World

22 OCT 2019 By sifting through pig faeces, scientists in Japan have discovered a new type of virus that could challenge the already complicated notions of how we categorise what viruses are, and what they can do. Unlike living organisms that fall within the three ‘domains of life’ – bacteria, archaea, and …

20 oct 2019 Qatar has announced reforms aimed at ending the kafala system and therefore upholding the rights of migrant workers. “Kafala” is an Arabic word which means “sponsorship.” Kafala is unique to the Middle East. The Kafala system allows nationals to employ non-Gulf nationals. The power is entirely in …

19 oct 2019 MSC has announced it will not use the Northern Sea Route between Europe and Asia for container shipping. The announcement follows similar ones made by Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM. MSC says is convinced that the 21 million containers it moves each year can be transported around the world without …

16 oct 2019 On Wednesday, IBM announced that it is joining an effort to build an autonomous research vessel for a transatlantic crossing. In honor of the fourth centennial of the famous voyage of settlers from England to the Americas, it will be named the Mayflower.  The five-ton, wing sail/solar/diesel powered …

15 oct 2019 A new IMO resolution will allow projects for subsea CO2 sequestration to be shared across national boundaries Parties to the London Protocol agreed last week that trans-boundary export of carbon dioxide (CO2) for the purpose of carbon capture and storage (CCS or sequestration) can now be provisionally …

14 oct 2019 Iranian state news outlet Shana has released its first images of the damage to the tanker Sabiti, which suffered two explosions and two hull breaches on Friday. The managing director of the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran, Mohammad Rastad, told state media on Monday that the …

13 0ct 2019 The Ballast Water Management Convention amendments formalizing the implementation schedule for the D-2 standard entered into force on October 13. The International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004 (the BWM Convention) entered into force in 2017. The amendments formalize an …

09 OCT 2019 We all know by now that eating less meat is good for the planet – the production of meat products for human consumption leaves behind a hefty carbon footprint. Now scientists have worked out a very simple way that canteens in schools and colleges could greatly reduce the …

07 OCT 2019 We know that our planet has experienced warmer periods in the past, during the Pliocene geological epoch around three million years ago. Our research, published today, shows that up to one third of Antarctica’s ice sheet melted during this period, causing sea levels to rise by as much as 20 …

05 oct 2019 North Korea announced Thursday (03 Oct 2019) that its defense scientists have conducted an underwater launch test of a new submarine-launched ballistic missile. U.S. officials have confirmed the trial. The newly developed missile, the Pukguksong-3, is believed to have a range of up to 1,000 nm. The test …