World water resources decreasing as global rivers dry up

GENEVA  — Billions of people are facing a future of water scarcity as global rivers dry up, glaciers melt, and intense heat and other extreme weather events caused by climate change create critical changes in water availability around the world, according to the State of Global Water Resources report issued Monday by the World Meteorological Organization. 

“Water is the canary in the coal mine of climate change,” said Celeste Saulo, WMO secretary-general. “Water is the basis of life on this planet, but it can also be a force of destruction.”  

She told journalists at a briefing in Geneva that “water is becoming increasingly unpredictable, what we call an erratic hydrological cycle, leading to extreme rainfall, sudden floods, and severe droughts.”   

“Climate change is one of the causes of these extreme behaviors,” she said, noting that these extreme events “wreak a heavy toll on lives, ecosystems and economies.” 

“Melting ice and glaciers threaten long-term water security for many millions of people. And yet we are not taking the necessary urgent action,” she warned. 

“To mitigate the impact of such potential catastrophes, we must gather reliable data. After all, we cannot appropriately manage what we do not measure,” she said, adding that scientific data gathered by WMO “indicates the situation will worsen over the coming years.” 

The report finds 2023 was the driest year for global rivers in 33 years, marking the last of five consecutive years of widespread below-normal conditions for river flows, thereby reducing “the amount of water available for communities, agriculture and ecosystems, further stressing global water supplies.” 

It notes that 2023 was also the second consecutive year in which all regions in the world with glaciers reported ice loss, the year in which “glaciers suffered the largest mass loss ever registered in 50 years.” 

“The glaciers are retreating rapidly,” said Stefan Uhlenbrook, WMO director of hydrology, water and cryosphere. “The latest data for this year actually shows that in the Swiss Alps, at least, it has been continuing and more glaciers have been reduced. 

“If a glacier is melting more and more, that means more water becomes available downstream,” he said. “However, if the glacier is gone in a few more decades, it will be very dramatic because then the summer high flows from the melting glaciers will disappear because there is no storage anymore. 

“If the glacier disappears, that changes completely the hydrological regime. It changes completely the conditions for ecosystems. It changes completely the availability of water for farmers. So, it has really severe consequences,” he said. 

One manifestation of this was seen last week when Switzerland and Italy redrew part of their shared border in the Alps because melting glaciers due to climate change had moved their long-defined national border. 

The report says 3.6 billion people currently face inadequate access to water at least one month a year, and this is expected to increase to more than 5 billion by 2050.   

While no region is spared from disastrous hydrological extreme events, it says floods and droughts affected Africa most in terms of human casualties. The report says major flooding in Libya due to two collapsed dams, triggered by Storm Daniel, killed more than 11,000 people. Floods also impacted the Greater Horn of Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Mozambique and Malawi. 

“Jordan is one of the most water scarce countries because of the high population density and the very arid conditions,” Uhlenbrook observed, adding that many parts of Asia, North and South America, and Russia among other regions are “very vulnerable to the changes we see from climate change.” 

“We see the increasing variability of the hydrological cycle causing tension and stress and providing the source of conflict in many parts of the world,” he said. 

The WMO report is calling for urgent action and international cooperation to address the scarce water issues. It says cooperation through data sharing and building of trust between nations is critical for managing shared water resources. 

“We must fill the gaps in our understanding. We need to expand our hydrological monitoring, especially in regions where data is scarce. We cannot afford blind spots when it comes to our water resources,” WMO chief Saulo said. “I urge nations to invest in hydrological monitoring and commit to sharing this critical data, because without it, we are navigating without a map.” 

She underscored the importance of early warning systems in addressing climate-induced disasters such as floods and extreme weather events. “These global challenges transcend borders and conflicts because water is once again the basis of life on Earth, so we must work together to address the water issues,” she said. 

Spacecraft headed to harmless asteroid slammed by NASA in previous save-the-Earth test

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A spacecraft blasted off Monday to investigate the scene of a cosmic crash. 

The European Space Agency’s Hera spacecraft rocketed away on a two-year journey to the small, harmless asteroid rammed by NASA two years ago in a dress rehearsal for the day a killer space rock threatens Earth. Launched by SpaceX from Cape Canaveral, it’s the second part of a planetary defense test that could one day help save the planet. 

The 2022 crash by NASA’s Dart spacecraft shortened Dimorphos’ orbit around its bigger companion, demonstrating that if a dangerous rock was headed our way, there’s a chance it could be knocked off course with enough advance notice. 

Scientists are eager to examine the impact’s aftermath up close to know exactly how effective Dart was and what changes might be needed to safeguard Earth in the future. 

“The more detail we can glean the better as it may be important for planning a future deflection mission should one be needed,” University of Maryland astronomer Derek Richardson said before launch. 

Researchers want to know whether Dart — short for Double Asteroid Redirection Test — left a crater or perhaps reshaped the 150-meter (500-foot) asteroid more dramatically. It looked something like a flying saucer before Dart’s blow and may now resemble a kidney bean, said Richardson, who took part in the Dart mission and is helping with Hera. 

Dart’s wallop sent rubble and even boulders flying off Dimorphos, providing an extra kick to the impact’s momentum. The debris trail extended more than 10,000 kilometers (6,200 miles) into space for months. 

Some boulders and other debris could still be hanging around the asteroid, posing a potential threat to Hera, said flight director Ignacio Tanco. 

“We don’t really know very well the environment in which we are going to operate,” said Tanco. “But that’s the whole point of the mission is to go there and find out.” 

European officials describe the $400 million (363 million euro) mission as a “crash scene investigation.” 

Hera “is going back to the crime site and getting all the scientific and technical information,” said project manager Ian Carnelli. 

Carrying a dozen science instruments, the small car-sized Hera will need to swing past Mars in 2025 for a gravity boost, before arriving at Dimorphos by the end of 2026. It’s a moonlet of Didymos, Greek for twin, a fast-spinning asteroid that’s five times bigger. At that time, the asteroids will be 195 million kilometers (120 million miles) from Earth. 

Controlled by a flight team in Darmstadt, Germany, Hera will attempt to go into orbit around the rocky pair, with the flyby distances gradually dropping from 30 kilometers (18 miles) all the way down to 1 kilometer (a half-mile). The spacecraft will survey the moonlet for at least six months to ascertain its mass, shape and composition, as well as its orbit around Didymos. 

Before the impact, Dimorphos circled its larger companion from 1,189 meters out. Scientists believe the orbit is now tighter and oval-shaped, and that the moonlet may even be tumbling. 

Two shoebox-sized Cubesats will pop off Hera for even closer drone-like inspections, with one of them using radar to peer beneath the moonlet’s boulder-strewn surface. Scientists suspect Dimorphos was formed from material shed from Didymos. The radar observations should help confirm whether Didymos is indeed the little moon’s parent. 

The Cubesats will attempt to land on the moonlet once their survey is complete. If the moonlet is tumbling, that will complicate the endeavor. Hera may also end its mission with a precarious touchdown, but on the larger Didymos. 

Neither asteroid poses any threat to Earth — before or after Dart showed up. That’s why NASA picked the pair for humanity’s first asteroid-deflecting demo. 

Leftovers from the solar system’s formation 4.6 billion years ago, asteroids primarily orbit the sun between Mars and Jupiter in what’s known as the main asteroid belt, where millions of them reside. They become near-Earth objects when they’re knocked out of the belt and into our neck of the woods. 

NASA’s near-Earth object count currently tops 36,000, almost all asteroids but also some comets. More than 2,400 of them are considered potentially hazardous to Earth. 

US Supreme Court rebuffs Biden administration on emergency abortions in Texas

Washington — The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear a bid by President Joe Biden’s administration to enforce in Texas federal guidance requiring hospitals to perform abortions if needed to stabilize a patient’s emergency medical condition.  

The justices turned away the Justice Department’s appeal of a lower court’s decision that halted enforcement of the guidance in Texas, where a Republican-backed near-total ban on abortion is in effect, and against members of two anti-abortion medical associations.  

The Biden administration issued the guidance in July 2022 to protect access to abortion after the Supreme Court’s conservative majority the previous month overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that had legalized abortion nationwide.  

The guidance reminded healthcare providers across the country of their obligations under a 1986 federal law called the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) to ensure Medicare-participating hospitals offer emergency care stabilizing patients regardless of their ability to pay. Medicare is the government healthcare program for the elderly. Hospitals that violate EMTALA risk losing Medicare funding.  

The guidance made clear that under that law physicians must provide a woman an abortion if needed to resolve a medical emergency and stabilize the patient even in states where the procedure is banned, and that the measure preempts state bans that offer no exceptions for medical emergencies or with exceptions that are too narrow.

Texas law prohibits abortions unless the pregnancy places the woman at risk of death or “substantial impairment of a major bodily function.”

Republican-governed Texas and two anti-abortion medical associations – the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians & Gynecologists and the Christian Medical & Dental Associations, sued the administration, arguing that the guidance unlawfully purports to compel healthcare providers to perform abortions.

U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix in 2022 blocked enforcement of the guidance, finding that it is an unlawful interpretation of the EMTALA statute, and would allow abortions beyond what is permitted by Texas law.

The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Jan. 2 upheld Hendrix’s decision, ruling that “EMTALA does not mandate any specific type of medical treatment, let alone abortion.” The 5th Circuit’s decision came a month after the top court in Texas ruled against a woman who was seeking an emergency abortion of her non-viable pregnancy.  

Abortion rights advocates have challenged the scope of abortion ban exceptions in several states due to uncertainty, including among physicians, about what medical emergencies during pregnancy would permit health providers to perform the procedure.

In a similar case in June, the Supreme Court permitted, for the time being, abortions to be performed in Idaho when pregnant women are facing medical emergencies.

The Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling in the Idaho case revived a federal judge’s decision that EMTALA takes precedence over Idaho’s Republican-backed near-total abortion ban when the two conflict. While the justices lifted a block they had placed on the judge’s ruling in the case, they did not resolve the dispute on its merits, opting instead to dismiss it as “improvidently granted.”

Nobel Prize in medicine honors American duo for their discovery of microRNA 

STOCKHOLM — The Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine was awarded Monday to Americans Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for their discovery of microRNA, tiny pieces of genetic material that alter how genes work at the cellular level and could lead to new ways of treating cancer. 

The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute, which awarded the prize, said the duo’s discovery is “proving to be fundamentally important” in understanding how organisms develop and function. 

MicroRNA have opened up scientists’ approaches to treating diseases like cancer by helping to regulate how genes work at the cellular level, according to Dr. Claire Fletcher, a lecturer in molecular oncology at Imperial College London. 

Fletcher said microRNA provide genetic instructions to tell cells to make new proteins and that there were two main areas where microRNA could be helpful: in developing drugs to treat diseases and in serving as biomarkers. 

“MicroRNA alters how genes in the cell work,” said Fletcher, who is an outside expert not associated with the Nobel prize. 

“If we take the example of cancer, we’ll have a particular gene working overtime, it might be mutated and working in overdrive,” she said. “We can take a microRNA that we know alters the activity of that gene and we can deliver that particular microRNA to cancer cells to stop that mutated gene from having its effect.” 

Ambros performed the research that led to his prize at Harvard University. He is currently a professor of natural science at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Ruvkun’s research was performed at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Harvard Medical School, where he’s a professor of genetics, said Thomas Perlmann, Secretary-General of the Nobel Committee. 

Perlmann said he spoke to Ruvkun by phone shortly before the announcement. 

“It took a long time before he came to the phone and sounded very tired, but he quite rapidly was quite excited and happy, when he understood what it was all about,” Perlmann said. 

Last year, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to Hungarian-American Katalin Karikó and American Drew Weissman for discoveries that enabled the creation of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 that were critical in slowing the pandemic. 

The prize carries a cash award of ($1 million from a bequest left by the prize’s creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. 

The announcement launched this year’s Nobel prizes award season. 

Nobel announcements continue with the physics prize on Tuesday, chemistry on Wednesday and literature on Thursday. The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced Friday and the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences on Oct. 14. 

The laureates are invited to receive their awards at ceremonies on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel’s death. 

Fletcher said there are clinical trials ongoing to see how microRNA approaches might help treat skin cancer, but that there aren’t yet any drug treatments approved by drug regulators. She expected that might happen in the next five to 10 years. 

She said microRNA represent another way of being able to control the behavior of genes to treat and track various diseases. 

“The majority of therapies we have at the moment are targeting proteins in cells,” she said. “If we can intervene at the microRNA level, it opens up a whole new way of us developing medicines and us controlling the activity of genes whose levels might be altered in diseases.” 

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US aviation authority OKs SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle for Monday flight

Washington — SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket can return to flight for a mission planned for Monday to launch the European Space Agency’s Hera spacecraft from Florida, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said Sunday.

Elon Musk’s company, which has engaged in a public quarrel with the FAA in recent weeks, said Sunday it is planning the liftoff for 10:52 a.m. ET (1452 GMT) from Cape Canaveral.

“The SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle is authorized to return to flight only for the planned Hera mission scheduled to launch on Oct. 7 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida,” the FAA said Sunday.

The agency said it has “determined that the absence of a second stage reentry for this mission adequately mitigates the primary risk to the public in the event of a recurrence of the mishap experienced with the Crew-9 mission.”

The FAA on Sept. 30 said SpaceX must investigate why the second stage of its Falcon 9 malfunctioned after a NASA astronaut mission, grounding the launch vehicle for the third time in three months. The malfunction caused the booster to fall into a region of the Pacific Ocean outside of the designated safety zone that the FAA approved for the mission.

Hera is set to study the effects of the 2022 impact that NASA’s DART spacecraft had with the asteroid Dimorphos in a test of a planetary defense system — the first time a spacecraft managed to alter the motion of any celestial body. Dimorphos is a moonlet of Didymos, which is defined as a near-Earth asteroid.

The Hera mission is expected to provide data for future asteroid deflection missions with an eye toward redirecting objects that could pose a future collision threat for Earth.

Falcon 9 launched DART in 2021.

The FAA on Sept. 17 proposed fining SpaceX $633,000 for violating agency rules ahead of two 2023 Falcon 9 launches.

“They’ve been around 20 years, and I think they need to operate at the highest level of safety,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said on Sept. 24.

SpaceX took issue with Whitaker’s comments, saying the company is the “safest, most reliable launch provider in the world, and is absolutely committed to safety in all operations.”

Whitaker defended the FAA’s decision to delay a planned September Starship 5 launch, noting that SpaceX failed to complete a timely sonic boom analysis as required. The FAA has said it does not expect a license determination before late November for that launch.

Musk has criticized FAA leaders over the agency’s proposed fine and called for Whitaker’s resignation.

In February 2023, the FAA proposed a $175,000 penalty against SpaceX for failing to submit some safety data to the agency prior to an August 2022 launch of Starlink satellites. The company paid that penalty.

Rwanda begins Marburg vaccinations to curb deadly outbreak

KIGALI — Rwanda said Sunday it had begun administering vaccine doses against the Marburg virus to try to combat an outbreak of the Ebola-like disease in the east African country, where it has so far killed 12 people. 

“The vaccination is starting today immediately,” Health Minister Sabin Nsanzimana said at a news conference in the capital Kigali. 

He said the vaccinations would focus on those “most at risk, most exposed health care workers working in treatment centers, in the hospitals, in ICU, in emergency, but also [in] the close contacts of the confirmed cases.” 

The country has already received shipments of the vaccines including from the Sabin Vaccine Institute. 

Rwanda’s first outbreak of the viral hemorrhagic fever was detected in late September, with 46 cases and 12 deaths reported since then. Marburg has a fatality rate as high as 88%. 

Marburg symptoms include high fever, severe headaches and malaise within seven days of infection and later severe nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. 

It is transmitted to humans by fruit bats and then spreads through contact with the bodily fluids of those infected. Neighboring Uganda has suffered several outbreaks in the past. 

“We believe that with vaccines, we have a powerful tool to stop the spread of this virus,” the minister said. 

Gauff rallies to reach China Open final; Sinner, Alcaraz win in Shanghai

BEIJING — Coco Gauff rallied Saturday from a set down for the third consecutive match as she beat Paula Badosa 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the final of the China Open.

The sixth-ranked Gauff will play Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in Sunday’s final as the 20-year-old American bids for her second WTA-1000 level title.

Muchova defeated Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-4 in the other semifinal.

Gauff, who has a 7-1 record in tour finals, has made a habit of slow starts in Beijing this week and the script played out again as the No. 19-ranked Badosa took a tight opening set in 59 minutes, saving 10 of 11 break points.

The Spaniard then built a 3-1 lead in the second set before the 2023 U.S. Open champion shifted the momentum by saving four break points and then breaking back to level at 4-4.

Gauff then held for 5-4 and broke Badosa again to force a deciding set.

“I felt like I was playing the right way the whole time, just a couple of unforced errors, she was playing well too,” Gauff said in her on-court interview. “I was trying to stay focused. Mentally, I just tried to reset. I got down a couple of times, and I tried to bounce back.”

With all the momentum, Gauff then broke Badosa three more times — for the loss of one of her own — as she clinched the match in 2 hours, 20 minutes.

Gauff had also lost the first set to Naomi Osaka in the fourth round before winning by walkover as the four-time major winner retired with a back injury at one set-all.

“I’ve had tough opponents the whole tournament,” Gauff said.

In the quarterfinals, Gauff trailed the No. 115-ranked Yuliia Starodubtseva before rallying to win in three.

Shanghai masters

Carlos Alcaraz and top-ranked Jannik Sinner showed no signs of fatigue from their China Open final earlier this week to advance with comfortable straight-set victories in their opening matches.

The second-ranked Alcaraz, who beat the Italian in Beijing on Wednesday for his fourth title of the year, recorded his 10th consecutive win with a 6-2, 6-2 result against 19-year-old Shang Juncheng of China.

The 21-year-old Spaniard won the first nine points of the match and four of seven break points as he rushed into a third-round meeting with another Chinese player, Wu Yibing.

“I’m not used to playing against players younger than me,” Alcaraz said. “He has been playing good tennis lately, lifting his first ATP (title in Chengdu), so I’m pretty sure he’s going to climb the rankings. I’m just happy to be able to win these kinds of matches.”

Sinner, who is dealing with an ongoing doping case, had a comfortable 6-1, 6-4 outing against Taro Daniel of Japan for his 250th career win.

The Italian, who won the U.S Open last month for his second major of the year, fired 12 aces and 38 winners.

“I felt quite comfortable today,” said the 23-year-old Sinner, who next plays Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina. “I feel in good shape also physically, which is very important for me. Of course I will try to improve for tomorrow’s performance, but today I was serving really, really well, especially in important moments, and was moving well.”

No. 65-ranked Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic broke sixth-ranked Andrey Rublev seven times on his way to an upset 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-3 victory.

Yosuke Watanuki also had a surprise win, beating Number 35-ranked Brendan Nakashima 7-6 (4), 6-3. The Japanese qualifier plays either seventh-ranked Taylor Fritz of the U.S. or French qualifier Terence Atmane next.

Also, 24th-ranked Alexei Popyrin of Australia beat Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia 6-3, 6-2.

Later Saturday, third-ranked Alexander Zverev began his campaign against Italian qualifier Mattia Bellucci, while fourth-ranked Novak Djokovic faced Alex Michelsen of the United States. 

Congo starts mpox vaccinations in effort to slow outbreaks

GOMA, Congo — Congolese authorities on Saturday began vaccinations against mpox, nearly two months after the disease outbreak that spread from Congo to several African countries and beyond was declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization.

The 265,000 doses donated to Congo by the European Union and the United States were rolled out in the eastern city of Goma in North Kivu province, where hospitals and health workers have been overstretched, struggling to contain the new and possibly more infectious strain of mpox.

Congo, with about 30,000 suspected mpox cases and 859 deaths, accounts for more than 80% of all the cases and 99% of all the deaths reported in Africa this year. All the Central African nation’s 26 provinces have recorded mpox cases.

Although most mpox infections and deaths recorded in Congo are in children under age 15, the doses being administered are only meant for adults and will be given to at-risk populations and frontline workers, Health Minister Roger Kamba said this week.

“Strategies have been put in place by the services in order to vaccinate all targeted personnel,” Muboyayi ChikayaI, the minister’s chief of staff, said as he kicked off the vaccination.

At least 3 million doses of the vaccine approved for use in children are expected from Japan in the coming days, Kamba said.

Mostly undetected for years

Mpox, also known as monkeypox, had been spreading mostly undetected for years in Africa before the disease prompted the 2022 global outbreak that saw wealthy countries quickly respond with vaccines from their stockpiles while Africa received only a few doses despite pleas from its governments.

However, unlike the global outbreak in 2022 that was overwhelmingly focused in gay and bisexual men, mpox in Africa is now being spread via sexual transmission as well as through close contact among children, pregnant women and other vulnerable groups, Dr. Dimie Ogoina, the chair of WHO’s mpox emergency committee, recently told reporters.

More than 34,000 suspected cases and 866 deaths from the virus have been recorded across 16 countries in Africa this year. That is a 200% increase compared to the same period last year, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

But access to vaccines remains a challenge.

The continent of 1.4 billion people has only secured commitment for 5.9 million doses of mpox vaccines, expected to be available from October through December, Dr. Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa CDC, told reporters last week. Congo remains a priority, he said.

Province at risk of outbreak

At the vaccination drive in Goma, Dr. Jean Bruno Kibunda, the WHO representative, warned that North Kivu province is at a risk of a major outbreak due to the “promiscuity observed in the camps” for displaced people, as one of the world’s biggest humanitarian crises caused by armed violence unfolds there.

The news of the vaccination program brought relief among many in Congo, especially in hospitals that had been struggling to manage the outbreak.

“If everyone could be vaccinated, it would be even better to stop the spread of the disease,” said Dr. Musole Mulambamunva Robert, the medical director of Kavumu Hospital, one of the mpox treatment centers in eastern Congo.

Eastern Congo has been beset by conflict for years, with more than 100 armed groups vying for a foothold in the mineral-rich area near the border with Rwanda. Some have been accused of carrying out mass killings. 

Peru celebrates 2 decades of a fast-growing breed of guinea pigs eaten as a delicacy

LIMA, Peru — Peru on Thursday celebrated two decades since the creation of a genetically modified breed of guinea pig, a rodent whose meat has formed a part of the diet of people in the Andean nation for thousands of years.

The genetically modified breed of guinea pig — known as cuy locally — is called “Peru.” It was created in 2004 at the National Institute of Agrarian Innovation, Juan Solórzano, a research zootechnician, said in the middle of one of the institute’s farms where thousands of guinea pigs are raised for study.

What characterizes the Peru breed is that grows faster, reaching a weight of 1 kilogram in 56 days, rather than the 160 days that was needed before, Solórzano said.

“It is a precocious breed,” said Solórzano.

Guinea pigs are native to the Andes Mountains and are raised in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia, areas where the Inca Empire spread almost 500 years ago.

There are more than 25 million guinea pigs in Peru, according to official figures. The rodent is so popular in the South American country that authorities have decreed the second Friday of October as National Guinea Pig Day to encourage its consumption.

Internal migration from Peru’s Andes in the 20th century brought the custom of eating guinea pigs to the country’s Pacific coast.

“It is eaten at sporting events or religious festivals. Guinea pig is a festive dish,” Solórzano said. It is also used in ritual healing practices by being rubbed over the body of a sick person.

Marina Isabel Briceño, an employee at an air conditioning supply company, said she has eaten guinea pigs since she was a child, calling them a delicacy served at “special events.”

Born in the Cajamarca region, Briceño said that at baptisms the parents often give the godfather and godmother a tray with more than a dozen guinea pigs that have been fried and are “crispy and ready to eat.”

“I know it is a rodent, a distant relative of rats, but those animals eat garbage, whereas guinea pigs eat something else, tender corn leaves which is why they are tasty,” she said.

Magnitude 5.7 earthquake strikes near capital of New Zealand

wellington, new zealand — A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck near New Zealand’s capital city of Wellington, government seismic monitor GeoNet said on Sunday, but initial reports indicated there were no injuries or significant damage. 

The quake hit at 5:08 a.m. on Sunday (1608 GMT on Saturday) striking 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) west of Wellington at a focal depth of 30 km (19 miles). 

GeoNet said more than 37,000 people had reported feeling the shake, some as far north as Auckland in the North Island. 

GeoNet said there was no tsunami warning as a result of the quake. 

A spokesperson for Fire and Emergency New Zealand said the service had not received any calls for assistance. 

Government-owned Radio New Zealand said there were no reports of significant damage or reports of injury. 

Sex workers find themselves at center of Congo’s mpox outbreak

KAMITUGA, Congo — It’s been four months since Sifa Kunguja recovered from mpox, but as a sex worker, she said, she’s still struggling to regain clients, with fear and stigma driving away people who’ve heard she had the virus. 

“It’s risky work,” Kunguja, 40, said from her small home in eastern Congo. “But if I don’t work, I won’t have money for my children.”

Sex workers are among those hardest-hit by the mpox outbreak in Kamituga, where some 40,000 of them are estimated to reside — many single mothers driven by poverty to this mineral-rich commercial hub where gold miners comprise the majority of the clientele. Doctors estimate 80% of cases here have been contracted sexually, though the virus also spreads through other kinds of skin-to-skin contact.

Sex workers say the situation threatens their health and livelihoods. Health officials warn that more must be done to stem the spread — with a focus on sex workers — or mpox will creep deeper through eastern Congo and the region.

Mpox causes mostly mild symptoms such as fever and body aches, but serious cases can mean prominent, painful blisters on the face, hands, chest and genitals.

Kunguja and other sex workers insist that despite risks of reinfection or spreading the virus, they have no choice but to keep working. Sex work isn’t illegal in Congo, though related activities such as solicitation are. Rights groups say possible legal consequences and fear of retribution — sex workers are subject to high rates of violence including rape and abuse — prevent women from seeking medical care. That can be especially detrimental during a public health emergency, according to experts.

Health officials in Kamituga are advocating for the government to shutter nightclubs and mines and compensate sex workers for lost business.

Not everyone agrees. Local officials say they don’t have resources to do more than care for those who are sick, and insist it’s sex workers’ responsibility to protect themselves.

Kamituga Mayor Alexandre Bundya M’pila told The Associated Press that the government is creating awareness campaigns but lacks money to reach everyone. He also said sex workers should look for other jobs, without providing examples of what might be available.

Sex work a big part of economy

Miners stream into Kamituga by the tens of thousands. The economy is centered on the mines: Buyers line streets, traders travel to sell gold, small businesses and individuals provide food and lodging, and the sex industry flourishes.

Nearly a dozen sex workers spoke to AP. They said well over half their clients are miners.

The industry is well organized, according to the Kenyan-based African Sex Workers Alliance, composed of sex worker-led groups. The alliance estimates that 13% of Kamituga’s 300,000 residents are sex workers.

The town has 18 sex-worker committees, the alliance said, with a leadership that tries to work with government officials, protect and support colleagues, and advocate for their rights.

But sex work in Congo is dangerous. Women face systematic violence that’s tolerated by society, according to a report by UMANDE, a local sex-worker rights group.

Many women are forced into the industry because of poverty or because, like Kunguja, they’re single parents and must support their families.

Getting mpox can put sex workers out of business

The sex workers who spoke to AP described mpox as an added burden. Many are terrified of getting the virus — it means time away from work, lost income and perhaps losing business altogether.

Those who recover are stigmatized, they said. Kamituga is a small place, where most everyone knows one another. Neighbors whisper and tell clients when someone is sick — people talk and point.

Since contracting mpox in May, Kunguja said she’s gone from about 20 clients daily to five. She’s been supporting her 11 children through sex work for nearly a decade but said she now can’t afford to send them to school. To compensate, she’s selling alcohol by day, but it’s not enough.

Experts say information and awareness are key

Disease experts say a lack of vaccines and information makes stemming the spread difficult.

Some 250,000 vaccines have arrived in Congo, but it’s unclear when any will get to Kamituga. Sex workers and miners are among those slated to receive them first.

Community leaders and aid groups are trying to teach sex workers about protecting themselves and their clients via awareness sessions where they discuss signs and symptoms. They also press condom use, which they say isn’t widespread enough in the industry.

Sex workers told AP that they insist on using condoms when they have them, but that they simply don’t have enough.

Kamituga’s general hospital gives them boxes of about 140 condoms every few months. Some sex workers see up to 60 clients a day — for less than $1 a person. Condoms run out, and workers say they can’t afford more.

Dr. Guy Mukari, an epidemiologist working with the National Institute of Biomedical Research in Congo, noted that the variant running rampant in Kamituga seems more susceptible to transmission via sex, making for a double whammy with the sex industry.

A week after Helene hit, thousands still without water struggle to find enough

ASHEVILLE, North Carolina — Nearly a week after Hurricane Helene brought devastation to western North Carolina, a shiny stainless steel tanker truck in downtown Asheville attracted residents carrying 19-liter containers, milk jugs and buckets to fill with what has become a desperately scare resource — drinking water.

Flooding tore through the city’s water system, destroying so much infrastructure that officials said repairs could take weeks. To make do, Anna Ramsey arrived Wednesday with her two children, who each left carrying plastic bags filled with 7.6 liters of water.

“We have no water. We have no power. But I think it’s also been humbling,” Ramsey said.

Helene’s path through the Southeast left a trail of power outages so large the darkness was visible from space. Tens of trillions of liters of rain fell and more than 200 people were killed, making Helene the deadliest hurricane to hit the mainland U.S. since Katrina in 2005. Hundreds of people are still unaccounted for, and search crews must trudge through knee-deep debris to learn whether residents are safe.

It also damaged water utilities so severely and over such a wide inland area that one federal official said the toll “could be considered unprecedented.” As of Thursday, about 136,000 people in the Southeast were served by a nonoperational water provider and more than 1.8 million were living under a boil water advisory, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Western North Carolina was especially hard hit. Officials are facing a difficult rebuilding task made harder by the steep, narrow valleys of the Blue Ridge Mountains that during a more typical October would attract throngs of fall tourists.

“The challenges of the geography are just fewer roads, fewer access points, fewer areas of flat ground to stage resources” said Brian Smith, acting deputy division director for the EPA’s water division in the Southeast.

After days without water, people long for more than just a sponge bath.

“I would love a shower,” said Sue Riles in Asheville. “Running water would be incredible.”

The raging floodwaters of Helene destroyed crucial parts of Asheville’s water system, scouring out the pipes that convey water from a reservoir in the mountains above town that is the largest of three water supplies for the system. To reach a second reservoir that was knocked offline, a road had to be rebuilt.

Boosted output from the third source restored water flow in some southern Asheville neighborhoods Friday, but without full repairs schools may not be able to resume in-person classes, hospitals may not restore normal operations, and the city’s hotels and restaurants may not fully reopen.

Even water that’s unfit to drink is scarce. Drew Reisinger, the elected Buncombe County register of deeds, worries about people in apartments who can’t easily haul a bucket of water from a creek to flush their toilet. Officials are advising people to collect nondrinkable water for household needs from a local swimming pool.

“One thing no one is talking about is the amount of poop that exists in every toilet in Asheville,” he said. “We’re dealing with a public health emergency.”

It’s a situation that becomes more dangerous the longer it lasts. Even in communities fortunate enough to have running water, hundreds of providers have issued boil water notices indicating the water could be contaminated. But boiling water for cooking and drinking is time consuming and small mistakes can cause stomach illness, according to Natalie Exum, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

“Every day that goes by, you could be exposed to a pathogen,” Exum said. “These basic services that we take for granted in our everyday lives actually do do a lot to prevent illness.”

Travis Edwards’ faucet worked immediately after the storm. He filled as many containers as he could for himself and his child, but it didn’t take long for the flow to weaken, then stop. They rationed water, switching to hand sanitizer and barely putting any on toothbrushes.

“(We) didn’t realize how dehydrated we were getting,” he said.

Federal officials have shipped millions of liters of water to areas where people also might not be able to make phone calls or switch on the lights.

Power has been restored to about 62% of homes and businesses and 8,000 crews are out working to restore power in the hardest hit parts of North Carolina, federal officials said Thursday. In 10 counties, about half of the cell sites are still down.

The first step for some utilities is simply figuring out how bad the damage is, a job that might require EPA expertise in extreme cases. Ruptured water pipes are a huge problem. They often run beneath roads, many of which were crumpled and twisted by floodwaters.

“Pretty much anytime you see a major road damaged, there’s a very good chance that there’s a pipe in there that’s also gotten damaged,” said Mark White, drinking water global practice leader at the engineering firm CDM Smith.

Generally, repairs start at the treatment plant and move outward, with fixes in nearby big pipes done first, according to the EPA.

“Over time, you’ll gradually get water to more and more people,” White said.

Many people are still missing, and water repair employees don’t typically work around search and rescue operations. It takes a toll, according to Kevin Morley, manager of federal relations with the American Water Works Association.

“There’s emotional support that is really important for all the people involved. You’re seeing people’s lives just wiped out,” he said.

Even private well owners aren’t immune. Pumps on private wells may have lost power and overtopping floodwaters can contaminate them.

There’s often a “blind faith” assumption that drinking water won’t fail. In this case, the technology was insufficient, according to Craig Colten. Before retiring to Asheville, he was a professor in Louisiana focused on resilience to extreme weather. He hopes Helene will prompt politicians to spend more to ensure infrastructure withstands destructive storms.

And climate change will only make the problem more severe, said Erik Olson, a health and food expert at the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council.

“I think states and the federal government really need to step back and start looking at how we’re going to prepare for these extreme weather events that are going to be occurring and recurring every single year,” he said.

Edwards has developed a system to save water. He’ll soap dirty dishes and rinse them with a trickle of water with bleach, which is caught and transferred to a bucket — useable for the toilet.

Power and some cell service have returned for him. And water distribution sites have guaranteed some measure of normalcy: Edwards feels like he can start going out to see friends again.

“To not feel guilty about using more than a cup of water to, like, wash yourself … I’m really, really grateful,” he said. 

China-connected spamouflage networks spread antisemitic disinformation

washington — Spamouflage networks with connections to China are posting antisemitic conspiracy theories on social media, casting doubt on Washington’s independence from alleged Jewish influence and the integrity of the two U.S. presidential candidates, a joint investigation by VOA Mandarin and Taiwan’s Doublethink Lab, a social media analytics firm, has found.

The investigation has so far uncovered more than 30 such X posts, many of which claim or suggest that core American political institutions, including the White House and Congress, have pledged loyalty to or are controlled by Jewish elites and the Israeli government.

One post shows a graphic of 18 U.S. officials of Jewish descent, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and the head of the Homeland Security Department, Alejandro Mayorkas, and asks: “Jews only make up 2% of the U.S. population, so why do they have so many representatives in important government departments?!”

Another post shows a cartoon depicting Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for president, and her opponent, Donald Trump, having their tongues tangled together and wrapped around an Israeli flagpole. The post proclaims that “no matter who of them comes to power, they will not change their stance on Judaism.”

Most of the 32 posts analyzed by VOA Mandarin and Doublethink Lab were posted during July and August. The posts came from three spamouflage accounts, two of which were previously reported by VOA.

Each of the three accounts leads its own spamouflage network. The three networks consist of 140 accounts, which amplify content from the three main accounts, or seeders.

A spamouflage network is a state-sponsored operation disguised as the work of authentic social media users to spread pro-government narratives and disinformation while discrediting criticism from adversaries.

Jasper Hewitt, a digital intelligence analyst at Doublethink Lab, told VOA Mandarin that the impact of these antisemitic posts has been limited, as most of them failed to reach real users, despite having garnered over 160,000 views.

U.S. officials have cast China as one of the major threats looking to disrupt this year’s election. Beijing, however, has repeatedly denied these allegations and urged Washington to “not make an issue of China in the election.”

Tuvia Gering, a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub, has closely followed antisemitic disinformation coming from China. He told VOA Mandarin that Beijing isn’t necessarily hostile toward Jews, but anti-Semitic conspiracy theories have historically been a handy tool to be used against Western countries.

“You can trace its origins back to the Cold War, when the Soviet Union promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories all over the world just to instigate in Western societies,” Gering said, “because it divides them from within and it casts the West in a bad light in a strategic competition. [It’s] the same thing you see here [with China].”

Anti-Semitic speech floods Chinese internet

Similar antisemitic narratives about U.S. politics posted by the spamouflage accounts have long been flourishing on the Chinese internet.

An article that received thousands of likes and reposts on Chinese social media app WeChat claims that “Jewish capital” has completed its control of the American political sphere “through infiltration, marriages, campaign funds and lobbying.”

The article also brings up the Jewish heritage of many current and former U.S. officials and their families as evidence of the alleged Jewish takeover of America.

“The wife of the U.S. president is Jewish, the son-in-law of the former U.S. president is Jewish, the mother of the previous former U.S. president was Jewish, the U.S. Secretary of State is Jewish, the U.S. Secretary of Treasury is Jewish, the Deputy Secretary of State, the Attorney General … are all Jewish,” it wrote.

In fact, first lady Jill Biden is Roman Catholic, and the mother of former President Barack Obama was raised as a Christian. The others named are Jewish.

Conspiracy theories and misinformation abounded on the Chinese internet after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill in May that would empower the Department of Education to adopt a new set of standards when investigating antisemitism in educational programs.

Articles and videos assert that the bill marks the death of America because it “definitively solidifies the superior and unquestionable position of the Jews in America,” claiming falsely that anyone who’s labeled an antisemite will be arrested.

One video with more than 1 million views claimed that the New Testament of the Bible would be deemed illegal under the bill. And since all U.S. presidents took their inaugural oath with the Bible, the bill allegedly invalidates the legitimacy of the commander in chief. None of that is true.

The Chinese public hasn’t historically been hostile toward Jews. A 2014 survey published by the Anti-Defamation League, a U.S.-based group against antisemitism, found that only 20% of the participants from China harbored an antisemitic attitude.

But when the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out a year ago, the otherwise heavily censored Chinese social media was flooded with antisemitic comments and praise for Nazi Germany leader Adolf Hitler.

The Chinese government has dismissed criticism of antisemitism on its internet. When asked about it at a news conference last year, Wang Wenbin, then the spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry, said that “China’s laws unequivocally prohibit disseminating information on extremism, ethnic hatred, discrimination and violence via the internet.”

But online hate speech against Jews has hardly disappeared. Eric Liu, a former censor for Chinese social media Weibo who now monitors online censorship, told VOA Mandarin that whenever Israel is in the news, there would be a surge in online antisemitism.

Just last month, after dozens of members of the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah were killed by explosions of their pagers, Chinese online commentators acidly condemned Israel and Jews.

The attack “proves that Jews are the most terrifying and cowardly people,” one Weibo user wrote. “They are self-centered and believe themselves to be superior, when in fact they are considered the most indecent and shameless. When the time comes, it’s going to be blood for blood.”

Dozens of zoo tigers die after contracting bird flu in southern Vietnam

HANOI, Vietnam — More than a dozen tigers were incinerated after the animals died after contracted bird flu at a zoo in southern Vietnam, officials said.

State media VNExpress cited a caretaker at Vuon Xoai zoo in Bien Hoa city saying the animals were fed raw chicken bought from nearby farms. The panther and 20 tigers, including several cubs, weighed between 10 and 120 kilograms when they died. The bodies were incinerated and buried on the premises.

“The tigers died so fast. They looked weak, refused to eat and died after two days of falling sick,” said zoo manager Nguyen Ba Phuc.

Samples taken from the tigers tested positive for H5N1, the virus that causes bird flu.

The virus was first identified in 1959 and grew into a widespread and highly lethal menace to migratory birds and domesticated poultry. It has since evolved, and in recent years H5N1 was detected in a growing number of animals ranging from dogs and cats to sea lions and polar bears.

In cats, scientists have found the virus attacking the brain, damaging and clotting blood vessels and causing seizures and death.

More than 20 other tigers were isolated for monitoring. The zoo houses some 3,000 other animals including lions, bears, rhinos, hippos and giraffes.

The 30 staff members who were taking care of the tigers tested negative for bird flu and were in normal health condition, VNExpress reported. Another outbreak also occurred at a zoo in nearby Long An province, where 27 tigers and three lions died within a week in September, the newspaper said.

Unusual flu strains that come from animals are occasionally found in people. Health officials in the United States said Thursday that two dairy workers in California were infected — making 16 total cases detected in the country in 2024.

“The deaths of 47 tigers, three lions, and a panther at My Quynh Safari and Vuon Xoai Zoo amid Vietnam’s bird flu outbreak are tragic and highlight the risks of keeping wild animals in captivity,” PETA Senior Vice President Jason Baker said in a statement sent to The Associated Press.

“The exploitation of wild animals also puts global human health at risk by increasing the likelihood of another pandemic,” Baker said.

Bird flu has caused hundreds of deaths around the world, the vast majority of them involving direct contact between people and infected birds.

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California investigating possible case of bird flu in dairy worker 

chicago — California is investigating a possible case of bird flu in a dairy worker who had contact with infected cattle, the state’s public health department said Thursday. 

The virus’ jump to cattle in 14 states and infections of 13 dairy and poultry farmworkers this year have concerned scientists and federal officials about the risks to humans from further spread. 

The worker had a “presumptive positive” result to a test for bird flu, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will do further testing to confirm the finding, the California Department of Public Health said in a statement. 

The person, who was not identified, suffered only conjunctivitis, or pink eye, the department said in a statement. The person is being treated with antiviral medication and staying home, it added. 

The person works at a Central Valley dairy facility suffering an outbreak in cattle, according to the statement. 

Cows at dairy farms in California, the top U.S. milk-producing state, began testing positive for bird flu in late August. 

“The risk to the general public remains low, although people who interact with infected animals are at higher risk of getting bird flu,” the department said. 

Missouri last month confirmed bird flu in a person with underlying medical conditions who had no immediate known animal exposure. Six health care workers who cared for the Missouri patient developed respiratory symptoms, but the virus was not confirmed in any of them. 

Scientists are watching closely for signs that the virus has begun to spread more easily in people. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said it would begin testing raw cow’s milk intended for pasteurization at dairy plants to better understand the prevalence of the bird flu virus in milk. 

Participation in the study, set to begin October 28, is voluntary, and pasteurized dairy products remain safe to consume, the agency said. 

Prior FDA testing of retail dairy samples came back negative, and more such testing is underway.

WHO launches plan to tackle growing threat of dengue, other diseases

GENEVA  — The World Health Organization launched a global plan Thursday to address the growing threat of dengue and other deadly arboviruses, which have affected millions of people around the world and put billions more at risk.  

“The rapid spread of dengue and other arboviral diseases in recent years is an alarming trend that demands a coordinated response across sectors and across borders,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. 

An arbovirus is a virus that is transmitted to humans by mosquitoes, ticks, or other arthropods, such as crustaceans, insects and arachnids.   

Dengue has emerged as the most problematic arbovirus disease. The WHO notes the number of cases has nearly doubled each year since 2021, with over 12.3 million cases at the end of August of this year, including more than 6,000 deaths. 

The WHO aims to “turn the tide” against dengue and arboviral diseases, Tedros said, noting that the measures in the proposal could “protect vulnerable populations and pave the way for a healthier future.” 

The WHO chief said everyone has a role to play in the fight against dengue, “from maintaining clean environments to supporting vector control and seeking and providing timely medical care.” 

“Factors such as unplanned urbanization and poor water, sanitation and hygiene practices, climate change and international travel, are facilitating the rapid geographical spread of dengue,” Dr. Raman Velayudhan, WHO unit head, global program on control of neglected tropical diseases, told journalists in Geneva Tuesday, in advance of the plan’s launch. 

“The disease is now endemic in more than 130 countries,” he said. “Similar trends are also observed for other arboviral diseases, such as Zika, chikungunya, and more recently, the Oropouche virus disease, especially in the Americas.” 

Dengue is endemic in tropical and subtropical climates, particularly in Southeast Asia, the Western Pacific and the Americas. The WHO says the majority of dengue cases, as well as several other arboviruses, have been reported from the American region this year.  

WHO officials say the situation is also of concern in Africa, “where countries are battling multiple diseases amid conflict and natural disasters,” placing additional strain on already fragile health systems. 

The Africa CDC reports more than 15,000 cases of dengue have been recorded in 13 African countries this year. 

“This global escalation underscores the urgent need for a robust strategy to mitigate risks and safeguard populations taking into account that urban centers are at greater risk,” Velayudhan said. 

Dengue is a viral infection that spreads from mosquitoes to people. Most people who get dengue get better in one to two weeks. However, some people who develop severe cases can die. 

According to the WHO, prevention is the best protection from dengue. It recommends people avoid mosquito bites, especially during the day, “by covering up.” 

Chikungunya, a virus spread by Aedes mosquitoes, has been reported in 118 countries, with the highest circulation found in Brazil.   

Dr. Diana Rojas Alvarez, team lead on arboviruses, epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention at the WHO, notes newborns, elderly and people with pre-existing conditions “have been identified as a risk factor for poor disease outcome.” 

Besides chikungunya, she said Zika and Oropouche, which are spreading widely in the Americas, have symptoms similar to dengue and “can be easily misdiagnosed in areas with co-circulation of multiple arboviruses.”   

To avoid misidentifying those diseases, she said it is critical for countries to strengthen their detection, surveillance, and testing activities and “to make sure populations know which measures to take to protect themselves and their communities.” 

The World Health Organization says the global escalation of arboviral diseases underscores the urgent need for “a robust strategy to mitigate risks and safeguard populations.” 

It urges governments to implement five components of its strategic global plan:  Emergency coordination activities, collaborative detection and surveillance, community protection and prevention measures, safe and scalable care to prevent illness and death, and access to countermeasures, such as the promotion of research for improved treatments and vaccines. 

The WHO estimates $55 million will be required to put the plan into action over the next year.  

Australia’s online dating industry agrees to code of conduct to protect users

MELBOURNE, Australia — A code of conduct will be enforced on the online dating industry to better protect Australian users after research found that three-in-four people suffer some form of sexual violence through the platforms, Australia’s government said on Tuesday.

Bumble, Grindr and Match Group Inc., a Texas-based company that owns platforms including Tinder, Hinge, OKCupid and Plenty of Fish, have agreed to the code that took effect on Tuesday, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said.

The platforms, which account for 75% of the industry in Australia, have until April 1 to implement the changes before they are strictly enforced, Rowland said.

The code requires the platforms’ systems to detect potential incidents of online-enabled harm and demands that the accounts of some offenders are terminated.

Complaint and reporting mechanisms are to be made prominent and transparent. A new rating system will show users how well platforms are meeting their obligations under the code.

The government called for a code of conduct last year after the Australian Institute of Criminology research found that three-in-four users of dating apps or websites had experienced some form of sexual violence through these platforms in the five years through 2021.

“There needs to be a complaint-handling process. This is a pretty basic feature that Australians would have expected in the first place,” Rowland said on Tuesday.

“If there are grounds to ban a particular individual from utilizing one of those platforms, if they’re banned on one platform, they’re blocked on all platforms,” she added.

Match Group said it had already introduced new safety features on Tinder, including photo and identification verification to prevent bad actors from accessing the platform while giving users more confidence in the authenticity of their connections.

The platform used artificial intelligence to issue real-time warnings about potentially offensive language in an opening line and advising users to pause before sending.

“This is a pervasive issue, and we take our responsibility to help keep users safe on our platform very seriously,” Match Group said in a statement on Wednesday.

Match Group said it would continue to collaborate with the government and the industry to “help make dating safer for all Australians.”

Bumble said it shared the government’s hope of eliminating gender-based violence and was grateful for the opportunity to work with the government and industry on what the platform described as a “world-first dating code of practice.”

“We know that domestic and sexual violence is an enormous problem in Australia, and that women, members of LGBTQ+ communities, and First Nations are the most at risk,” a Bumble statement said.

“Bumble puts women’s experiences at the center of our mission to create a world where all relationships are healthy and equitable, and safety has been central to our mission from day one,” Bumble added.

Grindr said in a statement it was “honored to participate in the development of the code and shares the Australian government’s commitment to online safety.”

All the platforms helped design the code.

Platforms that have not signed up include Happn, Coffee Meets Bagel and Feeld.

The government expects the code will enable Australians to make better informed choices about which dating apps are best equipped to provide a safe dating experience.

The government has also warned the online dating industry that it will legislate if the operators fail to keep Australians safe on their platforms.

John Amos, patriarch on ‘Good Times’ and Emmy nominee for blockbuster ‘Roots,’ dies at 84

LOS ANGELES — American actor John Amos, who starred as the family patriarch on the hit 1970’s sitcom Good Times and earned an Emmy nomination for his role in the seminal 1977 miniseries Roots, has died. He was 84. 

Amos’ publicist, Belinda Foster, confirmed the news of his death Tuesday. No other details were immediately available. 

He played James Evans Sr. on Good Times, which featured one of television’s first Black two-parent families. Produced by Norman Lear and co-created by actor Mike Evans, who co-starred on All in the Family and The Jeffersons, it ran from 1974-79 on CBS. 

“That show was the closest depiction in reality to life as an African American family living in those circumstances as it could be,” Amos told Time magazine in 2021. 

His character, along with wife Florida, played by Esther Rolle, originated on another Lear show, Maude. James Evans often worked two manual labor jobs to support his family that included three children, with Jimmie Walker becoming a breakout star as oldest son J.J. 

Such was the show’s impact that Alicia Keys, Rick Ross, the Wu-Tang Clan are among the musicians who name-checked Amos or his character in their lyrics. 

Amos and Rolle were eager to portray a positive image of a Black family, struggling against the odds in a public housing project in Chicago. But they grew frustrated at seeing Walker’s character being made foolish and his role expanded. 

“The fact is that Esther’s criticism, and also that of John and others — some of it very pointed and personal — seriously damaged my appeal in the Black community,” Walker wrote in his 2012 memoir Dyn-O-Mite! Good Times, Bad Times, Our Times. 

After three seasons of critical acclaim and high ratings, Amos was fired. He had become critical of the show’s white writing staff creating storylines that he felt were inauthentic to the Black characters. 

“There were several examples where I said, ‘No, you don’t do these things. It’s anathema to Black society. I’ll be the expert on that, if you don’t mind,'” he told Time magazine. “And it got confrontational and heated enough that ultimately my being killed off the show was the best solution for everybody concerned, myself included.” 

Amos’ character was killed in a car accident. Walker lamented the situation. “If the decision had been up to me, I would have preferred that John stay and the show remain more of an ensemble,” he wrote in his memoir. “Nobody wanted me up front all the time, including me.” 

Amos and Lear later reconciled and they shared a hug at a Good Times live TV reunion special in 2019. 

Amos quickly bounced back, landing the role of an adult Kunta Kinte, the centerpiece of Roots, based on Alex Haley’s novel set during and after the era of slavery in the U.S. The miniseries was a critical and ratings blockbuster, and Amos earned one of its 37 Emmy nominations. 

“I knew that it was a life-changing role for me, as an actor and just from a humanistic standpoint,” he told Time magazine. “It was the culmination of all of the misconceptions and stereotypical roles that I had lived and seen being offered to me. It was like a reward for having suffered those indignities.” 

Early years

Born John Allen Amos Jr. on Dec. 27, 1939, in Newark, New Jersey, he was the son of an auto mechanic. He graduated from Colorado State University with a sociology degree and played on the school’s football team. 

Before pursuing acting, he moved to New York and was a social worker at the Vera Institute of Justice, working with defendants at the Brooklyn House of Detention. 

He had a brief professional football career, playing in various minor leagues. He signed a free-agent contract in 1967 with the Kansas City Chiefs, but coach Hank Stram encouraged Amos to pursue his interest in writing instead. He had jobs as an advertising and comedy writer before moving in front of the camera. 

Amos’ first major TV role was as Gordy Howard, the weatherman on The Mary Tyler Moore Show from 1970-73. As the show’s only Black character, he played straight man to bombastic anchor Ted Baxter. 

Among Amos’ film credits were Let’s Do It Again with Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier, Coming to America with Eddie Murphy and its 2021 sequel, Die Hard 2, Madea’s Witness Protection and Uncut Gems with Adam Sandler. He was in Ice Cube and Dr. Dre’s 1994 video “Natural Born Killaz.” 

He was a frequent guest star on The West Wing, and his other TV appearances included Hunter, The District, Men in Trees, All About the Andersons, Two and a Half Men, and The Ranch. 

In 2020, Amos was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. He served in the New Jersey National Guard.