Life on Mars: simulating Red Planet base in Israeli desert

A couple of trainee astronauts walk in their spacesuits during a training mission for planet Mars inside the Ramon Crater in Mitzpe Ramon in Israel's southern Negev desert 

JACK GUEZ AFP

Issued on: 11/10/2021 - 

Mitzpe Ramon (Israel) (AFP)

Inside a huge crater in Israel's sun-baked Negev desert, a team wearing space suits ventures forth on a mission to simulate conditions on Mars.

The Austrian Space Forum has set up a pretend Martian base with the Israeli space agency at Makhtesh Ramon, a 500-metre (1,600-foot) deep, 40 kilometre (25 mile) wide crater.

The six so-called "analogue astronauts" will live in isolation in the virtual station until the end of the month.

"It's a dream come true," Israeli Alon Tenzer, 36, told AFP. "It's something we've been working on for years."

The participants -- from Austria, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain -- all had to pass gruelling physical and psychological tests.

During their mission, they will conduct tests including on a drone prototype that functions without GPS, and on automated wind- and solar-powered mapping vehicles.

Technicians assist a trainee astronaut to suit up in a spacesuit. Six members from Portugal, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Israel will be cut off from the world for a month

 JACK GUEZ AFP

The mission will also aim to study human behaviour and the effect of isolation on the astronauts.

"The group's cohesion and their ability to work together are crucial for surviving on Mars," said Gernot Groemer, the Austrian mission supervisor.

"It's like a marriage, except in a marriage you can leave but on Mars you can't."

- 'Largest voyage ever' -

The Austrian Space Forum, a private organisation made up of aerospace specialists, has already organised 12 missions, the most recent in Oman in 2018.

The simulated Mars base where the team will live, in the Ramon Crater in Israel's southern Negev desert 

JACK GUEZ AFP

The Israel project is part of mission Amadee-20, which was expected to kick off last year but was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The forum has partnered with Israeli research centre D-MARS to construct the solar-powered base.

German astronaut Anika Mehlis, the only woman on the team, told AFP how happy she was to be part of the project.

"My father took me to the space museum when I was little," she said. "When I saw that the forum was looking for analogue astronauts, I told myself I had to apply."

Mehlis, a trained microbiologist, will study a scenario where bacteria from Earth infect potential life forms that may be found on Mars, saying this "would be a huge problem".

An astronaut from the team enters the sealed habitat, to be supervised by a Mission Support Center in Austria 

JACK GUEZ AFP

Visually, the surrounding desert resembles the Red Planet with its stony wilderness and orange hues, though thankfully not in terms of atmospheric conditions.

"Over here, we have temperatures of about 25-30 degrees Celsius, but on Mars the temperature is minus 60 degrees Celsius and the atmosphere is not fit for breathing," said Groemer.

The interior of the base is austere, with a small kitchen and bunk beds. Most of the space is reserved for scientific experiments.

NASA envisions the first human mission to Mars will launch in 2030.

The team will test a robotic rover during their mission, the Amadee-20 Mars simulation JACK GUEZ AFP

"What we are doing here is preparing a large mission, the largest voyage our society has ever taken, as Mars and Earth are 380 million kilometres apart at their extreme point," said Groemer.

"I believe the very first human to walk on Mars is already born and we are the ship-builders to enable this journey."

© 2021 AFP

EXPOSING STALINISM

Hong Kong's largest pro-democracy party shuns 'patriot only' election

The number of directly elected seats in Hong Kong's legislature has been reduced from half to less than a quarter 

Peter PARKS AFP

Issued on: 11/10/2021

Hong Kong (AFP)

Hong Kong's largest pro-democracy party will not contest upcoming "patriot only" legislature elections after none of its members met the party's own application deadline on Monday.

The decision means the December polls have been effectively boycotted by the city's pro-democracy opposition with even the movement's most moderate wing deciding it is not worth taking part.

The Democratic Party's membership had been split on whether to continue with Hong Kong's political process as authorities crack down on dissent in response to huge and often violent protests two years ago.

On Monday evening the party said no-one had applied from its membership by the deadline.

One member, veteran Tiananmen Square activist Han Dongfang, previously said he wished to run but did not manage to secure enough nominations within the party.

The result is a blow for Hong Kong's government who have pushed the narrative that the once outspoken city remains politically pluralistic even as scores of opposition figures are jailed and disqualified from standing for office.

Most of Hong Kong's major pro-democracy parties have either disbanded or seen their leadership decimated by arrests and prosecutions.

Under an overhaul imposed by Beijing earlier this year, only those deemed "staunch patriots" are allowed to take part in politics and anyone standing for public office must be vetted for national security risks.

The overhaul has also further reduced the number of directly elected seats in the city's legislature from half to less than a quarter.

The rest will be appointed by reliably pro-Beijing committees and special interest groups that have been vetted for their political loyalty.

Beijing is sensitive to any move that might cast doubt on its new "patriots only" political model.

The government has warned that anyone urging others to boycott the new polls could be prosecuted.

Last month a prominent Beijing adviser said the Democratic Party could open itself up to prosecution under Hong Kong's new national security law if it declined to field candidates.

Beijing imposed the security law on Hong Kong last June to quash dissent after the city was upended by massive, often violent pro-democracy protests in 2019.

It says the law and new political vetting system has restored stability and wiped out "anti-China elements".

Critics, including many Western powers, say the crackdown has eviscerated Beijing's promise that Hong Kong could maintain certain freedoms and turned the finance hub into a mirror of the authoritarian mainland.

© 2021 AFP

REFUGEE'S

Nearly 19,000 kids crossed dangerous Darien Gap in 2021: UN

A Haitian migrant girl is seen crossing the Darien Gap jungle between Colombia and Panama in September 2021 -- a record number of children have made the trek in 2021, UNICEF says 

Raul ARBOLEDA AFP/File

Issued on: 11/10/2021 - 

Panama City (AFP)

A record of almost 19,000 children have crossed the dangerous Darien Gap jungle between Colombia and Panama this year en route to the United States, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said Monday.

That figure is "nearly three times more than the number registered over the five previous years combined," said UNICEF.

The report said almost 20 percent of the migrants crossing the jungle       are children, and half of those are below the age of five.

The Darien Gap is one of the main routes for migrants heading from South America to the United States, but the jungle has been overrun by armed groups such as drug and people traffickers.

"The number of migrant children who cross the Darien Gap on foot has hit an all-time high," said UNICEF, adding that the jungle "is one of the most dangerous places for migrants attempting to reach North America."

"In this dense tropical forest, migrant families with children are particularly exposed to violence, including sexual abuse, trafficking and extortion from criminal gangs.

"Children who cross the Darien Gap are also at risk of getting diarrhea, respiratory diseases, dehydration and other ailments that require immediate attention."

Wild animals, insects and a lack of safe drinking water exacerbate the problems of trying to cross the jungle.

At least five children have been found dead in the jungle in 2021, while more than 150, including newborn babies, have arrived in Panama without their parents, a near 20-time increase over 2020.

"Each child crossing the Darien Gap on foot is a survivor," said Jean Gough, UNICEF regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean.

"Never before have our teams on the ground seen so many young children crossing the Darien Gap -- often unaccompanied."

He said the issue needs to be treated as a region-wide humanitarian crisis.

So far in 2021, more than 91,000 migrants have crossed the 575,000 hectares (1.4 million acres) of virgin jungle, according to Panama's migration authorities.

The majority of migrants tackling this treacherous journey are Haitians and Cubans, but some come from as far afield as Africa or Asia.

© 2021 AFP

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES

Norway court rules wind farms harming reindeer herders

NAH JUST LACK OF CONSULTATION

Reindeer herding is a traditional cultural practice of the Sami people

 Jonathan NACKSTRAND AFP/File

Issued on: 11/10/2021 

Oslo (AFP)

Norway's Supreme Court on Monday ruled that two wind parks built in the country's west were harming reindeer herders from the Sami people by encroaching on their pastures.

It was not immediately clear what the consequences of the finding will be.

But lawyers for the herders say the 151 turbines completed on the Fosen peninsula in 2020 -- part of the biggest land-based wind park in Europe -- could be torn down.

"Their construction has been declared illegal, and it would be illegal to continue operating them," said Andreas Bronner, who represented a group of herders alleging harm from one of the two parks.

Ole Berthelsen, a spokesman for Norway's ministry for oil and energy, said that "the Supreme Court verdict creates a need to clarify the situation", adding it would "communicate later about what to do next".

The judges declared the licences issued by the ministry to build and operate the turbines void, saying they violated the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The UN text's Article 27 states that ethnic minorities "shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, or to use their own language."

Traditional Sami reindeer herding is a form of protected cultural practice, the Norwegian court found.

"Of course, this is a surprise to us," said Tom Kristian Larsen, head of Fosen Vind, which operates one of the wind farms.

"We based our action on definitive licences granted us by the authorities after a long and detailed process that heard from all parties," he added.

"Special importance was given to reindeer herding".

The company said it would now wait for the ministry's decision on next steps.

The Sami people number up to 100,000 people spread across Sweden, Finland, Norway and Russia.

Some of them make a living from raising semi-domesticated reindeer for their meat and hides.

© 2021 AFP

Thousands evacuated and coal mines shuttered as floods hit north China

Many parts of Shanxi, a landlocked province that generally has dry weather, saw record-breaking rainfall over the past week, according to the provincial government 

Beijing (AFP)

More than 120,000 people have been evacuated, coal mines shut and crops destroyed after unseasonably heavy rainfall flooded north China's Shanxi province over the weekend, state media reported Monday, with more rain forecast.

The deluge comes just months after record floods hit the country's central Henan province in July -- killing more than 300 people -- and raises fears about ensuring the supply of energy ahead of the winter.

Many parts of Shanxi, a landlocked province that generally has dry weather, saw record-breaking rainfall over the past week, according to the provincial government, which ordered coal mines to take flood-proofing measures and make emergency plans to be "activated immediately in case of grave danger".

At least 60 coal mines in the province -- one of China's top coal-producing regions -- have suspended operations due to the floods, according to a local government statement, even as the country faces a power supply crunch.

Beijing recently ordered coal mines to spare no costs to increase production and ensure supply, as well as said it will allow higher electricity prices in a bid to boost generation. Analysts have warned the move could add to inflation concerns.

China has been hit by widespread power cuts amid record coal prices, state electricity price controls and tough emissions targets that have squeezed the power supply.

More than 1.75 million residents have so far been affected by the floods in Shanxi, which state news agency Xinhua reported had received more than three times the average monthly rainfall for October in just five days last week.

An estimated 190,000 hectares of crops were destroyed and 17,000 buildings were reduced to rubble, the local Communist Party newspaper Shanxi Evening News reported.

More than 1.75 million residents have so far been affected by the floods in Shanxi 

Shanxi's meteorological bureau said Sunday there would be more rain in the coming days, urging farmers to "rush to harvest when the weather is clear".

Authorities have not yet published a death toll.

Video footage published by the Shanxi Evening News showed rescuers wading through murky waters and floating on rafts down flooded urban streets.

Meanwhile, state broadcaster CCTV showed workers repairing a broken dam, and railway tracks left suspended over water after part of the bridge they were on collapsed.

© 2021 AFP

Canada pledges action on methane as momentum builds for COP26

Demonstrators in Montreal take part in the global climate strike on September 24, 2021 Andrej Ivanov AFP

Issued on: 11/10/2021 

Washington (AFP)

Energy exporter Canada on Monday promised tough action against methane, a major contributor to climate change, as momentum builds for an ambitious global deal in Glasgow next month.

Twenty-four more nations pledged action against methane in a virtual meeting led by the United States and the European Union, which earlier announced a joint initiative on the potent gas.

Canada will aim to reduce methane from its oil and gas sector by at least 75 percent by 2030 from 2012 levels, becoming the first country to back a goal by the International Energy Agency, Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said.

"A 75 percent target is an important goal, and we encourage other oil- and gas-producing nations to adopt it," he said.

"As we like to say in Canada, we certainly get it."

The methane promise is in line with promises by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as he won a third term in elections last month.

Wilkinson said the methane effort was part of Canada's overall goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40-45 percent by 2030 from 2005 levels -- a target announced in April by Trudeau that is less ambitious than that of much of the developed world.

Methane, emitted by oil and gas production and agriculture, spends less time in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide but is far more potent and is seen as a key area where the world can take action.

A joint initiative launched last month by the United States and European Union called for global methane reductions of 30 percent by 2030 from 2020 levels.

At Monday's meeting, philanthropic institutions -- including that of former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg -- together promised $223 million to boost efforts on reducing methane.

The COP26 summit in Glasgow aims to raise the global fight on climate change as evidence mounts that the world is off track, with the planet setting record temperatures and experiencing increasingly severe fires and storms.

"It's clear that we're in a race against time. It is far, far, far more expensive to be dealing with the problems of the climate crisis over time than it is to deal with it now," said John Kerry, the US climate envoy.

"Hopefully that all changes in the next weeks," he said, adding he was "encouraged" by recent promises.

© 2021 AFP

WHO pens prescription for health at COP26



The 4th warmest September on record globally 

Simon MALFATTO AFP

Issued on: 11/10/2021 - 

Geneva (AFP)

Millions of lives could be saved by reining in global warming, the World Health Organization said Monday, urging the COP26 summit to take serious climate action to improve public health worldwide.

"The burning of fossil fuels is killing us," the World Health Organization said in an 82-page COP26 special report. "Climate change is the single biggest health threat facing humanity."

In the report, entitled "The Health Argument for Climate Action", the WHO set out 10 recommendations on how to maximise the health benefits of tackling climate change -- and avoid the worst health impacts of the climate crisis.

Countries must set ambitious national climate commitments to foster a healthy recovery from the Covid-19 crisis, said the report.

"The Covid-19 pandemic has shone a light on the intimate and delicate links between humans, animals and our environment," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

"The same unsustainable choices that are killing our planet are killing people.

"WHO calls on all countries to commit to decisive action at COP26 to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius -- not just because it's the right thing to do, but because it's in our own interests."

COP26, the UN Climate Change Conference, is being held in Glasgow from October 31 to November 12.

- Death toll -

Achieving the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement -- which included preferably limiting the rise in mean global temperature to 1.5 C -- would save millions of lives every year due to improvements in air quality, diet, and physical activity, said the report.

Air pollution, primarily the result of burning fossil fuels, caused 13 deaths per minute worldwide -- and the public health benefits of ambitious climate action would far outweigh the costs.

"Bringing down air pollution to WHO guideline levels, for example, would reduce the total number of global deaths from air pollution by 80 percent," said Maria Neira, the WHO's environment, climate change and health director.

Switching to more plant-based diets "could reduce global emissions significantly, ensure more resilient food systems, and avoid up to 5.1 million diet-related deaths a year by 2050", she added.

The WHO's 10 recommendations urge COP negotiators to place health at the heart of the summit and commit to a green recovery from Covid-19.

The WHO wants climate interventions with the largest health gains prioritised, with health resilience to climate risks included in planning.

The report called a shift away from coal combustion to renewable energy as part of a move towards energy systems that improve health.

It also urged the redesign of urban environments to increase access to green space and for walking, cycling and public transport to be prioritised.

And it sent an open letter signed by organisations representing more than two thirds of the global health workforce urging leaders to step up climate action at Glasgow.

"We are already responding to the health harms caused by climate change," said the letter, penned by 300 organisations representing at least 45 million health professionals.

"Make human health and equity central to all climate change mitigation and adaptation actions," the joint letter said.

© 2021 AFP

Poor countries need 'comprehensive' debt relief: World Bank chief

World Bank President David Malpass warns high debt levels will hold back poor countries' recoveries from the pandemic 

ASHRAF SHAZLY AFP/File

Issued on: 11/10/2021 

Washington (AFP)

Debt loads in low-income countries surged 12 percent to a record $860 billion in 2020 amid the pandemic, prompting World Bank President David Malpass to call Monday for a "comprehensive plan" to deal with the issue.

"Sustainable debt levels are vital for economic recovery and poverty reduction," he said.

Efforts to combat Covid-19 exacerbated already-rising debt levels, and addressing the problem will require relief from lenders, Malpass said.

The situation is urgent since the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) launched by G20 nations early last year, which allows countries to defer debt payments while battling Covid-19, expires at the end of 2021.

The DSSI "wasn't broad enough, but suspended some debt," Malpass told reporters, warning that given the challenge debt represents to poor nations, it may need to be extended.

"I think there should be consideration by the world of what to do after January 1. And a suspension is something that could be considered," he said.

The World Bank and IMF are holding their fall meetings this week in Washington, which will see some officials attend in person for the first time since 2019, though others will participate virtually.

New World Bank data shows the deterioration in debt indicators was widespread and impacted countries in all regions, across all low- and middle-income countries.

"Many developing countries entered 2020 in a vulnerable position, with public external debt already at elevated levels," the report said, and then governments provided unprecedented resources to try to contain the virus and the economic fallout.

The World Bank and IMF likewise ramped up support, especially for the most vulnerable countries.

However, some poor countries saw debt loads increase by as much as 20 percent, and for most, economic growth and income as well as exports did not increase.

Addressing reporters, Malpass said the pandemic has caused "tragic reversals" in development for poor countries nationwide.

"Progress in reducing extreme poverty has been set back by years, for some by a decade, median incomes have declined instead of rising," and women and children have borne the brunt of the downturn's ill effects, he said.

In 2020, net inflows from multilateral creditors to low- and middle-income countries rose to $117 billion, "the highest level in a decade," the report said.

"The risk now is that too many countries will emerge from the Covid-19 crisis with a large debt overhang that could take years to manage," Malpass said in the report.

"We need a comprehensive approach to the debt problem, including debt reduction, swifter restructuring and improved transparency," he said.

© 2021 AFP

Climate change may already impact majority of humanity: study

Researchers found some 100,000 papers that potentially documented evidence of climate change's effects 

Asif HASSAN AFP/File

Issued on: 11/10/2021 -

Paris (AFP)

The effects of climate change could already be impacting 85 percent of the world's population, an analysis of tens of thousands of scientific studies said Monday.

A team of researchers used machine learning to comb through vast troves of research published between 1951 and 2018 and found some 100,000 papers that potentially documented evidence of climate change's effects on the Earth's systems.

"We have overwhelming evidence that climate change is affecting all continents, all systems," study author Max Callaghan told AFP in an interview.

He added there was a "huge amount of evidence" showing the ways in which these impacts are being felt.

The researchers taught a computer to identify climate-relevant studies, generating a list of papers on topics from disrupted butterfly migration to heat-related human deaths to forestry cover changes.

The studies only rarely established a direct link to global warming -- so Callaghan and teams from the Mercator Research Institute and Climate Analytics, both in Berlin, took on the task themselves.

Using location data from the studies, they divided the globe into a grid and mapped where documented climate impacts matched climate-driven trends in temperature and precipitation.

For each grid cell they asked "is it getting hotter or colder or wetter or dryer outside of the bounds of natural variability?" said Callaghan.

Then, he said, they checked if this kind of heating matched expectations from climate models.

They found 80 percent of the globe -- home to 85 percent of the world's population, had generated impact studies that matched predictions for temperature and precipitation changes due to global warming.

Crucially, he said, research has disproportionately documented climate impacts in richer nations, with fewer studies in highly-vulnerable regions.

For example he said that trends in temperatures and rainfall in Africa could be linked to climate change.

"But we won't have many studies documenting the impacts of those trends, he said, calling it a "blind spot in our knowledge of climate impacts".

- Machine learning -

Climate-related research has grown exponentially in recent decades.

Between 1951 and 1990 "we have about 1,500 studies in total," Callaghan said, "Whereas in the five years or so since the last (UN) assessment report we have between 75,000 and 85,000 studies -- a phenomenal increase."

Callaghan said the sheer volume of research has made it impossible to individually identify all the studies that reliably link observed impacts to manmade climate change.

"In the first UN climate assessment report a team of authors could simply read all of climate science," he said. "Now you'd need millions of authors."

The machine learning technique now offers a global picture that could help experts trying to synthesise huge numbers of studies, Callaghan said, although he added that "it can never replace human analysis".

© 2021 AFP

Thousands locked down as La Palma volcano destroys cement works

On Saturday, part of the volcano's cone collapsed, sending new rivers of lava pouring down the slopes towards an industrial zone 

Handout Spanish Geological and Mining Institute (IGME-CSIC)/AFP

Issued on: 11/10/2021 -

Isla de La Palma (España) (AFP)

Up to 3,000 residents of the Spanish island of La Palma on Monday were ordered to stay indoors after lava from a volcano destroyed a cement works, raising fresh fears of toxic gases.

La Cumbre Vieja volcano began erupting on September 19, forcing 6,000 people from their homes as the lava scorched its way across 600 hectares (1,400 acres) of land.

Miguel Angel Morcuende, head of the cell handling the crisis, told journalists Monday that part of the cement factory had gone up in flames.

"Consequently, and until we can analyse if the air quality allows for normal life, we have decided to lock down," he added.

The order concerns between 2,500 and 3,000 people living near the cement works on the west of the island in the Canaries archipelago, he said.

On Saturday, part of the volcano's cone collapsed, sending new rivers of lava pouring down the slopes towards an industrial zone.

Flights to the island resumed on Saturday after two days on hold because of the ash blasted from the volcano.

Despite the damage from the eruption -- more than 1,200 buildings have been destroyed, say local officials -- no has so far been killed or injured in the disaster.

This is the third volcanic eruption on La Palma Island, home to 85,000 people, in a century, although the last one dates back to 1971.

© 2021 AFP

La Palma volcano cone partially collapses, spews giant rocks

Spain's National Geological Institute said the volcano spewed blocks of molten lava "as large as three-story buildings." A partial cone collapse near the volcano's emission vent triggered the event.

The La Palma volcano has destroyed over 1,000 buildings

Spanish authorities said on Sunday that a new destructive lava flow was being monitored in the island of La Palma. The volcano has been continuously erupting for there for three weeks.

Spain's National Geological Institute (ING) said there were 21 seismic movements detected on Sunday, with the largest measuring 3.8 on the Richter scale, which caused the ground to shake, in the villages of Mazo, Fuencaliente and El Paso.

The ING published footage of the new lava flow, warning about blocks of molten lava that it said were "as large as three-story buildings" rolling down the hillside.

In a video posted on their Twitter account, giant lava rocks could be seen floating in a large river of lava, moving at high speed.

The Canary Islands Volcanology Institute said the lava flow, with temperatures of up to 1,240 degrees Celsius (2,264 degrees Fahrenheit), destroyed the last few buildings that remained standing in the village of Todoque.

A new lava flow was triggered by the partial collapse of the volcano's cone

Partial cone collapse

On Saturday, ING reported that a partial cone collapse near the volcano's emission vent had taken place. This is said to have triggered the giant lava rocks that spilled out.

"The collapse of the northern flank of the Cumbre Vieja volcano has caused the release of large blocks of material and the appearance of new flows that run through areas already evacuated," tweeted Spain's National Security Department.

"The lava has reached the Camino de la Gata industrial estate and new buildings," the agency added.

So far, 1,186 buildings have been destroyed by the continuous eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano since it began on September 19, the Canary Islands Volcanic Institute said.

Some 493 hectares (1,218 acres) of land have been engulfed by the lava rivers, said Miguel Ángel Morcuende, technical director of the Canary Islands Volcanic Emergency Plan (Pevolca) organization.

Around 6,000 of La Palma's 83,000 inhabitants have been evacuated from their homes as a result of the eruption.

Lava reaching the ocean created new land

Lava creates new land

La Palma is part of Spain's Canary Islands, which is located in the Atlantic Ocean, near northwest Africa. The island's economy depends on the cultivation of the Canary plantain and tourism.

"We cannot say that we expect the eruption that began 21 days ago to end anytime soon,'' said Julio Perez, the regional minister for security on the Canary Islands.

The three-week eruption has already seen lava flows reach the ocean, dumping so much volcanic material that new land was created. Authorities sealed off the maritime area, as the lava's contact with the water released toxic gases.

Government experts estimated that new land being formed where lava is flowing into the Atlantic has reached a surface of 34 hectares.

Scientists have warned that if the new land continues to grow outwards into the sea, parts of it could break off and generate explosions, gas emissions and large waves.

jcg/rc (Reuters, EFE)