U.S. scientists have determined that the Gulf of Mexico’s annual “dead zone” — an area with low oxygen that can kill fish and marine life — is the fourth smallest since they started mapping the area in 1985.

Scientists supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said in a report Tuesday that the area is only about 40 percent the average size predicted earlier this year based on nitrogen and other nutrients flowing down the Mississippi river.

“Although the area is small this year, we should not think that the low-oxygen problem in the Gulf of Mexico is solved. We are not close to the goal size for this hypoxic area,” said lead scientist Nancy Rabalais of Louisiana State University and the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium. 

This year’s dead zone off Louisiana is about 7,040 square kilometers, rather than the 15,000 square kilometers predicted by the NOAA. 

Every year the oxygen depletion begins as snowmelt and spring rains bring fresh water to the gulf. Fresh water is lighter than salt water causing two layers to develop. Nitrogen and other nutrients in the fresh water feed a growth spurt of algae and microorganisms at the top. The microorganisms die and fall to the bottom, where their decay consumes oxygen from the bottom up, creating the dead zone. 

“The data collected from this annual, long-term research program is critical to our understanding of a wide range of Gulf issues including hypoxia and beyond,” said Steven Thur, director of NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science. “Not only is measuring the size of the Gulf of Mexico dead zone vital to informing the best strategy to reduce its size, but also to reduce its impacts.”
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From: MeNeedIt

Anna Wintour, the influential editor of Vogue magazine, is remaining in her job “indefinitely,” publisher Conde Nast said Tuesday, refuting rumors that she was on her way out after 30 years.

“Anna Wintour is an incredibly talented and creative leader whose influence is beyond measure. She is integral to the future of our company’s transformation and has agreed to work with me indefinitely in her role as @voguemagazine editor in chief and artistic director of Conde Nast,” Conde Nast Chief Executive Bob Sauerberg said in a statement on the company’s Twitter feed.

Wintour, 68, known for her large sunglasses, pageboy haircut, and aloof public profile, has been editor in chief of the fashion magazine since 1988.

Rumors that she was about to step down or be pushed aside have been swirling in the fashion industry for weeks. Women’s Wear Daily wrote earlier this month that speculation about her exit “has reached a crescendo louder than a tea kettle on full boil.”

London-born Wintour has a towering influence in the fashion world, which was only boosted by 2006 movie The Devil Wears Prada starring Meryl Streep as a formidable magazine editor thought to be based on her.

Wintour was promoted to artistic director of Conde Nast, Vogue’s publisher, in 2013.
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From: MeNeedIt

When Abid Ali risked his life in a rubber dinghy in 2015 as he fled Pakistan for Europe, he didn’t think that three years later he would be making bags, backpacks and sneakers out of similar boats in a small workshop in Berlin.

Ali, a tailor, is working with non-profit organization Mimycri to upcycle the rubber from abandoned refugee boats found on beaches in Greece after often perilous sea crossings via Turkey.

Since Germany received more than a million migrants fleeing war and prosecution in the Middle East, Africa and central Asia in 2015, migration has become a major issue in Germany that is testing Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling coalition.

By making fashion accessories out of the rubber dinghies used by refugees, Mimycri wants to create jobs for migrants and give them a chance to show Germans their talents.

In Mimycri’s Berlin workshop, Ali carefully measures out a large piece of rubber on a workbench before cutting it precisely to size and skilfully using a sewing machine to craft a bag.

Working with the disused rubber boats is not strange, he says.

“Yes, sometimes I think ‘yes I came with these boats,’ but no it isn’t too strange for me,” he added.

Vera Guenther, Mimycri co-founder, and her project partner Nora Azzaoui came up with their idea in summer 2015 when they were volunteering to help refugees arriving at the Greek island of Chios.

“We want to process the plastic waste that lies on beaches in Greece into something new,” Guenther said. “We want to create new job opportunities for the people who came newly here and have great talents.”

Environmental groups say the plastic garbage of life vests and rubber boats left by migrants after reaching Greece in 2015 is a forgotten dimension of the refugee crisis with no comprehensive waste-management system on land.
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From: MeNeedIt

An Israeli court jailed an Israeli Arab poet for five months on Tuesday after convicting her of incitement to terrorism for a poem and remarks she posted on social media during a wave of Palestinian street attacks.

Dareen Tatour, 36, posted on Facebook and YouTube a video of herself reading out her poem “Resist, My People, Resist”, as a soundtrack to footage of masked Palestinian youths throwing stones and firebombs at Israeli soldiers.

Tatour published her poem in October 2015 during a spate of deadly Palestinian stabbing, shooting and ramming attacks on Israelis. She was arrested a few days later, and prosecutors said her post was a call for violence. She denied this.

Her case became a cause celebre for freedom of speech advocates in Israel and abroad. It drew attention to the advanced technology used by Israeli security agencies to trawl through social media to identify and arrest users suspected of incitement to violence, or of planning attacks.

Tatour said her poem was misunderstood by the Israeli authorities as it was not a call for violence, rather for non-violent struggle.

U.S.-backed negotiations on a Palestinian state in territory Israel captured in a 1967 war have been stalled since 2014.

Tatour was also charged with supporting a terrorist group. Prosecutors said she had expressed support for the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad’s call for an uprising.

“I wasn’t expecting justice to be done. The case was political from the start, because I am Palestinian and support freedom of speech,” she told reporters at the Nazareth Magistrate’s Court in northern Israel.

Arab minority

Tatour belongs to Israel’s Arab minority, which comprises mainly descendants of the Palestinians who remained on their land after the 1948 Arab-Jewish war that surrounded the creation of the state of Israel. Hundreds of thousands fled or were driven from their homes.

The court added a six-month suspended sentence to Tatour’s jail time, according to the official minutes distributed by the Justice Ministry. Her lawyer, Gaby Lasky, said Tatour would appeal both the verdict and the sentence.

Israel says the string of Palestinian attacks that began in 2015 was fueled by online incitement and it has launched a legal crackdown to curb it.

Indictments for online incitement have tripled in Israel since 2014. Prosecutions by the Israeli military have also increased in the occupied West Bank – most of those charged are young Palestinians.

The campaign against alleged incitement has raised questions about the balance between security and free speech.

On July 18 the Israeli parliament was set to pass legislation that would have empowered the justice system to order Internet providers, such as Facebook and Google, to take down social media posts in Israel deemed as incitement.

But hours before the scheduled vote Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shelved the bill. An adviser to Netanyahu, Jonatan Urich, said the law was open to a too-wide interpretation that could allow cyber-censorship and harm freedom of speech.

 
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From: MeNeedIt

As tech giants expand in San Francisco, homelessness and job displacement for locals continues to rise. Deana Mitchell explores one program, created by a formerly homeless man, that’s helping to merge the two worlds for local job seekers.
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From: MeNeedIt

Satellites and drones are driving efforts by Indian states to map informal settlements in order to speed up the process of delivering services and land titles, officials said.

The eastern state of Odisha aims to give titles to 200,000 households in urban slums and those on the outskirts of cities by the end of the year.

Officials used drones to map the settlements.

“What may have takes us years to do, we have done in a few months,” G. Mathi Vathanan, the state housing department commissioner, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation last week.

Land records across the country date back to the British colonial era, and most holdings have uncertain ownership, leading to fraud and lengthy disputes that often end in court.

Officials in Mumbai, where about 60 percent of the population lives in informal settlements, are also mapping slums with drones. Maharashtra state, where the city is located, is launching a similar exercise for rural land holdings.

In the southern city of Bengaluru, a seven-year study that recently concluded used satellite imaging and machine learning.

The study recorded about 2,000 informal settlements, compared with fewer than 600 in government records.

“Understanding human settlement patterns in rapidly urbanizing cities is important because of the stress on civic resources and public utilities,” said Nikhil Kaza, an associate professor at the University of North Carolina.

“Geospatial analysis can help identify stress zones, and allow civic authorities to focus their efforts in localized areas,” said Kaza, who analyzed the Bengaluru data.

About a third of the world’s urban population lives in informal settlements, according to United Nations data.

These settlements may account for 30 percent to 60 percent of housing in cities, yet they are generally undercounted, resulting in a lack of essential services, which can exacerbate poverty.

Identifying and monitoring settlements with traditional approaches such as door-to-door surveys is costly and time consuming. As technology gets cheaper, officials from Nairobi to Mumbai are using satellite images and drones instead.

About 65 million people live in India’s slums, according to census data, which activists say is a low estimate.

Lack of data can result in tenure insecurity, as only residents of “notified” slums – or those that are formally recognized – can receive property titles.

Lack of data also leads to poor policy because slums are “not homogenous,” said Anirudh Krishna, a professor at Duke University who led the Bengaluru study.

Some slums “are more likely to need water and sanitation facilities, while better off slums may require skills and entrepreneurship interventions,” he said.

“Lack of information on the nature and diversity of informal settlements is an important limitation in developing appropriate policies aimed at improving the lives of the urban poor.”
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From: MeNeedIt

The happy shouts of children participating in a summer soccer camp emanate from the Tubman Elementary School playing field in Washington D.C.

Pay-to-play soccer structures can make it challenging for kids from low-income families to play competitive, organized soccer in the United States. DC Scores, a nonprofit organization, tries to help level the playing field by offering free high-quality soccer camps like this one to disadvantaged children.

“DC Scores has given me lots of chances in life,” says Christopher, 10, who has been with DC Scores for three years.

DC Scores provides various opportunities to children from low-income families, serving close to 3,000 kids annually. Its programs can be found in more than 42 designated Title I schools in the Washington area. Schools receive Title I classification when they serve a large number of children from low-income families.

Students between the third and eighth grades can join DC Scores’ after-school programs at their respective elementary and middle schools. In fall and spring, participants practice soccer twice a week and have a game at the end of the school week.

On non-soccer days, kids either write slam poetry or participate in service learning projects such as neighborhood cleanups, awareness campaigns, or raising money for the homeless.

During the summer, camps run for six weeks. DC Scores also offers outside opportunities for its participants to join competitive teams.

Meaningful partnerships

Christopher, who skillfully dribbles down the field, bypassing four players on the opposing team to score a goal, is considered one of the most talented players by coaches, who say the boy has a knack for scoring goals.

“They gave me the chance to practice with D.C. United,” Christopher says when discussing soccer opportunities in the program.

DC Scores has an official partnership with D.C. United, Washington’s professional soccer club, and DC Scores’ participants have attended D.C. United tryouts.

The non-profit also has a partnership with the Stoddert Club, a youth travel and recreational soccer club in the nation’s capital that offers financial assistance to DC Scores kids who wish to play in their league.

These partnerships enable DC Scores participants to pursue soccer more seriously if they choose to. However, the organization’s impact stretches way beyond the soccer field.

Challenging start in life

Some of the Individuals who participate in DC Scores come from unstable homes.

“Twenty percent of kids in the program move houses during the year,” says Bethany Henderson, executive director of DC Scores.

Rob was accepted into the program as an elementary school student. He’s now on the DC Scores coaching staff and expects to join a semi-professional team.

“I grew up in a broken home. DC Scores provided me with a way out…There are lots of drugs in these areas,” he says, adding that, for many kids, this is their first time playing sports in an organized environment.

“To have that little structure, I think the majority of our kids haven’t had that before joining our program,” says Michael Goldstein, director of marketing and communications.

Mentors For life

DC Scores places a strong emphasis on building strong relationships between coaches and players. Every year, coaches receive 17 hours of soccer and youth development training.

“The priority of this training is to ensure DC Scores kids build deep relationships with their coaches,” says Henderson, the DC Scores executive director.

Coach Popsie Lewis stands out among his peers in this regard. In 2016, he was selected as a 2016 MLS WORKS Community MVP for his mentorship efforts.

“Moments like that tell you to keep doing what you are doing,” Lewis says.

A widely popular coach in the program, Lewis is adored by players for his ability to connect with them.

“He has charisma and an ability to make anyone feel comfortable. He’s got that special something that draws people to him,” says Goldstein. “When they go to high school, he continues to keep in touch and serve as a mentor for his kids.”

Shared experiences

“One of my favorite things about DC Scores is being able to make new friends from new teams,” says Christopher, the talented 10-year-old who has been in the program for three years.

In general, there is a strong camaraderie among DC Scores kids.

“DC Scores is like a brotherhood. Once a part of DC Scores, always a part of it,” says Rob.

Henderson isn’t surprised that the children develop a huge attachment to the program.

“By designing a fun and safe space for the kids, DC Scores becomes an important part of kid’s identity,” she says.
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From: MeNeedIt

It would be easy to imagine yourself in a tropical jungle when you walk into Ed Willis’ store. The room is filled with whistles, chirps and shrieks, made by dozens of bright-colored parrots, from chatty cockatoos to giant macaws to tiny parakeets.

In case you’re still not sure what’s for sale here, the store is called “Parrots, Parrots, Parrots, just Parrots.” Opened in 1988, it is one of just two shops in the D.C. area that specialize exclusively in parrots, which have become the third most popular pet in America.

Ed Willis got his first parrot when he was 18, and never spent another day without one. He says parrots make wonderful pets and get very emotionally attached to people. He calls it a unique partnership. “They are independent, but they are still needy. They are happy to see you when you come home. It’s a really special pet relationship.”

However, not everyone is a good candidate for that relationship. These intelligent, playful and social birds need — and demand — daily interaction and mental stimulation. With a lifespan of 50 years or longer, parrots often outlive their owners. Even if they don’t, many end up abandoned when an owner has to move, gets married and has children, or simply loses interest in the parrot as a pet. Since parrots bond with their owners, they suffer immensely when surrendered to a rescue or put up for sale. Having a parrot is a multi-decade, potentially life-long commitment.

 
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From: MeNeedIt

Japanese scientists said Monday they will start clinical trials next month on a treatment for Parkinson’s disease, transplanting “reprogrammed” stem cells into brains, seeking a breakthrough in treating the neurodegenerative disorder.

Parkinson’s is caused by a lack of dopamine made by brain cells, and researchers have long hoped to use stem cells to restore normal production of the neurotransmitter chemical.

The clinical trials come after researchers at Japan’s Kyoto University successfully used human-induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) to restore functioning brain cells in monkeys last year.

So-called iPS cells are made by removing mature cells from an individual — often from the skin or blood — and reprogramming them to behave like embryonic stem cells. They can then be coaxed into dopamine-producing brain cells.

“This will be the world’s first clinical trial using iPS cells on Parkinson’s disease,” Jun Takahashi, professor at Kyoto University’s Centre for iPS Cell Research and Application, told a news conference.

The center is headed by Shinya Yamanaka, who in 2012 shared a Nobel Prize for medicine with a British scientist, John Gurdon, for the discovery that adult cells can be transformed back into embryo-like cells.

“We intend to carry on conducting our research carefully, yet expeditiously, in coordination with Kyoto University Hospital, so that new treatment using iPS cells will be brought to patients as soon as possible,” Yamanaka said in a statement.

The fact that the clinical trial uses iPS cells rather than human embryonic cells means the treatment would be acceptable in countries such as Ireland and much of Latin America, where embryonic cells are banned.
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From: MeNeedIt

America’s dream of space exploration took its first official step 60 years ago Sunday when President Dwight Eisenhower signed a law authorizing the formation of NASA – the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Although humanity had been staring at the stars and wondering since they were living in caves, it took the Cold War to fire man into space.

The world was stunned when the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957, launched Sputnik — the first man-made object to orbit the Earth.

The United States was humiliated at being caught short — not just technologically, but militarily.

Eisenhower ordered government scientists to not only match the Soviets in space, but beat them.

NASA and its various projects — Mercury, Gemini and Apollo — became part of the language.

Just 11 years after Eisenhower authorized NASA, American astronaut Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. Six year later, an Apollo spacecraft linked with a Soviet Soyuz in orbit, turning rivalry into friendship and cooperation.

NASA followed that triumph with the space shuttle, Mars landers and contributions to the International Space Station. A manned mission to Mars is part of NASA’s future plans.

Last month, President Donald Trump called for the formation of a “space force” to be the sixth U.S. military branch.

NASA officially celebrates its 60th anniversary on October 1 – the day the agency formally opened for business.

 
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From: MeNeedIt

A new initiative in the Chilean capital of Santiago is making some of the city’s dramatic street murals more accessible to visually disabled people by offering them a tactile representation of the artwork. VOA’s Mariama Diallo has more.
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From: MeNeedIt

Agriculture ministers from the G-20 countries criticized protectionism in a joint statement Saturday and vowed to reform World Trade Organization (WTO)

rules, but did not detail what steps they would take to improve the food trade system.

In the statement, they said they were “concerned about the increasing use of protectionist nontariff trade measures, inconsistently with WTO rules.”

The ministers from countries including the United States and China, in Buenos Aires for the G-20 meeting of agriculture ministers, said in the statement they had affirmed their commitment not to adopt “unnecessary obstacles” to trade, and affirmed their rights and obligations under WTO agreements.

The meeting came amid rising trade tensions that have rocked agricultural markets. China and other top U.S. trade partners have placed retaliatory tariffs on American farmers after the Trump administration put duties on Chinese goods as well as steel and aluminum from the European Union, Canada and Mexico.

U.S. growers are expected to take an estimated $11 billion hit due to China’s retaliatory tariffs. Last week, the Trump administration said it would pay up to $12 billion to help farmers weather the trade war.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the meeting that Trump’s plan would include between $7 billion and $8 billion in direct cash relief that U.S. farmers could see as early as late September.

Despite the payments, the measures are “not going to make farmers whole,” Perdue said.

Citing the Trump administration’s relief measures, German Agriculture Minister Julia Kloeckner said farmers “don’t need aid, [they] need trade.”

“We had a very frank discussion about the fact that we don’t want unilateral protectionist measures,” Kloeckner said in a news conference after the meeting.

The ministers, whose countries represent 60 percent of the world’s agricultural land and 80 percent of food and agricultural commodities trade, did not specify which measures they were referring to in the statement. Asked for details, Kloeckner said the ministers did not want to “criticize a single

country.”

“We all know what happens if a single person or country doesn’t adhere to WTO rules, trying to get a benefit for themselves through protectionism,” she said. “This will usually lead to retaliatory tariffs.”

In the statement, the ministers said they agreed to continue reforming the WTO’s agricultural trade rules.

“Independent of all the news there was surrounding [the meeting], we managed to reach a unanimous consensus,” Argentine Agriculture Minister Luis Miguel Etchevehere said.

U.S. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker struck a surprise deal on Wednesday that ended the risk of further escalating trade tensions between the two powers.

After the meeting, Trump said the European Union would buy “a lot” of U.S. soybeans.

Earlier, Kloeckner told Reuters that the trade relationship between the United States and the European Union was improving, but that there was no guarantee the bloc would import the quantity of soybeans that Washington expects.
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From: MeNeedIt