21 july 2019 Iran’s military has released footage showing its elite Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Special Forces impounding the British-flagged tanker Stena Impero in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday. A second tanker, Mesdar, was also boarded briefly. Iran says the vessel was failing to respect international maritime laws in the Persian Gulf, with …
Read More »ILLICIT TRADE COMPROMISING ALL 17 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
21 july 2019 The Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade (TRACIT) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) have demonstrated how progress on the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is inhibited by illicit trade in some of the world’s most important economic sectors. “From smuggling, counterfeiting and …
Read More »WHY DO WE NAME TROPICAL STORMS AND HURRICANES?
20 JULY 2019 Until the early 1950s, tropical storms and hurricanes were tracked by year and the order in which they occurred during that year. Over time, it was learned that the use of short, easily remembered names in written as well as spoken communications is quicker and reduces confusion …
Read More »IRAN CLAIMS TO HAVE SEIZED STENA TANKER
19 JULY 2019 Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Friday they had captured a British-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf after Britain seized an Iranian vessel this month, ratcheting up tension along a vital international oil shipping route. Britain said it was urgently seeking information about the Stena Impero after the …
Read More »BREXIT UNCERTAINTY DRIVING SHIPOWNERS TO DITCH UK FLAG
18 JULY 2019 Uncertainty around Brexit may be making its mark, but the loss of vessels this year from the UK Ship Register may also be due to the requirement for vessel operators to comply with EU maritime regulations. According to figures from VesselsValue.com (VV), 234 vessels have reflagged from …
Read More »GHOSTS’ OF 2 UNKNOWN EXTINCT HUMAN SPECIES HAVE BEEN FOUND IN MODERN DNA
17 JUL 2019 When modern humans started emerging from Africa and spreading throughout Eurasia, they found many places already occupied by older hominids such as Neanderthals and Denisovans. As humans do, we got rather friendly with our new neighbours: evidence of that hanky panky lives on in our DNA today. But …
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