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NATION/WORLD China reports first human infected with H3N8 bird flu strain In this Oct. 21, 2015, file photo, cage-free chickens walk in a fenced pasture at an organic farm near Waukon, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File) by: Olafimihan Oshin,  The Hill via Nexstar Media Wire Posted:  Apr 27, 2022 / 12:22 PM PDT Updated:  Apr 27, 2022 / 12:22 PM PDT SHARE The Hill ) – Chinese officials have reported the first human infected with the H3N8 bird flu strain, which has been detected in horses, dogs and even seals. In a statement  on Tuesday, China’s National Health Commission (NHC) said the flu variant was found in a 4-year-old child living in Zhumadian City in the Henan Province. The health agency said the child started to develop fever and other symptoms on April 5 and was admitted to a local medical facility five days later due to the severity of his condition.  The patient lived on a farm where he frequently came into contact with chickens, the health agency said. Though experts sa

New Ebola case confirmed in northwestern Congo, health authorities say Reuters FILE PHOTO - A WWF billboard listing protected species stands in front of a bushmeat market in Mbandaka, Democratic Republic of the Congo, October 19, 2018. REUTERS/Thomas Nicolon KINSHASA, April 23 (Reuters) - A new case of Ebola has been confirmed in northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo, prompting health authorities to enforce urgent containment measures just four months after the previous outbreak came to an end. The case, a 31-year old male, was detected in the city of Mbandaka, capital of Congo's Equateur province. Around 74 of his contacts are being tracked, the health ministry said in a statement. The patient began showing symptoms on April 5, but did not seek treatment for more than a week, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement. He was admitted to an Ebola treatment centre on April 21 and died later that day. "Time is not on our side," said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, th

Rider Both Beneficiaries and Targets of New ACT Road Laws By   Scott Green New ACT road safety regulations are intended to protect riders and pedestrians, as well as encourage safe riding practices on public roads Canberra, ACT New road safety laws in the ACT will provide added protection for cyclists and other micromobility users, but will also subject them to greater regulation. The regulations,  announced by the ACT Transport Minister Chris Steel last week , were intended to protect riders and pedestrians, but also to encourage safe riding practices on public roads. He said the Road Transport Legislation Amendment Bill No. 1 sought to “keep Canberrans safe by encouraging responsible and considerate behaviour on the road – whether driving, walking, cycling or scooting”. “Importantly, they will apply to personal mobility devices like e-scooters, as well as other vehicles,” he said. “In preparing for the city-wide roll out of shared e-scooters, we’ve heard that Canberrans want a cleare

Iran ratifies agreement on international road transport of hazardous materials Agreement ratified after 168 members of parliament vote in favor of it Ahmet Dursun   | 07.04.2022 FILE PHOTO ANKARA  Iran’s parliament on Wednesday ratified the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road. The agreement was ratified by a parliamentary vote with 168 members voting yes, Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB reported. A total of 203 deputies attended Wednesday’s voting session. Speaking to local media on the adoption of the agreement, the speaker of the Parliamentary Civil Commission, Elburz Huseyni, said the ratification of the agreement is important for Iran, which is a country of transit for international transportation. The agreement, which was accepted by 52 countries including Turkiye, aims for the safe transportation of hazardous materials without harming human health, other living things and the natural environment.

  African Cities Taking on Road Safety By Celal Tolga Imamoglu , Iman Abubaker , Emmerentian Mbabazi , Nii Darko Darko , Anna Oursler and Jiregna Hirp Recent progress in Addis Ababa, Accra, Kampala and Kumasi shows growing momentum in Africa for improvements to road safety laws and enforcement, and policies to promote safer walking and cycling. Photo by Zahara Milele/WRI While road safety is a critical issue across the globe as more cars hit the road and more people move to cities, African cities are disproportionately affected. Africa is the least motorized region globally, yet has the highest road traffic fatality rates. 650 people die on Africa’s roads every day, and 39% of fatalities are among pedestrians and other vulnerable road users. The numbers are especially bad for young people; a child in Africa is twice as likely to die on the road than a child in any other part of the world. A k

  South African tech could revolutionise road safety Rual de Vries 2 April 2022       The University of Pretoria’s Civil Engineering department is experimenting with Internet of Things (IoT) technology that could provide an early warning system for dangerous road conditions. UP civil engineering department head professor Wynand Steyn says that South African authorities could use IoT network systems to sense early signs of hazardous road conditions. Steyn and his team visited MyBroadband to showcase their work. He explained that in an area like Chapman’s Peak Drive, where heavy rainfall often leads to loose debris on the road, a grid of accelerometers and moisture sensors could detect when a slope failure might likely occur. Authorities could then close the area off in time to implement risk control strategies and prevent unnecessary accidents. Steyn’s team has also used sensors embedded in the road to study the thermal characteristics of paving materials and investigate

ECOSYSTEM DYNAMICS OF HYDROTHERMAL VENT COMMUNITIES CRUISES Credits: Dr Charles Fisher and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, SOI, and Dr Cherisse Du Preez In the deep sea, hydrothermal vents are biologically important, harboring massive animal communities at densities that make them one of the most productive ecosystems on Earth. All this biomass exists thousands of feet below the sea surface and, unlike most communities, which rely on sunlight, the food web of hydrothermal vents is based on tiny chemosynthetic microbes (bacteria) which derive their energy from “breathing” vented chemicals. Hydrothermal vents typically arise where the movement of the plates that make up the surface of the Earth split and fissure, allowing geothermally heated water to escape through the planet’s crust (chemically enriched water that may reach temperatures of over 640°F). Spreading centers in Western Pacific back-arc basins are geologically unique and the frequency of their tectonic or volcanic events

  Stakeholders discuss African ports and the role of the blue economy in integration Stakeholders discuss African ports and the role of the blue economy in integration The African Natural Resources Center of the African Development Bank brought together a range of stakeholders on 30 March to explore ways to integrate African ports more effectively into the blue economy. Participants at the meeting—including representatives of the African Development Bank, the African Union Development Agency, governments, and regional bodies—agreed on the pressing need to develop national strategies to harness the blue economy. There was also consensus that ports, as a locus of many blue economy activities, should be an integral part of such a strategy. The blue economy approach promotes the sustainable use and management of marine and coastal spaces and resources for economic growth. The concept covers fisheries, aquaculture, maritime transport, tourism, and offshore energy, among other s