Washington (AFP) – Animal welfare advocates, conservationists and scientists have carried out a three-year effort to count every cat in the US capital and provide an accurate estimate of the size of Washington’s indoor, outdoor and shelter population, as well as the health of the city’s cats. As part of the DC Cat Count, researchers set up wildlife cameras in more than 1,500 spots across the city.
Indianapolis (AFP) – The winner was not a driver but an algorithm at Indianapolis’s famous Motor Speedway, pushing its car to an average speed of 218 km/h and ushering autonomous vehicles into a new era. Nine university teams took part in the Indy Autonomous Challenge in the hopes of winning a million dollars and pushing forward the advent of self-driving cars.
Tehran (AFP) – Arab nations that normalised ties with Israel last year have “sinned” and should reverse such moves, Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei says. The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco all agreed to normalise ties with Israel in 2020, as Washington under the administration of then US president Donald Trump made Arab-Israeli rapprochement a foreign policy priority.
Brest (France) (AFP) – The only flat oyster native to Europe, millions of years old but threatened with extinction, is a passion of scientists and shellfish growers on the Brittany peninsula, who seek to restore the last wild beds of this exceptional dish.
Police work in Kentish Town, northwest London, outside the home of the suspect held on suspicion of fatally stabbing the British lawmaker David Amess. Politicians and members of the public continue to lay flowers and pay their respects to Amess, in what the police are considering a terrorist incident.
Kenitra (Morocco) (AFP) – In 2015, Morocco’s DGAPR prison service launched Moussalaha, a de-radicalisation programme, with several partner organisations, helping terror detainees who are willing to question their beliefs.
Pope Francis expresses his compassion for the victims of the recent attacks in Norway, Afghanistan and England stressing that “violence begets violence.”
Moscow (AFP) – Russia has recorded 1,000 coronavirus deaths over 24 hours for the first time since the start of the pandemic, with the country’s jab drive at a standstill and few restrictions in place.
Amneville (France) (AFP) – France’s Amnéville zoo presents its newest resident, Mosl, a 50 kg baby rhinoceros born of a conservation programme for the species.
Kandahar (Afghanistan) (AFP) – +COMPLETES VID9PQ6EY+ Ambulances drive through downtown Kandahar in Afghanistan after a Shiite mosque was hit by explosions, killing at least 32 and wounding 53. The cause of the blasts has not been immediately identified, but they come exactly a week after a suicide bomb attack on Shiite worshippers in the northern city of Kunduz, which was claimed by the Islamic State group.
