Iraq’s second largest lake drying up, turning up dead fish







A man walks on saline soil near Razzaza Lake, also known as Lake Milh, Arabic for salt, in the Karbala governorate of Iraq, Feb. 14, 2022. The lake was once a tourist attraction known for its beautiful scenery and an abundance of fish that locals depended on. Dead fish now litter its shores and the once-fertile lands around it have turned into a barren desert.

 (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Tue, February 22, 2022

KARBALA, Iraq (AP) — Iraq’s Razzaza Lake was once a tourist attraction known for its beautiful scenery and an abundance of fish that locals depended on. Now, dead fish litter its shores and the once-fertile lands around it have turned into a barren desert.

One of Iraq’s largest lakes, the man-made Razzaza is seeing a significant decline in water levels and has been hit by pollution and high levels of salinity.

“During the 1980s and 1990s, the Razzaza Lake was a source of livelihood, it had fish including the yellowfin barbel, binni and carp because the water (level) was good,” says fisherman Saleh Abboud. “But now it has dried up.”

Razzaza Lake is the latest victim of a water crisis in Iraq, known as the “Land Between the Two Rivers” — the Tigris and the Euphrates. Upstream dams in Turkey, Syria and Iran have shrunk the rivers and their tributaries, seasonal rainfall has dropped and infrastructure has fallen into disrepair.

Hundreds of families used to rely on fishing the Razzaza for their livelihood. Now the number of dead fish that turns up is bigger than the number of live fish they can catch.

Razzaza Lake, also known as Lake Milh, Arabic for Salt Lake, is located between Iraq’s governorates of Anbar and Karbala. It's the second largest lake in Iraq and is part of a wide valley that includes the lakes of Habbaniyah, Tharthar and Bahr al-Najaf.



An Iraqi fisherman collects dead fish near Razzaza Lake, also known as Lake Milh, Arabic for salt, in the Karbala governorate of Iraq, Feb. 14, 2022. Hundreds of families used to rely on fishing in the lake for their livelihood. Now the number of dead fish that turns up is bigger than the number of live fish they can catch. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

The lake was constructed as a measure to control floods in the Euphrates and to be used as huge reservoir for irrigation purposes. Iraqis and tourists frequented the lake as a recreational spot to cool down during Iraq’s hot summers.

Not anymore, with the lake getting smaller every year.

In recent years, it has been affected not only by the water shortage but by drought, neglect and increased evaporation during Iraq’s hot summers. It has also been hit by pollution due to the diversion of sewage water into the lake and the theft of water quotas allocated to it.

“The lake cannot be used for the purposes of operating water resources because we do not have sufficient quantities of water to boost the Razzaza Lake,” said Aoun Diab Abdullah, an adviser at the Ministry of Water Resources.

Fishermen sort their catch on the bank of Razzaza Lake, also known as Lake Milh, Arabic for salt, in the Karbala governorate of Iraq,, Feb. 14, 2022. One of Iraq’s largest lakes, it is seeing a significant decline in water levels, and has been hit by pollution and high levels of salinity. The number of dead fish that turn up is bigger than the number of live fish they can catch. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

INSTEAD OF SOLVING HOMELESSNESS & HUNGER
Philippines signs $624 million deal for 32 Black Hawks

Tue, February 22, 2022

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines signed a 32 billion-peso ($624 million) deal Tuesday to purchase 32 Black Hawk helicopters in the largest military aircraft acquisition contract under outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte, defense officials said.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana signed the deal with Janusz Zakrecki, president of Poland-based aerospace manufacturer PZL Mielec, to acquire the S-70i Black Hawks, which can be used for troop transport, combat operations and disaster response. The deal includes a training package for pilots and maintenance crews and logistical backup, Department of National Defense spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said.

Lorenzana said it took time for the Department of Budget to allocate funds for the deal, which was signed by Duterte, and he was concerned because the president's six-year term ends on June 30.

“We barely made it,” Lorenzana said. “I think we will not be here anymore to receive these helicopters, but nonetheless, we will be happy to see the improvement of the capability of the Philippine air force.”

Due to financial constraints, the Philippines has struggled for years to modernize its military, one of the most underfunded in Asia, to deal with decades-long Muslim and communist insurgencies and to defend its territories in the disputed South China Sea.

The acquisition of the Black Hawks will allow the air force to retire its aging Bell UH-1 helicopters, which were used during the Vietnam War. “The Philippine air force is so good at maintaining these helicopters that long. Long after the U.S. has already ditched their Hueys, we are still flying them,” Lorenzana said.

The Philippines earlier acquired 16 Black Hawks from PZL Mielec, all of which have been delivered and were used widely to respond to the widespread damage caused by a powerful typhoon in the central Philippines in December, Lorenzana said.

One of the 16 helicopters crashed last year during night flight training in northern Tarlac province, killing six air force personnel, but Lorenzana said it was an “acceptable risk of flying helicopters at night during bad weather.”

SEE LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for PERMANENT ARMS ECONOMY 

Mayans in México kick off festival marking the start of agricultural cycle

Tue, February 22, 2022,

The Tzotzil Maya community in southeast México on Monday kicked off celebrations for xaiking which, according to the Mayan calendar, is the shortest month and marks the end of the period of rest and the beginning of the agricultural cycle.

Indigenous beliefs blended with Catholicism were evident in the celebrations and prayers in the town of Chenalhó in Chiapas.

On the occasion, parishioners took the statue of Jesus of Nazarene out of St. Peter’s church for a procession to ask for peace and tranquility in the world.

Indígenas mayas tzotziles comenzaron este lunes en el sureste mexicano las celebraciones del mes de xaiking, el tiempo de fiesta o carnaval que, según el calendario maya, es el mes más corto y marca el fin de un periodo y el inicio del ciclo agrícola.

“Before the climatic effects were much more intense, this marked the close of the ‘cocochas,’ the period of rest, and they began the other cycle. This is associated with the agricultural cycle, with that of the carnival,” said anthropologist Enrique Pérez López.

Men and women carried the statues of the Virgin Mary and Jesus on their shoulders amid incense, traditional music and flags symbolizing the elements of nature, while “pashiones” – spiritual leaders – jumped as high as they could to please the spirit.

Dozens of characters took part in this festivity that converts the town into a stage with scenes from daily life that make children and adults laugh.

Goldman Sachs seeks return of bonuses from bankers for jumping ship - Bloomberg News


FILE PHOTO: The ticker symbol and logo for Goldman Sachs is displayed on a screen on the floor at the NYSE in New York

Wed, February 23, 2022, 5:13 AM·1 min read

(Reuters) -Goldman Sachs Group Inc is exploring measures such as seizing vested pay to dissuade top bankers from leaving, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The bank is looking at confiscating vested stock - usually reserved for cases of misconduct - of executives Omer Ismail and David Stark, the report said. Both had left the Wall Street bank last year. (https://bloom.bg/35hMymr)

"Equity awards are governed by the agreement signed by the recipient. In each case mentioned by Bloomberg, there were explicit terms which were upheld," a spokesperson for the bank said.

Goldman is also pulling unvested compensation from executives Gregg Lemkau and Eric Lane who left the bank for companies that would be considered clients, the report added.

In the face of cutthroat competition, banks around the world have had to come up with perks such as higher pay and bonuses to attract and retain talent as the economy recovers and people look to shift companies.


(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)

Enormous pterosaur discovered in Scotland shows they existed 25 million years earlier than previously thought




Marianne Guenot
Wed, February 23, 2022

A preserved skeleton of a pterosaur found in Scotland is seen here, with the skull of the animal in the foreground.

Gregory Funston

A rare, near-complete fossilized skeleton of a pterosaur was found in Scotland.

It would have been the largest animal to fly 170 million years ago, with an 8-foot wingspan.

The fossil changes our understanding of the evolution of the large winged animals.

Scientists uncovered the fossil of an enormous flying pterosaur that lived 170 million years ago, the first of its kind.

The findings push back our understanding of when these large animals were first able to fly, moving it around 25 million years further into the past, per a scientific study.

The pterosaur's skeleton is seen embedded in the rock. The animal's skull is seen jutting out on the far right. It is placed next to the neck vertebrae, which connect to the shoulder and wing bones seen protruding from the rock.Gregory Funston

The animal would have had an estimated wingspan of over 8 feet, according to findings published in the journal Current Biology on Tuesday. It was a juvenile, so adults may have been bigger still, per the study.

This new species of pterosaur was called Dearc sgiathanach, which means winged reptile in Gaelic, just as pterosaur means winged reptile in Greek.

The pterosaur's skull, shown isolated from the rock

Gregory Funston

The findings rely on the discovery of an exceptionally-well preserved fossil from Scotland's Isle of Skye, unearthed in 2017.

About 70% of the animal's skeleton was preserved in the fossil, one of the study authors told NBC News.

The bones were preserved in three dimensions, rather than compressed flat as is in most such fossils, said Greg Funston, a paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh and another author on the paper told Insider.

The pterosaur's skull is shown next to its skeleton still embedded in the rock.University of Edinburgh promotional video

Crucial bones missing from the fossil make it impossible to know exactly how big the animal was, Funston said.

But a calculation developed by the study authors estimates its wingspan at about 8ft, a little smaller than an albatross.

By taking razor-thin cuts of the rock containing the fossil to look at them under a microscope, the scientists also found that the bones of the animal were still growing when the pterosaur died, meaning adult wingspans were likely larger.

A diagram of Dearc sgiathanach's skeleton.Natalia Jagielska

Though they are not classified as dinosaurs, pterosaurs spanned the age of the dinosaurs from the late Triassic period, about 228 million years ago, to the end of the Cretaceous 66 million years ago.

Enormous pterosaurs, with wingspans reaching up to 30 ft — the likes of which appeared in the "Jurassic Park" movies — appeared during the Cretaceous era. Those were wiped out during a mass extinction event 66 million years ago.

Before the Skye fossil was found, scientists thought that pterosaurs would have been small for most of the time they existed.

The theory was that the physics of flight held back their development, as getting relatively heavy creatures to fly would have required a specialized type of wing that took time to evolve. Another theory was that the reptiles had to grow bigger to outcompete birds, which first appeared in the Cretaceous.

"It's been the entrenched idea for a long time that the big pterosaurs are the ones in the Cretaceous and before that they're all quite small," Funston said.

"That's kind of what you're taught in school."

The fossilized remains of the newly discovered pterosaur are shown.Gregory Funston

However, Dearc sgiathanach is thought to have flown around the then-tropical landscape of Scotland around 170 million years ago.

This was "way back in the Jurassic period," Professor Steve Brusatte of the University of Edinburgh, an author on the study, said in a video accompanying the finding.

That's much earlier than previously thought, and before any birds existed.

"I think it really does challenge a lot of the ideas that we had," Funston said.

An artist representation of pterosaurs interacting with a meat-eating dinosaur at the time.Natalia Jagielska

The fossil is likely to reveal more secrets as scientists dig into it further, Funston said.

"For this animal to be preserved in three dimensions without that squishing gives us kind of a new look at some of the different bones, he said

"For example, some regions of the skull, especially the delicate pallet, which is the roof of the mouth, are exceptionally well preserved in this animal."

"I'm sure there are gonna be some other surprises that come out of it, as we use new techniques to understand the bones and to analyze them," Funston said.

Scottish fossil of flying reptile leaves scientists 'gobsmacked'

Newly identified Jurassic Period flying reptile, or pterosaur, called 'Dearc sgiathanach'

Tue, February 22, 2022
By Will Dunham

(Reuters) - A fossil jawbone peeking out from a limestone seashore on Scotland's Isle of Skye led scientists to discover the skeleton of a pterosaur that showed that these remarkable flying reptiles got big tens of millions of years earlier than previously known.

Researchers said on Tuesday this pterosaur, named Dearc sgiathanach, lived roughly 170 million years ago during the Jurassic Period, soaring over lagoons in a subtropical landscape and catching fish and squid with crisscrossing teeth perfect for snaring slippery prey.

Its scientific name, pronounced "jark ski-an-ach," means "winged reptile" in Gaelic.

With a wingspan of about 8 feet (2.5 meters), Dearc was the Jurassic's largest-known pterosaur and the biggest flying creature that had inhabited Earth to that point in time. Some pterosaurs during the subsequent Cretaceous Period achieved much greater dimensions - as big as fighter jets. But Dearc shows that this scaling up had its origins much earlier.

A forensic analysis of its bones indicated this Dearc individual was not fully grown and could have had a 10-foot (3-meter) wingspan as an adult.

Dearc weighed very little - probably below 22 pounds (10 kg) - thanks to its hollow, lightweight bones and slender structure, said University of Edinburgh paleontology doctoral student Natalia Jagielska, lead author of the research published in the journal Current Biology.

It had an elongated skull and a long, stiff tail. An arsenal of sharp teeth formed a cage when it bit down on prey.

Pterosaurs, which lived alongside the dinosaurs, were the first of three vertebrate groups to achieve powered flight, appearing about 230 million years ago. Birds appeared about 150 million years ago and bats around 50 million years ago.

Pterosaurs are some of the rarest vertebrates in the fossil record owing to their fragile bones, some with walls thinner than a sheet of paper.

"Our specimen, anomalously, is well preserved - retaining its original three dimensions and being almost complete, and still articulated as it would be when alive. Such state of preservation is exceptionally rare in pterosaurs," Jagielska said.

Up until when Dearc lived, pterosaurs generally had been modest in size, many about the size of a seagull. The prevailing wisdom among scientists had been that pterosaurs did not reach Dearc's size until the Cretaceous, some 25 million years later, with the appearance of creatures like Huanhepterus, Feilongus and Elanodactylus. Quetzalcoatlus, appearing about 68 million years ago, boasted a wingspan of about 36 feet (11 meters), like an F-16 fighter.

"In the Cretaceous, some pterosaurs got enormous. These were some of the most superlative animals that ever lived. Dearc was not close to them in size or grandeur, but it was 100 million years older. Evolution needed time to make such giants," University of Edinburgh paleontologist and study co-author Steve Brusatte said.

"One idea is that pterosaurs only got larger after birds evolved, when the two groups were competing with each other for the aerial niches. But Dearc tells us that pterosaurs already got to be the size of today's largest birds even before the first birds evolved, so it throws a wrench into this idea," Brusatte added.

In Dearc's time, Britain was closer to the equator and existed as a series of smaller separate islands. Dearc lived alongside a menagerie of plant-eating and meat-eating dinosaurs, early mammals and marine reptiles.

Dearc was discovered in 2017, with the fossil jutting out from a limestone intertidal zone after the tide had gone down.

"We were gobsmacked," Brusatte said. "Nothing like this had ever been found in Scotland."

They battled the tide, first using hammers and chisels and then diamond-tipped saws. But the tide interrupted before the skeleton could be fully extracted.

"The tide came in with a vengeance, and we cried as the waves lapped over the fossil," Brusatte said. "We thought we lost it. But we decided to come back around midnight when the tide was down again, using our headlamps and flashlights. We were shocked and relieved to see the bones still there as the waves receded."

(Reporting by Will Dunham in Washington, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)

Fossils of the 'largest animal that had ever flown' unearthed in Scotland


Asha C. Gilbert, USA TODAY
Tue, February 22, 2022,

Scientists say they have discovered the largest Jurassic pterosaur in history, with a wingspan of more than 8 feet and a mouth full of sharp teeth.

According to a peer-reviewed journal published in Cell, the dinosaur, Dearc sgiathanach, was found in Isle of Skye, Scotland, in 2017. Its skeleton was embedded in limestone.

Pterosaurs were reptiles and the earliest known animals to evolve for flight. They also are some of the largest flying creatures in history.


"While some of the last-surviving species were the size of airplanes, pterosaurs were long thought to be restricted to small body sizes from their Triassic origins through the Jurassic," the journal said.

This new discovery smashes that thought.

The bones of the pterosaur showed it was young and still growing when it died. It had an estimated wingspan larger than a king-size bed.

Pterosaurs were the earliest known animals to evolve for flight and some of the largest flying creatures in history.

“When this thing was living about 170 million years ago, it was the largest animal that had ever flown, at least that we know of,” Steve Brusatte, a co-author of the research from the University of Edinburgh, told The Guardian.

It had been believed pterosaurs were relatively small animals with wingspans of up to 6 feet and were incapable of reaching massive sizes during the Jurassic period, according to the journal.

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'Armless' but deadly: Is dinosaur fossil discovered in Argentina an entirely new species?

One hypothesis is the pterosaurs grew in size to beat out competition from other animals and feathered dinosaurs earlier than thought. They ate a wide variety of animals, insects and fish depending on where they lived, Live Science reported.

Brusatte told The Guardian that birds evolved from dinosaurs during the time this pterosaur was living, and the new discovery challenges the understanding of pterosaurs' history.

“We’ve really dragged back in time the evolution of large pterosaurs,” he said.

Follow reporter Asha Gilbert @Coastalasha. Email: agilbert@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: World's largest Jurassic pterosaur discovered in Scotland

Ex-guerrilla Petro hopes to be Colombia's first leftist president

Polls show Gustavo Petro in the lead ahead of the first round of presidential voting in Colombia on May 29

 (AFP/Luis ROBAYO)

Lina VANEGAS
Wed, February 23, 2022

Gustavo Petro is a former Colombian guerrilla who became mayor of Bogota and a senator -- now, he wants to be the first leftist president in the South American nation's history.

Polls suggest he stands a chance, with stated support of about 42 percent -- head and shoulders above any other contender in a country traditionally distrustful of the left.

The 61-year-old Petro, who is active on social media, hopes to win outright in the first round on May 29, for which he would need 50 percent of the vote.

If not, there will be a runoff on June 19.

He is an inspiring orator and crowds chant his name at political rallies where he rails against the ruling political "oligarchy" and promises to tackle poverty and social inequality.

Petro moves around with an entourage of bodyguards and snipers in armored cars in a country with a long history of violence and a toll of five assassinated presidential candidates.

In 2018, Petro lost the presidential race to right-wing Ivan Duque, who now has record disapproval rates.

Petro told AFP recently he would pursue a different leftist model than those of controversial leaders such as Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega and Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro.

He would instead align himself to a "progressivism" he associates with Chile's president-elect Gabriel Boric and Brazil's ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Gustavo Petro is seen as an inspiring orator (AFP/Luis ROBAYO)

Here are some main points from an interview with AFP:

Q: What kind of a leftist agenda would you pursue?

A: "There is appearing in Latin America a new type of progressivism that... does not base the economy on the extraction of non-renewable raw materials (but rather) on knowledge and production.

"I think it would mark a different way of Latin American social struggle than (those of) Daniel Ortega and Maduro, which basically continue a rhetorical leftist idea based on oil extraction, based on having a banana republic that imprisons any kind of opponent."

Petro says he would, however, resume diplomatic relations with Caracas, frozen since 2019, and restore order in the border region where armed groups fight over trafficking routes and resources.

Q: What would your first presidential decisions be?

A: "The signing of (oil) exploration contracts in Colombia would cease... because we want to start the transition to (clean energy)... and the process of decarbonization of the economy.

"I think it is appropriate to establish a program to fight against immediate, urgent hunger... and to (restore) the country's great agricultural and food-producing potential."

Colombian presidential hopeful Gustavo Petro said he would resume diplomatic relations with Venezuela (AFP/Luis ROBAYO)

Q: How would you approach the United States?

A: "There are common subjects. One of those... is the climate crisis...

"We have to see how, in a united way with America, we make the leap towards a decarbonized, oil-free, carbon-free economy."

Q: In a country with a history of political assassinations, do you fear for your life?

"A: "It doesn't stop appearing like a flash, when I get mixed up in the crowd, when I am on a stage and there is a full square (where from) anywhere someone could shoot... but I try to avoid thinking about that.

"Both the specter of fraud and the specter of death undoubtedly accompany us in some way in this presidential campaign."

Q: What will you do about drug trafficking?

A: "(The use of) Glyphosate (a herbicide used to eradicate coca plants) has been a major failure in Colombia.

"In addition to poisoning our land and waters, the cost of spraying one hectare with glyphosate is higher than the cost of giving the farmer fertile land."

He would instead pursue "a peaceful policy of dismantling drug trafficking" that could include lighter penalties for those who agree to abandon the trade.

lv/mlr/sst

CRIMINAL CYBER CAPITALI$M

Battle over future of spytech firm NSO: Israel court papers

PUBLISHED : 24 FEB 2022 
WRITER: AFP

Israeli spytech firm NSO's Pegasus phone-hacking software has stirred global outrage

TEL AVIV - A court fight within Israeli spytech firm NSO Group has shed new light on the crisis engulfing the company, including tensions over whether to keep selling malware to autocrats to stay afloat.

NSO was already mired in debt before an investigation revealed last year that its Pegasus phone-hacking software had been used to spy on hundreds of journalists, dissidents and activists worldwide.

Now the surveillance tech giant is teetering, especially after being banned by the United States.

AFP has reviewed hundreds of pages of court documents from a dispute involving NSO, its creditors and the Berkeley Research Group (BRG), majority shareholders of NSO's parent company.

The documents suggest creditors have sought to push NSO, based in the Tel Aviv suburb of Herzliya, to continue selling Pegasus to "elevated risk" countries with questionable human rights records, in order to maintain revenues.

But Berkeley Research has demanded a halt to suspect sales without more internal reviews, citing an "absolute need for [NSO] to address the underlying issues" that saw it blacklisted.

The tensions surfaced in a Tel Aviv court case where BRG is seeking to force the spinoff of three subsidiaries, including a maker of anti-drone equipment, arguing the smaller companies risk being brought down by the Pegasus scandal.

The legal battle lines unveil a broader fight over the company's future, with implications for the global cyber-surveillance industry.

"NSO is a flagship company. They are sort of the case study right now," Danna Ingleton, deputy director of Amnesty Tech, told AFP.

What happens to NSO, she said, could signal a "seismic shift in the regulation of this industry".

- 'Shut down'? -

Pegasus can remotely switch on a mobile phone's camera and microphone and suck up data.

The company says the software has helped security forces in many countries thwart crime and stop attacks.

NSO has not identified its customers, but reporting has revealed Pegasus was used by several states with poor democratic credentials and histories of suppressing dissent.

In a letter released with court documents, lawyers for NSO's creditors charge that BRG's approach "foreclosed the Company from accepting any new customers".

A source familiar with NSO said BRG wanted the company "to shut down, or to stop some of the activities that we have with customers".

"We said we have legal obligations that we cannot do it unless they misuse the system," the source told AFP, requesting anonymity.

BRG's lawyers countered that "since the Pegasus Project disclosures the only new potential customer bookings" for Pegasus are from "elevated risk customers".

A source from BRG's legal team told AFP it opposed those sales.

"If they want to sell the system to democratic countries, I don't think somebody will block them," the source said also requesting anonymity.



- Staggering debt -

NSO was reportedly valued at $1 billion in 2019, when co-founders Shalev Hulio and Omri Lavie announced they acquired the firm from California-based Francisco Partners, with backing from London-based Novalpina Capital.

To fund the acquisition, Novalpina borrowed $500 million and placed the debt in a holding company above NSO.

It stood out among tech companies who usually rely on investment banks or investors, said Israeli tech attorney Dan Or-Hof, of the Privacy Protection Council advising the justice ministry.

"Taking $500 million worth of loans, I would say, would be an irregular event for a tech company here in Israel," he said.

The debt was staggering, but so were NSO's revenues, estimated at $250 million in 2018. However, fortunes turned fast.

Since the Pegasus Project revelations emerged in July, the US banned NSO, saying it enabled foreign governments to "maliciously target" people.

Ratings agency Moody's downgraded NSO, citing low revenues and a risk that new sales "can become increasingly difficult given the actions taken against NSO".

Apple sued the company for targeting its users, following a similar suit by Meta's WhatsApp.

Novalpina's investors, who hold 70 percent of the shares of NSO's parent company, appointed BRG Asset Management to take over as investment managers.

Throughout, NSO has stressed its foreign sales are licensed by Israel's defence ministry and that it does not control how its customers use Pegasus.

Israel's defence establishment has said it is reviewing its export approval process.

- Trickle of cash -

The company's debt has increased the pressure to maintain revenues.

In a December letter, lawyers for the creditors said they understood "the need for caution given the global attention" but that BRG's "blunt-instrument approach ... has deepened the Company's current liquidity crisis".

BRG's lawyers countered the lenders were "demanding that our clients blindly sanction the sale" of Pegasus to "elevated risk" customers without appropriate internal reviews.

NSO has also been criticised in Israel after reports claimed police used Pegasus against dozens of citizens, including senior government officials and activists, though a government investigation has so far undercut the allegations.

NSO said in a statement to AFP that it "is considering the best way for its natural growth in terms of new markets and products".

In January, Delaware-based Integrity Labs sent a letter of interest to NSO's chief executive Hulio, proposing to inject $300 million, take control of the company and trim its customers to the US, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

It is one of "a few options on the table," the NSO source told AFP.

Swiss fondue robot out to cause a stir in Paris


'Bouebot' has taken nearly two years to develop and is still not ready for the shops 

(AFP/Jean-Guy Python)

Robin MILLARD
Thu, February 24, 2022

Switzerland's national dish is fondue, a simmering pot of heartwarming melted cheese -- that can now be prepared, stirred up and served by a robot, thanks to some hi-tech wizardry.

A Swiss team has been beavering away on Bouebot, the robotic creation putting a futuristic twist on an Alpine tradition.

Outside in the Rhone glacial valley bisecting Switzerland's southern Wallis region, crisp mountain air blows down from the glistening snowy peaks.

But inside Workshop 4.0's headquarters in Sierre, below the Crans-Montana ski resort, the air is hot from Bouebot's whirring servers and thick with the smell of melted cheese.

The robot is set to make its grand debut at the Paris International Agricultural Show, one of the world's major food production trade fairs, which runs from February 26 to March 6.

Bouebot is for demonstration purposes only and is far from appearing in kitchenware stores.

The entire project cost 250,000 to 300,000 Swiss francs ($270,000 to $325,000, 235,000 to 285,000 euros), with the robot arm alone costing 80,000 francs.

- 'Cheese passion' -

Workshop 4.0 co-director Nicolas Fontaine, 30, who wears a black baseball cap reading "cheese passion", said Bouebot had been nearly two years in the making.

"We wanted to do a... project that combined innovation with Swiss tradition, and fondue was the perfect choice," Fontaine told AFP.

"For the Swiss, fondue is emblematic. It's something very emotional too because it's part of our identity, our know-how.

"Fondue is something convivial... it's a nice opportunity to draw people in to talk about robotics and how it can be used."

Whether at home, in a restaurant or in an Alpine cabin, sharing a fondue remains the heart of Swiss social life.

Bouebot is named after the bouebos: teenage boys who spent the summer up in the mountain chalets, helping herdsmen while they took care of making cheese.

- Grate, stir, eat, repeat -

Pivoting on six different axes, Bouebot swings into action.

It glugs the right amount of white wine into the "caquelon" pot, then places it under the cheese grater.

The classic fondue mix is called a half-and-half -- an even amount of Vacherin Fribourgeois and Gruyere cheese.

The project's technical manager Ludovic Aymon, using his control pad, manoeuvres the robot arm down towards each cheese triangle, which is lifted up by creating a vacuum on the top.

After shearing off the rind on a circular blade, it starts swiping the underside down the grater.

Back on the heater, Bouebot does some vigorous figure-of-eight stirring as the cheese melts, then wipes off the spoon and sprinkles in some pepper.

It then picks up a metal spike, pierces a piece of bread, swipes it around the caquelon before placing it in a holder for fondue-lovers to try before the gooey cheese drips down.

Aymon said the biggest challenge was to get a precision mechanical robot to cope with imprecise organic material.

The cheese wedges are not perfectly flat, nor the same height, while Vacherin is much softer than Gruyere.

However, there is no chance of the traditional duo being changed for more robot-friendly cheeses -- not if the creators wants to stay alive, jokes Aymon.

The robot pivots on six different axes (AFP/Jean-Guy Python)

- Rise of the robots -

When seeing Bouebot at work, some onlookers are thrilled by the future possibilities for such technology, while others worry about machines encroaching into the human sphere.

"The effect I find the most interesting is fear... that fear of being replaced by something more powerful," Aymon told AFP.

"Robotics should not be to the detriment of human beings. It should help humans.

"It could help someone cook in the future. It shows that it could be done, for people who can't do it themselves."

With each run-through, Aymon spots tiny modifications to make, requiring yet more slabs from the cheese-stuffed fridge.

"I can't just work with a 3D simulation, like I could with lots of industrial processes. I have to do real tests," the 35-year-old said.

And with every fondue made, the end result must be eaten quickly.

"I think I'll never be sick of fondue, but there are times when I just can't stand the smell of cheese in here any longer," Aymon said.

rjm/jj

UPDATED

Brazil storm death toll passes 200 – Police


Thursday, February 24th, 2022 
by AFP

RIO DE JANEIRO – The death toll from flash floods and landslides caused by torrential rain in the Brazilian city of Petropolis has surpassed 200, authorities said Wednesday, as they continue to recover bodies more than a week after the storm.

Around 51 people are still missing, but that number is expected to go down as bodies are identified and families are reunited, police said.

Among the 204 bodies recovered, 188 had been identified as of Wednesday, Rio de Janeiro police said.

Some 800 people were being housed in emergency shelters after the deluge left their homes damaged or destroyed.

The February 15 downpour turned streets in the picturesque tourist town north of Rio de Janeiro into violent rivers, the water taking cars, trees and soil along with it.

Officials are still waging a massive clean-up operation to clear the mud, rubble and stranded vehicles strewn around Petropolis, a city of 300,000 people that was the 19th-century summer capital of the Brazilian empire.

The storm, which dropped more than a month’s worth of rain in a few hours, is now the deadliest in the city’s history.

In the past three months, approximately 250 people have died in severe storms in Brazil.

Death toll mounts from flash floods, landslides in Brazil’s Petropolis

Wed, 23 February 2022, 


The death toll from flash floods and landslides that hit the Brazilian city of Petropolis has risen to 186, authorities said Tuesday, one week after torrential rains lashed the tourist town.

Since the storm, rescue workers have searched for victims, digging through the mud and wreckage left by devastating landslides that mainly hit poor hillside communities.

The number of people missing currently stands at 69, a figure that has been falling as victims' bodies are identified and as families separated in the initial chaos manage to reunite.


Police said 33 children were among those killed in the February 15 deluge, which dumped a month's worth of rain on the southeastern city in several hours.

More than 850 people who lost their homes or had to evacuate are still being housed in emergency shelters.

Officials are waging a massive clean-up operation to clear the mud, rubble and stranded vehicles strewn around Petropolis, a picturesque city of 300,000 people that was the 19th-century summer capital of the Brazilian empire.

In the past three months, at least 236 people have died in severe storms in Brazil.

Experts say the violent rains are being made worse by climate change.

(AFP)

UPDATE

Cargo ship with luxury cars still burning; salvage crews set to arrive

The Felicity Ace (pictured), a cargo ship carrying thousands of luxury vehicles bound for Rhode Island, continued to burn off the coast of Portugal Tuesday. 

Photo courtesy Portuguese Navy


Feb. 22 (UPI) -- A large cargo ship that initially caught fire last week is continuing to burn while floating off the coast of Portugal, the company that operates it said Tuesday.

Two large tug boats are now on scene and are spraying the 656-foot-long vessel with water to achieve hull and boundary cooling, according to owner MOL Ship Management Singapore.

The two tugs arrived from Gibraltar and further salvage and fire crews are expected to arrive Wednesday and Saturday.

The two tugs will also assist to control the position of the car carrier prior to inspection by the initial salvage team already on site.

Once conditions are safe, salvage teams plan to board the vessel for an initial assessment of future salvage plans.

The Felicity Ace, a roll-on/roll-off car carrying ship built in 2005, was transporting cargo including Porsche and Volkswagen vehicles from Germany to Rhode Island when it caught fire last Wednesday.

Salvaging the massive ship will not be cheap. The operation could cost as much as $150 million, according to a new report issued by the Anderson Economic Group. The firm's revised estimate of the value of the ship's lost cargo is pegged at $334.6 million.

The economic impact will also be felt in New England, where an already-strained supply chain for autos will now get worse for some car dealers.

"To lose all those cars is devastating to the industry," Subaru of New England chief executive Ernie Boch Jr. told WCVB-TV. "[The vehicles] were all sold, by the way, because right now, cars are so in-demand that when they've manufactured and they come off the line, they're sold."

The vessel is not currently leaking oil, according to the latest updates.

All 22 crew members on board escaped after the fire broke out and were evacuated from the ship by the Portuguese Navy.

The Navy said the fire broke out in the cargo hold while the ship was sailing 90 nautical miles southwest of Portugal's Azores island chain but quickly spread.