Graphic News Planner (news) 15/10/2021 18:12:01
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SPACE: Lucy asteroid mission (Graphic)
October 16, 2021 -- Nasa is gearing up to launch the Lucy mission on Saturday for a voyage that could revolutionise our knowledge of planetary origins and the formation of the solar system.
Lucy aims to sweep past seven of the countless Trojan asteroids that precede and trail Jupiter in the giant gas planet’s path around the sun.
Trapped in place by the gravitational forces of Jupiter and the sun, the Trojans are believed to be the cosmic leftovers from when the outer planets were forming.
Three flybys of Earth will be needed as gravity slingshots in order for Lucy to reach both of Jupiter’s Trojan swarms by the time the mission is set to end in 2033.
“The Lucy fossil really transformed our understanding of human evolution, and that’s what we want to do is transform our understanding of solar system evolution by looking at all these different objects,” said Southwest Research Institute’s Cathy Olkin, the deputy principal scientist who proposed the spacecraft's name.
SPACE: Lucy asteroid mission (Graphic)
GN41892 Graphic shows specifications of the Lucy mission.
(107mm wide by 158mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
Lucy aims to sweep past seven of the countless Trojan asteroids that precede and trail Jupiter in the giant gas planet’s path around the sun.
Trapped in place by the gravitational forces of Jupiter and the sun, the Trojans are believed to be the cosmic leftovers from when the outer planets were forming.
Three flybys of Earth will be needed as gravity slingshots in order for Lucy to reach both of Jupiter’s Trojan swarms by the time the mission is set to end in 2033.
“The Lucy fossil really transformed our understanding of human evolution, and that’s what we want to do is transform our understanding of solar system evolution by looking at all these different objects,” said Southwest Research Institute’s Cathy Olkin, the deputy principal scientist who proposed the spacecraft's name.
SPACE: Lucy asteroid mission (Graphic)
GN41892 Graphic shows specifications of the Lucy mission.
(107mm wide by 158mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
CLIMATE: COP26 – China’s coal power plant building spree (Graphic)
October 31 - November 12, 2021 -- China continues to build coal-fired power plants to fuel its growing economy, at a rate that outpaces the rest of the world combined.
Coal lies at the heart of China’s industrial economy which includes mining, manufacturing, construction, and of course the creation of power.
In 2019, 58% of the country’s total energy consumption came from coal – explaining why China accounts for 28% of all global CO2 emissions.
China is building coal-fired power plants at a rate that outpaces the rest of the world combined. In 2020, China brought 38.4 gigawatts of new coal-fired power into operation – three times what was brought online anywhere else on Earth.
Their continued reliance on coal highlights the gulf between a goal of building economic growth to improve living standards for 1.44 billion people, and a desire to cut CO2 emissions.
Whether China can flatten its carbon emissions in the next decade remains to be seen.
CLIMATE: COP26 – China’s coal power plant building spree (Graphic)
GN41893 Graphic charts China’s staggering programme of building coal-fired power plants.
(107mm by 111mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
Coal lies at the heart of China’s industrial economy which includes mining, manufacturing, construction, and of course the creation of power.
In 2019, 58% of the country’s total energy consumption came from coal – explaining why China accounts for 28% of all global CO2 emissions.
China is building coal-fired power plants at a rate that outpaces the rest of the world combined. In 2020, China brought 38.4 gigawatts of new coal-fired power into operation – three times what was brought online anywhere else on Earth.
Their continued reliance on coal highlights the gulf between a goal of building economic growth to improve living standards for 1.44 billion people, and a desire to cut CO2 emissions.
Whether China can flatten its carbon emissions in the next decade remains to be seen.
CLIMATE: COP26 – China’s coal power plant building spree (Graphic)
GN41893 Graphic charts China’s staggering programme of building coal-fired power plants.
(107mm by 111mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
AVIATION: Boeing 787 struggles (Graphic)
October 15, 2021 -- Boeing has found a defect in the strength of titanium parts in its Dreamliner 787, the latest problem plaguing its wide-body aircraft production.
Boeing’s 787 is its first new commercial plane in more than a decade. It is the first passenger plane made mainly with carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic composites that weigh less than aluminium. Titanium is used primarily for engines and fasteners -- bolts used inside the fuselage to fasten titanium structures to the plastic composite.
On Thursday (October 14), The Wall Street Journal reported that Boeing is dealing with “certain titanium parts that are weaker than they should be.” The problem has affected 787 jets built over the past three years.
The apparent titanium defect is the latest evidence that Boeing is still struggling to fix production issues. Boeing suspended deliveries in May due to production problems. Dreamliner deliveries were also interrupted for much of the past year, including last October and March, after Boeing uncovered manufacturing defects in the horizontal stabiliser. Up to 893 aircraft are affected by this flaw.
In July, the company announced that it had spotted additional problems near the nose of the plane -- in the forward pressure bulkhead -- and is working to fix them.
A total of 106 Dreamliners worth some $25 billion remained in Boeing’s inventory last month following months of delivery delays.
AVIATION: Boeing 787 struggles (Graphic)
GN41896 Graphic shows problems that have affected Dreamliner production.
(107mm by 154mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
Boeing’s 787 is its first new commercial plane in more than a decade. It is the first passenger plane made mainly with carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic composites that weigh less than aluminium. Titanium is used primarily for engines and fasteners -- bolts used inside the fuselage to fasten titanium structures to the plastic composite.
On Thursday (October 14), The Wall Street Journal reported that Boeing is dealing with “certain titanium parts that are weaker than they should be.” The problem has affected 787 jets built over the past three years.
The apparent titanium defect is the latest evidence that Boeing is still struggling to fix production issues. Boeing suspended deliveries in May due to production problems. Dreamliner deliveries were also interrupted for much of the past year, including last October and March, after Boeing uncovered manufacturing defects in the horizontal stabiliser. Up to 893 aircraft are affected by this flaw.
In July, the company announced that it had spotted additional problems near the nose of the plane -- in the forward pressure bulkhead -- and is working to fix them.
A total of 106 Dreamliners worth some $25 billion remained in Boeing’s inventory last month following months of delivery delays.
AVIATION: Boeing 787 struggles (Graphic)
GN41896 Graphic shows problems that have affected Dreamliner production.
(107mm by 154mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
RUSSIA: Largest peacetime population decline (Graphic)
October 14, 2021 -- Russia has undergone its largest peacetime population decline in recorded history over the last 12 months, according to an analysis of official government statistics.
Russia’s natural population – determined by the difference between the country’s death rate and birth rate – declined by 997,000 between October 2020 and September 2021, demographer Alexei Raksha calculated.
The sharp fall comes as Russia, which has one of the world’s highest Covid-19 death tolls, battles a fourth wave of the pandemic. The country has recorded at least 660,000 excess deaths since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
RUSSIA: Largest peacetime population decline (Graphic)
GN41888 Graphic shows decline in Russia’s natural population.
(107mm by 130mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
Russia’s natural population – determined by the difference between the country’s death rate and birth rate – declined by 997,000 between October 2020 and September 2021, demographer Alexei Raksha calculated.
The sharp fall comes as Russia, which has one of the world’s highest Covid-19 death tolls, battles a fourth wave of the pandemic. The country has recorded at least 660,000 excess deaths since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
RUSSIA: Largest peacetime population decline (Graphic)
GN41888 Graphic shows decline in Russia’s natural population.
(107mm by 130mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
CLIMATE: COP26 – Glasgow security restrictions (Graphic)
October 31 - November 12, 2021 -- The COP26 conference aims to address global warming and avert a climate catastrophe. It takes place in Scotland’s most populous city, Glasgow, where much of the West End will be closed off from October 31 to November 12.
During COP26, 200 countries will be asked what their plans are to cut emissions by 2030.
In 2015, most nations agreed to make changes to keep global warming below 2°C above pre-industrial levels – and to try and aim for 1.5°C – thus avoiding a forecast climate catastrophe. This meeting has become widely known as the “Paris Agreement”.
The world is becoming warmer, largely because of fossil fuel emissions caused by humans. As a result, extreme weather events linked to climate change such as heatwaves, floods and forest fires are becoming more and more common.
China’s commitment in particular is crucial as it is the world’s biggest polluter due to its reliance and investment in coal power stations.
Australia too is the world’s top coal exporter, and although outwardly accepting the Paris Agreement, it has since resisted committing to net-zero by 2050, unlike the UK and United States.
Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison, has even cast doubt on attending the event at all, and has been criticised for showing a lack of enthusiasm for tackling climate change.
CLIMATE: COP26 – Glasgow security restrictions (Graphic)
GN41880 Graphic shows the security restrictions in place around COP26.
(163mm by 222mm deep) View graphic
During COP26, 200 countries will be asked what their plans are to cut emissions by 2030.
In 2015, most nations agreed to make changes to keep global warming below 2°C above pre-industrial levels – and to try and aim for 1.5°C – thus avoiding a forecast climate catastrophe. This meeting has become widely known as the “Paris Agreement”.
The world is becoming warmer, largely because of fossil fuel emissions caused by humans. As a result, extreme weather events linked to climate change such as heatwaves, floods and forest fires are becoming more and more common.
China’s commitment in particular is crucial as it is the world’s biggest polluter due to its reliance and investment in coal power stations.
Australia too is the world’s top coal exporter, and although outwardly accepting the Paris Agreement, it has since resisted committing to net-zero by 2050, unlike the UK and United States.
Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison, has even cast doubt on attending the event at all, and has been criticised for showing a lack of enthusiasm for tackling climate change.
CLIMATE: COP26 – Glasgow security restrictions (Graphic)
GN41880 Graphic shows the security restrictions in place around COP26.
(163mm by 222mm deep) View graphic
CLIMATE: COP26 – Net zero emissions (Graphic)
October 31 - November 12, 2021 -- The world needs to triple investment in clean, renewable energy sources by the end of the decade to avert catastrophic climate change, the International Energy Agency warns.
“The world is not investing enough to meet its future energy needs,” the Paris-based watchdog said in its World Energy Outlook. The report comes ahead of the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow, Scotland.
Fossil fuels, coal, natural gas and oil made up nearly 80 per cent of the world energy supply in 2020 and renewables just 12 per cent.
The IEA’s ambitious Net Zero Emissions (NZE) scenario envisions fossil fuels shrinking to below a quarter of the mix by 2050 and renewables surging to just over two-thirds over the next 30 years. NZE will meet pledges made in the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit the rise in temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius -- preferably 1.5 degrees -- above pre-industrial levels. NZE has a 50 per cent probability of success.
The IEA presents policymakers with two other options. The current Stated Policies Scenario (STEPS) will see temperatures jump by 2.6 degrees Celsius by 2100. In comparison, the Announced Pledges Scenario (APS), which considers all of the climate commitments made by governments worldwide, will likely limit the global temperature rise to 2.1 degrees Celsius.
The IEA said the NZE envisions a 56 per cent fall in fossil-fuel demand and a corresponding rise in low emissions fuels making new oil and gas fields beyond 2021 unnecessary.
“If you don’t change direction, you will end where you were going,” Tim Gould, IEA chief energy economist, said in an interview before the report’s publication.
CLIMATE: COP26 – Net zero emissions (Graphic)
GN41883 Graphic shows historic carbon dioxide emissions and three scenarios suggested by the International Energy Agency for the COP26 summit.
(107mm by 150mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
“The world is not investing enough to meet its future energy needs,” the Paris-based watchdog said in its World Energy Outlook. The report comes ahead of the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow, Scotland.
Fossil fuels, coal, natural gas and oil made up nearly 80 per cent of the world energy supply in 2020 and renewables just 12 per cent.
The IEA’s ambitious Net Zero Emissions (NZE) scenario envisions fossil fuels shrinking to below a quarter of the mix by 2050 and renewables surging to just over two-thirds over the next 30 years. NZE will meet pledges made in the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit the rise in temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius -- preferably 1.5 degrees -- above pre-industrial levels. NZE has a 50 per cent probability of success.
The IEA presents policymakers with two other options. The current Stated Policies Scenario (STEPS) will see temperatures jump by 2.6 degrees Celsius by 2100. In comparison, the Announced Pledges Scenario (APS), which considers all of the climate commitments made by governments worldwide, will likely limit the global temperature rise to 2.1 degrees Celsius.
The IEA said the NZE envisions a 56 per cent fall in fossil-fuel demand and a corresponding rise in low emissions fuels making new oil and gas fields beyond 2021 unnecessary.
“If you don’t change direction, you will end where you were going,” Tim Gould, IEA chief energy economist, said in an interview before the report’s publication.
CLIMATE: COP26 – Net zero emissions (Graphic)
GN41883 Graphic shows historic carbon dioxide emissions and three scenarios suggested by the International Energy Agency for the COP26 summit.
(107mm by 150mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
SPACE: Captain Kirk flies into space (1) (Graphic UPDATED Oct 13)
October 13, 2021 -- William Shatner – Captain Kirk in the cult classic Star Trek – has boldly gone where no 90-year-old sci-fi actor has gone before, aboard Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket. He is the oldest person ever to travel into space.
After nearly a lifetime playing Captain Kirk in the Star Trek television series and spin-off movies, actor William Shatner has “boldly gone where no man has gone before”.
Shatner was joined by three crew mates aboard the Blue Origin New Shepard NS-18 – Audrey Powers (Blue Origin’s vice president of missions and flight operations, and a former NASA flight controller), and Chris Boshuizen and Glen de Vries (two paying customers).
At 90 years old, he has become the oldest person to ever travel into space – fulfilling a lifelong ambition.
The rocket took off from West Texas on October 13, sending the crew on a 10 minute journey. It reached an altitude of 106km – just beyond the Kármán Line, the most widely recognised boundary of space.
SPACE: Captain Kirk flies into space (1) (Graphic UPDATED Oct 13)
GN41849 Graphic shows how the Blue Origin space flight works.
(107mm by 160mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))
After nearly a lifetime playing Captain Kirk in the Star Trek television series and spin-off movies, actor William Shatner has “boldly gone where no man has gone before”.
Shatner was joined by three crew mates aboard the Blue Origin New Shepard NS-18 – Audrey Powers (Blue Origin’s vice president of missions and flight operations, and a former NASA flight controller), and Chris Boshuizen and Glen de Vries (two paying customers).
At 90 years old, he has become the oldest person to ever travel into space – fulfilling a lifelong ambition.
The rocket took off from West Texas on October 13, sending the crew on a 10 minute journey. It reached an altitude of 106km – just beyond the Kármán Line, the most widely recognised boundary of space.
SPACE: Captain Kirk flies into space (1) (Graphic UPDATED Oct 13)
GN41849 Graphic shows how the Blue Origin space flight works.
(107mm by 160mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))
SPACE: James Webb Space Telescope (Graphic)
December 18, 2021 -- The James Webb Space Telescope, the largest and most powerful observatory ever built, is scheduled to launch on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Kourou spaceport in French Guiana. Once in orbit, it will allow astronomers to peer into the farthest reaches of the universe.
Conceived 30 years ago as the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, the Webb is a joint project between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
The project has experienced numerous delays and cost overruns, ballooning from $500 million to almost $10 billion.
To fit inside the rocket, the telescope must be folded up, then unfolded in space in a series of manoeuvres in the first month after launch.
Webb features 18 hexagonal shaped mirrors arranged in a honeycomb shape 6.5 metres across, giving it a surface area 6.25 times larger than Hubble’s spherical 2.4m diameter primary mirror.
A Kapton foil sunshield the size of a tennis court blocks light from the sun, moon and Earth to keep the telescope extremely cool.
Webb will orbit the sun 1.5 million km from Earth at Lagrange point 2, where the gravitational pull from Earth and the sun balance out, allowing the observatory to remain stable.
While Hubble looks mostly in the visual and ultraviolet parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, Webb will look at longer wavelengths in the infrared, to see what the universe looked like around 100 to 250 million years after the Big Bang, when the first stars and galaxies were formed.
Webb will also look much closer to home, studying nearby exoplanets and objects within our solar system including Mars, the gas giants, and even some asteroids and comets.
SPACE: James Webb Space Telescope (Graphic)
GN41879 Graphic shows specifications of the James Webb Space Telescope and science behind the mission.
(219mm wide by 219mm) View graphic
Conceived 30 years ago as the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, the Webb is a joint project between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
The project has experienced numerous delays and cost overruns, ballooning from $500 million to almost $10 billion.
To fit inside the rocket, the telescope must be folded up, then unfolded in space in a series of manoeuvres in the first month after launch.
Webb features 18 hexagonal shaped mirrors arranged in a honeycomb shape 6.5 metres across, giving it a surface area 6.25 times larger than Hubble’s spherical 2.4m diameter primary mirror.
A Kapton foil sunshield the size of a tennis court blocks light from the sun, moon and Earth to keep the telescope extremely cool.
Webb will orbit the sun 1.5 million km from Earth at Lagrange point 2, where the gravitational pull from Earth and the sun balance out, allowing the observatory to remain stable.
While Hubble looks mostly in the visual and ultraviolet parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, Webb will look at longer wavelengths in the infrared, to see what the universe looked like around 100 to 250 million years after the Big Bang, when the first stars and galaxies were formed.
Webb will also look much closer to home, studying nearby exoplanets and objects within our solar system including Mars, the gas giants, and even some asteroids and comets.
SPACE: James Webb Space Telescope (Graphic)
GN41879 Graphic shows specifications of the James Webb Space Telescope and science behind the mission.
(219mm wide by 219mm) View graphic
WEATHER: Tropical Storm Pamela (Graphic)
October 13, 2021 -- Tropical Storm Pamela is picking up momentum in the Pacific off Mexico and forecasters say it should be back to hurricane strength again before striking the coast north of the port of Mazatlan on Wednesday.
After weakening to a tropical storm Tuesday afternoon, Pamela was centred about 275km west-southwest of Mazatlan late Tuesday and was moving north-northeast at about 19 kph, the U.S. National Hurricane Centre said. The storm had maximum winds of about 110km/h.
The hurricane centre warned of the possibility of life-threatening storm surges, flash floods and dangerous winds around the impact area.
Pamela was then forecast to weaken while crossing over northern Mexico and could approach the Texas border as a tropical depression by Thursday. The centre said remnants of the storm could carry heavy rain to central Texas and southeast Oklahoma.
WEATHER: Tropical Storm Pamela (Graphic)
GN41881 Graphic shows forecast path of Tropical Storm Pamela.
(107mm by 115mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
After weakening to a tropical storm Tuesday afternoon, Pamela was centred about 275km west-southwest of Mazatlan late Tuesday and was moving north-northeast at about 19 kph, the U.S. National Hurricane Centre said. The storm had maximum winds of about 110km/h.
The hurricane centre warned of the possibility of life-threatening storm surges, flash floods and dangerous winds around the impact area.
Pamela was then forecast to weaken while crossing over northern Mexico and could approach the Texas border as a tropical depression by Thursday. The centre said remnants of the storm could carry heavy rain to central Texas and southeast Oklahoma.
WEATHER: Tropical Storm Pamela (Graphic)
GN41881 Graphic shows forecast path of Tropical Storm Pamela.
(107mm by 115mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
POLITICS: France presidential election poll (Graphic)
October 12, 2021 -- Far-right French TV pundit Éric Zemmour recently overtook Marine Le Pen in the polls for the first time, suggesting he rather than she could challenge Emmanuel Macron in the 2022 presidential election.
Born in Paris to Jewish Berbers who emigrated from Algeria in 1950s, Zemmour is a longtime journalist for the conservative daily Le Figaro.
He has written best-selling books on topics such as the supposed incompatibility of Islam with secular French values, immigration and the crisis of French manhood.
Zemmour attracts huge audiences on a talk-show on CNews – an increasingly popular TV channel, backed by conservative billionaire Vincent Bolloré, that critics liken to Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News in the U.S.
Twice convicted of racial or religious provocation, Zemmour is seeking to use notoriety built up on the TV channel into a presidential run and is expected to soon declare his candidacy.
POLITICS: France presidential election poll (Graphic)
GN41877 Graphic shows French election voting intentions.
(107mm wide by 139mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
Born in Paris to Jewish Berbers who emigrated from Algeria in 1950s, Zemmour is a longtime journalist for the conservative daily Le Figaro.
He has written best-selling books on topics such as the supposed incompatibility of Islam with secular French values, immigration and the crisis of French manhood.
Zemmour attracts huge audiences on a talk-show on CNews – an increasingly popular TV channel, backed by conservative billionaire Vincent Bolloré, that critics liken to Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News in the U.S.
Twice convicted of racial or religious provocation, Zemmour is seeking to use notoriety built up on the TV channel into a presidential run and is expected to soon declare his candidacy.
POLITICS: France presidential election poll (Graphic)
GN41877 Graphic shows French election voting intentions.
(107mm wide by 139mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
LATIN AMERICA: Record child migrants crossing Darien Gap (Graphic)
October 12, 2021 -- A record number of migrant children have crossed the dangerous Darien Gap jungle between Colombia and Panama this year on their way to the United States, according to UNICEF.
The UN children’s agency said 19,000 minors faced the rigours of the jungle between January and September. At least one in five of the migrants who walked the area, which is filled with wild animals and dotted with criminals, are children, of which half were under the age of five.
The number of children who crossed the Darien Gap is almost three times higher than the total for the previous five years, the agency said.
Five children have been found dead in 2021, while another 150, including some newborns, arrived in Panama without their parents – a nearly 20-time increase compared to last year, UNICEF said.
The economic crises in Latin America and pandemic-related restrictions led more than 67,000 people, the majority of them Haitians, to cross the Darien between January and August, according to the National Migration Service of Panama.
LATIN AMERICA: Record child migrants crossing Darien Gap (Graphic)
GN41876 Graphic shows migration routes across the Darien Gap.
(107mm by 140mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
The UN children’s agency said 19,000 minors faced the rigours of the jungle between January and September. At least one in five of the migrants who walked the area, which is filled with wild animals and dotted with criminals, are children, of which half were under the age of five.
The number of children who crossed the Darien Gap is almost three times higher than the total for the previous five years, the agency said.
Five children have been found dead in 2021, while another 150, including some newborns, arrived in Panama without their parents – a nearly 20-time increase compared to last year, UNICEF said.
The economic crises in Latin America and pandemic-related restrictions led more than 67,000 people, the majority of them Haitians, to cross the Darien between January and August, according to the National Migration Service of Panama.
LATIN AMERICA: Record child migrants crossing Darien Gap (Graphic)
GN41876 Graphic shows migration routes across the Darien Gap.
(107mm by 140mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
BUSINESS: Afghan liquidity crisis (Graphic)
October 13, 2021 -- Plans to avert a crisis in Afghanistan could see boxes of cash flown into Kabul by the United Nations for distribution to the poor, following the freezing of offshore reserves and an abrupt end to foreign aid.
The price of food staples, such as rice, cooking oil and flour, have increased by 30-60 per cent since the Taliban took over, according to the United Nations Development Programme.
A UNDP report published in September says GDP could decline 13.2 per cent by June 2022 -- a worst-case scenario. A fall of some $2.6 billion would send almost the entire population (97 per cent) of 38 million into poverty, a further 10.6 million since 2020.
Officials reportedly plan to send $200 in direct cash for distribution through banks to individual Afghans without involving the Taliban.
Most of the country’s central bank assets, Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB), are held abroad, putting most of them beyond the Taliban’s reach, according to Ajmal Ahmady, the former head of DAB.
The most recent financial statement posted on June 21 shows DAB holds total assets of about US$8.64 billion, including gold bars held by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, worth 102,744,712 Afghanis or $1.13 billion.
DAB’s June statement also states the bank-owned investments worth $5.37 billion, mostly U.S. Treasury bonds and bills, and $316.83 million in foreign currency cash reserves.
Afghanistan is also eligible for an allocation of about $455 million from the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights currency reserve.
“As per international standards, most assets are held in safe, liquid assets such as Treasuries and gold,” Ahmady said on Twitter. Ahmady confirmed the U.S. Fed, Swiss Bank for International Settlement, World Bank, or other bank accounts held the assets.
($1 = 90.85 Afghanis)
BUSINESS: Afghan liquidity crisis (Graphic)
GN41878 Graphic shows international aid to Afghanistan and main reserves of Afghan central bank.
(107mm by 160mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
The price of food staples, such as rice, cooking oil and flour, have increased by 30-60 per cent since the Taliban took over, according to the United Nations Development Programme.
A UNDP report published in September says GDP could decline 13.2 per cent by June 2022 -- a worst-case scenario. A fall of some $2.6 billion would send almost the entire population (97 per cent) of 38 million into poverty, a further 10.6 million since 2020.
Officials reportedly plan to send $200 in direct cash for distribution through banks to individual Afghans without involving the Taliban.
Most of the country’s central bank assets, Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB), are held abroad, putting most of them beyond the Taliban’s reach, according to Ajmal Ahmady, the former head of DAB.
The most recent financial statement posted on June 21 shows DAB holds total assets of about US$8.64 billion, including gold bars held by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, worth 102,744,712 Afghanis or $1.13 billion.
DAB’s June statement also states the bank-owned investments worth $5.37 billion, mostly U.S. Treasury bonds and bills, and $316.83 million in foreign currency cash reserves.
Afghanistan is also eligible for an allocation of about $455 million from the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights currency reserve.
“As per international standards, most assets are held in safe, liquid assets such as Treasuries and gold,” Ahmady said on Twitter. Ahmady confirmed the U.S. Fed, Swiss Bank for International Settlement, World Bank, or other bank accounts held the assets.
($1 = 90.85 Afghanis)
BUSINESS: Afghan liquidity crisis (Graphic)
GN41878 Graphic shows international aid to Afghanistan and main reserves of Afghan central bank.
(107mm by 160mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
HISTORY: On this day October 24-30, 2021 (week 43) (Graphic)
October 24-30, 2021 -- Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries for each day of the week. This week features the George Washington Bridge in New York, Pablo Picasso, the Pony Express, the London Stock Exchange, Britain’s parliament vote to join the European Economic Community, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk of Turkey, and the leaders of the Tiananmen Square protests
October 24, 1931: The George Washington Bridge, connecting New York City and New Jersey, opened. The world’s busiest motor vehicle bridge carries over 100m vehicles a year
October 25, 1881: Pablo Picasso, one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, was born. Famous works include Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907), and Guernica (1937)
October 26, 1861: The Pony Express closed. It operated for 19 months and was the most direct means of east to west communication before the telegraph was established
October 27, 1986: The “Big Bang” revolutionised the London Stock Exchange with the introduction of computerised dealing and deregulation of many former controls
October 28, 1971: Britain’s parliament voted in favour of joining the then European Economic Community. The decision was reversed by the Brexit vote in June 2016
October 29, 1923: The Republic of Turkey was proclaimed with Mustafa Kemal Ataturk as its first president. His adoption of secularism radically transformed Turkish society
October 30, 1996: Wang Dan, one of the student leaders of the 1989 protests in Tiananmen Square, was jailed for 11 years for “conspiring to subvert China’s government”
HISTORY: On this day October 24-30, 2021 (week 43) (Graphic)
GN41840 Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries on each day for the week.
(Each 52mm wide by 118mm deep packaged as a set) View graphic
October 24, 1931: The George Washington Bridge, connecting New York City and New Jersey, opened. The world’s busiest motor vehicle bridge carries over 100m vehicles a year
October 25, 1881: Pablo Picasso, one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, was born. Famous works include Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907), and Guernica (1937)
October 26, 1861: The Pony Express closed. It operated for 19 months and was the most direct means of east to west communication before the telegraph was established
October 27, 1986: The “Big Bang” revolutionised the London Stock Exchange with the introduction of computerised dealing and deregulation of many former controls
October 28, 1971: Britain’s parliament voted in favour of joining the then European Economic Community. The decision was reversed by the Brexit vote in June 2016
October 29, 1923: The Republic of Turkey was proclaimed with Mustafa Kemal Ataturk as its first president. His adoption of secularism radically transformed Turkish society
October 30, 1996: Wang Dan, one of the student leaders of the 1989 protests in Tiananmen Square, was jailed for 11 years for “conspiring to subvert China’s government”
HISTORY: On this day October 24-30, 2021 (week 43) (Graphic)
GN41840 Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries on each day for the week.
(Each 52mm wide by 118mm deep packaged as a set) View graphic
HISTORY: On this day October 17-23, 2021 (week 42) (Graphic)
October 17-23, 2021 -- Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries for each day of the week. This week feature New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, the movie West Side Story, Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, Kodak’s Brownie camera,Peter the Great, Emperor of all the Russias and the Hungarian uprising against Soviet occupation
October 17, 2020: New Zealand’s Labour Party won a landslide re-election victory, buoyed by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s success in containing the coronavirus pandemic
October 18, 1961: The film version of West Side Story was released. Adapted from the Broadway musical and based on Romeo and Juliet, it won 10 Oscars including Best Picture
October 19, 1901: Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont successfully piloted an airship around the Eiffel Tower. The 30-minute trip made him an international celebrity
October 20, 2011: Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, who ruled Libya with a dictatorial grip for 42 years, was killed when revolutionary forces overwhelmed his home town of Sirte
October 21, 1901: The Eastman Kodak Company of New Jersey was formed to market the hugely successful Brownie camera, which brought photography to the masses
October 22, 1721: Peter the Great was proclaimed Emperor of all the Russias, dropping the title of Tsar. His extensive reforms established Russia as a great nation
October 23, 1956: The Hungarian uprising against Soviet occupation began in Budapest with demonstrators demanding the withdrawal of Soviet forces
HISTORY: On this day October 17-23, 2021 (week 42) (Graphic)
GN41839 Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries on each day for the week.
(Each 52mm wide by 118mm deep packaged as a set) View graphic
October 17, 2020: New Zealand’s Labour Party won a landslide re-election victory, buoyed by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s success in containing the coronavirus pandemic
October 18, 1961: The film version of West Side Story was released. Adapted from the Broadway musical and based on Romeo and Juliet, it won 10 Oscars including Best Picture
October 19, 1901: Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont successfully piloted an airship around the Eiffel Tower. The 30-minute trip made him an international celebrity
October 20, 2011: Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, who ruled Libya with a dictatorial grip for 42 years, was killed when revolutionary forces overwhelmed his home town of Sirte
October 21, 1901: The Eastman Kodak Company of New Jersey was formed to market the hugely successful Brownie camera, which brought photography to the masses
October 22, 1721: Peter the Great was proclaimed Emperor of all the Russias, dropping the title of Tsar. His extensive reforms established Russia as a great nation
October 23, 1956: The Hungarian uprising against Soviet occupation began in Budapest with demonstrators demanding the withdrawal of Soviet forces
HISTORY: On this day October 17-23, 2021 (week 42) (Graphic)
GN41839 Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries on each day for the week.
(Each 52mm wide by 118mm deep packaged as a set) View graphic
ENTERTAINMENT: The world’s biggest movie franchises (Graphic)
October 11, 2021 -- The James Bond franchise is Hollywood’s longest-running franchise and one of the world’s most financially successful, earning $7.4 billion at the global box office. However, this pales by comparison to the highest-grossing franchise, Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, which has earned a whopping $23.3 billion.
The James Bond movie franchise is one of the world’s most successful. With 25 official Eon Productions movies to date (plus two non-canon offerings), it has earned $7.4 billion dollars at the international box office (unadjusted for inflation).
But now, as Daniel Craig takes a bow and opens up the franchise to casting a new 007 star, the producers will be wondering how to modernise the franchise for a younger audience that cares about diversity and the treatment of women.
Bookmakers currently believe Tom Hardy (44) is the favourite to be the next Bond, followed by James Norton (36) and Regé-Jean Page (32).
Whoever wins the day, they are sure to be a very different Bond to the ones we’re used to. As M (played by Judi Dench) succinctly put it in the 1995 Pierce Brosnan actioner, Goldeneye, “You’re a sexist, misogynist dinosaur – a relic of the Cold War”.
ENTERTAINMENT: The world’s biggest movie franchises (Graphic)
GN41871 Graphic charts the top ten movie franchises by global box office takings.
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The James Bond movie franchise is one of the world’s most successful. With 25 official Eon Productions movies to date (plus two non-canon offerings), it has earned $7.4 billion dollars at the international box office (unadjusted for inflation).
But now, as Daniel Craig takes a bow and opens up the franchise to casting a new 007 star, the producers will be wondering how to modernise the franchise for a younger audience that cares about diversity and the treatment of women.
Bookmakers currently believe Tom Hardy (44) is the favourite to be the next Bond, followed by James Norton (36) and Regé-Jean Page (32).
Whoever wins the day, they are sure to be a very different Bond to the ones we’re used to. As M (played by Judi Dench) succinctly put it in the 1995 Pierce Brosnan actioner, Goldeneye, “You’re a sexist, misogynist dinosaur – a relic of the Cold War”.
ENTERTAINMENT: The world’s biggest movie franchises (Graphic)
GN41871 Graphic charts the top ten movie franchises by global box office takings.
(107mm by 120mm deep) View graphic
POLITICS: Austria poised for new leader (Graphic)
October 11, 2021 -- Austria got a new chancellor on Monday, two days after former leader Sebastian Kurz resigned amid corruption allegations. Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen swore in Alexander Schallenberg, the former foreign minister, as chancellor.
Kurz, 35, announced Saturday that he would step aside to defuse a political crisis triggered by prosecutors’ announcement that he is one of the targets of an investigation into suspected bribery and breach of trust. Kurz’s junior coalition partners, the Greens, had demanded his replacement. Kurz denies any wrongdoing.
Kurz and his close associates are accused of trying to secure his rise to the leadership of his party and the country with the help of manipulated polls and friendly media reports financed with public money. Kurz became the leader of his Austrian People’s Party and then chancellor in 2017.
Although he is stepping down as chancellor, he is keeping his role as party leader and becoming the head of its parliamentary group, keeping him at the heart of Austrian politics while he fights the corruption allegations.
POLITICS: Austria poised for new leader (Graphic)
GN41869 Graphic shows profile of Alexander Schallenberg, and breakdown of Austria’s parliament.
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Kurz, 35, announced Saturday that he would step aside to defuse a political crisis triggered by prosecutors’ announcement that he is one of the targets of an investigation into suspected bribery and breach of trust. Kurz’s junior coalition partners, the Greens, had demanded his replacement. Kurz denies any wrongdoing.
Kurz and his close associates are accused of trying to secure his rise to the leadership of his party and the country with the help of manipulated polls and friendly media reports financed with public money. Kurz became the leader of his Austrian People’s Party and then chancellor in 2017.
Although he is stepping down as chancellor, he is keeping his role as party leader and becoming the head of its parliamentary group, keeping him at the heart of Austrian politics while he fights the corruption allegations.
POLITICS: Austria poised for new leader (Graphic)
GN41869 Graphic shows profile of Alexander Schallenberg, and breakdown of Austria’s parliament.
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BUSINESS: EU-UK protocol issues (Graphic)
October 11, 2021 -- The UK and the EU are edging closer to a trade war after Brussels rejected London’s demands to rewrite the Brexit deal’s contentious Northern Ireland Protocol.
On Tuesday, the UK’s Brexit minister Lord David Frost will seek “a significant change” to the protocol, which governs trade flows with Ireland after Britain left the EU.
“No one should be in any doubt about the seriousness of the situation,” Frost said in the text of a speech to be given in Lisbon.
Britain crucially wants the EU to reduce the scope of border controls on goods shipped into Northern Ireland from England, Scotland and Wales and demands the removal of oversight of the protocol by the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
Maros Sefcovic, the EU Brexit chief, has ruled out renegotiating the protocol -- the ECJ’s role is a “red line” for Brussels.
Under the Northern Ireland Protocol, the British province remains within the EU Single Market for Goods. The protocol applies EU rules on imports from the UK, including Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) checks on all products of animal origin, live animals, fish and plants.
Extensive SPS checks have resulted in UK food and drink exports to the EU plunging in the year to June 2021. The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) figures show EU sales dropped by 47%.
On Wednesday, Sefcovic will publish proposals to drop many checks on goods deemed unlikely to leak from Northern Ireland into the EU single market via the Republic of Ireland.
BUSINESS: EU-UK protocol issues (Graphic)
GN41870 Graphic shows main stumbling blocks between London and Brussels.
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On Tuesday, the UK’s Brexit minister Lord David Frost will seek “a significant change” to the protocol, which governs trade flows with Ireland after Britain left the EU.
“No one should be in any doubt about the seriousness of the situation,” Frost said in the text of a speech to be given in Lisbon.
Britain crucially wants the EU to reduce the scope of border controls on goods shipped into Northern Ireland from England, Scotland and Wales and demands the removal of oversight of the protocol by the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
Maros Sefcovic, the EU Brexit chief, has ruled out renegotiating the protocol -- the ECJ’s role is a “red line” for Brussels.
Under the Northern Ireland Protocol, the British province remains within the EU Single Market for Goods. The protocol applies EU rules on imports from the UK, including Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) checks on all products of animal origin, live animals, fish and plants.
Extensive SPS checks have resulted in UK food and drink exports to the EU plunging in the year to June 2021. The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) figures show EU sales dropped by 47%.
On Wednesday, Sefcovic will publish proposals to drop many checks on goods deemed unlikely to leak from Northern Ireland into the EU single market via the Republic of Ireland.
BUSINESS: EU-UK protocol issues (Graphic)
GN41870 Graphic shows main stumbling blocks between London and Brussels.
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NOBEL PRIZE: Economics winner 2021 (Graphic)
October 11, 2021 -- David Card, Joshua Angrist and Guido Imbens have been awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in economic sciences for contributions to labour economics and analysis of causal relationships.
Canadian-born David Card of the University of California at Berkeley was awarded one half of the prize, while the other half was shared by Joshua Angrist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Dutch-born Guido Imbens, 58, from Stanford University.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said the three have “completely reshaped empirical work in the economic sciences.”
NOBEL PRIZE: Economics winner 2021 (Graphic)
GN41868 Graphic shows recent winners of the Nobel Prize for economics.
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Canadian-born David Card of the University of California at Berkeley was awarded one half of the prize, while the other half was shared by Joshua Angrist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Dutch-born Guido Imbens, 58, from Stanford University.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said the three have “completely reshaped empirical work in the economic sciences.”
NOBEL PRIZE: Economics winner 2021 (Graphic)
GN41868 Graphic shows recent winners of the Nobel Prize for economics.
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BUSINESS: Sports new order (Graphic)
October 8, 2021 -- Oil-rich Saudi Arabia has followed in the footsteps of neighbouring rivals, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, investing billions of dollars to make their mark on international sports.
Riyadh’s latest move comes with the Saudi Arabians Public Investment Fund’s (PIF) £300m (US$408 million) takeover of English Premier League soccer club Newcastle United.
The Premier League has approved the takeover after receiving “legally binding assurances” that the Saudi state would not control the club.
The PIF will provide 80% of the funds for the deal, making Newcastle one of the wealthiest clubs in the world.
A Premier League statement said: “The Premier League, Newcastle United Football Club and St James Holdings Limited have today settled the dispute over the takeover of the club.”
The multi-million-pound bid from the PIF, PCP Capital Partners and Reuben Brothers to buy Newcastle United from British businessman Mike Ashley collapsed in April 2020.
The resolution came after Saudi Arabia settled an alleged piracy dispute with Qatar-based broadcaster beIN Sports, which shows Premier League matches in the Middle East.
BUSINESS: Sports new order (Graphic)
GN41863 Graphic shows significant sports bids by Middle East countries.
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Riyadh’s latest move comes with the Saudi Arabians Public Investment Fund’s (PIF) £300m (US$408 million) takeover of English Premier League soccer club Newcastle United.
The Premier League has approved the takeover after receiving “legally binding assurances” that the Saudi state would not control the club.
The PIF will provide 80% of the funds for the deal, making Newcastle one of the wealthiest clubs in the world.
A Premier League statement said: “The Premier League, Newcastle United Football Club and St James Holdings Limited have today settled the dispute over the takeover of the club.”
The multi-million-pound bid from the PIF, PCP Capital Partners and Reuben Brothers to buy Newcastle United from British businessman Mike Ashley collapsed in April 2020.
The resolution came after Saudi Arabia settled an alleged piracy dispute with Qatar-based broadcaster beIN Sports, which shows Premier League matches in the Middle East.
BUSINESS: Sports new order (Graphic)
GN41863 Graphic shows significant sports bids by Middle East countries.
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NOBEL PRIZE: Peace winner 2021 (Graphic)
October 8, 2021 -- The 2021 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to journalists Dmitry Muratov (left) of Russia and Maria Ressa (right) of the Philippines for their “courageous fight” to safeguard “freedom of expression”.
The winners of the prestigious prize, worth 10m Swedish krona (£836,000; $1.1m), were announced at the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo.
NOBEL PRIZE: Peace winner 2021 (Graphic)
GN41861 Graphic shows recent winners of the Nobel Prize for peace.
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The winners of the prestigious prize, worth 10m Swedish krona (£836,000; $1.1m), were announced at the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo.
NOBEL PRIZE: Peace winner 2021 (Graphic)
GN41861 Graphic shows recent winners of the Nobel Prize for peace.
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HEALTH: First malaria vaccine approved (Graphic)
October 7, 2021 -- The World Health Organisation has endorsed the world’s first malaria vaccine and said it should be given to children across Africa in the hope that it will spur stalled efforts to curb the spread of the parasitic disease.
WHO said its decision was based largely on results from ongoing research in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi that tracked more than 800,000 children who have received the vaccine since 2019.
The vaccine, known as Mosquirix, was developed by GlaxoSmithKline in 1987. While it’s the first to be authorised, it does face challenges: The vaccine is only about 30 percent effective, it requires up to four doses, and its protection fades after several months.
Still, scientists say the vaccine could have a major impact against malaria in Africa, home to most of the world’s more than 200 million cases and 400,000 deaths per year.
HEALTH: First malaria vaccine approved (Graphic)
GN41857 Graphic shows countries with malaria cases in 2020, and global malaria trends.
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WHO said its decision was based largely on results from ongoing research in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi that tracked more than 800,000 children who have received the vaccine since 2019.
The vaccine, known as Mosquirix, was developed by GlaxoSmithKline in 1987. While it’s the first to be authorised, it does face challenges: The vaccine is only about 30 percent effective, it requires up to four doses, and its protection fades after several months.
Still, scientists say the vaccine could have a major impact against malaria in Africa, home to most of the world’s more than 200 million cases and 400,000 deaths per year.
HEALTH: First malaria vaccine approved (Graphic)
GN41857 Graphic shows countries with malaria cases in 2020, and global malaria trends.
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BUSINESS: Gazprom cuts gas to EU (Graphic)
October 7, 2021 -- Gazprom has cut EU gas supplies through the Yamal-Europe pipeline, pushing prices at the Dutch TTF -- the premier trading hub for gas futures -- above €100 per megawatt hour.
On Wednesday, the European gas market soared with gas futures linked to spot prices at the Dutch TTF hub hitting €132.93 per megawatt hour. The rise came after the Russian gas giant Gazprom drastically reduced gas deliveries through the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline.
Kremlin-controlled Gazprom began to sharply reduce gas deliveries to Europe at the end of July, from more than 108 million cubic metres per day (MCM) to 58 MCM, and then cut the volume to 47 MCM following a fire at the gas treatment plant in Novy Urengoy.
Deliveries returned to average volumes – 93 million cubic meters per day – after the visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to Moscow at the end of August. But now, they have fallen again to one of their lowest values this year.
At the beginning of the October-March heating season, storage facilities have typically been filled to 72 per cent capacity on average over the last five years.
Last winter, gas storage fell due to strong demand, exacerbated by relatively weak renewables generation and strong underlying power demand.
On Wednesday, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that certification of the controversial Nord Stream 2 undersea gas pipeline, which expects clearance from the German regulator, the Bundesnetzagentur, could cool soaring European gas prices.
The Kremlin has said Gazprom is ready to pump more gas if needed.
BUSINESS: Gazprom cuts gas to EU (Graphic)
GN41860 Graphic shows risong gas futures price and falling Russian energy supplies.
(107mm by 147mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
On Wednesday, the European gas market soared with gas futures linked to spot prices at the Dutch TTF hub hitting €132.93 per megawatt hour. The rise came after the Russian gas giant Gazprom drastically reduced gas deliveries through the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline.
Kremlin-controlled Gazprom began to sharply reduce gas deliveries to Europe at the end of July, from more than 108 million cubic metres per day (MCM) to 58 MCM, and then cut the volume to 47 MCM following a fire at the gas treatment plant in Novy Urengoy.
Deliveries returned to average volumes – 93 million cubic meters per day – after the visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to Moscow at the end of August. But now, they have fallen again to one of their lowest values this year.
At the beginning of the October-March heating season, storage facilities have typically been filled to 72 per cent capacity on average over the last five years.
Last winter, gas storage fell due to strong demand, exacerbated by relatively weak renewables generation and strong underlying power demand.
On Wednesday, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that certification of the controversial Nord Stream 2 undersea gas pipeline, which expects clearance from the German regulator, the Bundesnetzagentur, could cool soaring European gas prices.
The Kremlin has said Gazprom is ready to pump more gas if needed.
BUSINESS: Gazprom cuts gas to EU (Graphic)
GN41860 Graphic shows risong gas futures price and falling Russian energy supplies.
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NOBEL PRIZE: Literature winners 2021 (Graphic)
October 7, 2021 -- Retired British academic Abdulrazak Gurnah, who was born in Tanzania, has won the Nobel Prize in Literature 2021 for his work exploring “the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee”.
He is the author of 10 novels and several short stories. He was Professor of English and Postcolonial Literatures at the University of Kent, Canterbury, until his recent retirement.
The prize is awarded by the Swedish Academy and is worth 10 million Swedish crowns ($1.14 million).
NOBEL PRIZE: Literature winners 2021 (Graphic)
GN41858 Graphic shows recent winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature.
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He is the author of 10 novels and several short stories. He was Professor of English and Postcolonial Literatures at the University of Kent, Canterbury, until his recent retirement.
The prize is awarded by the Swedish Academy and is worth 10 million Swedish crowns ($1.14 million).
NOBEL PRIZE: Literature winners 2021 (Graphic)
GN41858 Graphic shows recent winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature.
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MOTORING: Electric vehicles sales set to soar (Graphic)
October 6, 2021 -- Global sales of electric vehicles (EVs), estimated at 2.5m units in 2020, are forecast to grow to 31.1m by 2030, around a third of all new vehicle sales. But skilled labour shortages may hamper progress.
As electric vehicle (EV) sales soar, internal combustion engine vehicle (ICE) sales are forecast to tumble, leading to EVs having a market share of almost a third by the year 2030.
The global auto industry’s shift to EVs has spurred an expansion race among battery makers, leading to a skills shortage, particularly in South Korea where mega-factories make batteries for many of the world’s EVs.
South Korea’s three major players – LG Energy Solution, SK On and Samsung SDI — which dominate a third of the global EV battery market say they are struggling with a shortage of skilled research and engineering workers.
Demand for new battery technology is escalating, in particular, the need to advance development of cutting edge solid state batteries which can recharge in 10 minutes and travel 500km in one go.
MOTORING: Electric vehicles sales set to soar (Graphic)
GN41855 Graphic charts forecast electric vehicle sales to the year 2030.
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As electric vehicle (EV) sales soar, internal combustion engine vehicle (ICE) sales are forecast to tumble, leading to EVs having a market share of almost a third by the year 2030.
The global auto industry’s shift to EVs has spurred an expansion race among battery makers, leading to a skills shortage, particularly in South Korea where mega-factories make batteries for many of the world’s EVs.
South Korea’s three major players – LG Energy Solution, SK On and Samsung SDI — which dominate a third of the global EV battery market say they are struggling with a shortage of skilled research and engineering workers.
Demand for new battery technology is escalating, in particular, the need to advance development of cutting edge solid state batteries which can recharge in 10 minutes and travel 500km in one go.
MOTORING: Electric vehicles sales set to soar (Graphic)
GN41855 Graphic charts forecast electric vehicle sales to the year 2030.
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CLIMATE: Global water stress (Graphic)
October 6, 2021 -- More than five billion people could have difficulty accessing water in 2050, the United Nations warned. "The State of Climate Services 2021: Water" report comes just weeks before COP26 summit.
Already in 2018, 3.6 billion people had inadequate access to water for at least one month per year, according to a new report from the UN’s World Meteorological Organisation.
The WMO said that over the last 20 years, the levels of water stored on land – on the surface, in the subsurface, in snow and ice – had dropped at a rate of one centimetre per year.
The agency said there were major ramifications for water security, as only 0.5 percent of water on Earth is useable and available fresh water.
CLIMATE: Global water stress (Graphic)
GN41854 Graphic shows details of global water stress hotspots.
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Already in 2018, 3.6 billion people had inadequate access to water for at least one month per year, according to a new report from the UN’s World Meteorological Organisation.
The WMO said that over the last 20 years, the levels of water stored on land – on the surface, in the subsurface, in snow and ice – had dropped at a rate of one centimetre per year.
The agency said there were major ramifications for water security, as only 0.5 percent of water on Earth is useable and available fresh water.
CLIMATE: Global water stress (Graphic)
GN41854 Graphic shows details of global water stress hotspots.
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SCIENCE: Temperature touch sensors (Graphic)
October 6, 2021 -- Discoveries of how cells detect temperature and touch at a molecular level explain how these stimuli are converted into nerve signals, enabling us to perceive and interact with the world around us.
To discover how nerve cells detect heat, David Julius at the University of California, San Francisco, exploited that capsaicin – the active component of chilli peppers in spicy food – activates heat receptors.
Julius and his team took the DNA of genes active in sensory cells and added DNA fragments to cells that were insensitive to capsaicin. From thousands of DNA fragments, they eventually isolated a single protein called TRPV1 that could make cells receptive to capsaicin.
When TRPV1 encounters a temperature rise, it opens, allowing positively-charged calcium ions (CA2+) to trigger electrical nerve signals sent to the brain to warn of the sensation of heat.
Following the discovery of TRPV1, teams led by Julius and Ardem Patapoutian at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California, independently identified a similar protein called TRPM8 that responds to cold.
Patapoutian’s team also discovered two touch receptors that act as ion channels, molecular gateways, that open or close to control the flow of charged atoms into or out of a cell. Tactile organs, Merkel cells connected to neurons (nerve fibres), are localized in fingertips and other touch-sensitive spots.
The team found large PIEZO proteins -- composed of 2,500 amino acids -- form a new class of ion channels that open in response to mechanical pressure.
The PIEZO protein has three propeller-shaped blades that curve out, creating a bowl shape around an ion-conducting pore. When a tactile stimulus is applied, the protein changes shape; the curved blades flatten out and open the central pore, allowing Merkel cells’ CA2+ to flow to the nerve fibre. Sensory neurons then fire off an electric nerve signal to the spinal cord and brain.
David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian received the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries, leading to new treatments for a wide range of disease conditions, including chronic pain.
SCIENCE: Temperature touch sensors (Graphic)
GN41851 Graphic shows how touch- and temperature-sensitive proteins work.
(107mm by 147mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
To discover how nerve cells detect heat, David Julius at the University of California, San Francisco, exploited that capsaicin – the active component of chilli peppers in spicy food – activates heat receptors.
Julius and his team took the DNA of genes active in sensory cells and added DNA fragments to cells that were insensitive to capsaicin. From thousands of DNA fragments, they eventually isolated a single protein called TRPV1 that could make cells receptive to capsaicin.
When TRPV1 encounters a temperature rise, it opens, allowing positively-charged calcium ions (CA2+) to trigger electrical nerve signals sent to the brain to warn of the sensation of heat.
Following the discovery of TRPV1, teams led by Julius and Ardem Patapoutian at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California, independently identified a similar protein called TRPM8 that responds to cold.
Patapoutian’s team also discovered two touch receptors that act as ion channels, molecular gateways, that open or close to control the flow of charged atoms into or out of a cell. Tactile organs, Merkel cells connected to neurons (nerve fibres), are localized in fingertips and other touch-sensitive spots.
The team found large PIEZO proteins -- composed of 2,500 amino acids -- form a new class of ion channels that open in response to mechanical pressure.
The PIEZO protein has three propeller-shaped blades that curve out, creating a bowl shape around an ion-conducting pore. When a tactile stimulus is applied, the protein changes shape; the curved blades flatten out and open the central pore, allowing Merkel cells’ CA2+ to flow to the nerve fibre. Sensory neurons then fire off an electric nerve signal to the spinal cord and brain.
David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian received the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries, leading to new treatments for a wide range of disease conditions, including chronic pain.
SCIENCE: Temperature touch sensors (Graphic)
GN41851 Graphic shows how touch- and temperature-sensitive proteins work.
(107mm by 147mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
NOBEL PRIZE: Chemistry winners 2021 (Graphic)
October 6, 2021 -- German-born Benjamin List and Briton David MacMillan have been awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their development of organocatalysis – building molecules that are mirror images of one another.
“Organic catalysts can be used to drive multitudes of chemical reactions,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in a statement.
“Using these reactions, researchers can now more efficiently construct anything from new pharmaceuticals to molecules that can capture light in solar cells.”
The more than century-old prize is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and is worth 10 million Swedish crowns ($1.14 million).
NOBEL PRIZE: Chemistry winners 2021 (Graphic)
GN41853 Graphic shows winners of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry and facts about the Prize.
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“Organic catalysts can be used to drive multitudes of chemical reactions,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in a statement.
“Using these reactions, researchers can now more efficiently construct anything from new pharmaceuticals to molecules that can capture light in solar cells.”
The more than century-old prize is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and is worth 10 million Swedish crowns ($1.14 million).
NOBEL PRIZE: Chemistry winners 2021 (Graphic)
GN41853 Graphic shows winners of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry and facts about the Prize.
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POLITICS: Philippines presidential candidates (1) (Graphic UPDATED Oct 6)
October 5, 2021 -- President Rodrigo Duterte’s surprise retirement from politics when his term ends in 2022 clears the way for his daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio to run for the presidency.
Sara Duterte-Carpio, 43, succeeded her father as mayor of the southern city of Davao in 2010. She is the frontrunner in all recent polls but has given mixed messages about running for high office.
Other candidates to replace President Duterte are Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, son and namesake of the country’s former dictator, former actor and city mayor Francisco Domagoso – known by his screen name Isko Moreno – and newly retired boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao.
The stakes for the Philippines could not be higher. Once one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia, the country has been battered by the pandemic.
Deadline for filing candidacies is October 8, but parties can until mid-November replace a candidate who dies, withdraws, or is disqualified by the country’s election commission.
POLITICS: Philippines presidential candidates (1) (Graphic UPDATED Oct 6)
GN41842 Graphic shows the most possible contenders in the 2022 Philippine presidential election.
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Sara Duterte-Carpio, 43, succeeded her father as mayor of the southern city of Davao in 2010. She is the frontrunner in all recent polls but has given mixed messages about running for high office.
Other candidates to replace President Duterte are Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, son and namesake of the country’s former dictator, former actor and city mayor Francisco Domagoso – known by his screen name Isko Moreno – and newly retired boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao.
The stakes for the Philippines could not be higher. Once one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia, the country has been battered by the pandemic.
Deadline for filing candidacies is October 8, but parties can until mid-November replace a candidate who dies, withdraws, or is disqualified by the country’s election commission.
POLITICS: Philippines presidential candidates (1) (Graphic UPDATED Oct 6)
GN41842 Graphic shows the most possible contenders in the 2022 Philippine presidential election.
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NOBEL PRIZE: Physics winners 2021 (Graphic)
October 5, 2021 -- Scientists Syukuro Manabe, Klaus Hasselmann and Giorgio Parisi won the 2021 Nobel Prize for Physics for their work to understand complex systems such as the Earth’s climate.
Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann were cited for their work in “the physical modeling of Earth’s climate, quantifying variability and reliably predicting global warming”.
The second half of the prize was awarded to Giorgio Parisi for “the discovery of the interplay of disorder and fluctuations in physical systems from atomic to planetary scales.”
The prestigious prize is worth 10 million Swedish crowns ($1.15 million).
NOBEL PRIZE: Physics winners 2021 (Graphic)
GN41848 Graphic shows winners of the Nobel Prize for Physics and facts about the Prize.
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Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann were cited for their work in “the physical modeling of Earth’s climate, quantifying variability and reliably predicting global warming”.
The second half of the prize was awarded to Giorgio Parisi for “the discovery of the interplay of disorder and fluctuations in physical systems from atomic to planetary scales.”
The prestigious prize is worth 10 million Swedish crowns ($1.15 million).
NOBEL PRIZE: Physics winners 2021 (Graphic)
GN41848 Graphic shows winners of the Nobel Prize for Physics and facts about the Prize.
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TECH: Facebook whistleblower allegations (Graphic)
October 4, 2021 -- A former Facebook employee behind a series of bombshell allegations has revealed her identity in a U.S. primetime TV interview.
Frances Haugen, a data scientist from Iowa and a former former product manager on the Civic Integrity unit at Facebook, has filed complaints with U.S. federal law enforcement alleging Facebook’s own research shows that it amplifies hate, misinformation and political unrest, but hides what it knows.
The bombshell accusations come after Haugen leaked thousands of pages of private Facebook research to The Wall Street Journal, which has been running a series of exposés over the past three weeks. She finally revealed her identity in a televised interview on CBS's 60 Minutes on Sunday evening.
Haugen says Facebook turned on safety systems to reduce misinformation during the U.S. election campaign, but only temporarily – turning them off again as soon as the election was over in November 2020. Two months later the Capitol riots occurred.
Appearing on a CNN television interview, Facebook Vice President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg said it was ludicrous to suggest Facebook was responsible for the riots.
One of the alleged internal Facebook documents aired on 60 Minutes says, “We have evidence from a variety of sources that hate speech, divisive political speech, and misinformation on Facebook and the family of apps are affecting societies around the world”.
On October 5, Ms. Haugen is set to testify before Congress about Facebook’s impact on young users.
TECH: Facebook whistleblower allegations (Graphic)
GN41843 Graphic highlights key takeaways from the Facebook whistleblower allegations.
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Frances Haugen, a data scientist from Iowa and a former former product manager on the Civic Integrity unit at Facebook, has filed complaints with U.S. federal law enforcement alleging Facebook’s own research shows that it amplifies hate, misinformation and political unrest, but hides what it knows.
The bombshell accusations come after Haugen leaked thousands of pages of private Facebook research to The Wall Street Journal, which has been running a series of exposés over the past three weeks. She finally revealed her identity in a televised interview on CBS's 60 Minutes on Sunday evening.
Haugen says Facebook turned on safety systems to reduce misinformation during the U.S. election campaign, but only temporarily – turning them off again as soon as the election was over in November 2020. Two months later the Capitol riots occurred.
Appearing on a CNN television interview, Facebook Vice President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg said it was ludicrous to suggest Facebook was responsible for the riots.
One of the alleged internal Facebook documents aired on 60 Minutes says, “We have evidence from a variety of sources that hate speech, divisive political speech, and misinformation on Facebook and the family of apps are affecting societies around the world”.
On October 5, Ms. Haugen is set to testify before Congress about Facebook’s impact on young users.
TECH: Facebook whistleblower allegations (Graphic)
GN41843 Graphic highlights key takeaways from the Facebook whistleblower allegations.
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POLITICS: Key revelations from Pandora Papers (Graphic)
October 4, 2021 -- The Pandora Papers are a massive leak of confidential financial records that reveal how the world’s richest stash their wealth away from tax inspectors, regulators and the public.
Hundreds of world leaders, powerful politicians, billionaires, celebrities, religious leaders and drug dealers have been hiding their investments in mansions, exclusive beachfront property, yachts and other assets for the past quarter-century, according to a review of nearly 12 million files obtained from 14 firms located around the world.
The report released Sunday by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists involved 600 journalists from 150 media outlets in 117 countries. It’s being dubbed the Pandora Papers because the findings shed light on the previously hidden dealings of the elite and the corrupt, and how they have used offshore accounts to shield assets collectively worth trillions of dollars.
The more than 330 current and former politicians identified as beneficiaries of the secret accounts include Jordan’s King Abdullah II, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, Czech Republic Prime Minister Andrej Babis, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso, and associates of both Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Pandora Papers are a follow-up to a similar project released in 2016 called the Panama Papers, compiled by the same journalistic group.
The latest bombshell is even more expansive, porting through nearly 3 terabytes of data – the equivalent of roughly 750,000 photos on a smartphone – leaked from 14 different service providers doing business in 38 different jurisdictions in the world. The records date back to the 1970s, but most of the files span from 1996 to 2020.
POLITICS: Key revelations from Pandora Papers (Graphic)
GN41841 Graphic shows key findings of leaked Pandora Papers on offshore wealth.
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Hundreds of world leaders, powerful politicians, billionaires, celebrities, religious leaders and drug dealers have been hiding their investments in mansions, exclusive beachfront property, yachts and other assets for the past quarter-century, according to a review of nearly 12 million files obtained from 14 firms located around the world.
The report released Sunday by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists involved 600 journalists from 150 media outlets in 117 countries. It’s being dubbed the Pandora Papers because the findings shed light on the previously hidden dealings of the elite and the corrupt, and how they have used offshore accounts to shield assets collectively worth trillions of dollars.
The more than 330 current and former politicians identified as beneficiaries of the secret accounts include Jordan’s King Abdullah II, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, Czech Republic Prime Minister Andrej Babis, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso, and associates of both Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Pandora Papers are a follow-up to a similar project released in 2016 called the Panama Papers, compiled by the same journalistic group.
The latest bombshell is even more expansive, porting through nearly 3 terabytes of data – the equivalent of roughly 750,000 photos on a smartphone – leaked from 14 different service providers doing business in 38 different jurisdictions in the world. The records date back to the 1970s, but most of the files span from 1996 to 2020.
POLITICS: Key revelations from Pandora Papers (Graphic)
GN41841 Graphic shows key findings of leaked Pandora Papers on offshore wealth.
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BUSINESS: Europe’s energy crisis (Graphic)
October 4, 2021 -- Gas prices are closing in on €100 per megawatt-hour -- up 400% since the start of the year -- while Europe’s gas stockpiles are at their lowest level in a decade, and wind generation is down by almost a third.
Energy prices are soaring as economies emerge from the pandemic -- boosting demand just as supplies fall short.
The EU is shuttering coal plants as part of its bid for a coal-free Europe by 2030. Gas stockpiles are much lower than usual, and the continent’s increasing reliance on wind turbines has become vulnerable as speeds in the North Sea have been among the slowest in two decades. In September, Ireland’s grid operator warned that it faces a risk of blackouts due to lack of wind.
Deliveries from Russia, which supplies more than 40 per cent of EU gas imports, are limited. Members of the European Parliament have called for an investigation into whether Gazprom is withholding natural gas to push approval of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
Working natural gas inventories in Europe have remained relatively low so far during this year’s so-called injection season -- defined as April through October -- and totalled 829.99 terawatt-hours as of October 4, 2021, or 75.05 per cent of storage capacity, according to data from Europe’s Aggregated Gas Storage Inventory (AGSI).
Frigid weather late in the 2020–21 heating season and a cold spell in April led to rapid drawdowns of natural gas inventories early in 2021.
AGSI reports that natural gas inventories are particularly low in Austria, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy. At the start of October, these countries held, respectively, 46 per cent, 41.6, 31.5, and 14.7 per cent less natural gas in storage than at the same time in 2020.
BUSINESS: Europe’s energy crisis (Graphic)
GN41844 Graphic shows Europe’s natural gas inventory.
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Energy prices are soaring as economies emerge from the pandemic -- boosting demand just as supplies fall short.
The EU is shuttering coal plants as part of its bid for a coal-free Europe by 2030. Gas stockpiles are much lower than usual, and the continent’s increasing reliance on wind turbines has become vulnerable as speeds in the North Sea have been among the slowest in two decades. In September, Ireland’s grid operator warned that it faces a risk of blackouts due to lack of wind.
Deliveries from Russia, which supplies more than 40 per cent of EU gas imports, are limited. Members of the European Parliament have called for an investigation into whether Gazprom is withholding natural gas to push approval of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
Working natural gas inventories in Europe have remained relatively low so far during this year’s so-called injection season -- defined as April through October -- and totalled 829.99 terawatt-hours as of October 4, 2021, or 75.05 per cent of storage capacity, according to data from Europe’s Aggregated Gas Storage Inventory (AGSI).
Frigid weather late in the 2020–21 heating season and a cold spell in April led to rapid drawdowns of natural gas inventories early in 2021.
AGSI reports that natural gas inventories are particularly low in Austria, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy. At the start of October, these countries held, respectively, 46 per cent, 41.6, 31.5, and 14.7 per cent less natural gas in storage than at the same time in 2020.
BUSINESS: Europe’s energy crisis (Graphic)
GN41844 Graphic shows Europe’s natural gas inventory.
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NOBEL PRIZE: Medicine winners 2021 (Graphic)
October 4, 2021 -- American scientists David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian won the 2021 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of receptors for sensing temperature and touch.
Their groundbreaking discoveries "have allowed us to understand how heat, cold and mechanical force can initiate the nerve impulses that allow us to perceive and adapt to the world around us," the award-giving body said.
The prestigious award comes with a gold medal and 10 million Swedish kronor (over $1.14 million). The prize money comes from a bequest left by the prize's creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who died in 1895.
NOBEL PRIZE: Medicine winners 2021 (Graphic)
GN41846 Graphic shows some facts and figures about the Nobel Prize for medicine.
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Their groundbreaking discoveries "have allowed us to understand how heat, cold and mechanical force can initiate the nerve impulses that allow us to perceive and adapt to the world around us," the award-giving body said.
The prestigious award comes with a gold medal and 10 million Swedish kronor (over $1.14 million). The prize money comes from a bequest left by the prize's creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who died in 1895.
NOBEL PRIZE: Medicine winners 2021 (Graphic)
GN41846 Graphic shows some facts and figures about the Nobel Prize for medicine.
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CLIMATE: COP26 – Projected global emissions (Graphic)
October 31 - November 12, 2021 -- The COP26 conference aims to address man-made global warming to avert a climate catastrophe. If current practices are not radically altered soon, global temperatures could rise up to 3.1°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100. COP26 is the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference – this year being held in Glasgow, Scotland, from October 31 to November 12.
During COP26, 200 countries will be asked what their plans are to cut emissions by 2030.
In 2015, most nations agreed to make changes to keep global warming below 2°C above pre-industrial levels – and to try and aim for 1.5°C – thus avoiding a forecast climate catastrophe. This meeting has become widely known as the “Paris Agreement”.
The world is becoming warmer, largely because of fossil fuel emissions caused by humans. As a result, extreme weather events linked to climate change such as heatwaves, floods and forest fires are becoming more and more common.
China’s commitment in particular is crucial as it is the world’s biggest polluter due to its reliance and investment in coal power stations.
Australia too is the world’s top coal exporter, and although outwardly accepting the Paris Agreement, it has since resisted committing to net-zero by 2050, unlike the UK and United States.
Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison, has even cast doubt on attending the event at all, and has been criticised for showing a lack of enthusiasm for tackling climate change.
CLIMATE: COP26 – Projected global emissions (Graphic)
GN41831 Graphic charts projected global emissions under various reduction schemes, linking them to different temperature rises.
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During COP26, 200 countries will be asked what their plans are to cut emissions by 2030.
In 2015, most nations agreed to make changes to keep global warming below 2°C above pre-industrial levels – and to try and aim for 1.5°C – thus avoiding a forecast climate catastrophe. This meeting has become widely known as the “Paris Agreement”.
The world is becoming warmer, largely because of fossil fuel emissions caused by humans. As a result, extreme weather events linked to climate change such as heatwaves, floods and forest fires are becoming more and more common.
China’s commitment in particular is crucial as it is the world’s biggest polluter due to its reliance and investment in coal power stations.
Australia too is the world’s top coal exporter, and although outwardly accepting the Paris Agreement, it has since resisted committing to net-zero by 2050, unlike the UK and United States.
Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison, has even cast doubt on attending the event at all, and has been criticised for showing a lack of enthusiasm for tackling climate change.
CLIMATE: COP26 – Projected global emissions (Graphic)
GN41831 Graphic charts projected global emissions under various reduction schemes, linking them to different temperature rises.
(163mm by 125mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
CLIMATE: COP26 – Global temperature rise (Graphic)
October 31 - November 12, 2021 -- Extreme weather events linked to climate change – such as heatwaves, floods and forest fires – now occur with alarming regularity. The past decade was the warmest since records began. COP26 is the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference – this year being held in Glasgow, Scotland, from October 31 to November 12.
During COP26, 200 countries will be asked what their plans are to cut emissions by 2030.
In 2015, most nations agreed to make changes to keep global warming below 2°C above pre-industrial levels – and to try and aim for 1.5°C – thus avoiding a forecast climate catastrophe. This meeting has become widely known as the “Paris Agreement”.
The world is becoming warmer, largely because of fossil fuel emissions caused by humans. As a result, extreme weather events linked to climate change such as heatwaves, floods and forest fires are becoming more and more common.
China’s commitment in particular is crucial as it is the world’s biggest polluter due to its reliance and investment in coal power stations.
Australia too is the world’s top coal exporter, and although outwardly accepting the Paris Agreement, it has since resisted committing to net-zero by 2050, unlike the UK and United States.
Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison, has even cast doubt on attending the event at all, and has been criticised for showing a lack of enthusiasm for tackling climate change.
CLIMATE: COP26 – Global temperature rise (Graphic)
GN41837 Graphic charts the rise in land and ocean temperatures since 1850.
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During COP26, 200 countries will be asked what their plans are to cut emissions by 2030.
In 2015, most nations agreed to make changes to keep global warming below 2°C above pre-industrial levels – and to try and aim for 1.5°C – thus avoiding a forecast climate catastrophe. This meeting has become widely known as the “Paris Agreement”.
The world is becoming warmer, largely because of fossil fuel emissions caused by humans. As a result, extreme weather events linked to climate change such as heatwaves, floods and forest fires are becoming more and more common.
China’s commitment in particular is crucial as it is the world’s biggest polluter due to its reliance and investment in coal power stations.
Australia too is the world’s top coal exporter, and although outwardly accepting the Paris Agreement, it has since resisted committing to net-zero by 2050, unlike the UK and United States.
Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison, has even cast doubt on attending the event at all, and has been criticised for showing a lack of enthusiasm for tackling climate change.
CLIMATE: COP26 – Global temperature rise (Graphic)
GN41837 Graphic charts the rise in land and ocean temperatures since 1850.
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CLIMATE: Warming Arctic could fuel cold snaps (Graphic)
October 1, 2021 -- A smaller than normal extension of Arctic sea ice for this time of year could weaken the polar vortex above the North Pole, unleashing a deep freeze across energy-challenged Europe this winter.
Arctic sea ice extent reached its minimum for the year at 4.72m square kilometres, on Sep 16, according to the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center.
This is the 12th lowest in a satellite record stretching back 43 years, the NSIDC says, with the past 15 years seeing the 15 smallest sea ice minima.
Scientists believe reduction of Arctic sea ice allows more heat to escape from the ocean, weakening the polar vortex that contains icy air above the North Pole and causing surges of frigid air to splinter off and drift south.
CLIMATE: Warming Arctic could fuel cold snaps (Graphic)
GN41836 Graphic shows Arctic sea ice extent for Sep 16, 2021, and comparison with the average ice extent in 1981-2010.
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Arctic sea ice extent reached its minimum for the year at 4.72m square kilometres, on Sep 16, according to the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center.
This is the 12th lowest in a satellite record stretching back 43 years, the NSIDC says, with the past 15 years seeing the 15 smallest sea ice minima.
Scientists believe reduction of Arctic sea ice allows more heat to escape from the ocean, weakening the polar vortex that contains icy air above the North Pole and causing surges of frigid air to splinter off and drift south.
CLIMATE: Warming Arctic could fuel cold snaps (Graphic)
GN41836 Graphic shows Arctic sea ice extent for Sep 16, 2021, and comparison with the average ice extent in 1981-2010.
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BUSINESS: China-Aussie beef imports fall (Graphic)
October 1, 2021 -- Australian beef exports to China have plunged amid diplomatic tensions in the first eight months of 2021, to half of what they were in the same period last year, while U.S. beef exports have surged.
China’s appetite for “well-marbled, grain-fed” beef is growing fuelled by a thriving Chinese middle class, but Australian suppliers are feeling the heat of bilateral tensions.
Five years ago, Australia was China’s largest supplier of grain-fed beef. Still, deteriorating relations between Beijing and Canberra have seen supplies plunge from 200,000 tonnes in the first eight months of 2020 to just 93,000 tonnes in the same period in 2021 -- a fall of 52 per cent.
According to Chinese customs data, beef imports from the U.S. have grown to 83,000 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up from 9,200 tonnes in the same period a year ago.
Sino-Australian ties have been strained since 2018, but deteriorated last year when Canberra called for an independent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus. Beijing responded with trade reprisals, targeting Australian beef, barley, wine, lobsters, and coal exports.
According to a U.S. research group Brookings, China’s middle class spent $7.3 trillion in 2020, with young people accounting for more spending than in other countries.
China’s beef imports have risen from 1.6 million tonnes in 2019 to 2.2 million tonnes last year, making the nation the biggest beef importer in the world. Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and New Zealand are the top four suppliers to China, followed by Australia and the U.S.
BUSINESS: China-Aussie beef imports fall (Graphic)
GN41838 Graphic shows China’s beef imports by supplier.
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China’s appetite for “well-marbled, grain-fed” beef is growing fuelled by a thriving Chinese middle class, but Australian suppliers are feeling the heat of bilateral tensions.
Five years ago, Australia was China’s largest supplier of grain-fed beef. Still, deteriorating relations between Beijing and Canberra have seen supplies plunge from 200,000 tonnes in the first eight months of 2020 to just 93,000 tonnes in the same period in 2021 -- a fall of 52 per cent.
According to Chinese customs data, beef imports from the U.S. have grown to 83,000 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up from 9,200 tonnes in the same period a year ago.
Sino-Australian ties have been strained since 2018, but deteriorated last year when Canberra called for an independent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus. Beijing responded with trade reprisals, targeting Australian beef, barley, wine, lobsters, and coal exports.
According to a U.S. research group Brookings, China’s middle class spent $7.3 trillion in 2020, with young people accounting for more spending than in other countries.
China’s beef imports have risen from 1.6 million tonnes in 2019 to 2.2 million tonnes last year, making the nation the biggest beef importer in the world. Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and New Zealand are the top four suppliers to China, followed by Australia and the U.S.
BUSINESS: China-Aussie beef imports fall (Graphic)
GN41838 Graphic shows China’s beef imports by supplier.
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SPACE: Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein (Graphic)
September 30, 2021 -- Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein is one of the largest comets ever seen, measuring a colossal 150km wide. The newly discovered comet is set to fly through our inner solar system in 10 years.
Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein is so large it has been classified as a dwarf planet. It was discovered by two University of Pennsylvania astronomers, Dr. Pedro Bernardinelli and Gary Bernstein, on June 19, 2021 beyond planet Uranus, and is on a trajectory that will bring it into the inner solar system for a once-in 600,000-year visit – reaching its closest approach to Earth in 10 year’s time.
The comet is thought to be a rare long-period variety visiting us from the farthest reaches of the solar system, about half a light-year from our sun. It likely originates from the Oort Cloud, a spherical mass of icy objects 50,000 to 100,000 astronomical units (AU: the Earth–Sun distance) from the Sun. Arguably the most famous comet in history, Halley’s Comet, is also thought to originate from the Oort Cloud.
Unfortunately, Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein will not pass close enough to Earth for us to see it with the naked-eye, despite being three times larger than the biggest comet photographed to date, Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997.
However, huge telescopes will be able to gather good images of it in 2031, when it makes its closest approach between the orbits of Saturn and Uranus. What makes it so exciting for astronomers though, is that it has been discovered now, giving them 10 years to monitor it, and possibly prepare to launch a nuclear-powered spacecraft to fly out and study it up close.
The timing is also ideally suited to the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, set to commence operations in 2023. With its 3,200-megapixel camera, it will be able to track the object for at least the next decade, if not longer – possibly uncovering many more mega-comets in the process.
SPACE: Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein (Graphic)
GN41834 Graphic shows the 600,000-year orbit of comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein.
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Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein is so large it has been classified as a dwarf planet. It was discovered by two University of Pennsylvania astronomers, Dr. Pedro Bernardinelli and Gary Bernstein, on June 19, 2021 beyond planet Uranus, and is on a trajectory that will bring it into the inner solar system for a once-in 600,000-year visit – reaching its closest approach to Earth in 10 year’s time.
The comet is thought to be a rare long-period variety visiting us from the farthest reaches of the solar system, about half a light-year from our sun. It likely originates from the Oort Cloud, a spherical mass of icy objects 50,000 to 100,000 astronomical units (AU: the Earth–Sun distance) from the Sun. Arguably the most famous comet in history, Halley’s Comet, is also thought to originate from the Oort Cloud.
Unfortunately, Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein will not pass close enough to Earth for us to see it with the naked-eye, despite being three times larger than the biggest comet photographed to date, Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997.
However, huge telescopes will be able to gather good images of it in 2031, when it makes its closest approach between the orbits of Saturn and Uranus. What makes it so exciting for astronomers though, is that it has been discovered now, giving them 10 years to monitor it, and possibly prepare to launch a nuclear-powered spacecraft to fly out and study it up close.
The timing is also ideally suited to the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, set to commence operations in 2023. With its 3,200-megapixel camera, it will be able to track the object for at least the next decade, if not longer – possibly uncovering many more mega-comets in the process.
SPACE: Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein (Graphic)
GN41834 Graphic shows the 600,000-year orbit of comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein.
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AVIATION: Airbus extra performance wing (Graphic)
September 30, 2021 -- Airbus is researching an “extra-performance wing” capable of changing shape during flight as part of efforts to make future aircraft more efficient and reduce carbon emissions.
The proposed new wing would include various technologies, including “pop-up spoilers” or wing surfaces to alter its profile and get the best performance, just as a bird twists its feathers, Airbus officials said.
The company will test the technology under Airbus UpNext, a subsidiary which concentrates on research and development of future technologies.
Airbus aims to fly the extra-performance wing demonstrator aircraft by the middle of the decade.
AVIATION: Airbus extra performance wing (Graphic)
GN41821 Graphic shows details of Airbus extra-performance wing demonstrator.
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The proposed new wing would include various technologies, including “pop-up spoilers” or wing surfaces to alter its profile and get the best performance, just as a bird twists its feathers, Airbus officials said.
The company will test the technology under Airbus UpNext, a subsidiary which concentrates on research and development of future technologies.
Airbus aims to fly the extra-performance wing demonstrator aircraft by the middle of the decade.
AVIATION: Airbus extra performance wing (Graphic)
GN41821 Graphic shows details of Airbus extra-performance wing demonstrator.
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MILITARY: Western Sahara sitrep (Graphic)
September 30, 2021 -- An EU court has cancelled two trade deals with Morocco after a case brought by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which seeks independence for the disputed territory.
European judges struck down the 2019 trade and fisheries agreements after Western Sahara’s independence movement, known as the Polisario Front, launched a legal challenge against the deals, arguing that they should not extend to the region automatically.
The EU’s Luxembourg-based general court on Wednesday (September 29) ruled in favour of the movement, deciding that EU governments had not gained sufficient consent from the people of Western Sahara when ratifying the deals.
The EU is Morocco’s largest trading partner, with nearly two-thirds of the country’s exports sold in the bloc.
Morocco controls 80 per cent of Western Sahara, home to some 650,000 people.
As Spain withdrew from the colony in 1975, its northern neighbour claimed the territory. But it was opposed by the Polisario Front, which took up arms to fight for independence, with the International Court of Justice ruling in favour of self-determination.
The following year, the Polisario Front proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) with allies including Cuba and Algeria.
The 15-year war ended with an UN-brokered peace deal in 1991. However, the ceasefire failed to find a lasting settlement, and in November 2020, fighting resumed between Polisario Front and Morocco.
“The General Court considers the Front to be the representative of the Saharawi people who, consequently, have the capacity to take legal action before European courts to defend the sovereign rights of their people,” said Oubi Bachir, the Polisario Front’s envoy to the EU.
MILITARY: Western Sahara sitrep (Graphic)
GN41835 Graphic shows facts about the Western Sahara.
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European judges struck down the 2019 trade and fisheries agreements after Western Sahara’s independence movement, known as the Polisario Front, launched a legal challenge against the deals, arguing that they should not extend to the region automatically.
The EU’s Luxembourg-based general court on Wednesday (September 29) ruled in favour of the movement, deciding that EU governments had not gained sufficient consent from the people of Western Sahara when ratifying the deals.
The EU is Morocco’s largest trading partner, with nearly two-thirds of the country’s exports sold in the bloc.
Morocco controls 80 per cent of Western Sahara, home to some 650,000 people.
As Spain withdrew from the colony in 1975, its northern neighbour claimed the territory. But it was opposed by the Polisario Front, which took up arms to fight for independence, with the International Court of Justice ruling in favour of self-determination.
The following year, the Polisario Front proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) with allies including Cuba and Algeria.
The 15-year war ended with an UN-brokered peace deal in 1991. However, the ceasefire failed to find a lasting settlement, and in November 2020, fighting resumed between Polisario Front and Morocco.
“The General Court considers the Front to be the representative of the Saharawi people who, consequently, have the capacity to take legal action before European courts to defend the sovereign rights of their people,” said Oubi Bachir, the Polisario Front’s envoy to the EU.
MILITARY: Western Sahara sitrep (Graphic)
GN41835 Graphic shows facts about the Western Sahara.
(107mm by 152mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
POLITICS: Uncomfortable Afghan truths (Graphic)
September 29, 2021 -- American military leaders, appearing before Congress, acknowledge strategic failures and uncomfortable truths in the 20-year U.S.-led combat mission in Afghanistan.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley and Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth McKenzie appeared before the Senate armed services committee.
McKenzie told Senators that the war in Afghanistan is “not over,” contradicting President Joe Biden, who said on August 31, “My fellow Americans, the war in Afghanistan is now over.”
Both McKenzie and Milley recommended leaving a small American fighting force of about 2,500 troops in the country to help stabilize the Afghan government.
Austin said that the most significant problems in Afghanistan were the depths of corruption in the government and the negative impact of former President Donald Trump’s peace deal with the Taliban. Those negotiations did not include the U.S.-backed Afghan government.
“We need to consider some uncomfortable truths,” Austin said in his opening statement. “We did not grasp the damaging effect of frequent and unexplained rotations by President Ghani of his commanders.”
“We didn’t anticipate the snowball effect caused by the deals that Taliban commanders struck with local leaders,” Austin added.
“Finally… we failed to fully grasp that there was only so much for which -- and for whom -- any of the Afghan forces would fight.”
Milley acknowledged that the withdrawal was a “strategic defeat” that left the Taliban back in power. He warned the Taliban “remains a terrorist organization” that has not broken ties with Al Qaeda.
He said that a reconstituted Al Qaeda in Afghanistan with aspirations to attack the United States was “a very real possibility” -- perhaps in as little as a year.
POLITICS: Uncomfortable Afghan truths (Graphic)
GN41832 Graphic shows strategic errors made by the United States in Afghanistan.
(163mm wide by 218mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley and Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth McKenzie appeared before the Senate armed services committee.
McKenzie told Senators that the war in Afghanistan is “not over,” contradicting President Joe Biden, who said on August 31, “My fellow Americans, the war in Afghanistan is now over.”
Both McKenzie and Milley recommended leaving a small American fighting force of about 2,500 troops in the country to help stabilize the Afghan government.
Austin said that the most significant problems in Afghanistan were the depths of corruption in the government and the negative impact of former President Donald Trump’s peace deal with the Taliban. Those negotiations did not include the U.S.-backed Afghan government.
“We need to consider some uncomfortable truths,” Austin said in his opening statement. “We did not grasp the damaging effect of frequent and unexplained rotations by President Ghani of his commanders.”
“We didn’t anticipate the snowball effect caused by the deals that Taliban commanders struck with local leaders,” Austin added.
“Finally… we failed to fully grasp that there was only so much for which -- and for whom -- any of the Afghan forces would fight.”
Milley acknowledged that the withdrawal was a “strategic defeat” that left the Taliban back in power. He warned the Taliban “remains a terrorist organization” that has not broken ties with Al Qaeda.
He said that a reconstituted Al Qaeda in Afghanistan with aspirations to attack the United States was “a very real possibility” -- perhaps in as little as a year.
POLITICS: Uncomfortable Afghan truths (Graphic)
GN41832 Graphic shows strategic errors made by the United States in Afghanistan.
(163mm wide by 218mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
MILITARY: China’s new air power (Graphic)
September 29, 2021 -- China has unveiled sophisticated new aircraft at its top air show in Zhuhai, with an eye on disputed territories from Taiwan to the South China Sea and its growing rivalry with the United States.
The new aircraft, unveiled at the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in the southern city of Zhuhai, included a prototype of the CH-6 long-endurance drone, capable of reconnaissance and strike operations, and the WZ-7 high-altitude surveillance drone.
Also capturing attention for the first time was the J-16D, an electronic attack version of China’s J-16 fighter.
The South China Sea is one of the most disputed regions in the world. China claims most of it but surrounding countries and the U.S. disagree.
MILITARY: China’s new air power (Graphic)
GN41822 Graphic shows China’s newest additions to its air force.
(107mm wide by 145mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
The new aircraft, unveiled at the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in the southern city of Zhuhai, included a prototype of the CH-6 long-endurance drone, capable of reconnaissance and strike operations, and the WZ-7 high-altitude surveillance drone.
Also capturing attention for the first time was the J-16D, an electronic attack version of China’s J-16 fighter.
The South China Sea is one of the most disputed regions in the world. China claims most of it but surrounding countries and the U.S. disagree.
MILITARY: China’s new air power (Graphic)
GN41822 Graphic shows China’s newest additions to its air force.
(107mm wide by 145mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
CLIMATE: COP26 – Conference logo (Artwork)
October 31 - November 12, 2021 -- COP26 is the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference – this year being held in Glasgow, Scotland, from October 31 to November 12.
During COP26, 200 countries will be asked what their plans are to cut emissions by 2030.
In 2015, most nations agreed to make changes to keep global warming below 2°C above pre-industrial levels – and to try and aim for 1.5°C – thus avoiding a forecast climate catastrophe. This meeting has become widely known as the “Paris Agreement”.
The world is becoming warmer, largely because of fossil fuel emissions caused by humans. As a result, extreme weather events linked to climate change such as heatwaves, floods and forest fires are becoming more and more common.
China’s commitment in particular is crucial as it is the world’s biggest polluter due to its reliance and investment in coal power stations.
Australia too is the world’s top coal exporter, and although outwardly accepting the Paris Agreement, it has since resisted committing to net-zero by 2050, unlike the UK and United States.
Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison, has even cast doubt on attending the event at all, and has been criticised for showing a lack of enthusiasm for tackling climate change.
CLIMATE: COP26 – Conference logo (Artwork)
GN41829 Graphic shows the emblem of the COP26 conference.
(107mm wide by 114mm deep @ 300 pixels/inch) View graphic
During COP26, 200 countries will be asked what their plans are to cut emissions by 2030.
In 2015, most nations agreed to make changes to keep global warming below 2°C above pre-industrial levels – and to try and aim for 1.5°C – thus avoiding a forecast climate catastrophe. This meeting has become widely known as the “Paris Agreement”.
The world is becoming warmer, largely because of fossil fuel emissions caused by humans. As a result, extreme weather events linked to climate change such as heatwaves, floods and forest fires are becoming more and more common.
China’s commitment in particular is crucial as it is the world’s biggest polluter due to its reliance and investment in coal power stations.
Australia too is the world’s top coal exporter, and although outwardly accepting the Paris Agreement, it has since resisted committing to net-zero by 2050, unlike the UK and United States.
Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison, has even cast doubt on attending the event at all, and has been criticised for showing a lack of enthusiasm for tackling climate change.
CLIMATE: COP26 – Conference logo (Artwork)
GN41829 Graphic shows the emblem of the COP26 conference.
(107mm wide by 114mm deep @ 300 pixels/inch) View graphic
HISTORY: On this day October 10-16 2021 (week 41) (Graphic)
October 10-16, 2021 -- Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries for each day of the week. This week features Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, Mao’s widow Jiang Qing, the U.S. White House, Greenwich meantime, Greek feta cheese, the smoking of tobacco and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt.
October 10, 2014: Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, shot by the Taliban for demanding education for girls, became the youngest ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
October 11, 1976: A month after Mao Zedong’s death China’s “Gang of Four”, led by Mao’s widow Jiang Qing, were arrested and charged with plotting a coup
October 12, 1901: The U.S. presidential residence was renamed the White House, a name in common use since the early 19th century, replacing its earlier title of Executive Mansion
October 13, 1884: Greenwich was established as the universal time meridian of longitude from which standard times throughout the world are calculated
October 14, 2002: The European Commission ruled only cheese made in Greece could be called feta, and that non Greek feta-style cheeses must be marketed under another name
October 15, 1492: Christopher Columbus noted in his journal that native Caribbean islanders habitually smoked dry leaves. It was the first recorded reference to tobacco
October 16, 2002: A new library in Egypt, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, was opened on the site of the fabled original destroyed by fire in the fourth century AD
HISTORY: On this day October 10-16 2021 (week 41) (Graphic)
GN41783 Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries on each day for the week.
(Each 52mm wide by 118mm deep packaged as a set) View graphic
October 10, 2014: Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, shot by the Taliban for demanding education for girls, became the youngest ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
October 11, 1976: A month after Mao Zedong’s death China’s “Gang of Four”, led by Mao’s widow Jiang Qing, were arrested and charged with plotting a coup
October 12, 1901: The U.S. presidential residence was renamed the White House, a name in common use since the early 19th century, replacing its earlier title of Executive Mansion
October 13, 1884: Greenwich was established as the universal time meridian of longitude from which standard times throughout the world are calculated
October 14, 2002: The European Commission ruled only cheese made in Greece could be called feta, and that non Greek feta-style cheeses must be marketed under another name
October 15, 1492: Christopher Columbus noted in his journal that native Caribbean islanders habitually smoked dry leaves. It was the first recorded reference to tobacco
October 16, 2002: A new library in Egypt, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, was opened on the site of the fabled original destroyed by fire in the fourth century AD
HISTORY: On this day October 10-16 2021 (week 41) (Graphic)
GN41783 Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries on each day for the week.
(Each 52mm wide by 118mm deep packaged as a set) View graphic
WORLD AGENDA: October 2021 interactive (Interactive)
October 1-31, 2021 -- Each month Graphic News publishes a World Agenda of forthcoming events that will shape the world in the month ahead. Events in October include the meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and his French counterpart Emmanual Macron to try to smooth relations, elections in Iraq, the trial of Myanmar’s deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and the 10th anniversary of Steve Jobs’ death.
Events in October include...
Oct 1, U.S.: The Biden administration wants to double the number of refugees admitted to the U.S. to 125,000 in the fiscal year starting Oct 1. The decision comes as tens of thousands of Afghan refugees evacuated from Kabul are at U.S. military bases awaiting resettlement.
Oct 1, Myanmar: Deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi is set to go on trial for corruption. Suu Kyi has been under house arrest since a military coup in February sparked a mass uprising and a brutal crackdown on dissent.
Oct 1, United Arab Emirates: Expo 2020 Dubai, the first world fair in the Middle East, opens its doors to exhibitors from 200 countries after being delayed for a year by the pandemic.
Oct 1, Japan: The last of Japan's double-decker bullet trains head into retirement. The E4 series once boasted the world’s greatest capacity of any high-speed rail service, but its 240km/h two-tier carriages have been outstripped by newer designs
which can achieve up to 320km/h.
Oct 5, Russia: Crew for the movie “The Challenge” are due to blast off to the International Space Station as Russia overtakes the U.S. in a new space race to shoot the first movie in orbit. Last year NASA and Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise
announced plans for a similar venture aboard the ISS.
Oct 5, U.S.: Apple co-founder Steve Jobs died 10 years ago, aged 56. CEO Tim Cook recently tweeted: “Especially in a year where so much kept us apart, technology brought us together in so many ways,” calling this a testament to Jobs’ legacy.
Oct 10, Iraq: War-scarred Iraq holds parliamentary elections in which Moqtada al-Sadr, the former U.S. foe and now one of Iraq’s most influential political figures, is a likely frontrunner.
Oct 30-31, Italy: U.S. President Joe Biden and his French counterpart Emmanual Macron meet privately at the G20 summit to try to smooth relations after France was cut out of a lucrative deal to supply nuclear submarines to Australia. Canberra has made a new pact with the U.S. and UK – AUKUS – instead.
WORLD AGENDA: October 2021 interactive (Interactive)
GN41809 Responsive interactive graphic shows news events in October 2021.
(640px wide by 568px deep) View graphic
Events in October include...
Oct 1, U.S.: The Biden administration wants to double the number of refugees admitted to the U.S. to 125,000 in the fiscal year starting Oct 1. The decision comes as tens of thousands of Afghan refugees evacuated from Kabul are at U.S. military bases awaiting resettlement.
Oct 1, Myanmar: Deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi is set to go on trial for corruption. Suu Kyi has been under house arrest since a military coup in February sparked a mass uprising and a brutal crackdown on dissent.
Oct 1, United Arab Emirates: Expo 2020 Dubai, the first world fair in the Middle East, opens its doors to exhibitors from 200 countries after being delayed for a year by the pandemic.
Oct 1, Japan: The last of Japan's double-decker bullet trains head into retirement. The E4 series once boasted the world’s greatest capacity of any high-speed rail service, but its 240km/h two-tier carriages have been outstripped by newer designs
which can achieve up to 320km/h.
Oct 5, Russia: Crew for the movie “The Challenge” are due to blast off to the International Space Station as Russia overtakes the U.S. in a new space race to shoot the first movie in orbit. Last year NASA and Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise
announced plans for a similar venture aboard the ISS.
Oct 5, U.S.: Apple co-founder Steve Jobs died 10 years ago, aged 56. CEO Tim Cook recently tweeted: “Especially in a year where so much kept us apart, technology brought us together in so many ways,” calling this a testament to Jobs’ legacy.
Oct 10, Iraq: War-scarred Iraq holds parliamentary elections in which Moqtada al-Sadr, the former U.S. foe and now one of Iraq’s most influential political figures, is a likely frontrunner.
Oct 30-31, Italy: U.S. President Joe Biden and his French counterpart Emmanual Macron meet privately at the G20 summit to try to smooth relations after France was cut out of a lucrative deal to supply nuclear submarines to Australia. Canberra has made a new pact with the U.S. and UK – AUKUS – instead.
WORLD AGENDA: October 2021 interactive (Interactive)
GN41809 Responsive interactive graphic shows news events in October 2021.
(640px wide by 568px deep) View graphic
ARCHAEOLOGY: Grand Egyptian Museum (Graphic)
September 22, 2021 -- The long-awaited Grand Egyptian Museum, described as the world’s largest museum dedicated to a single civilisation, is due to open on the outskirts of Cairo. Approximately 100,000 ancient artifacts will be on display, including the complete Tutankhamun collection.
The 60,000-square-metre building has been built on a plot of nearly 500,000 square metres, about two kilometres from the Giza Pyramids plateau, according to The National.
It has been in the works since a worldwide architectural competition was announced in 2002.
But completion has had several delays because of political and economic instability after the 2011 revolution, and travel and tourism challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The venue is slated to open in late 2021.
ARCHAEOLOGY: Grand Egyptian Museum (Graphic)
GN41079 Graphic shows details of Grand Egyptian Museum.
(107mm by 170mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
The 60,000-square-metre building has been built on a plot of nearly 500,000 square metres, about two kilometres from the Giza Pyramids plateau, according to The National.
It has been in the works since a worldwide architectural competition was announced in 2002.
But completion has had several delays because of political and economic instability after the 2011 revolution, and travel and tourism challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The venue is slated to open in late 2021.
ARCHAEOLOGY: Grand Egyptian Museum (Graphic)
GN41079 Graphic shows details of Grand Egyptian Museum.
(107mm by 170mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
ENTERTAINMENT: ABBA Voyage virtual concert (Graphic)
May 27, 2022 -- Swedish pop sensation ABBA is returning to the stage as virtual avatars, digitally recreated to appear 40 years younger than they are today.
Computer graphic avatars of the four members of ABBA looking as they did in their prime, nicknamed “Abbatars”, are to feature in a new live concert experience in London, called “ABBA Voyage”.
The Abbatars, created by ILM (the special effects house originally built by George Lucas to realise his vision for Star Wars), will be projected into a custom-built 3,000-capacity arena on the site of the 2012 London Olympics, in the city’s East End.
Accompanying the virtual representations of Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid Lyngstad (Frida), Agnetha Fältskog and Björn Ulvaeus, will be a 10-piece live band. Together, they will perform 22 of the group’s greatest hits during a pop concert that will be repeated seven times a week.
To recreate a live stage presence, state-of-the-art computer animation will be projected into an auditorium using an update of an old Victorian parlour theatre called “Pepper’s Ghost”. The technique was popular in the 1800s for creating spectral apparitions, but has been used more recently at Disney’s Haunted Mansion theme park attraction.
Until now, the previously best known digital avatar stage performance was Michael Jackson’s appearance at the 2014 Billboard Music awards, five years after his death.
ABBA’s return is said to use a more advanced update of that technology, featuring clever use of lighting to help meld the projection, live performers, staging and audience together into a unique concert experience.
The shows are scheduled to begin on May 27, 2022, with ticket prices from an affordable £21 per person. ABBA’s first new album in 40 years, also titled ABBA Voyage, is released on November 5, 2021, featuring 10 new songs.
ENTERTAINMENT: ABBA Voyage virtual concert (Graphic)
GN41771 Graphic shows how the ABBA Voyage concert is staged.
(163mm by 240mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
Computer graphic avatars of the four members of ABBA looking as they did in their prime, nicknamed “Abbatars”, are to feature in a new live concert experience in London, called “ABBA Voyage”.
The Abbatars, created by ILM (the special effects house originally built by George Lucas to realise his vision for Star Wars), will be projected into a custom-built 3,000-capacity arena on the site of the 2012 London Olympics, in the city’s East End.
Accompanying the virtual representations of Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid Lyngstad (Frida), Agnetha Fältskog and Björn Ulvaeus, will be a 10-piece live band. Together, they will perform 22 of the group’s greatest hits during a pop concert that will be repeated seven times a week.
To recreate a live stage presence, state-of-the-art computer animation will be projected into an auditorium using an update of an old Victorian parlour theatre called “Pepper’s Ghost”. The technique was popular in the 1800s for creating spectral apparitions, but has been used more recently at Disney’s Haunted Mansion theme park attraction.
Until now, the previously best known digital avatar stage performance was Michael Jackson’s appearance at the 2014 Billboard Music awards, five years after his death.
ABBA’s return is said to use a more advanced update of that technology, featuring clever use of lighting to help meld the projection, live performers, staging and audience together into a unique concert experience.
The shows are scheduled to begin on May 27, 2022, with ticket prices from an affordable £21 per person. ABBA’s first new album in 40 years, also titled ABBA Voyage, is released on November 5, 2021, featuring 10 new songs.
ENTERTAINMENT: ABBA Voyage virtual concert (Graphic)
GN41771 Graphic shows how the ABBA Voyage concert is staged.
(163mm by 240mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
POLITICS: New Taliban government (Graphic)
September 8, 2021 -- The Taliban’s all-male interim government for Afghanistan is stacked with veterans of their hard-line rule from the 1990s and the 20-year battle against the U.S.-led coalition, a move that seems unlikely to win the international support the new leaders desperately need.
Appointed to the key post of interior minister was Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is on the FBI’s most-wanted list with a $5 million bounty on his head and is believed to still be holding at least one American hostage. He headed the feared Haqqani network that is blamed for many deadly attacks and kidnappings.
Drawn mostly from Afghanistan’s dominant Pashtun ethnic group, the Cabinet's lack of representation from other ethnic groups also seems certain to hobble its support from abroad.
As much as 80% of Afghanistan's budget comes from the international community, and a long-running economic crisis has worsened in recent months. Near daily flights from Qatar bring in humanitarian aid, but the needs are massive, and the Taliban can hardly afford isolation.
POLITICS: New Taliban government (Graphic)
GN41774 Graphic shows key figures in the new Taliban government.
(107mm wide by 160mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
Appointed to the key post of interior minister was Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is on the FBI’s most-wanted list with a $5 million bounty on his head and is believed to still be holding at least one American hostage. He headed the feared Haqqani network that is blamed for many deadly attacks and kidnappings.
Drawn mostly from Afghanistan’s dominant Pashtun ethnic group, the Cabinet's lack of representation from other ethnic groups also seems certain to hobble its support from abroad.
As much as 80% of Afghanistan's budget comes from the international community, and a long-running economic crisis has worsened in recent months. Near daily flights from Qatar bring in humanitarian aid, but the needs are massive, and the Taliban can hardly afford isolation.
POLITICS: New Taliban government (Graphic)
GN41774 Graphic shows key figures in the new Taliban government.
(107mm wide by 160mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
BUSINESS: World’s largest triceratops (Graphic)
September 2 - October 21, 2021 -- Big John, the largest known Triceratops skeleton, will go under the hammer at Drouot auction house in Paris in October. After the dinosaur’s discovery in 2015 in the United States, it is now being assembled in an exhibition gallery in the French capital before public display on September 16.
Sixty-six million-year-old Big John roamed the lands of modern-day South Dakota. His eight-metre long skeleton is more than 60 per cent complete and includes a near-complete skull, which measures 2.62 metres in length and two metres wide. Palaeontologists unearthed the first piece of bone in 2014.
The Drouot auction house estimates Big John’s skeleton could fetch between €1.2 million and €1.5 million.
“I imagine there are about 10 buyers worldwide for this kind of piece,” said Alexandre Giquello, the auctioneer at Drouot.
“Usually buyers manifest a bit later, shortly before the auction, but here we have already noted a lot of interest,” he said.
In October 2020, a 67-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex specimen named Stan became the world’s most expensive dinosaur when it was auctioned by Christie’s for a jaw-dropping $31.85 million. Stan took the record from Sue, another T. rex fossil which was auctioned in October 1997 by Sotheby’s, for $8.36 million -- nearly $13.5 million today, given the inflation rate.
Big John’s showing in Paris will only last until it is sold on October 21, at Hôtel Drouot.
BUSINESS: World’s largest triceratops (Graphic)
GN41765 Graphic shows Big John Triceratops and record selling T. rex Stan.
(107mm by mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
Sixty-six million-year-old Big John roamed the lands of modern-day South Dakota. His eight-metre long skeleton is more than 60 per cent complete and includes a near-complete skull, which measures 2.62 metres in length and two metres wide. Palaeontologists unearthed the first piece of bone in 2014.
The Drouot auction house estimates Big John’s skeleton could fetch between €1.2 million and €1.5 million.
“I imagine there are about 10 buyers worldwide for this kind of piece,” said Alexandre Giquello, the auctioneer at Drouot.
“Usually buyers manifest a bit later, shortly before the auction, but here we have already noted a lot of interest,” he said.
In October 2020, a 67-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex specimen named Stan became the world’s most expensive dinosaur when it was auctioned by Christie’s for a jaw-dropping $31.85 million. Stan took the record from Sue, another T. rex fossil which was auctioned in October 1997 by Sotheby’s, for $8.36 million -- nearly $13.5 million today, given the inflation rate.
Big John’s showing in Paris will only last until it is sold on October 21, at Hôtel Drouot.
BUSINESS: World’s largest triceratops (Graphic)
GN41765 Graphic shows Big John Triceratops and record selling T. rex Stan.
(107mm by mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
AVIATION: Young woman attempts solo microlight circumnavigation (Graphic)
August 18 - November 4, 2021 -- A 19-year-old British/Belgian girl will attempt to become the youngest woman to fly solo around the world, and the youngest person to undertake the 50,100km voyage in a microlight plane.
Zara Rutherford will be flying clockwise around the world, crossing 57 countries and five continents, making two crossings of the Equator, to take in Colombia and Indonesia. The low weight of her Shark UL microlight plane means it will only require around 2,500 litres of fuel for the entire journey, less than a typical passenger jet uses in 10 minutes.
Despite flying from a young age and coming from a family of aviators, Rutherford only obtained her full flying license a year ago.
AVIATION: Young woman attempts solo microlight circumnavigation (Graphic)
GN41626 Graphic shows the flight path of Zara Rutherford on her journey around the world, with details of the ultralight Shark UL plane.
(107mm wide by 125mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
Zara Rutherford will be flying clockwise around the world, crossing 57 countries and five continents, making two crossings of the Equator, to take in Colombia and Indonesia. The low weight of her Shark UL microlight plane means it will only require around 2,500 litres of fuel for the entire journey, less than a typical passenger jet uses in 10 minutes.
Despite flying from a young age and coming from a family of aviators, Rutherford only obtained her full flying license a year ago.
AVIATION: Young woman attempts solo microlight circumnavigation (Graphic)
GN41626 Graphic shows the flight path of Zara Rutherford on her journey around the world, with details of the ultralight Shark UL plane.
(107mm wide by 125mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic
HISTORY: ON THIS DAY auto-updating (1) (Interactive UPDATED Jun 2)
January 1 - December 31, 2021 -- Have a look at how this interactive graphic auto-updates each day to show a range of international anniversaries and events today in history - a daily feature to engage your online visitors day after day.
EDITORS: This graphic is a responsive interactive that can be published in an iframe. The events and picture displayed are determined by the system clock on the device on which it is viewed.
The graphic can be published using embed code. If you host the graphic yourself you may wish to substitute some of the events or images to give a more national or local interest. The image and text for each day are held in the hypresources folder. Data is supplied for a whole year (instructions available - see below)
HISTORY: ON THIS DAY auto-updating (1) (Interactive UPDATED Jun 2)
GN40881 Responsive graphic shows anniversaries and events from today’s date in history. Changes automatically each day. Come back tomorrow to see anniversaries and events for that date.
(800px wide by 650px deep - auto updating)
EDITORS: This graphic is a responsive interactive that can be published in an iframe. The events and picture displayed are determined by the system clock on the device on which it is viewed.
The graphic can be published using embed code. If you host the graphic yourself you may wish to substitute some of the events or images to give a more national or local interest. The image and text for each day are held in the hypresources folder. Data is supplied for a whole year (instructions available - see below)
HISTORY: ON THIS DAY auto-updating (1) (Interactive UPDATED Jun 2)
GN40881 Responsive graphic shows anniversaries and events from today’s date in history. Changes automatically each day. Come back tomorrow to see anniversaries and events for that date.
(800px wide by 650px deep - auto updating)