Stories for February 2020

Saturday, February 1st 2020 - 08:45 UTC
How we recruited albatrosses to patrol the high seas for illegal fishers

By Samantha Patrick (*) – Wandering albatrosses have long been considered exceptional creatures. They can fly 8.5 million kilometers during their lifetimes – the equivalent of flying to the Moon and back more than ten times. Their three-and-a-half-meter wing span is the same length as a small car and they can weigh as much as 24 puffins. Their body shape means they can effortlessly glide over the ocean waves, flying in some of the strongest winds on Earth. Now research led by the Centre d'études biologiques de Chizé in France has found that these seabirds may have promising careers in the fight against overfishing.
Saturday, February 1st 2020 - 08:43 UTC
Facebook to down misinformation about China's fast spreading coronavirus

Facebook said it will take down misinformation about China's fast-spreading coronavirus in a rare departure from its approach to health content, after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a global health emergency.
Saturday, February 1st 2020 - 08:43 UTC
Chile unemployment rose to 7% in the last quarter of 2019

Chile’s jobless rate rose to 7.0% during the October to December period, the government said on Friday, an early, but still tepid, sign of the potential impact of two months of unrest in late 2019.
Saturday, February 1st 2020 - 08:42 UTC
Argentine squid catches during January below 2018/19 averages

The first report of squid catches from the Argentine season, south of parallel 44, indicate that daily averages were below those of similar seasons in 2018 and 2019. The INIDEP report, ”Argentine Squid, Season 2020, Report to 27 January (four weeks)” shows that the 58-jigger fleet caught some 10.649 tons, with average catches during weeks 2 and 4, of 17 and 27 tons per day, below the 32 to 40 tons per day in 2018 and 2019.
Saturday, February 1st 2020 - 08:35 UTC
Surge of “family farmer” bankruptcies in US; 2019 was the highest in eight years

U.S. farm bankruptcy rates jumped 20% in 2019 - to an eight-year high - as financial woes in the U.S. agricultural economy continued in spite of massive federal bail-out funding, according to federal court data.
Saturday, February 1st 2020 - 08:31 UTC
Scotland votes for independence referendum; EU flag will remain flying outside Holyrood

Scotland’s Parliament voted this week ahead of Friday, to hold a new referendum on Scottish independence, a move intended to increase political pressure on the British government as the UK leaves the European Union.
Saturday, February 1st 2020 - 08:30 UTC
“We must stand up for Europe, otherwise at some point we won’t have it any more”

Britain’s departure from the European Union shows the bloc must deliver for its citizens and its leaders must stand up for the project or else risk it failing, the head of the European Union’s executive, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Friday.
Saturday, February 1st 2020 - 08:27 UTC
Boris Johnson confident that “we can turn this opportunity into a stunning success”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Brexit offers Britain an opportunity for “renewal and change” as he called on the divided nation to pull together in an address ahead of its split with the European Union.
Saturday, February 1st 2020 - 08:23 UTC
Brexit is a “historic warning sign”, the reaction from Paris on EU reforms

Brexit is a “historic warning sign” for the European Union, French President Emmanuel Macron said hours before Britain's departure from the EU, adding that it meant “we need more Europe”.
Saturday, February 1st 2020 - 08:20 UTC
Trump's acquittal of the impeachment trial any moment with solid Republican Senators' support

The US Senate on Friday voted against calling witnesses and collecting new evidence in President Donald Trump's impeachment trial, clearing the way for Trump's likely acquittal in the coming days.