DENMARK
Bee species drop by 25%
The number of wild bee species recorded by an international database of life on Earth has declined by one-quarter since 1990, a global analysis of bee declines found. Researchers analyzed bee records from museums, universities and citizen scientists collated by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, a global, government-funded network providing open-access data on biodiversity. They found that about 25 percent fewer species were reported between 2006 and 2015 than before the 1990s. Although this does not mean these species are extinct, it might indicate that some have become so scarce that they are no longer regularly observed in the wild. “With citizen science and the ability to share data, records are going up exponentially, but the number of species reported in these records is going down,” said Eduardo Zattara, the lead author and a biologist from the Universidad Nacional del Comahue and Argentina’s National Scientific and Technical Research Council. “It’s not a bee cataclysm yet, but what we can say is that wild bees are not exactly thriving.”
UNITED STATES
Nukes ‘priority for NK’
The top intelligence officer for North Korea on Friday said that the country sees diplomacy only as a means to advance its nuclear weapons development, even as President Joe Biden’s administration said that it would look for ways to bring Pyongyang back to talks. National Intelligence Officer for North Korea Sydney Seiler told the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank that Pyongyang’s weapons development had been a consistent policy for 30 years. “Every engagement in diplomacy has been designed to further the nuclear program, not to find a way out... I just urge people not to let the tactical ambiguity obstruct the strategic clarity about North Korea that we have,” he said. “So we should not be overly encouraged if suddenly [North Korea leader Kim Jong-un] proposes dialogue tomorrow, nor should we be overly surprised, or discouraged, if there’s an [intercontinental ballistic missile] launch by Sunday.”
UNITED STATES
Taliban pact to be reviewed
President Joe Biden’s administration on Friday said that it would review a landmark deal with the Taliban. Washington struck a deal with the Taliban in Qatar last year, to begin withdrawing its troops in return for security guarantees from the militants and a commitment to begin peace talks with the Afghan government, but violence across Afghanistan has surged despite the two sides engaging in those talks since September last year. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke with his Afghan counterpart, Hamdullah Mohib, and “made clear the United States’ intention to review” the deal, US National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne said.
BRAZIL
Rio calls off carnival
Rio de Janeiro has canceled its famous carnival this year due to a deadly revival of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil, city Mayor Eduardo Paes announced. Rio’s samba schools, which organize the parades, had hoped to hold the signature event in July after it was postponed from its usual slot in February or March, but this depended on a national vaccination campaign being well under way. Brazil’s inoculation drive only started on Monday with an initial 6 million doses available for the country’s 212 million inhabitants. Brazil has been in the grips of a second wave of infections since November last year, with more than 1,000 daily deaths and an overall of more than 215,000 deaths.
Four people jailed in the landmark Hong Kong national security trial of "47 democrats" accused of conspiracy to commit subversion were freed today after more than four years behind bars, the second group to be released in a month. Among those freed was long-time political and LGBTQ activist Jimmy Sham (岑子杰), who also led one of Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy groups, the Civil Human Rights Front, which disbanded in 2021. "Let me spend some time with my family," Sham said after arriving at his home in the Kowloon district of Jordan. "I don’t know how to plan ahead because, to me, it feels
The collapse of the Swiss Birch glacier serves as a chilling warning of the escalating dangers faced by communities worldwide living under the shadow of fragile ice, particularly in Asia, experts said. Footage of the collapse on Wednesday showed a huge cloud of ice and rubble hurtling down the mountainside into the hamlet of Blatten. Swiss Development Cooperation disaster risk reduction adviser Ali Neumann said that while the role of climate change in the case of Blatten “still needs to be investigated,” the wider impacts were clear on the cryosphere — the part of the world covered by frozen water. “Climate change and
Poland is set to hold a presidential runoff election today between two candidates offering starkly different visions for the country’s future. The winner would succeed Polish President Andrzej Duda, a conservative who is finishing his second and final term. The outcome would determine whether Poland embraces a nationalist populist trajectory or pivots more fully toward liberal, pro-European policies. An exit poll by Ipsos would be released when polls close today at 9pm local time, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Final results are expected tomorrow. Whoever wins can be expected to either help or hinder the
DENIAL: Musk said that the ‘New York Times was lying their ass off,’ after it reported he used so much drugs that he developed bladder problems Elon Musk on Saturday denied a report that he used ketamine and other drugs extensively last year on the US presidential campaign trail. The New York Times on Friday reported that the billionaire adviser to US President Donald Trump used so much ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, that he developed bladder problems. The newspaper said the world’s richest person also took ecstasy and mushrooms, and traveled with a pill box last year, adding that it was not known whether Musk also took drugs while heading the so-called US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after Trump took power in January. In a
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