Top Stories
TOP STORY
TOP STORY
Biodiversity falling faster in ‘protected’ areas
Biodiversity is declining more quickly within key protected areas than outside them.
Delegates at the two-week United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP16) in Colombia were told that designating more protected areas “will not automatically result in better outcomes for biodiversity.” Nearly a quarter of the world’s most biodiversity-rich land is within protected areas.
A study found that within critical areas not protected, biodiversity had declined by an average of 1.9 percentage points in 2000–2020. Within the protected areas, it had declined by 2.1 percentage points.
The authors say this may have arisen because many protected areas do not preserve the whole ecosystem but certain species, or they could have already been suffering degradation, which is why they were protected in the first place. They say specific local analyses are key to identifying why each is failing.
Protecting 30% of land and water for nature by 2030 was a target world leaders agreed in 20220 to save nature. Land protected for nature stands at 17.5% of land and 8.4% of marine areas – about half a percentage point more each since Cop15 in 2022. This will need to increase substantially to meet the target.
Running Stories
WORLD
WORLD
3,000 North Korean soldiers in Russia
At least 3,000 North Korean soldiers arrived in eastern Russia this month, the White House said Wednesday.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday that the soldiers “could travel to western Russia and engage in combat against the Ukrainian military.” He said the US has briefed the Ukrainian government and is consulting closely with allies and partners.
Kirby added that turning to North Korea for manpower “would be a sign of weakness, not strength, on the part of the Kremlin.” Kirby also said the move violates UN Security Council Resolutions.
In recent months, Moscow and Pyongyang have deepened their anti-United States military partnership, and the growing alliance has concerned officials in Kyiv and Washington.
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BUSINESS & ECONOMICS
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS
McDonald’s limits Quarter Pounder sales
McDonald’s assured customers its US restaurants are safe despite a deadly E. coli outbreak link to its Quarter Pounder.
McDonald’s pulled Quarter Pounders from one-fifth of its US restaurants Tuesday due to the outbreak, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said had sickened at least 49 people in 10 states. One person died, and 10 were hospitalized, the CDC said.
A preliminary investigation by the Food and Drug Administration suggested fresh slivered onions served raw on Quarter Pounder hamburgers were a likely source of the contamination. McDonald’s serves the same onions on a breakfast sandwich, which isn’t available at the impacted restaurants.
Other burgers, like the Big Mac, use diced, cooked onions. Quarter Pounders were removed from menus in Colorado, Kansas, Utah, Wyoming and portions of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.
Colorado has had the most reported cases of any state so far, and it’s where the one death involving an older adult occurred. McDonald’s has over 14,000 US stores and serves 1 million Quarter Pounders every two weeks in the affected 12-state area.
TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGY
System 2 thinking evolves AI, TED told
OpenAI research scientist Noam Brown highlighted the transformative potential of his company’s o1 model at TED AI.
Speaking at the San Francisco conference, Brown said that while scaling models has been critical to AI’s progress, it was time to move beyond sheer data processing and into “system two thinking”—a slower, more deliberate form of reasoning that mirrors how humans approach complex problems.
Brown recounted his work on Libratus, the poker-playing AI that famously defeated top human players in 2017. “It turned out that having a bot think for just 20 seconds in a hand of poker got the same boosting performance as scaling up the model by 100,000x and training it for 100,000 times longer.”
OpenAI’s o1 model incorporates system two thinking, making it ideal for complex scientific research, coding, and strategic decision-making. It achieved 83% accuracy in a qualifying exam for the International Mathematics Olympiad.
OpenAI’s shift toward system two thinking could reshape the competitive landscape for AI, especially in enterprise applications. Brown said: “This isn’t a revolution that’s 10 years away or even two years away. It’s a revolution that’s happening now.”
HEALTH
HEALTH
Bilingualism protects against Alzheimer’s
A Concordia University study has highlighted the potential protective effects of bilingualism against Alzheimer's disease.
The research utilized advanced neuroimaging techniques to examine brain resilience in regions associated with language and aging. The findings revealed that the hippocampus in bilingual individuals with Alzheimer's was significantly more prominent than in monolingual individuals of the same age.
The research suggests that bilingualism may contribute to brain resilience, potentially delaying the onset of Alzheimer's symptoms by up to five years.
Bilingualism has long been recognized for its cognitive benefits, particularly in older adults. The researchers plan to explore whether being multilingual has a similar positive influence on brain networks.
OTHER NEWS
OTHER NEWS
Media mogul charged for money laundering
A Venezuelan media mogul with ties to President Nicolas Maduro has been charged with laundering hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Justice Department has indicted Raul Gorrin Belisario, owner of Venezuela’s pro-government Globovision news network, for allegedly taking part in a $1.2 billion scheme “to launder funds corruptly obtained from Venezuela’s state-owned and state-controlled energy company, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A.”
The Justice Department alleged the payments were “in exchange for hundreds of millions in bribe payments to Venezuelan officials.” Still at large, Gorrin faces up to 20 years in prison if arrested and convicted.
Gorrin was put on the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Most Wanted List in 2020 after being charged with money laundering and breaching the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Gorrin evaded arrest and was later seen living in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas.
“Gorrin’s alleged conduct enriched corrupt government officials and exploited the US financial system to facilitate these crimes,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M Argentieri, the head of the Justice Department’s criminal division.
OFFBEAT
OFFBEAT
Metal detectorists’ find sells for $5.6 million
Over 2,500 silver coins in the ground for almost 1,000 years before metal detectorists unearthed them have sold for $5.6 million.
The discovery in a farmer's field in southwest England will help deepen understanding of the most famous date in English history: 1066, when William, Duke of Normandy, defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings, replacing England's Saxon monarchs with Norman French rulers.
The hoard, which totals 2,584 silver pennies minted between 1066 and 1068, was discovered in 2019 and acquired by the South West Heritage Trust. Amal Khreisheh, curator of archaeology at the South West Heritage Trust, said the coins were likely buried for safekeeping as local rebellions erupted against Norman rule.
Metal detectorist Adam Staples and six friends will split the millions from the sale 50:50 with the landowner. After being displayed at the British Museum and other museums around the UK, the hoard will have a permanent home at the Museum of Somerset in Taunton, 130 miles southwest of London.
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