Wednesday, 23 January, 2019

WWF Report: Half of Global Wildlife Lost

Posted on Thursday, 2 October, 2014Sunday, 20 August, 2017 by Zheluo Cai

The 2014 Living Planet Report, World Wildlife Fund’s biennial flagship publication, was released this week. The warning bell is loud and clear, that between 1970 and 2010, populations of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish around the globe dropped 52 percent. This regrettable state of affairs is not new, when the chair of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services warned two years ago, that the world is loosing species at a rate that is 100 to 1,000 times faster than the natural extinction rate. This biodiversity loss occurs disproportionately in low-income countries, and correlates with the increasing resource use of high-income countries.

Read a summary of the Report here:

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/sep/29/earth-lost-50-wildlife-in-40-years-wwf

Download the full 2014 Living Planet Report here:

http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/all_publications/living_planet_report/

Credits: National Geographic

Watch - Yellow Fever in Nigeria Friday, 18 January, 2019
A large, ongoing outbreak of yellow fever in Nigeria began in September 2017. The outbreak is now spread throughout the country. Travelers going to Nigeria should receive vaccination against yellow fever at least 10 days before travel and should take steps to prevent mosquito bites while there.
Alert - Ebola in Democratic Republic of the Congo Thursday, 17 January, 2019
There is an outbreak of Ebola in the North Kivu (Kivu Nord) and Ituri provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

ASTRONOMY PICTURE OF THE DAY: The Magnificent Horsehead Nebula. Image Credit & Copyright: Marco Burali, Tiziano Capecchi, Marco Mancini (Osservatorio MTM). Sculpted by stellar winds and radiation, a magnificent interstellar dust cloud by chance has assumed this recognizable shape of the Horsehead Nebula, it is some 1,500 light-years distant, embedded in the vast Orion cloud complex. 5 light-years “tall,” the dark cloud is catalogued as Barnard 33. Its obscuring dust is silhouetted against the glowing red emission nebula IC 434, with stars are forming within the dark cloud.

IMAGO DEI: The Maranao are the largest of the Muslim cultural-linguistic groups of the Philippines. They live around Lake Lanao on the southern island of Mindanao, and rice farming is their main livelihood, along with metalworking and woodworking handicrafts. Land is owned by the clan and controlled by local leaders known as datus. The customs of marriage and the family are Islāmic. The languages of all the Muslim groups are closely related to the Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian) family of languages.

Haiti - Level 3: Reconsider Travel Friday, 18 January, 2019
Last Update: Reissued with updates to U.S. government restrictions on personnel. Reconsider travel to Haiti due to crime and civil unrest. Protests, tire burning, and road blockages are frequent and unpredictable. Violent crime, such as armed robbery, is common. Local police may lack the resources to respond effectively to serious criminal incidents, and emergency response, including […]
Venezuela - Level 3: Reconsider Travel Wednesday, 16 January, 2019
Last Update: Reissued after periodic review with updates to information on consular access and neighborhoods within Caracas. Reconsider travel to Venezuela due to crime, civil unrest, poor health infrastructure, and arbitrary arrest and detention of U.S. citizens. Some areas have increased risk. Read the entire Travel Advisory. Do not travel: On roads after dark outside […]

Kenya Monday, 21 January, 2019
Latest update: Summary - update on the 15-16 January terrorist attack at the 14 Riverside complex in Nairobi, removing information about the immediate security response at the scene
GOV.UK
Nigeria Monday, 21 January, 2019
Latest update: Summary and Safety and security section (Local travel) - updated information on safety and security; there have been recent attacks in Baga, Monguno, Damasak and Rann in Borno State; further attacks are likely; we advise against all travel to Borno State
GOV.UK

WORK OF ART: This ancient Byzantine Nativity picture, Mosaics of the Capella Palatina in Palermo, Sicily, has survived as a fresco made from coloured glass and stone fragments, on a high wall, and hence not subject to damp or vandals. Dated 1150 AD, the artist is simply labelled as Master of the Palace Chapel. Mary and Jesus are central in this composite picture, surrounded by singing angels, shepherds with gifts, the Three Wise Men, a perturbed Joseph waking from his dream of danger, and Salome and the midwife.