New law stokes tension in Nigeria's blighted oil deltaA resident stands in oil-polluted land in B-Dere, southern NigeriaEJAMAH-EBUBU (NIGERIA) - Nigerian farmer Nwale Nchimaonwi celebrated when he learnt that an oil law to overhaul the industry and improve the plight of communities living on crude-producing land had passed after two decades wait. Disappointment with the Petroleum Industry Bill is again testing patience in Nigeria's delta where many lost farming and fishing livelihoods to contamination even as foreign oil giants pumped crude from Africa's largest producer. A decade ago, the Niger Delta was a hotbed of militants who abducted foreign oil workers and raided their installationsto push for more share of the oil wealth. Nigeria's state-run oil company NNPC recently took over the oil wells following a court order but Ogoni leaders vow to resist any resumption of production. "My prayer is that the people would see this as a major step," Godswill Akpabio, the minister in charge of the Niger Delta told reporters.

One idea gaining currency is to assign nature an economic value. But experts are divided on how to measure "natural capital", and some argue that it should not be done at all. Mary Ruckelshaus, head of the Natural Capital Project at Stanford University, acknowledges that it is a complex task. Using the natural capital as the guiding principle, proponents favour integrating natural resources into the calculation of a country's wealth. "Valuing nature... gives everybody the same information but it doesn't guarantee that everyone will make the decision to protect nature," she said.

Germany's 'Blade Jumper' leaps into competition at Tokyo ParalympicsThe Tokyo Paralympics are entering their final stretch before Sunday's closing ceremonyTOKYO - A German long jumper who leaps further than his Olympic counterparts and a US swimmer who survived a bomb detonated by her parents are among the stars competing at the Tokyo Paralympics on Wednesday. Markus Rehm, known as the "Blade Jumper", is eyeing his fourth Paralympic gold and third straight victory in the long jump T64. And with the Games entering the final stretch before Sunday's closing ceremony, competition is heating up, with the first medals in wheelchair tennis. Some athletes in Tokyo, such as Team USA's Sam Grewe, have been juggling stunning performances on the track with other big ambitions. Grewe, who won gold in the men's high jump T63 on Tuesday, is a medical student who said he has been studying for six hours every day at the Games.

Has the wildlife 'Red List' let Africa's big cats down? Lions and cheetahs were both reconfirmed as "vulnerable" in 2014 and are unlikely to change category in a Red List update at the IUCN congress in Marseille, from Friday. Following the 2014 assessment, to which she contributed, Durant and another 50 conservation experts made that case in a peer-reviewed study. - Hunted -Unlike cheetahs, lions live in groups, or prides, and almost exclusively within protected areas. Craig Hilton-Taylor, who heads the IUCN's Red List Unit, defended its classification process as "robust" and said experts looked at a full range of issues.

Wildlife trader arrested with macaquesDepartment of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department officials with some the six macaques seized from the house of a wildlife trader in Pathum Thani's Lam Luk Ka district on Wednesday. (Photo: Chalit Poomruang)NAKHON SAWAN: A wildlife trader was arrested by National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department officials with six macaques in his possession on Wednesday. Six macaques were found in his possession. He was charged with possession of protected wildlife without permission in violation of the Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act of 2019. Mr Pitak allegedly told the officials he usually sold monkeys he caught to buyers in nearby Phichit province for 1,000-1,500 baht each.

Bomb survivor Shepherd 'just having fun' at ParalympicsHaven Shepherd lost her legs as a baby when her parents detonated an explosive that was meant to kill the whole familyTOKYO - US swimmer Haven Shepherd lost her legs as a baby after her parents detonated a bomb intended to kill the whole family. This week, at her maiden Paralympics in Tokyo, the upbeat teenager said her goals were all about "just going out and having fun". She is excited though about having the Paralympics in the international spotlight and says she is "open" about telling her story to the world. After years of training for Tokyo, Shepherd is looking forward to taking a break after the Games and just being "a normal 18-year-old". "My expectations are the same as who I am -- I'm just going out and having fun," she said.

Atletico Madrid welcome back Griezmann as Real sign CamavingaGriezmann has rejoined Atletico on a one-year loan deal with an option to extend by another yearPARIS - France forward Antoine Griezmann has made a shock return to Atletico Madrid just two years after leaving to join Barcelona, on the final day of a hectic European transfer window. Real Madrid also bagged a French international star as Eduardo Camavinga arrived from Rennes -- but their attempts to sign Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain failed. Midfield prodigy Camavinga, who is just 18, penned a six-year deal at Real, the club reportedly paying a fee of 31 million euros ($36.6m) plus nine million euros more in bonuses. The latter cost some 60 million euros, with the rest all arriving as free agents. In Germany, Bayern Munich splashed a total of 67.5 million euros signing France defender Dayot Upamecano and Austria's Marcel Sabitzer from RB Leipzig.

How scorpion tails do the bend and twistAn image provided by Alice Günther shows a 3-D reconstruction of the scorpion’s tail, which is used for much more than stinging prey. So while a scorpion’s tail is doing the bend and twist, it is also moving solid waste toward its anus so it can defecate through its tail. In a scorpion tail, there is only the ball, meaning the round edge of the joint. The lack of a socket allows the segments of the tail to bend up and down and twist left and right, as well as to bend and twist simultaneously. The fifth, final segment in a scorpion’s tail is narrower than the rest and can only bend, not twist.

The chips are down for a whileIf you haven't noticed, there is a microchip shortage. - I for one am interested in alternatives to Microsoft Office. I've covered Open Office recently and with a new release from the Document Foundation of LibreOffice, the Libre meaning free, it is time to look at this and some other offerings. Microsoft departed from this standard with OOXML, the Office Open XML, where "open" here means with some proprietary bits included. Microsoft always seems to have a problem with the definition of the word "standard."

China's kids get schooled in 'Xi Jinping thought'China's new school year began WednesdayBEIJING - Chinese pupils returned to school Wednesday with new textbooks peppered with "Xi Jinping thought", as the Communist Party aims to extend his personality cult to children as young as seven and rear a new generation of patriots. Lessons are interspersed with quotes from Xi on patriotism and duty, as well as anecdotes of his meetings with ordinary citizens. "Grandpa Xi Jinping is very busy with work, but no matter how busy he is, he still joins our activities and cares about our growth," one textbook says. Xi's thought, which encompasses 14 principles including "absolute Party leadership" over the military and "improving living standards through development". The principles are now cited regularly by officials in wildly varying contexts from fighting Covid-19 to literature and art, and universities have opened institutes dedicated to Xi's thought.

China's kids being schooled in 'Xi Jinping thought'China's new school year began on Wednesday. BEIJING: Chinese pupils returned to school on Wednesday with new textbooks peppered with "Xi Jinping thought", as the Communist Party aims to extend his personality cult to children as young as seven and rear a new generation of patriots. "Grandpa Xi Jinping is very busy with work, but no matter how busy he is, he still joins our activities and cares about our growth," one textbook says. Xi's thought, which encompasses 14 principles including "absolute Party leadership" over the military and "improving living standards through development". The principles are now cited regularly by officials in wildly varying contexts from fighting Covid-19 to literature and art, and universities have opened institutes dedicated to Xi's thought.

Pattaya birthday party raided by policePolice raid the birthday party house in Chon Buri's Bang Lamung district on Tuesday night and arrest 18 people. (Photo: Chaiyot Pupattanapong)PATTAYA: Eighteen people were arrested when police raided a birthday party held in a house in Chon Buri's Bang Lamung district on Tuesday night in violation of the emergency decree and the Disease Control Act. Pol Col Chiddecha Songhong, the Nong Prue police chief, said police entered house No 22/4 at the Pool Villa Resort about 11pm after receiving complaints from neighbours. The birthday party was organised by a Thai man called Sanong, who was born on Sept 1. The partygoers were taken to Nong Prue police station for legal proceedings.

China rolls out new data law over 'national security' fearsChina's new data security law is the latest effort to tighten oversight of the country's mammoth tech sectorBEIJING - China's new data security law takes effect from Wednesday -- the latest effort to tighten oversight of the country's mammoth tech sector. It also comes as fears grow over data security with government departments becoming increasingly dependent on cloud storage services. - 'National security' -The legislation also identifies a new "core" category of data "related to national security, the lifeline of the national economy, major aspects of the people's livelihood, and major public interests", which will be subject to stricter scrutiny. The data security law could "create further regulatory hurdles for data-rich Chinese tech companies seeking to list overseas", Zhang told AFP. - Digital control -The data security law is part of a set of legislation that will shape China's digital economy for decades.

Thai tourists needed in PhuketVisitors to Phuket are screened at a checkpoint on Monday. (Photo: Achadthaya Chuenniran)Phuket needs fully vaccinated Thai tourists to help the recovery of local tourism, according to provincial authorities. In practice, the province should now have gained herd immunity while foreign visitors in Phuket as part of the tourism sandbox programme are also fully vaccinated. At the same time, the swab requirement does not apply to fully vaccinated Thai nationals in the province. He said if Thai tourists who have received two doses of the vaccine could visit Phuket, provided they have taken a swab test before arriving, it would boost Phuket's tourism.

In climate reversal, Biden okays new oil and gas mega auctionThe court decision to ban a pause in leasing area in the Gulf of Mexico for oil exploration represents a significant step back for the White House's ambitious climate agenda and was quickly challenged by a coalition of environmental groups. The decision represents a significant step back for the White House's ambitious climate agenda and was quickly challenged by a coalition of environmental groups. According to a Record of Decision posted online, the government projects up to 1.1 billion barrels of oil and 4.4 trillion cubic feet of gas from the auction. It noted a new report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change "detailing observations of a rapidly changing climate in every region globally," but said it did not present sufficient cause to change the environmental impact statement for the drilling at this time. The Biden administration has folded to the oil industry based on its campaign of disinformation and political pressure, ignoring the worsening climate emergency we face," added Brettny Hardy, Earthjustice attorney.