Panama, which approved the protection of more than 50 species

A global wildlife summit that ends Friday passed resolutions to protect hundreds of threatened species, including sharks, reptiles, turtles as well as trees.

Here are some highlights of the two-week meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Panama.

1) Sharks steal the show

No longer just the villains of the deep, these ancient predators were the stars of the summit.

Delegates from more than 180 countries agreed to regulate the trade in 54 species of the requiem shark and hammerhead shark families.

These species are the most hunted for their shark fins — seen as a delicacy in some Asian countries — and their numbers have been decimated, putting the entire marine ecosystem at risk.

Only Japan grumbled over the resolution, arguing restrictions on the trade of the blue shark would be a blow to the livelihoods of its fishermen.

CITES also voted to restrict the trade of guitarfish rays and several other freshwater ray species.

2) See-through glass frogs

The skin of these nocturnal amphibians can be lime green or so translucent their organs are visible through their skin.

This has made them sought-after pets, and intense trafficking has placed the species in critical danger.

CITES also placed more than 160 species of glass frog, found in several rainforests in Central and South America, on its Appendix II, which places trade restrictions on threatened species.

The European Union and Canada withdrew early reservations about the resolution, which was adopted unanimously.

3) Weird and wonderful turtles

CITES approved varying levels of protection for around 20 turtle species from America and Asia.

These include the striking matamata turtles, with their prehistoric, beetle-like appearance, which have also become sought-after pets and are hunted for their meat and eggs.

They live in the Amazon and Orinoco basins, but scientists do not know how many there are.

Freshwater turtles are among the most-trafficked species in the world.

The unusual-looking North American Alligator Snapping Turtle was also granted trade protection.

4) Crocodile bans lifted

Brazil and the Philippines now will be able to export farm-raised crocodiles, after a total trade ban was lifted.

Delegates also allowed the export of skin and meat of the broad-snouted caiman — found in the wild in the Brazilian Amazon and Pantanal as well as wetlands, rivers, and lakes of neighboring countries.

“The population of these animals is very big. There has been a great reproductive success,” said researcher Miryam Venegas-Anaya, a crocodile expert with the University of Panama.

In the Philippines, a trade restriction was lifted on the saltwater crocodile that lives mainly on the islands of Mindanao and Palawan.

However, Thailand’s efforts to lift a ban on its Siamese crocodile was rejected.

5) Ivory ban stays, no luck for hippos

Zimbabwe and its southern African neighbors have seen their elephant populations soar in recent years, and pushed a drive to re-open the ivory trade which has been banned since 1989.

One-off sales were allowed in 1999 and 2008 despite fierce opposition.

However, in the rest of the continent poaching for ivory is still decimating elephant populations and the request was rejected.

Delegates also rejected a request by Botswana, Namibia and Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), to allow the sale of southern white rhino horn.

Meanwhile, after a fierce debate, a request by ten west African nations to ban the trade in hippopotamus, was rejected by delegates.

Illegal trade in the surly semi-aquatic mammal — for its meat, ivory tusks, teeth, and skull — rose after elephant ivory was banned. 

London's mayor first introduced the ULEZ (ultra-low emission zone) in April 2019 and expanded it last year

Older and more heavily polluting vehicles will have to pay to enter the entire metropolitan area of London from next August, the British capital’s mayor said Friday.

Sadiq Khan said the ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) would be expanded beyond its current confines from August 29, to encompass the entire nine million people of Greater London.

Announcing a parallel expansion of bus services in outer London, he argued that air pollution from older and heavier vehicles was making Londoners “sick from cradle to the grave”.

The ULEZ had already proven “transformational”, the mayor said, and its extension would mean “five million more people will be able to breathe cleaner air and live healthier lives”. 

But the plan has prompted a fierce backlash from political opponents and some residents in the capital, who point to a consultation held indicating that a majority of Londoners opposed extending the zone.

The two-month outreach exercise — held earlier this year by Transport for London (TfL), which runs the capital’s various transport systems — heard from 57,913 people, including nearly 12,000 campaigners on either side of the issue.

Although it found 55 percent of respondents had “some concern” about their local air quality, the consultation also recorded 59 percent as opposed to the ULEZ being expanded at all.

That rose to 70 percent in the outer London areas set to be part of the enlargement.

“Sadiq Khan has broken his promise to listen to Londoners,” the Conservative grouping in London’s devolved lawmaking assembly said on Twitter. 

“He must U-TURN on the ULEZ expansion.”

– ‘An example’ –

The zone has already been expanded once since it was introduced in April 2019, and today covers a large area within London’s North and South Circular inner ring-roads and the city centre.

Unless their vehicles are exempt, drivers entering the zone have to pay a daily charge of £12.50 ($15).

Petrol cars first registered after 2005, and diesel cars after September 2015, typically meet the ULEZ standards for nitrous oxide emissions and are exempt.

Air pollution caused around 1,000 annual hospital admissions for asthma and serious lung conditions in London between 2014 and 2016, according to a 2019 report.

A coroner ruled in 2020 that air pollution made a “material contribution” to the death of a nine-year-old London girl in 2013 — the first time in Britain that air pollution was officially listed as a cause of death.

Air pollution is “affecting children before they’re even born, and giving them lifelong health issues”, the campaign group Mums for Lungs tweeted.

“Good news for the health of all Londoners,” it said in response to the ULEZ announcement.

Billionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg, a UN climate envoy and former mayor of New York, said Khan was “helping to clean London’s air and set an example for cities around the world”.

But opponents of the ULEZ argue it amounts to a “tax” on poorer drivers least able to afford to replace their polluting vehicles, and has hurt small businesses.

The announcement will be “a hammer-blow for desperate drivers and businesses already struggling with crippling fuel costs” during a cost-of-living crisis, said the head of roads policy for motoring body the RAC, Nicholas Lyes.

All cars and vans entering central London during the daytime also have to pay a “congestion charge” of £15, a measure first introduced in 2003.

Similar schemes have been set up in several other British towns and cities to reduce emission levels and improve air quality.

Panama's delegate Shirley Binder, who announced that new protections for requiem and hammerhead sharks had been approved

Delegates at a global summit on trade in endangered species on Friday approved a plan to protect 54 more shark species, a move that could drastically reduce the lucrative and cruel shark fin trade.

Members of the requiem shark and the hammerhead shark families will now have their trade tightly controlled under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

The binding resolutions were adopted by consensus on the final day of the two-week meeting by delegates from 183 countries and the European Union, which takes place every two or three years.

“Proposal 37 approved,” said Panamanian delegate and head of the plenary Shirley Binder of the requiem shark proposal, after Japan failed in getting the blue shark removed from the measure.

The proposal regarding the hammerhead shark passed without debate.

Binder earlier told AFP the “historic decision” would mean up to 90 percent of sharks in the market would now be protected. 

Insatiable appetite in Asia for shark fins, which make their way onto dinner tables in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan, has spurred their trade.

Despite being described as almost tasteless and gelatinous, shark fin soup is viewed as a delicacy and is enjoyed by the very wealthy, often at weddings and expensive banquets.

Shark fins, representing a market of about $500 million per year, can sell for about $1,000 a kilogram (2.2 pounds).

“This will be remembered as the day we turned the tide to prevent the extinction of the world’s sharks and rays,” said Luke Warwick, director of shark protection for the NGO Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

The shark species will now be listed on what is known as CITES Appendix II, which is for species that may not yet be threatened with extinction but may become so unless trade in them is closely controlled.

“The crucial next step will be to implement these listings, and ensure they result in stronger fisheries management and trade measures as soon as possible,” Warwick said.

– From villain to darling –

Sharks have long been seen as the villain of the seas they have occupied for more than 400 million years, drawing horror with their depiction in films such as “Jaws” and occasional attacks on humans.

However, these ancient predators have undergone an image makeover in recent years as conservationists have highlighted the crucial role they play in regulating the ocean ecosystem.

Joaquin de la Torre of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), told AFP that more than 100 million sharks are killed every year.

“Sharks and rays are the most threatened species, more even than elephants and big cats.”

With many shark species taking more than 10 years to reach sexual maturity, and having a low fertility rate, the constant hunting of the species has decimated their numbers.

In many parts of the world, fisherman lop the shark’s fins off at sea, tossing the shark back into the ocean for a cruel death by suffocation or blood loss.

The efforts by conservationists led to a turning point in 2013, when CITES imposed the first trade restrictions on some shark species. 

– Ongoing over-exploitation –

Delegates have been considering 52 proposals to change the protection levels of more than 600 species. 

They also approved new protections for the guitarfish ray, crocodiles, frogs, and some turtle species.

“Many of the proposals adopted here reflect there is ongoing over-exploitation and unsustainable trade, and escalating illegal trade, and some are due to complex interactions of other threats reducing species populations in the wild, including climate change, disease, infrastructure development, and habitat loss,” said Susan Liberman of WCS.

CITES, which came into force in 1975, has set international trade rules for more than 36,000 wild species. 

Its signatories include 183 countries and the European Union. 

Delegates at a global summit on trade in endangered species on Friday approved a plan to  protect 54 more shark species, a move that could drastically reduce the lucrative and cruel shark fin trade.

Members of the requiem shark and the hammerhead shark families will now have their trade tightly controlled under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

The proposal was adopted by consensus on the final day of the two-week meeting by delegates from 183 countries and the European Union.

Delegates have been considering 52 proposals to change species’ protection levels. Other species debated were glass frogs, crocodiles, guitarfish, and some turtle species.

Panamanian delegate Shirley Binder told AFP the “historic decision” would mean a large number of sharks making up 90 percent of the market would now be protected. 

Insatiable appetite in Asia for shark fins, which make their way onto dinner tables in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan, has spurred their trade.

Despite being described as almost tasteless and gelatinous, shark fin soup is viewed as a delicacy and is enjoyed by the very wealthy, often at weddings and expensive banquets.

Shark fins, representing a market of about $500 million per year, can sell for about $1,000 a kilogram (2.2 pounds).

“This will be remembered as the day we turned the tide to prevent the extinction of the world’s sharks and rays,” said Luke Warwick, director of shark protection for the NGO Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

“The crucial next step will be to implement these listings, and ensure they result in stronger fisheries management and trade measures as soon as possible.”

– From villain to darling –

Sharks have long been seen as the villain of the seas they have occupied for more than 400 million years, drawing horror with their depiction in films such as “Jaws” and occasional attacks on humans.

However, these ancient predators have undergone an image makeover in recent years as conservationists have highlighted the crucial role they play in regulating the ocean ecosystem.

According to the Pew Environment Group, between 63 million and 273 million sharks are killed every year, mainly for their fins and other parts.

With many shark species taking more than 10 years to reach sexual maturity, and having a low fertility rate, the constant hunting of the species has decimated their numbers.

In many parts of the world, fisherman lop the shark’s fins off at sea, tossing the shark back into the ocean for a cruel death by suffocation or blood loss.

The efforts by conservationists led to a turning point in 2013, when CITES imposed the first trade restrictions on some shark species. 

“We are in the middle of a very large shark extinction crisis,” said Warwick earlier in the summit.

The decision follows heated debate after Japan and Peru tried to reduce the number of species that would be protected.

However, their suggestions were rejected.

CITES, which came into force in 1975, has set international trade rules for more than 36,000 wild species. 

Its signatories include 183 countries and the European Union. 

So far this year almost 9,500 square kilometres (2.3 million acres) of Amazon rainforest have been destroyed, compared to 9,200 square kilometres im 2021

French retail giant Carrefour is still selling Brazilian beef products linked to destruction of the Amazon rainforest despite committing to end such sales, the US activist group Mighty Earth said Friday.

Carrefour suspended beef supplies from two slaughterhouses owned by the JBS company that were linked to deforestation in the Amazon after the NGO called on the supermarket chain to clean up its supply chains in September.

It said JBS would no longer supply its stores in Brazil.

Mighty Earth sought to verify this by analysing 310 products sold in the chain’s 10 stores in seven Brazilian cities in October.

“The results are implacable, Carrefour has not applied this suspension in all of its stores. Mighty Earth identified 12 products sold that came from the two slaughterhouses in four of the group’s shops”, including the Atacadao brand, the group said in a statement.

Carrefour acknowledged there had been a “failure in the suspension instructions”, in particular those relating to two stores that were transferred from the Maxxi brand belonging to Brazilian retailer Grupo BIG to Atacadao. Carrefour acquired Grupo Big earlier this year.

“We regret this and we are checking whether other stores, which source their supplies directly at the local level, are affected,” a Carrefour spokeswoman said.

She added that the retail giant was “making an enormous effort to resolve the issues on a case-by-case basis”.

Carrefour renewed its vow earlier this month to make sure the beef it sells is “deforestation-free” by 2026.

Mighty Earth said that after leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won the presidential election last month, Carrefour must commit to “zero deforestation and ensure the robustness of its implementation”, especially in its supply chains.

According to Brazil’s INPE space research institute, which measures the level of Amazon deforestation, 2022 is already a record year.

So far this year almost 9,500 square kilometres (2.3 million acres) have been destroyed, compared to 9,200 square kilometres in 2021.

Delegates at a global summit on trade in endangered species will on Friday decide whether to approve a proposal to protect sharks, a move that could drastically reduce the lucrative and cruel shark fin trade.

If approved, dozens of species of the requiem shark and the hammerhead shark families would have their trade tightly controlled under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

The shark initiative has been one of the most discussed at this year’s CITES summit in Panama, with the proposal co-sponsored by the European Union and 15 countries. 

A vote had been expected Thursday but was postponed until Friday, the final day of the summit, as debates over illegal and unregulated hunting of hippos for their meat and ivory dragged on between the European Union and African countries.

Delegates are considering 52 proposals to change species’ protection levels. Other species up for possible boosted protections are glass frogs, crocodiles, guitarfish, and some turtle species.

If the new raft of shark protections is applied, “it would be a historic decision,” Panamanian delegate Shirley Binder, who presided over the meeting, told AFP earlier in the summit.

“For the first time, CITES would be handling a very large number of shark species, which would be approximately 90 percent of the market,” she said.

Insatiable appetite in Asia for shark fins, which make their way onto dinner tables in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan, has spurred their trade.

Despite being described as almost tasteless and gelatinous, shark fin soup is viewed as a delicacy and is enjoyed by the very wealthy, often at weddings and expensive banquets.

Shark fins, representing a market of about $500 million per year, can sell for about $1,000 a kilogram (2.2 pounds).

– From villain to darling –

Sharks have long been seen as the villain of the seas they have occupied for more than 400 million years, drawing horror with their depiction in films such as “Jaws” and occasional attacks on humans.

However, these ancient predators have undergone an image makeover in recent years as conservationists have highlighted the crucial role they play in regulating the ocean ecosystem.

According to the Pew Environment Group, between 63 million and 273 million sharks are killed every year, mainly for their fins and other parts.

With many shark species taking more than 10 years to reach sexual maturity, and having a low fertility rate, the constant hunting of the species has decimated their numbers.

In many parts of the world, fisherman lop the shark’s fins off at sea, tossing the shark back into the ocean for a cruel death by suffocation or blood loss.

The efforts by conservationists led to a turning point in 2013, when CITES imposed the first trade restrictions on some shark species. 

“We are in the middle of a very large shark extinction crisis,” Luke Warwick, director of shark protection for the NGO Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), told AFP at the beginning of the summit.

CITES, which came into force in 1975, has set international trade rules for more than 36,000 wild species. 

Its signatories include 183 countries and the European Union. 

Leader of the pack? A parasite may make grey wolves in Yellowstone National Park take more risks, research suggests

Wolves infected with a common parasite are far more likely to become the leader of their pack, according to a new study, suggesting that the brain-dwelling intruder emboldens its host to take more risks.

The single-celled parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, only sexually reproduces in cats but can infect all warm-blooded animals.

Between 30-50 percent of people worldwide are estimated to be infected with the parasite, which remains for life as dormant tissue cysts. However people with a healthy immune system rarely have any symptoms.

While some studies have reported an association between people having the parasite in their brain and increased risk-taking, other research has disputed these findings and no definitive link has been proven.

The new study, published in the journal Communications Biology on Thursday, took advantage of 26 years’ worth of data on grey wolves living in the Yellowstone National Park in the United States to investigate how the parasite could affect their behaviour.

The researchers from the Yellowstone Wolf Project analysed the blood samples of nearly 230 wolves and 62 cougars — the big cats are known spreaders of the parasite.

They found that infected wolves were more likely to foray deeper into cougar territory than uninfected wolves.

Infected wolves were also 11 times more likely to leave their pack than wolves without the parasite, the study said, indicating a higher rate of risk-taking.

And an infected wolf is up to 46 times more likely to become pack leader, the researchers estimated, adding that the role is normally won by more aggressive animals. 

Study co-author Kira Cassidy told AFP that while “being bolder is not necessarily a bad thing,” it can “lower survival for the most bold animals as they might make decisions that put them in danger more often.”

“Wolves do not have the survival space to take too many more risks than they already do.”

Cassidy said it was only the second study on T. gondii’s effect on a wild animal, after research last year found increased boldness in infected hyena cubs made them more likely to get closer to — and killed by — lions in Kenya.

Laboratory research has also found that rodents with the parasite lose their instinctual fear of cats — driving them into the hands of the only host where T. gondii can reproduce.

William Sullivan, a professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the Indiana University School of Medicine who has been studying T.gondii for more than 25 years, called the wolf paper “a rare gem”.

However he warned that such an observational study could not show causation.

“A wolf that is a born risk-taker may simply be more likely to venture into cougar territory and contract Toxoplasma,” he said.

But “if the findings are correct, they suggest we may be underestimating the impact Toxoplasma has on ecosystems around the world,” he added.

– What about humans? –

“That’s the million-dollar question,” Sullivan said, adding that “no one knows for sure and the literature is mixed”.

Ajai Vyas, a T. gondii expert at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, warned against inferring that infection could increase risk-taking in people.

“There is a lot about human behaviour that is different from other animals,” he told AFP.

People often get infected by T. gondii from eating undercooked meat — or via their pet cat, particularly when cleaning out their litter boxes.

In some cases, especially in people with weakened immune systems, T. gondii can lead to toxoplasmosis, a disease that can cause brain and eye damage. 

London's mayor first introduced the ULEZ (ultra-low emission zone) in April 2019 and expanded it last year

Heavily polluting vehicles will have to pay to enter the entire metropolitan area of London from next year, the British capital’s mayor said Friday.

Sadiq Khan said the ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) would be expanded from August 29 beyond its current confines, to take in the entire nine million people of Greater London.

Announcing a parallel expansion of bus services in outer London, he argued that air pollution from older vehicles was making Londoners “sick from cradle to the grave”.

The ULEZ had already proven “transformational”, the mayor said, and its extension would mean “five million more people will be able to breathe cleaner air and live healthier lives”. 

The zone has already been expanded once since it was introduced in April 2019, and today covers a large area within London’s North and South Circular inner ring-roads and the city centre.

Unless their vehicles are exempt, drivers entering the zone have to pay a daily charge of £12.50 ($15).

Petrol cars first registered after 2005, and diesel cars after September 2015, typically meet the ULEZ standards for nitrous oxide emissions and are exempt.

Air pollution caused around 1,000 annual hospital admissions for asthma and serious lung conditions in London between 2014 and 2016, according to a 2019 report.

A coroner ruled in 2020 that air pollution made a “material contribution” to the death of a nine-year-old London girl in 2013 — the first time in Britain that air pollution was officially listed as a cause of death.

Air pollution is “affecting children before they’re even born, and giving them lifelong health issues”, the campaign group Mums for Lungs tweeted.

“Good news for the health of all Londoners,” it said in response to the ULEZ announcement.

Billionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg, a UN climate envoy and former mayor of New York, said Khan was “helping to clean London’s air and set an example for cities around the world”.

But opponents of the ULEZ argue it amounts to a “tax” on poorer drivers least able to afford to replace their polluting vehicles, and has hurt small businesses.

The announcement will be “a hammer-blow for desperate drivers and businesses already struggling with crippling fuel costs” during a cost-of-living crisis, said the head of roads policy for motoring body the RAC, Nicholas Lyes.

All cars and vans entering central London during the day time also have to pay a “congestion charge” of £15, a measure first introduced in 2003.

Similar schemes have been set up in several other British towns and cities to reduce emission levels and improve air quality, 

The new vehicle has rounded edges along with large windows that make it appear more like a toy than a technological breakthrough

South Korea’s capital launched its first self-driving bus route on Friday, part of an experiment which engineers said aims to make people feel more comfortable with driverless vehicles on the roads.

The new vehicle does not look like a regular bus and has rounded edges along with large windows that make it appear more like a toy than a technological breakthrough.

This design is intentional, said Jeong Seong-gyun, head of autonomous driving at 42dot, the start-up responsible for the self-driving technology that is now owned by auto giant Hyundai.

“This is the future,” he told AFP, adding that the bus required “a considerable new type of design”.

The bus looks a bit “like Lego” and is made of composite parts to help keep costs down and make it easy to replicate, he said.

It uses cameras and lasers to navigate the way instead of expensive sensors, Seong-gyun added.

The company’s goal was to make the technology low-cost, safe and easily transferable to many types of vehicle in the future, for example delivery trucks.

For now — with a safety driver monitoring closely — the bus will drive itself around a small 3.4-kilometre (2.1-mile) circuit in downtown Seoul that takes around 20 minutes.

The public can board at two designated stops after booking a free seat through an app.

“I feel like I’ve just hopped into a time machine to visit the future,” said Kim Yi hae-ran, 68, after her 20-minute ride during the launch of the bus Friday.

“I thought it might make me dizzy from a sudden acceleration but I didn’t feel any of it.”

The ride felt “very smooth and safe”, which she said made her feel proud of the technological progress the South Korean company has made.